Although Chen Xi took the initiative to visit Xie’s Mansion, he rushed over immediately after meeting the saint and showed enough sincerity.

But even so, Xie Qian still had a strong gunpowder smell and would unconsciously ask in a high-profile tone. How could Chen Xi spoil him? He fought back without mercy!

Xie Qian thought to himself: "It is a mistake to let your kid leave. Isn't this a case for the foreign relatives as you wish? You kid has never had any worries in your actions. If you really 'crack' the empress dowager's two younger brothers, it will be troublesome."

"Tell me!"

Xie Qian asked with a dark face, "How did Your Majesty arrange it? What are you going to do?"

Seeing that Xie Qian's attitude was slightly eased, Chen Xi did not continue to stimulate the other party and said, "The case is not yet clear. Although Your Majesty has appointed me to deal with it, he has to wait until the palace sends the imperial edict to formally investigate the case... In short, it must be based on facts and the Ming Dynasty's law as the criterion, and handle it impartially!"

"What a fair sentence, you will be satisfied if you kill the Empress Dowager's family and cut off your own family in the court?" Even if Chen Xi didn't say what he would do, Xie Qian still believed that Chen Xi would take ruthless action.

Chen Xi was a little surprised and asked back: "If you make no mistake, why do you want to kill someone? But if they bully men and women, it will cause anger and resentment from heaven. According to my Ming Dynasty Code, even if you convict a death sentence, it is understandable. At that time, it depends on whether Your Majesty will issue a special amnesty! Master Xie should not control the case handlers' ideas, otherwise I will think you always intend to cover up the Zhang family."

Xie Qian's face became increasingly ugly. He felt that He Jian had told Chen Xi about his indifference to Zhang's relatives' evil behavior. His face was hot and he felt a huge sense of shame and anger. He believed that He Jian and Shen Xi both questioned his character... But he didn't know that He Jian had never mentioned it in order to keep his old face.

Xie Qian said angrily: "Even if I want to shelter it, it is to maintain the stability of the court. The Marquis of Shouning and Marquis of Jianchang are relatives of the imperial country. They hold military power and are related to the stability of the capital. How can you act lightly? If you don't want to cause any trouble, it's better to turn big things into small things... I only have so many reminders. If you make a big case, I will not forgive you!"

When talking, Xie Qian blushed and looked angry.

When it comes to his own character, he can only try his best to defend himself. It is impossible to say that he has no selfishness. After all, Xie Qian has always regarded Empress Dowager Zhang as an important political bargaining chip for himself, and has also obtained a lot of convenience from Empress Dowager Zhang. Now that something is wrong with the Zhang family, he feels that he must do something.

Chen Xidao: "Without Xie Ge Lao's intention, maintaining the dignity of the Ming Dynasty's laws is not as important as ensuring the stability of the court? Can kill people be ignored, rape, plunder, or even officials and people are forced to rebel against each other?"

Xie Qian didn't want to continue to argue with Chen Xi. He was originally unreasonable on this matter and said more and more mistakes. He immediately waved his hand and said, "Okay, what you want to deal with is your own business. I just said that everything must be based on the stability of the Ming Dynasty. If you do not handle it properly, I will be the first to impeach you!"

Chen Xi saw that Xie Qian was very tough and was not willing to compromise at all.

But this is exactly what Chen Xi likes to see, because he occupied the commanding heights of morality and public opinion. Xie Qian's previous claims could still convince the public, but in this matter, he completely entered a state of paranoidness, which made Xie Qian's previous attacks on him seem weak and powerless.

...

...

Chen Xi did not receive any substantial guidance at Xie Qian’s mansion.

According to Xie Qian, only by keeping the Zhang brothers can the stability of the court be maintained. Whether this is reasonable is Chen Xi doesn't want to evaluate it, but Chen Xi knows that if Xie Qian continues to be paranoid, his credibility in the court will be greatly reduced in the future.

Early the next morning, the imperial edict was passed down in the palace. Chen Xi was ordered by the emperor to investigate the impeachment of Zhang's relatives by officials in the court, which fully demonstrated Emperor Zhengde's attention to the case.

Chen Xi is in the Ministry of War, but what he is in charge of is not entirely the Ministry of War. He Jian hurried over to meet Chen Xi after hearing the news. In He Jian's opinion, this was the result of his efforts with Shen Xi.

Ministry of War Public Affairs.

Chen Xi shook his head and said, "Now that Your Majesty just agreed to investigate the case does not mean that Your Majesty has made up his mind to punish the relatives of the outside world. Even if there is evidence in the investigation, you need to ask Your Majesty for the final conviction. Pastion is a matter of imperial edict."

He Jian nodded: "Even so, it is not easy. You must know that the officials in the court dare to be angry at the criminals of foreign relatives but dare not speak out. If no one cares about this case, the local area will be in chaos. Oh, by the way, Zhihou, how did you convince Your Majesty to investigate the case thoroughly?"

Chenxidao: "I tell Your Majesty that there was chaos in Zhili, Shandong and Henan, pointing out that the root cause was related to the inaction of the court."

"this……"

He Jian's face changed immediately.

In He Jian's opinion, isn't you, Shen Zhihou, falsely reporting local people to achieve your goal? What's the difference between doing this and Liu Jin? It's just that at that time, Liu Jin used false reporting to attack loyal ministers in the court, while you were targeting foreign relatives who committed crimes, and the essence was the same.

Chen Xi knew what He Jian was worried about and explained: "This was not a fabrication out of thin air. The capital Baoding Prefecture, Zhending Prefecture and even Fangshan west of Shuntian Prefecture all had a rise of civil unrest. In less than a month, the prefectures and counties had reported to the court to request the dispatch of troops. Due to the poor news, the matter had not spread yet, and many people in the court and the country did not know about it."

He Jian then felt relieved: "It turns out that the foreign relatives are evil, and the influence is so bad. No wonder His Majesty wants to ask about it."

He Jian did not suspect that Chen Xi was deceived by the emperor. He had known before that there were indeed many disadvantages in the local area, especially in the horse politics, farmers in the Ming Dynasty, Zhili, Henan and Shandong, not only had to pay taxes, but also were responsible for raising horses for the court. If the horses became ill or died, many people would lose their money and could only sell their children and daughters to survive.

The capital was originally the best place, but unfortunately the world was difficult and the conflicts among the people were also fierce. Land annexation was far more serious than other places. In addition, the evil deeds of foreign relatives forcing to buy and sell, abuse of women and other evil deeds, the local people with ulterior motives took the opportunity to provoke trouble. The people were unwilling to sit and wait for death, and once incited, they rose up.

In history, Liu Liu and Liu Qi Uprising were formed. However, because Chen Xi ended the situation of Liu Jin's abusing power early, some things did not develop according to the historical process. Liu Liu and Liu Qi had not yet reached the stage of history, and the current civil resistance had not yet formed a climate.

Chen Xidao: "Please rest assured that Your Majesty asked me to investigate the case, and I will handle it impartially, but in the final conviction, I can only make some suggestions, and everything must be left to Your Majesty's Holy Tribunal."

He Jian nodded: "I understand, understand, if you have any royal relatives, you can only be so embarrassed by Zhihou... You will be under a lot of pressure next."

Chen Xi thought to himself: "He Jian also knows how much I have to do with this matter? Now it sounds like the emperor asked me to investigate the case, which seems to be a great honor, but I will soon become the target of public criticism. Some people want to attack foreign relatives to achieve their political demands, some people will threaten and tempt me to cover up their crimes for the Zhang brothers, and some people will take advantage of the chaos to target me, trying to get rid of it quickly... What is this case not a hot potato?"

He Jian expressed his "understanding" about Chen Xi, which was like standing and talking without a pain in his back.

After Chen Xi sent He Jian away, Zhang Zilin, the Minister of Justice, also came to the Ministry of War to meet Chen Xi. After all, what Chen Xi was going to do this time represented the Three Laws. Regarding the follow-up case of the eunuch party and the case of foreign relatives, everything must be followed by Chen Xi, and even Zhang Zilin must act as Chen Xi's assistant.

"...Shangshu Chen, all the files in this case are here, including those sent by Shuntian Mansion, and the situations collected by the Ministry of Justice before, all have evidence, but all the evidence... It is only a matter of some people to destroy it. If you want to make a case, it is best to have confessions from two uncles..."

Zhang Zilin respects Chen Xi very much.

If it weren't for Chen Xi, he would have been designated as a eunuch party, dismissed from office and even prosecuted his home. At least Xie Qian classified him as an eunuch party. Now he not only does not have to be dismissed, but has also been promoted to the Minister of Justice. He is naturally grateful to Chen Xi.

As for the case of eunuch party and relatives, Zhu Houzhao arranged for Chen Xi to be responsible. The Ministry of Justice did not want to be involved, so he would rather hand the case over to Chen Xi to avoid trouble.

Zhang Zilin asked himself that he could not afford to offend the Zhang brothers.

Chen Xi frowned and asked, "Since Zhang Shangshu's meaning, the evidence may be destroyed at any time?"

Zhang Zilin smiled bitterly: "The Zhang brothers hold the power of the military and horses in the Beijing camp, and they can do whatever they want... This world does not mean that justice and justice can easily win if they stand on the side of the people. This case was only known to the court and the public. His Majesty asked about it. After all, he was unwilling to punish the two uncles... Besides, even if His Majesty is determined to be on the court, the Empress Dowager will not allow it."

By avoiding the important and not answering the questions themselves, Chen Xi saw Zhang Zilin's smooth attitude towards life.

If you can pretend to be confused, it is best to put forward the difficulties you face first, indicating that you will cooperate with all your strength. However, when encountering the counterattack of the powerful and powerful, you will pretend to be deaf and dumb, indicating that I don’t know anything.

Chen Xi asked: "Didn't it be said that Jianchang Hou forced a robbery of a young woman, and even went to the farmer's door to do the beastly thing in broad daylight... Why didn't he continue to investigate?"

"Who dares to investigate? Where the Marquis of Jianchang has ravaged, there are soldiers from the regiment battalion guarding outside the village. No one dares to approach. Anyone who goes there will be blocked. Two groups of people went to Shuntian Mansion, one group was persuaded to come back, and the second group was beaten back... Even the yamen officers dare to fight. How can you continue to be tried in this case?" Zhang Zilin said distressedly.

Chen Xi really wanted to ask, Shuntian Mansion cannot manage it, is your Ministry of Justice just watching? Why didn’t the Ministry of Justice send anyone there?

But Chen Xi understood that everyone was pretending to be confused now, and Zhang Zilin could just make a mistake by the emperor's failure to give a message.

Chen Xi nodded: "I understand. I will send someone to investigate the case immediately and try to collect all the evidence earlier, so that I can explain it to Your Majesty."

Zhang Zilin reminded: "Shangshu Chen must be careful of the murder of his relatives and silence him."

"Who to kill?" Chen Xi asked.

"Well……"

Zhang Zilin hesitated and said, "The people involved in the case are in danger... With the lawless behavior of the relatives outside, I expected that they could do such a thing that harms the will of heaven and reason, so Shangshu Chen himself should be careful."

...

...

Just as it arrived at noon, Zhang Yanling hurried to the Shouning Hou Mansion.

Zhang Heling, who had just woken up and was drinking tea, saw his younger brother in the study and asked unexpectedly: "You won't cause any trouble again, come back?"

Zhang Yanling had a sharp smile on his face: "Brother is really as stable as Mount Tai... It seems that you still don't know what happened in the court this morning, right?"

"What's up?"

Zhang Heling's face was full of fatigue. "Last night, Shen Zhihou went into the leopard room to see him, and he didn't fall asleep until half a night before he fell asleep. He woke up now. Who knows what happened in the court?"

Zhang Yanling said: "Just just got the news, Your Majesty issued an order to ask Shen Zhihou to investigate our brothers. Two hours ago, the imperial edict arrived at the Ministry of War. Is the eldest brother indifferent to this?"

"Shen Zhihou!?"

Zhang Heling said lightly, "Yesterday, Shen Zhihou went to meet the saint. It was natural for His Majesty to ask him to investigate the case. Why did you worry about your brother? But you... Second brother, Shen Zhihou has pointed his finger at you this time. Please beg for your own blessing!"

Zhang Yanling was extremely shocked by his brother's indifferent words and asked dumbfoundedly: "Brother, why are you separated from me? People in the court and the country do not recognize who you are. They only know that our brothers are one mind... Besides, I am not the only one who was impeached this time, but you are also there!"

Zhang Heling sneered and put down the book in his hand, hating him and said unconfrontation: "Second brother, you have been in the court for so many years, and you should have understood the reason why you each fly away when the disaster is coming?"

"I care so much about your brother and your affairs. I wipe your butt every time. You are not good at it once or twice. You were stubborn when the emperor was alive. What do you say now? Are you scared? If you did nothing wrong and Shen Zhihou has no prejudice against you, what are you afraid of him? Isn't it because you always complained to him openly and secretly at the beginning?"

When Zhang Yanling heard this, he was angry and anxious.

He had hated Chen Xi to the core, but he couldn't find a way to deal with it. Now Shen Xi turned around and wanted to investigate him, which made him even more angry.

"Brother said this, because he wanted to ignore it and let me face the case alone, right?" Zhang Yanling asked gritted his teeth.

Zhang Heling looked up at Zhang Yanling and said, "You know you are afraid now? You should take it in this attitude earlier and deal with it carefully, so that you will not be worried about you all the time... Since you think you can deal with Shen Zhihou, you can go there by yourself. Brother Wei will not care about your affairs in the future."

"Brother, aren't you kidding me? We never distinguish between each other..." Zhang Yanling said anxiously.

“No talk!”

Zhang Heling waved his hand, "You are you, I am me, let's clarify the relationship first... Those who impeach you in the court are all serious crimes such as robbing women, rape and robbery, and robbing slaves and hurting people. They have caused resentment from the public. If you are not good, you will be beheaded. I believe Shen Zhihou will not let you go easily."

"On the other hand, I will at most occupy shops, private fields, houses and fields for my brothers, and I will spend money to buy them, and most of them were the hands that Liu Jin had when he was in power. Even if he was investigated, there would be no big responsibility!"

Zhang Yanling was very surprised. Zhang Heling went to his house to visit last night and was scolded by him. It only took a night and his attitude changed today.

"Brother, you...!"

Zhang Yanling was full of confusion, but he was used to being stubborn, so he was willing to bow his head and admit his mistakes? He gritted his teeth and said, "Since you don't care, brother, you don't need to interfere in how I deal with it. If you do something inappropriate, don't come to me to point fingers!"

After saying that, Zhang Yanling turned around and left without giving Zhang Heling any face.

"Second Master, you..." The butler of the Shouning Marquis Mansion standing at the door was about to talk to Zhang Yanling, but saw Zhang Yanling with a arrogant look on his face and left without looking back.

The housekeeper entered the door and asked curiously: "Master, what's wrong with the second master?"

Zhang Heling said angrily: "Let him go, show off again and again, and make enemies everywhere. Every time I, the elder brother, advises me, kindly, but what is the result? Everyone wants me to clean up the mess for him. This time, Your Majesty must take the initiative to let Shen Zhihou of the Ministry of War be responsible for my brother's case. There are so many impeachment memorials and the evidence is conclusive. How can Shen Zhihou let it go? It will definitely cause a big storm!"

The housekeeper advised: "Master, since the problem is so serious, you should unite with the second master and work together to the outside world."

"Do you know what a disaster is causing Xiao Jiang? I have been in charge of the Beijing camp for many years and have made many military achievements, both of them, and the late emperor and His Majesty are very kind to me, Zhang's family. This is the unscrupulous younger brother who is determined to destroy my Zhang family! Could it be that I want to be buried with him!?"

Zhang Heling was very angry and all his anger was vented on Zhang Yanling.

The housekeeper said: "Master, what about now?"

"What else can it be? I said it's okay. Could it be that I really want to push this younger brother into the fire pit? Fortunately, His Majesty did not directly ask the case this time, but just entrusted Shen Zhihou to investigate... I expected that Shen Zhihou would be clear about the importance and dare not cause too much trouble."

When Zhang Heling said this, he took out a letter from the drawer: "I have written a letter from the family here. You will send it to the palace immediately and go to Yongshou Palace to hand over the empress dowager. Only when the empress dowager comes forward can he stop Shen Zhihou from taking advantage of the problem... Unfortunately, Your Majesty did not ask Xie Yuqiao to investigate the case, but appointed Shen Zhihou, otherwise the matter would be much easier to solve!"

The housekeeper responded: "It's still the master who thought carefully. The young man sent the letter to the palace."
Chapter completed!