kvmb Chapter 484 Campaign against the Wise King
Chapter 484 Campaign against the Wise King
Li Leshan's head buzzed, as if a taut string had snapped.
His mind was filled with thoughts of how the prefect, under the watchful eyes of the secret guards, could have been poisoned.
Completely ignoring Zhao Yi, he hurried towards the dark cell where the magistrate was imprisoned.
The secret guards did not imprison the prefect in the imperial prison's secret cell, but instead transferred him to the prefectural governor's secret cell.
This hidden cell was located in Feng Zhihuan's study.
It was specifically for Feng Zhihuan to deal with wealthy merchants or common people who resisted him.
Li Leshan strode into the study, where he saw the bodyguard he had met earlier, dressed in a black outfit, standing in the shadows of the treasure pavilion, almost blending into the shadows.
"What happened?" Li Leshan demanded an explanation. "Didn't I tell you to keep a close eye on him and make sure nothing happens to him?"
With the magistrate dead, how can the virtuous king's crimes be cleared?
I'm afraid rumors and gossip will spread like wildfire.
The blame was firmly placed on the wise king.
The guard explained, "This dark cell is sealed off, with only the study as an exit. There are six of us, divided into two groups, rotating every two hours. Apart from us, no one else has had contact with him."
"The food and water he ate were all prepared by us personally, without going through anyone else's hands."
"Who knew that he ate a steamed bun that night, vomited blood, and died shortly afterward."
As they spoke, the guard turned the jade lion sculpture displayed in the treasure cabinet.
The wall next to the display cabinet was moved away.
The layout of the dark prison came into Li Leshan's view.
It was less a dark prison and more a secret room, divided in two.
To the left of the dark room were cells for holding prisoners, surrounded by iron bars.
To the right of the dark room was an interrogation room equipped with various instruments of torture for interrogating and extracting confessions from prisoners.
Meanwhile, the guards stood in the passageway at the entrance to the secret room to monitor the prisoners.
Li Leshan entered the cell and, in the dim light, he could see the magistrate lying on the ground.
Fresh blood flowed from the magistrate's eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth.
His hands were twisted in pain, probably from the extreme agony.
Li Leshan asked, "Where did the steamed buns come from?"
"Bought from the restaurant." The guard took a steamed bun from the table in the interrogation room. "Our men brought six steamed buns. We picked one for him, and the other person on duty and I ate four. This one is left."
Li Leshan took the steamed bun, broke it in half, and brought it to his nose to smell it.
The guard said, "We eat the same steamed buns as the prefect. If the buns are poisoned, we will also be in trouble."
Li Leshan threw the steamed bun on the ground, squatted down next to the magistrate, and pried open his mouth.
He had a mouthful of foul blood in his mouth.
As his mouth was pried open, foul blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
Li Leshan discovered that his tongue had been bitten raw.
Aside from that, I can't see any other clues.
He withdrew his hand: "Please have the coroner."
"Yes."
The guards left and brought over the coroner.
After examining the body, the coroner told Li Leshan, "The deceased died of poisoning; the food in his stomach was poisoned."
The implication is food poisoning.
The magistrate did not commit suicide by swallowing poison.
The guards' expressions changed drastically; the food had only passed through their hands.
So the person who poisoned them was among them?
Or perhaps it was one of the bodyguards on duty tonight?
They were all royal secret guards, obeying only the orders of the Northern Qi emperor and would never betray him.
Suddenly, they thought of something.
They received a secret order from the Northern Qi emperor to assassinate Feng Zhihuan and his associates.
The name of the prefectural magistrate was prominently listed.
However, when they were assassinating the magistrate, the jailer patrolled the prison and discovered that Feng Zhihuan had been killed, which alarmed Jiang Chao and Jiang Mu.
To avoid any incident, they evacuated in advance.
After this assassination attempt, the prison was placed under strict guard, and they had no chance to kill the magistrate again.
Could it be that their people took this opportunity to kill the magistrate?
Thinking of this, the guards who were supposed to be meeting Li Leshan said to him after the coroner left, "Lord Li, we will investigate our own people first, and then we will let you know the results."
After all, it was inconvenient to reveal the secret order to assassinate local officials to Li Leshan.
Li Leshan also suspected that the secret guards had killed the magistrate.
Whether they received a secret order from the Northern Qi emperor or betrayed him remains unknown.
As Li Leshan left the study, he saw Zhao Yi, Jiang Chao, and Jiang Mu being stopped outside by his attendants.
Zhao Yi asked, "Lord Li, have you found the murderer?"
Li Leshan shook his head: "Still investigating."
With the prefect dead, there's no need to keep an eye on Zhao Yi anymore.
He said wearily, "Your Highness, it's late. You should go back and rest early."
Zhao Yi seemed to have something to say, but seeing that Li Leshan's eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion, he swallowed back the words he was about to say: "If there's anything I can do to help you, just send someone to find me."
Li Leshan bowed and said, "This humble official thanks Your Highness."
Zhao Yi left with his men.
Li Leshan stood there, watching Zhao Yi's departing figure, feeling that this matter was inextricably linked to him.
He beckoned to his attendants, instructing them to keep a close eye on Zhao Yi's every move and to report to him immediately if anything unusual happened.
After explaining everything, Li Leshan returned to the archives and continued to review the files while waiting for news from the secret guards.
In less than half an hour, the guards returned to the storeroom and reported to Li Leshan: "Lord Li, we interrogated the two men on duty tonight, and they did not poison the prefect." After a pause, he voiced his suspicion: "I suspect the prefect hid the poison beforehand."
Li Leshan tapped his fingers on the table, pondering, "You mean the magistrate was instructed to implicate Prince Xian at the execution ground? So that Prince Xian would be implicated in public opinion and punished?"
The guard bowed and said, "Your Excellency is wise."
"Either way, he'd die, so why would the prefect be bribed?" Li Leshan wondered. "Perhaps there's another possibility: the prefect was coerced by Prince Xian and had no choice but to work for him. Now that things have come to light, Prince Xian is unscathed, while those who worked for him are facing confiscation of their property and execution. He harbors resentment towards Prince Xian, which is why he dragged him down with him before he died?"
The guard did not deny Li Leshan's guess, but he suspected that Zhao Yi had killed the magistrate.
Once a wise king loses power.
Zhao Yi was one of the beneficiaries.
Therefore, the guard answered Li Leshan's earlier question: "What if someone assured the prefect that they would protect his relatives and get him to confess about the Prince Xian?"
Li Leshan instructed his secret guards: "Go and investigate the relatives of the magistrate."
"Yes." The guard acknowledged the order and left.
According to the laws of Northern Qi, the prefect was to be beheaded for the crimes he committed, and his relatives were to be exiled.
The secret guards discovered that the day before the magistrate was to be executed, his relatives had already been exiled with the main force.
To prevent the magistrate's relatives from being rescued during their exile, they hurried out of the city to catch up with the exiled troops. Only after confirming that the magistrate's relatives were still with the conscripted soldiers did they return to Yongqing County to report back to Li Leshan.
Just then, the guards received news that the guard on duty that night had died from poisoning.
The poison in the body was consistent with that of the prefect.
Before they could figure out the reason why the guards had been poisoned to death.
The news that the magistrate had committed suicide by swallowing poison spread like wildfire.
The people rose up in rebellion against the wise king.
Public opinion intensified and spread to the capital at an extremely rapid pace.