Chapter 514 515【I beg you】
"Sir, Heshen is going to be in trouble." Du Xiaoyue said excitedly.
Xiang Nan nodded.
?Hiding a national jade seal privately, even if it is fake, is a serious crime and indicates treason. He Shen made such a big mistake, even if he is the emperor''s favorite, he may not be able to survive this time.
"Heshen, take out the big seal." Qianlong said again.
He Shen nodded quickly, ran into the study room and took out the imperial seal.
After Qianlong took it, he looked over it several times.
He also found that the jade seal was fake and could not be the real jade seal passed down from the country. However, its shape, specifications, and calligraphy are exactly the same as those of the Chuanguo Jade Seal.
?It is four inches in diameter, with five dragons as a button on the top, and the seal character "Insect and Bird" on the bottom is engraved with "Order from Heaven, Longevity and Longevity". One corner was still covered in gold.
?The imitation of this jade seal is so realistic that even if it is fake, He Shen had ulterior motives in hiding it privately instead of presenting the seal to the court.
“Heshen, how do you want me to punish you?” Qianlong sighed.
"Your Majesty, I deserve to die for my crime. Please show mercy to Your Majesty. Your Majesty, please forgive me." Heshen kowtowed frequently.
I regret that I was obsessed with accepting this square jade seal, otherwise there would be no disaster today.
"Heshen, I also want to be merciful. However, you secretly kept the national jade seal with ulterior motives and committed a heinous crime. If I don''t punish you, others will say that I favor you." Qianlong sighed and said, "Okay, you go first. Let’s reflect on it in prison.”
"I thank you, Lord, for your kindness, my slave. Thank you, Lord, for your kindness." Heshen kowtowed repeatedly.
Since the emperor didn’t say he wanted to kill him, he still had a chance of survival.
…
At night, Xiang Nan came to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.
"Ji Xiaolan, you can do it. You have locked me and Shen up in this place. Are you satisfied now?" He Shen couldn''t help but sneered when he saw Xiang Nan.
"Master He, you forced me to do this." Xiang Nan sneered, "Actually, I don''t want to fight you to the death. I know that the emperor values ??you, loves you, and treats you as his only friend.
??So even if you are corrupt and bribery, even if you form a party for personal gain, even if you control the government, even if you hide the jade seal secretly, the emperor will never kill you.
So I don’t want to waste my efforts. In the last case of embezzlement of grain for disaster relief in Yancheng, I have found evidence of your corruption. Originally, I could have spread this evidence and asked the censors to intervene against you, but I did not do that.
But you, Zhao Zhao is going to kill me. You first slandered "A Dream of Red Mansions" as an anti-book, then made me, Ji Xiaolan, guilty of secretly possessing the anti-book, and then asked Chen Weiyuan to spread rumors, slander and ruin my reputation.
What makes me most angry is that you accepted three ancient paintings from me before and promised to help me get Xiangyun back. But then you helped Chen Weiyuan fight a lawsuit and took Xiangyun back.
I know you are not for Chen Weiyuan. You don''t even take him seriously as a mere bookseller. The reason why you helped him was to harm me and make me lose my soulmate and suffer for the rest of my life.
?Since you are so vicious, don''t blame me for being rude. "
He Shen couldn''t help feeling a little regretful when he heard what he said. He shouldn''t have offended Xiang Nan in the first place, which led to today''s disaster.
"Ji Xiaolan, **** for tat, I caused you to go to jail, and you also caused me to go to jail, let''s make it even, okay?" He pondered for a moment and said, "From now on, if I don''t mess with you, you will too. Don’t mess with me, okay?”
"Master, let''s wait until you get out of prison." Xiang Nan said with a smile.
…???? turned around and Xiang Nan was summoned into the palace by the emperor.
"Ji Xiaolan, you are amazing. He Shen was arrested just yesterday, and early this morning, there were dozens of memorials concerning him." Qianlong pointed to a large pile of memorials on the table and said.
"Your Majesty, this fully demonstrates how unpopular He Shen is." Xiang Nan nodded.
"Yes, you all hate Heshen, saying that he has been corrupt and bribed, and that he has enriched his own pockets. But apart from these, what other faults does Heshen have? Does he control the government, or forms a party for personal gain? Look through the history books, and you will find ministers like this, How much?" Qianlong curled his lips.
“Your Majesty, He Shengui is the chief auxiliary of the military, and is also in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He has committed corruption, accepted bribes, and enriched himself. This is already a huge crime.
??The so-called upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked, Heshen is greedy, but the officials below him can be clean. What goes up works and what works below will lead to corruption, harming the public and enriching private interests.
In the Yancheng disaster relief food case, Heshen has evidence of his crime, which is as high as more than two million taels of silver. This is just the filial piety of Yancheng.
Our Qing Dynasty has 22 provinces, 215 prefectures, and more than 1,300 counties. How much filial piety will there be? I''m afraid Heshen''s family property has exceeded the annual income of the Qing Dynasty.
?Your Majesty, when you came to the throne, the national balance was sixty million taels. As of now, the national bank balance is less than 10 million taels..."
"That''s enough!" Qianlong shouted, "Ji Xiaolan, I''m calling you here today not to talk to you about military affairs, nor about the economy and people''s livelihood. I just want to ask you one thing, let Heshen go."
Qianlong said, and raised his hand to Xiang Nan.
"Your Majesty, how dare you be a minor minister like this?" When Xiang Nan saw this, he hurriedly stepped aside.
To be honest, Xiang Nan felt a little happy watching Qianlong beg him. But he also knew that Qianlong was just showing off.
??If he really accepted the salute from him, he would probably be thrown into jail along with He Shen.
"I also know that the emperor should not ask his ministers, especially his ministers, to do things that are against the laws of the court." Qianlong sighed, "But I have to ask.
I have been the emperor for so many years, and I have such a friend who can talk to me. He Shen understands my thoughts and thinks of me in every matter.
Unlike you, who teach me every day that this is not allowed and that is not allowed. I''m so confused by you all. Only when He Shen is by my side can I be in a good mood.
??But you, Ji Xiaolan, want to beat him to death now, and you won’t let him go after you bite him to death. Once He Shen dies, I will be alone. I have no choice but to beg you.
Ji Xiaolan, don’t you like that Xiangyun? I will give her to you. I also asked He Shen to return those three ancient paintings of yours to you. I beg you, please spare He Shen''s life. You Ji Xiaolan don’t want me to be alone, right? "
"Your Majesty, since you have said so, what else does Ji Xiaolan have to say?" Xiang Nan sighed and said, "I promise you."
Qianlong nodded.
"Come here, I order Shuntian Prefecture to arrest Chen Weiyuan immediately and retry the divorce case." He immediately issued an order, "Heshen will be demoted two levels and retained, and will be fined for three years."
“Ji Xiaolan, do you think it’s okay for me to arrange this?” After Qianlong finished issuing the order, he looked at Xiang Nandao.
"The emperor is arbitrary, how dare I say anything?" Xiang Nan bowed quickly and said.
“Humph, Ji Xiaolan, you’ve got the advantage of being a good boy.” Qianlong rolled his eyes at him, “This time He Shen is in trouble, and so am I. It’s just you.”
“I don’t dare.”
(End of this chapter)