C140

Very soon, Wei Wenbin arrived at the Cheng De hall. He was followed by Wei Jingcheng, who arrived with the ten chests of gold and silver. The three of them confronted each other.

Wei Wenbin felt wronged by Liu Mingdao's impeachment. Not only did he deny the fact that they were from the Eight Immortals Residence, he even rammed him, saying that Liu Mingdao was deliberately framing him. As for Wei Jingcheng, with the conversation in Ning Shou's palace, he had talked to Wei Wenbin in every possible way, which made Liu Mingdao extremely angry.

Wei Wenbin saw that the show was over, so he kneeled down and spoke with indignation, "Since this official joined the imperial court, I have never dared to forget His Majesty's kindness. For many years, I have done my duty and sought for the welfare of the people, and I dare not slack off in the slightest. This official believes that I am worthy of His Majesty and the conscience of the world. He tried his best to squeeze out a few tears, kowtowing in grief and indignation, "Your Majesty, I beg for justice!"

He had smacked his forehead before in the Palace to cover it with powder. Now that he knocked, the powder immediately fell off, revealing his red and swollen forehead. Those who didn't know what had happened saw this and thought that he was being unjustly accused.

Wei Jingcheng clasped his hands at the right time, "Reporting to Your Majesty, although this subject and Lord Wei are not familiar, this subject's close friend Lu Ping has been a government official in Jiangning for many years. Before returning to the capital to report on his duties, this subject had discussed some matters regarding Lord Wei."

Dong Fang Qian raised his eyebrows and said, "I remember Lu Ping, he was weaved in Jiangning. What did he say?"

"Lu Ping said that since Lord Wei had become a patrolling officer in Jiangsu Province, he had levelled all the wrongdoings, dredged up rivers and forbade the taking of bribes for private reasons. He was loved and respected by the people and the officials below. Lu Ping told me this in private so that there should be no falsehood in his words. Thus, Censor Liu said that these boxes of gold and silver were the result of Lord Wei's efforts to collect the wealth of the people, and this subject is unable to agree with him." At this point, he cast a glance at Liu Ming, who was standing beside him, and said, "I hope that Your Majesty can investigate this matter thoroughly, lest I deceive you and cause you injustice!"

Liu Mingdao had a straightforward personality. How could he stand being mocked like this by Wei Jingcheng? He angrily said: "Are you talking about this official?"

"I don't dare." Wei Jingcheng didn't mean what he said. Instead, he said, "There is one thing that this official has not been able to understand. I would like Censor Liu to explain it to me."

"What is it?"

Ever since the siege, the Fire Cult has disappeared without a trace. I've sent countless men to the city to search for them, but they haven't been able to find anything. Censor Liu just went to the tavern to drink, but he found their hiding place all of a sudden. It's a coincidence that the Fire Cult members seemed to have already known that we were going to hunt them down and left nothing behind but ten chests of gold and silver.

No matter what, Liu Mingdao had been in the government for decades, so how could he not understand the meaning behind his words? He said with a livid expression: "Wei Fuyin believes that I have colluded with the Sect to plot against Wei Wenbin?"

Wei Jingcheng pursed his lips and said coldly, "Yes, yes, yes. Censor Liu knows this best."

"No!" "Your Majesty, this subject has since childhood accepted the teachings of the Saints, revered the heavens and the earth, and is loyal to the Sovereign King. This subject will definitely not dare to do something so disloyal and dishonest!"

Without waiting for Dongfang Qian to speak, Wei Jingcheng clasped his hands once more and said, "Your Majesty, this subject believes that as Lord Wei, these ten chests of gold and silver definitely do not belong to him."

Liu Mingdao saw the hesitation in Dongfang Fei's face and was afraid that he would be swayed, so he kneeled down and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to vouch for it with my head. There is not a single lie to what I said today!"

Wei Wenbin said indignantly, "Liu Mingdao, what grudge do you and I have with each other? Are you trying to harm me like this in front of His Majesty?"

"I …"

"Alright." Dong Fang Qian interrupted their argument and looked at the ten chests lined up in a row. He sighed, "It's a pity that the gold and silver are inanimate objects. If not, I can ask them about it."

Dongfang Wenyuan had originally been speaking without thinking, but he had reminded Liu Ming. The latter anxiously said, "Your Majesty, although the gold and silver cannot be spoken, there is someone who can testify as to who owns them."

Not to mention Wei Wenbin's pale face, even Dongfang Tong was frowning inwardly. "Who is it?"

"The escort responsible for escorting this gold and silver to the Golden Mausoleum City. When I find out that they are staying in an eight-sided inn, as long as His Majesty sends them to inquire about the person who entrusted them with the darts, I will be very clear about this matter."

Hearing this, Wei Wenbin calmed himself down. This Liu Mingdao was quite capable. He had even found out where the escort team lived, but … That was it. The escort team had already received his orders. Even if it was Saber and Axe, they would not dare to say a single word. Liu Mingdao was destined to be busy for nothing.

Wei Wenbin laughed coldly to himself as he cupped his hands and said, "Please send them here to confront me immediately, so that we can return their innocence."

"Alright." Dongfang Wenyi nodded and said to Wei En, who had just returned, "Bring a few Imperial Guards to the Eight Directions Inn and bring them here."

"Understood!" Once again, Wynn left the Chengde Palace and selected a few Imperial Guards to head to the Eight Directions Inn.

Just as they were about to leave for the Eight Directions Inn, the escort nervously stared at a stranger who had suddenly appeared in their room.

The escort sized up the newcomer and asked, "Who are you?"

Dongfang Yi acted as if he didn't hear him. He walked over to the table and poured himself a cup of warm tea. Just as he was about to bring it to his mouth, a hand pressed down. "This tea isn't used to entertain people of unknown origins."

Dongfang Gu stared at the blue veined hand on the escort's head and said blandly, "It's not important who I am. The important thing is, do you want to come back to Jiangning alive?"

The escort's eyes lit up. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Wei Wenbin entrusted your escort to secretly escort ten chests of gold and silver to Jinling City. Unexpectedly, on the eve of entering the city, someone snatched away the dart and silver, and their whereabouts are unknown. Am I right?"

The moment he said that, the escort leader and the other escort guards' faces all turned blue. After that incident, they had always kept their mouths shut, so how could this person know so much? Could it be …

"You took the dart?" "If you have time to speculate about this, you might as well save your time and think about how to save your life."

This seemingly light sentence made the escort's spirit tremble. He clenched his hands and stared at Dongfang Zhi. "Who the hell are you?"

Dongfang Wenbin ignored his words and indifferently said, "You know very well what sort of person Wei Wenbin is. Now that you've lost his dart and caused him trouble, do you think he'll just let this matter rest?"