[R18] Will drink wine – “About Wine” Chapter 234 [English]

Chapter 224: Sudden Turn (Part 2)

Pan Xiangjie rummaged through the boxes and cabinets to find the account books. Those old books accumulated at the bottom of the boxes were all weapons to kill him!When he woke up, he heard the wind and wanted to burn everything before Xue Xiuzhuo arrived.

Yongyi year, Xiande year, Tianchen year!

Pan Xiangjie tied the accounts neatly, knelt in front of the box, untied the ropes with his bare hands, and threw all the accounts into the copper basin.

There are too many, and he alone cannot burn them.

Pan Xiangjie was so anxious that acid boiled in his mouth. He never thought that Huokkou was his biological son.He has been pushed to a dead end – he can’t just give up!

“Yong Yinian…” Pan Xiangjie read the account with his fingers, “Hua family… Han family…”

Everyone is here, and Pan Xiangjie is ecstatic. As long as everyone is here, the Pan family will not die.Suddenly, the sound of running military boots broke into the courtyard. Pan Xiangjie clutched his account book tightly, stood up holding on to the box, and walked tremblingly to the door.

It was Han Cheng who came.

Pan Xiangjie pretended to be calm, covered his wide sleeves, and said to Han Cheng: “Has the Queen Mother already couldn’t bear it before the matter has reached that point? It is definitely not the best way to abandon the soldiers to save the chariot! Xue Xiuzhuo and the aristocratic family are not at odds with each other. Even if we behead our Pan family today, no one can escape.”

Pan Xiangjie had spent his whole life pretending to be an old fool, following Hua Siqian and Wei Huaigu, always kneeling down to beg for mercy in the court, but now he could speak clearly and fluently.

Han Cheng held on to the hilt of the knife and said, “You are going to kill me now, leaving room for everyone to breathe. Who dares not to miss your kindness? I guarantee that your direct lineage will not die, and you will have a chance to regain your strength in the future.”

Seeing the sword light approaching step by step, Pan Xiangjie couldn’t help but raise his voice: “You kill me today just to force Xue Xiuzhuo to step up! With Dan City gone, how long can Trent City survive?”

“Stop talking nonsense!” Han Cheng also had some sweat on his forehead. He waved his hand and ordered, “The Queen Mother had known that you would leave a way out for yourself, and this matter is in a mess. You remember clearly, burn this yard!”

Pan Xiangjie held the door while the family members cried, and shouted in the messy situation: “I have already asked Chengzhi to copy these accounts, you can burn them! If you kill me now, these accounts will still fall into Xue Xiuzhuo’s hands!”

“Pan Lin’s treason has become a reality,” Han Cheng pulled out his knife, “Didn’t he secretly let Yao Wenyu go? Yao Wenyu is now Shen Zechuan’s adviser! The evidence of your Pan family’s collusion to rebel against the party is conclusive, how credible is he’s words? He is the detailed work Shen Zechuan left in the capital!”

Pan Xiangjie fell to the ground during the push, and he shouted: “The rabbit is dead and the dog is cooked… the bird is hidden behind the bow! I worked as a lackey for you, and this is what happened today! Han Cheng, if I die today, how long can you live!”

Han Cheng, who had the badge of the Eighth Camp, could not wait any longer. He walked towards Pan Xiangjie when the fire suddenly increased, and raised his knife to chop him.Unexpectedly, Qi Wei behind was faster. Instead of going around the corridor, he jumped directly over the ridge of the roof, swooped down from above, and rolled out with Han Cheng.

Pan Xiangjie took this opportunity and suddenly raised his account book and shouted towards the entrance of the hospital: “Commander, save me!”

While struggling, Han Cheng threw out the badge of the Eighth Battalion and shouted: “Under the emperor’s feet, the army is the most powerful! Qi Zhuyin’s soldiers and horses have stopped on the outskirts of the city. How dare you stop me from the Eighth Battalion?”

“I asked the commander-in-chief to arrest the guilty minister. I have the money from the Ministry of Punishment and the order from the Ministry of War. Why not?”

Han Cheng said: “I am following the Queen Mother’s orders, how dare you?!”

The Eighth Battalion in the courtyard immediately drew their swords and suddenly took a step closer to Xue Xiuzhuo.

Qi Zhuyin used the scabbard to open the blade of the sword and said afterward: “Since the Eighth Battalion is the army of the capital, it is the army of the emperor. The prince wants me to come and help handle the case, but you insist on listening to the queen mother?”

Han Cheng originally thought that Pan Xiangjie was deceiving him, but who knew Qi Zhuyin was really here!He dared to kill before Xue Xiuzhuo came because he held the Eighth Battalion and could threaten the cabinet. But now Qi Zhuyin’s troops and horses are parked outside the city, and they will definitely suffer losses if they really fight.

Han Cheng’s arrogance dimmed, and he gritted his teeth and said, “Of course… I’ll just let the prince decide.”

The Eighth Battalion’s swords were sheathed and they watched Qi Zhuyin’s soldiers enter and take Pan Xiangjie and Han Cheng away.The fire burned for a short time and was easily extinguished. Xue Xiuzhuo waved away the smoke and picked up a few unburned account books.

* * *

The Queen Mother was shocked to hear what had happened and when she heard that Xue Xiuzhuo had taken away the account book, she couldn’t help but fall down on the couch.She frowned and said hatefully: “Pan Xiangjie, that bastard!”

Pan Xiangjie actually dragged everyone into the water in order to survive!

“Where is the Crown Prince?” The Queen Mother regained her composure, “Well, Xue Xiuzhuo has the ability and wants to defeat the Ai family to the death, so let him see if the ‘right one’ in his hand is strong enough.”

As the Queen Mother spoke, she took off the beads and threw them into the burning copper basin, causing countless soot to splash.

* * *

After Han Cheng was caught, he closed his eyes and went to sleep. He faced the wall and ignored no one. He was sure that Xue Xiuzhuo did not dare to touch him.Pan Xiangjie returned to his old appearance, sitting across the table and sobbing, clutching his sleeves.

“Account…account…” Pan Xiangjie wiped his tears, “But let me eat something first, Yanqing, I’m very hungry.”

This old cunning guy wanted to delay time and threatened the Queen Mother with the account book, waiting for the Queen Mother to get someone.

Although Liang Miaoshan was in charge of taxation, he had also seen these criminal trials and knew that none of these old guys were easy to trial.He stayed up all night and took two sips of strong tea. After getting Xue Xiuzhuo’s hint, he said: “It takes time to cook noodles and dishes. Sir, please take your time.”

When Pan Xiangjie saw Liang Miaoshan, he didn’t seem to be angry. He just said: “Chongshen is so familiar with Chengzhi, so he knows me.” He touched his belly and said with a sad face, “I can’t go hungry at home. My head is very messed up right now.”

“How can I let the boss bother me,” Liang Miaoshan put down the tea, “just answer me. I counted the surplus grain in Dancheng yesterday and found that the warehouse is full. Tell me, did you buy grain from elsewhere to pass it off as surplus grain before the Ministry of Household Affairs review?”

“I’m not in charge of food,” Pan Xiangjie spread his hands innocently, as if in a hurry, “I’m in charge of the engineering department! For details about these grains, you can ask Dancheng’s Grain Supervisor or Pan Yi.”

“I’ve asked before,” Liang Miaoshan opened the book and showed it to Pan Xiangjie, “he all confessed that you sold the grain to Yan Heru. If Dancheng was sold, the other seven cities were also sold, right?”

“I don’t even know the accounts of Dan City, how can I know the accounts of the other seven cities?” Pan Xiangjie knew that Liang Miaoshan most likely used this thing to deceive him, and he said, “Since they have all confessed, Yanqing, you should take charge of it! Report it to the cabinet and show it to Yuan Fu.”

Xue Xiuzhuo said: “There are matters to be discussed in the morning, so we should report them before Mao hour.”

Pan Xiangjie heard that he had reported it, but he couldn’t tell the truth from the lie for a while.

Liang Miaoshan took out the ticket from the Ministry of Punishment from his sleeve and said, “Otherwise, how could we invite the boss to come to us? Of course we followed the laws and regulations, and the Ministry of Punishment has approved it.”

Pan Xiangjie stared at the note for a long time.

Xue Xiuzhuo came closer, looked at Pan Xiangjie, and said: “Your Excellency is in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Industry. When the Xiande Nianguan ditch case occurred, I saw that the dam of Kailing River was well repaired, which shows that Your Excellency is also doing practical things and is willing to share the worries of the people. This time I am not here for Your Excellency. Chengzhi is very good and not to the point of killing or beheading. Pan just has some problems in his account. Let’s sort it out and there will be room for it later.”

This is telling Pan Xiangjie that if he hesitates again, there will be no room for him.

Pan Xiangjie sobbed a few times, pulled his beard down, and said to Xue Xiuzhuo, “I really don’t know.”

Xue Xiuzhuo said: “Then it seems that Dancheng is Pan’s ‘private city’. You deceived the court, colluded with Pan Lin, the household secretary, to embezzle people’s land in Dancheng, falsely reported land taxes, and resold official grain. You and Yan Heru, a wealthy businessman in Hezhou, killed countless people. This is all the fault of Pan Lin.”

Pan Xiangjie was frightened when he heard this. Seeing that Xue Xiuzhuo was serious, he quickly said: “Yanqing…”

“The account books, confessions, all original texts must be copied and submitted to the cabinet,” Xue Xiuzhuo ignored Pan Xiangjie, “Such a corrupt and perverted person deserves to have his house ransacked to pay taxes and his entire family beheaded!”

“The books haven’t been sorted out yet!” Pan Xiangjie stood up, shaking his hands and said, “Yanqing, Yanqing! We can talk in detail, I haven’t explained it yet!”

Xue Xiuzhuo turned around.

Pan Xiangjie could only say: “In this account——”

The cell door behind Xue Xiuzhuo suddenly opened, and Bi Tie stood up, not knowing what happened.Xue Xiuzhuo turned around and saw the eunuch in the palace, and couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.

The little eunuch was out of breath and did not dare to look directly at the courtier. He knelt on the ground and took a few steps in a hurry, saying hastily: “Sir, sir! The prince suddenly fainted before going to court. Yuan Fu hurriedly dispatched the imperial doctor. At this moment…”

Just one step away.

Xue Xiuzhuo’s hands and feet were cold, and he was sweating from the account book in his hand.Pan Xiangjie immediately stopped and sat back down.

Hit the snake seven inches, the Queen Mother is really difficult to deal with!

Xue Xiuzhuo dropped the account book in his hand and whispered between his teeth: “Enter the palace.”