Chapter 599: Chapter 599 Imprisoned

In front of the Yongcheng Bo Mansion.

The government officials of the Ministry of Justice have surrounded the Yongcheng Bo Mansion tightly.

In the distance, a soft sedan chair stops.

The curtain is lifted, and Duke Chong looks at the grand gate of the Yongcheng Bo Mansion, his face as somber as it could be.

A servant approaches, “Duke, the Ministry of Justice only surrounded the Yongcheng Bo Mansion, they haven’t arrested anyone.”

Duke Chong lets out a cold laugh.

No one understands better than him why the Ministry of Justice only surrounds the Yongcheng Bo Mansion, neither arresting anyone nor withdrawing.

If it were only the Ministry of Justice, he could still apply pressure.

But it was Marquis Dongxiang who ordered the Ministry of Justice to surround the Yongcheng Bo Mansion.

If he applied pressure, he would only bring the fire upon himself.

Thinking of what Elder Yong Cheng has done, Duke Chong lets the curtain fall with a huff.

“Return to the mansion!”

Ministry of the Ministry of Justice Mansion.

Young Master Qu rode ahead.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice follows in a sedan chair.

Upon emerging from the soft sedan, the Minister’s wife looks at him, “What on earth has happened?”

“Why do I feel you’re always absent-minded?”

Having shared the bed for decades, no one knows the Minister of the Ministry of Justice better than his wife.

Something has happened for sure.

And it’s not a small matter.

Young Master Qu also looks at the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, “Father, what on earth has happened?”

He has been away from the capital for long, and now that he’s back, many people want to treat him to meals.

He planned a banquet to gather with everyone.

Yet, after the banquet, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice asked him to return to the mansion.

If it weren’t for a major issue, he was rushing to attend another engagement, he absolutely shouldn’t break his promise.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice, with a stern face, went to the study.

The Minister’s wife and Young Master Qu could only follow.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice is naturally cautious, even within the mansion, uncertain which servant might be a spy for another family.

Only after entering the study can he be at ease to reprimand his son.

“I sent people to search the Yongcheng Bo Mansion and found the porcelain from the blueprint, but it’s not the tribute goods,” said the Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

Young Master Qu was taken aback, “How could it not be tribute goods?”

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice glared at him, “Would I not recognize if it were tribute goods?”

The Minister’s wife became anxious, “If it’s not tribute goods, then recklessly surrounding the Yongcheng Bo Mansion, what should we do?”

After all, it’s the Uncle’s Mansion, not something that can be easily surrounded and searched.

If this is pursued, it would be dereliction of duty.

Young Master Qu was bewildered by his own father’s glare.

Previously, coming back from an assignment, his father looked at him with much warmth, it was his first time being entrusted with such an important task, he was determined to do it well, without a single mistake.

Unexpectedly, such a major blunder occurred.

If it implicates his father into losing his position, Young Master Qu hurriedly said, “It’s impossible to be wrong, I asked very detailed, it is definitely tribute goods.”

“The porcelain is exquisitely crafted, fully reaching the level of tribute goods, but there’s no inscription of ’tribute goods’ at the bottom,” said the Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

Without the inscription of ’tribute goods’, how could it be counted as tribute goods?

As long as it’s something for tribute, even if it’s a snow pear, the basket will have the words ’tribute goods’ on it.

“What should we do now?” the Minister’s wife asked anxiously.

“I’m working on a solution,” said the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, headache apparent.

It was his impatience.

But even if he weren’t impatient, if he showed the evidence to Marquis Dongxiang tomorrow, the result would be the same.

The problem lies in the insufficiency of evidence.

His son handled the matter incompetently.

“You all return first,” the Minister of the Ministry of Justice waved them off.

Young Master Qu wanted to speak, but the Minister’s wife pulled him away.

It’s fortunate he’s not being scolded directly.

If he dared to get in his father’s way when he was irritated, wouldn’t that be asking for a scolding?

“You, oh you, initially your father was quite pleased, but just turned around, and trouble arose,” sighed the Minister’s wife.

Young Master Qu was full of grievances.

He had been running around for so long, solely to complete his father’s task, yet the outcome—

Young Master Qu was in a bad mood, losing interest in going out to fulfill his engagements.

The Minister’s wife went back to her room, feeling increasingly headache-ridden.

Just as she was about to rest, a maid came in to report that the Old Madam asked her to return for a while.

The Minister’s wife guessed the reason she was being called for, not wanting to go back to be reprimanded, yet upon hearing the Old Madam fainted, she couldn’t not return.

By the time the Minister’s wife returned to the mansion, it was already evening.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice looked at her, “Were you scolded?”

“My mother is grateful to Elder Yong Cheng for saving her life, she regards him as her own son, and since you’re her son-in-law, after you’ve surrounded the Yongcheng Bo Mansion, could she not ask a few more questions?” said the Minister’s wife.

“Once I explained the erroneous situation, Mother relaxed.”

At that moment, a maid brought in the meals.

Today, because Young Master Qu returned, the kitchen prepared all his favorite dishes.

Halfway through the meal, Young Master Qu suddenly remembered something, putting down his chopsticks in haste, “Father, Mother, I’m full, I’ll be going out for a bit.”

Before his words were finished, he had dashed out.

The Minister’s wife looked at the bowl with half a bowl of rice left in it, saying, “He claims he’s full after only eating half a bowl of rice?”

“He’s been away from the Capital for a while, how has he developed such a hasty temperament?”

“I heard that Marquis Dongxiang has a knack for training patience, perhaps we should send him to Dongxiang Marquis Mansion for some honing?”

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice said, “Going out for the first time, it’s natural to be hurried in handling things, he’ll get used to it.”

After Young Master Qu went out, he mounted his horse and rode straight away.

His servant couldn’t catch up with him.

Young Master Qu went to a porcelain shop.

Though at this hour, the porcelain shop had already closed, with the shopfront doing business, and the back as residence.

Young Master Qu climbed over the wall, finding the shopkeeper’s family having their meal.

His sudden intrusion startled them.

“Who are you?!” the shopkeeper exclaimed.

Young Master Qu grabbed the shopkeeper by the collar, “Are you from the Zhou Family of Lizhou?”

The shopkeeper nodded, “Yes, I am.”

“Let me ask you, wasn’t there a batch of porcelain three years ago from Lizhou for tribute that got hijacked by Qingyun Mountain?” Young Master Qu asked.

“Yes, that did happen.”

“Then why is there no inscription of ’tribute goods’ on the porcelain?” asked Young Master Qu.

The shopkeeper looked at Young Master Qu, “The palace specifically requested tribute without inscriptions, we dare not disobey.”

A specific request for no tribute inscriptions?

Young Master Qu furrowed his brow, “What exactly happened, explain in detail.”

The shopkeeper didn’t know in depth, but he relayed what he knew, “That batch of tribute was requested by the palace as gifts, specially instructed not to be inferior to what the Emperor and concubines use in the palace, but couldn’t be inscribed with ’tribute goods’.”

“The Zhou Family was busy for an entire month over that batch of tribute.”

So that’s how it is.

Young Master Qu had the shopkeeper write down his words, sign and stamp it, then took the testimony and left.

By the time he returned to the mansion, the sky was full of twinkling stars.

He presented the testimony for the Minister of the Ministry of Justice to review.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice had his brows knitted tightly.

Three years ago, there was no record of the palace requesting a large batch of porcelain as gifts.

No archival record of the tribute either.

It must be someone using a fake imperial edict!

The next day, was a court holiday.

After having breakfast, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice went to visit Marquis Dongxiang.

Marquis Dongxiang presented the testimony to the Emperor, who, upon review, was furious, not only ordering Marquis Dongxiang to search and seize the Yongcheng Bo Mansion but also to thoroughly investigate this matter.

The entire Yongcheng Bo Mansion was arrested and imprisoned.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep