"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 has the intention of treason. He Shen made such a big mistake, even if he is the emperor's favorite, he may not be able to get through 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 of the country. However, its shape, specifications and handwriting were exactly the same as the jade seal of the country.

It is four inches in diameter, with five dragons as buttons on the top and insect and bird seal characters on the bottom.

This imitation of the jade seal is so realistic that even if it is fake, He Shen had ulterior motives if he kept 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, Your Majesty. Please forgive me." He Shen kowtowed frequently.

I regret that I was obsessed with accepting this square jade seal that day, otherwise there would be no disaster today.

"He Shen, I also want to be merciful. However, you secretly hid the imperial 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. I thank you for your kindness." Heshen kowtowed repeatedly.

Since the emperor didn't say he wanted to kill him, he still had a glimmer of hope.

…

In the evening, 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 to the death with you. I know that the emperor values ​​you, loves you, and treats you as his only friend.

So even if you take bribes, even if you form a party for personal gain, even if you control the government, and 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 Yancheng embezzling money to provide disaster relief, I have found evidence of your corruption. Originally, I could have spread this evidence and asked the censors to intervene against you, but I didn’t.

Do that.

But you, Zhao Zhao is going to kill me. You first slandered "Dream of Red Mansions" as a counter-book, then made me, Ji Xiaolan, guilty of secretly possessing a counter-book, and then asked Chen Weiyuan to spread rumors, slander and ruin my reputation.

What makes me most angry is that you previously accepted three ancient paintings from me and promised to help me get the fragrant cloud back. But then you helped Chen Weiyuan fight a lawsuit and took the fragrant cloud back.

I know that you are not Chen Weiyuan. You are just a bookseller, and you don't take him seriously at all. The reason why you helped him was to harm me, make me lose my friend, and suffer for the rest of my life.

Since you are so vicious, don't blame me for being rude."

When He Shen heard what he said, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful. He should not have offended Xiang Nan in the first place, which led to today's disaster.

"Ji Xiaolan, tit for tat, I put you in jail, and you put me in 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, how about that?"

"Master, let's wait until you come out of prison to talk." Xiang Nan smiled and said.

…

Suddenly, Xiang Nan was summoned into the palace by the emperor.

"Ji Xiaolan, you are amazing. He Shen was arrested just yesterday. This morning, there were dozens of memorials filed against him." Qianlong pointed to a large stack of memorials on the table.

"Your Majesty, this fully demonstrates how unpopular He Shen is." Xiang Nan nodded.

"Yes, you all hate Heshen, saying that he has taken bribes, and that he has enriched his own pockets. But apart from these, what other faults does Heshen have? Does he control the government, or does he form a party for personal gain? Look through the history books, and you will find ministers like this,

How much?" Qianlong curled his lips and said.

"Your Majesty, He Shengui is the chief assistant 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.

It is said that the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam is crooked, and Heshen is corrupt. The officials below him can be clean. If the superiors follow the example, everyone will be corrupt and harm the public and enrich themselves.

In the Yancheng disaster relief food case, Heshen's evidence was as high as more than two million taels of silver. This was just the filial piety of Yancheng.

We have 22 provinces, 215 prefectures, and more than 1,300 counties in the Qing Dynasty. How much filial piety will we have? I am afraid that Heshen's family property has exceeded the annual income of the Qing Dynasty.

Your Majesty, when you came to the throne, the national stock of silver was 60 million taels. Now, the national stock of silver is less than 10 million taels..."

"That's enough!" Qianlong shouted, "Ji Xiaolan, I summoned you 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 act like a lowly minister like you?" 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 courtesy 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 lecture me every day, saying this is not allowed and that is not allowed. I am so confused by you. Only with He Shen 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 it 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 gave her to you. I also asked He Shen to return your three ancient paintings to you. I beg you, spare He Shen’s life. You Ji Xiaolan never want that

Am I really alone?"

"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, order Shuntian Prefecture to immediately arrest Chen Weiyuan and retry the divorce case." He immediately issued an order, "He Shen will be demoted two levels to retainer and 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 Nan and said.

"The emperor is arbitrary, how dare I say anything?" Xiang Nan bowed quickly and said.

"Huh, Ji Xiaolan, you've got the advantage, so be good." Qianlong rolled his eyes at him, "This time He Shen is in trouble, and so am I. It's just you."
Chapter completed!