Chapter 303: Wenzhong is greedy for small profits
In the court hall, Wen Boyuan brought the assassination incident to the table for discussion.
The ministers were discussing and had different opinions on whether Wanyan Ningjie's assassination of Wanyan Zongmei should be investigated in depth.
Some were worried that this move would damage the delicate diplomatic relations between the Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty, and advocated keeping silent; others insisted on finding out the truth to demonstrate the laws of the Song Dynasty.
At this moment, Taishi Zongze stepped forward and said in a loud voice: "This assassination incident is related to the law and dignity of our Song Dynasty. If we don't find out the truth, how can we face the people of the world? How can we maintain the dignity of the court? ? I advocate a thorough investigation of this matter and will never tolerate it!"
As soon as Zongze finished speaking, he received firm support from Lu Yihao: "What the Grand Master said is absolutely true! This matter must be thoroughly investigated to set the record straight. We, the Song Dynasty, are a country of etiquette, how can we tolerate such transgressions? "
With the strong support of Zongze and Lu Yihao, the debate in the court gradually subsided.
Zhao Yingluo called Wen Boyuan closer and whispered, "Wen Boyuan, although Wanyan Ningjie's assassination of Wanyan Zongmei failed, there must be someone behind it to provide him with information. There must be a traitor in the court."
Wen Boyuan nodded with a solemn expression: "What the princess said is absolutely true. I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and find out this traitor!"
"Start with the courtiers who are related to Wanyan Ningjie, especially those who have been in contact with him recently." Zhao Yingluo reminded.
Wen Boyuan took the order and left. He immediately mobilized his informants in the court and began to pay close attention to the courtiers related to Wanyan Ningjie. After days of investigation and secret observation, a name gradually surfaced - Qian Wenzhong.
However, just when Wen Boyuan was in trouble, an unexpected discovery made his eyes light up.
After several days of secret investigation, he noticed a petty official named Qian Wenzhong. This person has served in the Ministry of Industry for many years. Although his position is not high, he is also qualified to go to court.
More importantly, Wen Boyuan discovered that there were frequent contacts between Qian Wenzhong and Wanyan Ningjie.
Qian Wenzhong, an official who is not conspicuous in the court on weekdays, is inextricably linked to Wanyan Ningjie.
Wen Boyuan immediately sent someone to secretly follow Qian Wenzhong and found that he often had secret conversations with Wanyan Ning's subordinates at Chunfangyuan, a brothel.
Wen Boyuan was shocked and realized that this Qian Wenzhong was probably Wanyan Ning's spy in the court.
Wen Boyuan discovered that in the days before the assassination, Qian Wenzhong had frequent secret conversations with Wanyan Ning, and his whereabouts were mysterious.
In order not to alert the enemy, Wen Boyuan decided to take action personally and capture Qian Wenzhong in one fell swoop.
He disguised himself as an ordinary guest and sneaked into Chunfang Garden. After some searching, he finally found Qian Wenzhong who was having fun.
Wen Boyuan observed for a moment, and when he saw that the time was right, he decisively took action to subdue Qian Wenzhong.
Qian Wenzhong was frightened by the sudden turn of events and begged for mercy. Wen Boyuan was unmoved and said in a cold voice: "Qian Wenzhong, you colluded with Wan Yanning to leak the secrets of the court. We know that this is a major crime against the Nine Clan!"
When Qian Wenzhong heard this, his face instantly turned pale. He defended with a trembling voice: "Your Excellency, you are wronged! I am just a small official from the Ministry of Industry, how could I collude with Wan Yanning?"
"Hmph! Do you think what you did is flawless?" Wen Boyuan sneered, "I have obtained conclusive evidence. If you want to survive, just tell everything honestly!"
Later, Wen Boyuan ordered his men to capture him and take him back to the Imperial City Division. Under Wen Boyuan's severe questioning, Qian Wenzhong's psychological defense finally collapsed.
He cried bitterly and explained the process of his collusion with Wanyan Ning and his crime of passing on secrets.
It turns out that in order to grasp the dynamics of the court, Wanyan Ningjie tempted Qian Wenzhong with money, which included Wanyan Ningjie's plan to assassinate Wanyan Zongmei and provided a large number of valuable clues.
Every time after delivering a message, Wanyan Ningjie would give Qian Wenzhong a large sum of money as a reward. Qian Wenzhong was greedy and eventually became Wanyan Ningjie's lackey.
Wen Boyuan was furious after hearing this. He ordered his men to take Qian Wenzhong to prison and keep him under strict supervision.
He then reported the matter to Zhao Yingluo and informed him that Wanyan Ningjie's internal agent had been found.
Zhao Yingluo was overjoyed after hearing this: "Wen Boyuan, you have made a great contribution this time!"
After receiving Qian Wenzhong's testimony, Wen Boyuan confidently believed that Wanyan Ningjie should be arrested immediately to demonstrate the majesty and justice of the Song Dynasty's laws.
However, when he proposed this suggestion to Zhao Yingluo, she was opposed by her.
"Your Highness, we now have Qian Wenzhong's testimony, which is enough to bring Wanyan Ningjie to justice." Wen Boyuan said firmly.
Zhao Yingluo shook her head slightly, thought for a moment and then responded: "Commander Wen, I know you want to arrest Wanyan Ningjie immediately, but we can't act rashly now."
"Why?" Wen Boyuan asked eagerly, obviously confused by this decision.
Zhao Yingluo took a deep breath and explained: "From a long-term strategic perspective, Wanyan Ningjie's existence may be beneficial to our Song Dynasty. If one day the Song Dynasty goes to war with the Jin Kingdom, his crime will become our expedition One of the legitimate reasons. Therefore, what we need to do now is not to rush to arrest, but to secretly strengthen surveillance and pay close attention to his every move."
Wen Boyuan was silent for a long time after hearing this. He had to admit that Zhao Yingluo's consideration was more thorough. "But," he frowned, "should we just let Wanyan Ningjie go like this?"
"Of course not," Zhao Yingluo's eyes flashed with a cunning light, "You must secretly strengthen surveillance and ensure that Wanyan Ningjie's every move in Kaifeng City is under your control. At the same time, you must also pay close attention to the Jin Kingdom's dynamic in case they take action.”
Wen Boyuan nodded. Although he was unwilling to do so, he understood that Zhao Yingluo's decision was correct. So, he turned around and left to arrange the next monitoring work.
After Wanyan Ningjie learned that Qian Wenzhong had been arrested and sent to prison, she was really frightened.
He began to worry about his own safety, but he was lucky enough to believe that the Song Dynasty would not easily arrest him, an envoy of the Jin Kingdom, to avoid further deterioration in relations between the two countries.
"They shouldn't dare to touch me, right?" Wanyan Ningjie secretly speculated in her heart, while also considering whether she should leave Kaifeng City as soon as possible.
However, after a few days, he found that no one came to trouble him, which made him completely relieved, thinking that Da Song really did not dare to take action against him easily.
However, what Wanyan Ningjie didn't know was that Wen Boyuan had secretly laid a dragnet, waiting for the right time to catch him all.
Although Qian Wenzhong is in prison, his testimony has become a sharp sword hanging over Wanyan Ningjie's head and may fall at any time.
