Children of Loulan

Chapter 268 Interrogation

Aidil sighed, "Grandfather, to be honest, I don't know what's going on. My eldest brother and third brother didn't tell me. From the beginning of the investigation of this case, they only asked me to go to Liancheng to ask General Alikuti. They didn't let me participate in anything else!"

The Prime Minister frowned and said, "What's the logic behind this? Why did they only ask you to go to Liancheng to ask General Elikuti?"

Aidier shook his head helplessly: "My grandson doesn't know either. I only know that they said that if we want to investigate, we have to start from the very beginning of the entire route. As for why the Shangshu was involved later, my grandson is also confused."

After the prime minister pondered for a moment, he slowly said in a majestic and deep tone: "Then what else do you know?"

Aidil felt the prime minister's gaze, and he answered seriously: "My grandson only knows that a few days ago, my third brother captured a captain of the imperial guards, who seemed to be called Aguli. But for some reason, he did not interrogate him immediately after capturing him, but detained him. However, on the morning of the second day after the capture, the captain of the imperial guards was suddenly silenced. The other elder brothers and third brother did not reveal too many details to me, but only told me that I needed to investigate slowly."

The prime minister nodded slightly, his expression becoming more solemn. He frowned, as if he was lost in deep thought. After a while, the prime minister asked again: "I heard that you entered the palace with Prince Cheng yesterday?"

After hearing this, Aidil's heart tightened, but he remained calm on the surface. He answered without hesitation: "Yes, yesterday my third brother said that he found out something and needed to report it to our father. I curiously asked him what he found out, but he refused to tell me. He just said that we would know after we entered the palace and met our father. So I suggested that my eldest brother go to the palace with us, but he refused on the grounds of being unwell. After we entered the palace, my third brother sent me away when he reported to our father, so I don't know what he said to our father in detail."

There was a hint of helplessness in Aidil's voice, as if he was confused by his third brother's behavior. He stared at the prime minister closely, hoping to get more clues and guidance from him.

The prime minister stared closely at his expression as he spoke, trying to find a flaw in it, but he was disappointed. He sighed slowly and said, "Hey, when General An exposed this matter in the court, I thought it was some ignorant official who dared to touch the border of West City for a little money, so I didn't pay too much attention to it. But, I never thought that this would be related to the Minister!"

Echoing the prime minister's words, Aidil said in a heavy tone: "Yes, my grandson also never expected this! And I really can't understand why the minister did this. If it was for money, the minister should not be short of this little money; but if it was for other reasons, then my grandson doesn't understand it even more. What is the use of him having these things?"

The prime minister frowned and muttered to himself, "What else can these things be used for? They can only be used for construction..." At this point, he suddenly seemed to have thought of something, his face changed, and he immediately stood up and said to Aidil, "It's getting late, Your Majesty, you should go to bed early. I should also go back."

Aider stood up to see him off and said respectfully: "Grandfather, take care and be careful on the road late at night!" Looking at the prime minister's hurriedly leaving, Aider showed a disdainful expression!

After the prime minister returned home, he immediately called his confidant and asked him to take a few people and leave the city at night. At this moment, he was very worried, worried that the place had been exposed. It stands to reason that the minister should not know about this, but if he didn't know, why did he steal the granite and the best wood?

The more he thought about it, the more upset he became. He called in his confidants and asked them carefully whether they had discussed the granite with the Shangshu recently. But everyone said no, which made him even more upset. So he decided to send his men to investigate to see if anyone from the Shangshu's side had mentioned the granite to his people.

Despite all these arrangements, he still felt very uneasy. So he decided to go to the prison the next day to ask for clarification in person. However, when he arrived at the prison, he was told by the guards that no one was allowed to visit the prison without the king's order.

With no other choice, he had to go to the palace to see the emperor and bowed respectfully: "I, your old minister, pay my respects to the king!"

The king closed the memorial in his hand, raised his lips slightly, and said softly: "Prime Minister, please stand up!"

The Prime Minister stood up and bowed his head to thank him: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The king looked at him with a sharp gaze and a bit of scrutiny: "Prime Minister, are you here for the Shangshu Lord?"

The Prime Minister showed a look of shock on his face, but soon regained his composure and said softly: "Your Majesty is wise. This minister is a relative of mine, so when I heard that he dared to touch the border of West City, I was also very angry. Your Majesty has always treated him well. His behavior not only failed Your Majesty, but also failed my expectations of him!"

The king listened to his words, nodded slightly to show his agreement, and then asked: "So, you are not here to plead for him?"

The prime minister immediately bowed and said with a look of deep sorrow: "He has committed such a heinous crime, how can an old minister have the face to plead for him!"

The king listened to his words and said with a smile, "Since the Prime Minister will not plead for the Shangshu, then why did you come to the palace today?"

The Prime Minister clasped his hands together, with a respectful look on his face, and said, "I wonder if Your Majesty has interrogated the Minister of the Chancellery to find out why he did this?"

The king looked at the prime minister sharply, his eyes full of majesty and indifference, as if he could see through him. The king said coldly: "Not yet, I want to keep him in the cold for a few days, let him think about how he is a second-rank official of a country, but he doesn't think about sharing the worries of the country and the people, but instead wants to harm this country. Let's see how he can face me and the people. When he is calm enough, I will interrogate him!"

The prime minister's heart tightened, and he quickly said: "If the king trusts me, you can let me interrogate him first!"

The king's mouth curled up into a faint smile, but that smile did not make people feel a trace of warmth, but rather a deep mockery. He sneered, "Prime Minister, what are you talking about? You are Loulan's most trusted official. It's ridiculous to talk about trustworthiness. This case was personally supervised by the three princes. They must have enough evidence to arrest people. And I also believe that they are fair and just without favoritism. If the prime minister rashly goes to interrogate them, I'm afraid the princes will mistakenly think that the prime minister does not trust their abilities!"

The king's words were sharp, like a sharp sword, piercing the prime minister's heart. After hearing this, the prime minister turned pale, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he secretly complained in his heart. He knew that he had miscalculated this time, but he could not directly refute the king, so he could only bow his head and admit his mistake.

The prime minister lowered his head and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty is right. I was confused. I only wanted to share your worries, but I forgot to consider the face of the three princes."