The emperor sat on the throne, looking imposing and silent.
Eunuch Li left tactfully. Shen Li greeted the emperor, "Your Majesty."
The emperor merely waved his hand. "Rise. What brings you to the palace to see me? Last time, I heard from Li that you asked Prince Xuan to help you investigate the illegal salt trade. I'm sure you have something important to report."
Shen Li replied calmly, "You're right, Your Majesty. I'm here today regarding the illegal salt trade."
The emperor raised his eyebrows, showing obvious interest.
"That's great! I've sent people to investigate, but they've found nothing. It seems that the practice of officials covering for each other has run deep! Every time I ask, they just say they don't know! I've really raised a bunch of useless people!"
As he said this, the emperor slapped the dragon throne, clearly very angry. Shen Li felt more confident. It seemed that the emperor really cared about this matter.
She stared into the emperor's eyes and said seriously, "Your Majesty might as well send someone to search Shen Junming's study. There are ledgers of his cooperation with salt merchants in it."
The emperor was suddenly stunned, as if he couldn't believe what Shen Li said. He frowned slightly and questioned, "Shen Li, do you know who the person you're going to report is?"
Shen Li nodded and said, "Of course I do. It's my second uncle. Since he's colluded with salt merchants, I won't show any mercy. Although Shen Junming is my second uncle, I'm also a subject of the Dongling Kingdom and a member of the Night Ghost Division. Naturally, I serve Your Majesty and can't allow anyone who poses a threat to our country to exist!"
Hearing Shen Li's just and forceful words, the emperor nodded in satisfaction. He thought to himself secretly: If all the people in the Dongling Kingdom were like Shen Li, it would be great. Devoting themselves whole - heartedly to the country, only in this way could the country become stronger and more prosperous.
"Good. I'll trust you this time. I heard from Shen Yi that this matter has been entrusted to you. Don't let me down," the emperor said, nodding in satisfaction as he looked at Shen Li. He felt very gratified. As the saying goes, a valiant father has a brave daughter.
Shen Li bowed slightly to the emperor. She didn't become arrogant or over - bearing just because of the emperor's praise. Instead, she said calmly, "I hope Your Majesty can resolve this matter quickly and crack down on those who sell illegal salt severely, so that they won't harbor any illusions and stop doing such things!"
The emperor thought for a while and found Shen Li's words reasonable. So he picked up a pen and quickly wrote a few sentences on a silk cloth. Then he took out his jade seal and stamped it heavily on the cloth.
He handed the silk cloth to Shen Li and said with great satisfaction, "I'll leave this matter to you. Take this and go to General Yu of the Imperial Guard. He'll give you 300 men. Go directly to the Shen Mansion to arrest Shen Junming now! If you handle this illegal salt matter well, I'll reward you handsomely!"
Shen Li knelt down to receive the silk cloth and said calmly, "I'll surely live up to Your Majesty's expectations!"
When Shen Li walked out of the imperial study, she found Han Yue still waiting outside.
Shen Li tucked the silk cloth into her waist, protecting it carefully. It was an imperial edict, and she mustn't lose it.
"Go back now. Find some smart people and surround the Shen Mansion. Make sure my second uncle and his family don't escape."
Han Yue was a bit confused. She didn't know why Shen Li asked her to do this as soon as she came out, but her master's order was law. So she didn't ask any more questions and just did her job well.
Shen Li didn't let Han Yue go with her. Instead, she told her to go back to the Night Ghost Division first. After all, she still had to find the Imperial Guard and General Yu.
Sure enough, with this small silk cloth, everything became much easier.
When General Yu saw the words written by the emperor himself and the jade - seal stamp, he immediately assembled 300 Imperial Guards.
They marched in a grand manner towards the Shen Mansion. Outside the Shen Mansion, people from the Night Ghost Division had already been waiting for a long time, determined not to let anyone escape.
When the Imperial Guards arrived at the Shen Mansion, the second branch of the Shen family didn't know what was going on. They sent out the whole family to greet them at the door.
Shen Junming came out and was shocked to see a group of soldiers surrounding his mansion tightly. He stepped forward and saw that the leader was General Yu of the Imperial Guard. So he said in a flattering tone, "It's General Yu. May I ask what important business brings you to my mansion today?"
At this time, Shen Junming was the pillar of the family, so he had to be the one to talk to General Yu.
Shen Miao saw these fierce soldiers and immediately shrank into her mother Shen's arms. She asked fearfully, "Mother, what's going on? Why are these people surrounding our house?"
Although Shen always looked arrogant and domineering on weekdays, when she saw these fierce Imperial Guards, she was also very scared and became timid.
"Don't worry. Maybe the emperor has issued an order to search every official's house. We just need to cooperate," Shen comforted Shen Miao.
But Shen Miao was naturally unhappy. Why did these soldiers surround her house tightly? She was, after all, the fiancée of the Fourth Prince and would be the future princess of the Fourth Prince's mansion. Maybe one day she would accompany the Fourth Prince to the throne.
With her noble status, how could these vulgar soldiers be compared to her?
"I'll tell the Fourth Prince about this. They've scared me," Shen Miao thought aggrievedly. Her eyes towards the Imperial Guards became even more disgusted.
General Yu sat on his horse, looking down at the flattering Shen Junming emotionlessly. "I'm here today by the emperor's order to conduct a search!"
"I wonder what the emperor is searching for? I, Shen Junming, have always been diligent and dedicated myself to the country, the people, and the emperor! But why is it that when something goes wrong, the Shen Mansion is the first to be checked?" Shen Junming bent his back slightly and asked General Yu politely.
But General Yu didn't buy Shen Junming's act at all. He snorted disdainfully and said, "How dare you question the emperor's order?"
Then he made a gesture to the soldiers behind him. Immediately, these soldiers rushed into the Shen Mansion to conduct a search.