Returning to the imperial envoy's residence, Zhao Lian wasted no time and directly interrogated He Changsheng.
The moment he saw Zhao Lian, He Changsheng glared at him and asked loudly, "Sir Zhao, I, He Changsheng, have not offended you, have I?
Three festivals and two birthdays, charcoal in the east and ice in the summer. My He family has not missed Sir Zhao's share, has it? "
"I, He Changsheng, am not a stingy person. I don't ask Sir Zhao to take care of me, but isn't it too much to treat me like this?"
Xu De stood to the side and listened to He Changsheng's words. A smile immediately appeared on his face and he couldn't help but turn his head to look at Zhao Lian.
As the factory manager of the inner factory, Xu De could certainly understand He Changsheng's words. Zhao Lian had clearly taken a lot of the He family's money.
In other words, most of the officials in Nanjing had taken the He family's money.
The so-called three festivals and two birthdays referred to the Spring Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Each festival had a thought. To put it bluntly, they were gifts.
The two birthdays referred to Zhao Lian's birthday and his wife's birthday. The three festivals and two birthdays represented five gifts.
In addition to the ice in the summer and charcoal in the winter, the He family had to give gifts to Zhao Lian seven times a year. It was really generous.
This was only for an assistant minister of the Ministry of Works in Nanjing. Although the position of an assistant minister was not low, a county official was not as good as a current official. The real power of the assistant minister of the Ministry of Works in Nanjing was not that great. How many gifts did the He family give to the officials with real power?
Zhao Lian's face darkened as he stared at He Changsheng and said loudly, "He Changsheng, you still have the face to say this!"
Angrily slamming the table, Zhao Lian pointed at He Changsheng and said, "You befriended officials and conspired against them. You are guilty of the most heinous crimes. Now you are slandering me for corruption. I originally thought you were a good person, but now it seems that I was wrong about you."
Xu De glanced at Zhao Lian and almost laughed out loud. Did this count as anger from embarrassment?
"Cut the crap. Let me ask you, do you recognize this thing?"
Zhao Lian felt very awkward. He coughed a few times and changed the topic. He didn't want to dwell on this issue any longer. Clearly, the longer he stayed on this topic, the more embarrassed he would be.
This was because Xu De was by his side. Otherwise, Zhao Lian would not have cared at all. Who in the officialdom was not like this?
What he had accepted was not even considered embezzlement. It was an unspoken rule. However, with Xu De here, this matter was not so simple.
If this memorial was given to the emperor, what would the emperor think?
He had to consider it!
Looking at what Zhao Lian took out, He Chang Sheng's pupils shrank, then he smiled and said, "What is this?"
"Your Excellency Zhao Lian, you should be more familiar with this than me!" He Changsheng turned to look at Zhao Lian. "This is Fushou Ointment!
I've given Lord Zhao a lot of good things that can prolong one's life, and Lord Zhao likes them very much! "
There was nothing wrong with what he said, but it was very harsh to Zhao Lian's ears.
"He Changsheng, is this good thing that can prolong one's life?
This is a poison that can kill one's life! "
Zhao Lian glared at He Changsheng. "Your case has been exposed. Let me tell you, be sensible and confess. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite."
He Changsheng laughed at this time. "Impolite?
Your Excellency Zhao, I'll be waiting! "
"Guards!" A sneer flashed across Zhao Lian's face. "Torture him!"
Hearing this, Xu De frowned. He looked at Zhao Lian, then looked at He Changsheng and sighed helplessly.
Zhao Lian wanted to vent his anger and teach He Changsheng a lesson.
He Changsheng was fearless. He felt that Zhao Lian couldn't do anything to him, but Xu De couldn't let Zhao Lian vent his anger!
Xu De didn't care about He Changsheng's life or death. Xu De didn't care how Zhao Lian taught He Changsheng a lesson. He only cared about investigating the matter clearly, and it had to be done quickly.
If he let Zhao Lian waste his time on torturing He Changsheng, it wouldn't be worth it!
"Your Excellency Zhao, can you let me ask a few questions?" Xu De looked at Zhao Lian and took a step forward.
Zhao Lian was stunned. He was a little unhappy, but he still nodded and said, "Of course, Eunuch Xu, please!"
Xu De walked in front of He Changsheng and said with a smile, "He Changsheng, do you know me?"
Looking at Xu De, He Changsheng was surprised. Then he shook his head and said, "Forgive me for my poor eyesight, but how should I address you?"
"Xu De!" Xu De said indifferently.
"So it's Eunuch Xu from the inner faction. My apologies for not recognizing you." He Changsheng's expression changed, and he quickly smiled and said.
Compared to Zhao Lian, Xu De's deterrence was much stronger. Many people didn't understand the inner faction, but He Changsheng did.
As a businessman, he was very well-informed. He had spent a lot of effort to find out more about the inner faction.
Although he didn't know much, He Changsheng knew that the inner faction was better than Dongchang.
Xu De, the Minister of the Inner Faction, was a trusted eunuch of the Emperor. He was even more powerful than Zhang Jing of the Eastern Faction.
Zhang Jing had killed so many people in Yangzhou that blood flowed like a river. This Eunuch Xu was even better than Zhang Jing, so He Changsheng was naturally afraid of him.
Xu De nodded and said, "Since you know who I am, things will be easier."
"I won't ask you first. Let's talk about the reason why I caught you."
Xu De sat on the chair Wang An brought over and said, "A few days ago, the uterus received a tribute. It was sent by Cui Fu, the eunuch guarding Nanjing."
"After an examination by the Imperial Hospital, it was a strange poison from Southeast Asia. It's called opium, or black incense. It's also called Fushou ointment."
"This poison is very toxic, and it's not easy to detect at first. However, once you get addicted, it's hard to quit."
When Xu De said this, his expression became serious. "Someone wants to use this poison to murder the Imperial Majesty."
Hearing Xu De's words, He Changsheng's expression changed instantly. His body involuntarily softened.
Xu De didn't stop and continued, "It's a big crime to assassinate the Imperial Majesty. It's an unforgivable crime. The whole family should be executed and the three families should be exterminated!"
When he said that, Xu De stared at He Changsheng and said, "Hundreds of heads. I've never seen such a scene."
"Maybe I'll have a chance to see it this time. He Changsheng, what do you think?"
He Changsheng was scared to death at this time. He shook his head and said, "Eunuch Xu, this has nothing to do with me!"
Placing his finger in front of his lips, Xu De gestured for her to keep quiet and said with a smile, "Shh, wait for me to finish talking before you speak. I don't like it when others speak first. It's very impolite to do this."
Not to mention He Changsheng, even Zhao Lian, who was behind He Changsheng, was scared.
He felt a cold breeze on his back and broke out in a cold sweat. Zhao Lian felt that he was ruthless enough to give He Changsheng a heavy punishment. He didn't expect that Eunuch Xu would execute the whole family. Imagining the scene of hundreds of heads rolling on the ground, Zhao Lian suddenly shivered.
Xu De didn't care and continued, "The Imperial Majesty ordered Lord Zhao and me to thoroughly investigate this case, so we found Cui Fu."
"Cui Fu confessed. He told us the whole thing. He didn't know about the poison of the ointment. His ointment came from you, Shopkeeper He. At the same time, Shopkeeper He asked him to give the ointment to the Imperial Majesty."
"Shopkeeper He, no matter how much money you give or how many people you have, if this case were to be exposed, how many people do you think will be willing to help you?
How many people will be willing to help you be implicated in the assassination of the Imperial Majesty? "
"I will only ask once. If you don't tell the truth, then you will be the mastermind of this case. I guarantee that your whole family will be executed and three families will be exterminated."
As he said this, Xu De pinched his orchid fingers and said with a cold smile, "If Zhang Jing of Dongchang can kill people, then so can Xu De of the Inner Sanctum."
The cold smile that came from Xu De's shrill voice made everyone's hair stand on end.
He Changsheng nodded repeatedly, "Please ask. I will definitely tell you everything I know."
"Where did the ointment come from?" Xu De sat on the chair and asked coldly.
"I bought it from the Zhen family in Fujian."
He Changsheng didn't hesitate at all and said directly, "The Zhen family in Fujian has the ointment. We are only helping the Zhen family distribute it to various places. Whoever can get a place will be the one to sell it."
Xu De nodded, "Did you know that the ointment is poisonous?"
When He Changsheng heard this question, he was immediately stuck. Seeing Xu De staring at him coldly, he suddenly shivered. "Replying to Gonggong, this lowly one knows!" After saying this, He Changsheng sat on the ground.
Although there was no expression on his face, Xu De was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
"Sir, I only know that the ointment is addictive, but I didn't know that it can poison people!" He Changsheng suddenly jumped up from the ground and said loudly, "Sir, please investigate clearly!
Sir, please investigate clearly! "
They were really too bold!
Xu De was shocked. Even if they didn't know it was poisonous, wasn't it enough to get addicted?
Knowing that it was addictive, they still dared to offer the ointment to the Imperial Majesty. How bold were they? They wanted money more than their lives!
"Sir, this wasn't my idea!" He Changsheng saw that Xu De didn't speak and continued to say loudly, "This was Zhen Shiren's idea!"
Xu De looked at He Changsheng and said directly, "Zhen Shiren's idea?"
"Yes, yes, it was Zhen Shiren's idea."
He Changsheng nodded continuously, "Zhen Shiren said that they had once offered the ointment to the palace. This was during the Jiajing period but they stopped during the Longqing period."
Xu De was stunned again. He Changsheng thought, This isn't the first time you've done this!
The ointment was offered during the Jiajing period. You're offering poison to the World Sect Imperial Majesty to refine pills!
It was stopped during the Longqing period because the Mu Sect Imperial Majesty hated refining pills. Now, they still haven't given up and still want to offer poison to the Imperial Majesty.
They're really bold and out of control!
"Where did the Zhen family's ointment come from?" Xu De looked at He Changsheng and continued to ask.
"It came from the Red Barbarians."
He Changsheng said directly, "The Red Barbarians in Macau have business dealings with the Zhen family. The ointment was obtained by the Zhen family from the Red Barbarians in Macau."
"The Red Barbarians?" Xu De murmured.