bookcurios Chapter 228: Minister Yan's Legs Weakened
Chapter 228: Minister Yan's Legs Weakened
Minister Yan slammed his chair heavily and shouted:
"Ye Wuwei, if you have evidence, just show it to us. Don't talk nonsense."
Ye Wuwei looked at Minister Yan, smiling:
"Minister Yan's point is that if I can find any property in your house that doesn't match your income, it means you've accepted bribes or engaged in corruption, right?"
"Then you must have evidence before you can search. You wouldn't search the residence of a second-rank official at will.
If this is the case, who will dare to serve as an official in the court in the future?"
Zhuang Jiaxu rarely showed his toughness:
"Minister Yan is right. Breaking into a private residence is a crime, and arbitrarily searching the residence of a second-rank official is an even greater crime."
Ye Wuwei smiled and clapped his hands a few times:
"You two are absolutely right. I will take you to see the evidence now."
Ye Wuwei walked out of the interrogation room. Minister Yan and Zhuang Jiaxu looked at each other, followed Ye Wuwei, and Yao Guangzhi followed behind.
When he saw Madam Yan and a dozen large wooden boxes as tall as a person, Minister Yan's legs went weak and he sat down on the ground.
Seeing Minister Yan, Madam Yan rushed over and said, "Master, they brought people to search the mansion today."
Minister Yan understood this without Madam Yan saying anything.
Ye Wuwei slowly and methodically tore off the seals of more than a dozen large wooden boxes one by one, and opened them one by one.
"Minister Yan, these were all found in your study and secret room. How do you explain this?"
Minister Yan kept his mouth shut and said nothing.
Zhuang Jiaxu wasn't very smart, but he wasn't stupid either. Seeing this, he had guessed what was going on. But he still said, "
"We can't say Minister Yan accepted bribes based solely on these properties. Perhaps they were given to him by the family, or perhaps they were Madam Yan's private property."
Ye Wuwei ignored Zhuang Jiaxu and looked at Minister Yan and said:
"Minister Yan, I'm not a worm in your stomach. How do you think I knew that your money was hidden in the secret room of your study?
Oh, I forgot to tell you, I didn't search your house today. I went to collect evidence because someone reported that you hid the bribe money in the secret room of your study."
Minister Yan looked at Madam Yan, and Madam Yan nodded.
Minister Yan's thoughts began to turn:
The only ones who knew that he hid the money in the secret room of the study were him, his wife and Yan Shifan.
Since neither he nor his wife said anything, it could only be Yan Shifan who said it.
Under normal circumstances, Yan Shifan would definitely not tell anyone, but if he was under severe punishment...
Thinking of this, Minister Yan looked at Ye Wuwei and asked, "What have you done to Fan'er?"
"Are you asking about Master Yan? I don't know where he is."
Ye Wuwei looked at Zhuang Jiaxu:
"Master Zhuang, can I leave Minister Yan in the Qi'an Department for investigation now?"
Zhuang Jiaxu glanced at Minister Yan, then looked at Ye Wuwei:
"Commander Ye, no official shall be punished. Minister Yan is still a second-rank official. You must remember this."
“Thank you, Master Zhuang, for the reminder.
I have always abided by the law and know clearly what I can and cannot do.
You see, Minister Yan has been in the Qi'an tribe for such a long time, but have I ever raised a finger against him?"
Zhuang Jiaxu couldn't say anything else, because it was just as Ye Wuwei said:
Not only did he not touch Minister Yan, he didn't even say a single bad word to him.
However, looking back now, every word Ye Wuwei said seemed like a trap.
Ye Wuwei said casually:
"By the way, the person who identified Minister Yan also said:
Minister Yan once told him that the bribes were not earned by Minister Yan alone, and half of them would go to the people above Minister Yan.
I just wonder how many people in the entire court can be treated like this by Minister Yan?
General Qi, Grand Tutor Yuwen, or Grand Preceptor Zhuang?
I heard that Madam Yan is the cousin of Master Zhuang. Could the person above him that Minister Yan was referring to be Master Zhuang? "
Zhuang Jiaxu hurriedly said:
"My father has always been honest and upright, how could he possibly accept bribes?
Even the case of Minister Yan has not yet been thoroughly investigated, so we cannot convict him based solely on the two people's identification."
Ye Wuwei said nothing more and called out, "Come here, send Master Zhuang away."
After Zhuang Jiaxu left, Ye Wuwei said to Madam Yan:
"Madam, you may leave now. However, if you wish to stay with the Qi'an Ministry and cooperate with the investigation, we have no objection."
Madam Yan looked at Minister Yan, who nodded at her.
After Madam Yan left, Minister Yan looked at Ye Wuwei and said, "Ye Wuwei, what do you want?"
Ye Wuwei smiled insincerely:
“I am just following the law.
Since someone has reported you, Minister Yan, for taking bribes and revealed where you hid your treasure, I have no choice but to investigate."
"When will the investigation be concluded?"
"That depends on Minister Yan's sincerity."
Ye Wuwei then instructed Yao Guangzhi:
"Take Minister Yan away and have someone watch him closely. Send someone to notify me when he wants to speak."
With so much unexplained property, even in modern times, people would have to be locked up and investigated thoroughly before being released, let alone in the Qi Dynasty where there was no rule that the maximum time for questioning and verification could not exceed twenty-four hours.