Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Chapter 1345

"Humph!"

Upon hearing Wei Wu's words, Zhan Hui did not respond directly, but merely snorted coldly and continued speaking to himself:

"The color-changing ink is unavoidable, and only you, Duke Zhenguo, possess it in the world. I can't think of anyone else but you!"

"You can't figure it out because you're stupid or your brain doesn't work. My personal suggestion is that you go home and eat more pig brains to replenish your brain."

No sooner had Zhan Hui finished speaking than Wei Wu retorted, his words carrying an insult since entering the palace.

However, the effect was indeed quite good. As soon as Zhan Hui finished listening, his eyes began to redden, and he looked like he wanted to devour Wei Wu whole.

But this was, after all, the imperial palace, and he dared not act recklessly. He could only target Wei Wu from the sidelines.

"Outrageous! This is the main hall of the imperial court, with His Majesty before you, how dare you utter such foul language! You..."

Zhan Hui wanted to say something more, but Wei Wu didn't give him the chance and interrupted him directly.

"That's right! You know this is the Imperial Court, with His Majesty in front of you. How dare you slander the Duke's innocence out of thin air?"

"You immediately accused me of slandering the money shop and its banknotes. Do you have any evidence? If you have any evidence, produce it, and I will plead guilty and accept punishment on the spot."

"But if you frame me without any evidence or by making baseless accusations, can I ask His Majesty to punish you for false accusation?"

Zhan Hui was also furious. He had spoken without thinking, and Wei Wu had seized on his mistake.

That's right, he had no evidence to prove that Wei Wu was involved in the case of the money shop and silver notes; he was just using this as an excuse to attack Wei Wu.

After all, the two had a history of conflict, so how could he possibly let go of such a good opportunity!

However, Wei Wu completely defied expectations, which led to the current situation when he became enraged.

Fortunately, he had experience in officialdom and knew how to salvage the situation, so he quickly spoke up:

"This is merely a reasonable speculation. First of all, we cannot rule out the possibility that you, Duke Zhenguo, were involved in this matter."

"Moreover, even if you weren't involved, how do you explain that you're the only one in the world who has the color-changing ink?"

"This special ink is essential for the imperial court to print banknotes, but it has now leaked out of your possession and been obtained by thieves."

"Such important materials were leaked due to your negligence in supervision; you cannot shirk this responsibility!"

After Zhan Hui finished speaking, it was Wei Wu's turn to snort coldly.

"Hmph! Why is it that the ink must have flowed out from here, and why couldn't it have flowed out from the Ministry of Works!"

Upon hearing Wei Wu's words, Zhan Hui was about to respond, but Wei Wu did not give him a chance to speak.

After Wei Wu finished speaking, he immediately turned to look at Zhu Yuanzhang, bowed, and said:

"Your Majesty, may I ask who investigated this matter after it came to light? I would like to ask him if he thoroughly investigated the consumption of ink."

"Since the mint keeps records of all banknotes, we only need to check if the ink consumption matches!"

Wei Wu's current actions seem to be an attempt to defend himself, as if he has forgotten what he agreed on yesterday.

But in truth, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Wei Wu was just putting on an act, and the more he struggled, the more easily those in the shadows would believe him.

Zhu Yuanzhang fully cooperated and immediately said:

"We'll leave this matter to the Embroidered Uniform Guard for investigation. Since you want to know the details, then summon Mao Xiang to an audience!"

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's decree, Eunuch Wang immediately raised his head and shouted aloud.

"Select Mao Xiang, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to enter the palace for an audience!"

Wei Wu was wondering if he should wait a while, since it would take some time for the palace servants to bring Mao Xiang into the palace.

As soon as Eunuch Wang finished speaking, Mao Xiang was already standing outside the Fengxian Hall.

Upon entering the main hall, Mao Xiang immediately bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang before speaking:

"Your subject, Mao Xiang, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, then pointed at Wei Wu and instructed Mao Xiang:

"The Duke of Zhenguo has some doubts about the money shop case. Since you were the one who investigated this case, you should tell the Duke of Zhenguo about it."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Mao Xiang bowed again, then turned to look at Wei Wu, who then asked:

"Commander Mao, I would like to ask if you have carefully investigated the Ministry of Works' special ink consumption and whether it matches the amount consumed by the Bureau of Printing and Minting."

"Lord Duke of Return!"

Mao Xiang cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Wei Wu, then spoke frankly:

"I also suspected the issue of the consumption of special inks, so I sent people to investigate it thoroughly, and the results showed that it matched."

Upon hearing Mao Xiang's reply, Wei Wu immediately narrowed his eyes, but he did not speak, choosing instead to remain silent.

Just as Zhu Yuanzhang guessed, Wei Wu asked these questions not to exonerate himself, but to deliberately put on a show.

Since he was going to be imprisoned anyway, he wanted to learn more about the details beforehand so he could think about it carefully while he was in prison.

In the current situation, for example, the ink could not have flowed out from him, because that stuff is in the system's warehouse.

Besides him, even Zhu Yuxuan couldn't have come into contact with the ink, so it could only have leaked out from the Ministry of Works.

But the fact that the color-changing ink stored in the Ministry of Industry can match the consumption of the Bureau of Printing and Minting is quite interesting.

However, now is not the time to think about these things. We still need to maintain the proper appearance, so after Mao Xiang finished speaking, Wei Wu spoke again.

"You really checked it very carefully, and the ink consumption really matches the amount used by the Bureau of Printing and Minting?"

"It definitely matches!"

When Zhan Hui questioned Wei Wu earlier, the officials in Fengxian Hall remained mostly silent.

But now, Mao Xiang's testimony has acted as if a switch has been flipped, and many officials have come forward.

It can be said that someone from each of the six departments echoed the sentiment, creating a situation where everyone was pushing a wall when it was about to fall.

With the support of most officials, Zhan Hui looked up at Wei Wu like a victorious general.

"Wei Wu, now that the Embroidered Uniform Guard has confirmed that there is nothing unusual about the consumption of the Ministry of Works' special ink, what else do you have to say!"

"..."

Wei Wu remained silent for a moment, then responded in a somewhat hoarse voice.

"I have nothing to say!"