The banquet hall fell instantly silent. Cheng Yu's back was nearly soaked with sweat. He couldn't figure out at all how the thing he had hidden in the secret compartment of the study had come to the knowledge of the King of Xian and even been thrown in front of him!
But to save his own skin, he still stubbornly denied it:
"Your Highness, I've been wronged! Even if you gave me ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare to deceive His Majesty and report false information! This is clearly someone's frame - up!"
"Frame - up?"
Qi Rong let out a cold snort. His pair of cold and gloomy eyes were as dark and intimidating as to make people shudder!
He glanced at the accompanying officials who were sweating profusely, then stared intently at Cheng Yu with a menacing look in his eyes:
"If the project were to continue according to the original blueprint and something went wrong later, as the chief supervisor, I would naturally be held accountable. But as a member of the royal family, at least I wouldn't lose my life.
But all of you ministers would be in great danger. Maybe His Majesty would be so angry that he would order the execution of your entire families to appease the public's resentment! You heartless and unrighteous wretch, ignoring the lives of the common people, and still dare to feign ignorance and cry out for your innocence?"
Qi Rong threw a wine cup straight at Cheng Yu's face. Blood immediately oozed from his left forehead, blurring his vision.
The officials listened to Qi Rong's words in fear and unease. No one pleaded for Cheng Yu anymore. Instead, they all knelt in unison in front of Qi Rong, looking extremely nervous and filled with hope as they stared at him.
"Your Highness! Now that such a big thing has happened, what should we do? Should we immediately bring Cheng Yu to justice and report this matter to His Majesty as soon as possible?!"
Although they had previously thought that building the dam was a lucrative job and were eager to complete the task assigned by the emperor and return to the capital for rewards, now it seemed like a sword hanging over their heads!
Fortunately, the King of Xian had timely discovered the flaws in the project and stopped the construction. Otherwise, after the dam and the bridge were completed, they would not only have wasted a huge amount of financial resources and manpower but also brought disaster upon themselves!
The officials who had previously complained about Qi Rong's stubbornness now looked at him as if he were their savior, hoping that he could give them some advice.
Hearing the official's words, the others nodded in agreement one after another, thinking that this was the only way for them to extricate themselves from the situation in time.
However, Qi Rong shook his head.
Exposing Cheng Yu's crimes in front of everyone and deliberately exaggerating them to scare the crowd, his purpose was not to let this matter reach Qi Hong's ears.
"It's easy to kill Cheng Yu, but I don't plan to do so."
"Why, Your Highness? Cheng Yu's crimes are so heinous that his motives deserve condemnation!"
The officials were puzzled. They all hated Cheng Yu to the core but didn't understand why the King of Xian still wanted to protect him.
Hearing this, Qi Rong suddenly changed the topic and said earnestly:
"Of course I'm doing this to protect all of you, my lords."
The officials were stunned. Qi Rong continued:
"Think about it, my lords. If I hadn't stopped the construction progress, would you have discovered the flaws in it? The answer is no!
It's true that Cheng Yu's failure to report the situation is despicable, but you, my lords, didn't conduct on - site inspections and just rushed to urge the construction. Do you think His Majesty won't blame you when he finds out?"
Qi Rong's words were so convincing that the crowd was in an uproar: they had actually forgotten this point!
Seeing that he had achieved the expected effect, Qi Rong smiled and said:
"So, we need to think this matter over carefully and come up with a thorough solution before reporting it to His Majesty. Otherwise, we must keep our mouths shut!"
Now they were all in the same boat, and no one was allowed to let the cat out of the bag in advance.
All the gentry and celebrities in Lingchuan present would, of course, for their own or their hometown's interests, act as witnesses to this matter and unite to supervise the implementation of the project!
After carefully pondering over Qi Rong's words, the officials whispered to each other and thought that Qi Rong's idea was the only choice they had at present.
Because no one knew whether the emperor would fly into a rage because of the dam - building project and take his anger out on them. To keep their heads, they had to work together!
Cheng Yu, who had been kneeling on the ground all this time, saw that his crimes were already out in the open, but Qi Rong didn't seem to kill him for the time being. In order to keep his official position and his family safe, he quickly pleaded for mercy:
"Your Highness, please show mercy! I was temporarily muddled and made a heinous mistake. Fortunately, Your Highness woke me up in time and let me turn back from the brink of disaster! Please give me some advice and give me a chance to atone for my sins and apologize to the people of Lingchuan!"
Hearing Cheng Yu's words, Qi Rong's expression was calm, and his eyebrows slightly raised:
"Do you really think so?"
He gave a signal to the guard, who immediately understood and released Cheng Yu.
Once free, Cheng Yu immediately crawled on his knees and knelt at Qi Rong's feet, sobbing and sniveling:
"I'm willing to risk my life to assure Your Highness that I'm telling the truth!"
With a knife at his throat, what couldn't he give up?!
Hearing this, Qi Rong suddenly curled his lips:
"Fine. I'll spare your life. It depends on whether you can seize this opportunity."
After discovering the flaws in the dam - building project, he had someone calculate a detailed account. If they wanted to build the dam and the bridge according to his plan, there would still be a huge financial gap in the funds previously allocated by the court.
Even if he could unite the officials present to submit a memorial to the emperor and force the emperor to approve their new plan in a hurry, it would be very difficult to get more silver from Qi Hong.
Because the national treasury was not abundant. A large amount of money had been spent on building the imperial mausoleum before. The long - delayed dam - building project was partly due to this reason.
Looking at Cheng Yu's extremely magnificent and luxurious residence, although he was just a prefect, Qi Rong guessed that he must have extorted a lot of money from the people over the years. Since he wanted to save his life, Qi Rong would make him spit out all the money he had embezzled. It could be regarded as taking from the people and using for the people.
"Confiscate your family property?"
Hearing Qi Rong's words, Cheng Yu's face turned pale and he looked extremely embarrassed.
"What? Are you reluctant?"
Qi Rong's eyes suddenly turned sharp, and his expression was cold.
"No, no, no. How could I be?" Cheng Yu waved his hands in a hurry, with a fawning smile on his face.
Money was something external. Without his life, he would have nothing! Besides, he still had his official position and wouldn't starve to death.
Qi Rong's doing this was already kind - hearted enough to him!
Seeing that Cheng Yu was quite sensible, Qi Rong reached out and patted his cheek, smiling sinisterly:
"Don't worry. I'll leave you a pair of trousers."
From now on, he would only be able to hold on to his official position and live a clean life. For such a corrupt official, Qi Rong wouldn't let him have an easy life!
Cheng Yu didn't know what Qi Rong was thinking. He smiled obsequiously on his face and kept thanking Qi Rong.
"Where has Lord Li An gone?"
Suddenly, a question popped up in the crowd, making the hearts of all the officials tighten.
Li An was the emperor's confidant and the deputy supervisor personally appointed by the emperor. If he secretly informed the emperor of this matter, wouldn't they still be in trouble?
The crowd looked solemn, but Cheng Yu said:
"Your Highness, Lord Li was drunk just now. I ordered someone to send him to the guest room."
Saying that, he quickly gave a signal to a servant.
"Why don't you lead the way."
"Yes."
At this moment, Yun Xi couldn't hold her liquor anymore and had already fallen asleep in Qi Rong's arms. Cheng Yu suggested sending her to the guest room for female guests, but Qi Rong refused and still held her in his arms.
So, Cheng Yu didn't say anything more and led the crowd all the way to the guest room where Li An was staying.
When they arrived at the guest room where Li An was resting, they didn't find him inside. Just as Cheng Yu was puzzled, they suddenly heard a shrill scream from a woman coming from the next courtyard.