PNB Chapter 364: Stirring Up the Storm 6
Chapter 364: Stirring Up the Storm 6
Lou Yue was angry. His son was useless, but he was also his hope. Now that his son passed away, he was not afraid of anyone.
"Your Majesty, this evidence was obtained from the children in the Colosseum. These children could not have just popped out of cracks in the rocks. They must have families and parents.
Even if they were sold by their families, there must be traces, so I followed the descriptions of those caught in the Colosseum.
The bodies of these children were found, and they still had clothes and belongings on them, which I checked one by one.
God helps those who work hard. I finally found out the background of several children. Their parents have reported the case to the local government office.
The characteristics described in these missing cases are the same as those of the corpses and the living ones. They were abducted.
Some were beaten to the point of having mental problems, and many were trained since childhood and could no longer remember their hometowns or who their parents were.
According to their description, they were knocked unconscious and then went straight to the Colosseum when they woke up."
Lou Yue finished speaking in one breath. Zhang Tao thought that this was all he had found out, and he felt relieved instantly.
However, Lou Yue's evidence is more than just that.
"Your Majesty, have you seen any connection between the places where these children disappeared and the Colosseum?"
The emperor hadn't finished reading it yet, but he already had a vague understanding in his mind.
"Keep going, my dear!"
"Yes, sir!" Minister Lou continued.
"One of the older kids said that on his first day at the Colosseum, he felt dizzy. It wasn't the kind of dizziness caused by drugs, but the kind that felt like seasickness.
Based on this clue, I registered the places where the children disappeared with the officials. In each town, there were ships that the Zhang family had lent to the Ministry of Revenue for transportation.
As soon as Minister Lou said this, all the officials in the court turned their eyes to Zhang Tao. Could this matter be related to Marquis Zhang?
"Minister Lou, you are simply slandering me. My Zhang family's ships have always been used to transport supplies for the Ministry of Revenue. How could we possibly be hiding and trafficking these children on board?"
When the matter was pointed out to him, Zhang Tao became anxious and quickly denied it.
But after he denied it, the ministers in the court, including the seventh prince, all looked at him with dark faces and shook their heads.
Zhang Tao, who was already confused, became even more puzzled when he saw everyone's reactions.
"Lord Zhang, I never said it was your ship that abducted these children. You're admitting it yourself, humph!"
Zhang Tao then realized that he had said the wrong thing and immediately knelt down to explain to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, I was anxious and made a slip of the tongue just now. This matter has nothing to do with me. I hope Your Majesty will understand."
This is a capital crime. Zhang Tao was incoherent and just wanted to get out of this matter.
"Lord Zhang, we must rely on evidence. I have arrested everyone on the Zhang family's ship. Your Majesty, this is the witness's confession."
Lou Yue submitted another confession, which made Zhang Tao's body stiffen and his kneeling legs could not move.
“Your Majesty, the Zhang family’s ships bring children from different places every quarter, and after these children arrive in the capital, no one knows where they go.
According to the investigation, I found several children recorded by local officials, the same children in the Colosseum.
Why was the Zhang family involved in this matter? Why would a marquis of the Zhang family help a minister of rites do such a thing?
All kinds of unreasonable things were right in front of him, and Sun Chengwang still owed debts in Baolifang.
According to rumors, Sun Chengwang was beaten out of Baolifang many times. If the owner of Baolifang was the Sun family, who would treat their owner like this?
The emperor looked at the account books calculated by Baolifang and the evidence provided by Lou Yue. The jewelry found by the Sun family was just a drop in the bucket.
All these points point to the Zhang family's handiwork, and behind the Zhang family is Xiao Chu.
The emperor tightly grasped the evidence in his hand and turned to look at Xiao Chu with cold eyes.
Faced with his father's expression, Xiao Chu was afraid to bow his head. Needless to say, the emperor already knew that this matter was related to him.
Taking a deep breath, the emperor turned his gaze from Xiao Chu to Zhang Tao, and angrily threw the evidence in his hand towards him.
"Zhang Tao, you are a marquis, yet you dare to do such a thing? Are you not satisfied with what I have given you? Or is it that your Zhang family can no longer afford to eat?"
Lou Yue looked at Zhang Tao who was kneeling on the ground. He had handed over the evidence to the emperor, but he still hadn't revealed most of it.
If he hadn't gotten some clues by chance this time, he wouldn't have been able to find the person behind it so quickly.
Zhang Tao should take full responsibility for his son's death, and Lou Yue will not let go of anyone involved in his son's death.
"Your Majesty, I am innocent. Lou Yue framed me. This matter has nothing to do with me. Your Majesty should not listen to Lou Yue's words alone."
Zhang Tao first bought time. As long as he did not plead guilty, Concubine Xian and the Seventh Prince would definitely find a way to rescue him.
"Unjust? Not necessarily!"
Outside the door of the main hall, the general came in, followed by two sailors dressed as porters.
"Your Majesty, the two people behind me are from the Zhang family's ship, and they are also witnesses to this incident."
The officials in the court made way for Mr. Jiang, and the emperor also calmed down and listened to the testimony of the two crew members.
"You two, tell His Majesty everything you know."
The two crew members were illiterate and had never seen such a scene before, so they knelt down and told the truth.
"I was carrying things on the boat. I've been to every place on the boat, except for the mezzanine below. There were death squads from the Zhang family guarding it, and they wouldn't let me get close."
Every family has assassins, but this is also a taboo and no one will talk about it openly. But this time, Lord Zhang is really standing at the gunpoint.
Another crew member also said: "I woke up one night and saw people from the Zhang Mansion knocking out many young children and locking them up under the hold.
Once we get to the capital, we'll secretly transport these captured people away. As for where they'll be taken, I don't know."
After hearing these words, everyone had no doubts. The Sun family only found money and jewelry, and Sun Chengwang was in the Colosseum.
There are no other ways or anything like that.
As for the Zhang family, there is a complete history and a record of their disappearance by local officials, so what is there to investigate?
"Your Majesty, Minister Lou has uncovered solid evidence regarding the Colosseum incident. Lord Zhang is indeed the mastermind behind it."
The emperor looked at Zhang Tao, who had collapsed to the ground and was unable to make any sound.
"Zhang Tao, you are so brave."
The emperor was so angry that his face turned blue. Zhang Tao turned to look at the seventh prince. He couldn't let the seventh prince be implicated in this matter. If the emperor continued to investigate, the Zhang family would be completely finished.
Xiao Chu also knew this truth very well. Moreover, the emperor probably knew that he was the beneficiary of this matter and was already very angry.
The reason why he was not called upon now was to give him some leeway. At this time, he could not plead for his uncle.