Chapter 864: Chapter 862: Prepare for the Worst
In the council hall of Prince Fu’s Mansion, Prince Fu sat at the head, surrounded by various people from his faction.
“What on earth is going on? Even dealing with a person couldn’t be handled well, and now they’ve discovered the body?” Prince Fu frowned, clearly losing his patience.
Since the little thug, involved in the material transaction of rail parts, accidentally revealed information after getting drunk, the whole situation had spiraled out of his control.
The key figures had initially been sent to various places to hide. But by a dreadful coincidence, a seemingly lax patrol by the capital’s yan officers accidentally closed in on the transaction site of inferior iron materials.
That place was where he dealt with the surplus dross and substandard products from iron ore slting.
If the yan inadvertently stumbled upon it, it would soon beco obvious that he possessed extra iron mines and materials beyond the court’s jurisdiction.
This accidental event imdiately made him vigilant.
The places where the key figures of the material transaction case were hidden originally had no relation to this site. However, if these people remained, sooner or later they would be a threat; the sooner they were disposed of, the better.
Who would have thought that when proceeding to dispose of seven people, five of the bodies were actually discovered? Each instance seed coincidental, but so many coincidences without leaving traces were truly unsettling.
At this ti, Wang Xian was also at Prince Fu’s Mansion, his face slightly pale, saying: “I reckon, whether it’s the Crown Prince or Prince Yu, soone must already know the whereabouts of these people. We’re now very passive and need to think of a way to turn the situation around.”
As Wang Xian spoke, he looked towards Liu Yu. Throughout his official career, he had primarily dealt with practical affairs, and lacked expertise in strategy, leaving him to rely on advisors like Liu Yu.
The managent of Prince Fu’s affairs over the years, and the covert contest against the Crown Prince, were all handled under Liu Yu’s administration with hardly any mistakes. Wang Xian held him in so respect.
Liu Yu felt imnse pressure from Wang Xian’s inquisitive gaze.
He had previously been lucky, thinking the issue rely leaked from the little thug’s mouth, and that tily redies could potentially control the situation, at least preventing the capital yan from closing the case without evidence.
As for the thoughts of the court officials, that’s subjective. Since ancient tis, the path to the throne has been fraught with bloodshed; victors are kings, losers are bandits.
His Highness rely used so tactics on the project overseen by Prince Yu, and anyone insightful should understand this approach.
But the situation’s developnt was not as they expected. Not only did the little thief’s leaked information cost them the initiative, it prematurely exposed the matter.
Before they had ti to arrange anything, Ye Xinyan produced astonishingly complete construction records, the likes of which had only been heard of in legends.
With comprehensive, detailed construction records, pinpointing accident sections and reworking them was no longer a difficulty. This matter was entirely a blunder, not only was Prince Yu unhard, Guangsha Construction instead beca the most ticulous construction industry in the emperor’s eyes.
Liu Yu nodded respectfully to Wang Xian before turning to Prince Fu and saying: “We have already lost the initiative, and even the opponent’s thods are uncertain. For now, inaction is preferable; let the engineering project go. Anyway, the involved individuals are either imprisoned or disposed of. As for the iron mines and those iron ingots, leave them where they are, and don’t touch them anymore.”
Prince Fu pondered for a mont, still sowhat worried, “This case is no longer in the capital’s yan, and the Ministry of Justice hasn’t taken it up. I suspect Imperial Father has handed the case to Lih Mian. If Lih Mian gets involved, even without our actions, he might find sothing crucial.”
Shi Dong also interjected: “Based on past events, I fear our every move has long been observed. If Commander Lih takes over the investigation, could their side leak so clues to him? If that’s the case, even if we do nothing, we might not be able to hide our traces.”
“This won’t happen.” Prince Fu was quite certain about this.
He waved his hand and said: “This must be Lao Liu’s doing. He keeps things so secretive, completely hiding himself in the background, not wanting to reveal his cunning.
Everyone knows Lih Mian’s prowess; if Lao Liu dared to give Lih Mian any clues, he’d likely be caught by Lih Mian. I believe he’ll take that risk.”
Liu Yu nodded in agreent: “His Highness sees clearly. So now we just need to stop our previous actions. The extra iron mine, although unrecorded, can barely be mixed with the court’s docunted minerals. Without an expert thorough inspection, it’s unlikely to be noticed.
Iron materials also remain untouched; if the warehouse isn’t inventoried, no one can discern the court’s iron stock is exorbitantly large. From now on, as long as the dross disposal remains normal and unchecked, it should be feasible to cover up.”
Prince Fu agreed: “Then, as Mister Liu suggested.” Saying this, he turned to the two managers seated below, “From now on, halt iron ore slting, and don’t send the private route transport personnel ho. Arrange for them to work on the court’s public affairs and promise them extra wages.”
The two managers quickly stood and agreed.
At this point, Jiang Shuyuan, who had been silent, hesitated to speak: “Your Highness, before I ca, my father advised that we should plan for the worst-case scenario. If this matter truly can’t be concealed, instead of letting the emperor suspect Your Highness’s hidden motives regarding iron materials, it might be better to confess to His Majesty in advance.”
Prince Fu was about to take a sip of tea to ease his mood, but froze in mid-air upon hearing Jiang Shuyuan’s words.
Jiang Shuyuan, Prince Fu’s cousin, managed several business affairs for him. Although he was not directly involved in this matter, he knew the general direction, as did Prince Fu’s uncle.
Jiang Shuyuan’s words implied that his uncle really didn’t favor this case. He believed that using the court’s manpower and resources to privately collect excess iron ore and materials couldn’t be concealed.
But how could he confess to the emperor? Just this ti, or everything that happened in the past?
If he confessed everything from the past, then all the virtues and diligence he accumulated over the years would lose any persuasive power.
Liu Yu sighed inwardly; this was sothing he had subtly ntioned to Prince Fu more than half a month ago.
Prince Fu, being a royal, rely tripped his rival in the battle for the throne without causing severe consequences. Such an approach is considered mild in the struggle for the throne.
If His Highness had confessed to the emperor at that ti, the case would have been over, the capital’s yan officers wouldn’t need to wander around pretending to investigate, only to blindly stumble close to the truth, and opponents wouldn’t have been able to take advantage.
But Prince Fu cherished his image, unwilling to let the emperor and court officials see him use vast court resources as a stepping stone for his pursuit of power. To cover up this mistake, a larger disaster unwittingly erged.
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