12dz Chapter 179 Li Si was very puzzled
Chapter 179 Li Si was very puzzled
Li Si stared at Meng Tian with suspicion, his eyes revealing incomprehension and doubt. Meng Tian calmly took out a token from his body, which was engraved with exquisite patterns and the mark symbolizing the authority of the King of Qin.
Li Si looked closely and immediately recognized it as the token bestowed by the King of Qin. After confirming its authenticity, Li Si couldn't help but ponder to himself: "Why would the King send Meng Tian to examine the prison roster? Is there some secret hidden within, something even I, the Minister of Justice, cannot know?"
He racked his brains for a long time, but still couldn't come up with a clue. Finally, Li Si shook his head helplessly and decided not to continue guessing the emperor's intentions. So, he asked Meng Tian, "General Meng, I wonder if you have come here to check the prison roster of the central prison or the local prisons?"
Meng Tian replied expressionlessly, "I need both."
Upon hearing this, Li Si couldn't help but frown and asked again, "With so many names on the register, General Meng, can you possibly look through them all by yourself?"
However, Meng Tian simply replied, "There's no need for Li Tingwei to worry about that."
Seeing that Meng Tian remained unmoved by reason or persuasion, Li Si was furious and almost burst into a tirade. However, having served as an official for many years, he knew that acting impulsively would only bring him trouble, so he suppressed his anger and said, "Very well, since General Meng insists, then I hope you won't find these lists too numerous and cumbersome." With that, Li Si turned and strode towards the Court of Justice, with Meng Tian following closely behind, walking alongside him.
Neither of them spoke a word along the way, creating an unusually heavy and oppressive atmosphere. Before long, they arrived at the outer hall of the Imperial Treasury. Li Si stopped and turned to Meng Tian, saying, "General Meng, please make yourself at home."
Meng Tian nodded without hesitation, then found a seat and sat down quietly, waiting for Li Si to present the required list.
With a serious expression, Li Si shouted loudly to the officials of the Court of Justice: "Gentlemen, General Meng has been ordered by the King to urgently review the rosters of prisoners in the central prison and prisons in various places. You must go and find them immediately and submit them to us."
As soon as he finished speaking, one of the officials looked troubled. After hesitating for a moment, he cautiously said, "Sir, there are a lot of names on this list of prisoners. It would be very inconvenient to find them all."
Li Si frowned slightly, his sharp gaze sweeping over the official, and said in a deep voice, "Since General Meng insists on this request, we only need to follow orders and need not have any concerns."
At this moment, Meng Tian crossed his arms and added firmly, "What this general wants is the list of prisoners who are still in custody. There is no need to include the list of those who have been released or who have passed away."
The official sensed the tense atmosphere between Li Si and Meng Tian, and a chill ran down his spine, beads of sweat instantly forming on his forehead. He cautiously glanced at Li Si, only to find him expressionless, as unresponsive as a statue. Left with no other choice, the official could only nod meekly and reply, "Yes... I obey, I'll go find him immediately." With that, he turned and dashed downstairs as if granted a pardon.
Meng Tian turned to look at Li Si, a subtle glint of something unusual flashing in his eyes, and slowly said, "Commander Li is very busy with many affairs, and I'm sure he has other important matters to attend to. I can handle the matter of checking the roster by myself, so there's no need for Commander Li to assist me."
Li Si raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a faint smile, and replied, "In that case, I will trouble General Meng. I do indeed have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now. I hope General Meng will not take offense."
Meng Tian cupped his hands in a respectful bow and said loudly, "Li Tingwei, you're too kind. Please make yourself at home." After saying that, the two looked at each other and smiled, but behind that smile seemed to lie a deeper mystery.
Li Si glanced at Meng Tian with suspicion, then turned and slowly left. As he walked, he kept pondering: [Why would the King hide something from me? Is it because the King no longer trusts me? But the King just entrusted me with an important task! What's going on?] Countless questions flooded his mind, leaving Li Si feeling extremely confused and perplexed.
Meanwhile, Meng Tian sat there, his gaze fixed on Li Si's receding figure. In truth, Meng Tian had never liked Li Si. In his eyes, Li Si was a "smiling tiger," outwardly kind and smiling, but inwardly treacherous. Normally, Li Si always presented a gentle and harmless demeanor, seemingly a perfect good-natured person. However, only Meng Tian knew that all of this was merely a facade.
Especially regarding Han Fei's death, Meng Tian always believed that Li Si was involved. He clearly remembered that Li Si, out of jealousy that Han Fei's talent far surpassed his own, disregarded their camaraderie and maliciously slandered Han Fei before the king, falsely accusing him of being a spy sent by the state of Han. Not only that, it was said that Li Si later secretly poisoned Han Fei, ultimately leading to his death. Thinking of this, Meng Tian's disgust for Li Si grew even stronger.
This matter was of paramount importance, and from the very beginning, Li Si had been constantly trying to extract relevant information from Meng Tian. This behavior instantly heightened Meng Tian's vigilance to the extreme. He knew that Li Si was treacherous and cunning, and if he were to resort to trickery, he might not be able to defeat him.
Therefore, when faced with Li Si's seemingly casual but actually cunning probing, Meng Tian refused to divulge a single secret. He knew this matter was of utmost importance, and thus dared not relax or let his guard down for even a moment.
However, through this incident, Meng Tian keenly realized that the King's trust in him was clearly greater than his own. This realization was like a shot in the arm for him, giving him enough confidence to face the various challenges and threats brought by Li Si without any fear.
Before long, the bundles of rosters that Meng Tian needed were piled up like small mountains on the low table in front of him. Looking at the seemingly endless pile of rosters, Meng Tian felt a heavy pressure as if a mountain was pressing down on him, but he knew very well that this task was of utmost importance and absolutely could not be accomplished by delegating it to others. Only by personally taking charge could he ensure that nothing went wrong.
The officials in the Court of Justice silently watched Meng Tian, who was engrossed in the register, none daring to utter a single word. They mechanically placed the registers on the table and hurriedly turned to leave, as if afraid that lingering even a second longer would bring trouble upon themselves. In no time, the once bustling outer hall of the Imperial Library was now left with only Meng Tian alone.
With a helpless sigh, Meng Tian took a deep breath, slowly reached out and opened the first register, focusing intently on reviewing each page. Whenever he found someone who satisfied him, he would carefully take out the paper he always carried with him and meticulously record their name with a brush, not daring to be careless in the slightest.