When I returned to the capital, my mood was completely different.
Hearing that many ladies from aristocratic families had sent greeting cards to her in the past few days since she left Beijing, Ye Zhenzhen took them from the concierge and took a look and found that they were all family members of those involved in the case. The purpose of their visit was already obvious.
Ye Zhenzhen pretended not to know, replied vaguely, and dismissed the matter. Since her stance was different, there was no psychological burden at all in trying to push the envelope.
A few days passed, and Ye Zhenzhen gradually guessed the whole story of what happened in Qingyuan Pavilion that day. Cui Weizhen didn't want her to worry too much, so he didn't go into details about what happened that day, but he still revealed something about it involving his eldest cousin.
"Don't worry, nothing will happen to my eldest cousin. The reason why he went to Qingyuan Pavilion to attend the cultural gathering is just a bait to lure the fish to the bait."
A simple sentence revealed a lot of information, and Ye Zhenzhen gradually confirmed the guess she had made not long ago.
There was a fire in Qingyuan Pavilion, King Ke was burned by the fire, Emperor Xuanwu was furious, and all the people involved were arrested and imprisoned. This case registered in front of the emperor was not a trivial matter, but Cui Weizhen was not worried about the safety of his eldest cousin Wang Shiyu, obviously.
I know it well.
Wang Shiyu is the bait, who is the angler, and who is the fish?
Cui Weizhen kept secret about this. Ye Zhenzhen was secretly frightened and couldn't help asking the biggest doubt in her heart: "Who set the fire? How could King Ke be injured?"
Is it you? Or rather, the King of Wei?
Cui Weizhen's eyes were extremely complicated, and the depth of his eyes seemed to hide countless secrets. His expression seemed serious and warning, as if he was metaphorically saying something: "No matter how unscrupulous King Ke is, he is still the prince, no matter what.
Anyone who dares to take the initiative to harm the prince will lose the Holy Family."
Therefore, neither Cui Weizhen nor the King of Wei would do such a thing under the eyes of Emperor Xuanwu, injuring the enemy by one thousand and harming himself by eight hundred. After all, in the previous battles, in Emperor Xuanwu's mind, they were the victims of persecution.
The innocent image that had to fight back was impossible to act rashly this time.
So, why was King Ke injured this time?
Are they other princes? No, they don't have that much power to reach out to Qingyuan Pavilion. That is King Ke's territory, and there are not many people in the world who can hide it from King Ke.
Thinking of this, Ye Zhenzhen took a deep breath and looked at Cui Weizhen in surprise: "Could it be..."
"Silence."
Cui Weizhen covered her mouth to stop the answer she was about to blurt out, and said solemnly: "A gentleman should be cautious about his independence, and should not listen to outsiders."
Being so careful in his own mansion and in his own room shows how cautious Cui Weizhen is. Of course, the unspeakable object is already ready to be revealed.
Ye Zhenzhen took a deep breath for a while before she finally calmed down the huge waves in her heart. They said that a tiger's poison cannot eat its seeds, but in front of the imperial power, the so-called blood and family ties are not worth mentioning.
In the Qingyuan Pavilion Rebellion, everyone, including Cui Weizhen and King Wei, were pawns, and the one who played the chess was naturally the supreme one in power.
Only he can control everyone's destiny.
Ye Zhenzhen sighed, feeling a little sad: "What will happen next?"
"You'll find out soon."
It did come to light very quickly.
King Ke was injured, and Emperor Xuanwu arrested the relevant persons for the crime of forming a clique, harming the emperor's heirs, etc. This crime is extraordinary. If it is a serious crime, it is easy to be sentenced to death. Now every family is in a mess, looking for connections to plead for mercy.
, I hope I can survive this disaster.
Cui Weizhen deliberately let Ye Zhenzhen stay in Zhuangzi to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Now, the dust is finally settling.
At the court meeting the next day, the current head of the Wang family, Wang Junshen, submitted a begging letter, saying that his eldest son had made a big mistake out of ignorance and was willing to pay taxes to the court to atone for his sins.
The attitude of the Wang family pleased Emperor Xuanwu Longyan, who declared Wang Shiyu acquitted on the spot and appointed Wang Junshen as the prefect of Suzhou.
Once the imperial edict was issued, the whole court was in an uproar.
Everyone is familiar with the practice of paying taxes. In the past, major aristocratic families were divided into clans, and those clans that submitted to the imperial court took the initiative to pay taxes, including: dividing the land into acres, paying taxes according to the land tax, and releasing the tenants' private property. The tenants would then bear the land tax and corvee labor.
etc.
Break and then stand.
At the expense of their own interests, they gained strong political capital and officially entered the political core of the court.
Now that the Wang family in Taiyuan has also embarked on this path, how can they not shock the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty? What shocked them was not only the decisiveness of the Wang family's strong men, but also the sense of the crisis hidden behind it.
Now that the aristocratic family has become a target of the imperial court, how should they deal with the aristocratic family?
Some senior officials in the officialdom had already seen the power scheme behind Emperor Xuanwu, and spoke out against Emperor Xuanwu's will. Others did not know whether they saw it or not. As stakeholders, they also joined the party leader in opposing it, but their opposition had no effect.
Emperor Xuanwu has great power, Qiankun is arbitrary, and it is difficult for courtiers to stop his decision-making. The most important thing is that now that the imperial court has not shown its fangs, as outsiders, they do not have much confidence and position to interfere in this matter.
After the big court meeting, some people were happy and some were sad.
Some of the courtiers looked solemn, and they didn't have a good look when facing Cui Weizhen. Some people have already realized that this measure against the aristocratic family, and most likely against nobles in the future, has the shadow of Cui Shilang all the way. He is most likely to be
The proponents of this reform.
Cui Weizhen had already expected that such a day would come, and he would deal with it calmly, regardless of the ups and downs.
Ye Zhenzhen had no way of knowing that the waves in the court were strange, but the sudden decrease in the number of greetings made her aware. The second boot she had been waiting for for a long time finally fell. Miraculously, Ye Zhenzhen was not panicked, but felt that the dust had settled.
calm.
The day has finally come.
Cui Weizhen carefully observed his wife's emotions and saw that she was as usual, as if she had never been affected by the storm. He felt sour and unspeakable in his heart, with guilt, joy, pride, touch, and other emotions coming all over him. He never regretted it.
All I did was feel that I owed my wife.
"Idiot, you and I are one husband and wife, how can we be in debt?"
Ye Zhenzhen looked at him with a smile: "Even if you are the enemy of the world, I am willing to accompany you."
Cui Weizhen was greatly shocked: "I will never let you be in such a situation."
That's just the worst case scenario.
After years of gradual management, Cui Weizhen's reform, although it offended the interests of many nobles, also received the support of many Qingliu, especially the King of Wei's party, who were in the same boat, and there was absolutely no reason to let Cui Weizhen stand alone.
The most important thing is that Emperor Xuanwu's support is the most powerful weapon.
The Wang family has taken the lead in setting an example, and the hint is obvious enough. It depends on the choices of those noble families and nobles who are still in prison.