Chapter 371 Concubine Xian Was Summoned By The Empress!
Princess Taiping was silent for a long time, nodded and said:
"I understand the relationship between the three of you and your father Gu Yuzhang's affairs. Now I want to know how they avoided Taifu Temple, the Shaofu Superintendent and the Ministry of Household Affairs!"
Just as Gu Feng was about to speak, Hedong Hou suddenly laughed and said: "Servant Yuwen, you are finally here!"
There was a sound of footsteps, and a man in red official robes was seen entering the hall with a team of official servants.
This person is one of the former prime ministers Yu Wenjie and the Minister of Punishment Yu Wenqiao.
Yu Wenqiao held an official document in his hand and said loudly: "I have been ordered to arrest the culprit who killed Yan Yaosheng, a member of Zhongshushe. This is the official document approving the arrest from Zhongshushe."
Generally, when the Criminal Department arrests criminals, there is no need for official arrest documents. Only when the criminal is in a high position, it is necessary to use the official arrest documents from the Ministry of Public Security to force the arrest.
Princess Taiping held a high position and an official document was of no use to her, but she had an eldest princess, two princes and a county marquis in front of her.
In this case, whichever side can grasp the legal principles will have the advantage!
Princess Chengyang persuaded her earnestly: "Taiping, as a princess of our Tang Dynasty, you cannot blatantly break the law and obstruct the court's handling of cases!"
Princess Taiping remained silent.
Song Guogong winked at Yu Wenqiao, who nodded and led the people towards Gu Feng.
Su Qingjie's mighty body suddenly blocked the path and shouted loudly: "If Her Royal Highness Princess Taiping doesn't say anything, no one can take away anyone from the Princess Palace!"
Yu Wenqiao raised his eyebrows and said angrily: "General Su, I have official documents from Zhongshu Sheng. If you dare to stop me, you are openly defying the laws of the imperial court!"
Su Qingjie curled his lips and said with a grin: "Hey, what a big hat! Minister Yuwen, which minister of Zhongshu Province signed this official document of yours?"
Yu Wenqiao hesitated for a moment and said, "This is signed by Minister Zhao himself."
The Zhao Shilang he refers to is Zhao Renben. Although he is also a Shilang like him, he is a high-ranking Shilang of Zhongshu and is respectfully called the Deputy Order of Zhongshu.
There were two ministers in Zhongshu Province. Besides Zhao Renben, the other one was Lou Shide, who had recently taken refuge with Wu Chengsi.
However, in addition to the official position of Zhongshu Shilang, Zhao Renben also had the title of "Tong Zhongshu's Menxia Pingzhangshi".
This made him the prime minister, with the power to sign official documents and seals.
Princess Taiping said coldly: "You can take him if you want, but I don't trust your punishment department. Go and call the people from Dali Temple."
The Marquis of Hedong laughed and said: "Your Royal Highness, unfortunately, this kind of case is usually handled by the Ministry of Justice! You don't know much about court affairs, so don't stop it."
He was actually rude to Princess Taiping in his words. Zhang Gou was filled with anger and said loudly: "You are so brave, how dare you be rude to Her Royal Highness the Princess!"
The Marquis of Hedong stared over with a pair of eagle eyes, and said coldly: "Who are you, and what is your official title? Do you dare to talk to me like this?"
Zhang Gou didn't have any rank or title, so he couldn't answer for the moment.
Zhou Xing smiled and said: "Mr.
The Marquis of Hedong said with a cold face: "Don't follow this trick like this. The Zhongshu Province signs the official document and takes the person. If any of you stop it, you are openly defying the laws of the imperial court!"
Zhou Xing turned his eyes and said loudly: "Servant Yuwen, where is your Li Shangshu? Why didn't he come?"
Yu Wenqiao sneered at the corner of his mouth: "Li Shangshu is busy with official duties and has no time to pay attention to such trivial matters."
"Who said I am busy with official duties!"
A cold shout suddenly came from the gate, and everyone turned around and saw Li Siwen, the Minister of Punishment, striding over.
He came straight to Yuwen Qiao, stretched out his hand and took the official document from his hand, and said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, Minister Yuwen. Just leave the rest to me."
The Marquis of Hedong said with a dark face: "Li Shangshu, although you are the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, you cannot bend the law for personal gain! Please take this little thief to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment immediately, otherwise we will not sit idly by and ignore it!"
Zhou Xing laughed and said: "Mr.
"If you have any objections to him, according to regulations, you can also write a memorial and go to His Majesty to impeach him!"
Li Siwen waved his sleeves and said calmly: "That's exactly what I said. If Mr. Xue is dissatisfied with Mr. Li, just go and impeach him."
The Marquis of Hedong gritted his teeth and remained silent. Yu Wenqiao walked up to him and shook his head, expressing his helplessness.
Song Guogong suddenly lowered his voice and said: "Brother Yuwen, where is nephew Xue Xian? Why didn't he come with you?"
Hedong Hou's eyes flashed and he said: "Yes, where did Shao'er go?"
Yu Wenqiao was startled and said: "He wrote a letter and sent someone to ask me to come over quickly. I don't know where he is!"
Song Guogong nodded slightly and praised: "It seems that Nephew Xue Xian has expected that the official documents from the Ministry of Justice will not be able to do anything to them, so he asked Brother Yuwen to come over to delay time. He should have entered the palace."
Hedong Hou nodded repeatedly: "This child has been shrewd since he was a child. He doesn't want to be able to think carefully at such a critical moment."
Seeing them whispering, Princess Taiping was worried that something had gone wrong again, and urged: "Gu Feng, please continue talking, how did they bypass the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Shaofu Superintendent and the Taifu Temple?"
Gu Feng said bitterly: "This is the most cunning thing about these traitors! A major event happened at that time, which perfectly covered up the sudden increase in the purchase price of fabrics."
He glanced at the Marquis of Hedong, gritted his teeth and said, "It was because of this incident that Xue Hui came up with this plan to steal the treasury's wealth!"
"What's the big deal?" Princess Taiping asked.
Li Siwen's face suddenly condensed and he said, "Could it be the "businessmen fleeing" incident ten years ago?"
"That's it!" Gu Feng said loudly:
"At that time, due to the suppression of the eldest son's family, the people of the aristocratic family were panicked. Many people fled Chang'an with their properties, causing many shops to close and prices in Chang'an City to skyrocket!"
Princess Taiping was stunned.
I have to say that Xue Hui's plan was really clever. He took advantage of the soaring prices to increase the price of fabric purchases several times, so naturally others wouldn't think twice about it.
After a pause, she frowned and said, "But the impact of this incident will eventually subside, won't it be exposed by then?"
Gu Feng glanced at Wei Xuanzhen and said, "This is the reason why Xue Hui wooed the Wei family again. At that time, the Wei family was the largest player in the clothing industry in Chang'an City."
"In order to prevent Taifu Temple, the Shaofu Supervisor and the Ministry of Household Affairs from suspecting, they must keep the price of private gray cloth at a high level! The gray cloth in all the fabric shops of the Wei family is sold at extremely high prices, just to cover the palace's high-priced purchase of gray cloth from the imperial merchants.
!”
Princess Taiping suddenly realized.
No wonder their subordinates investigated and found that the Wei family's business had been losing money. After all, after the supply was restored, prices should have fallen. They maintained high prices, so naturally no one bought their cloth.
No wonder the Ministry of Revenue, Taifu Temple and Shaofu Superintendent were not aware of it.
Even if they find that the price of cloth has not dropped and become suspicious, they will find out that there are indeed many high-priced cloths among the private sector, and they will be relieved.
You may still feel that it was because of what happened that year that the cloth industry was dealt a blow that is difficult to recover from.
If this kind of thing were reported to the public, it would be tantamount to blaming the emperor and empress for doing something wrong. How could they dare to pursue it further?
Princess Taiping was silent for a long time and asked: "Gu Feng, how long did the theft of the treasury last?"
"Seven years! They started planning this ten years ago, took a year to prepare, officially implemented it nine years ago, and continued until two years ago, a full seven years!"
Marquis Hedong suddenly clapped his hands and praised: "Wonderful, so wonderful! I dare not even think about such a bold plan, but you can make it flawless. I have to admire you!"
Zhang Gou said angrily: "What Brother Gu said is so reasonable and so precise that I can't tolerate your denial!"
Xu Guogong sneered: "Not necessarily, he just mentioned a feasible way to steal the national treasury. It sounds like that, but there is no evidence."
Song Guogong said calmly: "Mr. Gu, you said that I, the chief provincial official in the palace, only guards himself and steals, right?"
Gu Feng raised his head and said, "Not bad!"
Song Guogong said again: "You just said that the official of the Textile and Dyeing Department is colluding with us, so what if we might as well call him over to confront him?"
Gu Feng said bitterly: "You used your power to transfer him outside Beijing two years ago. This person died suddenly a year ago, so naturally I can no longer identify you!"
Song Guogong sighed and said, "If you say this, I really don't know how to defend you."
Princess Taiping smiled and said: "From my perspective, this matter is very obvious."
"Oh? Please give me some advice from Your Highness the Princess!" Song Guogong said expressionlessly.
Princess Taiping looked around and said in a cold tone: "If what this person said is false, why did you go to war and insist on killing him?"
Song Guogong remained calm and said calmly:
"The thing is very simple. This person was originally a slave of Lord Xue, and he has always admired Concubine Xue Xian. Because Lord Xue sent Concubine Xue Xian to the palace, this person holds a grudge and intends to take revenge!"
"In order to take revenge on the Xue family, he first killed Yan Yaosheng in an attempt to provoke the Xue and Wei families into confrontation, but unfortunately we found out.
Later, he tortured Yan Yaosheng and found out that the Wei family's wealth was astonishing, so he came up with a vicious idea and fabricated such a big lie to frame our three families!"
Gu Feng's cheeks turned red with anger, and he said angrily: "You... you are so shameless!"
Xu Guogong sneered: "Young man named Gu, don't think that just because you are good-looking, you can eat swan meat like a toad! What kind of person is Concubine Xue Xian, is it beyond your reach?"
The Marquis of Hedong sighed: "It's all my fault that I was so soft-hearted and didn't have the staff to kill this slave, but I caused so much trouble!"
Gu Feng's teeth were chattering as he stared at Hedong Hou's neck, wanting to pounce on him and take a bite.
"Brother Gu, don't be angry, don't you have a letter from Princess Nanyang?" Zhou Xing reminded.
Marquis Hedong's face darkened, then he showed his white teeth and said solemnly: "That's right, bitch slave, don't you claim to have some letter from Princess Nanyang? Why don't you take it out and take a look?"
He expected that Gu Feng would be in danger today and did not dare to take the letter with him.
As long as he is encouraged to go elsewhere to collect the letter and leave the princess's mansion, he will have every opportunity to kill Gu Feng and silence him.
He has the Gu Feng family slave contract in his hand, and killing him only requires a small fine. This is the law of the Tang Dynasty. Even if Empress Wu and Wu Chengsi knew that he killed someone and silenced him, there would be nothing they could do!
Gu Feng indeed showed hesitation.
Xu Guogong sneered and said: "You are talking so eloquently, but when I ask you to get evidence, you can't even let out a fart! Your Highness, you should have seen the situation clearly, right?"
Princess Chengyang advised again: "Taiping, give this person to us and just pretend that what happened today never happened, okay?"
Princess Taiping frowned, glanced at Gu Feng and said, "Do you have a letter from Aunt Nanyang?"
Gu Feng's face turned bright and dark. He raised his head and looked at the ceiling, not knowing what he was thinking.
Zhang Gou said anxiously: "You should tell me quickly. If you don't produce evidence, how can Her Royal Highness help you?"
Song Guogong suddenly remembered something, smiled slightly, and said:
"Mr. Gu, you just said that Yan Yaosheng and Sun Lang are both your brothers. Yan Yaosheng is dead. Could it be that the letter is in Sun Lang's hands?"
Gu Feng's face turned red and he shouted: "You...have you already killed him?" This sentence was tantamount to asking for help.
The Marquis of Hedong looked up to the sky and laughed. He no longer had any worries and said solemnly: "Your Highness, do you want to protect this bitch slave again?"
Princess Taiping gritted her teeth and remained silent.
She suddenly complained in her heart that at such a critical moment, Wu Chengsi had disappeared without knowing where he was, leaving her to deal with it alone!
Li Siwen seemed to have guessed what she was thinking. He came to her side with a smile and lowered his voice and said: "Your Highness, there is no need to panic. Your Highness, King Zhou, will have a way to deal with it."
Princess Taiping's heart moved, and then she remembered that Li Siwen's arrival was too coincidental, and hurriedly asked: "Li Shangshu, did your second cousin ask you to come here?"
Li Siwen nodded.
Princess Taiping was convinced that Wu Chengsi was in charge of the overall situation, and she felt confident.
Princess Chengyang was still persuading: "Taiping, listen to my aunt, the emperor's health is getting worse and worse. If our aunt and nephew make trouble like this, I'm afraid it will make his health deteriorate further."
Princess Taiping said coldly: "My father has been fair and strict throughout his life and cares about the people. If I turn my back on Gu Feng in order to cover up your evil deeds, then I would really be sorry for him!"
The Marquis of Hedong hummed: "Gu Feng is firstly a slave of my Xue Mansion, and the contract of sale is in my hand; secondly, he is the murderer of Yan Yaosheng, and Zhongshu saved the official arrest document.
If you continue to unreasonably protect him, the civil and military officials will not agree, and neither will the imperial regulations!"
Zhou Xing said hurriedly: "Master Xue, please calm down. Why don't you use the lower official's suggestion and let the people from Yushitai come to investigate Mr. Gu? What do you think?"
Song Guogong said calmly: "With Li Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment here, wouldn't it be better for the Ministry of Punishment to handle it directly? Could it be that Her Royal Highness the Princess cannot trust Li Shangshu?"
"I can't trust Minister Yuwen!" Princess Taiping glared.
Song Guogong smiled and said: "Li Shangshu, it seems that Her Royal Highness the Princess feels that your influence in the Ministry of Justice is not as good as that of Minister Yuwen. In this case, why does Li Shangshu continue to tread in this muddy water?"
Li Siwen twisted his beard and smiled and said: "Her Royal Highness is right to worry. I am ashamed to say that Mr. Li has only been serving as the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment for less than a month. His words in the Ministry of Punishment are indeed not very effective."
Song Guogong also knew that the Li family and the Wu family were related by marriage, so it was not easy to persuade Li Siwen.
After looking at each other with Hedong Marquis and Xu Guogong, he nodded and said: "In that case, let's ask the officers from Yushitai to investigate Yan Yaosheng's case."
With that said, he asked one of his subordinates to go to the Yushitai to invite people.
Princess Taiping also sent a person to the censor's platform to ask Wu Yizong, the censor's doctor, to come in person.
Gu Feng has no evidence on his body and also admits that he killed Yan Yaosheng. It is difficult to force him to stay in the princess mansion.
Princess Taiping only hoped that Wu Chengsi would come over quickly while waiting.
After the two sides reached a tacit understanding, the Jinwu Guards all left the lobby, with only Su Qingjie and Dugu De staying.
Without the dark Kingo Guards, the hall is much emptier, and the depressing atmosphere has been relieved.
Many talented people who were highly stressed finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Princess Taiping returned to the main seat and sat down, beckoning Gu Feng to stand next to her. Li Siwen, Su Qingjie, Zhou Xing and others also took their seats.
The Marquis of Hedong, Duke Xu, Duke Song and Princess Chengyang gathered around and discussed in low voices.
The Marquis of Hedong glanced at the talented men with his eagle eyes, and said in a deep voice: "Today's matters must be suppressed as much as possible, and these scholars cannot be allowed to talk nonsense."
Song Guogong pondered and said: "After the meeting is over, I will personally go to Linghu's house and let them come forward to warn these scholars. It should be okay."
Xu Guogong nodded and said: "With the prestige of the Linghu family in the Imperial College, no student in the world dares to offend them. I think it is feasible."
The Marquis of Hedong frowned. He felt that just a warning was not enough, but the current enemies were Princess Taiping and the Wu family, so he nodded in agreement.
About two-quarters of an hour passed, but I heard footsteps and someone came in again from outside the door.
When Hedong Hou saw the visitor, he was surprised and said: "Shao'er, you..."
Halfway through his words, he saw Xue Shao's pale face, and his heart trembled, and he said, "Didn't you see the virtuous concubine when you entered the palace?"
Xue Shao said solemnly: "Second uncle, when my nephew entered the palace, His Highness the Concubine Xian happened to be summoned by Her Highness the Queen, so he was unable to see her."
"How could it be such a coincidence?" Xu Guogong asked in shock.
Song Guogong's face changed slightly, and he squinted his eyes and said, "I'm afraid it's not a coincidence. Li Siwen arrived right after Shao'er found brother Yuwen. When Shao'er went to the palace, Concubine Xian was summoned by the queen again. Apparently someone was behind the scenes."
Marquis Hedong took a deep breath and said in a hoarse voice: "It's Wu Chengsi!"
Princess Chengyang covered her mouth and said, "Could it be that he has been secretly staring at Shao'er?"
Xue Shao said solemnly: "Although I was very careful along the way and felt that no one was following me, judging from the results now, I should have been watched by him."
Xu Guogong gritted his teeth and said: "I have dealt with him once. This person is extremely shrewd and difficult to deal with!"
Hedong Hou snorted coldly and said: "Since he didn't show up before to monitor Shao'er, now that Shao'er has come back, why doesn't he show up yet?"
Xu Guogong glared and said, "Did he go to His Majesty to file a complaint against us?"
Hedong Hou shook his head and said: "No, they don't have any evidence. Even if they go to His Majesty, there is nothing we can do!"
Song Guogong's face suddenly turned pale and he said: "Could he be..."
The Marquis of Hedong asked hurriedly: "Master Xiao, what's wrong?"
Without waiting for Xiao Kai to answer, a person suddenly rushed in outside the door, but it was Guo Yang, the housekeeper of Xiao Mansion!
Song Guogong asked urgently: "Mr. Guo, is there something wrong in the mansion?"
Guo Yang nodded and said in panic: "Sir, the King of Zhou broke into our house with his men and took away my uncle's body!"
…
Let me explain, I didn’t mean to update too late, but I kept updating the time in advance, and it ended up being early in the morning! It affects everyone’s sleep, which is really not good, so I will update after 11pm in the future!
It was supposed to be updated at 11 o'clock tomorrow, but the span was too big, so it was moved forward to today. This is the second update today! (Manual dog head)