The Long Live Palace fell into silence for a moment. Everyone looked at the sound and saw Gu Zhili walking out slowly holding a memorial in his hand.
"Do you have to report something now?" Emperor Yu frowned displeased when he saw that it was him.
"Your Majesty! The Ministry of Punishment has heard a case in the past few days. The case involves the civil strife in Annan. The matter is urgent and I have to report it! This is the confession of the person involved in the case. Please see it before the Emperor!"
Emperor Yu took the memorial from Eunuch Shuangxi and read it. After closing the memorial, his sharp gaze swept across the crowd and finally landed on Liu Bingwen: "The Minister of Rites."
Liu Bingwen immediately came out holding a wat tablet: "I'm here!"
"Some of Annan's former important ministers expressed that your Ministry of Rites and the Annan thieves secretly colluded and concealed the civil strife from me. How do you explain this?" Emperor Yu's eyes were sinister, and his face was terrifyingly gloomy.
Liu Bingwen was shocked by the sudden accountability. He tried his best to restrain his panic and said respectfully: "Back, back to the emperor, someone is definitely framing this matter! I have a hundred courages, and I don't dare to deceive him."
Your Majesty! Please, your Majesty, please take a closer look!"
Emperor Yu narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at him, pursed his lips tightly and said nothing, obviously looking unbelieving.
Gu Zhili bowed his hands and said, "Your Majesty, in addition to these confessions, the person under interrogation also produced letters exchanged with officials from the Ministry of Rites, as well as bribes. After investigation by the Ministry of Punishments and Dali Temple, these evidences are accurate!"
"Your Majesty, I am wrong!" Upon hearing this, Liu Bingwen's expression suddenly changed, and he hurriedly knelt down on his knees.
"Liu Bingwen, you are so powerful! When I asked you to interrogate a case, you and the chief assistant started fighting! When I asked you to investigate the civil strife in Annan, you colluded with the Annan thief! As a second-rank minister, what else can you do?
What's going on? How many things are you hiding from me!" Emperor Yu slapped the dragon's bookcase and shouted angrily.
"Your Majesty, calm down!" Liu Bingwen slumped on the ground and said in a trembling voice: "This is someone who is persecuting me. My father, who is the queen, is a family member of yours. I will never do such rip-offs! I beg your Majesty.
Investigate this matter again, don’t be blinded by the bad guys!”
"No need to recheck!" Xia Yunqing came out with a wat tablet in hand and said seriously: "Your Majesty, General Lan Yu has been stationed on the border between Annan and Beiyu all year round. He knows everything about the civil strife in Annan!"
Emperor Yu raised his eyebrows and asked, "Oh? What did Lan Yu say?"
"The general said that the civil strife in Annan was just as Pei Xinyin said. It was Annan Ping'an Hou who started the civil strife, killed the leader of Annan and his heirs, and elected his own son to the throne. After he ascended the throne, in order to attract attention, His Majesty did not know this.
He also massacred all the loyal ministers who supported the old monarch. And the whole story..." Xia Yunqing turned his head and glanced at Liu Bingwen, and then said: "Everyone in the Ministry of Rites knows everything about it. So, the Annan thief spent a lot of money.
Come and seal it——"
"Xia Yunqing! Stop spewing blood!" Liu Bingwen glared at him bitterly and hurriedly complained to Emperor Yu: "Your Majesty, the first assistant has no evidence and no evidence. This is slandering me! You must make the decision for me!"
Xia Yunqing's face darkened, and she retorted coldly: "Oh, I always treat the situation the wrong person! I have no personal grudge against you, so why would I frame you!"
Liu Bingwen curled up his mouth and said angrily: "Hmph, who doesn't know that you, Xia Shoufu, have a close relationship with Lan Yu! That Xie Ji'an is also your disciple! Even the official who impeached Pingyang Marquis was your supporter.
Defeat! Oh, I can see it now. First you suppressed the emperor’s relatives, then Wang Su, and now it’s my turn! Xia Yunqing! Do you want the entire court to be yours and listen to you?
If so?"
Xia Yunqing stared at him coldly and said in a deep voice: "Liu Bingwen, you are really unreasonable and making nonsense! Everyone in the civil and military circles of the dynasty knows that I, Xia Yunqing, don't like to form cliques, even my own disciples! Besides, Pingyang Marquis
The father and son brought it upon themselves. And Wang Su was implicated by Wang Jing. What does this have to do with me! As for you colluding with Annan and deceiving the Holy Emperor, the Ministry of Punishment found the evidence! Do you have to say that the Ministry of Punishment and even Dali Temple colluded with me?
?".
After a verbal debate, Liu Bingwen was so angry and speechless that he had no choice but to kneel in front of the emperor and said sadly: "Your Majesty, think about it, how come these two things happened so coincidentally, both of them are closely related to Xia Yunqing
Many people pointed at me one after another! Among them
There must be a conspiracy! Your Majesty, Xia Yunqing has always been domineering! If you fall into his scheme, you will inevitably be at his mercy in the future!"
"That's enough! Come here, take him down and lock him up in the mansion for a month to meditate!" Emperor Yu slapped the dragon's bookcase, gritting his teeth in anger, and the color on his face changed.
"Your Majesty! You must not be blinded by a villain! Your Majesty!" Until Ruan Lang took Liu Bingwen out of the palace, his cries were still heard.
Emperor Yu took a few deep breaths, calmed down, and then looked at Gu Zhili: "Xie Ji'an's case is also in the hands of your Criminal Department and Dali Temple. We must find the person behind it!"
"Yes! I obey your order!" Gu Zhili bowed deeply, and a light suddenly flashed in his eyes.
Another farce ended. Emperor Yu lay down in a side hall filled with benzoin and took a nap. Eunuch Shuangxi and Ming En waited patiently on the side. They kept their mouths shut and did not dare to disturb his rest.
But how could Emperor Yu sleep? Although the Long Live Palace was in chaos just now, the civil strife in Annan, the friendship between Lan Yu and Xia Yunqing, and Xie Ji'an's memorial about the foundation of the country, all stepped on his pain points, making him
He was distraught.
Although Liu Bingwen deliberately pretended to be crazy and acted foolishly, there was some truth in his unreasonable troubles: Marquis Pingyang, Wang Su, and Liu Bingwen had all lost power, and now the civil and military forces in the court immediately changed the direction and all sided with Xia Yunqing.
He didn't realize that this not only broke the usual balance! In fact, there was no threat to Xia Yunqing's family being the dominant one. Although he had a bad temper, he was a loyal minister! However, behind him was Lan Yu, who held military power.
It is a huge threat to the imperial power!
"Your Majesty! Gu Zhili, the Minister of Punishment, asks to see you!" A young eunuch stood at the door and reported respectfully.
Emperor Yu lay still with his eyes closed for a while, then said lazily: "Let him come in."
After a while, Gu Zhili bowed his body and walked carefully through the door. He knelt in front of him and bowed to the ground respectfully: "Your Majesty, Gu Zhili, is here to see the Emperor. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
"What's the matter with Gu Aiqing?" Emperor Yu still had his eyes closed, and his voice was full of exhaustion and a little impatience.
"Regarding Xie Ji'an's case, I don't know whether to talk about something or not." Gu Zhili said hesitantly.
"Tell me, what else have you discovered?" Emperor Yu's tone was neither salty nor bland, as if he was not interested.
"Back to the emperor, Xia Shoufu has disciples all over the world, and the Yamen of the Ministry of Justice is no exception. I heard them say in private that when Shoufu was giving lectures to his disciples, he seemed to have mentioned some views on the country's foundation...
..." At this point, he stopped abruptly and raised his eyelids to look at the emperor carefully.
"What did he say?" Emperor Yu finally opened his eyes and moved his gaze towards him.
"He...he said...said..." Gu Zhili hesitated, seeming to have something to hide.
"It's okay if you say so. I won't blame you." Emperor Yu held Eunuch Shuangxi's hand and slowly sat up.
"Yes." Gu Zhili bowed his hands and said cautiously: "Xia Shoufu did express his concerns about the country's foundation in private, and he was also dissatisfied with... His Majesty's revision of the late emperor's records. And... I
I heard that back then he repeatedly persuaded the Queen Mother Xiaokang to send King Yi to the fiefdom to build a mansion..."
"What are you saying is absolutely true?" Emperor Yu's voice gradually became colder.
Gu Zhili hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, this is just a secret conversation I heard from some of Xia Shoufu's disciples. I have not confirmed whether it is true or not, so I dare not say for sure."
Emperor Yu pondered for a long time, as if talking to himself: "Xia Shoufu has always been unscrupulous and straightforward, and he has many dissatisfaction with me. I am not surprised at all that he can say such things."
"Your Majesty, calm down." Gu Zhili looked at his face and said with a smile: "This must be the original intention of the Chief Assistant. Maybe someone is framing him behind his back. How about... I go check it out in private -"
"No need." Emperor Yu looked at him and said calmly: "I know this well, please step back first."
"Yes." Gu Zhili bowed deeply and then slowly exited the hall.
When Gu Zhili's figure disappeared completely, Emperor Yu subconsciously touched the dragon chair under him, and made a decision in his heart - Xia Yunqing can always sit firmly in the position of chief minister because he is
He is a loyal person. But if the person he is loyal to is not himself, or he feels that he is not worthy of being someone else’s king, then that is a different story!
"Shuangxi, go and call Xia Shoufu. I want to have a good talk with him." Emperor Yu's tone was calm, as if he just wanted to chat with an old friend.
The tail of summer is getting shorter and shorter, and autumn tigers can't wait to come in advance. But although the sun is still blazing during the day, it immediately becomes cooler when the sun sets in the west.
A carriage quietly parked at the back door of Wang Su's residence. Gu Zhili got off the carriage and was invited inside.
"I would like to express my congratulations to Wang Shangshu!" As soon as he entered the door of the study, Gu Zhili immediately gave a big salute.
"I am far away from the government now, and my son is injured. How can I be happy?" Wang Su casually flipped through the book in his hand and replied casually.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, Congratulations, Your Majesty! The Emperor has just issued a decree, appointing you to be the Chief Assistant of the Cabinet!" Gu Zhili's face was full of joy, and his voice was raised a lot, for fear that others would not hear.
"Where is Xia Yunqing?" Wang Su remained as steady as a mountain.
"Xia Yunqing has been demoted to Lingzhou official position and left Beijing to take up his post three days ago." Gu Zhili said with a smile.
"Heh." Wang Su put down the book in his hand and twisted his beard and said: "Life is really ups and downs. From being the chief minister of the cabinet with more than ten thousand people, to being downgraded to an unpopular sixth-rank official, I think he must
It must feel uncomfortable."
"He has been sitting in the position of chief assistant for too long. Now that the situation has changed, it's time to replace him!" Gu Zhili was somewhat gloating at his misfortune.
Wang Su slowly stood up, walked to him, and then pulled him to sit down together: "Master Gu, I owe this to you for your clever plan of 'killing two birds with one stone'! First, he used Xia Yunqing's disciples to set up a trap, attracting Liu Bingwen and Xia Yunqing.
They fought hard. They took advantage of the Annan Rebellion to kill Liu Bingwen. Finally, they took advantage of the emperor's taboo to completely lose Xia Yunqing's power! I have been in the officialdom for decades, and I have to say, your trick is really good!"
"It is a humble honor to work for the Chief Assistant!" Gu Zhili quickly bowed deeply and respectfully.
"Don't worry. For those who are loyal to me, I will never lose money." Wang Su glanced at Gu Zhili meaningfully, and the two of them smiled tacitly.