The next day in the court hall, when Chu Wei said, "The Duke of Zhen and his family will be exiled to Qianzhou and will never return to Beijing," all the courtiers' eyes widened.
Everyone speculated about the reason behind his words.
Although there was a tit-for-tat confrontation between Zhen Guo Gong and Mr. Xiao Zhang in the court yesterday, and in the end Zhen Guo Gong also said that he wanted to "resign his old age and return to his hometown", but none of them could understand that His Majesty meant that Zhen Guo Gong "returned to his hometown with honor"?
Therefore, many people were expecting His Majesty to congratulate Zhen Guogong and his family today, but they did not want to wait for such news.
Especially the courtiers of Zhen Guogong's lineage, who didn't know what happened, couldn't help but feel uneasy in their hearts.
But anyone can see that His Majesty, who used to have a pleasant appearance in the past, has a cold face today and is obviously in a bad mood.
Even if everyone has thousands of questions in their mind, they dare not ask them in court.
It wasn't until the next day that everyone inquired about each other and heard that "His Royal Highness went to the government office but was injured when he came back" and "Zhang Tianhe, the governor of the capital, asked to see Tianyan", everyone gradually came up with something else.
smell.
No one who can go to court is a fool. If they say that these two things are not related, they will not believe it even to death.
Therefore, some of them were still lucky, thinking that Chu Wei was angry. After he was angry, he would go and persuade him, maybe he could change his mind, and then the ministers could buy the favor of the Duke of Zhen.
, also took a rest and thought.
If it were a side matter, there might be room for maneuver, but the matter involved the Crown Prince, and His Highness the Crown Prince was injured. If they didn't know how to deal with it, how many heads could they take?
When the Zhenguo Gong Party heard the news, they were completely stunned.
Just when they thought they were unable to save their lives, someone suddenly thought of the Eighth Prince Chu Kuo and the Queen Mother.
Although the Queen Mother is a female, she is still His Majesty's mother. If she can intercede, she may be able to deal with it.
However, when they quietly sent someone to inquire, they found out that the Queen Mother actually left Beijing for the Royal Courtyard that day after yesterday's "incident of heavenly punishment" on the grounds of "praying for the royal family and meditating on her own mistakes."
Everyone had no choice but to place their last hope on the Eighth Prince Chu Kuo. However, all the letters sent to the Eighth Prince's Mansion were returned. When people went there, they found that the door was closed and no visitors were allowed.
Upon learning of this incident, the Zhen Guo Gong Party members were instantly heartbroken.
From the day they joined Zhen Guogong's party, they knew that all of Zhen Guogong's plans were nothing more than paving the way for the eighth prince Chu Kuo.
So they are not so much the party of the Zhenguo Duke as the party of the Eighth Prince, but now that the prince is still here, they cannot do it so blatantly.
But they never thought that at such a juncture, the Duke of Zhenguo, who had devoted all his efforts for him, would be directly abandoned by the eighth prince.
For a time, many people remembered what Zhang Qingjiu said when they were at the Palace of Prayer.
What she asked at that time was, "One day, for the sake of his own selfish desires, His Highness the Eighth Prince will push the people around him out of the way to prevent disasters?"
They remembered the scene very clearly. Chu Kuo looked angry and did not answer.
Now, there is no need for him to answer.
Because the answer is already in everyone's mind.
Although the imperial edict has been issued, there must be a reason for the important minister to end up like this, and they are also looking to see if the reason is what they guessed in their hearts.
After all, everyone knows that if the prince is really assassinated, it would not be an exaggeration to kill the nine clans.
When they heard the high-pitched voice of Eunuch Laifu read out: "The Duke of Zhenguo formed a party for personal gain, established a brothel to engage in corruption and bribery, gathered information to blackmail courtiers, spread rumors, and attempted to kill and silence the criminals when they were caught." Everyone understood -
Duke Zhenguo really assassinated the prince.
After all, the above words are obviously to support the excuse of "the Duke of Zhen was exiled to Qianzhou".
Everyone was filled with emotion and couldn't help but be grateful to His Majesty for his kindness and kindness. Even though Duke Zhen Guo had committed such a big crime, he could be spared his life.
It was already evening when Zhang Qingjiu woke up, and his head was still a little swollen and painful, but it was no longer serious.
The things that happened yesterday flooded into her head like a tide, making her frown.
It was still a familiar bedroom, but there was no sound or familiar smell.
With a gentle sigh, Zhang Qingjiu got up and got out of bed. As soon as he landed, he heard footsteps coming from outside.
Feng Zhi looked at Zhang Qingjiu who was standing and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He put the decoction in his hand to the table beside him and said, "I said you would wake up at this hour, but you really did. Come here quickly."
Have you taken the medicine?"
Zhang Qingjiu narrowed his eyes, "Where is His Highness the Crown Prince?"
Feng Zhi paused in his movements and snorted softly, "Do you think His Highness the Crown Prince will be hanging around you every day? Drink it quickly. After drinking, I will send you back to the Prime Minister's Mansion. You are obviously a little girl who faints easily, but you just pretend to be so.
What a big-tailed wolf."
When Feng Zhi said that, Zhang Qingjiu stood motionless, looking at him calmly.
There was no tit-for-tat confrontation like in the past, nor did he make him speechless.
However, it was this kind of silence that made Feng Zhi feel more fearful than ever before, and his fingers trembled unknowingly.
Suddenly, Zhang Qingjiu smiled, "I really have yours."
After saying that, Zhang Qingjiu turned around and walked out the door without even looking at the medicine on the table.
Feng Zhi was startled and hurriedly chased after him, standing in front of Zhang Qingjiu. Although he pretended to be extremely calm, his eyes still revealed his nervousness: "Where are you going?"
Zhang Qingjiu glanced at him, "What do you think?"
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked me to take you back to the Prime Minister's Mansion." Feng Zhi gritted his teeth.
"He'll come back as soon as he says so?" Zhang Qingjiu sneered, bypassed Feng Zhi, and walked straight into the study.
No need to ask, she also knew where Chu Lan was now.
Do you think she can't smell such a strong smell of blood?
Zhang Qingjiu walked all the way without having to walk into deserted areas. The servants of the Prince's Mansion had long been accustomed to her sudden appearance. They only glanced at her and immediately lowered their heads to do what they were doing.
Feng Zhi had a gut feeling that something was wrong, but he didn't dare to stop her anymore, so he had to bring the soup and medicine and follow her to make the wind blow on his feet.
"Your Highness, the day when Duke Zhen will leave the capital is scheduled for Chenshi one day later." Mu Qing lowered her eyes and just reported the last message to Chu Lan when she heard a rush of footsteps coming from outside.
The two people in the study frowned almost in unison.
However, before they could speak, the unlocked door was pushed open from the outside with a bang.
In the Prince's Mansion, no one dares to come in without Chu Lan's instructions. Who else but Zhang Qingjiu can do this?
Feng Zhi, who had tried to stop Zhang Qingjiu but failed in the end, gritted his teeth. Before Chu Lan could speak, he knelt on the ground with a pop and said with a pale face, "Your Highness, I can't stop Mr. Zhang..."
The corners of Zhang Qingjiu's mouth moved, but in the end he said nothing. He only looked at Chu Lan sitting behind the desk with his bright eyes.