In the huge palace, all the palace residents were retreated.
Before Xiao Chenggao sat at the imperial court, he said nothing, lowered his head and concentrated on reviewing the memorial.
In the main hall, Shen Wansan was lying low, his forehead firmly pressed to the ground, and he knelt for an unknown length of time.
Without Xiao Cheng speaking, he didn't dare to raise his head at all.
At this time, there was silence in the main hall, and Shen Wansan, who was kneeling on the ground, felt a panic in his heart, and all kinds of messy thoughts kept flooding into his mind.
The clothes on Shen Wansan's back were wet with cold sweat at this time and stuck tightly to his back. Big beads of sweat on his forehead kept rolling down on the gold bricks in the hall, leaving large areas of water on the ground. stains.
Xiao Cheng looked at the blank space in the memorial in his hand. Xiao Yu and Yang Yanhe's suggestions were mature and prudent and took into account the overall situation of the cabinet. Put it aside.
Looking up, he noticed that Shen Wansan was in the main hall, his whole body wet with cold sweat, and he was trembling unconsciously. Xiao Cheng leaned back slightly, leaned on the dragon chair, and said in a deep voice:
"Why are you kneeling!"
These words were not a question, but an implicit scolding.
Living in the Qi and nourishing the body, as the emperor in charge of the Yun Kingdom, Xiao Cheng's words only contained a hint of scolding, but his imperial power still made people tremble with fear and fear.
When Shen Wansan heard Xiao Cheng's scolding, he felt the majesty of the abyss and the sea coming over him, and he was even more heartbroken, and a chill spread from his heart.
He knelt on the ground, trembling, and opened his mouth, but he didn't even dare to say anything to defend himself.
"explain!"
When Xiao Cheng saw Shen Wansan shut up, he shouted softly again, echoing in the Hall of Nourishing Heart.
Shen Wansan's whole body was shaking even more violently, and his voice was filled with panic as he said:
"Your Majesty, ordinary people are so bold that they bribe palace officials privately..."
Xiao Cheng looked down at Shen Wansan, sneered immediately and said:
"If you haven't thought it through yet, just kneel down for a while!"
Shen Wansan's mind changed rapidly, he closed his eyes regretfully, and said in extreme fear:
"The common people know they are wrong. They should not sit back and watch Jintangfeng secretly manage the government and embezzle the imperial government's food and grass relief because of personal grudges, causing the refugees in the north to suffer..."
Shen Wansan was also involved in organizing merchants to deliver food to the imperial court.
After all, Jin Tangfeng underestimated Shen Wansan. He only thought that relying on the influence of the Za family among merchants and acting in secret could be enough to hide Shen Wansan's knowledge from him.
But how could Shen Wansan's ability be underestimated by Jin Tangfeng?
Not long after Jin Tangfeng started taking action, Shen Wansan already knew what was going on.
But remembering how Jin Tangfeng suppressed him with the power of the Zajia family and the competitive relationship between the two, he decisively chose not to report it and wait until the right time to reveal it and give Jin Tangfeng a fatal blow.
Since he had such thoughts, it cannot be said that Shen Wansan is no longer loyal to Xiao Cheng. After all, as long as he is a human being, he will inevitably have his own calculations.
Anyway, it won’t have any bad influence on His Majesty, and he will be able to steal the property under Jin Tangfeng’s name afterwards to enrich the national treasury. In this case, why not use this opportunity to bring down his opponent?
The loyalty value attributes of courtiers are displayed on Xiao Chengjin's finger panel. This can indeed be used to identify courtiers who can be reused. But obviously, this thing also has its limitations.
Loyalty is something that sometimes cannot be measured with just one numerical value!
When Xiao Cheng heard what Shen Wansan said, he shook his head, picked up the memorial lying beside him, looked down at it, and said in a deep voice:
"Think again!"
It is indeed Shen Wansan who built the city wall for Ming Taizu and rewarded the army in history. The political value of only 22 points is really not unfair to you, but you can't figure it out clearly at the critical moment!
After hearing what Xiao Cheng said, Shen Wansan, who was filled with regret, was suddenly stunned and looked confused.
Not this one either?
In the Yangxin Hall, except for the sound of Xiao Cheng turning over the memorials, there was no other sound.
At this time, Feng Bao's respectful voice suddenly came from outside the Yangxin Hall.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report!"
Xiao Cheng responded without even raising his head:
"Come in!"
Hearing this, Feng Bao carefully pushed open the palace door and immediately noticed Shen Wansan kneeling on the ground.
His eyelids twitched, and his heart suddenly trembled.
Feng Bao has not forgotten that when he was beaten by His Majesty, it was because he accepted Shen Wansan's money!
But at this time, Feng Bao obviously didn't dare to show his strange feelings, so he quickly restrained his thoughts, walked quickly behind Xiao Cheng, and said a few words in a low voice.
When Xiao Cheng heard this, he paused with his hands, raised his head and said:
"really?"
"yes!"
"Send someone to..."
At this point, Xiao Cheng suddenly paused, changed the subject, and said casually:
"Forget it, I'll go there myself later!"
When Feng Bao heard this, he quickly lowered his head and responded.
Xiao Cheng folded the memorial in his hand, then looked at Shen Wansan who was kneeling in the hall, pointed at Feng Baodao:
"You two have some friendship with each other. If you really can't figure it out, you can ask Feng Bao for advice."
After hearing Xiao Cheng's words, Feng Bao and Shen Wansan's hearts jumped suddenly, as if they were being held by someone, and their breathing became rapid.
Xiao Cheng stood up, stretched his waist slightly, and said:
"I'm going to take a look. When I come back later, I hope you, Shen Wansan, can give me a satisfactory answer!"
Shen Wansan kowtowed quickly and said in a trembling voice:
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Feng Baoqiang smiled, saluted Xiao Cheng, and watched him walk out of the Nourishing Heart Hall.
When there were only two people left in the hall, Feng Bao suddenly walked up to Shen Wansan and said:
"What on earth are you..."
"What on earth did you hide from our family!" Feng Bao realized that his voice was too high, so he quickly lowered his voice and asked anxiously.
Shen Wansan stood up slowly, his face pale and covered with cold sweat. When he heard Feng Bao's inquiry, he immediately grasped a life-saving straw. He sat tremblingly and watched the Jintang Peak connect up and down, replacing the imperial relief grain and grass with chaff. Talk about all the things that are used to make huge profits.
After hearing this, Feng Bao breathed a sigh of relief knowing that His Majesty was not settling old scores.
But when he thought about it, he reacted suddenly, his veins jumped, he stared at Shen Wansan, gritted his teeth and said:
"You stupid thing, you can do nothing else on weekdays. I didn't expect you to be brave enough to play tricks on His Majesty! You can't drag our family along with you if you don't want your life!"
Because Feng Bao had received money, he had previously spoken for Shen Wansan in a roundabout way when Jin Tangfeng made things difficult for Shen Wansan.
It was this little idea that Xiao Cheng saw through at a glance and gave Feng Bao a good beating.
During this period of time, Feng Bao kept his tail between his legs and handled his errands carefully, which forced Xiao Cheng to temporarily forget about the matter.
But in the end, Shen Wansan's matter was discovered, and Feng Bao was immediately involved again. At this time, Feng Bao was really anxious and angry, and regretted that he had been greedy for taking Shen Wansan's money.
Shen Wansan looked bitter, lowered his head and said:
"Father, please give me some advice! Shen Wansan knows he is wrong!"
If it were before now, Feng Bao would have wished to be as far away from Shen Wansan as possible.
But what Xiao Cheng said when he just left obviously forced Feng Bao to take care of this matter.
Feng Bao took a deep breath and said:
"Retell what His Majesty has said to you since you entered the palace!"
Shen Wansan also knew at this time that Feng Bao in front of him was his only hope, so he quickly explained everything that happened after he was summoned to the palace in detail, for fear of missing something.
Feng Bao went over these things in his mind. After pondering for a long time, he breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"It's okay, it's okay! It must be because His Majesty is kind and appreciates some of your contribution. Since you let us stay and give you guidance, you still have a chance of survival."
Hearing Feng Bao's words, Shen Wansan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly grabbed Feng Bao's clothes and said urgently:
"Please give me some advice, father-in-law! Shen Wansan will definitely repay you for his great kindness and kindness in the future!"
When Feng Bao heard this, his head got bigger and he hurriedly pulled it away and said repeatedly:
"No, no! Let's not have any friendship from now on. Just keep this kindness in mind. If our family loses power one day, just provide some food and clothing for our family!"
"Yes, yes, everything is subject to father-in-law's orders!" Shen Wansan said excitedly.
Feng Bao knelt down and spoke out:
"Your fault is that you dared to be careful with His Majesty."
After all, Shen Wansan was born as a businessman and did not know how to serve the emperor.
The most taboo thing for a minister is to take advantage of the king's power to benefit himself. Because once he succeeds, even if he is not aware of it, he will subconsciously despise the king.
Over time, and gradually, even the most loyal ministers will develop treasonous thoughts that cross the boundaries between monarch and ministers.
Although Shen Wansan didn't understand these things and his political stats were low, his intelligence was not low either. After being reminded by Feng Bao, he immediately understood the key and acted as if he had suddenly realized something.
But even after knowing the reason, Shen Wansan did not show a happy look, and still said with a bitter face:
"Eunuch, Shen Wansan already knows his mistake...is there any way to remedy it?"
Feng Bao nodded slightly and said solemnly:
"Yes! Since Your Majesty has not directly questioned the guilt, in addition to your merits, there is also the value of your abilities. If you want to make amends, you must give up the merits!"
Shen Wansan immediately felt like a drink, and an idea flashed in his mind, and he thought of a remedy. He finally let go of what he had been holding on to, and looked at Feng Bao with a look of gratitude, and said repeatedly:
"Thank you so much, father-in-law, thank you so much, father-in-law!"
Feng Bao nodded, stood up, looked at Shen Wansan's appearance, and immediately felt the same feeling, and said with lingering fear:
"His Majesty is so kind and has given us a chance. From now on, we will do our best and never think of anything else!"
"Yes, Shen Wansan must keep it in mind!"
Feng Bao stood up and looked up to see a young eunuch looking at them without hesitation at the door of Yangxin Palace.
When he noticed Feng Bao looking at him, the young eunuch did not shy away, but bowed slightly to Feng Bao generously.
Feng Bao's expression froze, and after a moment of silence, he murmured:
"Serve the king with loyalty, serve the king with sincerity, and don't be arrogant in the slightest!"
-----------------------
In the Harem, in the Lanlin Hall.
Xiao Cheng raised his hand to stop the palace servants who wanted to communicate, and walked in casually.
Yang Yuhuan in the hall suddenly raised his head and saw Xiao Cheng walking into the hall. He was stunned for a moment, then showed a look of surprise, quickly stood up and stepped forward, saying happily:
"Why is Your Majesty here..."
Walking quickly to Xiao Cheng, Yang Yuhuan remembered to salute, and quickly bowed slightly, with a smile on his face, and said:
"How come your majesty has time to come to my concubine at this time of day today?"
Xiao Cheng chuckled lightly, noticed the used tea cakes placed on the table in the hall, and said casually:
"I took some time off from my busy schedule today, so I wanted to visit Lian Yu'er..."
Xiao Cheng pointed at the messy tabletop in front of him and asked casually:
"Is this Liuyun or Shu'er coming?"
Hearing this, Yang Yuhuan said directly:
"Today, the eldest sister came to the palace to see my concubine. She has just left!"
After saying that, Yang Yuhuan quickly ordered his palace servants to tidy up and serve tea and snacks again.
When Xiao Cheng heard this, he nodded and did not ask further questions immediately.
The eldest sister of the Yang family is also the only descendant of Qu Cheng and the wife of Qu Jing.
People in Dongchang have already investigated the case of embezzlement of relief grain and grass in the North, and it has something to do with the Qu family. Naturally, the Qu family is under extremely strict surveillance at this time.
As the daughter-in-law of the Qu family, the eldest sister of the Yang family suddenly entered the palace. Naturally, she was noticed by Dongchang and reported to Xiao Cheng. This is what Feng Bao just reported.
When tea and snacks were served, Xiao Cheng sat down and asked casually:
"Oh? Your eldest sister came to the palace to visit her because she missed your sister?"
Yang Yuhuan was innocent and naive, and didn't notice anything strange about Xiao Cheng, so she immediately replied:
"No, the eldest sister came to the palace this time to complain!"
Xiao Cheng turned his head slightly, looked at Yang Yuhuan's wet deer eyes with a hint of innocence, nodded and said:
"complain?"
"Well, the eldest sister and the eldest brother-in-law are not as close as they were when they were newlyweds. During this period, the eldest brother-in-law often comes back exhausted late at night," Yang Yuhuan said.
Xiao Cheng's brows moved, and he said with a half-smile:
"Your eldest brother-in-law's name is Qu Jing?"
"yes."
"So your eldest sister thinks that Qu Jing is out looking for flowers?"
Hearing this, Yang Yuhuan blinked his eyes, shook his head and said:
"It's not that the eldest sister is taking care of the family affairs now, and the eldest brother-in-law doesn't have much money in his hands... It's just that the eldest sister simply feels that the eldest brother-in-law is not as attentive to her as before, and the relationship between husband and wife has weakened, so she came to complain."
After hearing these remarks, Xiao Cheng blinked his eyes several times and twitched the corners of his mouth slightly.
If Qu Jing is really the person behind the collusion with Jin Tangfeng to embezzle relief food and grass, then could his purpose of doing so be to save money for his own money?
A man's desire for private money should not be overdue...
-------------------
Yun State, Jianchang Prefecture Government Office.
Zhi Du led several accompanying officers and walked quickly into the courtyard of Tui Mansion in Jianchang Mansion.
All the government officials noticed the sudden intrusion of Zhidu and looked up one after another.
Zhidu coughed slightly, cupped his hands slightly towards the officials, and said:
"Where is Mr. Tuifu? I am supervising Mr. Yu Shi Hai's subordinates in Zhidu, and on the orders of Mr. Yu Shi, I came to collect the files on He Yang's case!"
After hearing what Zhidu said, a burly man in official uniform walked out of the crowd, slightly cupped his hands towards Zhidu, and said in a neutral tone:
"Wu Wen, the official of the Jianchang Prefecture, has seen Zhi Lu's affairs!"
Tuifu is a government office, a county-level yamen, an official position that assists the chief official and is in charge of prison matters. The copy of the file of He Yang's case is naturally kept by him.
Zhidu's intuition was sharp and he immediately sensed that Wu Wen in front of him had some vague malice toward him and others.
But if he really took it seriously, compared to Hai Rui's temperament, he was not willing to give in too much, so how could he take Wu Wen's vague malice to heart?
Zhidu slightly arched his hands and said in a deep voice:
"Please, Master Tuifu, find the file so that I can go back and resume my life!"
When Wu Wen heard this, he looked at Zhidu and said with a smile:
"How dare I disobey the Censor's orders? It's just that Xiaguan has a lot of files from several counties under the jurisdiction of Jianchang Prefecture. I will send people to search for them. If they find them, I will send them to the Censor immediately.
go!"
Hearing this, Zhidu narrowed his eyes slightly, his face was serious, and he said in a deep voice:
"Master Tuifu is in charge of prison matters. The files are extremely important and should be divided into categories for easy inclusion. How come it is so messy for Master Tuifu that we need to send people to spend time searching?"
Seeing Zhidu's attitude, Wu Wen was not willing to put on a smile anymore. His face immediately darkened and he said:
"Jianchang Mansion has just gone through war, and it is natural that the files are lost and in disarray. Even if the censor is dissatisfied, there is nothing he can do about it!"
Hearing this, Zhi Du snorted coldly and said:
"But this He Yang case happened just a few months ago. At that time, the soldiers of the Xia Kingdom had long been expelled by the troops led by Cheng Zhenbei! I'm afraid Mr. Wu is deliberately trying to shirk his words!"
Wu Wen was a little annoyed by what Zhidu said, and immediately waved his sleeves and scolded:
"The situation in our Jianchang Mansion is different. You, a small censor who records things, are not qualified to ask more questions. If you are dissatisfied, please ask the censor to come and hold you accountable in person!"
At this time, Wu Wen already had the intention of making things difficult on his face.
Zhidu looked at the unscrupulous and confident Wu Wen, and his face suddenly became gloomy.
At this time, Wu Wen saw that Zhi Du was still standing there with no intention of leaving, so he sneered and scolded again:
"Get out of here! Don't delay your official duties. That's what the Imperial Censor ordered you to do before. If you don't leave, I will sue you for disturbing official duties in front of the Imperial Censor!"
Zhidu looked at Wu Wen, with coldness in his eyes, and said in a deep voice:
Wu Wen raised his head slightly, looked at Zhidu with disdain, and sneered:
"Hey, don't blame me! I told you to send someone to look for it right away. If you find it, send it to me immediately. What else do you want from me? I tell you, don't rely on being from Yushitai.
You are so presumptuous. If you don't retreat, I will have many ways to strip you of your official uniform!"
Zhidu looked at Wu Wen, who was deliberately provocative, and was silent for a moment. Suddenly, a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth and he said:
"In that case, I won't bother Mr. Tuifu. Mr. Yushi was in a hurry and couldn't afford to delay, so he went in to look for it himself!"
After saying that, Zhidu waved slightly, followed by several people, and immediately walked towards the treasury in the courtyard where the files were visited.
When Wu Wen saw this, he immediately took a step forward, stopped in front of Zhidu, and scolded:
"How dare you! The archives warehouse is an important place. If you want to break in, be careful of me interfering with you..."
Zhidu lowered his eyelids, then suddenly raised his fist and hit Wu Wen's square face hard.
Before Wu Wen could react, his figure suddenly fell backwards.
All the government officials who dared not speak were suddenly startled and quickly stepped forward to help Wu Wen up.
Wu Wen touched the painful scars on his face in disbelief. He looked at Zhidu's unscrupulous intrusion. He raised his trembling fingers and pointed at Zhidu's figure. He was so angry and anxious that he couldn't say anything for a long time.