In Prince Ning's Mansion, Zhao Yanjue was sitting in the study, thinking about what to do next.
Zhao Yanjue rushed back to Jing'an without stopping and spent a lot of effort to convince a large number of gentry in Jiangxi County and finally put the rumors to rest.
He and the gentry had reached a consensus that even if Fang Hongji personally came out to identify him, no one would believe his story.
In other words, the reputation of the palace has been preserved, and the next thing can be dealt with calmly.
"It's time to clean up the hidden piles in the palace!"
Just as he was thinking about this, a eunuch appeared at the door of the study and reported: "Your Majesty, I have something important to report!"
"Come in!"
Looking at the old eunuch entering the study, Zhao Yanjue asked: "What's the matter?"
"Your Majesty, the guard at the door came to report that someone is watching us outside the palace!"
"These people are too presumptuous!"
"Send an order to the guards to arrest the person and interrogate him severely!"
"yes!"
This was a trivial matter to Zhao Yanjue, so he didn't care about it after handling it, and made a plan to clean up the palace in the study.
But only ten minutes passed, and the eunuch from before came in a hurry again.
"Your Majesty, the result is out. Those two people were sent by the governor's office!"
"What?"
Zhao Yanjue was really surprised when he heard this result.
Nowadays, the five counties in the south regard Prince Ning's Mansion as the most respected one, and the governor of Jiangxi has professed his vassalage to the Prince's Mansion. How bold is he to dare to reach out to the Prince's Mansion?
Thinking of this, Zhao Yanjue looked sullen and said, "Take this person and go to the governor's Yamen in person and ask Zhou Maosong what he means!"
After Ning Prince's Mansion "took power", Zhao Yanjue also expanded a lot.
In the past, any censor could take control of Prince Ning's mansion, let alone opposing the governor.
"Yes, slave, go right now!"
When the eunuch left, Zhao Yanjue's heart was in confusion.
Zhou Maosong is not a fool. This guy dared to send people to monitor him, which means something must have happened.
But Zhao Yanjue had no way of knowing what happened, because the intelligence network of Prince Ning's Mansion had just been established and the ability to collect information was really lacking.
Of course, it was also thanks to Huan and Zheng Zhouquan that they did their best to clean up the people of King Ning's family in the army, thus preventing the news from spreading back to the greatest extent.
"Prince Ning's Mansion has noticed something. We must make a decision as soon as possible. Life or death can depend on this thought!"
"Yes, sir, we can't hesitate any longer!"
In the governor's yamen, two senior officials stood in the side hall, lobbying the official in charge.
Looking at the chief envoy and the inspector in front of him, Zhou Maosong stroked his white beard and said, "How can I not know the reason behind this!"
"But you two know that if we challenge Prince Ning, we will be excommunicated from the scholarly community!"
Upon hearing this, the inspector Zhang Kequan took two steps forward, put his hands on the big case in front of Zhou Maosong, and said: "Sir Governor... If we don't do this, we will be classified as a traitor by the court. What will happen then?"
Do you know the consequences?"
"That King Yong killed tens of thousands of people in the capital. If you and I don't clear our names, I'm afraid that before Shilin scolds us, all the heads of the whole family will fall off!"
As an inspector, Zhang Kequan paid attention to major cases in the capital, so he knew very well how serious the consequences would be.
The chief envoy Lu Jingkai followed suit and persuaded: "Sir, the three governors have defected and are now sending troops back to Jing'an, fearing they are here to arrest us!"
"Time waits for us not. Once Prince Ning's Mansion discovers the clues, I don't know what trouble will happen. Please make a decision quickly!"
Standing up, Zhou Maosong paced back and forth. His mood was similar to that of Xie Xiaofang, who was now being roasted on the fire.
Seeing that Zhou Maosong was still hesitating, Zhang Kequan stepped forward, grabbed Zhou Maosong's sleeve and said: "Sir, the person we sent to follow has been arrested... we can't wait any longer!"
"Sir!" Lu Jingkai called after him, his tone full of expectation.
Staring at the two of them, Zhou Maosong's expression changed and he finally said: "Send troops... to surround Prince Ning's Mansion!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Kequan was overjoyed and immediately replied: "Yes... I'll do it now!"
There are hundreds of officers in the Jingchashi Yamen, plus the Fu Yamen and Dusi Yamen they have contacted, it will not be a problem to gather about 300 people.
"Old Lu, go and invite the Chen family, the Li family, the Sun family..."
After surrounding Prince Ning's Mansion, if you want to capture someone, you have to inform all the major families in advance, otherwise it will cause misunderstandings and conflicts, which is a very dangerous situation.
Among the wealthy families in the city, if they do not support dozens or hundreds of servants to protect the courtyard, the government can gather 300 people to surround the palace. These people can gather 3,000 or more people to surround the government palace.
Under Zhou Maosong's arrangement, the two inspectors and governors went on errands respectively, while Zhou Maosong, who stayed in the yamen, picked up a pen and paper and started writing.
"The left deputy imperial envoy of the Imperial Procuratorate is ordered to patrol Jiangxi Province. Zhou Maosong would like to report..."
Picking up the pen, Zhou Maosong began to write a confession.
He was actually very clear in his mind about what Zhang Kequan and the two said. The reason why he refused to let go just now was because he planned to let these two people participate in the decision-making.
But these two people were really shameless and only wanted him to carry the burden alone, so they had the "confrontation" just now.
But in the end, Zhou Maosong couldn't hold on.
The chief envoy and the inspector had the same idea, and he, the governor, was immediately ignored. If he did not follow the wishes of these two people, I am afraid he would die in front of Prince Ning's palace.
So Zhou Maosong gave in, and he would bear the consequences of everything that happened next.
Now that he has embarked on this path, Zhou Maosong can only follow the steps and do everything he can.
He only hoped that because of his actions against Prince Ning's Mansion, the court... to be precise, Prince Yong would forgive him.
…
At Prince Ning's Mansion, a large number of officers arrived and confronted the palace guards.
"This is the palace, how dare you be so presumptuous!" the guard Baihu yelled angrily.
However, no matter how the guards yelled, cursed and provoked, the officers remained silent.
Inside the gate of the palace, Zhao Yanjue's heart began to fall as he looked at everything that happened in front of him.
This is not only a big event happening, but it is also very likely to be a bad thing, and may even affect the life or death of the palace.
"Could it be...that my father died in battle? There was a huge defeat on the front line?" Zhao Yanjue secretly guessed.
When this conjecture emerged, Zhao Yanjue couldn't help but think about it, and his mood became heavier and heavier.
Stepping out of the door, surrounded by a group of guards, Zhao Yanjue shouted outside: "Did Zhou Maosong or Zhang Kequan send you here?"
"Where are they?"
Seeing that everyone was still silent, Zhao Yanjue didn't want to waste time, so he took a step to rush out.
As soon as he moved, the guards immediately surrounded him.
"Master, don't make it difficult for me to wait!" Qianhu, who was leading the team, said in a deep voice.
Seeing that the other party was resolute, if Zhao Yanjue continued to leave, it would mean a head-on conflict.
There are only about thirty guards at the gate of the palace now, but there are more than one hundred and fifty guards at the gate. The chance of winning by force is too slim.
"Send a message to Zhou Maosong immediately and ask him to come and see me!"
However, no one paid attention to Zhao Yanjue's words.
The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became tense. It would be a waste of time to stay like this any longer, so Zhao Yanjue turned around and entered the palace with a flick of his sleeves.
After the situation just now, Zhao Yanjue felt more clearly that the matter was more serious than he expected.
At this time, he needs to calm down more so that he can make the right decision.
"Your Majesty, something happened outside?"
When Zhao Yanjue sat back in the study, Crown Princess Liu walked into the room with her pregnant belly, followed by a three-year-old baby behind her.
"Why are you here, my beloved concubine?" Zhao Yanjue forced a smile.
There was such a big commotion outside that Liu was naturally alarmed, so she came over to inquire.
Of course, she was a well-informed person, so when she saw that her husband was upset about this, she did not tell the truth.
"Yier said he missed his father, so I brought him here!"
Zhao Yanjue immediately stood up, crossed the desk and opened his arms to his son, and the little baby ran over with a smile and babbling.
Picking up his son, Zhao Yanjue looked at his wife, smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's nothing serious!"
