Outside Chengtian Gate, the Cao family's sedan landed on the ground. With Cao Yunhui's support, Cao Jiasheng got off the sedan.
Looking at the tall palace gate in front of him, Cao Jiasheng was speechless. After a few breaths, he stepped forward.
"Dad, please slow down!"
Although the sun is setting in the west, there is still more than half an hour before "getting off work", and it will still be more than an hour before the palace gate is closed.
With the official present, the area outside the Huangji Gate is unobstructed, so Cao Jiasheng can enter the palace at this moment.
They appeared in front of Chengtian Gate and were seen by the officials going around. It was obvious that the news of Tao Yangbo's entry into the palace would soon spread to all the major yamen.
The "Cao family" killed the imperial officials. All the major yamen knew about this, and it is no wonder that they paid attention to the Cao family.
After identity verification, Cao Jiasheng and his son entered the palace gate. Every step he took was extremely difficult.
After passing through Chengtian Gate, the two of them passed through Da'an Gate, and the Huangji Gate was already in sight.
But to meet the emperor, they had to go to Qian'an Palace, so they could only continue walking inside.
After entering Huangji Gate, passing through Chongzheng Gate, Cao Jiasheng finally arrived outside Qian'an Gate.
The distance from Chengtianmen to here is nearly a thousand meters, and Cao Jiasheng was already exhausted.
Looking at the palace gate in the distance, Cao Jiasheng leaned on his son's body and took several breaths in succession.
After waiting for a few minutes and seeing no one coming out to greet him at Qian'anmen, Cao Jiasheng knew that the matter was indeed serious.
After breathing evenly, Cao Jiasheng said: "Go back quickly!"
"father……"
Before Cao Yunhui could speak, Cao Jiasheng said to himself: "Don't get involved in this matter anymore. Remember my words, don't get involved in palace and officialdom affairs in the future, and live a solid life behind closed doors!"
"father!"
"Leave quickly!" Cao Jiasheng turned back suddenly, his eyes full of determination.
At this moment, although his father was right in front of him, Cao Yunhui felt extremely far away.
"Walk!"
"yes!"
Cao Yunhui let go of his hand and kept retreating, while Cao Jiasheng also turned around.
After his son disappeared, Cao Jiasheng took steps with difficulty and slowly walked towards Qian'anmen.
At the corner of the palace road, Cao Yunhui was quietly looking over, and saw his father staggering towards the palace gate, as if he was about to fall to the ground with every step he took.
"The guilty minister, Cao Jiasheng, wants to express my condolences to our emperor. The family is not managed smoothly, which has caused many harms. I am here to apologize!"
"All the crimes were caused by the old minister's lax stewardship, which led to the current big mistake. This is all the fault of the old minister alone. I beg the emperor to punish me!"
The guards and eunuchs on duty were all surprised to see Cao Jiasheng coming to plead guilty after seeing him in such hardship.
Anyone who can come to the Qian'an Gate to have an audience must report inside as usual, so when Cao Jiasheng knelt down and kowtowed, a eunuch had already entered the palace gate.
At this moment, in the Qian'an Palace, Zhao Yanxun's face was ashen, and there were more than a hundred memorials placed in front of him, which were sent within two hours.
The content of the memorial is also very simple. It is all about impeaching the Cao family for committing lawlessness and committing treason, and begging the emperor to punish them severely.
"They move very quickly!" Zhao Yanxun said coldly.
At this time, Huo An stood opposite with his waist bent and said: "Your Majesty, when the servants came over, there were still memorials sent in. I'm afraid there will be many more people sending memorials!"
Seeing that the emperor was silent, Huo An asked again: "Your Majesty, what should we do with these memorials...?"
Zhao Yanxun impatiently threw out the memorial in his hand and said at the same time: "Write down the person who submitted the memorial and let Lin Quan check it carefully. As for these memorials... burn them!"
These memorials clearly add fuel to the fire. Zhao Yanxun naturally will not get used to these people, so he feels better after being burned by the fire.
"According to the order!"
It's definitely against the rules to burn it, but this is Zhao Yanxun's order, so what's wrong is also right.
Huo An waved, and several young eunuchs entered the room, picked up the memorial and left.
When a few of them left, Zhao Yanxun heard the faint sound of accusation coming from outside the palace gate.
When he turned on the system perception and instantly took control of the external situation, he realized that Cao Jiasheng was here to apologize.
"You are so old and your bones are not in good shape, so why bother coming here at this time!"
Now that he knows that someone is behind the scenes, Zhao Yanxun's anger towards the Cao family has dissipated a lot, and he even has a little sympathy.
Zhao Yanxun has done many things that involve disowning relatives, so Zhao Yanxun pays great attention to cultivating his own sympathy.
"Your Majesty, Uncle Tao Yang is outside requesting an audience!"
Zhao Yanxun had actually heard what Cao Jiasheng shouted outside, but it was really inconvenient to meet him at the moment.
"If you go and pass on my oral instructions, just say that this matter is fishy and that there might be an evil person at work. I have ordered the Ministry of Punishment to conduct a strict investigation and let him go back and wait in peace!"
What is certain is that Tao Yangbo's appearance outside Qian'an Gate must have attracted the attention of many people.
In order to maintain a fair and just image, Zhao Yanxun could not meet with him, so he could only pass on this oral message.
The so-called "treacherous people are causing trouble" in the oral instructions are, on the one hand, to reassure Cao Jiasheng, and on the other hand, to frighten those people behind the scenes.
"Also, Uncle Tao Yang worked hard and made great achievements, but he suffered for the country, so he was sent out of the palace with a chariot and a sedan chair!"
Nowadays, in the palace, the only people who are qualified to ride in chariots and sedan chairs are the emperor and the queen mother, and no one, including the empress, has such treatment.
Although he was not given the privilege of riding a chariot in the palace, sending Cao Jiasheng out of the palace in a chariot sedan was a very high courtesy to him, and there was no problem in putting him at ease.
"According to the order!"
After receiving the order and leaving the palace, Wu Hong came to Qian'an Gate and saw Cao Jiasheng still kneeling on the ground.
Standing on the steps, Wu Hong said loudly: "The emperor's decree..."
"Your Majesty, Cao Jiasheng, respectfully listen to the edict!"
"The Emperor said that this case is strange and there may be some evil person behind it. I have ordered the Ministry of Punishment to conduct a strict investigation and let Uncle Tao Yang go back and wait with peace of mind!"
After hearing this, Cao Jiasheng, who had originally planned to remonstrate, couldn't believe it for a moment.
Is this still the ruthless emperor in his impression?
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" Cao Jiasheng couldn't help shouting.
"Uncle Tao Yang, the emperor's speech is not finished yet!"
So Cao Jiasheng bowed down again and heard Wu Hong continue: "The emperor also said that Uncle Tao Yang worked hard and made great achievements, but suffered for the country, so he was sent out of the palace in a chariot sedan chair!"
Cao Jiasheng almost thought he had heard wrongly as he was escorted out of the palace in a chariot sedan.
He originally came to the palace to plead guilty, but the emperor not only did not blame him, but also gave him such courtesy.
"I kowtow to express my gratitude to the emperor for his grace. Long live my emperor...long live the emperor!" Cao Jiasheng kowtowed again.
At this time, several young eunuchs had already brought a small sedan chair over.
Wu Hong hurriedly walked down the steps, came to Cao Jiasheng's side and said, "Uncle, please get on the sedan chair and go back to take care of yourself in peace!"
After being helped up by Wu Hong, Cao Jiasheng said repeatedly: "My father-in-law, please thank the emperor for me, but this chariot sedan... I really don't dare to bear it!"
But I heard Wu Hong say: "Uncle, how can you not accept the reward from the emperor?"
Cao Jiasheng was slightly startled, then nodded quickly. He almost did something wrong.
The emperor asked him to leave the palace in a chariot. In addition to showing sympathy for his loyal ministers, he naturally had other intentions.
So, after thanking the emperor profusely, Cao Jiasheng took the chariot and left.
On the other side of the palace, Cao Miaoyin was listening to the report.
The person she sent to inquire about what happened outside Qian'an Gate has returned and is now describing it in detail.
After listening, Cao Miaoyin murmured: "There is a traitor at work, but the emperor is really a saint!"
Zhao Yanxun can understand this, which means that he will not be fooled by those people, and she, the Queen Mother, does not need to worry.
"Sending gifts in a chariot not only avoids suspicion, but also shows authority. It's a good way!"
After commenting on this sentence, Cao Miaoyin immediately ordered: "Go and send a message to Uncle Tao Yang. Tell him that I want to see him and ask him to wait outside Zhenyou's door!"
