In the British Palace, following Jiao Jing's question, everyone's eyes no longer concealed themselves, but fell on Zhu Yi one after another, and the atmosphere instantly became a little stagnant.
However, in the face of such strong pressure, Zhu Yi did not show any fear. In fact, he did not even look at anyone else. He just stared at Zhang Shi who was avoiding him and repeated what he just said.
"Second Master, what did you tell them?"
Although everyone expected Zhu Yi to be panicked at this moment, this short sentence not only lacked the usual low-key humility, but also made everyone smell a hint of danger.
Zhang Xi lowered his head and hesitated.
"Young Master, I...I can't help it. I just told you and I about the conversation about the military settlement that day. You...you should also talk about it. This matter must be explained clearly..."
I have to say that Zhu Yi's current appearance also scares Zhang Xi a little.
In the past, because of his youth and the poor situation of the Chengguo Palace, Zhu Yi had always acted in a humble manner as a junior in front of them, and had never looked strong.
Even when he came to the British government to talk, Zhu Yi was reasonable and emotional, and did not adopt a tough attitude.
However, this time, Zhu Yi's reaction really made people feel the attitude that a dignified ducal palace should have.
There was silence in the flower hall for a moment. Zhu Yi looked at Zhang Shi coldly. After a while, he moved his eyes away and fell on Jiao Jing. His expression calmed down and he said.
"Prince Jiao, since Mr. Zhang has already told you, what else do you want to ask?"
Perhaps because he was not the person involved, Jiao Jing was much more calm when faced with Zhu Yi's cold face. He asked with a flash of his eyes.
"So, the young master admits that during the court meeting, you deliberately cooperated with the Marquis of Changping, stopped various nobles, and assisted the emperor to frame Marquis Ren?"
Seeing the picture clearly, Zhu Yi thought about it and finally understood where the problem lay.
Yang family!
At that time, when he was talking to Zhang Shi, he did mention that Yang Jie had come to see him, but he did not expect that Yang Hong would make such a fuss in the court.
Therefore, based on this inference, it is very likely that after going to court, Zhang Shi sensed something was wrong, felt guilty and did not dare to conceal the matter, and told Jiao Jing, which led to the current situation.
It's nothing to take action against Ren Li, but based on Yang Hong's performance at the court meeting, if the Chengguo Palace is related to the Changping Marquis Palace, it will inevitably arouse suspicion...
After understanding this, Zhu Yi was about to speak, but at this moment, a crisp voice sounded, attracting everyone's attention.
"You slaves, why are you serving me? I asked you to prepare tea earlier, but when it was served, it was still scalding to death. Someone, drag the person serving tea down. I will take heavy responsibility!"
Everyone took a closer look and saw that a white porcelain teacup had fallen to the ground and was broken into several petals. The hot tea in the teacup splashed out and landed on the feet of the maid who had just served the tea. The little girl turned pale with pain.
tight.
But, even so, she immediately knelt down and trembled.
Looking up, everyone saw that at some point, the tea cup in Zhang Xi's hand was empty, and the tea cup that had just fallen to the ground was the one that the maid had brought over to replace it.
In wealthy families, this kind of thing is common but not uncommon. It is common because in the eyes of these elders who are used to being served, the maids they serve are not considered human beings.
Even during the conversation, these maids exchanging tea and giving things would be treated as if they did not exist and would not affect their rhythm at all.
It's unusual because the servants serving in a mansion like the British Duke's Palace made such a stupid mistake, bringing boiling hot tea and scalding their own master.
This kind of thing would be a joke to any aristocratic family.
However, when something like this happened, it was considered a small episode, although a servant soon came forward, took the maid down, and then put away all the broken tea cups.
However, after all, the conversation was interrupted.
After everything was packed up and the other servants had retired, the atmosphere was no longer as tense as before, and Jiao Jing's tone also softened slightly as he asked.
"Young Master, this matter is of great concern. Please answer truthfully."
Zhu Yi sat where she was, her face ashen, but she was thinking non-stop in her heart.
The little episode just now seems to be an accident, but it may actually be an accident.
However, Zhang Xi's words caught Zhu Yi's attention.
"Tell you to prepare early..."
There was no problem in reprimanding the maid with this sentence, but it reminded Zhu Yi of the unfinished sentence Zhang Shi said when he greeted him when he first entered the mansion.
At that time, Zhang Xi said the same thing to him.
"Didn't I ask you to come over earlier to discuss it, but you came so late..."
The two sentences are slightly different, but the meaning is quite different.
Coupled with the fact that such a low-level mistake occurred in a family like the British Government, Zhu Yi had to think a little more.
If Zhang Shi was really with Jiao Jing and the others, and had told everything about his conversation with him, then there was no need for him to greet him in person. He only needed to follow Jiao Jing and others to wait for him to come in, and then attack him.
yes.
Of course, it is also possible that Zhang Shi was trying to spread suspicion, but this possibility is unlikely.
Based on Zhu Yi's understanding of Zhang Shi, he might not be able to withstand the pressure of Jiao Jing's questioning, but he would not set him up like this. After all, the two families are now related by marriage. What would he say if he could not withstand the pressure?
, at most it will make the relationship between the two families worse.
However, if he deliberately set up Zhu Yi in this way, it would be tantamount to completely falling out with the Duke of Chengguo.
What's more important is that it's not that Zhu Yi looks down on people, but... if Mr. Zhang had such a plan, he wouldn't have allowed the British government to get to this point.
So, in this way, what Zhang Min did just now was to remind himself. As for the reminder, it was naturally to tell him not to speak in a hurry.
Thinking back to when he first entered the mansion, he said he would come over in advance to 'discuss'. So, what was he going to discuss?
Zhu Yi glanced at Zhang Shi, but saw that he always avoided looking at him and refused to look at him.
So, he had some concerns in his mind, looked up at Jiao Jing, and said calmly.
"Jiao Prince Consort, I don't know what you are talking about. What do you mean by 'I deliberately cooperated with the Marquis of Changping to stop various noble families'?"
"Could it be that my consort has forgotten that it was you who personally came to the British Duke's residence and told me and the Second Master that after the court's discussion, we should wait and see and leave some room?"
After the words fell, everyone else present was also surprised and looked at Jiao Jing. Obviously, what Zhu Yi said was something they had not known before.
However, it was not over yet. Zhu Yi paused briefly, his face became darker, and he continued.
"Also, what does the consort mean when he just said, 'Assist the emperor to frame Ren Hou'? Does it mean that this matter was planned by me? It means that I, Zhu Yi, want to use this matter to flatter the palace.
Is that the person here who almost reduced the Chengguo Palace to a second-rate family?"
The tone of these words was very suppressed, and anyone could hear the anger that was about to burst out in Zhu Yi's tone.
Jiao Jing's brows furrowed, obviously he didn't expect that Zhu Yi's attitude would still be so tough.
Since the other party is like this, if he continues to hold the same tough attitude, it will obviously intensify the conflict, so Jiao Jing's tone became a little gentler and said.
"Young Master, I have no other intention, I just want to find out the truth."
"Yes, I was the one who went to the Young Master and the Second Master to discuss the court affairs. At that time, I didn't know what Marquis Ren was worried about, so I really wanted to check the situation and not act rashly."
Now that the words were spoken, Jiao Jing simply stopped hiding them and faced everyone's gaze and continued.
"I admit that at that time I also speculated that Marquis Ren had something unspeakable to hide. I even had some thoughts to let Marquis Ren run into trouble and not be so impulsive again in the future."
"However, I didn't expect that the things that Marquis Ren concealed were so big. And, more importantly, I just wanted Ren Marquis to learn a little lesson, and I had no intention of making the matter a big deal, and I never wanted to let him fall to this level.
So much." "So what?"
Obviously, these words could not convince Zhu Yi, he asked with a trace of ridicule on his face.
"Is it also my fault that Marquis Ren himself concealed such a big thing? Or, the Prince Consort wants to say that it was I, Zhu Yi, who framed such a major crime as plotting to assassinate a court official, and pinned it on Marquis Ningyuan?"
Everyone present looked a little confused and looked at Jiao Jing.
So, Jiao Jing sighed and said.
"Don't get me wrong, young master. I still said what I said. Today's actions are just to find out the truth."
"You are right. Although the circumstances of Renhou's case are unclear, it is because Renhou himself was confused. However, what I want to ask is..."
Jiao Jing paused briefly, his face became serious again, he looked up at Zhu Yi and asked.
"Young Master, I got news that not long before the court meeting, Yang Jie, the legitimate son of the Changping Marquis Mansion, visited your house and stayed for half an hour. After he left the Chengguo Duke's Mansion,
The young prince went to the British Duke's residence to discuss the court affairs with the second prince, but is that so?"
So, this is the real key.
A glimmer of understanding flashed across Zhu Yi's eyes. As he said before, it is not a big deal to target Ren Li. Recently, Ren Li has been so popular that he has become so complacent. For veteran nobles like them,
There is also a bit less respect.
Not only Zhu Yi was dissatisfied with this, but Jiao Jing and others were also dissatisfied.
During the court discussion, the nobles tacitly delayed taking action, which may not be without this reason.
This alone would not make Jiao Jing suspicious of him.
The roots still lie with the Yang family!
However, what was somewhat different from the initial guess was that the news about Yang Jie's visit was not revealed by Zhang Xian, but was found out by Jiao Jing himself.
If this happens, what he just wanted to say will change...
After roughly guessing the cause and effect in his mind, Zhu Yi calmed down. Facing everyone's gaze, he only hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said.
"Yes, I did meet Yang Jie that day."
This kind and generous attitude actually made the atmosphere in the flower hall better. Jiao Jing's tense body also relaxed slightly, but he still pursued her and asked.
"May I ask the young master, what did he go to Chengguo's mansion for? What did he talk about with the young master?"
"A deal made!"
Zhu Yi spoke calmly, not caring about how much shock her words would cause.
"A deal to help Duke Cheng get his title back!"
After the words fell, everyone present couldn't help but look at each other in shock. They didn't expect that Zhu Yi would be so honest, and they didn't expect that the truth would be like this.
At this point, Jiao Jing also understood that Zhu Yi would have to explain next, so he did not continue to press.
So, after taking a leisurely sip of tea, Zhu Yi spoke.
"Actually, it's very simple. The Yang family was at a critical stage, and the emperor had obviously made up his mind to use the Yang family to pave the way for the reorganization of the army."
"Faced with such a situation, the Yang family will either fight to the death or wait for death, but neither of these is what the Yang family wants."
"If we fight to the death, not to mention whether the Yang family can withstand the emperor's authority, even if we can withstand it, as a noble person promoted by the emperor, if we offend the emperor, we will not have a good life in the future."
"As for sitting idle and waiting for death, naturally it is not what the Yang family would do, so Yang Jie gave me something at that time..."
As he spoke, Zhu Yi looked around and said.
"As you all thought, it's Yang Xin's letter home!"
Jiao Jing, Chen Mao and others looked at each other, as if this was indeed the case.
Immediately afterwards, Chen Mao asked for the first time.
"So, the young master already knew that Marquis Ren was plotting to assassinate the minister in the Xuan Mansion?"
Zhu Yi nodded and said calmly.
"I know, but I'm not sure. At that time, the family letter Yang Jie brought did not specifically point to Ren Hou. It only found out that the assassin was from Gansu. There was no other evidence."
"However, the Yang family had no other options at that time, so Yang Jie came to represent Yang Hong and made a deal with me."
"He hoped that the Duke of Chengguo would remain neutral on the issue of rectifying the military garrison. In exchange, as long as the Yang Mansion could survive the crisis safely, Yang Hong would go to court to defend his father's mistakes in the Battle of Yao'erling and seek help from Cheng Guo.
The Duke's Mansion takes back the title!"
I see……
A look of deep thought flashed across Jiao Jing's face.
The biggest reason why the title of Duke Chengguo has been undecided is simply the Battle of Yao'erling. There were different opinions in the court. Most ministers tended to believe that it was Zhu Yong's fault. He underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly. He was defeated in the first battle.
Striving for enough time to retreat eventually led to the defeat of the Battle of Tumu.
However, there were also objections. Some people in the court believed that Wang Zhen was monopolizing power at that time and the command and movement of the army were controlled. Although Zhu Yong made rash moves, he was also forced by others and should not be criticized too harshly.
There has been a lot of quarrel about this matter, and there has never been a conclusion.
However, you must know that no matter how much people in the court say, after all, they are not witnesses of the Battle of Tumu, let alone been on the battlefield.
In a specific battle formation, what is the situation, what decisions should be made, and what are the difficulties. Yang Hong, a general who has fought hundreds of battles, has a much better say.
What's more, he was in Xuanfu at the time. Although he did not participate in the battle of Yao'erling, he was the first to receive military reports.
If he is willing to go to Shangshu to defend Zhu Yong, this matter will have a much greater chance of turning around.
So Jiao Jing pondered for a moment and finally asked.