lady, please calm down

It was July 25th, late summer, but the heat was still unbearable during the day.

On this day, there were two busy places in Lin'an City.

One was at Caishikou in Lin'an. The magistrate of Changhua, Lu Xiaozhai, the local gentry Cao Ling, and more than 40 male members of their three clans, including their parents, wives, brothers, and other relatives, were taken to the execution ground.

The extermination of three tribes is not uncommon, but this time, it took only four or five days from the capture of the Cao family to their execution. Moreover, officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple and other departments were completely excluded from the handling of this case, leaving no opportunity for them to interfere.

In the past two hundred years of the Zhou and Qi dynasties, it was unprecedented to deal with officials and gentry so quickly and without judicial procedures.

Before noon, people from Lin'an who loved to watch the excitement flocked to the outside of Caishikou.

Another lively place in Lin'an City is outside the Lizheng Gate of the Imperial City.
The court officials who were rarely seen in the past were now kneeling in the square outside the palace with haggard looks, each of them looking like they had lost their parents.

Due to the hot weather, seven or eight old ministers have suffered from heatstroke and fainted since yesterday. Although there were imperial doctors outside the palace to provide emergency treatment, the emperor never met with any of them, not even Chen Bokang, who had been running around trying to ease the situation.

The emperor's behavior showed that he had no intention of saving face for the officials.

They couldn't reach the steps yet, so they could only continue to kneel outside Lizheng Gate in the scorching sun.

Although the officials were suffering from the scorching heat, they could not help but feel proud of themselves for having the courage to speak out against the emperor.

Unfortunately, the general public cannot empathize with them. Many gambling dens in the city have even quietly opened odds, betting on how long these old men can last and who will be the next to faint from heat stroke.
Noon is the time when Yang energy is at its peak in a day.

Because Cao Ling was being executed by flaying, it would take three or four days to complete the entire execution process. Therefore, today he was able to witness the entire process of beheading the three clans of Ding men from a close distance.

The members of the Cao family, who were living a life of luxury in Changhua County a few days ago, suddenly became prisoners to be executed. This change was too abrupt, and many people were not prepared for death at all.

Especially Cao Ling's brothers-in-law. They were just sitting at home when disaster struck.

There are three tribes of the Yi people, and the brothers of my wife belong to one of them.

The lunch boxes were sent out suddenly, and it was impossible for the brothers-in-law to say that they had no resentment towards the emperor. However, they still had grandchildren living in the world, so of course they did not dare to curse the emperor, so as not to make the situation of their descendants more difficult.

As a result, Cao Ling became the only target for them to vent their anger.

"Cao Ling! You old pig-dog, you caused the death of my brother. We will not let you go even in hell!"

"Brother-in-law, please tell the military officer supervising the execution that we really didn't know about your family's affairs. We are wronged."

"And you still call this idiot your brother-in-law! I regret that I didn't stop my father from agreeing to my elder sister marrying into the Cao family, which led to the disaster today."

Some people cursed, some cried, but neither of them could affect their own destiny.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the cold-faced He Bei waved his hand, and the soldiers immediately took away the signs with their names on them from behind the prisoners and started to execute them.
At this time, whether it was the soldiers on guard around or the executioners, they were all veteran soldiers from Huaibei.

The policemen and runners of the Lin'an government office were only responsible for maintaining order on the periphery.

Less than a hundred breaths later, Lin'an Caishikou was already shrouded in a bloody atmosphere.
When it was the turn of Changhua County Magistrate Lu Xiaozhai, who was already frightened to the point of incontinence, he kept muttering, "Mr. Cao has misled me! Mr. Cao has misled me!" as he was taken to the execution platform.

By the evening of that day, Cao Ling, who had been stabbed with 1,300 knives, had completed his KPI for the day and was escorted back to the military camp, awaiting further torture the next day or the day after.

That night, the military doctor applied medicine and fed him ginseng soup to keep him alive, so that he would not survive the next two days.

The doctor had to be so concerned. The day before yesterday, the students from Huaibei collected 50 strings of goods notes, and the son of Marshal Peng, the sister of the Queen, came to him in person and asked him to make sure Cao Ling was beaten with 3,000 knives to comfort the spirit of Senior Cui.

The doctor didn't dare to take the money, but he had to do it well.
As members of the Cao family were beheaded at Caishikou, the morale of the officials who had kneeled outside the Lizheng Gate for a day and a night fell to the bottom.

Under Chen Bokang's earnest persuasion, on the 26th, the officials returned to their respective residences one after another.

After kneeling for two days, nothing changed. Even the emperor himself did not make the superficial effort to appease them. This undoubtedly hurt the self-esteem of many people.

Since the Zhou Dynasty, which emperor did not hold them in the palm of his hand?
Having never suffered such humiliation, some people can't help but think of the words in Mencius: "If the monarch regards his subjects as his own hands and feet, then the subjects will regard the monarch as their own heart and soul; if the monarch regards his subjects as dogs and horses, then the subjects will regard the monarch as their fellow countrymen; if the monarch regards his subjects as dirt, then the subjects will regard the monarch as their enemy."

I don’t know whether these officials, who had been spoiled by successive kings into spoiled little princesses, really needed a rest after kneeling for two days, or were just angry. In any case, on the morning of July 27, half of the officials did not attend the court due to illness.

On that day, the Chuigong Hall was noticeably more spacious.

Chen Chu seemed not to notice any problem and didn't even ask a question.

Instead, according to the established plan, the former Jiangning prefect Sang Yanting was summoned to the palace. Sang Yanting had received the emperor's decree summoning him to the capital four days ago. At that time, he was still unclear about the Changhua matter.

But when I learned about this on the way south by boat, I couldn't help but feel excited and scared.

He was excited because His Majesty summoned him to the capital at this time, which must mean that he would be given an important position.

The fear was that His Majesty was now in a state of confrontation with the officials. If he defected and accepted His Majesty's appointment at this time, it would undoubtedly be tantamount to betraying the official and gentry group.

As expected, after he arrived in Beijing last night, His Majesty summoned him to the palace without delay, saying that he wanted to appoint him as the acting prefect of Lin'an!
Sang Yanting indeed hesitated for a few breaths. One could imagine with one's toes that after accepting this assignment, the first thing he had to do was to deal with the follow-up of the Changhua case.

Secondly, it is to protect your Majesty's disciples.

If you do this, you will inevitably break off relations with your original class.
But Sang Yanting had always been a local official and was not that close to the officials in the court, and the title of the prefect of Lin'an was really tempting!
The Great Chu was newly established, and Lin'an, as the auxiliary capital of the previous dynasty, had a special status. Since May and June, scholars from both the north and the south had already started a long debate in newspapers about whether the capital of the new dynasty should be Tokyo or Lin'an.

Whether to move the capital or not has far-reaching implications, ranging from the political ecology of the north and the south to the livelihood of ordinary people.

These literati who spoke out represent the bureaucratic groups behind them.

But no matter whether the imperial capital is in the north or the south, Lin'an's special status cannot be changed.

Because Jiangning is a well-known city, the prefect holds the title of fourth rank, but the prefect of Lin'an is a proper second rank official. Although the prefect this time has the word "Quan" in front of his name, he is also a third rank official!
The leap from the fourth rank to the third rank is not only a qualitative leap, but also a time when the emperor is in need of people. He must seize this opportunity to have a chance to enter the real core circle of power in the future!

As for the possible hostility from the officials and gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, Sang Yanting also thought that his surrender to the Great Chu was arranged by Concubine Cai. In the future, the worst that can happen is that I can cling to Prime Minister Cai's thigh!
In addition to the above considerations, the most crucial factor in Sang Yanting's decision to accept this appointment was that he felt that even if all the officials were united, they could not compete with His Majesty!
Last night, Sang Yanting had already expressed his gratitude in front of His Majesty, so today's court meeting was just a formality.

It was originally thought that this appointment would go through some twists and turns. However, those who were the most stubborn did not attend the court, and Chen Bokang, who was present, had been trying to ease the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, and did not speak out against it.

Sang Yanting's promotion was passed smoothly and dramatically.

But after the court was dismissed that day, it was said that more than ten officials, led by Zhou Wei, went to Chen Bokang's house in a threatening manner.
In the following days, the officials who were on sick leave and had not been able to leave continued to stay at home.

The fact that half of the officials did not attend court did cause some trouble to the operation of the court, but Chen Chu ignored them.

The Huaibei students accelerated the pace of their investigation and publicity in the surrounding prefectures and counties. Moreover, on the first day of Sang Yanting's appointment, he organized all the police officers and runners in the prefecture to follow the various teams going to the countryside.

To prevent Cui Zaidao's case from happening again.

It is said that even his sedan bearers were sent out, and Lord Sang showed what "loyalty to the emperor" meant!
In addition to the runners of the Lin'an government office, some soldiers were also drawn from the Huaibei Army to escort the students.

As a result, the working environment for Huaibei students improved a lot.

Sometimes, people are just like this. When you try to persuade them kindly, they think you are weak and easy to bully; but when there are ferocious-looking yamen runners or brave soldiers carrying knives and guns, they immediately become docile.

During this period, there were still a few gentry who wanted to make small moves and changed their usual gentle style. Once they encountered someone trying to cause trouble, they would let the yamen runners and soldiers take the person back to the barracks.

For a time, work efficiency increased several times, but the gentry near Lin'an also complained.

The gentry habitually went to the Lin'an officials who were their relatives, classmates and teachers to cry and complain, but most of these people were recuperating at home due to illness, and nothing could be done for the time being.

On the second day of August, Cao Ling's mother hanged herself in prison, adding a small ripple to the Changhua case which had been gradually calming down.

Chen Chu, who originally had a good reputation in Jiangnan, gradually became more complicated in public opinion under the deliberate guidance of certain forces.

The fifth day of the eighth month, at the end of the night at 11 pm, Funing Palace.

There was a drizzle in the morning and it lasted until dusk. After days of continuous heat, it felt cool.

Ru'er, who was named Jieyu in April, sat on the couch and embroidered the last few stitches on a pair of tiger-head shoes that were almost completed. Then she looked at them from a distance and couldn't help but smile happily.

Concubine Yi was about to give birth in September. Ru'er knew the relationship between Concubine Gui and Concubine Yi, so she made a pair of tiger-head shoes and a bellyband in advance to show their close relationship. In the palace, Concubine Gui was naturally her backer. Ru'er would take the initiative to make friends with whoever Concubine Gui had a good relationship with.

Jiarou was also pregnant, but Ruer prepared a longevity lock for her. Although this thing was a bit expensive, it showed more thought than something made by hand.

The tiger-head shoes and bellyband were both gifts for the baby in Yunong's belly. Both items were made by her personally, but one of them would be sent in the name of the imperial concubine.

As for why the imperial concubine didn't do her needlework herself, it was similar to Yao Changzi's.

Ru'er is very satisfied with her current life. She was a maid born of slavery and yet she could become a fourth-rank concubine. This has become an inspirational story in her hometown.

If she could give birth to a son in the future, Ruer would feel that her life would be complete.

The only regret was that His Majesty did not come to her place very often, and the Imperial Concubine had been living in the West Garden with His Majesty since she came to Lin'an, so Ru'er couldn't help feeling a little lonely.

The Funing Palace is Cai Huan's palace, and its area is second only to the Ciming Palace in the harem. Although Cai Huan always likes to argue with Mao'er when they are together, she is actually very sensible in major matters.

After entering the palace, Cai Huan moved directly into the Funing Palace. She would not live in the Ciming Palace, which was more spacious and had better scenery, even if it was empty.

Speaking of which, the Funing Palace is not small. Although Ru'er lives in a side hall, she feels uncomfortable with such a big house. It is empty everywhere and seems deserted.

"Cloud planting, cloud planting"

Ru'er called out twice, and then she saw a maid in palace dress running in with a sleepy face, "Jieyu, is there anything I can do for you?"

"It's not hot today, come in and sleep with me."

Ru'er felt lonely in the deep palace and wanted to talk to someone. In the palace, apart from the imperial concubine, Yun Zai, the maid she brought from Huaibei, was the one she was closest to.

"Oh," Yun Zainianchu, who was only sixteen years old, responded first, turned around and went out to get his pillow, but still asked worriedly, "Jieyu, what if His Majesty comes?"

"." Ru'er said in a slightly complaining tone: "It's almost midnight, and the imperial concubine hasn't come back yet. I guess she and Your Majesty are staying in the West Garden again. Your Majesty won't come."

"Oh"

Yun Zai responded naively, then climbed onto Ru'er's bed holding a pillow.

The two of them extinguished the candles and started talking about their hometown.

One of them was lonely and wanted to talk; the other was young and in the mood for talking, so the two of them chatted animatedly.

As they talked, the two of them couldn't help but talk about the recent situation in Lin'an.
Yunzai seemed to have heard something from the maid next to her, and could not help but lower her voice and said, "I heard that Cao Ling's mother, who was over 70 years old, was also very strong-willed. She hanged herself in prison. Your Majesty did not intend to kill the elderly, the weak, women and children, but she committed suicide. It is better to live than to die!"

Yun Zai seemed confused, but Ru'er often heard some secrets from Cai Huan, so she sneered and said, "Oh, hanged herself? Why didn't she hang herself in the military camp in the north of the city? Just after handing over the criminal women to Lin'an prefect Sang Yanting, this incident happened. The imperial concubine said that the Lin'an government office had been infiltrated by people for a long time, and His Majesty asked Sang Yanting to take over as prefect so that he could quickly clean up the government office. Now it seems that Sang Yanting is also a fool."

Prefect Sang is, after all, a third-rank official, and he is not that incompetent. It's just that he has been in office for too short a time, and it is impossible for him to be able to run the government office so smoothly in just a few days.

After Ru'er finished scolding herself, she also realized that something was wrong. It was all because she had been with the Imperial Concubine for a long time, and the Imperial Concubine looked down on certain officials and could comment on them at will. But Ru'er, a mere concubine, said this in order to avoid appearing arrogant.

So Ru'er immediately explained in a low voice: "It wasn't me who said that Magistrate Sang was a fool. It was the Imperial Concubine who said it."

"Jieyu is saying that the old lady of the Cao family was killed?" Yun Zai was a little confused and asked, "But she is an old woman, why would someone want to harm her?"

"Oh, of course I want to use this to discredit Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty is the emperor today. How dare you plot against him?"

Yun Zai was very confused, but Ru'er said helplessly: "This is just the Imperial Concubine's speculation, and we have no evidence."

Just as Ru'er finished speaking, she heard a strange wind blowing outside the window, with a low whistling sound.

Immediately afterwards, there was a loud bang, and the back window was blown open by the strange wind, and the gauze curtains in the room fluttered for a moment.

"Why did the wind suddenly blow?"

Yunzai immediately stood up and prepared to get out of bed to close the back window, but at this moment, he saw outside the window. In the dim light from the palace lanterns in the distance, he saw an old woman wearing a bloodstained prisoner's uniform and with disheveled hair standing firmly in front of the window.

"what!"

Yun Zai screamed in fear and fell to the ground. Ru'er looked up and saw the old woman with a half-foot long tongue sticking out of her mouth and tears of blood slowly flowing from her eyes.
"My family of Cao died unjustly. I, Cao Zhang, have already filed a complaint before the Lord of Hell, saying that my family of Cao died unjustly!"

"what!"

Ru'er screamed in fear and shrank into the corner, shivering.

The next day, at noon, Chen Chu got up and attended the morning court.

Cai Huan wanted to sleep a little longer, but she heard that Concubine Cai's maid Yun Zai wanted to see her.

Cai Hua was unhappy that she couldn't sleep in. However, when she saw Yun Zai, who was still pale, she suppressed her temper and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you like this so early in the morning?"

As soon as Yunzai opened her mouth, she burst into tears and sobbed, "My queen, this servant and I met a ghost last night. Woo woo woo."

Cai Huan, who had just taken a sip of the tea to wake up the brain, spat it out upon hearing this, and immediately laughed out loud: "Did you meet a ghost? Hahaha."

Seeing the Imperial Concubine's expression, Yun Zai couldn't help crying even harder, saying, "Really, Madam, this servant and I saw with our own eyes that Cao Ling's mother turned into a fierce ghost and wanted to take our lives, wuwuwu."

"Oh?" When Cai Hua heard the words 'Cao Ling's mother', the smile on her face instantly disappeared, and she asked seriously, "Did you and Ru'er really see it with your own eyes?"

“Yeah, yeah,” Yun Zai nodded frantically, indicating that he was not lying.

Cai Huan took out a handkerchief and wiped the tea stains that had accidentally dripped onto her body. She slowly leaned back on the couch and pondered for a moment. After a few breaths, she suddenly smiled and said to the maid beside her, "Go and call Concubine Hui to get up and come over."

Tiedan is not like Cai Huan who likes to sleep in. He got up half an hour ago to practice kung fu.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Tiedan, who had rushed to Xiyuan, heard Cai Hua say that she wanted to take her to do something. Tiedan, who was still wearing a training shirt, immediately said, "Sister, wait a moment. I'll go change my clothes."

Tiedan, who was about to go out, knew that he represented the royal family's reputation and it would be inappropriate to go out wearing this outfit.

Cai Hua looked him up and down and said with a chuckle, "This is a neat and tidy outfit, just perfect for catching ghosts!"

"Ghost hunting?"

Tiedan looked confused, and Yunzai stammered and told him what happened last night again.

Since ancient times, there has always been a lot of talk about ghosts and gods behind the palace, and many people even swore that they had seen them. Tiedan was somewhat affected and couldn't help but get nervous when he heard it, "Sister, I can kill people, but I can't catch ghosts!"

“Hehe.” Cai Hua covered her mouth and smiled, but said, “Tiedan, do you know why the palace is always haunted?”

“I don’t know,” Tiedan shook his head.

Cai Huan, who had already walked outside, leaned on the railing and looked into the distance. In the dim light, the imperial palaces were connected, and rockery and ancient trees were dotted in between. Cai Huan narrowed her eyes and said, "With the theory of ghosts and gods, the evil deeds done by 'people' can be covered up."

Seeing that Tiedan and Yunzai didn't seem to understand, Cai Hua frowned in disdain and said bluntly: "There is a ghost in the palace. If someone dies suddenly soon, do you think it was done by a human or a ghost?"

After saying that, Cai Huan suddenly turned to Yue Rong, a maid from the Cai family, and said, "Tell me to ask Zhaowu Captain Xu Xiaoyi to bring a team of soldiers into the palace."

"Ah? Madam."

Yue Rong was shocked. The harem was an important place where even royal relatives and important ministers were not allowed to enter. But the imperial concubine asked her to ask the emperor's personal soldier, Captain Xu, to lead his troops into the palace. This matter was not a big deal, but it was not a small one either.

If we talk about it afterwards, it all depends on your Majesty's decision.

Seeing Yue Rong hesitate, Cai Huan immediately said unhappily: "What are you afraid of! I will explain to His Majesty." (End of this chapter)