lady, please calm down

August 18th, before the morning court session.

Zhou Wei, the Minister of Dali Temple who had not attended court for half a month claiming to be ill, appeared outside the palace gate.

As soon as Lord Zhou showed up, officials in Jiangnan suddenly felt more at ease. Yesterday, Zuo Shao, the Right Assistant Censor of the Censorate, was taken away from the prison of the Dali Temple by Ximen Fa, and all the officials felt insecure.

The Dali Temple prison was their own territory after all, and under Zhou Wei's careful care, they would not suffer. But when they were taken away by the vicious Ximen Fa, who knew what would happen to them.

Lord Zhou suddenly came to court today, probably to take back the Dali Temple from Ximen Fa.

At this time, Zhou Wei was like the backbone of the Jiangnan officials. Many officials came forward to greet him, and their words gave the impression that they were letting the former make the decision for everyone.

Mei Rupin was confident of his status and did not go forward to join in the fun. He stood on the edge of the crowd, but felt as if something was missing. Then he realized that Zheng Hongzu, who usually followed him, had not shown up yet.

Just as he was about to find someone to ask, he saw the palace gate open. Mei Rupin had to put the matter aside, straightened his official robe, and followed the officials into the palace to attend court.

"If you have something to report, report it early. If you have nothing to report, leave the court~"

With the shouting of the eunuch in charge of ceremonies, today's morning court officially began.

Zhou Wei, holding a tablet in his hand, stepped out first and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that a horrific fight took place in the Dali Temple yesterday evening. I am the Minister of the Dali Temple, and I am guilty!"

"Master Zhou is full of energy, so I guess he is well now?"

On the imperial steps, Chen Chu spoke in a calm tone. To say it was concern, his tone was a little cold; to say it was sarcasm, Chen Chu said it very seriously.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I have recovered."

Zhou Wei pretended not to hear it, and then continued: "I failed to discipline my subordinates, which led to such a thing that damaged the dignity of the country. I am willing to accept the punishment."

Zhou Wei suddenly became so noble and upright, of course he was not giving in. If he, who was not present, was punished, then Ximen Fa, the main culprit who provoked the incident yesterday, would only receive a heavier punishment.

Now that Lord Zhou has come forward, he must find a way to expel Ximen Fa from the Dali Temple.

On the throne, Chen Chu smiled and slowly leaned back in his chair.

Below, Chen Yinglang, the secretary of the Secretariat, who was attending the court for the first time, stepped out and said, "Last night, your majesty had ordered this lowly official to draft a decree. Although Ximen Fa, the director of the Dali Temple, was loyal to the country, he was a little impatient in his actions. He should be fined three months' salary as a warning to others. As for Lord Zhou, he was not present when the incident happened, so he is exempt from punishment."

What a great idea of ​​'making an example to others'. Deducting three months' salary is a warning to others?
The officials in Jiangnan naturally did not accept such a punishment. The Dali Temple was such a vital department. If it was controlled by the rude and disrespectful Ximen Fa, everyone would suffer in the future.

But, the person who spoke was Chen Yinglang, and everyone couldn't help but think deeply about this matter.

Chen Jing'an was originally the governor of Anfeng. After the Anfeng Dynasty surrendered, although Chen Jing'an did not hold an actual position for the time being and only attended court as a county lord, no one dared to look down on him.

It is precisely because he has no real job that he can maintain a relatively neutral position in the recent court struggles.

In this regard, Jiangnan officials were happy to see Chen Jing'an remain silent, which was an acceptable result for them.

But today, the father and son of the Chen family are in the same court, but Chen Yinglang has clearly stood on the side of the Huaibei faction. Chen Jing'an, who is standing in the front row of officials, is holding a tablet and lowering his head, and is no different from usual. This is intriguing.

Is the Chen family going to completely break away from the gentry class?

With this sudden change, the morale of officials in Jiangnan was stagnant.

However, Mei Rupin's son-in-law Zuo Shao is still in custody. Seeing the low morale of his own party, he could not help but get anxious. He immediately stepped out and said with a wronged look on his face: "Your Majesty! I have never had any personal grudges against Ximen Sizheng. As a counselor, I have the responsibility to supervise the trial of cases! Ximen Sizheng beat me yesterday, which not only damaged the dignity of officials, but also treated the Dali Temple as his own government office and ignored the laws of the court. If this continues, the country will no longer be a country!"

If you want to save your son-in-law, you must first defeat Ximen Fa.

"Master Mei, you are too serious."

Chen Chu didn't need to speak out, so Cai Yuan just said this slowly, and then stepped out and said, "Ximen Temple was born in a poor family, so he has a bad temper. The Japanese prime minister ordered him to come and apologize in person."

You said it so easily! Mei Rupin was about to open his mouth to refute, but heard Cai Yuan say: "Besides, the Dali Temple is in need of people now. If Ximen Temple is unable to perform its duties, then the Dali Temple will be without a chief officer. How will it handle cases next?"

All the officials were stunned. Zhou Wei and Mei Rupin all looked at Cai Yuan. Could it be that this old man fell asleep?
Our Lord Zhou Wei is the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple. Now that Lord Zhou has recovered from his illness, he can naturally return to the Dali Temple to preside over the work. Then how can Ximen Fa be the Chief Officer of the Dali Temple?

"What does Prime Minister Cai mean?"

As the head of Jiangnan officials, Chen Bokang had to ask the question proactively.

Cai Yuan bowed to Chen Bokang and said slowly, "Last night, the censor Zheng Hongzu suddenly came to the Lin'an government office to turn himself in, saying that he had accepted silver from Zhou Ni in June. He also gave out a list of officials who had secret contacts with the Zhou court, and Mr. Zhou's name was among them!"

"How could this happen!" Chen Chu's face was solemn, and there was obvious anger in his words.

Inside the Chuigong Hall, there was a loud commotion.

Some people were talking and whispering to each other; some people turned pale and broke out in cold sweat; some people were also complaining for Zhou Wei, "It's a false accusation! It's absolutely a false accusation!"

When Mei Rupin heard that Zheng Hongzu had surrendered, he froze in his tracks.
Zhou Wei had an angry look on his face and was shouting something, but his voice was drowned out by the noisy background.

"Silence! Silence!"

On the imperial steps, Cao Xiaojian shouted repeatedly.

When the hall was quiet for a while, Chen Bokang said hurriedly: "Prime Minister Cai, this matter is of great importance. We should not listen to the words of one person."

"Of course. I will verify what Zheng Hongzu reported through the confessions of the Qian family manager and Cui family members who were captured last month."

After Cai Yuan finished speaking, there was another slight commotion. Similarly, it was at this time that they learned that the steward of the Qian family and the members of the Cui family had been captured and secretly escorted to Beijing by the military.

I originally thought that today's court meeting would be a battle, but unexpectedly, Cai Yuan had set up an ambush early on.

Then, Cai Yuan turned to Zhou Wei, who looked agitated, and said, "Don't worry, Lord Zhou. If you have not committed the act of deceiving the emperor and treason, I will give you justice. But before that, Lord Zhou needs to avoid suspicion. Please stay at home and don't leave the house."

Well, no matter what is said, under the current circumstances, it is impossible for Zhou Wei to preside over the work of the Dali Temple.

According to the ranking system, the sixth-rank Ximen Temple official suddenly became the highest-ranking official in the Dali Temple.

After Cai Yuan finished speaking, he slowly looked at the officials in Jiangnan who had different expressions, and said, "Everyone, this case involves a lot of people. Before the case is closed, please stay in the mansion and wait for the call at any time to cooperate with the trial."

At the top, Chen Chu, who seemed to have just learned about this, slammed the imperial desk and shouted angrily: "Investigate! You must investigate thoroughly! Lord Zhenyang!"

"Chen is here!"

Chen Jing'an, who had not spoken a word since the court session, hurried out. Chen Chu continued, "Minister Xie of the Ministry of Justice is ill at home and cannot manage affairs. I order you to temporarily take charge of the Ministry of Justice and fully cooperate with Prime Minister Cai to investigate the treason case!"

"I accept your order!"

Chen Jing'an answered calmly, but Chen Chu looked down at all the officials and said, "I ask myself, have I treated you well since I came to Lin'an? If you continue to be indecisive and sit on the fence, if God doesn't take you, I will take you! Prime Minister Cai, Lord Chen!"

"I'm here."

"The old minister is here."

"No matter how many people are involved or what position the traitor holds, no one should be left out!"

After saying this, Chen Chu stood up and left without waiting for Cao Xiaojian to call out "dismissal".

Once the golden words came out, it was doomed to be a major case that would sweep across the officialdom and even cost tens of thousands of lives.

Chen Bokang hurriedly chased after him, wanting to talk to Chen Chu alone, but was stopped by Xiao Yi who was following behind him, "Please inform Captain Xu."

Xiao Yi didn't make things difficult for him and turned around to chase after him.

But after just a few dozen breaths, Xiao Yi turned around and said, "Your Majesty does not want to see Prime Minister Chen. Your Majesty also said that I have been upright all my life and cannot do what Wei Wuhou did, which is to 'burn the letter'."

"."

The story of Wei Wuhou burning letters tells that after Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao during the Three Kingdoms period, he discovered a large number of letters between his officials and Yuan Shao. Not only did he not investigate, but he burned the letters in public.

People often use this to praise Cao Cao for his broad-mindedness.

Chen Bokang's heart stagnated. Just now, when he wanted to meet the emperor, he even thought of using this example to persuade him that "it is not appropriate to start a war when the new dynasty has just been established."

Unexpectedly, Chen Chu seemed to have guessed that he would say this and blocked his words.

At the same time, Xiao Yi's words "Your Majesty does not want to see Prime Minister Chen" showed that the emperor was extremely dissatisfied with him. Chen Bokang slowly withdrew from the Chuigong Hall, feeling indescribable.

The innocent are innocent. Ever since Emperor Zhou could not escape, he has never had any contact with the other party. Perhaps the Qian and Cui families also knew Chen Bokang's position and did not even give him any silver.

But Chen Bokang was located between the Huaibei and Jiangnan factions, and had been trying to resolve the grievances between the two sides and ease the relationship between the two sides.

But now, it seems that all those efforts have failed, and he may even be dragged into a big pit by his colleagues in Jiangnan.

The reason why Chen Bokang did this was not only because he did not want to see so many lives lost, but also because, as the head of the officials in Jiangnan, the foundation of his foothold in the new dynasty was that he could use these people. If all the officials in Jiangnan left, it seemed that there would be no need for him to be in a high position.

Naturally, the basis for political retaliation is lost.

Chen Bokang walked out of the palace, feeling a little distraught, and then he saw Cai Yuan and Chen Jing'an surrounded by officials at the palace gate.

Compared to the tense situation in Chuigong Hall just now, at this moment, all the officials in Jiangnan had unnaturally warm smiles on their faces. While expressing their loyalty to the two men, they tried to find out from them whether their names were on the "death list" provided by Zheng Hongzu.

The officials were so disregarding their dignity because this was their last chance to get information. According to the order from His Majesty in Chuigong Hall, everyone had to go home after the court was dismissed today and not leave the palace without an imperial decree. They had to wait for Cai and Chen's investigation. Zhou Wei, who had a bad temper, probably didn't want to be so humble, so he left early.

Mid-autumn had passed and the weather was getting cooler, but the sweat on the face of the Imperial Counselor Mei Rupin never stopped. He had just had an argument with Prime Minister Cai in the palace, and now he seemed embarrassed to step forward and say nice things, but he was reluctant to leave, so he stood hesitantly on the periphery.

Looking extremely embarrassed.

However, how could old foxes like Cai Yuan and Chen Jing'an be tricked into giving them any useful information? Seeing that the officials were surrounding them, Chen Jing'an finally said, "This Lord and Lord Han will enforce the law impartially and will never wrongly accuse any of our colleagues. If you are not guilty of treason, you can return home and rest for ten days, and then you can resume your duties."

There is nothing wrong with what he said, but the key point is that many people did receive money from the Qian, Cui and other families, and some people did secretly write letters to Emperor Zhou to provide information about the situation in Lin'an!

Seeing that the officials still refused to leave, Cai Yuan said, "No one is perfect. If they take the initiative to come to the Secretariat to surrender and confess their crimes, I can personally go to the Emperor to plead for their case and try to save their lives."

Although these words may not satisfy the officials, they at least point out a way to survive.

On the morning of that day, after the officials returned home, the yamen runners of Lin'an government office and the imperial guards guarded outside the residence.

No family members or servants are allowed to go out, and basic living supplies are provided by Lin'an Prefecture.

If there is something that needs to be communicated, it must be passed on through the personal troops outside the palace.

By dusk, two lower-level officials who had accepted bribes from the families who had fled south found the imperial guards and went to the Secretariat to surrender.

At the beginning, the amount of silver donated by the noble families was determined according to the official rank. The amounts of silver received by the officials who surrendered ranged from several hundred taels to over a thousand taels. As Cai Yuan had said before, he did not make things difficult for these small fry and made guarantees to ensure the safety of the families of the officials who surrendered.

After all, the nature of the matter all depends on his decision. The two types of characterizations, treason and bribery, have completely different outcomes.

By August 21, more than a dozen officials had surrendered.

Among the remaining officials, some have a clear conscience, some are hoping for the best, and some are too concerned to surrender themselves.

So, Cai Yuan started the next step.

August 23, Taipingfang, Lin'an.

This place is not far from the imperial city and is close to the Imperial Street. Most of the residents in the area are middle-level officials.

Because officials lived there, this place was originally very busy, with visitors coming to pay their respects to the officials in an endless stream every day.

However, since noon on August 18, a large number of yamen runners and soldiers suddenly appeared at the front and corner gates of each household in the neighborhood to guard them.

Although the common people did not know what was happening in the court, the residents of the capital were always politically sensitive. Taipingfang suddenly became deserted, and nearby residents would rather take a detour than pass through the square.

That afternoon, Luo Luchang, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, climbed up to the attic and glanced at Shangguan Xiekuo's mansion from afar. Although it was only about 300 steps away, Luo Luchang had not been able to contact Shangguan for five or six days because of the oral order not to leave the mansion.

Luo Luchang, with a sad face, came down from the attic, called the housekeeper, and asked expectantly: "Has our left neighbor Wang Sijian come back?"

The housekeeper hunched over and said carefully, "Sijian Wang was taken away by the Dali Temple the day before yesterday and has not returned yet."

Just as he finished speaking, he heard a faint commotion in the distance. Luo Luchang, who had just come down from the attic and hadn't even sat down yet, hurried upstairs again, only to see a group of yamen runners suddenly breaking into the home of his neighbor on the left, Wang Sijian, whom he had just asked about.

The leader shouted, "Wang Yun, the censor of the Jianyuan, secretly colluded with Zhou Ni and intended to rebel! He was identified by the censor Zheng Hongzu and the steward of the Qian family, Qian Buque, and the evidence was irrefutable, but he still refused to plead guilty! His Majesty was furious and ordered the Lin'an Prefecture to confiscate his property and take his entire family to the Dali Temple prison to await trial!"

"!"

Although it was clearly someone else's business, Luo Luchang was so scared that he sat down on the ground.

'Treason, intention to rebel'

It's over. Wang Sijian and his family are all finished.
In the distance, the crying and wailing of the women in Wang Sijian's mansion could be heard from afar.

Amid this background noise, the Luo family's butler, who seemed to know a lot of the inside story, tremblingly helped up Luo Luchang, who could barely stand, and the master and servant looked at each other in silence.

They knew that at this moment in Taipingfang, there were definitely more people who were secretly spying on what was happening in Wang Sijian's mansion.

"Sir, on this occasion"

The housekeeper was about to say something when he heard a woman screaming from the right, followed by a flurry of footsteps and loud crying, "Master, Master, why are you so depressed?"

Luo Luchang calmed himself and quickly followed the sound to the right of his house, where lived Lord Liu, the second-in-command of the Censorate. Luo Luchang was in the back house at the moment, separated from Liu's mansion by only an alley.

After listening carefully, Luo Luchang realized that Liu Zhongcheng had just hanged himself!

It seems that Liu Zhongcheng was frightened by the situation in Wang Sijian's family, and secondly, he must have hoped that he could atone for his crime with death, and hoped that Cai Yuan and Chen Jing'an would spare his family because of his suicide.

Liu Zhongcheng's resolute behavior reminded Luo Luchang that he knew very well that his affairs were more than just a secret relationship with Emperor Zhou. If the facts were found out, he would be dead.

In this case, why not follow Liu Zhongcheng’s example and commit suicide?
Maybe after a person dies, the debt is settled and Cai Yuan will no longer pursue the matter?

With this thought in mind, Luo Luchang slowly straightened his robes and said to the housekeeper, "Go find a piece of white silk."

Having just heard that Liu Zhongcheng had hanged himself, the housekeeper naturally knew what Luo Luchang was up to. He knelt down and cried bitterly, "Master! Only if you can keep yourself useful can there be a chance of turning things around! Even if you die, Cai Yuan may not let go of the dozens of people in my family!"

Luo Luchang stood in front of the window, looking at the houses in the distance, and said firmly: "I told you to go, so go!"

Seeing that Luo Luchang had made up his mind, the housekeeper had no choice but to go downstairs wiping his tears.

Not long after, the housekeeper came upstairs holding two pieces of white silk, and seemed to want to persuade him a few more words, but was stopped by Luo Luchang's eyes.

At this point, the housekeeper stopped talking. He silently hung two pieces of white silk on the beam and tied a knot. Then he shakily brought a stool over.

Before Luo Luchang could make a move, the butler stepped onto the stool first, stretched his neck into the knot, looked back at Luo Luchang and said, "Since the master has decided to do so, then I will go ahead and scout the way ahead for the master."

"." The housekeeper's words made Luo Luchang burst into tears, and he said: "Okay, okay, it's worth our relationship as master and servant! If there is an afterlife, you and I will continue our relationship as master and servant."

What you said, I'll be your slave in the next life.

But the housekeeper was so moved after hearing this that he burst into tears and said, "Master, I will go first!"

After saying this, the butler stepped on the tiptoes and overturned the stool.

The knot was suddenly stressed and instantly straightened. The butler's throat was compressed and he made a strange "gu" sound.

Luo Luchang stared at the butler, only to see his face flush red, then gradually turn purple. Perhaps due to the pain of suffocation, the butler stretched his hands to his neck uncontrollably, as if trying to pull the knot so that he could take another breath.

But without a foothold, all his struggles were in vain.

Then, the butler's originally sunken eyeballs gradually protruded out, and then the tongue.
After more than a hundred breaths, the butler calmed down completely, his eyeballs bulged out, and his tongue stuck out five inches, looking extremely terrifying.

The gradually stiffening body hung on the white silk and swayed slightly.

It was unknown how long it was before Luo Luchang came to his senses. He looked at the white silk that the butler had prepared for him, and then looked at the butler's very undignified face. He actually lost the courage to step on the chair.

He stood there for a long time, and finally wiped his tears and said, "You are right. Even if I die, Cai Yuan may not let my family go. In this case, I might as well keep my useful body. Maybe I can still wait for a glimmer of hope."

A breeze blew in from the window, and the butler, who was standing upright, swayed in the wind, sticking out his tongue as if to express that he was speechless.
At this moment, footsteps were heard in the front house, and then a panicked concubine ran to the attic and said in panic: "Master, several officials have entered the front house and want to invite you to the Secretariat for tea."

Luo Luchang stood in front of the window, trying to remain calm, but suddenly he felt a warm current flowing down his thigh.

He actually peed his pants.

That afternoon, Luo Luchang was taken to the Secretariat.

Cai Yuan and Chen Jing'an, who had been busy for the whole morning, sat in the duty room and ate something during the tea break.

"Liu Xun committed suicide out of fear of punishment, which actually cut off a good clue."

Cai Yuan was quite regretful when talking about the news that came in the morning. Chen Jing'an drank a sip of tea and put down his food before saying, "Didn't Luo Luchang bring him back? Maybe we can get something out of him."

"Luo Luchang is Xie Kuo's confidant. Ximen Sanlang may not be able to scare him. I will go and meet him in person later."

As soon as Cai Yuan finished speaking, Wu Yanzu rushed in with an excited look on his face. Cai Yuan was the father-in-law of His Majesty, and a key figure in the imperial court who was conferred the title of Duke of Korea. Not to mention Wu Yanzu, even if his father came, he was still a junior in Cai Yuan's eyes. He could not help but frown and criticize, "Don't you know how to report? If you are so reckless, how can His Majesty entrust you with important tasks in the future?"

As a second-generation noble, even if he has a temper, he has to know who he is facing. Wu Yanzu hurriedly bowed and said solemnly, "Your subordinate has important matters to report."

Chen Jingan, who was more talkative, smiled and said, "Tell me, why are you so happy?"

Wu Yanzu's face showed both the joy of success and a little anger. He spoke rapidly, "Just now, Ximen Temple was interrogating Luo Luchang, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice. As soon as he saw him, he shouted that he wanted to report a major case of treason and make meritorious contributions."

Cai Yuan was an experienced man, and blurted out, "But it has something to do with Funing Palace!"

Wu Yanzu was surprised, but he hurriedly replied: "Duke Hanguo, it is true! Luo Luchang testified that Xie Kuo, the Minister of Justice, Liu Xun, the Chief Censor, and seven others secretly communicated with palace ladies a month ago and tried to murder Concubine Cai, and even..."

Wu Yanzu's face was filled with anger again, "He even planned to poison your majesty!"

I thought it would take some trouble, but I didn't expect the lid to be opened so smoothly. Chen Jing'an, who has always been introverted, couldn't help but pat his chair excitedly.

Cai Yuan, on the other hand, still had a calm expression. After taking a sip of tea, he slowly uttered two words, "It's settled." (End of this chapter)