Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 428 The Abandoned Queen

At this moment, the little eunuch from outside came to inform Jia Zheng and asked to see him.

"Let him in."

With Jia Rui's words, Jia Zheng was able to enter the Hall of Cultivation of the Heart.

When he came in, he saw Jia Ruigao sitting on the throne, correcting memorials like an emperor.

Seeing this scene, Jia Zheng felt angry in his heart for some reason.

Fortunately, after a period of training, he did not show dissatisfaction on his face. Instead, he smiled and said: "Prime Minister, the emperor has issued a decree to depose the queen and make Yuan Fei the queen."

"Oh, did things go so well?" Jia Rui pretended not to know what happened just now and acted very excited.

Jia Zheng quickly handed the imperial edict in his hand to the eunuch at the side, and the young eunuch came to Jia Rui holding the imperial edict.

Jia Rui grabbed the imperial edict, opened it, looked at it, and then nodded with satisfaction.

"Very good, since the emperor has entrusted this errand to you, then you can go and do it now." After finishing speaking, Jia Rui threw the imperial edict to the little eunuch beside him.

The little eunuch quickly held it and even gave it to Jia Zheng.

Jia Zheng took it, and even felt a little disappointed in his heart. He hoped that Jia Rui would send someone to deal with it after receiving the imperial edict, but he did not expect that Jia Rui threw the imperial edict back to him.

"Qin Shun?" Jia Rui called.

"My slave is here." Qin Shun was like a lapdog, and Jia Rui responded immediately.

"Send a few people to follow Mr. Zheng to Kunning Palace to get this matter done and free up Kunning Palace as soon as possible so that Concubine Yuan can live there."

"Slave, I'll do it right away."

After finishing speaking, Qin Shun saluted Jia Rui and then pulled Jia Zheng out of the Yangxin Hall.

After arriving outside, Qin Shun immediately lost his humility and became arrogant.

Of course, Qin Shun did not dare to go too far when facing Jia Zheng. After all, Jia Zheng was also a member of Jia Rui's clan, and his current authority was not small. Who knows whether he would join the cabinet in the future.

"Master Jia, please wait a moment, I'm going to recruit some help." After saying this, Qin Shun hurried away.

Not long after, Qin Shun hurried back with a dozen strong eunuchs and more than twenty stout palace maids.

He came to Jia Zheng in a few steps and said with a smile: "Master Jia, just take these people and pass on the imperial edict first. As for the residence of the deposed queen, let's arrange it on the other side of the road for the time being."

After hearing this, Jia Zheng hesitated, "That place is relatively deserted. Isn't it inappropriate for the deposed queen to live there?"

This passageway is located in a remote part of the emperor's palace. There are more than a dozen small courtyards there, which are very dilapidated. They are usually the places where abandoned concubines are kept, and are also called cold palaces.

Qin Shun meant to put the emperor into the cold palace, but Jia Zheng was a little soft-hearted and couldn't stand it.

Qin Shun smiled slightly, and then said: "Since the emperor has no special will, the deposed queen will naturally have no choice but to live on the other side of the road."

After saying that, Qin Shun ignored Jia Zheng and went back to the Yangxin Hall to serve Jia Rui with his hands behind his back.

Jia Zheng shook his head gently. He had tried his best, and then led the people out of the Yangxin Palace and through the red wall and blue tiled passage to Kunning Palace.

Kunning Palace is the residence of queens of all dynasties.

The word "Kunning" comes from the "Tao Te Ching" which means "In the past, the sky was clear, the earth was peaceful, the gods were spiritual, the grains were full, and all things were alive. When the princes and kings get one, they think the world is pure."

In ancient times, the queen's status was opposite to that of the emperor, and she was the most noble woman in the world. The emperor is the sky, the queen is the earth, the sky is Qian, and the earth is Kun, so the emperor's palace is named Qianqing Palace, and the queen's palace is named Kunning Palace.

As soon as Jia Zheng and his men arrived at the entrance of Kunming Palace, they were stopped by the eunuchs guarding the gate. However, after Jia Zheng raised the imperial edict in his arms high above his head, the eunuchs quickly retreated to both sides.

Then Jia Zheng led people into Kunning Palace, and then came to the main hall of Kunning Palace.

Queen Wang was already sitting on the throne of Kunning Palace at this time, looking at Jia Zheng who walked in, her face was very calm.

After Jia Zheng came in, he did not salute, but held the imperial edict and said: "The emperor has an edict, and the queen will receive it."

Queen Wang walked down the imperial steps very calmly, and then knelt down in front of Jia Zheng: "I accept the order."

Jia Zheng looked at the calm woman kneeling below and felt a trace of unbearability in his heart. However, thinking about his daughter's future and the future of his grandson, he could only throw away this trace of unbearability.

"The Emperor, who has been entrusted by heaven, issued an edict: The Queen has been childless for many years and is ashamed of her ancestors. She will immediately depose her as Queen and take back the jade certificate and gold book. I admire this."

Queen Wang was not very excited. She replied in a calm tone: "I accept the order and thank you for your kindness."

Then, Queen Wang ordered her personal maid to return the jade butterfly and the golden book to Jia Zheng, and asked them to be handed over to the emperor.

It seems that Queen Wang has been prepared for a long time, so she can hand over the things so quickly.

Jia Zheng stepped forward and saluted Queen Wang, and then said: "General Manager Qin has prepared a yard for you on the road. Please move there immediately."

Queen Wang nodded, and then signaled the maid next to her to prepare.

The three palace maids beside her were very nimble. They walked out with four or five packages without even taking a cup of tea. Then they followed the queen and walked out of Kunming surrounded by stout palace maids and eunuchs. Ning Gong?

Jia Zheng looked at Queen Wang leaving and shook her head gently. She was a smart woman.

After finishing this troublesome matter, Jia Zheng returned to the Yangxin Hall and returned to Jia Rui.

Jia Rui had just finished correcting the last memorial at this time and was taking a leisurely walk in the courtyard of Yangxin Hall with a teacup in his hand. When he saw Jia Zheng coming back, he smiled and nodded, and then asked, "Is everything going smoothly?"

Even though he asked this, Jia Rui didn't think things would go smoothly. After all, falling from the sky to the ground all of a sudden is unacceptable to anyone. It is understandable that the queen would make a fuss.

Jia Zheng walked to Jia Rui and said with a smile: "Things went smoothly. The deposed queen was very sensible. After receiving the imperial edict, she immediately took the package to the other side of the aisle."

Jia Rui was stunned for a moment, and then asked in disbelief: "Didn't she make trouble with you?"

"Returning to the Prime Minister, the queen was very calm and did not do anything out of the ordinary."

After hearing this, Jia Rui nodded thoughtfully, "Okay, now that it's done, you can go back first."

Jia Zheng then bowed and retreated.

After Jia Zheng left, Jia Rui said to Qin Shun beside him: "The step of abolishing the queen has been completed. Next, you should pay attention to the court and the people to see what public opinions are. If some people dance too happily, give them a Click on the color and see.”

"The slaves obey."

Jia Rui handed the teacup in his hand to the eunuch waiting at the side, and left the Yangxin Hall with his back on his back.

Naturally, there was a group of eunuchs behind him, holding various utensils and ready to serve at any time.

When he was approaching the entrance of the palace, Jia Rui suddenly stopped. He thought for a moment and said to Qin Shun: "Let's go to the other side of the passage first. I'm very curious about our queen. Let's go and see who she is." .”

Jia Rui has never met the queen, because the queen's presence in the palace is very low.

But this time the queen accepted the fact of being deposed very naturally, which made Jia Rui curious about this woman and wanted to meet her.

Qin Shun hurriedly smiled and said: "My lord, the other side of the road is a bit far. I will prepare a small sedan for you."

Jia Rui nodded slightly.

When Qin Shun saw that Jia Rui agreed, he quickly ordered people to prepare a small sedan.

Soon Jia Rui sat in a sedan and came to several courtyards near the road.

As soon as Jia Rui came over, he saw dozens of eunuchs kneeling nearby.

These people are not only responsible for serving the food and daily life of the imprisoned nobles in the family, but also responsible for guarding them.

Jia Rui got off the sedan and signaled to Qin Shun next to him. Qin Shun immediately bowed his body and took a few steps back, and then walked in front of the group of eunuchs.

"Which courtyard is the abandoned one?"

A middle-aged eunuch at the head said flatteringly: "If you go back to your ancestors, Empress Wu just came here. She is in a courtyard on the edge, just a few steps away from us."

After hearing this, Qin Shun quickly turned around, came to Jia Rui's side, and repeated what he had just heard.

Jia Rui nodded and motioned to lead the way.

Qin Shun quickly winked at the eunuch, who immediately got up from the ground and walked in front of him respectfully.

Sure enough, as he said, after only walking about ten steps, he came to a small dilapidated courtyard.

With a smile on his face, the eunuch bowed his head and said to Jia Rui: "My lord, after you retire, you will live here."

Jia Rui saw that the door was tightly closed and there was a small hole on the side.

Jia Rui asked curiously: "Are there still dogs here? Why is there a dog hole?"

"My lord, this is not a dog hole, it is a hole for delivering food to the people inside."

After hearing this, Jia Rui Ming also understood that anyone who lived here could not step out of the door, and no one would come in or out, so every day food was delivered to the people inside through this small hole.

Jia Rui sighed, it was hard to live a good life after being relegated to the cold palace.

"Open the door, I'll go in and take a look."

Following Jia Rui's instructions, the eunuch quickly took out the key from his body and opened the door.

As the door was pushed open, there was a creaking sound.

The people inside also heard the sound, and several palace maids stopped what they were doing and looked towards the door.

Soon they saw Qin Shun in the crowd.

Maybe they don't know Jia Rui, but they, the little palace ladies, naturally know Qin Shun, who is full of people in the palace.

Now seeing that even Qin Shun was following the leader like a pug, he immediately understood that the leader should be Wu Guogong Jia Rui.

The maids immediately dropped what they were doing and knelt on both sides without daring to raise their heads.

Jia Rui didn't even look at them, and walked into the main room with the others.

Perhaps hearing Jia Rui's voice, a pretty lady in her thirties holding a rag in her hand also looked at Jia Rui.

(End of this chapter)