Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 452 Testing

"I remember that Concubine De's two children lived there, right?"

"My master is wise. The two princes of Empress Dowager De, the eldest prince and the second prince, both live in Beifu."

"Take this boy and send him to Concubine De, so that mother and son can be reunited first."

When Jia Rui said this, his tone became very sinister, and Qin Shun, who was kneeling next to him, started to get goosebumps.

Seeing that Jia Rui had no other instructions, Qin Shun dared to respectfully exit.

Jia Rui sat on the throne of the Yangxin Hall again and asked Lao Li beside him intentionally or unintentionally.

"Do you think the emperor knows about this? Is he also involved?"

Old Li said flatteringly: "Master, the emperor is restricted to Qianqing Palace. He should not have the ability to interfere in matters elsewhere."

Jia Rui shook his head, "Don't take it lightly. After all, the emperor has been operating in the palace for many years. There may be some special channels, or people there may sympathize with the emperor and tip him off."

Lao Li quickly echoed Jia Rui: "You are still thoughtful, how about I go and replace all the maids and eunuchs in Kunning Palace and Qianqing Palace?"

Jia Rui did not continue talking, and Lao Li did not dare to make decisions without authorization, so the Yangxin Hall became quiet.

Qin Shun came back soon. He kowtowed to Jia Rui and immediately reported: "Master, I have sent the two princes to Changchun Palace as ordered."

"How did Concubine De behave?"

"Empress De Fei was very happy and kept praising the master."

"Hahahaha, she praised me? She wants me to die early, right?"

After Jia Rui finished speaking, he knocked on the table with his hand, thinking about what to do with the three mothers and children.

Finally, Jia Rui decided to cut the knot quickly and give them a happy life.

At the same time, Jia Rui is also preparing to use this incident to test the enemies hidden in the court.

So a few days later, during a morning court meeting, Jia Rui made an exception and allowed the emperor to sit on the throne. He still stood beside the emperor as before.

The ministers below were already used to this scene. When they saw the two people coming, they knelt down together on the ground and knelt three times and kowtowed nine times.

When the ceremony was over, the ministers stood on both sides.

At this time, Lao Li, who was following the emperor, took a step forward and shook the dust with his hands, and then shouted below:

"The emperor has a decree, and if he has a decree, he will report it early, but if he has no decree, he will leave the court."

The central minister below no longer attaches great importance to the early court, because all major national affairs are planned by Jia Rui in advance, and the early court is just a habit for many years.

After all, there was nothing important to deal with now, so they all stood respectfully and said nothing, waiting for everyone to return to the Yamen after the court was over.

Jia Rui stood at the top and saw that all the ministers were silent, so he took a step forward and stood in the center of the imperial steps and said to the people below:

"There's nothing wrong with you. I have something to report to the emperor today."

After saying this, Jia Rui turned to the emperor and bowed his hands casually, and then said: "Your Majesty, I have found out in the inner palace that Concubine Li of Changchun Palace has an evil conspiracy and is preparing to kill the dragon seed in the queen's belly. , and Jingfei Long planted the killer."

As soon as he finished saying this, the ministers below were in an uproar.

You must know that Jia Yuanchun is now the queen. If there is a boy in her belly, he will be the future emperor in the future.

As for Concubine Jing's pregnancy, although everyone felt it was very strange, she was also the emperor's concubine after all. In the absence of definite evidence, the minister still believed that she was also pregnant with a prince.

Under such circumstances, Concubine De actually wanted to get rid of the two unborn babies. This was simply arrogant and ignorant to the extreme.

Jia Zheng, who was standing below, was so angry that his eyes were red.

Although he has given up on his daughter, she is his own flesh and blood after all, and he does not want Jia Yuanchun to be harmed.

But now that his daughter has been wronged, he, as a father, will naturally be the first to stand up and vent his anger on his daughter's behalf.

So Jia Zheng came out of work and knelt on the ground and started to play, "Your Majesty, Duke, and the ministers think that Concubine De is no longer worthy of her position by doing such a treason and injustice. Please give an order to depose Concubine De as a commoner." .”

After hearing this, the other ministers felt that this punishment was not bad, so dozens of them knelt down and agreed with Jia Zheng.

The emperor sitting above him also felt that something was wrong with Jia Rui.

At the same time, he also sensed danger and rushed towards his son.

This is the wonderful feeling that the emperor had after dealing with the Supreme Emperor for decades.

Every time I feel this way, it finally proves that danger is approaching.

So the emperor quickly spoke out: "This matter is just a rumor. There is no definite evidence. How can you deal with Concubine De just because of a rumor? Everyone should find other ways!"

Jia Yucun, who had been standing silently in the class, glanced at Jia Rui, who was standing on the imperial steps, and saw that his face was serious and his eyes flashed coldly from time to time, so he guessed what Jia Rui was going to do.

So Jia Yucun came out and knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty, since the Prime Minister mentioned it in the morning, the evidence is conclusive. How can such a rebellious and unscrupulous woman stay in the harem? Please die immediately as an example."

Jia Yucun was much more ruthless than Jia Zheng, but this did satisfy Jia Rui.

Therefore, Jia Rui, who was standing on the imperial steps, nodded slightly as a compliment to Jia Yucun.

Jia Yucun also noticed Jia Rui's expression and saw that he was flattering him correctly, so he continued to say:

"Your Majesty, Concubine De, is too weak to do such a thing alone. It must be the cooperation of family members outside the palace. These people are so bold and have no scruples. They should also be beheaded together." After the emperor sat up and heard this sentence, His hands were clenched into fists, and his face turned livid. However, he didn't say anything more, but remained silent.

That means that if I don’t say anything or issue an order, how can you kill me now?

The current emperor was already broken. He knew that as soon as Jia Yuanchun's child was born, he would have few days to live, so he simply became tough.

Jia Rui glanced at the emperor and saw that he had not expressed anything for a long time. He was not polite and said directly to Lao Li who was standing next to the emperor: "Since the emperor agrees with Jia Yucun's suggestion, you can draft the decree now!"

Lao Li did not dare to neglect, and immediately spread out a blank imperial edict and stood next to the imperial table. He took the imperial brush and wrote a decree for the death of the concubine De.

After writing it, he did not let the emperor read it and sent it directly to Jia Rui.

Jia Rui just glanced casually and nodded lightly.

Seeing that Jia Rui agreed, Lao Li immediately came to the imperial case again, picked up the emperor's seal and stamped it directly.

After that, Jia Rui also took out his official seal from his arms and handed it to Lao Li.

Lao Li also used the official seal in the imperial edict.

The emperor sitting on the throne did not even know the contents of the imperial edict after it was written.

However, he knew in his heart that this was not a good thing and might be life-threatening, so he suddenly stood up and took a few steps to Lao Li's side and snatched the imperial edict.

When I opened it later, I found that it was exactly what I thought it was—a concubine given to death.

The emperor's heart sank when he saw the content, but he did not continue to argue.

The life and death of Concubine De was just a trivial matter in the eyes of the current emperor. If Jia Rui could be comforted by Concubine De and allow him to live a few more days, it would be considered Concubine De's contribution.

So the emperor expressionlessly threw the imperial edict to Lao Li again.

Lao Li looked at the emperor with disdain, then took it and even handed it to a young eunuch beside him, and then gave instructions in a low voice.

"Let's handle things quickly. If Concubine De is unwilling to go on the road, you can help her."

Jia Rui, who was standing on the royal steps, heard what Lao Li said and added, "Empress De is of high status, give her some dignity and leave her body intact!"

Lao Li and the eunuch quickly lowered their heads and said, "Slave, please obey."

Then Lao Li waved his hand gently, and the eunuch held the imperial edict and left the Qianqing Gate Hall for the harem.

Jia Rui did not let him go, but just stood there waiting for the news from behind.

About an hour later, the eunuch came back and knelt down in front of Jia Rui to report.

"My lord, Concubine De, after listening to the emperor's decree, accepted the decree and thanked her, and then hanged herself from the beam in the back hall."

Jia Rui nodded slightly, then turned around and said to the ministers below:

"Concubine De cannot do this alone. His family members must cooperate. According to my order, all the nine clans in Concubine De's family will be executed."

The ministers below did not refute. If the matter of Concubine De was true, it would be normal for the nine tribes to be killed.

Only the emperor sat on it, his face full of sadness.

Concubine De's present is her future, and the fate of Concubine De's family is the fate of her own family.

Jia Rui looked at everyone with an expressionless face, but no one jumped out. Jia Rui felt a little unhappy.

I did this today just to test the ministers and let those with ulterior motives among them jump out. But everything ended, the concubines were all dead, and no one took action.

Jia Rui doesn't believe that the people below are his loyal ministers.

It seems that today's temptation failed, but it doesn't matter, there will be a more cruel one next, and I don't believe that no one will jump out at that time.

So Jia Rui announced the dismissal of the court with an expressionless face.

After that, the emperor and Jia Rui took imperial chariots respectively. The emperor returned to Qianqing Palace, and Jia Rui went to Yangxin Palace.

After returning to the Yangxin Hall, Jia Rui sat on the throne and thought for a while, then called Qin Shun and whispered a few instructions to him.

After Qin Shun listened, he nodded repeatedly and then exited.

In the next few days, rumors appeared in the imperial city for unknown reasons.

It is said that the main reason why Empress Dowager De was executed was because she wanted to support her two sons to rise to power, so she eradicated dissidents for her sons.

The eldest prince and the second prince also made suggestions, and it was these two princes who came up with the idea to murder the queen and concubine Jing.

And somehow this news reached the heavily guarded Qianqing Palace.

When the emperor received the news, he was so frightened that his liver and gallbladder broke apart.

(End of this chapter)