Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Tonight, Duke Wei's mansion was decorated with lights and colorful decorations, and it was very lively to celebrate the old lady's unexpected birthday.

The servants of all the families received the reward, and they were all happy and smiling to welcome the guests from all over the world.

Although it was a last-minute idea, with the resources of Duke Wei's Mansion, dozens of luxurious banquets were held in a short period of time to entertain all the distinguished guests.

Having a gathering at this time would definitely be noticed by someone who is interested. Tu Fei simply did not hide it, but held the feast openly and openly to show his selflessness. No one could do anything to him.

After the Xuanxuan illustrious banquet, everyone who should go has left, and those who should stay will naturally stay at the end with excuses. This is all tacitly understood.

In the inner study, Tu Fei, Cao Jin, Li Meng, Shi Zhize, Su Haochu, Prince Zhongshun, Prince Yi Zhen and other top dignitaries of the country gathered together.

They represent the powerful power of the military, the court, and the clan respectively, and they have one thing in common, they are all the confidants and favorites of the Supreme Emperor.

Among them, Prince Zhongshun was the brother of the Supreme Emperor. He had pushed him to ascend to the throne, so he was named Da Zongzheng and was in charge of the Zongren Mansion for decades.

Prince Yi Zhen is the Thirteenth Prince who is the Emperor's favorite. If he had not been very popular in the court, it might not have been his turn to take over the artifact after he was deposed.

Even so, Prince Yi Zhen is still in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and tightly manages the Emperor's purse. He has been on the throne for more than ten years and cannot even touch the inner treasury.

"My lords and princes, the reason I have taken the liberty to invite you today is because Jia Cong and others have formed a clique and disrupted the government. If this evil is not eliminated, I am afraid that the country will not be peaceful, and we will not be able to live in peace." Tu Fei said straight to the point.

Everyone was silent and looked at Shi Zhize. He, the chief assistant, had the highest status here.

"The Duke's proposal is very good. I wonder if there is any good strategy?" Shi Zhize affirmed his intention, but did not reveal his own trump card.

Tu Fei smiled and said, "Xiaguan and my two brothers are both martial artists. They are not very talented and can't come up with any good strategies. That's why I invite all the nobles and princes to come and ask for advice."

He is not a fool. If he talks about such a big thing rashly, if anything goes wrong, he is asking for trouble.

Prince Yi Zhen didn't kill Jia Cong in the last tribute case. He already disliked him and didn't take him seriously. He wasn't even in awe of him now, let alone a dog today?

Yin sneered and said: "Now Jia Cong's party has quite a lot of supporters in the court, and he is also supported by two bachelors of the New Party. He is also the current son-in-law of Chenglong. To move him, the emperor must speak out."

In my opinion, I will report his retrograde behavior to the Ming Emperor and ask for an imperial edict to kill him. "

Su Haochu glanced at Tu Fei, shook his head and said: "It's difficult, it's difficult, it's difficult. Didn't the Supreme Emperor make a pass on Jia's case last time?
Jia Cong went to the execution ground and was still unscathed. And this time, he had the emperor's backing and had no obvious flaws, making it even more difficult to deal with. "

"This..." Prince Yi Zhen opened his mouth and had nothing to say.

Jia Cong is a duke, a prince of Wu, a prince-in-law, and has a sister who is a concubine. With these amulets attached to him at the same time, as long as he doesn't rebel, who can do anything to him?
Last time, I brazenly went to a brothel to rob someone, and slapped all the princes, marquises, and officials in the face in public. I didn't even rob them, but they didn't lose a single hair. No, I lost more than 500 taels of silver.

I almost made several old princes angry, who can do anything to them? Looking at his excerpts, all of them fell into disgrace, probably all of them were intercepted vertically by Dai Quan, the eunuch.

Prince Zhongshun sighed and said: "It's okay for Jia Cong to use his power to do evil. What's even more detestable is that some of the clan members headed by Zhongxin helped the emperor to do harm, clinging to villains and looking after Jia Cong. Now it's even more difficult to defeat him."

To be honest, I have already discussed this matter with all the princes, but they are all helpless. Even Eunuch Xia of Ningshou Palace said that this son is wild and rebellious and has ulterior motives. The Supreme Emperor deeply believes that the country is in serious trouble.

However, His Majesty insists on going his own way. The Supreme Emperor cares about the overall situation, so he has not taken action to punish him. "

Everyone heard the clues from what he said. Since Jia Congcan cannot be defeated, what other methods are there? He also mentioned the Supreme Emperor several times, which made his meaning quite clear.

Shi Zhize nodded slightly and said in a deep voice: "Confucius was the prime minister of Lu, and he punished Shaozhengmao for seven days. If he has five evils, and one of them is for others, he will not be exempted from the execution of a gentleman.

Now that Servant is the chief and assistant, he cannot punish traitors and sycophants for the country. He is really unworthy of the teachings of the saints.

Now, this son is deeply involved in evil ways and must be punished. If you have a way to correct the chaos, I am willing to stand up for this broken body and wave the flag and shout. "

Everyone was silent. The four words "bring order to chaos" are very famous. The key is whose chaos is to be brought to order. If it is just Jia Cong, is it worthy for the chief minister to say these words?

Tu Fei glanced at everyone and said slowly: "Jia Cong has always acted harshly. This time, he ransacked homes and arrested officials, nobles, and clan members without any regard for the truth. He treated all officials like trivial matters.

The situation is unclear now, and he is still holding back some strength. If I sit back and ignore it, I'm afraid it won't be long before Jin Yiwei's knife is put on my neck?
At that time, who will assist the king and who will clean up the affairs of the court? "

Everyone nodded slowly. Seeing Jia Cong's momentum, I'm afraid he won't stop easily, and he won't be able to stop it. If he doesn't steal some money from others, what will he use to make up for the shortfall of ten million taels of silver?
Prince Zhongshun sneered: "If I didn't have the connivance from my Majesty, I'm sorry he wouldn't be so bold."

Su Haochu said: "Today's use of harsh punishments and harsh laws to catch up with the deficit is against the principles of benevolence and righteousness. I'm afraid that the court will be in turmoil and people's hearts will be uneasy.

If there is turmoil in the local area and the nine borders, the color of the sky will change. At this time, the Supreme Emperor and his elders must come out to take charge of the situation, which will be a blessing to the country. Prince Yi Zhen looked at Tu Fei and said, "Wei Guogong is the pillar of the country and the leader of the army. How can he be wise in this situation?" "

Tu Fei glanced at Cao Jin and Li Meng and saw them nodding slowly.

Yin said in a deep voice: "Jia Cong is doing the opposite. Not to mention you, me, civil and military clan members, even the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the capital camp have been suffering for a long time. They all want to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was at a loss.

Prince Yi Zhen and Prince Zhong Shun looked at each other, clapped their hands, and said: "Since everyone has this intention, I will find a way to go to Ningshou Palace tomorrow to report to my father and ask him to come out to adjust the yin and yang and recreate the world."

Tu Fei, Cao Jin, and Li Meng said in unison: "As long as the Supreme Emperor has his decree, I will not hesitate to die without hesitation."

Master Zhize twisted his beard and said with a smile: "We are united in our will, so why worry about the uncertainty of the matter?"

"What the chief assistant said is absolutely true." Everyone clapped their hands and laughed. No one noticed that although the left governor Li Meng was smiling, there was a cold light flashing in his eyes.
-
In the past few days, Jinyi Tiqi has been going around, going door to door at the mansions of wealthy officials in Beijing to collect debts. Those who are in the party with Huo Peng, Jia Cong, Feng Yuan, Zhongxin and others are not too worried. Just pay some money and you can temporarily keep us safe.

Those who were loyal and obedient to the old party, various military princes, and those who were loyal to the party were inevitably in panic all day long. They wanted to try their best to repay, but they were also afraid that their colleagues and partisans would say that they were weak, and they were both trying to make ends meet.

If you insist on refusing to pay back the money, and you really don't know what to do, you are afraid that Jin Yiwei will come to your door, and you will not only lose your official position, but also have your home ransacked, then you will suffer a big loss.

Just when the city of Shenjing was in turmoil, news suddenly came from the palace that the Queen Mother was ill, and the Queen and the concubines took turns to attend to the illness.

When Jia Cong heard that Jia Mu, who had just come out from the palace to visit Yuanchun, talked about this matter, he asked, "What disease does the Queen Mother have?"

Jia's mother said: "The imperial doctor said that she suffered from heatstroke and it's not a problem. It's just that the Queen Mother is older and her recovery is no slower than that of young people."

Jia Cong nodded and didn't take it to heart. Dai Quan didn't send anyone to report this matter, indicating that it was not a big deal.

Two days later, Jia Cong saw Princess Ruyi coming back from the palace, looking worried, and asked her why.

Ruyi said dullly: "Today I went to the palace to visit the emperor's grandmother. She is even more haggard than the previous two days, and her energy is not as good as before. It's all because of the quack doctors at the Tai Hospital who can't help!

Even a minor illness is not a good thing. If the Imperial Grandmother is good at anything, I will demolish the lobby of the Imperial Hospital! "

Jia Cong frowned slightly. Now that something happened to the Queen Mother, it was difficult to push forward his plan. He hurriedly asked: "What did the Queen Mother say?"

"The queen mother said that you should go to the palace tomorrow. She has some instructions." Ruyi said.

Jia Cong secretly thought that the Queen must have summoned him for something, so he hurriedly went to Pang Chao to discuss it.

Pang Chao pondered for a long time and said: "According to common sense, it is normal for the Queen Mother to be in old age, and some illnesses are normal. However, this is just when the situation is about to break out, which makes people suspicious. If it is a coincidence, it is too coincidental."

Jia Cong said: "Sir, are you saying that there is a ghost in it? But my Majesty and the Queen have gone to see it, and the imperial doctor has also diagnosed and treated it. How can it be false? Is it possible that it can be hidden from the eyes of my Majesty?"

Pang Chao said: "The disease is real, but the timing is too coincidental. Let's wait and see what happens and see what the Queen says tomorrow."

The next day, Jia Cong went to the palace early in the morning to pay homage to the queen.

"Hey, eldest sister, why are you here? Where is the Queen?" Jia Cong asked curiously as he watched Concubine Yuan come out of Changchun Palace.

Concubine Yuan smiled and said: "Your Majesty went to Ningshou Palace to attend to the Queen Mother, and asked me to wait for you here. She will be back soon."

Jia Cong asked: "How is the Queen Mother's phoenix body?"

Concubine Yuan thought for a while and said: "I heard from the imperial doctor that Qian'er just suffered from some heat and wind evil. It was not a serious illness. Now I have taken several doses of medicine, but it has no effect. Instead, it is getting worse.

Today, all the princes and princes have been summoned to the palace to attend to the illness. The emperor and the empress are worried about this day and night. "

Jia Cong looked around and said, "How does the Queen Mother look?"

Concubine Yuan saw that he had a different look on his face, and after some thought she understood what he meant, and said with certainty: "The Queen Mother's complexion was fine the past few days, but it has been getting worse in the past two days."

This is not pretending to be sick. Jia Cong nodded slowly. If he was pretending to be sick, he might be able to deceive Yuan Chun at most, but he could deceive the emperor and empress? ——
In the Empress Dowager's palace, Emperor Xifeng, Empress Xifeng and many other princes and princes were standing in the palace, waiting for the elders from the Taiyuan Hospital to diagnose their pulse.

Looking vaguely through the gauze curtain, I saw that the Queen Mother's skin was yellow and thin, her eye sockets were sunken, and she was skinny and bones. An ordinary person could clearly see at a glance that she was clearly running out of oil and her time had come. (End of chapter)