King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

At the instigation of the Yang family, the matchmaker confused right and wrong and spoke without thinking, so she was sentenced to 100 strokes of the cane and expelled from the capital.

As defendants, Nie's mother and daughter did nothing wrong and did not receive any punishment.

However, Mancang'er refused to acknowledge his biological mother and brother, which violated ethical and moral principles, and the court ruled that Mancang'er must immediately return home with Nie's mother and daughter.

This matter should have been over, but Mancang'er refused to let it go. Instead, he took Nie's mother and daughter to court, saying that they were immoral.

When she was betrayed, no one stood up for her, so she asked to break up with him.

As he spoke, this fellow even winked at Zhu Tan with a pitiful look. However, when the ministers in charge of the interrogation saw him, they knew that there must be some unspeakable secret between Marquis Jianchang and Mancang!

Before he finished saying this, he changed the verdict, cut off all contact between him and Mancang, and let him regain his freedom.

In their opinion, Marquis Jianchang should be happy with such an outcome, and then walk out of the Zhenfu Division, a den of dragons and tigers, a hell-like place, with his final statement.

In the end, Zhu Tan did not let them go.

"You are all the best soldiers in the three judicial departments. Now that you are all here, let's investigate more cases such as Yang Jia's murder of Yuan Lin and Yang Peng's bribery."

People in the hall were busy, and outside was not peaceful either.

Guo Ning asked his confidants to interrogate the Dongchang students and got a lot of information, all of which were evidence of the crimes of Yang Peng's uncle and nephew.

Now, one after another, they were presented to the court, and all the ministers took a deep breath.

The East Factory is like a pile of feces that can never be washed away. During the years that Yang Peng was in charge of the East Factory, there were at least eight hundred pieces of junk.

This incident is just one of the trivial things.

Guo Ning's side was ruthless and merciless, using every possible means. He also had rich experience in capturing Li Guang, so he directly blocked Yang Jia's residence and also destroyed Yang Peng's secret house outside.

This is nothing. The most surprising thing is the harvest this time.

In Yang Peng’s secret room, he found a large number of dummies, all of which were real people, including wooden men, straw men, and cloth men. Some even had their names pierced with silver needles.

Zhu Tan was shocked. She had not expected that Yang Peng actually liked to curse people. The names of those people were all those he hated.

Moreover, the three words "Empress Zhang" were written on this booklet.

Suppressing witchcraft has always been a taboo, despised and rejected by people. In ancient times, superstition was very strong and many people believed in it.

Zhu Tan looked at the dozens of little figures that had been searched out in front of him and asked, "Are you sure this is Yang Peng's handwriting?"

Guo Ning nodded: "Yes, I have also checked some of Yang Peng's letters. After comparison, it is indeed written by Yang Peng."

When Zhu Tan killed Yang Peng, he was a little worried that Zhu Youtang would be unhappy.

However, when he saw the words "Empress Dowager Zhang" written on it, he knew he was safe.

The Emperor treats Empress Zhang like a treasure, a treasure. Yang Peng actually did such a thing. Can he still survive?
After Zhu Tan figured this out, he did not leave the Zhenfu Division immediately, because there was still a long way to go before dawn, so he had more time to find more clues and connect the matter together.

Half an hour later, Xu Guangzuo arrived. He had strong intelligence capabilities, and he also got confirmation from many people, such as Fu Han, Lu Song and others, who were all his people.

Zhu Tan could use this opportunity to interfere in Man Cang'er's case, but he could not interfere too much in the imperial examination, so he just acted as a middleman behind the scenes.

As for the rest, you can only rely on others to figure it out.

The most important thing now is to put a perfect end to Yang Peng’s death and make this case a settled case.

We can't talk about Man Cang'er's matter right at the beginning. We have to solve the problem of witchcraft first.

Zhu Tan quickly sent someone to greet Ye Shen. On the way, she also told Ye Shen some things.

Ye Shen took his good friend, the censor Zhang Jin, to the Zhenfu Yamen.

Naturally, Zhu Tan would not hide anything from Ye Shen and told him what happened in the pacification office today. Both Ye Shen and Zhang Jin were shocked.

It was the first time that Zhu Tan saw Zhang Jin, the censor who impeached him. Zhang Jin was nearly forty years old, with a square face and a righteous look.

"My Lord, are you sure that Yang Peng is the mastermind behind this?" Zhang Jin said solemnly.

“Mr. Zhang, you see, Yang Peng has been killed, the evidence is solid, but the handwriting on these people is all written by him, and there is nothing to ask about Yang Peng’s nephew Yang Jia.”

Ye Shen asked, "Why did the Marquis kill Yang Peng?" Zhang Jin nodded seriously. Wouldn't it be better to let him confess his crime?

Chu Deng shrugged, "I saw Yang Peng cast a spell on my sister, and I couldn't help it. I killed him on impulse. Of course I will take responsibility and will never deny it."

If the timeline is reversed, it's a small matter.

Just like Zhu Tan said, there are people from three departments in the Zhenfu Yamen, and they will not look for a second person. Zhu Tan is the victim, and he wants to sue Yang Peng for witchcraft and slandering Empress Dowager Zhang. This matter is settled!
The case of Man Cang'er involved Yang Peng's poisoning of an empress, and all officials in the court were quickly investigated.

Moreover, Zhu Tan committed the crime in court, and the officials in charge of the interrogation were eager to leave as soon as possible. They did as Zhu Tan said, and by the afternoon, the interrogation was over.

Zhu Tan did not trust these people, so he asked Ye Shen and Zhang Jin to help monitor them.

The two men were the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Justice. Zhu Tan was very familiar with both of them. When he saw them, he nodded to Zhu Tan.

Ye Shen said in a deep voice: "Yang Peng was not only bewitched, but also abused his power and accepted bribes. Any of these charges is enough to cost him his life. With Brother Zhang Jinxian here, I am not afraid of favoritism. Therefore, it is best not to enter the palace for the time being. According to the formal procedures, first hand those things over to the Tongzhengshi for review, and then send them to the Silijian for review by three university scholars, and then submit them to the emperor."

Zhang Jin waved his hand: "This is not partiality, this is human nature."

Zhu Tan asked in confusion: "Why? Do I want to show you?"

Ye Qian shook his head. "If the emperor saw it, it would be a private matter, but this process is aboveboard. Besides, there are many people in the court who have opinions about the East Factory. This can also give them a good impression and let them know that everything they do is to teach future generations a lesson."

This is also why Zhu Tan did not want Ye Qian and others to be involved in this matter.

Even though the Jinyiwei of the Eastern Depot were annoying, not to mention the officials, it was, after all, an agency directly under the emperor's jurisdiction, and could be said to be a secret agency.

If the imperial guards were really withdrawn, it would be absolutely impossible, and Zhu Youtang would never agree. But this time, Zhu Tan had to follow Ye Shen's suggestion. After all, the next imperial examination was the key he wanted to conquer, and it was also the most difficult.

Never underestimate this organization. It has been a terrifying organization since ancient times.

The struggles between the kings and prime ministers in ancient times all came from this point. That was where a group of bureaucrats made their voices heard.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang was powerful and killed Hu Weiyong, less than a hundred years later, the Ming Dynasty was infiltrated and tied up by civil servants.

Although Zhu Youtang was not a wise and powerful emperor, he was a kind person and had a gentle side.

On the surface, he suppressed the imperial guards and seized power in the court, but in Zhu Tan's eyes, these were just superficial.

If it were not for the checks and balances between the Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites that were first established in the Ming Dynasty, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty would have long since become a puppet.

Ye Shen and Zhang Jinwei ran a lap in front, and Zhu Tan asked Guo Ning, Xu Guangzuo and Xu Tai to closely monitor the Zhenfu Division together.

By noon, everything was pieced together, and the most significant breakthrough was naturally Hua Chang's explanation.

Although Hua Chang was acting on Shao Xi's orders, he was also following the orders of Fu Han, the head of the Ministry of Rites.

Unfortunately, although Shao Xi thought he was the one who planned it, he was actually being used as a gun.

According to Hua Chang, he and Fu Han had a very good relationship, but the two of them did not have a good relationship with Cheng Minzheng. Now that Cheng Minzheng was promoted to the right vice minister of the Ministry of Justice, life would definitely be difficult for these two people.

Fu Han wanted to use this matter to replace Cheng Minzheng. Since he was qualified enough to take the position of the Ministry of Rites examiner, he made such a decision.

Even for someone like Du Mu who was a traitor, Fu Han asked Hua Chang to involve Cheng Minzheng, Shao Xi, and the Zhou brothers, as well as other means, which eventually led to a scandal in the Imperial Examination Hall.

Strictly speaking, Fu Han is the real mastermind behind the scenes, while Hua Chang, Shao Xi and Zhou are his accomplices.

But Zhu Tan felt that there must be someone behind Fu Han. If he wanted to be promoted from Minister of Rites to Right Vice Minister, it would be impossible for him to do so unless a powerful figure came forward.

I just don’t know whether he is one of the three major ministers or one of the six major ministers. Perhaps only Fu Han can understand.

As night fell, Ye Chen rushed back to the Zhenfu Division.

"My Lord, we have reported Man Cang'er's case through formal channels. It will be sent to the court soon. Tomorrow morning, it will be presented to the emperor by the Imperial Household Department."

Zhu Tan breathed a sigh of relief. Ye Shen and Zhang Jin both insisted on going, and he agreed. Everything went smoothly.

"Once the results come out, we'll be able to find out the truth. Will Li Dongyang cancel the test paper a second time?"

Ye Shen shook his head. "I'm afraid this matter is difficult to handle. With the obstruction of the Ministry of Rites, the emperor may not fail to resolve this matter as quickly as possible. He will definitely agree with Li Dongyang's decision, and the cancelled test paper will no longer be Chinese-style."

Zhu Tan saved Tang Bohu not only to help him escape from the imperial examination, but also to help him become a top scholar.

Only in this way can he exert his strength, otherwise it would be a pity.

The two talked for more than an hour. According to his experience, this case would be solved soon, otherwise who knows what kind of rumors would arise.

However, the ending may not be what Zhu Tan wishes, and the punishment for the person behind the scenes will not be too severe. Both the court and the emperor have to save face!

That night, Zhu Tan did not leave. Instead, Xu Guangzuo, Zhang Wei and others moved out almost all of the places where Yang Peng and his nephew lived.

Converted into silver, it was only about 200,000 taels, far less than Zhu Tan's expectations. In terms of making money ability, Li Guang was far inferior.

During the interrogation late at night, Yang Jia confessed his relationship with the former commander of the imperial guards, Lu Songben.

However, according to Yang Jia, the Spring Examination had nothing to do with Lu Song. Lu Song went to the capital only to present gifts to the Empress Dowager and Concubine Shao to express his filial piety to Zhu Youlang.

If he wanted to know more, he had to find Lu Song, but unfortunately, Lu Song had already returned to Anlu and could never come back.

Yang Jia also confessed to many illegal and criminal facts, the most important of which was suppressing the witchcraft of Empress Zhang, and all of this was due to the infighting between the two eunuchs.

After Zhang Ji's death, an inspector of the Imperial Observatory was accused of committing a tomb crime.

Yang Peng bore a grudge against the Supervisor, so he took the opportunity to get rid of him.

However, Empress Zhang was very happy about the Imperial Observatory's tomb-digging. Not only did she retain her position in the Observatory, she also gave her many rewards. This made Yang Peng hate Empress Zhang.

According to the information provided by Yang Jia, Zhu Youtang and his wife did not mind that Yang Peng was beheaded by Zhu Tan. Their only regret was that they did not have the chance to cut Yang Peng into pieces!
Zhu Tan did not take any action regarding the imperial examination, but instead held all the cards in his hand, waiting for things to become chaotic before revealing his biggest card.

However, the matter between Yang Peng and his nephew became a hot topic overnight.

The explosion confused the officials of the Ming Dynasty, even the three ministers were confused.

As for the factory security guards, their stance is not to make enemies with others and to try to maintain good relations.

After all, the Minister of Justice is above the Minister of War. If the conflict between the two Ministers of War is too big, it will be difficult for the Minister of War to handle the Minister of War's affairs.

Although the three great scholars did not like Yang Peng, they also kept their distance from him.

But they could never have imagined that Yang Peng would suddenly die and beheaded in public by Marquis Jianchang at the Zhenfu Division. It was really shocking.

These memorials were all signed by Zhang Jin himself. He had now reviewed them and placed them in front of the three people.

He was already upset by the affairs of the Imperial Examination Hall, and coupled with the cases of Yang Peng and his nephew, Liu Jian touched his head with a headache and looked at the other two.

"Tell me, is what is said in this memorial true or false?"

Li Dongyang did not answer Liu Jian's question, but simply explained, "It should be true."

Xie Qian is a talkative person and he loves to talk.

"According to me, it is probably true. The word 'Wu' overwhelms 'Wu' and that is no joke. Even if Zhu Tan is favored, he would never kill at this time. Since Yang Peng dared to scold the current emperor's queen, he violated Zhu Tan's taboo, so it is understandable that he was killed."

Liu Jian released his arm and asked, "How about we go to the Imperial Household Department?" (End of this chapter)