Chapter 82082 Suicide

However, when Emperor Qingyuan received two urgent letters from Yan Tiande, his boredom was swept away and he was very pleased.

"Come here, announce the Minister of Revenue, Wu Guangwu!"

Immediately, a eunuch went to the Ministry of Revenue to summon Wu Guangwu.

At the Ministry of Revenue, Wu Guangwu was working at his desk as usual.

There was an official document in front of him that needed to be processed urgently, but he was a little absent-minded. The tip of his pen was suspended in the air, and he didn't put pen to paper for a long time.

For some reason, his right eyelid has been twitching constantly in recent days, as if something is warning him that something bad is about to happen.

Wu Guangwu has been a Buddhist for many years and is very superstitious. He firmly believes in certain signs and warnings.

He began to recall whether there were any omissions in the task at hand, and whether he had not cleaned up the mess he had done recently and had been caught by someone.

The answer is no.

Wu Guangwu has always been cautious. Even when he falsified accounts and inflated expenses, he would do it so flawlessly that not even a trace of flaw could be found.

He thought of his men again.

From son to son-in-law, and from disciple to former subordinate and current confidant, he recalled them repeatedly and checked them one by one.

The only possible person is Feng Shu, who is far away in Runing Prefecture.

Feng Shu was re-elected as prefect for eight consecutive years. He was omnipotent in Runing Prefecture and had the final say in the entire government office.

That's why Wu Guangwu tried to send Du Qingtang to Runing Prefecture and let Feng Shu get rid of her.

Compared with other disciples and confidants who served as local officials, Feng Shu used his power to embezzle or misappropriate the most money. His father-in-law Wu Guangwu also benefited greatly from this and was highly valued by Cao Yuan.

Wu Guangwu knew very well that the greater the power, the greater the danger of abuse.

This time, Emperor Qingyuan sent Yan Tiande to inspect the local area. Over the past few months, countless corrupt officials and cruel officials have been beheaded.

If Feng Shu hadn't cleaned up his mess and Yan Tiande had discovered any clues...

"Lord Wu, His Majesty invites you."

The eunuch's shrill voice suddenly rang out, bringing Wu Guangwu back to reality from his thoughts.

Your Majesty invites you?

Wu Guangwu was puzzled. The Ministry of Revenue had been peaceful recently, so why did Emperor Qingyuan summon him for no reason?

But he did not dare to hesitate, and hurriedly tidied his clothes and followed the eunuch to the imperial study to meet the emperor.

Wu Guangwu entered the imperial study and bowed to greet the emperor.

"Your humble servant pays respect to Your Majesty."

Emperor Qingyuan put down his red brush, a faint smile on his gentle and elegant face: "Lord Wu, please stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Wu Guangwu stood up and stood respectfully with his hands hanging down, waiting for the next words.

Emperor Qingyuan held up the rice paper and said aloud, "My dear Lord Wu, I have a new accounting system that is more intuitive and clear than the original one."

Bookkeeping method?

Wu Guangwu's thoughts moved, and his worries about Emperor Qingyuan summoning him for no reason faded a little.

It seems that everything is peaceful in Runing Prefecture and Yan Tiande has not found out anything.

"I wish to adopt and promote the new accounting method. The Ministry of Revenue, which is in charge of important financial affairs, should set an example."

Since he was not held accountable, Wu Guangwu did not care what accounting method the Ministry of Revenue used.

But just in case, he still had to ask clearly.

Wu Guangwu, with a respectful expression on his face, inquired, "Your Majesty, what are the specifics of this new accounting method? How does it differ from the previous one?"

Emperor Qingyuan glanced at Fu Rui, who handed Wu Guangwu a piece of rice paper with the key points of double-entry bookkeeping written on it.

Wu Guangwu read through the text word by word, and the more he read, the more his heart sank.

He had worked in the Ministry of Revenue for many years and was very sensitive to numbers. He knew best how to keep accounts to conceal the truth.

If double-entry bookkeeping is adopted, it will be difficult to tamper with the accounts in the future.

Wu Guangwu's brain was working rapidly, trying to find one or two shortcomings of the double-entry bookkeeping method so that Emperor Qingyuan would give up this idea.

Just as he was racking his brains for a solution, Emperor Qingyuan said, "By the way, my dear Lord Wu, I suddenly remembered that the Ministry of Revenue hasn't reviewed its accounts for two years."

Wu Guangwu's heart skipped a beat and he raised his head suddenly.

Emperor Qingyuan looked down at him, a smile on his face, as if it was just a spur-of-the-moment thought: "Why not wait for a day? Now is the day. Let's take advantage of this comprehensive switch to the new accounting method and review all the accounts for nearly two years at once."

"The person who presented the new accounting method solemnly assured me that using this method to calculate accounts is not only more intuitive, but also more efficient and accurate."

Emperor Qingyuan twirled his beard and said slowly, "I want to see if she is exaggerating. If not, I will punish her for deceiving the emperor!"

The majesty and cruelty of the emperor who had the power over life and death hit Wu Guangwu in the face. He swallowed hard, his heart pounding so hard that it was about to jump out of his throat.

Others may not know, but as the Minister of Revenue, doesn’t he know how much water is in the Ministry of Revenue’s accounts?

If he used double-entry bookkeeping, everything he did in the Ministry of Revenue would be exposed.

"Lord Wu, what do you think?"

Emperor Qingyuan's questioning voice came from above his head. Wu Guangwu wanted to refuse the account check. He licked his cracked lips and said in a hoarse voice: "Your Majesty, I think..." No.

Before he could finish his words, Emperor Qingyuan suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Look at my memory. Checking the accounts for the past two years is a huge project. The ministers in the Ministry of Revenue are already busy with official duties. How can you spare time to do it?"

Wu Guangwu's eyelids twitched wildly. He wanted to shout and stop Emperor Qingyuan from saying the next words.

But he didn't dare.

One misbehavior in front of the emperor is enough to make him suffer.

"Lord Shi returned from Nanzhili a few days ago with disaster relief efforts. He's currently unemployed at home, yet he's come to bother me three times a day, asking me to assign him a task..."

"Your Majesty, the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion requests an audience."

Emperor Qingyuan paused, clapped his hands and laughed, "What a coincidence! I just thought of Lord Shi, and he's here."

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Announce!"

The eunuch took the order and left, but after a moment he brought in a middle-aged man with a solemn face and quick steps.

This person is none other than the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, Shi Zishan.

He was loyal to Emperor Qingyuan, and was upright and incorruptible, and could not tolerate any injustice.

After Shi Zishan entered, he bowed and greeted everyone. Before he could completely kneel down, Emperor Qingyuan asked him to stand up.

"Lord Shi, didn't you ask me to assign you a task? The Ministry of Revenue is about to adopt a new accounting method, and I would like to take this opportunity to review the accounts of the past two years. Unfortunately, Lord Wu is busy with official duties, so I will leave it to you."

A flicker of joy flashed across Shi Zishan's calm eyes, and he bowed his head, "Your Majesty, I appreciate your grace. I will do my best to check the accounts!"

Wu Guangwu: “…”

Wu Guangwu held the rice paper and watched Emperor Qingyuan and Shi Zishan talking as if no one was around, and his heart sank to the bottom.

In this situation, what else does he not understand?

Emperor Qingyuan clearly did it on purpose.

From the very beginning, Emperor Qingyuan did not give him a chance to refuse.

The man sitting on the dragon throne was determined to investigate the Ministry of Revenue.

After seeing the truth, Wu Guangwu felt a bitter taste in his mouth, as if he had swallowed a pound of coptis root raw, and his internal organs were all bitter.

With Shi Zishan's means, it would be easy to find out the tricks in the accounts.

By then, Wu Guangwu would be dead without a burial place.

Wu Guangwu finally understood why his right eyelid had been twitching constantly these days.

He is about to face a disaster!

What should I do?

He had not yet ascended the throne and entered the cabinet, becoming a powerful official like Cao Yuan with omnipotent power in the court.

Wu Guangwu was in a mess and didn't even know when Shi Zishan took the rice paper with the key points of double-entry bookkeeping written on it from his hand.

"Okay, that's settled."

"Minister Wu Ai is in charge of the reform of the accounting system. It is imperative that the Ministry of Revenue adopt the new accounting system as soon as possible."

"Lord Shi, be in charge of checking the accounts. If you're short on manpower, just let me know. There are countless clerks in the six ministries and five temples. If that's not enough, you can borrow from the Imperial Palace Bureau."

"Yes, I will obey your majesty's orders."

......

Wu Guangwu left the imperial study and went straight to the cabinet.

This matter is of great importance, and he must quickly discuss countermeasures with Cao Yuan.

Shi Zishan walked forward neither slowly nor hurriedly. He saw Wu Guangwu walking hurriedly, as if a dog was chasing him, with a mocking look on his face.

Now I know I'm afraid. I should have thought of this day when I relied on the support of Cao Cao to stir up trouble in the Ministry of Revenue and used my position to trip up people with different political views.

Shi Zishan sneered and headed straight for the Ministry of Revenue.

He can't wait to sharpen his knife and attack the pigs and sheep!

Wu Guangwu came to the cabinet, but was told that Cao Yuan was not there. He felt his eyes go dark and dark and almost fell to the ground.

It’s too late!

Wu Guangwu leaned against the door frame and looked towards the Ministry of Revenue, feeling as if he had lost his parents.

When he returned to the Ministry of Revenue, Shi Zishan had already started to check the accounts with the seconded clerk.

Double-entry bookkeeping is used.

Wu Guangwu returned to the duty room with unsteady steps, and was restless the whole day. He looked forward to the cabinet, hoping that Cao Yuan would come back soon so that they could discuss countermeasures.

Unfortunately, Cao Yuan did not show up until the end of his shift.

After finishing his shift, Wu Guangwu went straight to Cao's residence, and was told that Cao Yuan had been ordered to leave Beijing for work and would not be back until the day after tomorrow at the earliest.

Wu Guangwu: “!!!”

With a loud bang, Wu Guangwu fell straight to the ground.

......

Imperial study.

"Your Majesty, today Lord Wu sent people to the cabinet fifteen times. After finishing his shift, he went to Duke Cheng'en's residence. Not long after, the servants of Duke Cheng'en's residence went out to fetch the doctor."

The secret guard knelt below and reported respectfully.

"Please, doctor?" Emperor Qingyuan sighed deeply, expressing regretfully, "Lord Wu is old and frail. I'm afraid he's no longer qualified to serve as the Minister of Revenue."

Fury covered his mouth to suppress his laughter. His Majesty was really becoming more and more mischievous.

It is clear that Your Majesty summoned Wu Guangwu and sent Cao Yuan out of Xiajing on the pretext of carrying out official business, causing Wu Guangwu to make sixteen false trips and faint from anger.

"Chiu~"

The magpie that was perched on the edge of the imperial desk as a mascot tilted its head, its black eyes filled with confusion.

The yellow biped clearly seemed happy with the smell, so why did it have a different expression on its face?

Alas, it’s really hard to guess what the two-legged beasts are thinking.

Emperor Qingyuan glanced at the magpie, stroked its shiny feathers with his fingers, and started playing the urgent music again.

In his urgent report, Yan Tiande explained how Du Qingtang brought in Zuo Teng as a reinforcement, which saved him from being ambushed and allowed him to successfully capture the bandits.

Yan Tiande could see the twists and turns, so how could Emperor Qingyuan not see it?

Not only that, he also saw more than Yan Tiande.

Taking advantage of the hostile relationship between the Qi and Cao families, Zheng Lin took action against Feng Shu.

What a good trick to kill with a borrowed knife!

It's really not easy for him to be so cunning at such a young age.

Emperor Qingyuan twirled his beard and sighed.

However, Emperor Qingyuan did not care whether his ministers were cunning or not. He only cared whether this person could be used by him.

Du Aiqing passed this first test successfully.

Next, don't let me down.

......

Wu Guangwu tossed and turned all night, and the next day he appeared in the Golden Palace with a black eye.

He stood among the civil servants, holding a tablet in his hand, his mind absent and his eyes unfocused.

Cao Yuan had not returned yet, but the situation in the Ministry of Revenue was urgent.

Wu Guangwu planned to go find the Fourth Prince after retiring from court.

The Fourth Prince has many advisers under his command, and they will definitely be able to come up with a foolproof plan to help him overcome this crisis.

Thinking of this, Wu Guangwu felt a little relieved, and finally came to his senses and focused his attention on the morning court.

Emperor Qingyuan sat high on the dragon throne and said in a deep voice, "Last night, I received an urgent report from Lord Yan."

Yan Aiqing?

Yan Tiande?

All the civil and military officials in the court were in high spirits and listened attentively with their ears pricked up.

So far, Yan Tiande has been patrolling on behalf of Heaven for four months, and has uncovered hundreds of corrupt officials and cruel bureaucrats.

But Emperor Qingyuan had never mentioned this matter at the morning court, and today was the first time.

Somehow, Wu Guangwu had an inexplicable ominous premonition.

Especially after my eyelids had been twitching for several days and I was plotted against by Emperor Qingyuan yesterday, the feeling of impending disaster became stronger and stronger.

"Officials in Runing Prefecture embezzled public funds, misappropriated tax revenue, falsified accounts, and falsely reported expenses..." Emperor Qingyuan read out nearly twenty charges in one breath. "Once Lord Yan discovered this, he colluded with bandits and killed the imperial envoy. If Henan Provincial General Zheng Lin hadn't sent a rescue in time, Lord Yan would have been killed long ago."

Wu Guangwu felt as if he had been hit hard on the head, his head buzzed, and he stared at the dark floor tiles in a daze.

Officials from Runing Prefecture?

Isn’t that Feng Shu?

Didn't he write to Feng Shu a long time ago, asking Feng Shu to clean up the mess and not leave any handle for Yan Tiande?

"It would be fine if they were corrupt, but they dared to collude with the bandits and kill the imperial envoy."

"Lord Yan was on an inspection tour under my command. They dared to kill even Lord Yan. Will they try to kill the king someday?"

Emperor Qingyuan was furious and slammed the dragon throne and shouted.

When the emperor is angry, millions of people will die.

All the officials did not dare to hesitate, and knelt on the ground, shouting in unison: "Your Majesty, please calm down."

Emperor Qingyuan waved his sleeves, anger surging on his usually easygoing face: "Calm down? I can't calm down!"

"They even dared to kill the imperial envoy I sent. Do they still have the slightest fear of me?"

"Wu Guangwu!"

The sound resounded throughout the Golden Palace, as if it was a call from the underworld. Wu Guangwu, who was called, trembled three times and walked out on his knees.

"I, your humble servant is here."

"If I remember correctly, the prefect of Runing Prefecture is your son-in-law?"

"Indeed, it is true."

"Do you know that he is corrupt and has committed countless crimes?"

"I, I have no idea."

"I believe it for now. When the Imperial Guards escort Feng Shu back to the capital and hand him over to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation, if I learn that you were involved, I will not let you off lightly!"

Wu Guangwu wished he could faint on the spot, and responded tremblingly under the scrutinizing gaze of Emperor Qingyuan.

After the morning court session, Wu Guangwu ignored his colleagues who were gloating over his misfortune and crawled to find the Fourth Prince.

"Your Highness, please save my life!"

Wu Guangwu kowtowed to the ground, knelt at the feet of the Fourth Prince, and begged with tears streaming down his face.

The Fourth Prince held the teacup and took a sip of tea slowly, looking at Wu Guangwu as if he was looking at a dead object.

Wu Guangwu was completely unaware, his forehead resting on the Fourth Prince's shoes, crying for help.

"Your Majesty has ordered Shi Zishan to thoroughly investigate the Ministry of Revenue's accounts. Now Feng Shu is... I'm afraid that this will implicate Your Highness. Please spare my life. I will serve Your Highness until my death!"

The Fourth Prince chuckled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Lord Wu, what you said is very strange. The ones who made the mistake were Lord Wu and Lord Feng. What does this have to do with me?"

Wu Guangwu stopped crying and suddenly raised his head.

The Fourth Prince looked at him with a smile, as gentle and elegant as before, respectful and courteous, but the words he spoke were extremely ruthless.

"If I were to say so, Your Highness, your son-in-law is far too careless. He is so greedy that he wants to swallow an elephant. Killing the imperial envoy is tantamount to digging his own grave."

The Fourth Prince said this, shaking his head in disappointment: "As for the Ministry of Revenue, I am just a bald prince. How can I stop Lord Shi from checking the accounts?"

"Even if I had that ability, I couldn't influence my father's decision."

The Fourth Prince shook the corner of his robe, and a foot of brocade worth thousands of gold brushed against Wu Guangwu's face. The slightly cool and silky touch made him shiver uncontrollably.

"If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place." The Fourth Prince sighed softly, with a helpless expression, "Lord Wu, you can take care of yourself."

To Wu Guangwu, these words were tantamount to "You'd better prepare your coffin quickly."

Like a dam bursting, Wu Guangwu collapsed and sat on the ground, his gray eyes filled with fear and disbelief.

The Fourth Prince gave up on him!

He's finished!

He is going to die!

But it was clear that before yesterday, he was still the powerful Minister of Revenue, and everyone was servile to him.

But overnight, his situation changed drastically.

Why is this happening?

Wu Guangwu staggered away, his back hunched, as if he had aged twenty years and was a dying old man.

The Fourth Prince watched him walk away coldly and called his confidant: "Grandfather hasn't returned yet?"

The confidant answered in the negative.

The fourth prince looked towards the direction of the imperial study, his eyes flickering.

Father, oh father, I am your legitimate son, your successor a hundred years from now, and the future master of Daxia.

You knew that Wu Guangwu and Feng Shu were your men, so why did you force them into a desperate situation?

Is it as my mother and grandfather said, that you are dissatisfied with me, so you suppress me and delay in appointing me as the crown prince?

The fourth prince gripped the teacup tightly with such force that he crushed it into pieces.

The fragments cut my fingers and blood flowed everywhere.

The confidant exclaimed, "Your Highness!"

The Fourth Prince seemed to feel no pain and said calmly, "Feng Shu must not return to the capital."

The confidant understood: "Yes, I will arrange it right away."

Just as he was about to leave, the Fourth Prince gave another order: "Lord Wu knew his sins were grave, and out of fear of punishment he committed suicide that night."

The confidant was stunned for a moment and said hesitantly: "The Prime Minister's side..."

A hint of coldness flashed in the Fourth Prince's eyes, and he said calmly, "Just go ahead and do it. I will take care of Grandfather's affairs myself."

If something is no longer useful, there is no need to keep it.

"yes."

The confidant took the order and left.

The palace maid came forward with a basin of water, knelt beside the Fourth Prince's legs, and treated his wounds.

The Fourth Prince pinched his brows and closed his eyes lazily.

......

The next day, Wu's servants discovered that Wu Guangwu had committed suicide by taking poison, leaving behind a suicide note written in blood.

Every word in the suicide note was heartbreaking. Wu Guangwu admitted that he had abused his position to embezzle bribes and falsify accounts, and also admitted to the many crimes committed by his son-in-law Feng Shu.

When the news spread, it caused a huge uproar in the capital.

The common people denounced the corrupt officials, but the civil and military officials were surprisingly silent.

In the imperial study, Emperor Qingyuan looked at Wu Guangwu's suicide note and sighed for a long time: "Let Qi Jiangsheng ascend."

It is obvious that Qi Jiang is his man.

Emperor Qingyuan paused, then said, "Let Shi Zishan continue the investigation. With the exception of Wu Guangwu, all officials involved in the case will be beheaded in public."

"In addition, Wu Guangwu's family was exiled three thousand miles away, and his descendants for five generations were not allowed to take the imperial examinations and become officials."

Emperor Qingyuan asked Fu Rui to take down the suicide note and burn it. He sat dejectedly behind the imperial desk, his eyes looking beyond the palace gate at the red walls, red tiles, and flying eaves.

"Chiu~"

The magpie landed on the bird stand in the morning light, and after eating and drinking its fill, it hopped and hopped off to look for the yellow biped.

When Emperor Qingyuan saw it coming, he slowly stretched out his right hand.

The magpie chirped, landed on the finger of the emperor, and rubbed it with its head tilted.

"Besides Furui, you are the only one who accompanies me."

"One shouldn't be too greedy, little one, don't you think?"

Now that Hubu has fallen into his hands, we can no longer ask for more.

The magpie looked at the yellow Twoleg.

He was smiling, but he looked so sad.

It's really hard to guess what the two-legged beasts are thinking.

"Chiu~"

Rub it again.

Emperor Qingyuan's brows relaxed, and he gently tapped the magpie's head: "Go, fly higher, you will be more free."

The magpie chirped and flew away with its wings flapping.

Thinking that Du Qingtang was injured because of Feng Shu, Emperor Qingyuan picked up his pen and dipped it in ink, drafted an imperial edict, handed it to the deputy commander of the imperial guards, and sent it to Runing Prefecture.

......

Everyone in the court knew the cause of Wu Guangwu's death, but they all kept their mouths shut and pretended to be ignorant.

The news reached the Hanlin Academy, where Yao Jingzhou was compiling classics.

The editor who was on duty in the same room was a Jinshi in the sixth year of Qingyuan, and was more than ten years older than Yao Jingzhou.

Upon learning that the powerful and influential Minister of Revenue had committed suicide out of fear of punishment, he shook his head while holding his brush, saying cryptically: "There must be something hateful about a pitiful person, there must be something hateful about him!"

Yao Jingzhou pretended not to hear anything. After finishing his shift, he returned to Yao's house and told Fu Ci about the matter between Wu Guangwu and Feng Shu.

Fu Ci went to Beijing to take the imperial examination and is now staying at Yao's house.

I finished the palace examination in late February and am now waiting for the ceremony to announce the results of the exam.

After hearing the good news from Yao Jingzhou, Fu Ci was overjoyed and danced with joy.

"Great, it must be Qingtang!"

"Qingtang is truly amazing. It hasn't been that long, and he's already taken down two important officials of the imperial court in one go."

Yao Jingzhou and Fu Ci had the same idea.

Apart from his uncle, he couldn't think of anyone else who would expose Feng Shu's crimes.

"Master Uncle told me before he left Beijing that he would be back in a year at most. Now it's only May, and who knows if he will be back in a while."

Fu Ci's eyes lit up: "Qingtang has made great contributions, so will he be promoted?"

Yao Jingzhou said with a firm expression, "Your Majesty is a wise ruler and will never mistreat his meritorious officials."

Fu Ci secretly looked forward to it.

-

Back to the present, early April.

As Fu Ci and Yao Jingzhou said, Emperor Qingyuan did promote Du Qingtang.

At the gate of Runing Prefecture's government office, Du Qingtang accepted the bright yellow imperial edict in full view of the crowd and held it high above his head: "Your humble servant thanks the Lord for His great grace!"

Seeing this, the onlookers cheered and applauded loudly.

"Great! The magistrate has been promoted again."

"Now you shouldn't call me Tongpan Lord, you should call me Tongzhi Lord."

"Congratulations to the Tongzhi for his promotion!"

"Congratulations, Lord Du, on your promotion!"

Hearing the congratulations, Du Qingtang's lips curled up slightly.

Deputy Commander Zhang saw the people's admiration and love for Du Qingtang and couldn't help but sigh.

Only a few months after taking office, Lord Du won the recognition of the people of Runing Prefecture.

He truly deserves to be the youngest top six scholar in Daxia!

Considering how quickly Du Qingtang had risen through the ranks, Deputy Commander Zhang didn't mind giving her a good word: "The appointments for the prefect, associate prefect, and assistant judge have already been made. The three are on their way to take up their posts and will arrive in Runing Prefecture soon."

Du Qingtang bowed and said, "Thank you, Deputy Commander Zhang, for telling me."

After saying this, he continued, "It's getting late. Why don't you, Deputy Commander Zhang, rest at the inn for a night? It won't be too late to leave for the capital tomorrow morning."

Deputy Commander Zhang had exactly this idea in mind, so he led a group of imperial guards to the post station.

Du Qingtang returned to the government office. Judge Xie looked at the imperial edict with envy, but he still did not forget to congratulate him: "Congratulations, Lord Du, on your promotion."

A nineteen-year-old fifth-rank official has a promising future!

Du Qingtang held the imperial edict in his hands and gave him a neutral look: "Master Xie, it's time to go and handle official business."

There is no time to talk nonsense here, I have already dealt with several documents.

Xie Tongpan: “…”

I said she was sick!

Du Qingtang returned to the duty room, processed the remaining documents, and returned home accompanied by the sound of the gong marking the end of his shift.

Zhu and Ju learned from the people that Du Qingtang had been promoted, so they rushed home as soon as the time came, fearing that they would be too late and would not be able to congratulate their youngest brother first.

Thank God, they finally caught up.

At the gate of Tongpan Mansion, three sisters met on a narrow road.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Du Qingzhu ignored the people coming and going on the street and rushed towards Du Qingtang screaming.

"Great! Our Tang Ge'er is a fifth-rank official!"

Du Qingzhu circled around Du Qingtang, her face beaming with joy, and little flowers floating from head to toe.

Du Qingju was also very happy, but compared to her seventh sister's liveliness and extroversion, she was more introverted and steady, and she couldn't stop smiling at this moment.

"I heard someone in Jisheng Hall say you got a promotion, and it was someone from Xiajing who announced it. I wished I could grow a pair of wings and fly back immediately."

Du Qingtang was in a good mood and let Du Qingzhu circle around her until she was dizzy. Then she pulled Du Qingzhu away and said, "If you have anything to say, let's talk inside. There are so many people watching us."

Du Qingzhu turned her head and saw that all the passers-by were looking at this side. Her face turned red and she rushed into the door like a gust of wind.

Passersby saw this scene and smiled knowingly.

The Tongzhi has a very good relationship with her sisters.

In the evening, Du Qingzhu cooked a large table of extremely sumptuous meals herself.

The three sisters ate, drank, talked and laughed until late at night.

Have a good night's sleep.

......

The next day, Du Qingtang arrived at the government office at 11:00 AM.

After a while, Deputy Commander Zhang came to say goodbye: "The guilty official Feng Shu has been taken to the prison cart. There is no time to lose. It is time for me to return to the capital."

Du Qingtang offered to see him off, but Deputy Commander Zhang refused sternly, so she stopped forcing him.

In the early morning light, the prison van was driving slowly on the main street of the city.

The streets were crowded with onlookers, who, just like Wang Zhaoxing and Hu Wenyuan had done before, threw stones and rotten vegetable leaves at Feng Shu.

Feng Shu was wearing prison clothes, a wooden cangue on his head, and his disheveled appearance was completely different from when he was the prefect.

Stones and rotten vegetable leaves hit my body, and pain and shame came together.

He howled and banged against the prison van desperately.

"Let me out now! I'm the prefect of Runing Prefecture!"

"How dare you, a bunch of lowly people, humiliate me like this? When I am cleared of this crime and reinstated, I will chop off your heads!"

Deputy Commander Zhang's ears ached from his howling, and unable to bear it any longer, he rode forward and said, "Wu Guangwu has committed suicide out of fear of his crimes."

Feng Shu paused in his scolding, a ferocious expression frozen on his face, his mouth wide open, his eyebrows trembling, he looked like a funny clown.

"What did you say?"

"Impossible! My father-in-law is a second-rank official in the imperial court. How could he commit suicide out of fear of punishment?"

"Do you know who's above him? It's the Prime Minister Cao Yuan!"

"As long as Cao Yuan is here, even a crime as serious as regicide and treason can be escaped unscathed."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Deputy Commander Zhang ignored Feng Shu and rode forward.

He just didn't want to believe that his only lifeline was gone.

Feng Shu knelt in the prison car, crying and laughing, looking crazy, which caused the people to curse him.

"You dog official, you shall die a miserable death!"

"It's a shame I can't watch him get his head chopped off."

Mrs. Liu stood in the crowd, her back still hunched, her dry white hair flying in the wind, and the scars on her face like dead vines and old trees attracted the attention of people around her.

She stared at the prison van without blinking.

As the prison van drove away, she followed, staggering along on crutches.

"Grandma, please slow down."

Du Qingtang followed closely, lightly supporting Liu Pozi to prevent her from being knocked down.

The prison carriage traveled from the government office to the city gate.

Mrs. Liu also trotted from the government office to the city gate.

The prison cart drove through the city gate and headed north, heading towards the end of Feng Shu's life.

Mrs. Liu was leaning on a crutch, half of her body leaning on the city wall, her cloudy eyes still staring at the direction where the prison car was going away.

She didn't say anything, tears streaming down her face.

It flowed through the ravines and gathered into a round drop on the scarred chin. When the wind blew, it swayed and rolled down, soaked into the brown soil, and disappeared.

She cried out, her hoarse voice sounding like a cuckoo crying blood.

"Six years! Two thousand one hundred and ninety-five whole days and nights!"

"God has mercy on me. I have finally waited for this day!"

"Son, you can finally rest in peace underground!"

The surroundings were noisy and bustling.

When the people saw Liu Po crying hysterically, they spontaneously thought that she had been poisoned by the corrupt officials and cast their sympathetic and pitiful glances at her.

The crowd dispersed and Du Qingtang escorted Liu Pozi out of the city.

Du Qingtang said firmly: "Don't worry, Feng Shu will be sentenced to death."

Mrs. Liu replied with a "OK," and suddenly broke away from Du Qingtang's hand, knelt down, and kowtowed tremblingly.

"Thank you, sir, for redressing my son's grievances."

Mrs. Liu kowtowed again.

"Thank you very much for saving my life and the lives of my grandchildren."

Mrs. Liu kowtowed for the third time.

"After we part today, it will be hard to see each other again."

"I wish you all the best and a bright future."

......

Mrs. Liu got on the carriage and headed north along the official road.

She wants to go home.

To meet her grandchildren.

From now on, nothing can separate them except death.

Du Qingtang stood beside the official road and watched the carriage go away.

Just as he was about to mount his horse, he saw a man stumbling and running away in the distance, with several people on horseback chasing him.

Du Qingtang looked at Du Yi and Du Er. The latter understood and kicked their horses' bellies to gallop out.

After a fierce fight, Du Yi and Du Er knocked the pursuers off their horses to prevent them from escaping and broke their legs.

The person being chased was covered in wounds and was breathing more than he was breathing in.

The man clutched Du Yi's hand tightly, gasping for breath: "Go tell the prefect quickly that there is an outbreak of smallpox in Lin'an County..."

Before he could finish his words, he fainted.