Chapter 280 Bingzhou
When winter comes, the sky is always gloomy. It’s snowing before the twelfth lunar month.
Since the Crown Prince and Prince Rui left the capital, the emperor has been in a bad mood and his temper has become bad.
He reprimanded several officials who made mistakes in their work.
Everyone was alert and worked diligently, not daring to make any mistakes.
At this time, everyone remembered the kindness of the prince.
In the past, when the emperor was furious, the prince would try to persuade him, but in the end he would just give him a reprimand.
Now that the prince is gone, he will be thrown out of the Golden Palace and beaten with a stick.
Princess Jia'an, the living devil, not only failed to persuade, but also added fuel to the fire, "She is just sitting there doing nothing, she should be killed."
At the morning court that day, the emperor was issuing a judgment on the Minister of Revenue.
"...Those good-for-nothings under your command, how much bribes have they taken? Find out for me, find out..."
It’s about the list of imperial merchants.
The memorial was handed over by Qu Ling.
You Ziyin told her that someone from the Ministry of Revenue had taken the money and replaced the merchants who could actually be selected, adding a few who had spent money.
Among them were people from the Jiangnan Silk Chamber of Commerce.
There is no coincidence in the world.
Nian Sihua, who was far away in Jiangnan, sent a secret letter to Fengzao Pavilion.
After Yu Liang was executed, President Zhou of the Silk Chamber of Commerce, who had colluded with him, was not dead.
He spent all his money to save his life.
After his family fortune was gone, he married into the family of a former steward.
That steward was the escape route he had prepared for himself a long time ago.
A cunning rabbit has three burrows.
Sometimes it really comes in handy.
He could no longer show up in public, so he hid behind the scenes and pushed the manager's son out. Relying on the connections he had accumulated, he had the potential to make a comeback.
Nian Sihua did not hide anything about President Zhou.
To be frank, at the beginning, President Zhou had blocked her door, hoping that Nian Sihua would plead for him because of their past relationship.
Nian Sihua refused.
President Zhou then took out all his belongings and made arrangements to save his life.
This made Nian Sihua feel a sense of crisis.
"...He's a narrow-minded man, yet also somewhat clever. If he ever rises again, he'll definitely seek revenge on me. He's a man of ill will and a manipulative mind. He'll be a real nuisance in the future. Princess, please make sure to eliminate him completely."
After gathering the information from Nian Sihua and You Ziyin, Qu Ling decisively submitted a memorial, requesting His Majesty to thoroughly investigate the matter of the imperial merchants and clean up the officialdom in Jiangnan.
The emperor could not tolerate the fact that a man who colluded with Yu Liang survived by spending a little money.
Furious, he sent two imperial envoys back to the south of the Yangtze River, one of whom was Jiang Yanzheng.
Everyone knew that the entire Jiangnan bureaucracy was about to be cleansed.
After all, the emperor was unwilling to use the people left behind during the reign of Empress Dowager Song.
After the imperial examination next spring, many of the emperor’s disciples will be injected into the officialdom, only to serve His Majesty.
After the court session, Qu Ling accompanied the emperor to the Council Hall to meet with several cabinet ministers, and then had lunch with them.
After dinner, the two went for a walk in the Imperial Garden.
Zhao Yuanrong and Pei Jingming were not in the capital, so Qu Ling stayed in the palace for a long time.
He often went to the palace early in the morning and did not return until after dinner.
The emperor kept her by his side, never avoiding her when handling state affairs, and occasionally let her do the work of a female official in charge of writing.
Gradually, Qu Ling gained a more comprehensive understanding of court affairs.
"I wonder how Jingming is doing?" the emperor suddenly sighed.
"Yuanrong received letters every two or three days, but Jingming had no news at all."
The autumn in Bingzhou is a bit harsher than that in the capital. When Pei Jingming arrived in Bingzhou, he could already feel the harshness of winter.
The soldiers guarding the city shrank their necks and only straightened their backs when they saw the white team slowly approaching in the distance.
"Here he comes, Prince Rui has returned with the coffin."
Not only the Pei family members were waiting at the city gate, but also the Bingzhou governor and a group of officials.
There was no need for the governor to go out to welcome Pei Qi, but since the one attending the funeral was Prince Rui, he had to come.
The last person who did not go to the dock to welcome Princess Jia'an had grass three feet high on his grave.
As the team approached, Pei Jingming was dressed in plain white, seemingly in mourning attire, but with bamboo patterns outlined with silver thread and sprinkled with some silver powder. The glitter that rippled as he walked stung the eyes of the head of the Pei family.
What a heartless thing!
The head of the Pei family cursed in his heart.
Pei Qi was his adoptive father. He went out using the Pei family's surname, but wore clothes that were extremely unfilial.
Pei Jingming did it on purpose.
He saw the head of the Pei family and the young and old of the clan welcoming him outside the city gate, and a smile appeared on his lips.
When he was adopted by Pei Qi, he also returned to Bingzhou.
At that time, the attitude of these people towards him was not like this.
Aristocratic families attach great importance to dignity. They follow etiquette in their every move and are warm in their words and will not embarrass others in person.
Even if they notice that the other party is doing something wrong, they will be roundabout and use implicit words to point it out.
When I first heard it, I thought it was peaceful and harmless. But when I thought about it carefully, the deep meaning wrapped in the soft words pierced my heart like a needle.
Such subtle and hidden thorns often hurt people deeply and are difficult to let go for a long time.
Pei Jingming was stabbed many times.
Otherwise, the late emperor would have had a reputation for cruelty.
What a noble family they were back then, but they were not even given face when they saw the royal family. They were killed house by house by the late emperor, and now they are so depressed.
In the past, let alone a Prince Rui, even if the emperor himself came to attend the funeral, it was not certain that these noble families would come out to welcome him.
From this we can see that it is not enough to just talk about reason, and directly drawing the sword can make people learn their lesson.
Pei Jingming dismounted without saying a word.
"Welcome His Royal Highness Prince Rui."
The governor led a group of officials to kneel down quickly.
Pei Jingming waved his hand.
Then he walked in front of the head of the Pei family.
The head of the Pei family was still standing.
It was really difficult for him to kneel down in front of Pei Jingming.
Pei Jingming stretched out his hand and pressed on his shoulder, and the head of the Pei family fell to his knees.
This action made several young members of the Pei family change their expressions.
Pei Jingming's attitude was really bad. If he treated the head of the family like this, then what about them...
Several people were very nervous.
When Pei Qi was adopted, they made things difficult for him.
"I am not trying to embarrass the Patriarch," Pei Jingming said, "but etiquette cannot be abolished. When you see me, you should kneel down and bow.
The head of the Pei family felt a sharp pain in his knees, but it was difficult to relieve the pain.
"I was so sad that I forgot to greet you."
Pei Jingming was very satisfied with this. He personally helped him up and said, "Master, please stand up."
He glanced at the coffin behind him again, "Before my father died, he said he wanted to return to his hometown."
The head of the Pei family gnashed his teeth until they were broken, but he still tried to flatter, "The funeral hall is ready. Your Highness, you have worked hard on the journey."
Pei Jingming nodded slightly and entered the city first. The governor of Bingzhou accompanied him with a flattering smile on his face.
The Pei family head's eyes were red.
This bastard, how dare he be so arrogant!
The mourning hall in the Pei family's ancestral home was decorated solemnly.
The white flags hung low, the incense and candles were always burning, and Pei Qi's tablet was placed in the middle.
Pei Jingming was a little tired, so he did not go to the mourning hall. He went straight to the Pei family to rest.
When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, he came to the mourning hall alone, but he didn't expect that the head of the Pei family was also there.
The head of the Pei family is Pei Xi's elder brother in terms of seniority.
"Your Highness, now that you've rested, please tell me the purpose of your trip to Bingzhou."
Although the aristocratic families are not as big as they used to be, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, and the one who can run a family is definitely not a stupid person.
How could Pei Jingming just send a dead person back? He must have other motives.
"You are smarter than I thought."
Pei Jingming found a chair that looked comfortable and sat down. He took out a stack of letters from his sleeve and asked, "Master, do you recognize these?"
The candlelight in the mourning hall illuminated the words on the paper very brightly, and also made the heart of the head of the Pei family suddenly tighten.
Those letters were secret correspondence between Bingzhou and the capital.
The content inside seems to be an ordinary greeting, but it actually contains a hidden secret.
This is a unique communication method between aristocratic families, and ordinary people can't understand it at all.
The fact that Pei Jingming could ask directly showed that he knew everything.
Cold sweat broke out on the forehead of the Pei family head.
I was already thinking about how to deal with the person in front of me.
"Don't be nervous," Pei Jingming chuckled, "I'm not here to ask for punishment."
He pointed his finger at a seemingly ordinary line of words, "The new tea from Bingzhou is excellent. I hope you can taste it together."
"Will the master of the house understand the deeper meaning of this?"
The expression of the head of the Pei family gradually froze.
This is a recent letter.
The aristocratic families have already secretly made plans with the relatives who have military power.
The purpose of this letter was to ask Pei Qi to find an opportunity to return to Bingzhou to discuss important matters.
Not long after this letter was sent, Pei Qi died.
"This is just a common saying, Your Highness, please do not over-interpret it..." The head of the Pei family felt cold all over.
Pei Jingming repeated, "I came to Bingzhou not to ask for punishment."
He said, "Master, we can cooperate."
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