Chapter 820 Vomiting Blood
The Queen's meaning was very clear.
If you want to protect Guo Changming, you can.
Two hundred thousand dan of grain was not enough, so the queen considered not pursuing the Ministry of Justice anymore if she offered double the silver to buy her life.
Liang Guangyi gritted his teeth and suppressed his anger. "Your Majesty, he's just an ordinary merchant. Two hundred thousand dan of grain alone has already drained most of his family's wealth. Moreover, although his nephew is in the Ministry of Justice, he has only been in office for a short time. In the end, he may not be found guilty of any serious crime."
Tang Ning nodded. "Prime Minister Liang is right. Not everyone in the Ministry of Justice is guilty. Although many corrupt officials have been found, there are still some honest and loyal people. Since you said that person has only been in office for a short time, I don't think he has committed any serious crimes. In that case, I really shouldn't have taken most of that merchant's wealth for nothing."
"Prime Minister Liang, please go back and tell that merchant that the imperial court has its own laws and will never wrongfully accuse any innocent person. As long as his nephew behaves honestly and is upright, I will never let him suffer injustice and will inform His Majesty to use him in a future position."
“…”
Liang Guangyi was almost choked by the words "act uprightly and sit uprightly", and the queen's fair, sincere and genuine look made his face turn ashen.
He suddenly inexplicably thought of the time before Xiao Yan ascended the throne, when Lu Chongyuan came to negotiate with them to show mercy, and the young Song Tangning bit off a piece of meat from the Lu family. Later, Xiao Yan used himself as bait and the past as a clue to lure them into the game, forcing them to scrape off their bones and flesh in exchange for him letting him go.
The current queen is so similar to Xiao Yan back then.
Just as ruthless and aggressive.
Liang Guangyi gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "He donated the grain voluntarily, hoping to help the court overcome its difficulties."
Tang Ning sighed, "Then he truly is a businessman with a conscience. He simply refuses to accept rewards without merit. The imperial court cannot take the people's food and money for nothing. If this gets out, how will others view me, and Your Majesty?"
Liang Guangyi: "..."
Forcing a smile, Liang Guangyi tried his best to remain calm: "Your Majesty, you're joking. Serving the court and sharing the burdens of His Majesty is the duty of every citizen of the Great Wei."
"That merchant has nothing else in his home but some gold, silver, and grain. Before I entered the palace, he said that if the court is truly in trouble, in addition to the grain, he would be willing to donate one million taels of silver to the court. I hope Your Majesty can quickly quell the border crisis and restore peace to the Great Wei."
Tang Ning was surprised: "His family is so wealthy?" Then he frowned, "The nephew of such a family must have plenty of money. Ordinary things won't tempt him. What can tempt him..."
"The Liang family is willing to donate another 5,000 war horses."
"this……"
"The heads of the Shi and Fan families are aware of the difficulties facing the court and understand the hardships Your Majesty endures in the battles. We are willing to provide an additional 5,000 war horses, as well as raise 500,000 taels of silver and 100,000 dan of grain for military supplies."
Tang Ning hesitated: "How can this be possible? Even if the court is short of money, it cannot seize the property of its subjects by force."
"This is a voluntary donation from us, to help your majesty and the court!"
Liang Guangyi gritted his teeth as he spoke, then looked intently at the Empress. "Your Majesty, I, your servant, am loyal to Your Majesty, and naturally hope for peace and prosperity in the court. Therefore, I am willing to use my family's wealth to help Your Majesty achieve great things. I believe Your Majesty also hopes for the peace and stability of Your Majesty and the court, just like me."
Tang Ning looked at Liang Guangyi, whose face was ashen and almost threatened him, and knew that this was the bottom line of the aristocratic family to protect Guo Changming.
Three hundred thousand dan of grain, ten thousand war horses, plus one million and a half taels of silver...
She knew when to stop, and said with a touched look on her face: "I know that Liang Xiang is righteous. The court is in a difficult situation. Thanks to Liang Xiang and Lord Shi for their generosity."
Liang Guangyi: "Then the Ministry of Justice..."
Tang Ning was a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry to have been laughed at by Prime Minister Liang. To be honest, I originally ordered an investigation of the Ministry of Justice in a fit of anger, but who knew that so much silver and money would be seized to supplement the national treasury. I had no choice but to continue, but I'm really scared. I'm afraid that if I continue the investigation and really push people too far, some people will make a fuss. What will I do then?"
She breathed a sigh of relief, her face full of fear.
"It's great now. With the help of Liang Xiang and others, the national treasury is full of food and fodder. Naturally, I don't want to cause unrest in the court."
"Once your donations, Prime Minister Liang, have been deposited into the national treasury, I will immediately issue an order for the Privy Council to cease its activities. Prime Minister Liang will then be asked to step in and appease the officials of the Ministry of Justice."
Liang Guangyi's throat rolled, and he clenched his hands tightly, trying hard not to show the distortion on his face. He just lowered his head and spoke word by word.
"Don't worry, Queen, I will do my best."
…
Coming out of Mingde Hall, Liang Guangyi walked out of the palace with an expressionless face. After finally reaching the Jinshui Bridge, he was helped into the carriage by Liang's servants. He could no longer hold back the fishy and sweet taste in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"teacher!"
Feng Qiuli quickly reached out to support Liang Guangyi. He was Liang Guangyi's most promising "successor". After passing layers of tests, Liang Guangyi kept him by his side, hoping that Feng Qiuli would be able to maintain the prosperity of the family after he retired in the future.
Although the two did not formally become disciples, Liang Guangyi taught him everything he knew, and Feng Qiuli also called him teacher in private.
Seeing Liang Guangyi vomiting blood, Feng Qiuli was filled with anxiety: "Teacher, what's wrong with you? Hurry, find a doctor..."
"Need not."
"But……"
"The old man is fine."
Liang Guangyi reached out to stop Feng Qiuli. After wiping the blood from his mouth with a handkerchief, his face turned pale. "I knew from the beginning that the Queen should not be underestimated, but I also thought that she was a woman and her methods were not as good as men's. I never expected..."
In the end, he still looked down on the queen.
He recalled that before the engagement between the Song and Lu families was broken off, he had met the queen once at the Lu family. At that time, she was well-behaved but dull, just like an ordinary girl who was immature and timid.
But ever since she called off the Lu family marriage, she had been different day by day. In just one year, there was no trace of that day left on her body.
Liang Guangyi sometimes even thought, how great it would have been if the Lu family had treated the queen well and not broken off the engagement. If there hadn't been that initial incident on the mountain, and the queen had married smoothly into the Lu family, then all these troubles that followed wouldn't have happened at all.
It would not be so easy for Xiao Yan to seize the throne by stepping on the aristocratic families. Even if he really did seize the throne, the aristocratic families would not have fallen to this point.
Liang Guangyi thought for a moment and couldn't help but smile bitterly. What happened in the past was in the past. When did he become so unrealistic?
"Teacher?" Feng Qiuli was worried when she saw Liang Guangyi's expression.
Liang Guangyi took a deep breath to suppress the discomfort in his heart, and said with a pale face: "The Queen agreed to let the Ministry of Justice go."
Feng Qiuli was surprised for a moment, then frowned: "What conditions?"
Liang Guangyi lowered his eyes and repeated the conditions he promised to the Queen. Feng Qiuli's eyelids twitched. She never expected that the Queen would be so cruel and could squeeze so many things out of Liang Guangyi. However...
"Teacher, I'm afraid they won't agree to this condition."
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