Chapter 838: Demon Queen Brings Disaster to the Nation
Many people were paying attention to Cao Dejiang and others going to see the Queen after the morning court session. When they saw them coming out of the palace with unhappy expressions, the upright old man Huo's face turned ashen, as if he had had an argument with Cao Dejiang and the Queen.
People from aristocratic families became more and more outrageous.
They were certain that the Queen would not dare to take action at this time, and they were even more certain that as long as the war in Southern Qi continued, the Queen would not dare to really touch them.
In order to stabilize the court and protect Xiao Yan's safety outside, she would never dare to break off relations with them. The positions between the aristocratic families and the queen were instantly reversed, and the situation that was previously suppressed by the queen was reversed.
The case of Shi Qingrong was transferred to the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple for retrial. After the evidence was submitted, the aristocratic families exerted pressure on the court every day.
Without Guo Changming's confession, the so-called evidence of the aristocratic families could not be produced, and nothing could be found on the Shi family's side. In addition, Shi Qingrong cried out in innocence in the hall and claimed that he had never sent anyone to assassinate court officials, and that Guo Changming was resentful of him for not protecting him and accused him before his death.
Cao Dejiang and others tried their best to suppress the matter, but the aristocratic families refused to let it go and incited public opinion to speak out for Shi Qingrong.
Scholars and literati appeared before the Ministry of Justice every day, and people were discussing this matter everywhere in the restaurants and teahouses in Beijing. The process of the Ministry of Justice, which should have been carried out quickly, was delayed again and again, and the Minister of Justice He Cheng did not allow anyone to drive away the people in front of the government office. The affairs of the Shi family were known to everyone.
Min An and others were extremely happy.
"Then He Cheng is a man who knows the current situation."
"It's not that he understands the current situation, but the Queen's actions are unpopular. There are few truly clean people in the court. But when the Queen ordered a strict investigation of the Ministry of Justice, she didn't show him any respect at all. She even removed several of He Cheng's close associates. I heard that she even embarrassed He Cheng in public."
The He family cannot compare with other aristocratic families, but He Cheng is the Minister of Justice after all, the head of the six ministries. How could he not have any temper?
In order to bluff them, the Queen turned the Ministry of Justice upside down, making He Cheng, the Minister of Justice, lose face, and also implicated other people and killed them all. She wanted to eradicate corruption and expel the scoundrels, but she didn't know that she had already aroused resentment in the court.
Min An smiled and said, "I heard that the Queen summoned the wife of Marquis Wenxin, and that after leaving the palace, she also went to the He family. However, He Cheng still behaved like this. It seems that the Queen really offended Minister He before."
Feng Qiuli said gently, "Everyone in the court cares about their dignity, but please don't be too careless."
"He Cheng is just turning a blind eye and not stopping our little tricks. After all, he is not from an aristocratic family. Like Marquis Wenxin, he is a loyal and upright person who supports the emperor. His thoughts may not be on our side. Shi Qingrong's matter still needs to be resolved as soon as possible."
"As long as Shi Qingrong can be released and the Shi family is proven wronged, we can use the Shi family as an opportunity to force the Queen to allow the members of the aristocratic family to return to the court."
Naturally, the other people present also understood this truth. Listening to Feng Qiuli's words, they seemed to be able to see themselves regaining their former glory and holding great power. They were all eager to try, their eyes full of excitement.
That night, three female members of the Shi family suddenly hanged themselves in front of the gate. Old Madam Shi fainted from shock. The eldest lady of the Shi family led the remaining members of the Shi family to kneel in front of the gate and cry out to the outside world that they were wronged. They cried and their heads were bleeding.
Even though there were many black-armored guards outside the Shi family's house, they could not stop the crying and shouting. People outside could hear the women's questioning. The three women who were hanged left blood letters on the wall of the Shi family's gate before they died, accusing the queen of being selfish and arbitrary, wronging the Shi family and intending to destroy the Shi family.
The incident caused a sensation, and everyone witnessed the tragic plight of the Shi family. At the morning court the next day, when Min An and others brought up the matter of the Shi family again, even the queen could not suppress it.
Since no evidence could be produced, Cao Dejiang and his men were powerless. In the end, the two sides were deadlocked for three days. As the battle report from Southern Qi came again, the queen took the initiative to give in.
Shi Qingrong was released from prison due to incomplete evidence. Not only were all the items previously confiscated from the Shi family returned, but the queen also ordered to appease everyone in the Shi family, bury the "unjustly died" female family members with honor, and reinstate Shi Qingrong to his original position. However, the people from the aristocratic family did not want to stop while they were ahead.
They became more and more aggressive in the court, and kept talking about the empress's womanly views. They were short-sighted and didn't understand the affairs of the court. They were simply unable to sit in the court, let alone replace the emperor in directing government affairs.
They demanded that the Queen withdraw from the court and hand over all decision-making power to the ministers. They also talked about the drawbacks of eliminating aristocratic families from the court. They wanted to restore the situation in the past where the Grand Tutor was in power and the ministers assisted each other. They also mentioned that the Queen should not interfere in state affairs when His Majesty was not in the capital, otherwise the court would be in turmoil, the people would be uneasy, and the Great Wei might be in danger of being destroyed.
Tang Ning was naturally unwilling, and Cao Dejiang and others were even less likely to agree to let power fall back into the hands of the aristocratic families, so the two sides quarreled fiercely.
However, in the eyes of outsiders, it seemed that the empress was greedy for imperial power and clung to it despite knowing that she was incompetent. When the news of Xiao Yan being trapped in Southern Qi spread, the people of the aristocratic families advocated taking the initiative to negotiate peace with Southern Qi and withdraw troops to the north as soon as possible, but the empress completely refused. She even ordered the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War to escort food and fodder to Muchan Pass. Unexpectedly, the official ship sank on the way, and all the food, fodder and money were lost. The two thousand soldiers who accompanied them were all killed.
The capital was in an uproar. All the good reputation that the queen had accumulated in the past was destroyed in an instant. People even had a vague rumor that the queen was a demon and a disaster for the country.
Qian Baokun and others did not expect such a big mistake to happen, and even Cao Dejiang was a little uneasy.
There was a lot of discussion outside, and in Yongzhao Palace, Qian Qiyue was supporting the pale-faced Tang Ning.
"Aning, don't worry. Although the food and money are gone, the Ministry of Revenue still has some money. My mother, the wife of the Marquis of Yongxin, and your aunt are also trying to find ways to raise money. If all else fails, there is still your uncle from the Gu family and the Qian family. They will definitely not let Your Majesty and the others get into trouble..."
Zhou Yuchang's eyes were red as he wiped away his tears. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Aning. I don't know why Brother Jin and the others would do this. Uncle wasn't like this before, and Brother Jin is the most upright person. But this time, they actually helped those people from the aristocratic families."
Shi Qingrong's charges could have been determined long ago, and the Ministry of Justice could have made a final decision, but He Cheng kept delaying and deliberately making things difficult. When someone made a scene in the Ministry of Justice and He Cheng condoned it, she had looked for He Jin, but this obviously upright man in the past kept making excuses and allowed things to develop.
If it weren't for He Cheng's "help", how could the aristocratic family have exonerated Shi Qingrong so easily? She almost hated He Jin to death!
Tang Ning saved her and helped them so much in the past, but now her fiancé's family, whom she insisted on trying again, harmed Tang Ning. She really wanted to kill herself by banging her head against a wall.
Tang Ning said in a low voice with a pale face: "It has nothing to do with you. People in the court always put their own interests first. They won't change their minds because of you."
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