Chapter 814 A Bad Premonition
"Lord Cao."
Pan Xi watched Liang Guangyi leave before he stepped forward holding the whisk.
Cao Dejiang wiped his saliva-spattered face and turned his head to glance at him: "Does the Queen have any other instructions?"
Pan Xi was stunned: "Why are you..."
This look doesn't look like anger at all.
"You're not angry?" Pan Xi asked in confusion.
Cao Dejiang rolled his eyes. How could he and Liang Guangyi be the same? He knew the queen better, and knew her and the new emperor's personalities better. Before he chose to help them, he could be said to have fully explored their personalities.
The new emperor is cold-hearted and cruel. Although he cares about people's livelihood, he also pays more attention to means and results. The queen is more upright and kind-hearted than him. She has the delicate mind unique to girls and is softer-hearted than the new emperor. But this does not mean that the queen is stupid. On the contrary, the queen was "trained" by the new emperor, and she is not lacking in scheming and means.
The Queen would certainly be angry about the humiliation of the female prisoner, and she might even empathize with the situation because she herself was a woman, but she would never choose this time to take action against the Ministry of Justice.
What's more, although Fu Jinrou is pretending to be a girl from the Fu family, the Queen has long known his and the Fu family's attitude towards this matter. Even if Fu Jinrou really causes trouble and brings out some gossip, he will not give in because of a girl from the Fu family. Not to mention him, even his sister who hates evil will not do that.
They can still clearly distinguish between right and wrong and personal interests.
The Queen had already told them everything. She knew all this but still mentioned Fu Jinrou. She was even willing to "fall out" with Liang Guangyi and was determined to seek justice for those female prisoners. How could Cao Dejiang not understand that the Queen had other plans?
Cao Dejiang looked at Pan Xi: "What happened?"
Pan Xi felt relieved to see him calm. He also recalled the Queen's expression when she had instructed him. The Queen had told him to just come and look for Cao Gong. He had just been wondering how he could pass on the message if Cao Dejiang got angry. Unexpectedly...
After all, it was the Queen Mother who understood Cao Gong.
Pan Xi moved closer to Cao Dejiang and whispered a few words quickly into his ear.
Cao Dejiang raised his thick eyebrows and the expression on his face changed.
"When did it happen?" He tilted his head.
Pan Xi whispered, "Just yesterday."
Cao Dejiang's expression was cold, with a hint of anger in his eyes.
These bastards, it’s already this late and they still have so many thoughts!
Pan Xi lowered his voice, "The Nanqi incident is imminent, and I'm afraid Beiling will be unable to suppress it. The Empress asked me to tell you that the Ministry of Justice should make a big fuss about this matter, and the better. Don't worry about anyone and investigate thoroughly. If any old cases are brought up, don't hold back."
Cao Dejiang narrowed his eyes slightly and understood the queen's plan in an instant.
She wanted to use the Ministry of Justice to force people into desperate situations, lure out some snakes and rats, and give them the opportunity to take action.
Cao Dejiang nodded with a cold face: "I understand, you tell the Queen and let her feel at ease."
…
When Cao Dejiang returned to the yamen, there was a great commotion inside, and a group of officials gathered together, whispering about something.
When they saw him coming back, they stopped talking and saluted him immediately.
"Lord Cao."
"Prime Minister."
Because the court system had just been restructured, and many of the officials had been in office since the deposed emperor, they called Cao Dejiang all kinds of names when they saw him.
Cao Dejiang nodded at them and frowned: "Why are you gathering here if you don't do anything?"
They looked at each other in bewilderment, and someone hesitantly spoke, "Lord Cao, what on earth happened in the palace? Why would the Empress suddenly order an investigation into the Ministry of Justice?"
"Yes, Lord Cao, what happened? You and Prime Minister Liang went to see the Empress together. Just now, Prime Minister Liang returned before you. His face looked very unhappy. I was scolded for asking a question."
They have been in the court for so many years, and Liang Guangyi has never shown his feelings towards people or things. No matter how he feels in his heart, he will not show it on his face. Even though the aristocratic families and imperial power were so shaky after His Majesty seized the throne, he has never been so angry.
But just thinking about Liang Guangyi's expression just now is scary.
Cao Dejiang: "Where is Prime Minister Liang?"
"They left." The man who had asked the question earlier whispered, "Prime Minister Liang stayed for a moment and then left. Lord Shi and the others followed him."
Cao Dejiang pursed his lips and took a look, and sure enough, those court officials from the aristocratic families were not there.
Seeing that everyone around him was looking at him with fiery eyes, he did not hide anything and directly told them about the Ministry of Justice.
The court officials around looked at each other in confusion.
"Ah, this..." someone opened their mouths, "Is this the reason why the Empress investigated the Ministry of Justice?"
Someone nearby said, "Isn't this a bit of an overreaction?"
To say that she was making a fuss out of nothing would be an understatement. It was just the deaths of a few female prisoners and an unruly constable, but the Empress actually wanted to investigate the entire Ministry of Justice. How much trouble would it cause if she really investigated from top to bottom?
Most of the people present who have been able to stay until now are old hands in the officialdom. They know very well that few officials in the court are truly clean. People in the Ministry of Justice are naturally no exception. There are probably many messes hidden from top to bottom.
After the Queen's investigation, the people below didn't find anything, but instead found out some things that they shouldn't have found.
"Prime Minister, shouldn't we persuade the Queen about this?" someone asked tentatively.
Cao Dejiang's face was gloomy. "You think I didn't persuade him? You all saw what happened to Prime Minister Liang. He just had a quarrel with the Queen in the palace. No amount of persuasion would work. And to be honest, the female prisoner who was humiliated this time has some relationship with me. The Queen even brought up this matter to force me to agree."
Fu Jinrou's affairs cannot be concealed, and the dispute between Liang Guangyi and him will sooner or later reach the ears of these people.
Cao Dejiang naturally would not give him the opportunity to "slander" himself. Since the queen wanted him to stay in the dark, he would not leave any loopholes.
After telling the story about Fu Jinrou, Cao Dejiang rubbed his eyebrows and felt a little embarrassed.
"The Empress herself is a woman, so she was bound to be furious when she heard about the fate of those female prisoners. I just gave her some advice, but she used that girl from the Fu family to silence me. I am also..."
He sighed.
"Before His Majesty left the capital, he gave the Imperial Seal to the Empress. Minister Liang and I can only assist in matters of state."
"She is the monarch, and we are the subjects. The queen is determined to do what she wants, and no one can persuade her otherwise."
The officials around all frowned when they heard this, thinking that the queen was too emotional and frivolous.
Someone couldn't help but say, "We're in the middle of a war, and we don't have time to deal with border issues. The court is finally getting some peace. The Queen is simply..."
I wanted to scold him, but when the words came to my lips I remembered that I might lose my head.
Although he swallowed the rest of the words, anyone could hear the accusation in his voice.
Cao Dejiang shook his head. "The Queen's decree has been issued. The Black Armor Guards have already gone to the Ministry of Justice. With the Privy Council getting involved, this matter is a done deal and there's no room for change. I'm afraid the Censorate will get involved within a couple of days."
"Now we can only hope that the Ministry of Justice won't cause too much trouble..."
The court officials nearby had different expressions, and they all had a bad feeling in their hearts.
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