Because Mu Cong also pleaded guilty, the two ministers of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue were dismissed from their posts and investigated, and the Imperial Censor was demoted for his poor handling of the case. Most of the high-ranking officials of the aristocratic families were removed from office.
Lou Yunchun tortured the spy planted by Minister Wang in the Mu Mansion and the murderer arrested on Zhuque Street, and finally found out the mastermind behind the scenes.
Mu Cong, the main witness, was also confined to the Dali Temple, nominally for house arrest, but in reality for protection. Minister Wang, Minister Luo, and their followers wrote to the court to protest their grievances, but the recorded confession and evidence presented by Mu Cong left them with no defense.
However, Zhao Xiu had not yet been brought to justice, and the case could not be concluded for the time being. The Dali Temple ordered the two county governments to intensify their search and arrest, ensuring that he was brought to justice as soon as possible.
With the two ministers imprisoned, the Censorate was left struggling, the performance and reward system for government offices was abolished, and the turmoil among officials gradually subsided. However, those who had instigated the factional strife and secretly fueled it were demoted or demoted, and the court quickly became a chaotic mess.
The sage ordered the vigorous promotion of officials from humble backgrounds, and the three masters acted with swift resolution, rapidly promoting their own students to fill the vacancies. However, Minister Kou, united with the aristocracy, submitted a petition of opposition and colluded with the Censorate, hindering the promotion of many officials by using trivial matters.
The two sides raised and lowered the status quo, promoted and demoted it, and the argument was so intense that it finally ended with the saint vomiting blood and falling ill.
The sage had retired from court due to illness, and the three ministries and three ministers were acting as deputies. Among them, only Minister Kou was a member of the aristocratic family, and he had been stripped of his power to approve or reject proposals. He was sidelined by his four subordinates, the Imperial Secretaries, leaving him powerless. He could only watch helplessly as the positions previously held by the aristocracy were replaced by other officials.
In addition to the fraud case, the flood in Leyou Township was reinvestigated by the Ministry of Justice, and all officials of the Ministry of Works were interrogated individually, including Lord Qian who was demoted from the court.
This trial triggered an illegal mining case, and Liu Sizhen was detained. Several heads of major aristocratic families who cooperated with the Liu family to expand Liuyuan were also dragged into the case and sealed off from their homes pending trial.
The saint was lying on the dragon couch, listening to the Minister of Justice and Lou Yunchun report on the progress of the case, while he was untying a tied-up rice dumpling in his hand.
When the rope is untied and the bamboo leaves are peeled off, the golden rice dumpling meat is revealed, which is fragrant, glutinous and delicious.
The saint bit off a tip and finally had a bite of freedom.
"That's right." After the two men finished their stories, the saint had just finished a rice dumpling. He licked his lips and washed his hands contentedly, then waved his dragon sleeves and rewarded the two men with two boxes of rice dumplings.
The job was done well and the rice dumplings were good too.
"make persistent efforts."
The two men left the palace holding the rice dumplings awarded by the saint, and then parted ways outside the imperial city.
Lou Yunchun smelled the aroma of mugwort filling the streets, and only then did he escape from the turbulent court and return to the ordinary world.
The Dragon Boat Festival has arrived, the sun is long and the stars are bright, marking the middle of summer.
The blue dragon is a big fire, the flying dragon is in the sky,
Xu Jiang stood in front of the door watching Yin Yin hanging mugwort and calamus. Xu Jiang promised Liang Mo three days off to return home to participate in the sacrificial ceremony. Now, she and Yin Yin were the only two people in the bookstore.
"Okay, just hang it there."
Yin Yin hung up the mugwort and calamus, jumped down from the stool, and Xu Jiang shouted "Be careful" when he saw this.
She smiled foolishly at Xu Jiang, who twisted her nose unhappily. "No wonder Madam Liu always says you're unstable. What if you fall?"
Yin Yin held her hand and shook it, "Not again."
Xu Jiang couldn't stand it at all, so she pinched her face and rubbed it.
In addition to hanging mugwort, people also sprinkle realgar and use mugwort incense to drive away snakes and insects. They also drink mugwort wine and realgar wine, and wear fragrant herbs to drive away evil spirits.
Of course, the most popular things are making rice dumplings and frying dough balls.
The girl selling bamboo leaves and colored ropes went through the streets and alleys of the capital. When she reached Huailiu Alley, only a few handfuls of thin leaves were left. Xu Jiang didn't despise them and bought them all.
Since there weren't enough bamboo leaves, she asked Yinyin to go to Yuan Zuzhi's house and ask for some bamboo shells, which was just enough to make two more flavors.
Yuan Zuzhi had Yinyin take a message, asking her to take good care of her injuries and not to get too worked up, but he still picked up a large basket of bamboo shells for her to take back. Besides the bamboo shells, he also gave her a festival gift and some tonics, and told Xu Jiang to replenish her energy.
Xu Jiang was naturally grateful, and after the rice dumplings were cooked, she planned to give a holiday gift in return.
After getting the bamboo shells back, Xu Jiang and Yin Yin started making rice dumplings. The rice had been soaked last night. They soaked two kinds of millet and japonica rice, and made each dumpling with a different flavor.
Now boil the bamboo leaves and bamboo shells until they are soft and flexible. If you boil them too long, they will become mushy.
Of course, they cannot be left uncooked, otherwise the leaves and bamboo shells will be too brittle and the filling will easily leak out.
Wash the indigo leaves and bamboo shells, boil them in water, cool them down and soak them for later use.
Xu Jiang plans to make five flavors: candied date rice dumplings, ash water rice dumplings, and pork rice dumplings.
To make candied date zongzi, glutinous rice is used. Besides the rice, candied dates, adzuki beans, red dates, and sugarcane syrup are also added. The resulting zongzi is white with a hint of red, and has a jade-like, translucent texture. Its color and flavor are both excellent, and it is highly praised.
Literati praised its whiteness and often praised it in poetry and prose.
Millet is used in ash-water zongzi. Burn thorn and reed leaves to make ash, then mix with water. Strain through gauze to remove impurities, drain the remaining water, and drain. Soak the millet in the ash-water overnight. Drain the mixture, mix with sugarcane juice and honey, and wrap it in bamboo leaves to form a triangle.
When cooked through, the rice dumpling meat is golden and translucent, and is best eaten cold.
You can also use japonica rice to make ash water rice dumplings. After cooking, the rice dumpling meat is light yellow and is best eaten hot with brown sugar.
For zongzi, pork with a balance of fat and lean is the best choice. Chop the pork leg into evenly sized chunks, add chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms, and fermented soybean paste, mix well with glutinous rice, and wrap it in bamboo husks. The thick bamboo husks carry a delicate bamboo fragrance, giving the cooked zongzi a moist, fresh, and unique flavor.
After wrapping the rice dumplings, cook them in two pots, sweet and salty. After the water boils, simmer them on low heat for two hours to make them melt and cooked through.
After taking care of the charcoal, the two of them stopped to drink tea. Yinyin took out an embroidered bag to put the spices in. After putting them in, she chose the most beautiful one for Xu Jiang to wear.
"Did you embroider all this yourself?"
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