Chapter 1045: The Crime of Confiscating the Family and Exterminating the Family
"Do you really want to know?"
He deliberately buckled his jade belt with a slight sound, catching the cunning light in Xiaoxue's eyes: "Last year during the autumn hunt, you broke into my tent wearing a silver fox cloak."
Seeing the tips of his wife's ears turning red, he raised the corners of his lips in satisfaction.
Jiang Xue grabbed the tassels on his waist and spun him around: "That night you drove me away with a cold face!"
"Your brother was by the bonfire ten feet away at the time."
The warm breath brushed across her hair, and the slight roll of her Adam's apple revealed her forbearance back then.
Suddenly he felt his fingertips being pulled to touch the texture under the brocade, and he was so startled that he grabbed the rebellious wrist with his backhand.
"The imperial physician said that three months later..." Her delicate voice was soaked in honey and sealed by his kiss.
After calming down a bit, Xiao Zhan glanced helplessly at the gilded cover of The Secret Plays of the Luanfeng: "I just took away the erotic paintings the other day, where did you find this from?"
"It's in the secret compartment of the library."
Xiaoxue smiled innocently while shaking her toes: "My husband annotated it very carefully back then, saying things like 'you can add silver bells here' and 'sandalwood is easy to slip'..."
Before she could finish her words, she was rolled into the brocade quilt. The palace maid standing outside the tent only heard half a sentence of "be quieter" with a smile, and retreated to the corridor with a red face.
Xiao Zhan soothed the gradually sinking breath in his arms, glanced at the list of medicinal foods on the desk, and added the words "almond crisps" next to "calming lotus seed soup".
When the candle wick burst slightly, his hand holding the pen paused, and he added a line of small regular script on the corner of the page: This was written as a play during Xiaoxue's pregnancy, to be enjoyed by my son Lin.
Jiang Xue stood on tiptoe and grabbed his sleeve and shook it. The golden bell hanging from the jade hairpin jingled, “Brother Yun Che, just read it to me!”
In the glass lamplight, the corners of the girl's eyes were stained with cunning rouge, like a young fox that had stolen honey.
Xiao Zhan tightened his grip on the scroll.
We have known each other for twenty years. I am used to seeing her dancing with swords in the rain of apricot blossoms and brewing tea on the bluestone steps, but I have never seen her act like a spoiled child like this.
The bamboo wick on the table suddenly burst into sparks. He looked at the dark pattern of flowing clouds embroidered on her collar, and his Adam's apple moved: "Six pages."
At three quarters past midnight, Hong Xiuzhao's gilded lantern was crushed by the official's boots.
Jingzhao Yin's black cape swept across the ground covered with pearls and jade, and the goldfish bag on his waist jingled: "Search!"
The madam twisted her waist and came forward, the golden hairpins between her temples trembling: "Wait a minute, sir!" Before she could take out the silver bills hidden in her sleeve, the sheath of the Embroidered Spring Sword was pressed against her throat.
Amid screams from all over the building, the carved window of the Tianzi Wing on the third floor suddenly opened, and half of the silk curtain stained with the scent of peony fell in the wind.
Jingzhao Yin sneered: "I have been ordered to search, who dares to stop me?"
Before he could finish his words, there was a loud noise of a wooden ladder breaking from the second floor. A shirtless young man stumbled down, and the jade bellyband in his arms was caught on the tip of the patrol's goose-feather knife.
As the night deepened, the entire building suddenly erupted in screams and curses.
Jingzhao Yin raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and the hair under his official hat was already wet - at this moment, all the nobles from aristocratic families gathered in the building, and this surprise attack tonight would probably be hated by half of the court officials.
But when he thought of the Black Armor Guard Commander standing at the corner of the Princess's Mansion, his clenched fist loosened a little:
Compared to offending the Princess Regent and Xiao Zhan who held military power, the resentment of these playboys seemed insignificant.
There were rustling sounds in the corridor, and several young noblemen in ragged clothes walked out of the private room. The leader was Huang Jinyu, the eldest son of the Shangshu Mansion.
He had half of his golden silk python robe open, and there was an ambiguous red mark on his neck: "My lord, you have mobilized so many troops, could it be that you have received a secret order from the emperor?"
Before he finished speaking, the youngest son of the Grand Historian, Lu Zong, had already squeezed in front of the crowd, pulling at his loose belt and saying, "Even if it's the Emperor's order, you should show us the search warrant issued by the Ministry of Justice!"
Jingzhao Yin's Adam's apple rolled, and his eyes kept scanning the dark area of the stairs.
The female official who delivered the message from the princess's mansion clearly said that she would provide secret support, but now she is nowhere to be seen.
Just as he was getting anxious, a soldier suddenly came running over, holding a scroll high up in his hand. "The post horse just delivered the document!"
He opened the yellow cloth as if he had been pardoned, and the vermilion seal glowed dimly under the candlelight: "This is the search warrant personally approved by the Regent Princess. Please read it carefully."
Huang Jinyu stared at the seal with his pupils shrinking slightly, and the pattern of the black iron tiger talisman was clearly visible.
According to the law, even someone as noble as Jiang Xue does not have the power to directly issue a search warrant without going through the Ministry of Justice, but the seal that symbolizes the imperial power cannot be forged.
All the dignitaries in the hall looked at each other, and finally fell silent before the guards' sharp swords.
Jiang Xiaoan walked out of the crowd and raised his hands to touch the shoulders of Huang Jinyu and the other person.
In the astonished eyes of the two, he said slowly: "The eldest princess is acting as regent and has issued a search warrant to protect the safety of the imperial city. We should understand."
“This is ridiculous!”
Huang Jinyu suddenly shook off his hand: "Assisting in the administration of state affairs does not mean that you can act beyond your authority! If you usurp the authority of the Ministry of Justice, where will the laws of the court and the emperor stand?"
The veins on his neck popped up: "Princess Changle clearly has the ambition to be a hen that crows at dawn!"
Jingzhao prefect rubbed his hands anxiously: "Mr. Huang, be careful with your words! If you slander the royal family, you will lose your head!"
Thinking of Miss Fudong's previous instructions, he suppressed the urge to arrest anyone - she had specifically instructed that these playboys should be allowed to perform their tricks to their heart's content.
Lu Zong suddenly interrupted: "The words are rough but the truth is true. Who in the city is not talking about this now? The emperor is young and ignorant. It will be a matter of time before that woman steals his throne."
He spat, "The late emperor was also old and confused. He left all the civil and military officials in the court unused and let women take charge of the power!"
These rebellious words caused a commotion among the crowd.
The prefect of Jingzhao secretly shook his head and finally understood why Jiang Xue wanted to crack down on this group of playboys - there was still room for maneuver as far as the search warrant was concerned, but insulting the late emperor in public was clearly a serious crime punishable by the confiscation of property and the extermination of the entire family.
A sneer came from behind the pillars.
Miss Fudong stroked the sword at her waist and looked at the two playboys becoming more and more crazy. She thought that the medicine Jiang Xiaoan gave her was indeed effective.
The hatred hidden deep in the hearts of these young men from noble families was even more vile than expected.
She took off the tavern waiter's coarse cloth headscarf, revealing a black suit with silver thread patterns.
As the onlookers gasped, Miss Fudong stepped forward and slapped each of them.
Amid the splashing blood, Huang Jinyu yelled, "What a good dog Jiang Xue raised! You two are in cahoots with each other, sooner or later..."
"shut up!"
Jingzhao Prefecture Governor could no longer stand by and watch, so he leaned close to Miss Fudong and whispered, "This situation..."
"My Lord, you are investigating a case, why do you need to ask me?"
Miss Fudong glanced coldly at the silent crowd.
The dandies who had just joined in the commotion were now trembling like sieves, and a few of the timid ones had collapsed to the ground.
"Take them all!"
The prefect of Jingzhao waved his banner and ordered: "Huang and Lu blasphemed the late emperor and slandered the royal family. The accomplices will be imprisoned together!"
Miss Fudong stood with her sword in hand, listening to the curses and pleas for mercy gradually fading away, a sneer appearing at the corner of her lips.
These idiots will never understand until they die that the more harshly they curse, the higher the pile of memorials impeaching the aristocratic family will be at tomorrow's morning court.
"Yes, sir."
In a short while, many people were captured.
Fu Dong glanced at the prisoners being escorted, confirming that they were the same as the list he had observed behind the pillars before, and then he withdrew his scrutinizing gaze.
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