The tea in the cup has lost its heat.
Minister Li sat alone in the tea room, the words of the former Minister of the Central Secretariat still echoing in his ears.
"...Don't get too close to His Royal Highness the First Prince, and don't have too much contact with any of the other princes. The Liu family is all cold and heartless, and they only have time to turn against each other. In my opinion, within the royal family, only Madam Zhao is still kind and loyal, and she is also a capable person. It's a pity that as a woman, she can't accomplish anything great..."
He thought of these words over and over again, almost going crazy.
The sound of a hawker's shouting was heard outside, and Minister Li was awakened by the shout and suddenly came to his senses.
He laughed at himself, how stupid!
It wasn't the first time he had witnessed the Liu family's cruelty and ruthlessness.
Anyone sitting on the throne cannot hold on to that position unless he has a heart of stone.
He let out a long sigh, his mind became clear and open-minded, and unknowingly he had lost some of his ambition.
Seeing the former Minister of the Central Secretariat seemed to foreshadow his future.
He drank the remaining tea and walked out of the tea room, feeling a little lighter.
He took the initiative to find Qian Fu and asked him to pass on a message, "Tell your Highness that I quit. Whether he wants to cut off my arm or cut off the source of my trouble is up to him. From now on, I will be a loyal minister. Don't ask me for help with petty schemes anymore."
"What about what you promised my prince before?" Qian Fu asked.
Minister Li sneered, "Don't worry, I'm a man of my word. What I promised you before is still valid. But from now on, don't come looking for me. The worst that can happen is that we both die together."
Qian Fu laughed. "The net is broken and the fish dies. The fish is really dead, but the net can be repaired and used again. I hope Lord Li is a trustworthy person and will not go back on his word. If you want to be a loyal minister, His Highness will not stop you. Farewell!"
Minister Li also left with a flick of his sleeves.
Qian Fu returned to the palace, met with Liu Zhao, and conveyed Li Shizhong's words.
After hearing this, Liu Zhao laughed.
"He actually wants to be a pure minister? Is it possible that the sun rises in the west?"
Qian Fu bowed and said, "This old servant thinks he wants to distance himself from His Highness."
Liu Zhao sneered, "This isn't the first time he's tried to distance himself from me. What's going on this time?"
"Lord Li met with the former Minister of the Central Secretariat before this."
"I see!"
Liu Zhao smiled knowingly, "Send someone to keep an eye on Minister Li. There's no need to do anything extra. Just keep an eye on what he did, who he met, and what he said."
"I obey your command."
Liu Zhao then added, "Your Highness does not believe that he can truly be a loyal minister."
After finishing his important work, Liu Zhao came to the upper room.
Gu Jiu waved at him, "Come and take a look."
“Who sent this post?”
Gu Jiu was holding an invitation in his hand.
She smiled and said, "It was sent by Aunt Fuya. It's not a festival, so why do you think she sent me an invitation?"
"Could it be that you want to plead for Chaoyang?"
"We've come to the same conclusion. I intend to reject Aunt Fu Ya's proposal, and the reasons are all ready. I was attacked on the street before, and although I wasn't injured, I was frightened and haven't been in a good mood. I don't want to write, so please reject her for me."
Liu Zhao nodded, picked up his pen, and, following Gu Jiu's instructions, declined Princess Fuya's invitation. He told the servants to send the invitation back.
"Why would Aunt Fuya speak up for Princess Chaoyang? Doesn't she know that this is a turbulent time and less trouble is worse than more?"
Gu Jiu was a little curious.
Liu Zhao guessed the reason and said, "Princess Chaoyang helped Aunt Fuya back then, so Aunt Fuya owed her a favor. Now Princess Chaoyang has come to her for help, and she's sending you a letter as a way of repaying the favor."
After listening to this, Gu Jiu sighed, "It's hard to repay a debt of favor. I'm most afraid of owing others a debt of favor."
"With me here, what are you afraid of?"
Gu Jiu rolled his eyes at him and asked, "Did His Majesty tell you how many days you should reflect on your actions?"
Liu Zhao said nonchalantly, "When the storm is over, it's about time I leave."
"Then, in your opinion, how long will it take for this storm to pass?"
“Almost there!”
The Jinwu Guards are vicious and ferocious, destroying families and killing people wherever they go. At the same time, they are also very decisive.
Emperor Wende issued a death order, and Wei Zhong carried it out without compromise.
I can only sleep for two hours a day at most, and most of the time, I have no time to sleep at all.
In this way, he worked day and night and finally figured out the case.
Regardless of whether they were involved in the assassination of Madam Zhao or not, anyone named by Emperor Wende would be arrested by the Jinwu Guards.
Nowadays, no official has a clean record.
Under the threat of a killing stick, there is no fear that you will not be able to get useful information.
Now that the facts of the crime are known, how to convict him depends on the Emperor Wende's intentions.
Early in the morning, Wei Zhong took a shower to wash off the sweat and stench on his body, making his whole body clean.
He trimmed his beard and put on court robes, looking very majestic.
After getting dressed, he took the files and went to the palace to meet Emperor Wende.
When Emperor Wende saw the case file, he praised him and said, "Not bad, you got the result so quickly."
"Thanks to your majesty, this case went smoothly."
The hard-core ones were all gone three years ago. Those who survived until now are all soft-boned and will confess everything under the slightest torture.
Emperor Wende flipped through the files. "Have you investigated the origins of the refined crossbow?"
"Your Majesty, everything has been investigated. They were all lost in the Jingxi Camp three years ago."
Emperor Wende snorted coldly, "The Jingxi Camp is completely rotten. It needs to be completely rectified."
In fact, Emperor Wende already had a candidate in mind for the commander of the Jingxi Camp, but he had not promoted him before because the time was not right.
Now that the time is ripe, Emperor Wende can no longer hold back and wants to promote his confidants.
Emperor Wende said to Wei Zhong, "You go back first. I will make the final decision on this matter."
A few days later, Emperor Wende issued an edict.
Without exception, all the civil servants who were arrested had their properties confiscated and were exiled.
The captured generals were either beheaded or exiled; none of them met a good end. No matter who pleaded for mercy, it was useless.
This frees up a lot of space.
Without waiting for the court officials to rush to act, Emperor Wende took the initiative and announced the personnel appointments during the morning court session.
Minister Li got what he wanted and was promoted to the position of Minister of the Central Secretariat. From now on, he was the Minister of the Central Secretariat.
However, the position of Shizhong in the Menxia Province fell to an unknown Zhongshu Sheren named Lu.
It was not until this time that the court officials suddenly realized what was going on.
This Lu, the secretarial official who never showed his true colors, was actually someone the Emperor Wende had planted in the Secretariat during his early years. He was so well hidden.
You know, Lu, the Secretary of the Secretariat, has been working in the Secretariat for nearly twenty years.
Oh my god!
Rather than saying that the person surnamed Lu hid deeper, it would be better to say that Emperor Wende hid deeper.
Emperor Wende had been on the throne for two or three years, but he hadn't revealed a single word. How profound was his behavior?
The court officials looked at each other, wondering which of their colleagues might be the thorn planted by Emperor Wende?
The previous Shangshu Ling was unable to gain the upper hand in the turbulent court turmoil, and was finally forced to retire and leave the capital in disgrace.
The newly promoted Shangshu Ling was not unexpected.
Mr. Zhao, the Minister of Revenue, was promoted to the position of Shangshu Ling and concurrently the Minister of Revenue.
Now, the Ministry of Revenue has the upper hand over the Ministry of Personnel.
The court officials began to whisper again. What exactly did Emperor Wende mean by this move?
Before the court officials could come to a conclusion, Emperor Wende announced the appointment of military commanders. Without exception, all of them were from the royal palace and were Emperor Wende's confidants.
Half of the key positions in the entire Jing camp were replaced by Emperor Wende's men.
Emperor Wende completely controlled the military power of the Jing Camp, and his imperial power was consolidated to an unprecedented level.
The court officials were unable to refute this arrangement.
You can't just hand over military power to someone with ulterior motives. Be careful that an imperial censor will pop up and impeach someone for harboring evil intentions and plotting rebellion.
The most sensitive word now is rebellion.
It’s a life-threatening thing!
The reason why Emperor Wende launched a major case was because he suspected someone was plotting a rebellion.
Civil officials and military generals were either killed or exiled. The blood in Caishikou in the capital had not yet dried when it was the turn of the royal family.
The court officials stretched their necks, wanting to see how Emperor Wende would deal with the royal family.
Emperor Wende did not disappoint his eagerly awaited ministers.
He issued three consecutive decrees, stripping Chaoyang and two other old princes of their titles, demoting them to commoners.
Secondly, all those involved in Youcai’s gambling house were guillotined at the vegetable market and beheaded in public.
Dozens of managers in the princess's mansion were not spared and were all thrown into the vegetable market and beheaded.
Except for Chaoyang, all the other people in the princess's mansion were exiled a thousand miles away and sent to the northeast to open up wasteland.
The families of the two old princes were not spared and were exiled to the south to open up wasteland.
In Chaoyang, the two old princes were imprisoned in the Zongzheng Temple.
…
Emperor Wende was in high spirits and came to the Cining Palace to pay his respects.
"How is your mother these days?"
Empress Dowager Xiao looked haggard and a little tired. "More people have come to the palace to pay their respects recently, and I have been busy for the past few days."
"I have already said that you, Queen Mother, do not need to pay attention to those people."
"They are all royal relatives, relatives who are connected to me by blood. How can I really not see them? And they didn't make things difficult for me. I said I couldn't help, so they all left tactfully."
Emperor Wende snorted, "In the past, I was too lenient towards these members of the royal family. They relied on their royal status to do whatever they wanted. This time, I hope they can learn from their mistakes and behave in a more restrained manner."
Empress Dowager Xiao sighed and asked, "Are you planning to keep them locked up forever?"
Emperor Wende said seriously, "I promised my mother that I would spare Chaoyang's life, so I will not sentence her to death."
Empress Dowager Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. "Just consider it as repaying her for helping your father."
"What the Queen Mother said is absolutely right. I think so too."
Empress Dowager Xiao was truly relieved, "This mess is finally over."
Who could have imagined that at the banquet hosted by Princess Huyang that day, a dispute between Gu Jiu and Princess Chaoyang would cause such a big disturbance.
The blood at Caishikou hadn't dried yet, and hundreds of heads were rolling to the ground. It was extremely horrifying!
Countless civil servants and military generals in the capital were arrested and beheaded.
There were three to four thousand people exiled alone.
There were tens of thousands of slaves who were sold.
Recently, the capital city has been filled with descendants of convicted officials selling off their property.
This chaos involved tens of thousands of people.
I don’t know when the blood in Caishikou will dry up.
…
After the case ended, there was a new version of the story in the streets of Beijing.
It is said that Madam Zhao is the reincarnation of the God of Wealth and a star god in the sky.
Anyone who offends the God of Wealth will not have a good ending.
For example, the Zhu family back then and the Princess Chaoyang Mansion today.
The Zhu family decisively admitted defeat and saved the entire family.
Chaoyang relied on his status and fought to the end, but ended up losing his entire family.
He was originally a relative by marriage, but ended up being exiled to open up wasteland.
Tsk tsk, this ending is really sad.
"Humph! This is all nonsense!"
Zhou Yi was sitting in a teahouse, listening to the diners talking about how great the God of Wealth was and how anyone who offended him would have a bad end, and he felt angry.
The nanny who followed Zhou Yi was specially arranged by Princess Fuming. Her purpose was to keep an eye on Zhou Yi and prevent her from doing anything wrong.
The nanny advised her, "Speak less, aunt. Madam Zhao is no longer the same as she was before, so it's best for you to stay out of her way."
Zhou Yi gritted her teeth, remembering the New Year banquet where she had sacrificed her dignity to ask Gu Jiu for help. But Gu Jiu had turned her back on her and rejected her outright. As a result, she still had no plans for marriage.
She said disdainfully, "What's so great about her? She's just good at making money. If I could make money, wouldn't I also be the God of Wealth?"
The nanny was displeased. She glared at him and said, "My dear lady, be careful what you say. Madam Zhao isn't just good at making money; she has the Midas touch. Outside the South City Gate used to be a place where refugees gathered. It was a filthy place, and everyone in the capital knew about it. But Madam Zhao has a way to turn the area outside the South City Gate into a hen that lays golden eggs. Only the God of Wealth has such a talent."
After identification, it is clear that this nanny is a die-hard fan of Gu Jiu!
Princess Fuming sent Gu Jiu's crazy fan to serve Zhou Yi. Did she want to anger Zhou Yi to death?
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