Yan Shu came to the Queen Mother after careful consideration.
After all, the Emperor could only send people to Luzhou, thousands of miles away, to find the Hu family and help them file a lawsuit again to bring Wang Xiangli and Old Man Ge to court.
As she told the Queen Mother, there was a time difference in this matter. Even if the Jinyiwei were fast, it would take five or six days to get there. Moreover, Old Man Ge was still in the capital. Whether the Hu family filed a lawsuit in Luzhou and the news reached the capital, or whether they took the Hu family to the capital and filed the lawsuit directly in the capital, it would take some time. If they
really had to wait until that time, it would be too late.
Fortunately, Hu Sanniang was in the capital. It would be best if she could personally appeal for justice in this matter.
However, how could she ask Hu Sanniang to plead her innocence in person?
Of course, she could only do it through the Queen Mother.
And the only way to let the Queen Mother know about this matter was for her to write a storybook first, and then publish it.
Well, after all, she couldn't read the manuscript to the Queen Mother, otherwise she would be exposed.
So, she worked hard all day yesterday, and sent someone to wait outside the bookstore early this morning, and bought the storybook as soon as possible.
In order to let the Queen Mother hear this story as soon as possible, she couldn't even sleep in, and couldn't eat a good breakfast.
Fortunately, now that the Queen Mother made a decisive decision and spoke, everything was worth it.
Now, she just had to wait for Hu Sanniang to enter the palace.
~~
There was still a meeting of celebrities in Wenyuan Pavilion this morning, and Ge Yuanhua got up early and entered the palace with others.
Therefore, when Xiaoyao's new novel was selling well, he, like other great scholars, was still unaware of it.
However, he also knew that Hu Sanniang was not really with him, so as early as when Hu Sanniang entered the mansion, he arranged for a trusted maid to follow Hu Sanniang and monitor her daily life.
So, when the old woman heard the empress dowager's summons, she was puzzled and asked, "Why does the empress dowager want to summon our Sanniang for no reason? The old man is not here now, why don't we wait for the old man to come back, and then Sanniang can go to the palace to pay homage to
the empress dowager, how about that?" However, the palace maid who came to deliver the message was very difficult to talk to. When she heard her say this, she immediately frowned and scolded, "Nonsense, who does the empress dowager want to summon, and does she need to explain the reason to you?"
The old woman was startled and knelt down and said, "I dare not, and please don't be angry, gentlemen."
The palace maid ignored her and said to Hu Sanniang, "Madam, please come with us. Don't worry, the empress dowager is kind and will not blame you casually."
Hu Sanniang agreed and followed her out of the inn.
Not long after, the Empress Dowager and Yan Shu in Ci'an Palace finally met the person in the story.
Looking closely, they saw that the woman was about 20 years old and was indeed very pretty, but there was a little worry between her brows, obviously her life was not going well.
Yan Shu sighed secretly in her heart, thinking that such a good girl had become a plaything of a filthy old man, who else could be happy?
At this time, seeing Hu Sanniang paying respects to her and the empress dowager, Yan Shu said, "Madam Hu, there is no need to be surprised. I called you here today because there was a banquet in the palace a few days ago, and no one from your mansion came. I asked around and found out that your mistress had passed away. I heard that you accompanied Mr. Ge to the capital this time, so I asked you here to talk."
Hearing this, Hu Sanniang hurriedly said, "Thank you, Empress Dowager, and Concubine Yi. I am just your concubine, and I don't deserve your favor."
Her words were full of inferiority.
The empress dowager saw it and said, "It's okay. In my eyes, as long as the character is noble, social status is not important."
Then she asked, "Where are you from? What does your family do? How old are you now? Do you have any children?"
Hu Sanniang answered one by one, "I am nineteen years old and from Luzhou. My family is a local farmer and has no children."
The empress dowager and Yan Shu looked at each other. It would be easier to deal with if they didn't have any children.
Yan Shu coughed again and said, "There are no outsiders today, so you don't have to be so reserved. Since you are a good girl, how could you be a concubine?"
After she finished speaking, Hu Sanniang bit her lip and said with difficulty, "I was married once. My husband's family was short of money, so they sold me to you..."
Yan Shu pretended to be surprised and said, "Could it be that your original husband's family was Ge Yuanhua's student?"
As soon as she said this, Hu Sanniang was stunned. She looked up at her and said, "How did you know, Your Majesty?"
Yan Shu said hurriedly, "It's a coincidence. Today, There happened to be a storybook on the market, which was written about a story similar to your life experience. It was about a good girl who was sold to her husband by her greedy husband and cruel mother-in-law. "
Hu Sanniang was stunned again and asked in surprise, "Is this true?"
Yan Shu nodded and said, "To tell you the truth, the Queen Mother was very angry after reading this story. She happened to know about your story and wondered how a good girl like you could become a concubine. She asked someone to check it out, and unexpectedly, the story in this storybook matched yours. "
"Could this story be about you? Were you also forced to become a concubine by your original husband and Ge Yuanhua's joint plan?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Hu Sanniang thought of the past and burst into tears.
Yan Shu hurriedly stepped forward and handed her a handkerchief, saying gently, "Don't be afraid, the Queen Mother is the most fair person. If you have any grievances, you might as well tell the Queen Mother today." The
Queen Mother glanced at her and said directly to Hu Sanniang, "To be honest with you, I also got the news that you were sold to Ge Yuanhua by your husband. This is a crime. If you want to seek justice, I will do justice for you, but if you don't want to, I won't ask any more questions."
As soon as these words came out, Hu Sanniang knelt in front of her with a thud and cried, "Please, Queen Mother, help me."
...
~~
At this time, in Wenyuan Pavilion, famous scholars and officials from the Ministry of Rites were in a meeting.
After the previous two meetings, the subjects and teaching materials of Songhe Academy had been decided. Today, the specific rules of the academy are to be formulated, such as reward and punishment measures, admission standards, etc.
As in the previous two times, the emperor was in person today, so everyone was active in making speeches, and the scene was very lively.
Ji Kaiyu, the principal of Baihe Academy, said, "The way to educate people is to establish morality. For students who enter the academy, family background is not the most important. In addition to talent and diligence, morality is more important."
Yu Jingwei, a great man from Nanyang , nodded and said, "For those with good moral character, reading books is beneficial, while for those with bad moral character, reading thousands of books will also be harmful."
At this moment, Ge Yuanhua from Luzhou also stroked his beard and said, "The so-called morality is divided into public morality and private morality. Mencius said, 'If you are poor, you should improve yourself; if you are rich, you should help the world.' Improving yourself is 'private morality', and helping the world is 'public morality'."
Seeing this, Yuwen Lan secretly raised his eyebrows -
how could this man have such bad private morality but look serious on the surface?
But just as the man finished speaking, before anyone else could say anything, a maid from Ci'an Palace came in with a stack of books and said to him, "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother heard about the discussion in Wenyuan Pavilion today, and prepared a test for all the gentlemen."
Test?
Everyone was stunned, and asked curiously, "I wonder what the Queen Mother's test question is?"
The maid bowed and handed over the book in her hand, saying, "Please read this book, gentlemen."
Yuwen Lan took a book and took a quick look. He realized that it was Yan Shu's new story book, "The Wolf Dog Master and Apprentice Finally Get Retribution".
"..."
It seems that the Queen Mother is going to take action?
Well, let's see what the Queen Mother plans to do first.
He nodded, "Then let's show it to all the gentlemen."
The palace maid agreed and
handed the storybook to everyone. Then, everyone started reading the storybook.
Yuwen Lan looked around the room and saw that most people's faces changed with the ups and downs of the story.
One of them had his eyes lit up and thought, [This Xiaoyao Master is so efficient, he wrote it so quickly? Humph, let's see how that old thief Ge will deal with it today! ]
- Yuwen Lan understood that the person who wrote to Yan Shu that day was this person, Liu Zhengxin, the principal of Huai'an Academy.
And looking at Ge Yuanhua who was holding the book, his expression was gradually flustered.
The closer he got to the end, the paler his face became.
Not long after, he heard a voice outside the door, "The Queen Mother has arrived..."
Yuwen Lan paused, and before he could stand up, he saw that the Queen Mother had already stepped into the pavilion.
All of a sudden, everyone in the pavilion stood up and saluted, "We common people come to see the Queen Mother."
Yuwen Lan also hurried forward to greet her and said, "Why are you here, mother?"
The Queen Mother smiled faintly and said, "I have just given you a test question, and I am here to collect the papers." Then
she looked at everyone and said, "You should have finished reading the story. What do you think?" As soon as
she finished speaking, everyone said angrily, "The master and disciple in this story are really insulting to the saints! They are despised by the people of the world!"
"If this really happened in reality, then these master and disciple should be despised by the people of the world."
"Yes, yes."
...
All of a sudden, everyone spoke impassionedly, and a burst of curses rang out in the pavilion.
The Queen Mother nodded and said, "To be honest, I asked this question today because I received a complaint from the woman in the story this morning. And the master in the story is among you." When
this was said, everyone was surprised and asked, "Is this true? Who is it?" The Queen Mother
did not say anything, but just looked at one of them.
But Ge Yuanhua was shaking like a sieve, his face was as white as paper.
After shaking for a while, he finally knelt down and said, "Please calm down, Your Majesty. I'm afraid the person in this story is me."
What? It was him?
But except for the whistleblower Liu Zhengxin, everyone else was surprised.
However, before the empress dowager could speak, Ge Yuanhua continued, "Please understand, Your Majesty, this matter may be a misunderstanding. At first, it was my student Wang Xiangli who had a misfortune in his family and came to me begging for help out of desperation. I was confused for a moment, so I agreed to his request. It was absolutely not my intention to coerce or bribe him into selling his wife!"
Confused for a moment?
The Queen Mother sneered and said, "Are you confused for a moment? Or for a lifetime? To this day, more than 700 days and nights have passed, and you still haven't woken up? She was a good girl, but she was sold to you as a concubine. Later, her family sued her to the government, and you used your prestige to suppress the matter? Is this also a moment of confusion?"
After the voice fell, Ge Yuanhua was speechless for a moment, and had to kowtow repeatedly, saying, "I know my crime, please calm down, Your Majesty."
Seeing this scene, everyone shook their heads.
The Queen Mother ignored everyone, but suddenly looked at someone in the pavilion and said, "Mr. Qi was an official in the court and is most familiar with the laws of this court. What do you think of this matter?"
Her eyes were calm, and there was nothing unusual.
And everyone also looked at the great scholar Qi who was named by her.
Yuwen Lan's heart skipped a beat and he looked over.
Tsk, at this moment, the Queen Mother actually asked him to answer?
Is there some special purpose?
Facing everyone's gaze, Qi Shuguang lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, I think that as a teacher, when facing a student's family predicament, you can lend a helping hand and help them overcome the difficulties. This is the meaning of 'Once a teacher, always a father.' If you take the opportunity to coerce and bribe to satisfy your own immoral desires, not only will you put the student in an unjust situation, but this innocent woman will be in dire straits, which is unworthy of your status as a famous teacher. This matter has been made public, and I believe that the court will handle it fairly and announce the results to the public in a timely manner to comfort the victim and reassure the people."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone agreed, "Mr. Qi is absolutely right, this is the way of a wise teacher."
Yuwen Lan had to nod silently.
Especially when he said this, his heart was clear and he had no mixed thoughts.
But the Queen Mother also nodded and said to him, "With the advice of all the gentlemen just now, I believe that Your Majesty will judge this matter impartially."
Yuwen Lan nodded and said, "Yes. Please rest assured, mother. I will have someone bring the people involved in this matter to the capital, and the Ministry of Rites and the Dali Temple will publicly judge this case." The Queen Mother
nodded and said, "Your Majesty is wise."
Then she walked out of the room.
Behind her, everyone immediately bowed their heads again and said, "Farewell, Queen Mother."
~~
After the Queen Mother's simple and rough operation, the identity of the protagonist of the story became known to the world that day.
For a time, the people, the court, and the capital were all cursing at Old Man Ge.
And Hu Sanniang was temporarily placed in a safe place, waiting for her family to come to the capital and ask the Ministry of Rites and the Dali Temple to re-examine the case.
I believe that by then, the profit-seeking and unrighteous Wang Xiangli and his mother will also receive the due punishment.
Yan Shu was relieved.
However, she couldn't help asking the system, [By the way, who wrote the explosive letter?]
System, [The writer of the explosive letter is also among these famous people this time. His name is Liu Zhengxin, and he is the principal of Huai'an Academy.]
Yan Shu raised her eyebrows, [How did he know about this? 】
System, 【Huai'an is not far from Luzhou. There was a dispute between this man's academy and the private school of this old man Ge for students. Liu Zhengxin has always been resentful. He has been secretly inquiring about the private affairs of this old man Ge in recent years, waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on him. Seeing that many people recommended this old man Ge to be the dean this time, he was naturally unhappy. I heard about you that day, so I secretly reported it to you. 】
Yan Shu nodded, 【So that's it. 】
But suddenly she was stunned again, tsk, after this road is opened, will she receive any more letters of revelations next?
Who knew...
after a few days, she really got it right.
Among a pile of readers' letters, she really found another letter of revelations.
The person being reported was none other than the head of Huai'an Academy, Liu Zhengxin, who had just exposed Old Man Ge two days ago.
The letter said that this person had worked as a lawyer when he was young. On the surface, he could win all the lawsuits brought to him, and thus became famous in Huai'an.
In reality, this person secretly took money from the people who brought him to sue, and used it to bribe the presiding judge, and thus won the lawsuit.
Yan Shu, "..."
Is this going to end?