Chapter 779 Children's Marriage
The Censorate had the power of administrative supervision over civil and military officials, and could investigate and impeach them, thereby rectifying the discipline of the court.
Emperor Wu had already learned of the matter from the memorial submitted by the corrupt officials regarding the statement made by Qiao Zhongcheng of the Censorate that he would impeach Wang Shuzheng of the Imperial Medical Bureau for allowing his subordinates to wantonly desecrate the corpses of others, disregard etiquette, and disrupt the foundation of the country.
The undercover agents of the Bad Guys are no pushovers; they're incredibly skilled.
Emperor Wu not only knew that Vice Minister Qiao was going to impeach Wang Shuzheng, but the Bad People also wrote down the reasons behind it.
On the surface, it was indeed the same few points that Minister Qiao had mentioned, but in reality, it was just another contest between two factions in the court.
As for Vice Minister Qiao, who had served in the Censorate for many years, how could he willingly become the one to take the lead this time?
Of course, it wasn't because the Censorate had actually sided with Lu Huaizhen's faction, nor was it because the Censorate had sided with Yao Chong's faction, nor was it because the Censorate dared not care about Emperor Wu.
It was simply that the long-suppressed undercurrents between Yao Chong's faction and Lu Huaizhen's faction were released by Qiao Zhongcheng of the Censorate.
The reason why Vice Minister Qiao dared to do this was naturally because of the support of Chief Censor Zhou.
The reason why Doctor Zhou allowed Vice Minister Qiao to do this was because Emperor Wu had secretly instructed the Censorate to do so.
Factional strife is an inevitable product of every feudal dynasty's development to a certain stage, and Empress Wu, as the supreme ruler, was naturally aware of this.
For Emperor Wu, she didn't really care which faction the officials in the court belonged to or what they were fighting for power and profit. What she cared about was whether the officials were fulfilling their duties in their positions and not taking a single grain of millet from her for nothing, and whether they were helping her to govern the Tang Dynasty well.
However, allowing factional strife to run rampant would also be detrimental to the court.
Therefore, Emperor Wu, who reigned supreme over all, would secretly look for the right time to let the conflicts between factions erupt, because it's better to guide than to suppress.
As for why Qiao Zhongcheng was willing to act as the catalyst, the underlying reason was simply that Qiao Zhongcheng himself had some personal grudges with the Wang family.
The grudges and grievances were naturally investigated by the Bad Guys. When Emperor Wu saw the matter between the two families, she couldn't help but laugh out loud. Emperor Wu even said to Wang Da Dang, "Da Dang, look at this mess. I told you, we must never interfere in the feelings between young men and women."
This is why I never bestow marriages upon anyone unless they ask me for one.
If it were a good match, that would be fine. But if it's like the Qiao family, they'll probably be secretly cursing me for matchmaking haphazardly.
The feud between the Qiao and Wang families is quite simple: Qiao Erlang, the son of Qiao Zhongcheng, took a fancy to the third daughter of Luo Lingshi, the son of the Ministry of Justice, at a flower-viewing banquet.
Qiao Erlang had met Luo Sanniang a few times. Just as Qiao Erlang was about to tell his family to have his elders come to arrange the engagement, Wang Silang, the youngest son of Wang Shuzheng, happened to meet Luo Sanniang, who was out and about, at a teahouse.
Luo San Niang was only sixteen years old, so how many men had she actually met?
She felt that she was destined to get married anyway, and that Qiao Erlang was a decent person who was studying at the Imperial Academy and would likely be able to enter officialdom in the future, so he was a good match for her.
Therefore, Luo San Niang nodded in agreement to Qiao Erlang's proposal to get engaged after only a few meetings.
But Luo San Niang is just a young woman with an unsettled mind; how could she possibly understand love and affection?
Later, when Luo San Niang had a chance encounter with Wang Si Lang in a teahouse, the young girl's heart was instantly captivated.
If you ask why, the Bad Guys wrote it very clearly in the petition: "Wang Silang is nineteen years old, six feet tall, with bright eyes and a handsome appearance."
The description of Qiao Erlang by the undercover agents of the Bad Guys is: "Qiao Erlang is twenty years old, with regular features, and already has a maid in his room."
In other words, Wang Silang was not only better looking than Qiao Erlang, but also a year younger, making him younger than Qiao Erlang.
At the same time, Wang Shuzheng practiced health preservation, and none of his sons had concubines, let alone maids in his room before marriage.
In comparison, Luo San Niang naturally turned her girlish heart entirely to Wang Si Lang.
What followed was a natural progression. Since there was no engagement to begin with, Wang Shuzheng seized the opportunity and had his wife invite an official matchmaker to the Luo family to propose marriage, thus finalizing the engagement between Wang Silang and Luo Sanniang.
How could the Qiao family not be angry at Wang Shuzheng for doing such a thing?
Therefore, it was through this personal entanglement and feud that Qiao Zhongcheng and Wang Shuzheng came to have this.
The Imperial Medical Bureau was supposed to attract everyone's attention because of the significant reduction in the number of casualties and deaths shown during the army's return, and the Censorate did not want to nitpick.
However, Dr. Huang was so eager to learn that he secretly dug up other people's corpses. If he hadn't been discovered, things would have been fine, but unfortunately, Dr. Huang encountered the family's descendants while digging up the corpses in the middle of the night, and they even appeared in his dreams to visit the graves and pay their respects.
Thus, the fact that the surgeons in the Imperial Medical Bureau were using corpses to learn dissection and improve their medical skills spread, and the Censorate caught them red-handed.
At the same time, Qiao Zhongcheng was an old Confucian scholar who was very particular about etiquette.
In the eyes of a learned scholar like Qiao Zhongcheng, death is a serious matter, and one should not disrespect the corpse of a dead person for the sake of improving medical skills!
With the Imperial Censor Qiao making his statement, within three days, the matter of Physician Huang had become the talk of the town in Chang'an.
Empress Wu put down the memorial in her hand, picked up the tea that Wang Da Dang had just poured, took a couple of sips, and then slowly said, "Minister Wang, this memorial is quite well written. It seems you have put in a lot of effort."
Wang Shuzheng knew that the key to getting an audience with Emperor Wu had arrived. Emperor Wu put down his teacup, pointed to the cover of the memorial in front of him, and said to Wang Shuzheng, "Don't worry, I have already given my approval to this matter. I will definitely protect the Imperial Medical Bureau."
As for the Censorate, let's see what they say tomorrow.
This improvement in medical skills benefits the military officers, hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and is a blessing for millions of people in our Great Tang Dynasty.
I know that the techniques you learned from Li Mingfang are truly life-saving, my dear Wang. Rest assured, you can just present this memorial to me tomorrow.
"People will speak up for you then."
Wang Shuzheng was overjoyed to receive Emperor Wu's approval.
Therefore, Wang Shuzheng took the opportunity to ask Emperor Wu if she could do her a favor and attend the Imperial Medical Bureau's commendation ceremony at the beginning of next month.
Emperor Wu was surprised that Wang Shuzheng would ask her if she was going. After a pause, Emperor Wu said, "We'll see. If I have time, I'll go and take a look."
"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty! Long live the Sage!"
After solemnly kneeling and kowtowing, Wang Shuzheng happily withdrew from Xuande Hall and returned to the Imperial Medical Bureau feeling relaxed.
While waiting for news at the Censorate, Vice Minister Qiao saw the junior official rushing over and immediately stood up anxiously, asking impatiently, "Did you see how old man Wang looked when he left?"
After the young official stopped and bowed, he replied, "Reporting to the Censor, the information I received from inside says that Chief Secretary Wang left Xuande Hall with a smile!"
"What? You came out smiling?"
How could that be? Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Qiao Zhongcheng was unwilling to believe this, but deep down he knew that if the young official could say that, then Wang Shuzheng must have really come out smiling.
However, despite thinking this in his heart, Qiao Zhongcheng didn't hold back and muttered under his breath, "Hmph!"
That old man Wang must have known I would send someone to gather information; he must have deliberately put on a show of smiling as he walked out of Xuande Hall!
The Imperial Medical Bureau has caused such a huge mess this time, how could the Emperor not be angry? How could he not reprimand them!
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