Along with the rumor that Jiang Ling had a secret meeting with a strange man outside the city, there were also several incidents of court officials dying suddenly in the middle of the night in the capital.
Suddenly an executioner sneaked into the capital, killing people like crazy without a trace, and specifically targeted officials in the court.
This is the third consecutive day. They are Liu Ziguang, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Rites' Department of Honors, Zhao Qi, Director of the Ministry of Revenue's Department of Revenue, and Zhang Yang, Director of the Ministry of War's Department of Personnel.
All of them are officials from the six ministries.
They all died mysteriously in their own homes at midnight. The dagger stabbed them directly in the heart, killing them with one blow, without any error.
For a while, everyone in the court was in danger and panic. Even the common people locked their doors and windows in the middle of the night and returned home early as soon as the sun set. They would not stay outside unless it was necessary.
The emperor ordered a full-scale inspection and martial law throughout the city. Anyone entering or leaving the capital had to be checked one by one by the guards guarding the city gates. Only those who showed no weapons or other suspicious items would be allowed to pass.
Jiang Ling couldn't help but wonder if it was people from the previous dynasty who were at work, to demonstrate against the current imperial power, and also to rescue Qiu Congshan and Cheng Zhihuai who were imprisoned in the prison awaiting execution.
After all, when he was ordered to be executed and paraded through the streets, Cheng Zhihuai still looked calm, as if he had everything under control and was not panicked at all.
However, these three deceased officials had little interaction with each other in their daily lives. Their only thing in common was that they all worked in the six ministries.
But the Six Ministries are important government offices within the imperial court, and there are so many officials in the Six Ministries, so this doesn’t mean anything.
Jiang Ling couldn't figure it out for a moment, but now she had to deal with the rumors she had made out of nothing and were becoming more and more outrageous.
Just when she was lost in thought, someone with nothing to do came over and jumped in front of her.
Cheng An put the glass jade hairpin in his hand back on the shelf with a "click" sound.
She took two steps forward to protect Jiang Ling. Her face was filled with anger, her eyes narrowed slightly, and she stared at the person in front of her and retorted rudely, "Say it again if you have the guts."
The person who came was wearing a light pink skirt and was pretty and lovely, but her face was full of disdain and arrogance. She withdrew her gaze from Jiang Ling, glanced at her sideways, and sneered.
"What if I say it again? Even if I say it ten times, it's the same. Jiang Ling is a girl who stays in the boudoir, but she shamelessly meets a man outside her family and stays out all night. Is this the kind of daughter the Jiang family raises?"
The person who was speaking was named Xiao Qing. My father was a Yuwenlang of the Ministry of Works' Military Farms Department. He was not a high-ranking official, but the Xiao family had people who had been officials for generations. Although their positions were not high, they were still considered a family of scholars.
She glanced at Jiang Ling, not hiding her ridicule and disgust towards her at all.
The person following her was Hu Zihui. My father was the head of the Military Farm Division and worked under Xiao Qing's father, so he always supported Xiao Qing and was considered her little follower.
Hu Zihui also sneered, her tone soft, as if she was joking with Xiao Qing: "If it were me, I would have found a hemp rope and hanged myself from the beam long ago. There's no way I would come to buy jewelry like nothing happened."
As soon as these words were spoken, Xiao Qing covered her mouth and laughed, her voice was shrill and high-pitched, as if she was afraid that the people around her couldn't hear it.
"That's right, I can shave my head and become a nun, and go to that Yunwu Peak!"
She laughed so hard that she fell backwards, and the mockery and sarcasm in her eyes pierced Jiang Ling directly.
Jiang Ling looked at the two people opposite him and felt helpless.
Are they familiar?
I'm afraid they didn't even say a few words.
Is there any benefit to them from publicly disparaging her? Or is there any money to be made?
Jiang Ling thought, in the previous life, those keyboard warriors and internet trolls at least got paid, so what were they trying to achieve?
She was too lazy to waste words with them. In her previous life, she had been scolded by countless people for her looks and acting skills, saying that she relied on her looks to get ahead, climbed into people's beds for auditions, and climbed up the social ladder to get rich. The scolding was so harsh.
She was tired of hearing the few words they were talking about back and forth these days.
There's really nothing new about it.
It felt like tickling her.
But on the one hand, she doesn't care. She has to know who is plotting against her behind the scenes. She can't just be ignorant.
Jiang Ling caught a glimpse of the woman who had just stepped into the gold and jade shop. She was graceful and gentle.
Tsk, it’s true that you can’t judge a person by his appearance.
She had thought she was as beautiful as a fairy before, what a waste of feelings.
Cheng An had already started arguing with the other side, and Wu Wanying also rushed forward with her sleeves rolled up to start swearing at him, and they were almost fighting.
Jiang Ling couldn't bear to see her sister being bullied, so she rushed forward, raised her hand and slapped her right on Xiao Qing's arrogant face.
The shop, which was bustling just now, suddenly became quiet, as if the air was stagnant.
Jiang Ling's movements were smooth and efficient. The people present didn't react at all. When they looked over, they saw a red and swollen slap mark on Xiao Qing's little face.
"Pfft." Cheng An couldn't help laughing at first, then quickly protected Jiang Ling, fearing that Xiao Qing would rush up in anger.
Xiao Qing felt a burning pain on her face, and seeing that everyone around her was looking at her, she felt angry and embarrassed, and felt that Jiang Ling had humiliated her, and her face turned red and blue.
“Ahhh!” She screamed and rushed forward, her face twisted with anger. “How dare you hit me! Who gave you the courage?!”
Jiang Ling protected Cheng An and Wu Wanying and walked back with a calm expression.
No one gave her the courage, she just wanted to fight.
"Who told you to be so rude?" She tilted her head, smiled cutely and gently.
Xiao Qing was stunned, and her face turned red with anger. She rushed forward and stretched out her hand to scratch her. Hu Zihui was stunned by this scene, and did not dare to hit Jiang Ling, so she could only follow her and attack her.
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