Seeing Qi Zhenzhen's worried expression, Shen Shi assumed she was concerned about the Marquis of Zhenbei. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Your Highness, rest assured, the Marquis of Zhenbei will arrive in the capital by the middle of next month. He will be escorted by men along the way and will be safe and sound."
"Then I thank Your Majesty on behalf of my father." Qi Zhenzhen curtsied and said, "My father and I have not seen each other for a long time. He was able to return to the capital thanks to Your Majesty's grace while he was stationed at the border. I humbly request Your Majesty to grant me the privilege of seeing my father."
After much back and forth, Qi Zhenzhen finally revealed the true purpose of her trip.
"That's only right. After the Marquis of Zhenbei arrives in the capital, I will arrange for you to meet on a chosen day."
Shen Shi had no problem with Qi Zhenzhen. Even in the original story, she did not do anything immoral. On the contrary, it was Shen Shi who made her almost die.
He was now the emperor, above all others, so letting Qi Zhenzhen meet Qi Xiao was not a big deal. After thinking for a moment, he agreed.
Upon hearing Shen Shi's agreement, Qi Zhenzhen was so excited that she almost burst into tears. It was only after being reminded by a maid that she stopped crying out loud in front of the emperor.
"Your Majesty, I thank you very much." Because Shen Shi had agreed to let her meet Qi Xiao, Qi Zhenzhen's gratitude was much more sincere, and her voice was tinged with sobs.
Looking at the scene before him, Shen Shi inexplicably felt like a villain who was breaking up a loving couple, hindering the beautiful love between the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
Knowing when to stop, Qi Zhenzhen happily took her leave after achieving her goal.
After she left, Chen met with several ministers, mostly scholars who were skilled with their pens. Although these people could not lead troops into battle, their role in a prosperous era was far greater than that of military officers.
These people gathered in the Imperial Study to accuse Prime Minister Zhang of crimes.
"Prime Minister Zhang dares to act so arrogantly even in the capital city right under the Emperor's nose. Your Majesty must not tolerate him!"
"That's right! Prime Minister Zhang is bullying men and women in the capital, and he's even extended his reach to the imperial family. He clearly doesn't respect you at all. Such a disrespectful person should be dealt with according to the law."
"I second that proposal."
"I second that opinion." Seven or eight people in a row denounced Prime Minister Zhang's crimes, as if they were irreconcilable enemies with him.
In fact, Prime Minister Zhang had been committing crimes in the capital for quite some time. The reason why these people reacted so strongly was simply because he had messed with someone he shouldn't have.
Prime Minister Zhang's greatest hobby is beautiful women; this was true when he was young, and it remains true now.
This time, a young and beautiful woman was walking down the street when this lecherous old man saw her and snatched her away without saying a word.
Prime Minister Zhang brought the man to his villa, and just as he was about to commit some evil deeds, someone came knocking on his door.
The newcomer was a burly man who stood 1.8 meters tall. Without saying a word, he kicked Zhang in the buttocks. The force of the kick was terrifying, and it nearly broke the old Prime Minister Zhang's bones.
Just as he was about to shout at the newcomer, he turned his head and saw that the man was backed by hundreds of personal guards, each carrying a long sword, their eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Has Prime Minister Zhang gone senile? He even dares to touch my people!"
Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Zhang looked at the person in front of him more closely and realized that it was actually Prince Su. Only then did he understand the terrible trouble he had caused by his momentary lust.
Prince Su was the late emperor's full brother. In his youth, he was exceptionally brave in leading troops into battle. He was not only highly regarded by the late emperor but also had great prestige in the army. He was also known for his fiery temper and was not someone to be trifled with. When Prime Minister Zhang went looking for a beauty, he found one of his men, which meant he was in deep trouble.
Zhang Zai was filled with regret. Of all the beauties in the world, how could he have chosen to meet this living devil? But what's done is done, and there's no going back. He could only bite the bullet and apologize.
"Look at the mess this has made! It's like the flood washed away the Dragon King's temple. We're all family now, but we don't even recognize each other anymore. Your Highness, please listen to me..." Prime Minister Zhang said shamelessly, rubbing his hands together.
He was very confident in his silver tongue, and believed that given a little time, he could turn the dead back to life. But Prince Su did not give him that chance, and a sharp scimitar was placed against Prime Minister Zhang's neck.
"What is Prince Su trying to do? Is he planning to kill me with one blow?" Seeing that the other party was serious, Prime Minister Zhang's momentum actually increased.
Whether you stick your neck out or not, you'll get stabbed anyway, so you might as well fight him to the bitter end.
“You are indeed a member of the royal family, but I am no novice. Prince Su, you can’t pull this on me.”
Unexpectedly, he was quite tough. Upon hearing these provocative words, the hot-tempered Prince Su immediately flew into a rage. In his anger, he didn't care about being a prime minister or not, and kicked Prime Minister Zhang twice more, so hard that Prime Minister Zhang cried out in pain.
Because he was the victim, Prince Su made no attempt to conceal the matter.
In less than an afternoon, even the beggars in the dilapidated temples of the capital knew that the audacious Prime Minister Zhang had stolen Prince Su's beautiful concubine.
At the time, both sides were prominent figures, and the news that spread was the kind of scandalous gossip that everyone loved to read, so it became a hot topic in the capital without any effort.
From the very old to the very young, everyone is talking about this.
Shen found out relatively late; he didn't receive the news until noon the next day.
He was having lunch with Ji Ying'er when he heard the guard's report and was so surprised that he almost spat out his food.
Prime Minister Zhang was over sixty, which was considered old in this era. Prince Su was just over fifty, a little younger than him. These two men, both practically on their deathbeds, were still able to fight over a beautiful woman.
Indeed, a man is a boy until he dies, and even heroes cannot resist the charms of a beautiful woman.
What Shen Shi didn't expect was that Zhang Zaixiang was going to force Prince Su's concubine on the street. Before Prince Su could even go to the palace to file a complaint, these civil officials came to his aid. It seems that his uncle is not to be underestimated.
The people below were still eagerly waiting; they had come at a good time, just as Shen Shi was about to repair Zhang Zai's camera.
Now I don't even need to come up with an excuse; it's like a pillow being delivered to someone who's been dozing off.
"Rest assured, my beloved ministers, I will absolutely not cover up for anyone. I will immediately order an investigation into Prime Minister Zhang's matter, and once it is confirmed, he will be severely punished. This is not only to give an explanation to my Imperial Uncle, but also to give an explanation to all the people of the world."
"Your Majesty is wise!" the crowd exclaimed in unison after hearing his words.
Shen Shi handed over the investigation to his secret guards. In reality, the so-called inspectors were just going through the motions, and the truth had long since come to light.
The next day, the secret guards reported back that the events were exactly as the ministers had described, except that the girl who had been forcibly taken was not yet Prince Su's concubine. They said she was supposed to enter the manor in a few days, but this incident happened before she could.
Unable to bear the humiliation, the girl who was forcibly taken away was rescued by Prince Su and then jumped into the river to commit suicide.
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