Chapter 23 It's all acting
After the grand court meeting began, the civil and military officials, some with business to report to the emperor, and some without, read the memorials in a lively manner.
There was everything from people's livelihood to economy, taxation and criminal cases, which made the old emperor lose interest.
It's all the same old stuff, nothing more than a few rebellious sons trying to show off each other. Instead of listening to their nonsense here, it's better to wait for the results of the investigation of Dark Guard and Xiao Yuan.
The structure of the court is now basically set. The important military generals are still basically controlled by the old emperor and are staunch royalists, but most of the civil officials have already taken sides.
The Crown Prince's Party, the Second Prince's Party, the Third Prince's Party, and even the princes who have not yet entered the court all have supporters.
The old emperor had always known about this but did little to curb it. He would only intervene to maintain balance when a certain prince had too many supporters.
Today's court was not much different from the past. The old emperor was bored and suddenly wanted to find something to do. He smiled at the left prime minister and said,
"I heard that you didn't even drink your own disciple's wedding wine yesterday in order to congratulate Xiao Aiqing.
How could I not know when the two of you became so close?
But wedding wine is wedding wine, how can you decide to swap the brides?
Look how aggrieved our Lord is. He went to the palace to complain before daybreak."
Ever since Zhang Zhongyi saw Xiao Yuan following the emperor to court, he knew that Xiao Yuan had already reported the matter first, and it was obvious that the old emperor didn't care that the marriage he had arranged was not completed.
It seems that the memorial in his hand cannot be submitted.
The emperor now regards this matter as a joke. If he reports Xiao Yuan online, it will probably annoy the emperor.
Thinking of this, Zhang Zhongyi quickly bowed.
"Your Majesty, please allow me to report this. This is the first time I have seen such a strange thing in my life. I was also stunned at the time.
On one hand, there was an engagement, and on the other hand, the wedding had already taken place. I thought that heaven and earth could not be deceived, so in a moment of confusion I told Miss Jiang that the wedding ceremony was the final word.
As for switching the marriages of the two families, I would never dare to do so. I have already regretted saying so much."
After Zhang Zhongyi finished speaking, he wiped his forehead with a look of fear on his face, which made the old emperor burst into laughter.
"Zhang Aiqing is the teacher of the crown prince who won the top three honors in the imperial examinations. Even a girl from the imperial court knows to ask you for advice, which shows that your reputation is well-known.
In that case, you can tell me how to solve this problem.
Lord Xiao came to complain to me, saying that this marriage exchange was not a natural disaster but a man-made disaster.
Someone deliberately replaced the daughter-in-law I had introduced to him.
The son of Duke Ning is your disciple, right?
I heard that Xiao Aiqing had just married and had already entered the bridal chamber.
What a coincidence, this marriage exchange couldn’t have been his idea, right?”
Zhang Zhongyi quickly bowed and said he was innocent, "Your Majesty, your disciple has always been well-behaved.
The marriage with the girl from the Jiang family was arranged since childhood, so there is no way he would plan such a thing.
I am not afraid that the elders will say that I have petty intentions.
In my opinion, if there really is someone plotting to replace the bride, Governor Xiao is the most likely suspect.
Your Majesty, you may not know that the dowry of the eldest daughter of the Jiang family is extremely rich, far beyond what the daughter of the Li family can compare to.
Besides, the daughter of the Jiang family won the official position of her father, so it is unknown what Governor Xiao might be thinking."
In fact, Zhang Zhongyi wanted to say that the daughter of the Jiang family was prettier than the daughter of the Li family, but as a great scholar, he might be criticized for talking about the appearance of a woman, so he could only start from her family background.
The old emperor always enjoys the excitement and no trouble.
Even though she knew that Xiao Yuan would never make such a big deal for a little dowry money, she still pretended to be unhappy.
"Xiao Yuan, I think what Zhang Aiqing said makes sense. Do you have any objection?
But I didn’t like the matchmaker I was protecting, so I planned this.”
Xiao Yuan quickly walked around the temple and knelt down.
"I dare not. I am deeply grateful to Your Majesty for acting as my matchmaker.
To be honest, if I am really dissatisfied with the daughter of the Li family, I naturally have plenty of ways to prevent this marriage from happening. It is not worth the trouble to make such a thing happen.
As for what the Left Prime Minister said about coveting the dowry, it is even more ridiculous.
Not to mention that a woman's dowry cannot be moved to her husband's family after she marries him, even if it can be moved, it is completely unnecessary for a servant.
A slave has no parents or relatives to support him, and he also has no children to raise.
My adoptive father left a considerable inheritance after his death, and Your Majesty has been very gracious and has rewarded me from time to time, so I would not go to the extent of coveting a powerful woman's dowry.
It was the Left Prime Minister who first thought of exchanging dowry for marriage, but what did Prince Zhao reveal?"
Zhang Zhongyi didn't expect Xiao Yuan to change his temper today. In the past, he always used evidence to justify such matters.
Last night, his people kept running into obstacles and following the Dongchang bandits. Logically, Xiao Yuan should have obtained the evidence.
But it doesn't matter.
Zhang Zhongyi, who couldn't sleep at night, reviewed the matter and was able to basically conclude that the matter had nothing to do with the two grooms.
Although the eldest daughter of the Jiang family behaved strangely, she probably didn't know anything about it.
After all, no woman would give up the young and talented prince and marry an old eunuch.
Based on the principle that whoever benefits has the motive, this is 99% likely the work of the Li family.
Zhang Zhongyi was able to work under the old emperor for so many years and was a man who understood righteousness. There was quite a tacit understanding between the emperor and his subject.
The old man knew that the emperor was asking about this matter in the court not for any purpose but simply because he was bored and wanted to have fun.
In this case, he couldn't just reveal the secret and dampen the emperor's interest. Instead, he had a head-on argument with Xiao Yuan.
Duke Ning had been ill for years and had never attended court, so Zhao Chengye was not qualified to meet the emperor.
In this case, he, as the teacher, will naturally take the lead.
Xiao Yuan has always been decisive in his work and doesn't like to talk nonsense, so he is naturally not as good as Zhang Zhongyi in terms of eloquence.
But now he has learned his lesson and only talks about the fact that Zhao Chengye had sex first and that caused the two of them to not get married, and he looks like a minister who is very aggrieved and asks His Majesty to make the decision.
All the court officials looked at each other and thought that Governor Xiao had taken the wrong medicine today. This King Yan was not like this in the past.
According to the efficiency of the East Factory, one night is enough to collect evidence. Shouldn't they throw out some documents and confessions to make the truth clear?
Lord Zuo Xiang was also a little strange.
Although Prince Zhao was his favorite student, he was not his only disciple. Was it too much for him to quarrel with Xiao Yuan in front of His Majesty over a student who had not yet entered the court?
Is Zhao Chengye really so valued by the Left Prime Minister?
impossible!
There is no real fool who can stand in this court. Even those who are not capable of doing things know a little about the ways of the world.
If Zuo Xiang really valued Zhao Chengye, the relationship between them would not be just master and disciple. Even if Zhao Chengye could not marry his daughter to him because he had an engagement, he would still agree to marry into the Zhao family.
It is said that Zhao Chengye has two younger sisters, one legitimate and one illegitimate, who are waiting to be married. The left prime minister's family has more than ten illegitimate sons, nephews and nieces, so he can definitely find a suitable match.
Because of the saying that nine generations of a clan would be punished, family relationships in the officialdom were extremely important.
Since even the Left Prime Minister is unwilling to give up a quota for marriage, it proves that the Ningguo Mansion and Zhao Chengye are not that valuable.
If this is the case, why did the left prime minister protect Zhao Chengye so much?
I can’t figure it out. I can’t figure it out.
When the Zuo Xiang's nephew's husband was killed by Xiao Yuan, he said he would take the long view and endure it. Why did he explode this time?
I can no longer bear it.
So should they also take this opportunity to participate in Xiao Yuan's book?
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