Master Jiang glanced at Gu Jinke's back at the palace gate, as if thinking about something, and then looked deeply at Prime Minister Gongzhong.
Prime Minister Gongzhong didn't seem to care about her answer and observation. He just smiled at her, straightened his sleeves, stood up and left.
After she left, the palace gate became more lively. After all, this was equivalent to Prime Minister Gongzhong and the Crown Princess standing directly on the platform. There were people blocking in front, and they, the minions, would not attract attention at all. If they went up now, they could also win the favor of Grand Tutor Jiang.
The fickleness of human nature was vividly displayed at the palace gate. Jiang Mo looked at this scene and couldn't help but look up at the back of the man at the palace gate, but he could only see the corner of his robe fluttering past.
…
The ministers gathered in the palace, whispering to each other. Those who were well-informed already knew why Master Jiang was kneeling outside. They all looked a little unhappy. After all, the empress had never done such an outrageous thing before, and yesterday the third princess was convicted of colluding with bandits and attempting to murder the princess.
In this situation, several imperial censors looked at each other and understood what was going on.
"The Queen has arrived!" Fang Rui's loud voice rang out, and the Queen strode onto the phoenix throne with great strides.
Everyone knelt down and greeted each other.
But Gu Jinke was standing in the front row and could clearly see the Queen's expression.
Perhaps because she quietly left the palace late at night yesterday and worked hard for the Third Princess, the Empress did not have enough rest time. Also, she was old, and fatigue was very obvious on her face. The bags under her almond-shaped eyes were slightly swollen, there were some bloodshot eyes, and fine wrinkles could be seen at the corners of her eyes. She was also in a irritable and depressed mood.
No wonder they allowed Master Jiang to kneel at the palace gate and didn’t deal with him early. Maybe they were too busy to notice him.
As expected, the Queen asked everyone to stand up, propped up her head with her hands, and said in a nonchalant tone: "If you have something to say, please stand up, otherwise, please leave!"
As soon as he finished speaking, an imperial censor stood up with an angry look on his face: "I have a report to make!"
It was obvious that something was wrong with her expression, and the Queen frowned. At this moment, a young servant finally came with a note in a panic and quietly handed it to Fang Rui, who was serving behind the Queen.
Fang Rui was standing at the back, and took advantage of the cover of the corridor column to read the information on the note, and her face suddenly turned pale. They made Master Jiang kneel at the door and exposed what the Empress had done. This was the reason why they failed to deal with the aftermath properly and did not supervise in time. This affects the Queen's reputation.
Fang Rui could imagine the empress's rage after the court session. This matter was also their fault. Everything was disrupted by the Crown Princess yesterday, and they forgot about Master Jiang entering the palace. She immediately wanted to go to the Queen and report, but it was too late. The censor's words were already sonorous and his saliva was flying.
"Your Majesty, Master Jiang and his grandson are now kneeling at the palace gate. They said that your Majesty issued an order yesterday, requiring Young Master Jiang to enter the palace early to bring good luck to the former Third Princess. Is this true?"
The Queen's expression suddenly darkened as she looked at Fang Rui behind her. Fang Rui felt bitter inside and whispered in Fang Rui's ear a brief account of the person kneeling at the palace gate.
They were all good friends and disciples of Master Jiang. There were quite a few of them, and they were all upright or famous writers. The empress's expression became even gloomier.
Only now did she begin to regret her recklessness and impulsiveness yesterday, as well as the poor follow-up to the impulse.
She has been in this position for many years, so she naturally knows what the consequences will be for an emperor who disappoints his old ministers and the people. Moreover, she works diligently and conscientiously for the sake of the Jin Dynasty. If she were to have a flaw because of this, it would be a loss.
My heart was moved immediately.
The censors in the audience seemed to be unable to see the Empress's expression. With one taking the lead, the others followed suit and stood up one after another. They were all sharp-tongued old women, and they quoted from classics and sang the same tune to scold the Empress.
In order to encourage more people to speak out, the court had a tradition of not killing censors who dared to speak out and report crimes. Besides, there were so many people at that time and the law did not hold everyone responsible, so everyone was even less afraid. They even hoped to become famous in one battle and be recorded in history.
The palace was bustling for a while. The empress held the armrest of the phoenix chair and listened quietly to the censors' accusations. Several old ministers standing in the front row also listened quietly to the censors' increasingly passionate words. Gradually, both sides' faces showed some grief.
The ministers looked at the Queen with deep sorrow, their faces showing a hint of condemnation and hope.
The Queen was deeply remorseful, her face was full of self-blame and guilt, and even her eyes were getting redder and redder.
Gu Jinke looked at everyone's expressions and had an idea in his mind.
Sure enough, the blow from the hammer was effective for the empress at this time. She woke up immediately and was even able to bend and stretch. Even though her hands were gripping the armrests of the phoenix chair so hard that veins bulged, her face showed shame and remorse.
The censor was still talking nonstop, but the empress suddenly stood up, her eyes slightly moist, and said firmly: "Come here, I want to personally go to the palace gate to apologize to the Grand Tutor."
She said, "I am sorry to Master!"
The censors had to hold back their words. At this time, the ministers in the front row of the court came out to support them: "It is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them. Your Majesty is a wise ruler!"
Prime Minister Gongzhong was even more pleased: "Your Majesty can think this way, it is a blessing for our Great Jin."
All the ministers echoed.
Hearing this, the Queen's complexion looked a little better, but she still maintained a look of guilt and sadness as she walked out of the palace.
The empress arrived, and naturally all the ministers followed. In order to show her sincerity and repentance, the empress did not ride in the sedan chair, but chose to walk. She hurriedly rushed to the palace gate, and saw Master Jiang kneeling in front of the palace gate and trotted: "Master!"
Everyone in front of the palace gate looked up in surprise. They didn't expect the empress to come out so soon.
Master Jiang did not intend to remain with the Empress until death, so he would naturally leave room for maneuver.
She did not announce her affairs to the whole world. Instead, she knelt at the palace gate with her men and asked the censor to expose the matter at the grand court meeting to put pressure on the empress. If the empress gave in and made compensation, then the matter would naturally be clear. If the empress did not back down, Master Jiang would naturally publicize what the empress had done at the palace gate, and then seek justice until blood was spilled three feet away.
But he didn't expect the empress to come out so soon. Master Jiang's face darkened a little, and he bowed his head, his voice trembling: "This old minister... pays homage to Your Majesty!"
As she spoke, the people behind her knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"
The empress hurriedly walked over to her and supported her: "Master, I was bewildered for a moment and did something wrong. I feel so ashamed of myself, Master. Fortunately, I didn't make a big mistake. Please forgive me, Master!"
She spoke sincerely and seriously, her face full of guilt and her eyes were red. A young student behind Master Jiang was so moved that his eyes were red.
Your Majesty is truly a wise ruler!
Master Jiang was also very touched, his eyes were slightly wet, and he looked at the Queen with reverence: "Your Majesty!"
The Queen personally helped her up: "The Grand Tutor is a pillar of the country, but I was worried about my own daughter making such a mistake, which is really wrong. I also didn't consider that Jiang Mo is also a child I have watched grow up."
She looked at Jiang Mo and said, "I feel deeply guilty, so I have appointed Jiang Mo as a county lady and bestowed upon him the title Changle as compensation."
She sighed deeply and looked at Jiang Mo guiltily: "Child, please don't blame me, I was just confused for a moment!"
Master Jiang was shocked: "Your Majesty, how can this be done?"
The Queen patted her arm and said, "Grand Master, you have devoted your life to the Great Jin, but I was foolish. This is my small compensation for treating you like this..."
She shook her head. Now, not only the students behind Master Jiang, but also the ministers following behind him, felt moved.
Although Your Majesty made a mistake, he was able to quickly come to his senses, which is indeed very good. Moreover, Your Majesty is doing this for your own children. As a mother and a father, it is understandable that he made mistakes out of anxiety.
Gu Jinke stood behind the crowd and watched this scene. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart that as long as the empress was not crazy, she was still very qualified in terms of controlling people's hearts and being an emperor.
Just like what happened today, as long as the empress saves face, she and the ministers in the court will both suffer losses, or create a great notoriety.
But the Queen did not do that. She walked out of the palace in person to apologize, recalling their years of friendship, and stated that she was only worried as a mother. Finally, she compensated Jiang Mo, maneuvering every step. Except for a number of old foxes, most of the ministers had a very high degree of favorability towards the Queen. Even the old foxes were not necessarily untouched.
After all, the empress is not an ordinary person. She is the master of the world and has always been accustomed to being supreme. It is really not easy for her to swallow her pride and sincerely apologize to a minister.
This kind of control and manipulation of people's hearts...
The Queen must be strong in other aspects as well. After all, she has worked diligently for so many years, the court officials are convinced by her, the people have no major complaints, and she has a good reputation among the people. She can be considered a good empress.
Gu Jinke narrowed his eyes slightly, his heart became a little more stern, and he even seemed to be thinking about something. It seemed that the Queen was caught off guard this time by being able to bring down Gu Jinxiu. He had to remain vigilant in the future.
The original lawsuit became harmonious, and the emperor and his subjects got along well with each other. No matter what everyone thought in their hearts, they looked like this on the surface, and the situation was clear. The empress personally watched Tutor Jiang, who had been kneeling for the whole morning, get on the carriage with his men before returning to the palace.
Everyone saw that today's court meeting would obviously not continue, and they left one after another after the court was adjourned.
As soon as Gu Jinke returned to the mansion, he received new news from Xin Shuang: "Your Highness, after His Majesty returned to the palace after the court session, he smashed a set of porcelain and secretly punished Fang Rui!"
Gu Jinke was not surprised at all. It was good enough that the Queen could apologize to Master Jiang in public. How could she not feel any emotion at all?
"It hasn't affected anyone else, right?" Gu Jinke asked.
After all, Jiang Mo was able to come out yesterday thanks to the Queen.
Speaking of this, Xin Shuang paused for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, it's nothing. The Queen did deal with Fang Ying, Fang Rui's apprentice, who was beside your Majesty. The news was sent to your Majesty and Fang Rui after the court session. However, since last night, the Queen secretly interrogated Fang Ying. I heard that when he was thrown out for disposal, there was not a single piece of good meat on his body."
Gu Jinke shook his head. In the midst of the palace oppression, the life of a small servant was insignificant in the eyes of these superiors.
Xin Shuang was obviously a little disappointed, but she sighed and changed the subject: "Your Highness, do you still remember Mr. Qiao Xiqiao who was traveling with you?"
Gu Jinke nodded.
"This Mr. Qiao came to the capital. He went to the residence of Minister of War Qiao yesterday and made some big news. If I tell you about it, Your Highness will probably be surprised." Xin Shuang said exaggeratedly.
Gu Jinke could see that Xin Shuang was trying to cheer her up, and couldn't help laughing: "What do you mean?"
Xin Shuang smiled, and the smile on his face was actually a little surprised.
"This Mr. Qiao actually has a close relationship with Minister Qiao!"
The author has something to say:
My dears, I have only updated 3,000 words in the past two days. I feel a little guilty about that. I will update more for you on the weekend.
I have been carefully sorting out the plot these two days, so the updates are a little less frequent. I have read everyone's messages carefully. Thank you very much for loving my daughter and the characters in the book. If there are any shortcomings, I will slowly improve them later. I still love you very much. Thank you for your company and support, and accompany me to make continuous progress...
Thanks! ! Love you guys, muah ︿3︿
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