Chapter 81 Have you mentioned me to the Duchess of the County...?
As early autumn approached, martial law was imposed at the south gate. Several horse-drawn carriages entered the city, escorted by a large number of soldiers, followed by a ten-mile-long line of carts laden with valuables.
From a high vantage point in the restaurant, onlookers opened a window a crack and watched the group enter the city with considerable apprehension.
The young child, with innocent eyes, asked, "Father, whose daughter is getting married?"
The middle-aged man quickly covered his mouth, "Don't talk nonsense, this isn't a ten-mile-long wedding procession."
The child blinked, clearly not understanding what was happening on the street.
Outside the restaurant, both sides of Zhuque Avenue were lined with people, mostly scholars in blue robes, including many court officials. As the carriage passed through these people, cries of pity echoed from both sides.
The shouts of "Welcome back our beloved teacher!" were deafening. For a moment, even the onlookers upstairs were in a daze, as if they were witnessing the scene from a hundred years ago when three thousand students of the Imperial Academy saw Ji Kang off, and the performance of "Guangling San" became an unforgettable masterpiece.
Li Qinian's expression was not good as he stood in front of the Censorate's gate.
If Xie Cheng is as upright and honest as Ji Kang, then what has become of the current emperor? And what have become of these loyal ministers?
Yu Mingshu, squeezed among the jurors, was also taken aback by the overwhelming presence outside the imperial city.
She knew that the aristocratic families were highly prestigious, and although they had been declining year by year, they still had a foundation of two or three hundred years, and they could easily command a large following among scholars.
But she never expected that, right under the emperor's nose, so many people would dare to challenge imperial power for the Xie family.
The Xie family's corruption, bribery, selling of official positions, and persecution of loyal officials are undeniable facts with irrefutable evidence. What is their action? Are they trying to demonstrate against the emperor?
"I told you long ago, why bother saving face for him? A criminal should act like a criminal. Just put him in shackles and send him to the capital!"
Not far away, someone was spitting and cursing. Yu Mingshu secretly looked over and saw that the person who spoke was the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Wei Shifang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, glanced at him sideways, then silently looked into the distance.
The Minister of Justice has been suspended from his post due to his involvement with the Xie family. At this time, Wei Shifang only wants to protect himself and get through this ordeal.
The Imperial Censor sneered, "You dare to interrogate Xie Cheng? Aren't you afraid of being drowned in the spittle of all the Confucian scholars in the world?"
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review continued to curse: "These Confucian scholars have wasted their time reading books."
The carriage escorting Xie Cheng to the capital soon arrived outside the Censorate. The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review stepped forward and said in an extremely curt tone, "Minister Xie, please."
The person on the bus slowly opened his eyes, calmly straightened his clothes, and only got off the bus after everyone had been waiting for a while.
Xie Cheng strolled leisurely to the front of the hall, looking down on everyone, or rather, he walked up to Li Qinian with an air of superiority.
Their eyes met, and the surrounding officials fell silent, not daring to even breathe loudly.
"Get him a chair."
Li Qinian spoke first, and after giving this order, he said to the guards outside the door, "Let all those watching the play come in. They can see it more clearly if they are closer."
The Imperial Censor realized what he was about to do and immediately ordered his men to bring all the evidence that had been brought back to the courtroom.
Weren't those people trying to seek justice for Xie Cheng? Now that the physical evidence is right in front of them, can they still continue to seek justice?
Xie Cheng glanced at the chair brought by the clerk, then slowly walked over, lifted his robe, and sat down, appearing calm and composed.
As a group of Xie family disciples, looking like they were mourning, rushed in, Li Qinian slammed his gavel down heavily.
"quiet."
The hall fell silent as the Imperial Censor began to read aloud Xie Shichang's crimes, the embezzled funds seized from the Xie family, and the valuables that had been transported from Taoran Garden in Taozhou to the capital.
With each sentence he read, the clerk would lift the lid of a box, and the scholar, who had just been grieving as if he had lost his parents, would stare wide-eyed at the dazzling gold and jade jewels.
Li Qinian said in a deep voice: "Xie Cheng, are you aware that Xie Shichang's actions have harmed the court, levied exorbitant taxes, and oppressed the people?"
Xie Cheng remained unmoved, saying, "I have failed in my duty to raise my son, and I am ashamed to admit it."
Li Qinian sneered, "I'm asking whether you were aware of this, and whether you condoned the rampant corruption among your clan members!"
Xie Cheng's lips moved, and after a long while, he finally uttered eight words: "If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext."
"Good, good." Li Qinian said "good" twice, then turned around and ordered someone to bring up General Taozhou, who had arrived in the capital two days earlier.
General Tao was originally a burly man, but he lost a lot of weight on the way to the capital under the escort of the soldiers. If it weren't for the fact that they had met before, Xie Cheng would hardly have recognized him.
Seeing Xie Cheng frown slightly, General Tao turned his face away, not daring to look him in the eye.
Seeing this, Xie Cheng understood everything.
He confessed to everything.
Xie Cheng gritted his teeth and felt resentful. This man was a brave general when he was young, but he had become a spineless coward who confessed as soon as he was questioned, perhaps because he had been spoiled by drinking and eating in the past few years!
"I suppose you are unaware of Xie Shichang's actions in Chang'an." Li Qinian's tone turned stern, and a murderous intent suddenly burst forth from his body. "The Xie family embezzled military funds in Taozhou and absconded with millions of yuan of military funds from the imperial court over the past twenty years. The scale of Taoran Garden is comparable to that of the imperial gardens! You must be involved in all of these things, right?"
This statement caused an uproar among the crowd.
Everyone knows that Taozhou Port is a major concern for the emperor. All those years of military funds allocated were for the sake of the missing Prince Qi.
The emperor had only one request: to see the person alive or dead.
Twenty years have passed, and millions of military funds have been poured into the sea without a sound. It turns out that all that money went into Xie Cheng's pocket!
Given Xie Cheng's prestige, if it were merely ordinary embezzlement, the emperor might have let it go leniently. But he embezzled military funds from Tao Prefecture, which changed the nature of the matter entirely…
Some people in the spectator seats were hesitant to leave.
Xie Cheng looked around without changing his expression and said, "The innocent will remain innocent."
"Whether the innocent are innocent or cannot be defended, Master Xie knows the answer in his heart." Li Qinian, who is usually kind to others, broke his rule today and no longer gave Xie Cheng face.
"Since you are unwilling to speak properly, I have no choice but to send you and the Xie family of over a hundred people to prison to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival together."
"You dare!"
"As the official in charge of the seal of the prime minister, I have been ordered by the emperor to review the Xie family's case of corruption and misconduct. What have I not dared to do!" Li Qinian shouted, ordering the guards to handcuff Xie Cheng.
Upon hearing this, the guards outside the door were overjoyed and immediately stepped forward to grab Xie Cheng and take him away.
In the past, the Xie family had always been the ones who held sway in the capital, treating their colleagues like servants and bullying the common people like livestock and ants. Now that it was finally their turn to overpower Xie Cheng, who wouldn't be excited about it?
Most importantly, this order was issued by Li Qinian, so even if the Xie family makes a comeback one day, they won't be able to seek revenge on them.
Xie Cheng snorted and waved the guards away, "No need to trouble you all, I am not at the point where I can't walk."
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd with varying expressions, he gave a self-deprecating laugh, "From the moment Brother Xiulin perished in prison, I should have foreseen this day."
Xie Cheng's gaze swept across the faces of everyone present. Even Yu Mingshu made eye contact with him briefly for two seconds, and when he came to his senses, he felt as if he were being pricked by needles.
Is this the acting skill of a seasoned cunning official?
Even though he committed the crime and the evidence was irrefutable, he still managed to act as if he had been framed and died unjustly, which was extremely persuasive!
The onlookers gradually dispersed, leaving Li Qinian with only the three judicial officials to discuss matters in the hall.
After leaving the Censorate, Yu Mingshu went straight to Zhaohua Hall. He found the hall empty, with only a few palace maids wiping the cracks in the brickwork.
"Master Yu has arrived. His Highness the Crown Prince has gone to the Taiji Hall. Please wait in the side hall."
When will Your Highness return?
The palace maid hesitated and said, "I heard that His Majesty was very angry, and His Highness probably won't be back for a while."
It's no wonder he was furious that someone had embezzled his military funds for twenty years. Yu Mingshu sighed inwardly, when he heard another palace maid say that He Zheng was also in front of the emperor.
"What does this case have to do with General He?"
The palace maid stammered and dared not speak, so Yu Mingshu turned around and went back to the Imperial Household Department to ask someone else.
Upon hearing her question, Chen Qingyue got up and made a cup of tea. "Not only is he here, but Cheng Changde has also returned to the capital. His Majesty suspects that they knew about it but did not report it, and they are currently interrogating them."
Yu Mingshu's heart sank. He instructed Chen Qingyue to deliver all the documents he had to the Hall of State Affairs and give them to Prime Minister Li, and then hurriedly ran towards the small gate outside the Taiji Hall.
Chen Qingyue glanced at the hot tea she had just poured, then at the stack of documents that had appeared on the table, and muttered helplessly, "Isn't the Hall of State Affairs right next to the Hall of Supreme Harmony?"
The atmosphere at one corner of the palace gate was somber and oppressive.
Yang Leyi was also waiting there. She glanced at the beads of sweat on the newcomer's forehead and nodded slightly in greeting.
Yu Ming breathed a sigh of relief and returned her greeting, "Have His Highness and the others come out?"
"Not yet, but it will be soon." Yang Leyi looked towards the main hall and said no more.
The two waited until evening before seeing a group of people emerge from the main hall, looking as if they had survived a disaster.
Yu Mingshu was somewhat surprised that Yang Congen was among them.
The woman beside Yang Congen looked exhausted and was wiping away tears with a handkerchief as she came out. If she wasn't mistaken, this should be Xie Cheng's wife, Madam Yang.
It seems the emperor did give his teacher face and allowed the Yang family to take Madam Yang back.
Among the group of people with different expressions, she quickly spotted He Zheng and wanted to go over and ask him about his situation, but He Zheng waved her off.
This means we'll talk about it when we get back.
Yu Mingshu calmed down and turned to report the situation of the Censorate to the Crown Prince.
After leaving the capital and returning home, He Zheng seemed to finally be unable to contain his feelings any longer.
As Yu Mingshu was closing and locking the door, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and gently rubbed his chin against her shoulder and neck.
"I'm fine, but Cheng Changde got a real dressing down. He even brought up his ancestors for eight generations before His Majesty finally let him off the hook."
"Let go." Yu Mingshu turned around with difficulty, and the man beside her suddenly leaned in and gently bit her lip.
"Are you a dog?" She grabbed his ear, amused and annoyed, and pushed him half a step away before going inside and sitting down.
"Did Cheng Changde really know the truth but not report it?"
He Zheng suppressed his lustful thoughts and mocked, "With Xie Cheng's extravagant lifestyle, his own garden is more magnificent than Qingjiang Pond. Anyone can see that his money is not clean. However, Cheng Changde probably did not expect that Xie Cheng would be so bold as to touch Taozhou's military funds."
Thinking of the astronomical sum that the Xie family had embezzled, Yu Mingshu felt a nameless fire rising in his heart. "If this money were used to train the navy and build warships, we would have no trouble capturing the Prince of Qi."
He glanced at him upon hearing this and said in a low voice, "To wage a great war for a mere Prince Qi is nothing short of another kind of waste."
If a prince who has fallen on hard times and fled overseas is determined to make a comeback, he should be able to rally his old troops and return within twenty years.
The fact that there has been no movement for twenty years can only mean that his power is gone, and even if he is still alive, he is just barely surviving on some island.
How can it not be a waste to expend human and material resources on someone who poses no threat to the court?
"Then why did you submit a memorial to the throne to offer your advice?"
"There is nothing wrong with training the navy itself. It is to guard against unknown enemies beyond the East China Sea, not just for the sake of King Qi."
As He Zheng spoke, he pressed himself against her again. Yu Mingshu looked up at him and put one hand on his shoulder.
"You've become increasingly clingy lately."
“If you refuse to be open with me and can’t be recognized by others, then I have no choice but to come back and pester you.” He Zheng whispered as his lips brushed against her earlobe.
Yu Mingshu shivered, took a few steps back to an open area, and moved away from him. "He Xingzhao, can't you control yourself a little..."
He Zheng grasped her wrist. "I've read all the booklets you slipped under my pillow."
Yu Mingshu's face flushed, and she shielded him with her arm, her voice barely audible, "It's inconvenient today, so whatever you say won't make a difference."
The other party finally backed down, but made no attempt to return to their own courtyard.
After the lights were turned off at night, He Zheng wrapped his arm around her side and gently tightened his embrace around her waist. Yu Mingshu was enveloped in the warm embrace and slept very soundly.
…
On a rest day afternoon, Luo Yan hurriedly came from Yongningfang. As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw the two of them with their arms intertwined, affectionately feeding each other wontons.
Luo Yan was so startled that her vision blurred, and she almost tripped over the door frame.
Yu Mingshu was also startled, and her hand trembled, causing her to drop the wontons. The splashed soup spilled onto He Zheng's sleeve, and she quickly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe it off for him.
Luo Yan, still shaken, rubbed her eyes, looked again and again, and exclaimed in surprise, "Miss! You and Young Master He, this is... this is..."
Yu Mingshu quickly changed the subject, "You seem to be in such a hurry, has something happened at home?"
Luo Yan glanced at her and then at He Zheng, whose expression remained unchanged, and suddenly felt less anxious.
"This morning, the Duchess of the County came to visit, bringing many generous gifts. The implication was that she wanted to propose marriage for the young Marquis. The Duchess didn't dare to refuse, but she didn't agree either. She told me to come quickly and ask the young lady for her opinion."
Having said that, she raised her eyelashes meaningfully and whispered, "Now that you and the young master are together, this matter will be much easier to handle."
What makes things easier?
Yu Mingshu glared at a man who was still oblivious to the situation.
He Zheng belatedly came to his senses, put down his bowl, raised his hand to protest: "I didn't instigate this. How could I do such a thing of double-dealing?"
Luo Yan was completely confused by He Zheng's words.
She was certain that her daughter and He Erlang were in love; judging by their intimacy, they had probably been secretly seeing each other for a while.
Today, the Lady of the County Duke personally came to propose marriage, and her attitude was extremely good, which is enough to show that He Erlang is not the kind of playboy who plays with people's feelings and is irresponsible.
Why can't she understand what Erlang said?
What do you mean by "it wasn't him who instigated it"? And what does "paying lip service while secretly going against it" mean?
Yu Mingshu glanced at Luo Yan, who was full of suspicion, and decided to coax her first. "Luo Yan, go back and tell your mother that she doesn't need to worry about this. I will handle it."
Luo Yan nodded blankly, then shook her head sharply, "It concerns the young lady's marriage, how could Madam not care!"
Yu Mingshu said helplessly, "It's not that I don't want her to worry, it's just that the time isn't right yet."
Seeing that Luo Yan still seemed determined to get to the bottom of things, He Zheng gently advised, "Listen to your young lady, go back first."
Luo Yan left reluctantly.
Only two people remained in the room. Yu Mingshu looked at the remaining wontons and had lost her appetite.
After a long silence, He Zheng felt extremely flustered. He moved closer to her and gently held her shoulder, saying, "This is my fault. I didn't explain things clearly to my parents."
Yu Mingshu shook her head, looked back into his eyes, and unsurprisingly saw a hint of unease and anxiety in them.
There was also a lingering sense of loss.
He wanted to get married.
In his mind, marriage is the starting point of a relationship.
In Yu Mingshu's view, marriage should be the choice of staying together for life after a relationship has gone from ambiguity to passionate love, through the stable period and the period of weariness. It should be the result of love.
Admittedly, her views are out of step with the world.
She can't always expect the other person to accommodate her.
"Put aside all distractions, He Xingzhao, do you want to marry me?" Yu Mingshu suddenly asked, her tone trying to remain calm.
This question completely baffled He Zheng, who couldn't immediately discern her intention in asking it.
Seeing that he didn't answer for a while, Yu Mingshu knew that he was trying to figure out what she was thinking, and glared at him with some dissatisfaction, "If you want to, you want to; if you don't want to, you don't want to. What's there to hesitate about?"
"I think."
This time, He Zheng answered with unwavering decisiveness, his voice crisp and powerful.
His heart pounded like a drum. He held her shoulders tightly and whispered the same thing into her ear.
"I don't want to hide anymore, I don't want to wait until the dead of night to meet my beloved. Yu Mingshu, I want to marry you and be husband and wife openly and honestly."
After he said these words, the person in his arms lowered his head slightly and remained silent for a long time.
Yu Mingshu bit her lip gently, and only after making a great effort did she ask, "Have you mentioned me to the Duchess?"
He Zheng laughed and said, "You are a rare female Jinshi in this dynasty, highly valued by the Crown Prince. You have only been in office for a short time, but your political achievements are outstanding. Who does not know such a great reputation? There is no need for me to mention it."
Yu Mingshu shook his head. "I'm not referring to these titles and identities, but to me as a person, my temperament, my personality, my hobbies and aspirations..."
“Ming Shu, you are worrying too much.” He Zheng loosened his grip a bit and sighed gently, “No matter what your temperament or ambition is, as long as you are someone I have chosen, no one will look down on you in the slightest.”
Yu Mingshu looked at him and said, "But I want to be recognized. I don't want to form a rift, or even an adversarial relationship, with your family."
He Zheng was stunned for a moment, a bittersweet feeling welling up inside him. After a long while, he placed a kiss on her lips.
"I understand, give me some time."
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