Chapter 151: Seven visits to the palace, ten shakes and ten decisions, Xu Zhenguan's smile is so charming (please ask for the guaranteed monthly ticket at the beginning of the month)
Wow——
When Zhao Duan spoke freely, he explained the whole plan in court and produced relevant evidence.
The crowd inside and outside the courtroom made an unprecedented noise today, which was indescribably shocking.
It's not that I'm not calm enough, but there are too many twists and turns, too frequent. I originally thought that Zhao Duan was about to fall and this was his last struggle.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Duan perfectly proved his innocence and instead defeated Zhou Cheng.
However, this was not the end. As the two detectives returned to Beijing in seven days and traveled thousands of miles to collect evidence, Zhao Duan bared his fangs and delivered a heart-breaking knife to Zhou Cheng.
"It's actually possible... So, was everything that happened today all part of his calculations?"
"What a great move! I'm afraid Zhou Tingwei is finished."
"Where on earth did this Envoy Zhao come from? Why was he just called a fool for the past year?"
"In these troubled times, is another important official going to fall from grace? In just a few short months..."
There was a lot of discussion, and many people looked at Zhao Duan's back, feeling a chill in their hearts.
As for the previous few times, they had only heard rumors.
Today, after witnessing Zhao Duan's methods with one's own eyes, it is conceivable that the name Zhao Duan will truly enter the eyes of the important figures in the court.
Rather than just being treated as a pawn fighting for the big guys as before.
This change of identity may seem insignificant, but it is actually of great significance.
Just like a working emperor, he is ultimately just an employee, but even if he is the boss of a very small company, he has already entered the ranks of capitalists.
Chess players and chess pieces, a single word of difference can lead to a huge mistake.
After this battle, Zhao Duan has become a "chess player". Although he is still very small, to some extent, he is qualified to have equal dialogue with real court officials.
"Snap, snap, snap."
Yuan Li clapped his hands in admiration, with amazement in his eyes.
That day, when Zhao Duan made the decision to arm wrestle Zhou Cheng alone, this big blue-clad woman was not optimistic.
After all, the gap in strength was too great. When Zhao Duan was imprisoned, he saw some hope of winning, but he was still not sure.
Until this moment, the dust has settled.
Although the evidence still needs to be verified, since His Majesty wants Zhou Cheng to die, and the evidence is so complete, how can Zhou Cheng not die?
"Bang!"
The Minister of Justice also stood up and slammed the gavel to stop the noise.
He looked at Zhou Cheng, and seeing that he didn't say a word, he simply didn't look at him and announced:
"The case is of grave importance. Because the presiding judge is implicated, I, in my capacity as Minister of Justice, am temporarily detaining the Grand Court Justice, Zhou Cheng, pending trial by Your Majesty!"
"There are also the Dali Temple Secretary and others. It would be safer to arrest them first." Zhao Duan suddenly added.
The Minister of Justice nodded happily: "As it should be!"
He Zheng was distraught and fell to the ground.
Yuan Li smiled and added:
"Don't forget the important matter. Haha, I'm going to pronounce the verdict. Su Hongyu's case is clear, and the criminal Zhao Duan is acquitted. Does anyone have any objections?"
Where is the answer?
Yuan Li waved his hand: "Adjourn!"
At that moment, an officer came forward and uncuffed Zhao Duan.
The young censor waved his hand, and someone came over with a tray on which were Zhao Duan's clothes neatly folded.
It was actually prepared in advance, as if Yuan Li had anticipated it.
As the court adjourned, the crowd outside quickly dispersed, with many people running in small steps, anxious to announce this important event as soon as possible.
It is conceivable that if Xue Lin really overturns the verdict, it will involve far more than just Zhou Cheng. Many officials involved in the case are still in the court.
Whether he lives or dies depends on the mood of the empress.
"grown ups!"
Qian Kerou ran into the lobby against the flow of people, a smile on her round face. Then she slapped her forehead, as if she remembered something, and hurriedly took out the "Taixu Painting Scroll" from her arms and returned it to its original owner.
The rest of the Lihua Hall brocade-clad soldiers surrounded Zhao Duan, expressing their joy in a beaming mood.
Ma Yan hid outside the crowd and did not join in the fun.
Sitting back in his chair, he looked at the Dali Temple people who looked like they had lost their parents. Compared with the smiles on their side, he could not help but sigh in amazement. He turned his head to look at Sun Lianying and suddenly said:
"You knew it a long time ago."
Sun Lianying smiled and pretended to be stupid:
"What do you know? We are just here to join in the fun, not to get involved in your affairs."
Seeing this, Ma Yan became more determined and suddenly realized:
"Does Your Majesty know this too?"
Sun Lianying said nothing.
On that day, Zhao Duan asked him to deliver two things to the empress. One was a recording scroll that copied the conversation to prove the empress's innocence.
One was a memorial in which Zhao Duan briefly stated that Zhou Cheng wanted to use Wang Shan to deal with him, and hoped that the empress would help him act so that he could take advantage of the situation.
Therefore, the empress knew Zhao Duan’s “innocence” and also knew that Zhao Duan wanted to take advantage of the situation and trick Zhou Cheng.
But now that the empress has arrived, it is still unknown how the progress is, and it is unknown whether Zhao Duan has proven his innocence after getting involved in the game.
More importantly, the case of Xue Lin was not mentioned in the memorial.
Therefore, the empress did not know that Zhao Duan had used the old case to almost bring down Zhou Cheng.
So, how to say it.
The Empress knows a little, but not much...
"Mr. Yuan?"
In the crowd, Zhao Duan looked at Yuan Li who was walking towards him. Just as he was about to thank him, he saw Yuan Li waved his hand and said with a smile:
"This is not the place for small talk. You should go somewhere else now."
He blinked, and for a moment he looked frivolous.
As if to say:
Go quickly, go and show your power before His Majesty and the people.
"Thank you, Mr. Yuan, for the reminder."
Zhao Duan knows very well that in the workplace, many times, doing well is not as good as reporting well.
Therefore, he does not like to show off in front of others, but simply wants to seize every opportunity to perform in front of the leaders.
"Oh no! Remember when I threw out the scroll and Zhou Cheng was about to leave the courtroom, it seemed like a young eunuch from the palace who was supervising the interrogation ran out. I'm afraid he thought the interrogation was over and rushed back to the palace to report..."
However, Zhao Duan thought about it again and felt that it was not a big problem.
The young eunuch ran away too early and didn't know about the subsequent part, and it wasn't mentioned in the memorial, so Zhenbao still didn't know about my reopening of Xue Lin's case...
safe.
Zhao Duan hurriedly changed his clothes, borrowed Zhang Han's horse, whipped it, and galloped towards the palace.
…
…
at the same time.
In the palace, Queen Dayu welcomed a guest this morning.
In the imperial garden, in the pavilion beside the pond.
Xu Zhenguan took out a white piece from the chess box with his slender white jade fingers, looked at the old man across the chessboard, and said:
"...So, Grand Master, you have truly misunderstood him. Zhao Duan is not what the outside world has rumored. His past actions were simply a deliberate attempt to defame himself."
The "Grand Master" she was referring to was certainly not someone else.
He was an influential figure in the literary world of the Dayu Dynasty, as well as a senior official, one of the "Three Dukes" in the court, and a minister of state. He was once known as "Zhuang in the South and Dong in the North" together with the rebel Taifu Zhuang Xiaocheng.
Today, Dong Taishi, a top nobleman in the court, is in charge of the Hanlin Academy and serves as the third-rank "Hanlin Academy Imperial Secretary".
As the "mentor" who taught the empress when she was the third princess, Grand Tutor Dong is a thorough "imperial party".
They were also the most supportive force in the court when the empress first ascended the throne.
Therefore, although he is already old, he is unable to take on important positions.
But this octogenarian still holds an important position in the eyes of the empress.
Therefore, he was entrusted with the important task of taking the lead in selecting people and forming a "new cabinet".
This morning, Grand Tutor Dong entered the palace and once again advised her to be close to virtuous officials and stay away from villains.
Apparently, he heard some bad things about Zhao Duan from some student.
In desperation, Xu Zhenguan had to give this explanation.
Grand Tutor Dong was about seventy or eighty years old. He wore a crimson official robe, his hair and beard were all white, and his face was the color of a red date.
Because of proper maintenance, he looks energetic and full of vigor. Even though he has gray hair, his eyes are still sharp and bright.
At this time, the black chess player made a move, his frown relaxed slightly, and he said:
"If it is as your Majesty says, this man's character is not as corrupt as those students of this old minister say."
Xu Zhenguan nodded and said:
"The students of the Hanlin Academy read the books of sages and were influenced by the Grand Tutor. They hate evil, so it's normal for them to be displeased when they hear of his bad reputation."
Master Dong shook his head and said:
"But I heard that this person was recently imprisoned in Taiwan, apparently involved in a woman's case...
If I remember correctly, today is the day of the Three Judges' joint trial. This shows that even if he is not as corrupt as the rumors say, he is still far from a gentleman.
Even if this person is a capable official, he is ultimately just a crude soldier who doesn't know how to read. The greater his power, the harder it is to maintain his integrity... Your Majesty, please don't mind my nagging..."
Xu Zhenguan smiled bitterly.
I know that although Master Dong is loyal, he has always had a strong prejudice against military men.
Or to be more precise, they looked down upon bureaucrats who were not scholars.
The earliest cause of the hostility with the eunuch Wang Zhen was Wang Zhen's interference in the Hanlin Academy.
Grand Tutor Dong was furious and scolded the eunuchs for their ignorance in front of the late emperor, thus creating a grudge.
Zhao Duan's background as a soldier in the imperial guards was also one of the reasons why the scholars in the capital were hostile to him.
Grand Tutor Dong has long been prejudiced against military men, and Xu Zhenguan couldn't say anything.
But when he mentioned the joint trial of the three courts, he couldn't help but look at the sky.
I thought, if everything went well, that young imperial guard would have been cleared of suspicion in court by now, right?
However, according to the record on the scroll, Zhou Cheng spoke too cautiously. It was not safe enough to charge him with "murdering an imperial official" based on those few words.
However, it was not easy for that little imperial guard to achieve this, to get involved in the game and drag Zhou Cheng into the water. How could I be dissatisfied and blame him?
Although the charges were not serious enough, he had tried his best... This was on the premise that everything went smoothly. Zhou Cheng had been in the political arena for many years, but he might not fall into the trap.
As he thought about it, Xu Zhenguan became distracted.
"Your Majesty?" Grand Tutor Dong couldn't help but call out.
Xu Zhenguan came back to his senses and was about to speak when suddenly a young eunuch came running towards him from the distant path in the imperial garden, panting.
He came closer and handed over the paper he had hurriedly written down in court:
"Your Majesty, the three judges have adjourned the courtroom. The proceedings have been recorded on paper."
Is it over?
Xu Zhenguan's eyes lit up, and he raised his hand to take the thin sheets of paper. His slender hand brushed past them, and the papers flew around.
From those records, it seemed as if he had witnessed with his own eyes the whole process of how Zhao Duan fought back, how he escaped the charges in the face of numerous unfavorable evidences, and turned the tables on Zhou Cheng.
Although the record is short, it is more exciting than the storybook.
When Xu Zhen watched to the end, the corners of her mouth rose slightly. This smile was so captivating that the whole city was captivated, and the imperial garden seemed to be bright as if the god of spring had descended.
…
Happy Children's Day to all my friends, I'm asking for a guaranteed monthly ticket for June in advance, 嘤嘤嘤
(End of this chapter)
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