Chapter 135 Becoming a County Master [VIP]
After nightfall, the strong wind swept the doors and windows of the wing room, making a howling sound like ghosts and wolves howling.
Inside the house, Chen Yao tossed and turned on the unfamiliar bed, unable to fall asleep. She had deceived her cousin today, but could she deceive those cunning men in court tomorrow?
Suddenly, there was a slight knock on the door. At first, Chen Yao thought it was her own illusion, but soon she heard clearly that someone was indeed knocking on the door.
Chen Yao put on her coat and the cotton slippers she brought from home and stood up to open the door.
The door was only a crack open, and Chen Yao stood behind it with a tense expression, "What are you doing here? Aren't you going to divorce me?"
Yang Jizong watched A Yao's acting and whispered, "The spies have left. Xing Fang has arranged for patrols around the post station. You can sleep peacefully and don't be afraid."
Chen Yao's face fell when she heard this, and she looked at him with grievance: "How can I sleep? I'm afraid what will happen if I can't deceive those civil and military officials tomorrow?"
"Ayao, can I come in?" Yang Jizong asked in a low voice for fear of waking up the people living elsewhere.
After Chen Yao opened the door and let him in, she quickly closed it, fearing that someone would discover it.
The room in the inn was very cold and Chen Yao couldn't stand it. After he came in, she crawled back into the quilt and even left a space outside for him to lie down as well.
Yang Jizong blew out the oil lamp in the room, took off his outer clothes, and lifted the quilt. As soon as he lay down, Chen Yao wrapped her arms and legs around him like an octopus.
"Is it cold?"
"Well, after you argued with me during the day, the guys at the post station refused to let my cousin and I use the charcoal basin, and they even asked for money to buy hot water." Chen Yao moved the hot water bottle in front of her and grabbed Yang Jizong's hand and moved it upwards.
"You touch it, my hot water bottle is cold."
The night was quiet, and there was a rustling sound in the bedding. Yang Jizong was held by Chen Yao's hand, and the hot water bottle didn't touch anything, but accidentally touched a soft spot.
Hearing a slight moan from the person in his arms, Yang Jizong suddenly realized that he had touched something by mistake. He quickly retracted his hand, leaving his entire arm outside the quilt, and felt hot all over.
Chen Yao hid under the quilt with a red face and pushed the hot water bottle out.
Yang Jizong coughed lightly, touched the cold hot water bottle, and placed it on the small table beside the bed. "These people in Beijing are very good at changing their attitude according to the situation. Tomorrow I will find a reason to teach them a lesson for you. There is no need to save money. Your comfort is the most important thing."
Chen Yao leaned against his chest, listened to the deep voice, and nodded.
Yang Jizong hugged her tighter through the quilt: "Go to sleep, I'm here. Tomorrow you can just cry to the saint, you don't have to say anything."
"Really? All I have to do is cry?"
Yang Jizong pulled her arms down from around his neck and put her under the covers: "Well, go to sleep."
"Then wait until I fall asleep before leaving."
"good."
"Zi'an, does your face still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore."
"So when can we meet again?"
Yang Jizong was silent for a long time, until he heard Chen Yao's steady breathing, he whispered softly in her ear: "Soon."
The next day, early morning.
Chen Yao was awakened by Tian Baolai's knock on the door. She turned over and sat up suddenly, but Yang Jizong was no longer in the room.
If she hadn't seen the hot water bottle on the small table, she would have thought that last night was just a dream.
"Ayao, are you awake? Your cousin made you noodles with gravy and boiled some sugar-water eggs." Tian Baolai asked outside the door while holding breakfast.
Chen Yao took down the gorgeous embroidered clothes hanging on the rack and put them on while responding, "Cousin, I'll be ready soon."
Tian Baolai felt a little relieved when he heard his cousin's voice.
The brother and sister sat together and ate a steaming hot breakfast. As to why they didn't go with Yang Jizong, Chen Yao didn't say anything and Tian Baolai didn't care.
On the way to the palace, Li Menghong looked at Yang Jizong who was sitting in the carriage with him and said to comfort him: "In fact, apart from her poor background, Madam Shen is a very good person."
Yang Jizong pursed his lips and said nothing.
Soon they were taken to a side hall by palace servants to wait for the saint's summons.
As Li Menghong held an official position, even though he was at the end of the line and a long way from the throne room, his heart began to beat wildly when he thought about what he would do next.
"Sir Li, Prime Minister Wang has asked me to tell you something: take a step back and the horizon will open up. Take a step forward and the abyss will be shattered to pieces. Be careful."
"Don't bother the Prime Minister."
All the court officials shouted "Long live the emperor" three times. Soon, Li Menghong stepped into the Golden Palace, knelt down and accused Prime Minister Wang of condoning his student Song Zhiyi to abuse his power for evil and harm innocent people.
Song Zhiyi immediately stepped forward to refute. Even though he knew that the saint had detained his people in the Heavenly Prison, he could not admit it.
Soon, Chen Yao, Tian Baolai and Yang Jizong were brought into the hall.
The moment Chen Yao knelt down, she not only saw many black court boots, but was also stared at by countless pairs of eyes, and her mind instantly went blank.
When the court officials heard the petition, the discussion became even louder.
No, it has defiled the throne room, and what's worse is that they are questioning their ulterior motives.
Everyone in the court knew that Prime Minister Wang had a blood feud with the Yang family.
"Bring up the testimonies of the guilty." The saint silenced everyone's discussion with just one sentence.
Song Zhiyi's face was filled with fear.
But Prime Minister Wang just stood by and watched, completely unmoved, just like his plea yesterday.
The teacher was indifferent.
When the prisoners were brought to the Golden Palace, the court officials looked at their miserable condition and immediately covered their faces and noses.
There was no need for them to identify Song Zhiyi. Any minister who had dealt with Song Zhiyi could recognize at a glance that several of them were indeed Song Zhiyi's subordinates.
"Zhiyi, I have placed my trust in you. You are also the favorite student of Prime Minister Wang. I never thought that you would do such a bad thing. What else do you have to defend yourself?" The saint threw the testimony at him.
Song Zhiyi was so scared that she knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, but unfortunately, once she was caught, countless people would step on her.
Not long after, someone else came forward to report that Song Zhiyi had amassed a lot of money while in office, and had also accepted bribes for recommending children from aristocratic families to become officials.
"Unjust, I never did this."
But when the money he accepted in bribes and the names of the people he recommended were made public, he was like meat on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.
"Prime Minister Wang, this is your favorite disciple. I believe you won't go along with him and disappoint me, right?"
Chen Yao knelt at the back and quietly looked up, and saw an old man in front of the officials slowly stand up. "The country has its own laws. Since it is a mistake, the saint should punish it in any way he wants. I have neglected to discipline you, and I am willing to fine myself a year's salary as a warning to others."
Before the prime minister could even kneel, a group of ministers stepped forward to plead for him: "Your Majesty, this matter has nothing to do with the prime minister. Song Zhiyi has brought this upon himself."
"Please, Saint, forgive the king and his innocence."
With a loud bang, half of the court officials in the hall knelt down. Chen Yao was once again shocked by the great power of the prime minister.
The sage stepped down from the throne and personally helped the old minister up from the ground. "Prime Minister Wang is the backbone of our dynasty. Since this has nothing to do with you, there is no need to fine you. Come here."
The imperial guards outside the palace gate immediately came in to report.
The sage looked down at Song Zhiyi, who was kneeling beside him, and said word by word, "Take all these prisoners to the Meridian Gate and behead them. The Song family will be exiled to Lingnan, leaving today."
Song Zhiyi originally thought that he could not escape death, but when he heard that he would only be exiled to Lingnan, he immediately thanked the emperor for his grace, took off his court robes and official hat, and left the hall.
When he left, he was still thinking that since Yang Jizong could return to the court, he could do the same someday.
Wang Xiang's apprentice was killed by Yang Jizong and others today. How can he not take revenge?
"Saint, Yang Jizong is a criminal and cannot return to the capital without a summons. Shouldn't he also be summoned?"
Suddenly, the sage laughed and said, "Zi'an has made great contributions to the promotion of winter wheat cultivation. I have decided to appoint him as the governor of Ezhou."
"No, he..."
Before Wang Xiang could say anything to stop her, Chen Yao beside her suddenly started sobbing, and her crying became louder and louder.
Several glances were cast towards this ignorant tenant farmer, and Chen Yao was so scared that she hid behind Tian Baolai.
To protect his sister, Tian Baolai said stubbornly, "Yang Jizong is an ungrateful man. He wants to divorce my cousin in order to become an official. He is not worthy of being an official."
"Don't you want him to be an official?" Wang Xiang asked.
"Ayao, you have to consider the overall situation. If I go back with you, I can only be a tenant farmer. I became an official for the people of the world. Don't you want the tenant farmers to live a better life?" Yang Jizong persuaded.
Chen Yao just buried her head and cried.
Tian Baolai didn't dare to refute others, but Yang Jizong still dared to spit: "Bah, you don't care about your dignity just to become an official. If A Yao hadn't saved you, would you be where you are today?"
"Want to divorce you so you can have a good reputation and become an official? Don't even think about it. You will only be divorced by my cousin."
All the court officials were watching the show in the hall, and those who knew the inside story whispered to their colleagues.
Soon, the way civil and military officials looked at Yang Jizong changed.
Yang Jizong turned around and asked the saint for help.
The sage originally intended to use Chen Yao's ability to silence the gossips in the court, but seeing Yang Jizong's pleading face, he went along with it: "If you divorce him, I can make you the Princess of Fang County."
County Lady?
Chen Yao stopped crying, wiped away her tears and asked, "Is the county lord higher in rank than him?"
The sage suddenly laughed out loud, and all the civil and military officials also laughed along. This ignorant village woman was really short-sighted.
"If you become the county lord, Fang County will be your fiefdom, and you can manage the taxes within the fiefdom independently. In addition to these, you can also receive an annual salary like him."
Tian Baolai was afraid that these were all tricks to fool him and his cousin, but the man in front of him was a saint.
How could a saint deceive them?
"Cousin, there are many two-legged men in the world. Let's divorce him. Then there will be plenty of men willing to marry him."
Upon hearing this, Yang Jizong almost couldn't help but say no.
But the saint also joked: "After you become the county lady, there will definitely be many men willing to marry you. Don't be too picky when the time comes."
"Then, then I am willing to divorce him, and I am willing to be the county lord." Chen Yao stood up with a foolish look of someone who had never seen the world, causing all the civil and military officials to look at her with contempt.
"Your Majesty, isn't this too much of a joke? She is just a tenant farmer, how can she be a county lady?" Prime Minister Wang stepped forward to stop him.
"Then, Prime Minister Wang, do you have any other options? Don't forget that they are the victims of your apprentice's persecution. I am doing this to help Prime Minister Wang silence the people of the world!"
Wang Xiang's face looked extremely ugly.
The sage drafted an imperial decree, appointing Chen Yao as the Lady of Fang County and Yang Jizong as the Governor of Ezhou. When the two divorced, Chen Yao spat at Yang Jizong in front of all the civil and military officials: "Bah, a man like you who looks good but is useless is not what I want."
All the civil and military officials tried to suppress their laughter when they looked at Yang Jizong.
Li Menghong was also promoted to be the Internal History of Zhili, which made him very happy.
Chen Yao held the county lady's clothes and kowtowed to the emperor to express her gratitude.
The sage sat high up and said meaningfully, "Chen Yao, you are now the county lord. You eat the emperor's salary, but you also have to share the emperor's worries. Do you understand?"
Chen Yao held the garments in her hands and made a formal bow towards the saint who sat at the head of the table. She said in a resounding voice, "Chen Yao will definitely live up to the saint's expectations."
All the civil and military officials were dumbfounded and could not believe what they saw.
They seemed to have been deceived by the tenant farmer's daughter in front of them?
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