Chapter 288 Hunting
The court meeting, which was originally scheduled to last one hour, was extended.
The civil and military officials quarreled for most of the hour.
Only after the quarrel was over did we get down to business.
The eunuch beside him wanted to remind the emperor.
It's time to go to court, have breakfast and take medicine.
I just didn't dare to speak.
Two hundred thousand dan of corn!!
The court officials were so shocked that they were speechless.
Those who were ready to refute quickly swallowed the words back when they reached their lips.
They all shut up and waited to see what would happen.
Minister Cui said that the daughter of the guilty minister donated 200,000 dan of millet.
Some astute court officials noticed that the wind had changed.
If you still keep pestering the girl from the Lu family at this moment, it would be too tactless and you would probably be in big trouble.
Moreover, Minister Cui and King Jing seemed to be protecting her.
Their intuition told them.
This woman is not simple.
There is so much corn, just donate it if you want.
According to the current market price of corn, these 200,000 shi of corn are worth at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.
She still remembered that when the Lu family was raided and threatened with execution, she cashed in all her dowry to redeem her father and brother, thus saving their lives.
How could an ordinary woman have such courage?
The most surprised among them was Jiang Yunze.
He was stunned for a moment before muttering, "Where did she get so much money? Could it be..."
Qi Caiwei came back and said that Lu Qingyao was selling bamboo shoots in Jiangzhou.
Isn’t it just selling some bamboo shoots? How could she make so much money by her own efforts?
Minister Cui: "Don't make random guesses. I've already sent people to investigate. These corns are the legitimate income of Lu Sanniang. There's nothing wrong with them."
"Sir Jiang, your ex-wife has been leading the people of Qingshi Town to plant bamboo and sell bamboo shoots for the past four years, helping them to become wealthy and benefit the villagers. This has become a good story in Jiangzhou. As her former husband and a native of Jiangzhou, you actually knew nothing about it? Could it be that no one in your Jiang family has ever exchanged letters with you?" The right prime minister Cui Yan, who had been watching the show quietly without saying a word since he entered the court, spoke up.
He received a letter from his old mother in Jiangzhou some time ago.
The letter told him everything that Mrs. Lu San had encountered in Jiangzhou, and asked him to lend a helping hand in the critical moment.
Originally, this matter was not his business.
But she donated military rations to the court, so the nature of the matter was different.
This is a matter of national importance.
Moreover, many people came to ask him for help, and he also respected this woman who was as brave as any man.
So he decided to take care of this matter.
Jiang Yunze was speechless.
This woman...
Is he so rich and so powerful?
But when the mother and son appeared in front of him, they were dressed so poorly, without even a decent piece of jewelry.
There was also Qi Caiwei, who was always hesitant when asked about things in Jiangzhou.
It is said that Lu Qingyao was protected by the Cui family and was selling bamboo shoots in Jiangzhou. It was a small business and not worth mentioning.
It turns out that it wasn't not worth mentioning, but she was too embarrassed to mention it.
And there was Cui Yan, whose every word hit home with him.
It must be intentional.
He said awkwardly, "Prime Minister Cui was joking. I am aware of this and I often exchange letters with my clansmen."
Cui Yan looked at him meaningfully.
Emperor Xuan, seeing that the matter had been suppressed, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Even so, although Lady Lu is the descendant of a criminal, she has donated rations to the soldiers on the frontier and worked for the welfare of the people. She is a person who understands the greater good and should not be burdened by her father and brother. She should be praised. What do you think, my dear ministers?"
Let’s see who is challenging him now.
Then there are the successive successions of the Emperor’s wisdom…
Minister Qi remained a bystander and said nothing, but he knew that his daughter had lost again this time.
Not only did he lose the wife, but he also lost his army.
However, before he could come to his senses.
A memorial impeaching him was presented to the emperor again.
He was accused of cheating in the imperial examinations, forming a clique for personal gain, accepting bribes, and, most damningly, colluding with the rebel king.
The emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation.
Cheating in the imperial examination is a major national event. The Minister of Rites took the lead in cheating in the imperial examination and broke the law knowingly.
Check, check thoroughly.
This matter is still left to Yan Shaoqing to investigate.
In the past, if the censor impeached someone without any evidence, he would always have a reason to refute it.
But this time, the person who reported him was not the censor, but Yan Huan, the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple.
He also brought the long-missing Jiangzhou academician.
There are also letters between them.
The evidence is irrefutable.
I was careless. No wonder we couldn't find him even after sending people to look for him everywhere.
It turns out that this old man has been hiding in the Dali Temple.
She had betrayed him long ago.
Minister Qi felt like he was struck by lightning.
He panicked and his whole body was shaking uncontrollably.
The Dali Temple never investigates cases out of thin air, forming cliques for personal gain, or colluding with the rebel king...
I'm afraid they found some evidence.
It was so sudden that I was completely unprepared. I didn't even have time to say a word to my son-in-law before I was taken to the Dali Temple and imprisoned.
This is the first time I’ve been in jail in my life, and it may also be the last time.
Jiang Yunze felt like the sky was falling.
He was completely frozen when his father-in-law was taken away from him.
I’m afraid that he will be the next one to be taken away.
After thinking about it, I realized that I am cautious in everything I do.
He knew nothing about his father-in-law's affairs, but fortunately the Qi family never believed him.
He was afraid that because of Qi Caiwei, he would also be implicated.
After leaving court, I felt confused and dazed.
Jiang Yunze didn't know how he got to the palace gate.
All his colleagues avoided him like the plague.
Just like the Lu family was convicted four years ago, the same thing is happening again.
He felt a chill in his heart.
I didn't expect that such a powerful backer would fall so easily.
There was no warning at all.
These charges seemed to have been planned in advance.
It caught people off guard.
It may be difficult for the Qi family to recover.
He had originally planned to make Qi his wife after some time, and then take the opportunity to ask his father-in-law to ask the emperor to reinstate him to his original position as the Minister of Rites.
Now it has all become a dream.
Emperor Xuan was really angry and was helped away by the eunuchs.
The court officials dispersed, leaving only the Cui brothers, King Jing and Yan Shaoqing.
They smiled at each other and went their separate ways.
King Jing really didn't expect that Cui Yan would actually help him. His words carried a lot of weight in his father's heart.
Even more useful than the words of the princes.
My father is a very suspicious person, but he trusts the Cui family very much.
But it's no wonder he's like this.
When Old Master Cui said he was retiring and returning to his hometown, he really meant it and went to a remote place like Jiangzhou to live in seclusion.
It was harder than climbing to heaven for court officials to see him.
Moreover, the eldest son of the Cui family, who is the most trusted by the emperor, is still unmarried and childless. He only has the common people in his heart and is loyal only to the emperor.
How can I not gain the trust of my father?
So after the third brother rebelled this time, my father's health was not as good as before, so he promoted him to the position of right prime minister, becoming my father's right-hand man.
Although they did not make an appointment in advance for this hunting trip, they cooperated very well.
It seems that he is not as ruthless as others think.
King Jing raised the corners of his lips slightly and smiled faintly.
…
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