si-mexico Chapter 303: Love fades away
Chapter 303: Love fades away
The death of the commander of the Northern Pacification Division was investigated vigorously for half a month, but eventually turned into a secret investigation.
The emperor was furious and did not enter the harem for a month. The only time he went was to the queen's palace.
The queen had very little contact with the Ouyang family in the past six months, and the emperor thought she had finally figured it out.
As a result, not long after they sat down, they started talking about the same old things, asking for some minor official positions on behalf of the useless descendants of the Ouyang family.
"What I am discussing with you is a big deal!"
The queen smiled and acted very humble.
"Your Majesty, family affairs are also important matters."
"Your Majesty has a useless son, so naturally I also have useless nephews and nieces in my family."
The Queen did not say that even if her sons and nephews were ridiculous, they would not do such a thing as to circle the entire Chenzhou and kill the people.
Among the princes, how many are good?
He imitates other families and recruits the best ones, but he doesn't even consider whether other families are like him, raising children but not educating them.
Who in the world can be more doting than him? How can the children achieve anything with such a "loving father"?
As long as one pleases his father, he can enjoy wealth and glory, and even the throne of Daliang will be within his reach. With such behavior, who would bother to study how to be a king?
The throne was obtained so easily, who would cherish the mountains of corpses of the people under the throne?
The emperor and the empress parted unhappily. The nanny looked at the emperor's back, supported the empress and stood in front of the door, watching the bright yellow figure gradually leave.
"My lady, why do you degrade yourself like this? Love is hard to come by, but it is the easiest to lose."
The queen looked at it for a while and then retracted her gaze, taking the nanny back to the palace: "Mammy, I have my own considerations."
Her ignorance and lack of sensibility will become Meng Yanzhen's nourishment when the emperor comes to him.
She is now tied to Zhao Fangyu. She has no children, so the emperor will not depose her unless there is something serious wrong.
He is the emperor, the best at weighing the pros and cons. There is no one in the palace who is more suitable than her. She has no children, a noble family background, no favors, and does not make mistakes in major matters. She only occasionally prays that he will treat his mother's family well...
What's more, her eldest daughter just married Musky...
"Did you understand what he just said?"
The old lady shook her head. She didn't listen much. She was old and her hearing was not as good as when she was young.
The queen glanced at the bright red nail polish on her hand and said, "Your Majesty, you still want to protect the third child."
The nanny exclaimed in surprise, and then sighed.
"He thought about it too late."
He wants to be a famous emperor throughout history...it all depends on which one he values more, this illusory title or the third prince who is always by his side.
"Spread the news. We have been hiding for so long, it's time to make some moves."
In the palace, everyone is a chess piece, big or small, black or white. There is no absolute black and no pure white.
When the news that the culprit in the Chenzhou case was suspected to be the third prince spread among the people, the common people spoke of it with details and evidence.
It is so detailed that even who they were and how they died are all over the place, and even what is said in the vegetable market is the same!
However, all these changes could happen overnight. By the time the morning court session ended and noon came, the news had spread all over the imperial city!
The emperor was so angry that he smashed several sets of cups.
The old emperor stood in the study, with the Jinyiwei on his left and officials of all ranks in various official uniforms on his right. His cloudy eyes looked at everyone present with suspicion.
However, no one would have thought that if the real culprit could be identified just by looking at the eyes, then Daliang would be hopeless.
"check!"
The emperor spoke with great force. The civil and military officials in the court looked at each other in bewilderment. Before they could respond, they heard the emperor attack Qian Jiangping the next moment:
"If you can't even keep a close watch on the palace gates, get out of here and go back to the purifiers!"
These words were extremely serious, and Qian Jiangping immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.
His obese body was hunched up on the ground, with fat so greasy that it was about to bulge out of his clothes. He lay trembling at the emperor's feet, not daring to even utter a word to explain himself.
The emperor, who was furious, immediately thought of Zhao Fangyu.
He was about to say "thief" but when he met the calm gaze of Lord Wang, he stopped the curse from coming out of his mouth.
The Jinyiwei kept a close eye on anyone coming in and out of the Zhao family, and the same was true for the Li family's old house and the Hewang Mansion. It was simply impossible to accomplish this quietly.
There are people coming and going in Zhao Fangyu's Fourteen States, but most of these people are from wealthy families. What they want is wealth and glory. Who would take the risk to do this for her for a tomorrow that they don't know whether it will come or not?
The emperor racked his brains but could not figure out that it was the queen who did this.
The queen who was kept captive in the palace and had all her wings clipped by him.
The emperor was still furious. After scolding Qian Jiangping, his anger subsided a little. The Jinyiwei then stood up and told the emperor the results of their investigation.
The Jinyiwei arrested several suspects, only to find out that these people had only done the job in exchange for money.
The origin of the money could not be traced; the person behind the scenes took it from private vegetable vendors.
I don't know how many people's hands this silver passed through, including those from dim sum shops, tea shops, and even from street vendors selling fried dough sticks!
After receiving the silver, it was washed very cleanly, making it impossible to tell where it originally came from. Even if the Jinyiwei were extremely powerful and could find out who had the silver, it would be useless.
"The Southern Pacification Office worked together to find out that the silver was from a man who went to a bank last night to get a large amount of copper coins in exchange for silver ingots. He then used the silver ingots to buy some small items, breaking up the large pieces of silver, and finally got these many scattered silver coins."
"After washing overnight, I found some beggars, gave them silver and steamed buns, and asked them to pass on the message."
It's not a very clever trick, but it's surprisingly useful.
"The original rumor was not about the Third Prince. It was only during the morning court session that the students in the study heard it, and then spread the news that the Chenzhou case was caused by the Third Prince."
"The student who spread the rumor about the third prince and the beggar has been arrested by us and is currently being interrogated in the imperial prison. The entire study has also been sealed off and no one is allowed to enter or leave."
"The person who came to exchange silver with the little beggar has been searched all over the capital, but he has not been found yet."
The person who came to report was the second-in-command of the Northern Pacification Office. The first-in-command had died, and now the second-in-command was in power.
The second in command tried his best to show off in front of the emperor. The people of the Northern Pacification Division had to take time out of their busy schedule to get a full night's sleep in the past half month. They patrolled and investigated cases during the day, and also had to find a way to search for the remaining bones of the commander of the Northern Pacification Division. But how could they be easy to find?
With one man and one horse, how can we find him in the wilderness?
But they had to look for it even if they couldn't find it. The emperor and the second-in-command were watching them. They would have to dig three feet underground to find the commander's body.
As a result, one problem after another arose. Once the rumor came out, the incident of the Southern Pacification Office came up.
The person behind this had big plans, and the rumor spread throughout the capital in less than two hours. It must have spread to many places, and all the little beggars in the city took the silver. It was obvious that the emperor would not massacre all the little beggars in the city for the sake of his reputation.
The emperor was so angry that he felt dizzy and felt dizzy for a moment. He sat back on the dragon-head armchair and looked at the ministers who were looking at him from under the imperial desk.
Finally, Lord Wang took a step forward slowly and said, "This is a serious matter. The most urgent task now is to thoroughly investigate the Chenzhou case. When the truth is revealed, the rumors will naturally subside."
The emperor slowly raised his head, looked deeply at Wang Ge Lao who bowed his head, and stared at him for a long time.
"The Chenzhou case has been handed over to Pei Yan, the commander of the Southern Pacification Division, and Mei Zhanhui, the imperial commissioner. Does Lord Wang have anything to say?"
Wang Ge Lao shook his head, his expression showing no emotion. "I have nothing to say, but the Chenzhou case has lasted too long, and countless civilians have been killed or injured. Now even Lord Mei is missing. Do we need to send more people?"
The news of Mei Zhanhui's disappearance had already been reported back to the capital. Logically, when the emperor learned of the incident, he should have sent a new official to take over and also sent more personnel to help the Embroidered Uniform Guard search for Mei Zhanhui.
But the emperor did neither of these two things.
It can be described as laissez-faire.
The emperor's attitude was subtle, and it was difficult for everyone to guess what he was thinking.
Exchanging an incompetent prince for an even more incompetent prince is not a good deal no matter how you look at it.
Lord Wang was extremely disgusted with the Third Prince, who had caused countless deaths and injuries among the people. He even felt even more disdainful when he thought about how the Third Prince had behaved very well when he was teaching at the Imperial Academy.
A prince who is so two-faced and bullies the people will never be able to lead Daliang to further progress.
Wang Ge Lao has come to this point today by himself. He is still connected to the Taiyuan Wang family on the surface, and the Taiyuan Wang family has no promising descendants in this generation. The most outstanding one is now paralyzed in bed and needs care every day...
He is truly a man who is not afraid of those wearing shoes even if he is barefoot. Now that he is about to retire, he wants to do his best to save Daliang.
Seeing Lord Wang standing up, some people who had similar ideas to Lord Wang came out to give him a push and said, "I second the motion."
It doesn’t really matter who did this. What matters is that the Third Prince’s reputation must not be cleared.
Once he is cleared, he will be eligible to compete for the throne.
It doesn’t really matter whether the prince to be sacrificed is Zhou Qinghe. No matter who the emperor wants to sacrifice, all officials will stop him.
Blocking the third prince from entering the court was the idea of all the cabinet elders except Yang Gushan.
Yang Gushan was already the prime minister, with the elders assisting him. There were no more than six people in the cabinet. When the third prince ascended the throne, Yang Gushan would be able to remain as prime minister until his death.
There are no eternal friends unless there are eternal interests.
Lord Wang took the lead for the sake of the people of the world, but the people who followed suit might not be so optimistic.
But within a few breaths, half of the people standing behind Lord Wang had already arrived, and the number was still increasing.
The emperor looked at his confidants, all of whom were slowly moving toward standing beside Lord Wang, and suddenly he felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
He felt as if something was wrong. When he was young and accompanied his father to discuss matters in the imperial study, these officials clearly did not even dare to breathe, and they had to carefully guess his father's intentions in every word and action.
Why was he betrayed by so many people just because he wanted his child to have a clean reputation?
The emperor felt chilled.
Then he felt that although these civil and military officials seemed respectful, they were actually bullying him everywhere.
He is the emperor; thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all his grace!
The next moment, the Imperial Censor stepped forward and said slowly, "Your Majesty, the Third Prince has a bad temper and is suspected to be involved in the Chenzhou case. He should be strictly guarded. Even if he is not convicted, he must set an example for the people."
The emperor was so angry that he took back a teacup, reminding himself again and again in his heart that respecting the wise and humble is the way of a wise ruler. If he arbitrarily executed officials, it would be recorded in history books a hundred years later. People in later generations might not admire the prosperity under his rule, but would mention his inappropriate behavior of executing officials again and again.
The emperor thought about it and decided to endure it.
He has worked diligently all his life and cannot fail at this step.
So the matter ended with the third prince being confined to his home again.
Zhao Fangyu was cleared of suspicion, and although the emperor had a clue in his mind, the Jinyiwei were watching him all the time, making it even more difficult for him to do anything.
Although Zhao Fangyu encountered many inconveniences at home, the secret passage was still there, so he could still pass on some information. However, the Jinyiwei's investigation was strict these days, so the transmission of information was a bit slow.
Today, a few leaves were placed on the table in the secret passage.
The leaf was just an ordinary leaf, with marks on the back made by someone using a hairpin. Dark green juice seeped out and formed words.
Yang Gushan is looking for a Miao girl, intending to form an alliance with her.
Next:
The situation is suspenseful, Mei has a plan, Jin kills people.
There is not much information. Pens, ink, paper and inkstone are things that should not be found in ordinary people's homes, so they are naturally not found in secret homes.
There were pens, ink, paper and inkstone left in the secret passage for the spies to use, but the spies still left leaves behind to convey information, probably because they did not have enough time.
The slender fingers pinched the stem of the leaf and turned it slowly. In the dark, the eyes like two cold stars stared at the three words "Yang Gushan" on it in deep thought.
They definitely cannot be killed. The death of a Jinyiwei can be explained, after all, these people have done a lot of things like confiscating properties and exterminating families, and it is hard to say whether it was intentional revenge.
But Yang Gushan’s identity was of great importance. Once something happened to him, the emperor would seal off the city and conduct a thorough investigation.
Yang Gushan...
Zhao Fangyu slowly repeated the name, bit by bit, as if he wanted to chew the name into pieces.
He was incorruptible, his wife was a wife who had lived through all her life, he loved his daughters, but he had no children. He had a very close relationship with his wife. It seemed that except for the second daughter who married the third prince and was found to be particularly stupid and useless, the eldest daughter married far away, and the youngest daughter was still unmarried...
Because of the repeated marriages of daughters and the schemes against them by Zhao Fangyu, the family probably doesn't have much money left.
Zhao Fangyu suddenly remembered that Zhou Qinghe once said that the Third Prince was suspected of secretly holding iron ore...
Zhao Fangyu pressed the leaf under the table. There were words on the back of the leaf, so it could not be thrown away casually. It could only be placed here to be pressed down, so as to prevent the leaf from being blown away by a gust of wind.
Before Zhou Qinghe could return to Beijing, Zhao Fangyu would do everything he could to muddy the waters.
It is easier to fish in troubled waters. It is better for the capital to be a little more chaotic. The more chaotic it is, the less attention the emperor will pay to her.
She could also naturally go to Jiangnan or a farm in the suburbs to recuperate.