In the study room of Chen Mansion, Chen Xun also fell into silence as Xu Youzhen's name appeared.
He had very complicated feelings about this student.
At first, Chen Xun felt that Xu Youzhen was very smart and enthusiastic about his career as an official. He had good relations with the people around him. Moreover, he was quite capable and should be able to make a difference in the officialdom. Therefore, he thought about this.
People are very important.
Even after the news of the civil engineering work came out, Xu Youzhen rashly proposed moving south, which made the Queen Mother and the Emperor unhappy. Chen Xun did not give up on him. He just felt that he had just entered the officialdom and needed more help.
temper.
In addition, he was very practical, so Chen Xun specifically selected him as his deputy when building the canal. After the canal was completed, Chen Xun also took this opportunity to recommend Xu Youzhen to the court.
There were even rumors in the court earlier that it was Chen Xun's strong recommendation that gave Xu Youzhen a good future in the East Palace.
Although Chen Xun always felt that this was not the case, it was undeniable that he did try his best.
However, what this student did really disappointed him. First, he ignored his advice and repeatedly got involved with Zhu Jian, who was close to the Supreme Emperor. Later, he exaggerated Qingliu's situation and wanted to plot against Du Ning for himself.
Make profit.
After being scolded by him, he still refused to give up and came back to encourage him to make a fuss about Song Wenyi's previous imperial estate. If Chen Xun hadn't seen the opportunity early, it would have been uncertain whether he was in the capital or not.
Not to mention, he has been frequently in and out of Nangong recently, summoned by the Supreme Emperor, and is always on the verge of danger.
During this period of time, Chen Xun had basically cut off all contact with Xu Youzhen. When he suddenly heard the name, he was quite lost for a moment before he realized what he was saying.
"What did he say?"
Chen Xun is also a man who has experienced ups and downs for a long time. How could he not see what happened today that someone was plotting against him behind his back?
Therefore, if Xu Youzhen is involved in this, if he is not being used by others, then it can only mean that he is also one of the masterminds behind the scenes.
Based on Chen Xun's understanding of his student, there is a high probability that it will be the latter.
Xiao Yan was silent for a moment and then said.
"He told me that early this morning, Wang Xuan had gone to the Ministry of Punishment to surrender. This matter would soon be heard by Datian, and Zhou Jian's memorial was submitted yesterday, but it was just because there were too many memorials to deal with.
, so the backlog has reached today, so..."
Therefore, if the cabinet moves slower than the Ministry of Justice, then Xiao Han, who is responsible for drafting the vote, will inevitably be blamed.
The reasoning behind this is not complicated, and Chen Xun understood it after just a moment's thought.
It's no secret that Xiao Han and he are from the same hometown. Moreover, Xiao Han has been working as an official abroad before. This time he returned to Beijing and was isolated and helpless. In order to gain a foothold as soon as possible, he often visited the Chen Mansion. Therefore, it was full of
Everyone knows that the two of them have a good relationship.
Wang Xuan and Zhou Jian, one went to the Ministry of Punishment to surrender, and the other submitted the memorial to the cabinet, just to prevent the memorial from being suppressed by Xiao Shan.
Moreover, under this situation, if the Ministry of Punishment takes the lead in uncovering the matter, then after tracing it, someone will inevitably criticize Xiao Han for forming a party for personal gain and deceiving the superiors and concealing the truth from the subordinates.
Therefore, Xiao Han must react immediately. In this matter, Xiao Han chose to go to Yu Shiyue and Zhang Min as witnesses. If this memorial can be handed over, no matter who gets it,
, even if the backlog lasts for a few days, it won’t be a big deal.
but……
Chen Xun frowned and looked thoughtfully at Xiao Han in front of him. His expression slowly softened, but the grudge in his heart was still not resolved.
Because, although Xiao Han's explanation seems reasonable, it cannot withstand careful consideration.
Although he did not elaborate on how this memorial was presented to the emperor when he was in the palace, Chen Xun was a member of the cabinet after all, so it was not difficult to find out the information.
In this half day, he had already figured out the details clearly. Xiao Han first went to find Yu Shiyue, and then the two of them went to find Zhang Min together. This move was really thought-provoking.
If Xiao Han just wanted to get rid of suspicion, he should go to Zhang Min. After all, for Xiao Han, all he needs is someone to prove that he did not suppress this memorial for personal gain.
Whether judging from the current division of power in the cabinet or the ranking among cabinet ministers, Zhang Min is the most suitable person.
However, Xiao Yan went to Yu Shiyue first.
This small difference may seem innocuous, but if you think about it carefully, it may not be that simple.
First of all, the relationship between Yu Shiyue and Xiao Xi is not good. If Xiao Xi comes to him so rashly, Yu Shiyue will definitely question his motives. Therefore, in order to avoid being set up, Yu Shiyue will most likely choose to find another circumstantial evidence.
So of course, Zhang Min is the first choice. In fact, it doesn't matter if it's not Zhang Min. The key to the matter is that the more people know about it, the harder it will be to suppress it.
If Xiao Han only consulted with Zhang Min at first, then because the matter was so important, it would not be difficult for the two of them to talk to each other, postpone it for a while, and then inform Chen Xun. After all, everyone above the court
We meet each other with our heads down, and no one wants to offend anyone for no reason.
However, if three people know the news at the same time, the matter will be difficult to handle. The biggest problem is that if someone proposes to suppress it, then if in a few days, rumors appear in the court that a certain pavilion elder is colluding with Chen Xun
For personal gain, it would be difficult to find out from whom the information was leaked.
Therefore, in order to save everyone's trouble, the final result must be reported to the emperor immediately.
This detail is not eye-catching. If Chen Xun hadn't felt something was wrong after he came back and made further inquiries, it would have been easily ignored.
Moreover, Xiao Han did not mention this when he was talking about the ins and outs of the matter. This move naturally made Chen Xun feel even more suspicious in the eyes of Chen Xun.
Of course, this doesn't mean anything. Maybe Xiao Han feels that the more people who know, the better he can prove his innocence, or it may be some other reason.
But in any case, the grudge in Chen Xun's heart has been saved. After all, Xiao Han is a cabinet minister after all. Although he is a new member of the cabinet, with his status, for Chen Xun, he can be regarded as a powerful person.
ally.
Nowadays, Chen Xun has no intention of falling out with him because of such a trivial matter, so he can only temporarily suppress the dissatisfaction in his heart and pondered.
"If that's the case, then I can understand what happened today. However, this matter has not involved Xu Youzhen so far. Moreover, he is my student after all. Although he has become more distant recently, what he did is
Why?"
Back to the matter itself, Xu Youzhen was involved in it. Now it seems that it is a definite matter, but the problem is that Chen Xun and him have no grudges. On the contrary, Chen Xun thinks that he is still devoted to him, although now
The boundaries were cleared, but she didn't do anything to him. If that's the case, why did Xu Youzhen target him?
Hearing this, Xiao Yan also frowned and said.
"Master Chen, maybe he came to remind you that he is not necessarily conspiring with Wang Xuan?"
Seeing the change in Chen Xun's eyes, Xiao Yan quickly explained.
"Although I don't know where Xu Youzhen got the news, he came to remind me so that I would not make a big mistake. If there was no such reminder, then I would definitely choose to suppress this memorial and then make another decision.
Discuss with Master Chen, if this happens, this matter will inevitably cause another disturbance, so maybe he has good intentions?"
With this last sentence, Xiao Han's confidence is not very strong.
Seeing this situation, Chen Xun pondered for a moment, nodded and said.
"Maybe so. You can't guess this kind of thing out of thin air. If you have a chance, you can ask him for me and you will know."
"Don't worry, Master Chen, I will definitely bring the message to you."
Xiao Yan cupped his hands and answered.
Hearing these words, Chen Xun's eyes flashed with light, but he didn't say much. He said a few words about court affairs to Xiao Han. Seeing that it was getting late, Xiao Han stood up and left.
Chen Xun personally walked him to the door and watched Xiao Han's sedan disappear into the night before turning back to the study.
At this moment, there is a middle-aged man in the study room. This man is none other than the protagonist of this incident, Chen Ying!
"The child behaved badly and caused trouble for his father."
Seeing Chen Xun come back, Chen Ying quickly lowered his head and said.
Chen Xun ignored him, turned around and sat on the chair, saying.
"My father has warned you a long time ago not to covet the good things you have done, but you still don't know how to restrain yourself. Now you have made trouble with the Ministry of Punishment. Let's see how you end up!"
These words were obviously filled with anger, which made Chen Ying even more afraid to raise her head.
There was silence in the study for a moment, and Chen Xun's anger slowly subsided. Looking at Chen Ying who looked like he had admitted his mistake, he said angrily.
"Sit down."
"yes……"
Hearing this, Chen Ying quickly sat down at the bottom of the table and waited for her father's next lesson.
As the eldest son of the Chen family, and the eldest son who can use his father's banner, Chen Ying is also very well-informed. He basically knows everything about what happened today...
"Now, His Majesty has decreed that the Department of Punishment will take charge of this case."
Slowly calming down, Chen Xun's tone became normal and he said.
"If nothing else happens, the Criminal Department will ask you to go for questioning tomorrow. When the time comes, you will say..."
As he spoke, Chen Xun lowered his voice to ensure that only two people could hear him.
However, after listening, Chen Ying's expression became very complicated. She hesitated before speaking cautiously.
"But father, if you say so, then the child..."
"You do as I say and don't worry about anything else. My father will keep you safe!"
Seeing Chen Ying's appearance, Chen Xun's expression turned serious, so Chen Ying did not dare to say anything more and had to say:
"My child understands."
The next day, as expected, a clerk from the Ministry of Punishment came to the door and summoned Chen Ying to the Ministry of Punishment for questioning.
Of course, although Chen Ying only had the reputation of being a scholar, he was Chen Xun's son after all, so the people in the Ministry of Punishment were very polite.
Chen Ying was well prepared and naturally did not put on any airs. Instead, he asked the porter to stuff a few bags of silver into the clerk who came over, and then rode a sedan to the Ministry of Punishment.
He looked like he was here for trial, but more like he was here to do something.
After entering the Criminal Department, Chen Ying was quickly taken to the lobby. It wasn't until she entered the lobby that she started to have some interest in interrogating the case.
There were government officials lined up on both sides, and scribes had prepared pens and ink to record. In the middle sat an old man in a scarlet robe. Judging from the color of his clothes, he was naturally Mr. Jin Lian, the Minister of Punishment.
"Student Chen Ying, I have met Master Shangshu."
The title of a scholar is also a title, and it is a basic privilege not to kneel when meeting an official. Therefore, Chen Ying just made an ordinary hand-over salute.
However, what surprised him was that sitting next to Jin Lian was a man who looked like a eunuch wearing a python robe and having a white face and no beard.
Sensing Chen Ying's gaze, the man cast a kind smile towards Chen Ying, but for some reason, Chen Ying always felt a chill on his back.
As soon as he thought about this, a name came to his mind...
"This is Eunuch Shu Liangshu, the eunuch of the East Factory, who is here to hear the trial according to His Majesty's order!"
As expected, the next moment, Jin Lian's voice sounded, and Chen Ying quickly bowed again and said.
"It turns out that the factory boss is here, I'm disrespectful."
In the shadow of the famous tree, Shu Liang, the admiral of Dongchang, came to the scene in person. Chen Ying, who was originally calm, immediately became a little flustered.
Shu Liang didn't have any special reaction. He smiled and raised his hand and said.
"No need to be polite."
Afterwards, he didn't say anything more and said directly to Jin Lian next to him.
"Jin Shangshu, shall we begin?"
So, Jin Lian nodded, his expression became serious, and he said.
"Chen Ying, today I have summoned you to ask questions. The first question..."
…………
It seems that because Shu Liang was present, Chen Ying was very nervous during the entire questioning process, fearing that the Dongchang Dajue would see something or intervene in the inquiry.
However, what he didn't expect was that Shu Liang just sat aside and listened from the beginning to the end without saying a word. It seemed that he was really just here to listen.
Soon, more than half an hour passed, and Jin Lian realized that he had finished asking questions, so he turned to Shu Liang aside and asked.
"Eunuch Shu, that's the general situation. Does your father-in-law have any questions?"
"Our family is only here to hear the trial. Jin Shangshu does not need to take care of our family."
Shu Liang still had the same smile that had remained unchanged for thousands of years.
Jin Lian had obviously expected this. He nodded, turned to Chen Ying and said.
"That's it for today, Chen Ying. Everything you say today will become a confession. You are now under suspicion. After you return, you are not allowed to go out at will. If there are any details missing, I will punish you at any time.
Ask questions.”
"Thank you, Lord Shangshu."
Chen Ying had had enough of this atmosphere for a long time. He always felt that something was wrong with the way Shu Liang looked at him across from him, which always made people feel chilly.
Therefore, after listening to Jin Lian's words, he quickly bowed his hands and left the hall of the Ministry of Justice without staying a step longer.
Seeing Chen Ying's hurried look, Shu Liang's eyes narrowed slightly, not knowing what he was thinking. Then, he also said goodbye to Jin Lian and left the Criminal Department...
This chapter has been completed!