Following the emperor's instructions, the eyes of all the ministers also turned to the outside of the palace.
At the same time, the expressions of all the important ministers in the palace also became solemn. Even Hu Ming, who was half dozing off due to the quarrel below, suddenly woke up.
You must know that Shu Liang, as the admiral of Dongchang, has great power, but he is still a eunuch after all. Therefore, logically speaking, unless it is a situation like the last time he was impeached and summoned to the palace to defend himself, he is not qualified to go to the palace.
Played right.
As a eunuch, he could either stand by the side of the emperor like Huai'en, or he could only wait outside the palace. If anything happened, he would report it to the emperor after he went to court.
This point is different from the commander of the Jinyiwei. Again, although the factory guards are often called together, the Jinyiwei is the imperial yamen. It is no different from the six ministries and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. They are under the jurisdiction of the Jingwei. The commander of the Jinyiwei is
A serious military official of the imperial court.
The Admiral of Dongchang is nothing more than a dispatcher at most. Even the twenty-four yamen of the Internal Supervisor are still internal palace agencies and cannot be compared with the outer court.
Therefore, for Shu Liang to go to the palace, it was actually a bit taboo for him. After all, a powerful eunuch had just appeared in the court some time ago and brought disaster to the country and the people.
This is different from his usual arrogance and domineering nature. For eunuchs, being arrogant and domineering is not a problem. There are only a few eunuchs like Cheng Jing who are upright and cautious.
Under normal circumstances, eunuchs tend to use their power to bully others, and this was especially true for Eunuch Shu. When he was proclaimed, he relied on the emperor's protection to bully the Supreme Emperor.
However, it was a battle between the Tian family after all, Shu Liang was just the spokesperson who was pushed out, and in the end, it was just another eunuch who died.
However, entering the palace to give a speech means that he may directly participate in political affairs. This is something that today's courtiers, including the emperor, have always been very wary of.
Therefore, at this time, the emperor summoned Shu Liang into the palace, which attracted special attention.
All the ministers could roughly guess that there must be something urgent when Shu Liang came here at this moment, but what kind of urgent matter was it that made him take such a risk? He couldn't even wait until the next court, and he had to do it now.
Come to report?
What kind of thing made the emperor, who always loved Shu Liang so much, not even care that eunuchs going to the palace would offend the taboos of the officials, so at this moment, he wanted Shu Liang to enter the palace to give a reply?
Under the attention of all the ministers, Shu Liang, dressed in a python robe, walked into the palace with small steps, without any of his usual majesty or the usual fake smile on his face.
"Your Majesty, my ministers, long live my emperor!"
When Shu Liang came to the palace, the emperor apparently calmed down a little, sat back on the throne again, and opened his mouth to ask.
"Pingshen, how are you doing?"
This question was asked without any beginning or end, and all the ministers present could not help but feel confused. However, a few ministers seemed to have thought of something immediately.
Especially Jiang Yuan, who had just made way for Shu Liang and was standing by with his head bowed, suddenly raised his head and his face became very ugly.
Shu Liang stood up, still lowering his eyebrows, but he answered simply and neatly, saying.
"Back to Your Majesty, luckily I found it in time. The doctor has been called in and is now rescuing him. It is reported that he has lost too much blood and is still in a coma. The doctor said that if he can survive tonight, he can save his life. If
I can’t survive it…”
I didn’t say the rest of it, but the meaning is actually very clear.
Then, everyone saw the emperor's brows furrowed and turned around to give instructions.
"Huai'en, you should go to the imperial hospital now to pass on my instructions and order the imperial doctor to rush to Xiao's house immediately and take a branch of white ginseng from the inner treasury. You must save Academician Xiao's life!"
After listening to the conversation between Shu Liang and the Emperor, the ministers had already made some assumptions. However, as soon as these words came out, even the dullest people realized what had happened.
As a result, a low murmur of discussion suddenly arose in the hall.
Seeing Hua En hurriedly walking down the imperial steps to deliver the order to the Taiyuan Hospital, there was a commotion among the officials below. After a while, someone from the group of elders at the front finally stood up.
This person is none other than Hu Hu, the Minister of Rites, who is the most senior and oldest person in the court today.
The old man frowned, walked into the hall, raised his hands and spoke.
"Your Majesty, I dare to ask Your Majesty, but what happened to Academician Xiao?"
Guessing is just guessing after all. Therefore, when Mr. Hu asked this question, the crowd suddenly became quiet, and everyone's eyes turned to the Emperor above.
So, they saw the emperor sighing slightly, but did not answer directly. He just said, "Shu Liang, please tell me!"
"According to the order!"
Shu Liang bowed his hands to accept the order, then raised his head, turned to the ministers below, bowed his hands, and said.
"My lords, please be polite. Here's what happened. Today at 2:00 p.m., there was a scholar outside Xueshi Xiao's residence. He climbed over the wall and entered while it was still dark. He yelled and cursed inside and outside Xiao's residence. Although he was soon kicked out by the servants of Xiao's residence.
, but it also alarmed Academician Xiao who had just stood up."
"After this man was expelled, Academician Xiao had breakfast and ordered his servants to leave, and he rested in the study. However, not long after, the servants guarding the door smelled the smell of blood and pushed the door open.
After entering, I found a final letter left on the eucalyptus in the study. Beside it, Academician Xiao had cut his pulse and blood was flowing all over the floor."
"The servants quickly called the doctor to come over to rescue them. They managed to save their lives, but it is still unknown whether they can survive. After the rescue, his family wanted to send the final letter left by Xueshi Xiao to the emperor, but
I had no way to ask for help, and I didn’t know where to send it, so I found it here.”
"The matter was urgent. After receiving the report, our family immediately rushed to the palace with a final letter to report to His Majesty. This is what happened."
Although he had expected it in his heart, when Shu Liang actually said it, there was still an uproar in the palace, and a burst of discussion broke out.
At the same time, Jiang Yuan's expression had already darkened to the extreme.
He finally understood the reason for the vague uneasiness that had been inexplicably appearing in his heart today.
For this court meeting, he had calculated all the possibilities, but he only missed the most crucial person, Xiao Fan!
In fact, Jiang Yuan cannot be blamed for this.
After all, although Xiao Tan has outstanding talents and learning, his character in the court has always been tepid. He has the will to move forward, but lacks the means and determination. In the past court struggles, Xiao Tan failed.
They often choose to swallow their anger.
Just like when I was reading the paper this time, when Cheng Zong's affairs were revealed, it was obvious that Jiang Yuan was pressing on Xiao Yi step by step. However, in front of the emperor, Xiao Yi still did not have the courage to fight to the death.
He is such a cowardly person, Jiang Yuan has already figured this out.
What's more, after the imperial examination, the entire public opinion in the government and the public was basically doomed. It was impossible for Xiao Tan to have any resistance. In fact, he was dismissed from office and was deprived of even the power to go to court.
It's even less likely to cause any trouble.
Therefore, Jiang Yuan subconsciously regarded Xiao Tan as a piece of fish ready to be slaughtered. No matter what the outcome of the court meeting was, this scholar Xiao could only accept it.
However, he ignored one thing, that is, cowardly people are often prone to collapse.
It is true that Xiao Tan did not have the courage to fight to the death, but the reason why he did not dare to tell the truth was not only because he cared about his career, but also to a greater extent, he wanted to keep his reputation forever.
However, this matter is now getting bigger and bigger. Let’s not talk about the public opinion in the court for the time being. Let’s just talk about the people. Countless scholars block the door of Xiao’s house and yell and curse every day. Xiao Tan, who is already under tremendous pressure,
On the verge of collapse.
Under such circumstances, such an extreme scholar appeared again and rushed in front of him to yell and scold him. How could this old master, who had been a pure man all his life, accept it?
At this point, it is only natural to die to express one's ambition!
However, as a result, things became troublesome for Jiang Yuan. Originally, it was difficult for Xiao Tan to have any room to speak out on this matter. The rest was nothing more than a game in the court.
However, when he makes such a fuss, he will immediately attract the attention of the whole court. In other words, it will be very difficult to quickly determine the nature of this matter.
Thoughts in his mind were spinning rapidly, and Jiang Yuan finally managed to come up with an explanation.
Since Xiao Fan used such extreme measures, it may be that he was filled with anger, but on the other hand, it may not be that the government and the public were overly critical of him.
If it can be said to be the latter, it might be a good thing, but...
After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Yuan gritted his teeth and was about to speak, but at this moment, Wang Ao, the chief minister of the cabinet, stepped out of the way, stood up in front of him, and said.
"Your Majesty, I think that Academician Xiao must have been wronged for doing this. There may be something else going on about the imperial examination. I agree with what Mr. General Xian and Qing Du Si just said. This matter should be thoroughly investigated and returned to the world's scholars.
Academician Xiao, the truth!"
Seeing this situation, Jiang Yuan was slightly stunned. Then, when he raised his head, he saw Wang Ao casting a stern look at him.
The chief minister is not usually angry, but after being in the cabinet for so long, Jiang Yuan has truly experienced his old man's methods.
Therefore, this look immediately made Jiang Yuan calm down and clenched his fists, but he did not continue to move forward.
Now that Wang Ao has come forward to speak out, it is almost time for the other seven ministers to express their stance.
First, Chen Yi, the imperial censor of Zuodu, said: "Your Majesty, the matter has come to this. If this matter is not thoroughly investigated, it may be difficult to end. Even if the officials of the fifth rank of the imperial court are guilty, they should be punished by the imperial court. The situation is not yet clear now, and people from the public are surrounding.
It is really inappropriate to block, curse, force and seek death!"
Later, Chen Xun from the Ministry of Industry also spoke at this moment: "Your Majesty, among scholars, reputation is the most important thing. I believe that the biggest reason why Academician Xiao did this is not the angry scholars who surrounded the Xiao Mansion.
, but the imperial court ignored public opinion. If the truth of the incident has been found out and the conclusion has been sealed, no matter how much you scold it, it will be justified."
"However, the situation has not yet been clarified, and Academician Xiao has only temporarily resigned from office and returned to the government to await investigation. However, it is really unfair to be treated like this. Only by ordering a thorough investigation as soon as possible can we calm public opinion and calm the people's hearts, and prevent Academician Xiao from continuing to do so.
He was reviled and criticized even though he was innocent."
Chen Xun is Du Ning's teacher, and at the same time, he is also the leader of the Qingliu lineage today. Although he has been transferred to the Sixth Division, his words are still very weighty when it comes to issues related to Qingliu.
What's more, it has already become clear to all the important officials that today's morning court meeting was actually a battle of wits between Wang Ao and Chen Xun in the cabinet, each proposing one person to compete for control of the Hanlin Academy.
Originally, Jiang Yuan worked step by step to create an image of himself as someone who dared to take on responsibilities and cared about his colleagues. He had gradually gained an advantage in the competition.
However, as soon as it was reported that Xiao Tan had cut his pulse, the situation suddenly reversed, making Jiang Yuan's situation extremely embarrassing.
In fact, after calming down now, Jiang Yuan also understood why Wang Ao stopped him just now.
You know, just when the news came, he still looked like he was pleading for Xiao Ban in front of the ministers, and he was righteously asking for joint responsibility.
Now that Xiao Tan was forced to die, if he still insisted on settling the matter quickly, it would be difficult to succeed on the one hand, and on the other hand, it would make people immediately doubt his motives.
As Chen Xun just said, among scholars, reputation is the most important thing!
For Xiao Fan, if he has to bear such a stigma for the rest of his life and cannot prove his innocence, then he might as well die.
However, what Jiang Yuan couldn't figure out no matter what was the matter was, how dare Xiao Tan have such determination?
Is it really a moment of anger?
Mr. Jiang Ge thinks otherwise. If Xiao Tan really wants to die and no longer care about his affairs, then there are so many ways to kill himself, some of which are irreversible. Taking poison or hanging himself are all better than cutting.
The pulse should come quickly and simply.
It happened that Xiao Tan chose this method that was the most painful but the easiest to be discovered in time. From the opponent's point of view, it was difficult for Mr. Jiangge not to suspect that Xiao Tan had other purposes.
But here's the problem.
Even if it is a means, it is risking his own life after all. If he is not careful, his life may really be in danger. It is strange that Xiao Tan can make such a determination with his character.
And more importantly, Xiao Tan himself should know the truth about this palace examination. If it were not for his own selfish motives, then Jiang Yuan would not be able to play his role even if he had all kinds of means.
If we really want to conduct a thorough investigation, Xiao Tan's situation may not be better than it is now. If this is the case, why did he do this?
Mr. Jiang Ge's brows furrowed deeply, and he couldn't figure this out in his mind.
Moreover, not only that, but what worried Jiang Yuan even more was probably another main reason why Wang Ao prevented him from speaking.
It is the final book from Xiao Ban that is now placed on the emperor's royal eucalyptus.
No one knows what is written in it, just in case...
This early court meeting itself was a battle between Wang Ao and Chen Xun. So, in this unexpected situation, Wang Ao was the first to bow his head. Naturally, other people had no other objections. The rest was the final word of the emperor.
.
So, under the gaze of everyone, the emperor finally spoke and said.
"First, order the Shuntian Mansion and the Wucheng Military and Horse Division to protect the surrounding Xiao Mansion and disperse the scholars who do not know the truth. In addition, the palace examination will be presided over by Dali Temple, and the Ministry of Punishment and the Metropolitan Procuratorate will coordinate the investigation. The matter must be interrogated.
Understood, repeat again!"
This chapter has been completed!