The next day, the wind was clear and the sun was rising. After a night of heavy rain, the sky looked blue and blue, with white clouds floating by. It was as quiet and peaceful as if yesterday's heavy rain did not exist.
However, what has happened has happened and cannot not exist.
As Yu Qian and others expected, too many people saw the mysterious eunuch's attack on Xiangting, and there was no way to block the news.
In just one night, the matter had spread throughout the court.
At the same time, rumors were spreading. Some said it was someone who was resentful of the royal family and was deliberately seeking revenge, and other times said it was someone who wanted to prevent His Royal Highness from leaving the cabinet smoothly.
Especially regarding the identity of this eunuch, there are many speculations. Some people think that he is just an ordinary eunuch, some think that he was ordered by the ministers of the court, and some even think that it was planned by the concubine in the palace.
Of course, the most widely circulated thing, and the one that everyone only dared to discuss privately, was whether the emperor had ordered this matter to interrupt the process of the prince leaving the cabinet.
After all, before this, although the emperor used the excuse that the prince was still young and should not be too tired, in the end, in the eyes of caring people, it was also an excuse for not wanting the prince to leave the palace.
Some well-informed people even dug up the controversy over the succession and Zen throne that the emperor had argued with his ministers before he ascended the throne, in an attempt to prove that although the emperor knew right from wrong in many government affairs, it still had nothing to do with the inheritance of the throne.
, may not lead to true enlightenment and sobriety.
In just half a day, undercurrents surged up and down the government and the public, and all kinds of opinions were rampant. However, the strange thing was that the court was quiet, and no one came to speak about the matter.
All the ministers seemed to have collectively lost their voices.
In the cabinet, Wang Ao was sitting in the public room, looking at the memorials that had been spread out on the case, holding a brush in his hand, but his thoughts had already wandered to nowhere.
In recent days, the life of this chief minister has not been very good, and the reason is that... Xiao Hao woke up!
Although, he is still well taken care of at home, and he is still guilty.
However, judging from the frequent visits to his residence by Du Ning, the minister of Dali Temple, it is unclear what kind of truth this scholar Xiao has revealed.
Every time at this time, Wang Shoufu regretted very much that he had believed Jiang Yuan's lies.
Although he had no direct involvement in the palace examination, it would be difficult for him to explain clearly if Xiao Hao started to bite him randomly.
Especially when the emperor temporarily handed over the Hanlin Academy to him, as a vested interest, Wang Shoufu felt that he could not explain clearly.
To be fair, he wasn't afraid of what Xiao Tan would really say, but this feeling of being neither up nor down was really uncomfortable.
Of course, if that were the case alone, then it wouldn't make him so upset that he couldn't even handle government affairs.
What really worried him was the attack on Xiangting that happened yesterday.
Xiao Ban's case is still undecided, but this case is before our eyes.
Although Wang Ao was in the cabinet, he heard many various rumors before coming to the Yamen and even on the way there.
In both the government and the public, people are now in a state of flux and speculation is rife.
In this situation, no matter what the truth is, as long as the emperor takes action, the people in the cabinet must be responsible for coordinating public opinion in the outer court.
But, having said that, even Wang Ao himself was wondering about the truth of this case.
Although intellectually speaking, he felt that the emperor would not do such useless work.
However, to be disrespectful, everyone in the capital, except the emperor, can benefit from the prince leaving the cabinet.
Therefore, if something like this happened and it had nothing to do with the emperor, no one would dare to draw this conclusion...
"Master Chief Assistant, I have a message."
At this time, someone from the study room outside suddenly came in and handed over his hands to report.
So, Wang Ao put down the pen in his hand and walked outside. When he arrived in the hall, he saw all the cabinet ministers gathered together.
After glancing at the unfaithful and calm assistant, Wang Ao didn't say anything and came to stand at the head of the class.
Not long after, Wynn, dressed in a python suit, walked in and said.
"Holy edict, yesterday, the prince came out of the pavilion with an incense pavilion outside Fengtian Gate. A thief came in from the outside. He struck the incense pavilion with a red stick and said: First strike the eastern A and Yi wood, and the envoy inside will hold it. He ordered the guards in brocade clothes to investigate carefully. The prince I came out of the cabinet as scheduled and admire this."
"I will accept the order."
This is considered an oral edict, and the next step is the work of the cabinet. It must form this oral edict into a standardized imperial edict, go through six subjects, and then distribute it to all yamen.
It was all familiar work, and there was nothing special about it. However, as soon as this order was announced, all the ministers present breathed a sigh of relief.
Regardless of the rumors outside, what everyone in the imperial court is most afraid of now is that this incident will delay the process of the prince's resignation from the cabinet.
With the emperor's oral instructions, they can put their hearts in their stomachs.
However, for some reason, Wang Ao always felt that when this oral decree was announced, everyone seemed to be expecting it.
Is it possible that he is the only one in this cabinet who cannot calm down?
Moreover, rumors about this matter were rampant, and public opinions arose in just one day, which shows that there must be someone behind this.
If we combine the various speculations, no matter what the truth is, at least now, there are signs of slandering the emperor's reputation.
Under such circumstances, given the emperor's character of never suffering a loss, it was really surprising that he would just let it go without a trace.
You know, although it didn't last long, it was enough for them to obtain detailed information. The eunuch who attacked the Xiangting Pavilion died on the spot. He was obviously well prepared and wanted to trace him. Not easy.
In this case, the emperor is still suppressing the matter and not mentioning it again. Could it be said that it is really just a matter of discussion in the government and the public?
Or, in this situation, the emperor can only restore the influence by continuing the ceremony?
His mind was in turmoil for a while. When Wang Ao came to his senses, he found that all the other ministers had already returned to their private rooms and began to deal with official business.
The setting sun was setting, and the sky was filled with brilliant clouds. Following the afterglow of the setting sun, the elders finished their busy day and went back to their offices to prepare for the ceremony on the next day.
Like other cabinet ministers, Zhu Jian left Donghua Gate in a sedan after leaving the Yamen. However, he did not go back directly to the palace, but headed somewhere east of the city.
Stopping in front of an alley, Zhu Jian got off the sedan. Soon, a carriage came from a distance and staggered to a stop. A middle-aged man in his forties got out of the carriage and faced Zhu Jian. He cupped his hands and said.
"I've met Mr. Ming."
"Well, let's talk on the way. Don't waste time."
Seeing this person, Zhu Jian nodded and said.
Immediately, he and this person got on the carriage one after another and headed towards the West City...
"You should already know about the imperial edict, right?"
The carriage looked ordinary from the outside, but it was very comfortable inside. Zhu Jian sat on the soft couch and asked.
The middle-aged man opposite answered immediately.
"I understand. In addition to Zhan Shifu, all the government offices should have received it."
This person is none other than Xu Youzhen, the current bachelor of Zuo Chunfang!
During these days, Mr. Xu, as one of the few officials in the East Palace, was also very busy. However, despite being busy, Mr. Xu also did not forget to do his extra-staff work. In addition to attending the regular meetings of the Supreme Emperor's Party on time, Mr. Xu , just to keep in touch with Mr. Zhu Ge.
In line with the principle that all civil servants are civil servants, Mr. Zhu Ge has regarded Mr. Xu as his descendant over the past few days and has a very close relationship with him.
"Well, I said at the beginning that His Majesty would not be so impulsive and stop His Royal Highness from leaving the cabinet because of this trivial matter. However, these people were deceived and insisted on doing this. Now, the East Palace is uneasy and the government and the public are in chaos. , I want to see if they dare to keep showing up!"
When this matter was mentioned, Zhu Jian's face became a little ugly, and he snorted lightly, with a bit of ridicule in his tone.
Others don’t know the truth about the attack on Xiangting.
However, he knew it.
Behind this, Zhang Xian and his group of nobles were behind the trouble. Their purpose was to take this opportunity to disturb the court situation and restore the Chengguo government.
And the reason why he knows this matter is...
"Ming Gong calm down his anger. After all, it is the Emperor's will and cannot be violated. The students also feel that this matter is inappropriate, but for the sake of the overall situation, they have to do it."
Although the carriage looked shaky, it was very stable inside.
Xu Youzhen lowered her head, cupped her hands and said.
There are often many kinds of truth about a thing. People often think that what they know is the truth, but most of the time, it may not be the whole truth.
Logically speaking, the fewer people who know about the Xiang Pavilion attack, the better. The reason Zhu Jian knew about it was because Xu Youzhen was also involved in it.
Nowadays, the reason why the government and the public are talking a lot is not because there are no discerning people, but because this matter is perfectly connected and they all point to the emperor.
However, it is actually very difficult to achieve this. What makes it possible is the cooperation of many parties.
The identity of the eunuch is true, but the person who enters the palace is not the person from the origin. Bribing the steward responsible for purification and inserting one or two young eunuchs into the palace to work as handymen is a little easier.
You can do it with just money. Normally, nobles would do this kind of thing in order to have some acquaintances in the palace so that they could inquire about information in the palace.
Later, when the emperor ascended the throne, the inner palace was purged several times. In order to facilitate contact with the Holy Mother in the palace, the British government also arranged for some people to enter the palace. Now, the place is being used.
The person came from the Zhang family, but the information had to be provided by Xu Youzhen. He was an official in the East Palace, and he was almost fully involved in the arrangements for the ceremony related to the prince.
He knew best where and when to put the incense pavilion. Even the poison bag used by the young eunuch to commit suicide was placed in the corner of Qingning Palace by his identity, so that the poison bag could be used by the eunuch.
The young eunuch went to get it.
In addition, there are also the Imperial Guards. You must know that the inner palace and outer palace are clearly separated in the imperial city. The eunuch usually has a fixed route on his errands, which basically does not involve the front of Fengtian Palace.
Therefore, if you want to do this, you must have two necessary conditions. One is that the imperial guards guarding the door can let him pass, and the other is that he cannot be patrolled in the square while approaching the Xiangting Pavilion with a red wooden stick.
discovered by the Imperial Guard.
It is very difficult to do this without leaving any trace.
However, no matter how difficult it is, there are always people who can do it, such as... the young prince of Chengguo Palace!
The young prince himself was on duty in the Forbidden Army, so it was not difficult to find out the time when the patrolling Guards were changing their defenses that day. It was entirely possible to take advantage of this small window of opportunity to sneak in and attack the Xiangting Pavilion.
As for the other point, it is not difficult to get the imperial guards of Guiji Sect to let people in, but what is difficult is not to be traced afterwards.
Therefore, you cannot use your own people, or even people who have some relationship with Xungui.
Speaking of this, Xu Youzhen himself admired the young master's resourcefulness.
It is true that he did not have any good friends with each government, but he had already found out who was on duty at Guiji Sect that day, and then rewarded his own forbidden troops with good wine and meat. These forbidden troops always liked Xia Yamen.
After that, they ate and drank together, got rewards, and ate wine together, and then they had diarrhea.
When he was unable to be on duty, he took the place of the second group of people in order, and the little leader of this group had always been a greedy person. Yesterday, the little eunuch spent a lot of money.
Sure enough, he was let in.
It is very difficult to investigate this practice. Every step seems like a coincidence, but there is no evidence.
In this way, with the cooperation of all parties, this case of attacking Xiangting came into being.
Of course there are risks, but with the combined efforts of all parties, the final result is as if the only one who can do this is the emperor.
In this way, the goal will be achieved!
Of course, this is the truth that Zhu Jian knows. What Master Xu knows is deeper.
For example, he knew very well that the whole matter was under the eyes of the emperor and he saw it clearly. People like Zhu Yi and Zhang Xi thought that everything was done perfectly, but little did they know that someone had already done it.
Tell them everything about their plan...
This plan is so complex and mobilizes the forces of all parties. It has only one purpose, and that is to help the Duke of Chengguo regain his title.
In an ideal situation, the emperor would naturally be furious about this incident, order a thorough investigation, cause an uproar in both the government and the public, and at the same time suspend the ceremony of the prince leaving the cabinet.
In this way, the honorable nobles can use the topic to express their opinions and remonstrate with the emperor.
But since the emperor knew about this matter, how could they succeed?
Nowadays, although the political debate between the government and the public has been incited, the emperor has not made the matter a big deal, or even mentioned it too much. He just asked the cabinet to pass on the decree, and everything is as usual.
Under this situation, if we continue to make a fuss, the traces will be too obvious...
In fact, this was also the reason why Zhu Jian objected in the first place. No matter how perfect the attack on Xiangting was and no evidence was found, as long as the emperor stood still and did nothing, then whoever came forward to make a fuss about it
, must be the mastermind behind the scenes.
In court affairs, many times, no evidence is needed!
Even if it is to help Cheng Guo get a title, taking such a risk is not worth it.
After all, in this way, even if the emperor could not deal with the nobles in this way, it would make the court officials feel even more disgusted with the Supreme Emperor.
You must know that after Spring Hunting, Duke Chengguo's Mansion can be regarded as the spokesperson of the Supreme Emperor in every sense.
If the emperor reacts like this, if the Chengguo Palace finally gets into trouble and finally gains something, then there will be many discerning people in the court...