Obviously, Gong Huiwei did not expect that Liang Huanqing would admit so frankly that she did this, and for a moment he did not know how to respond.

Liang Huanqing put her hand on the dragon case. She said nothing, but kept looking at Gong Huiwei.

Gong Huiwei felt as if he was about to be seen through by Liang Huanqing. He lowered his head and knelt upright in the middle of the hall. Sweat fell from behind him, lingering around his nerves.

At this moment, Gong Huiwei felt that he had underestimated Liang Huanqing when he entered the palace. She was waiting for him right here.

The current Empress of the Celestial Dynasty is only in her teens and not yet twenty years old. A year ago she was a eldest lady from the General's Palace who was pampered and grew up in the capital city.

But since she married into the palace and became the princess of the second son of the late emperor, the entire dynasty was slowly changing. The entire dynasty was slowly changing. The powerful Prime Minister Lu was also brought down by this empress. At that time, she also

She is just a young princess.

Now she is in charge of power and saving the empire from dire straits, but some people still doubt her intentions and only think that she has good intentions but has ulterior motives.

Many of them still thought that the Queen and the Empress did not know anything they had done, but now Gong Huiwei knew about it.

Liang Huanqing sat in the upper seat, looking down at Gong Huiwei who was kneeling under the hall, as if she knew what he was thinking.

At the moment, Gong Huiwei is thinking about whether the Empress knows that he colluded with Xia Sicheng, the minister of Xingtaipu Temple, and embezzled the money allocated to build a bridge in Suizhou, which was seriously flooded last year. Now that the bridge has been completed, he heard that Liang Huanqing suddenly

It was decreed that people were not allowed to go on the bridge, but people were not allowed to use the bridge after it was completed. It is really incredible.

Gong Huiwei, who was the minister of the Ministry of Industry, originally wanted to ask the queen why the people were not allowed to enter the bridge, but he did not dare to ask.

The Tianjia allocating funds to build bridges and roads was a matter of great merit. At that time, the emperor also attached great importance to building bridges in Suizhou.

The building materials used to build the bridge were all transported from various places. The person who transported them at that time was Xia Sicheng, the minister of Xingtaipu Temple, and the person in charge of the project at that time was Gong Huiwei, the minister of the Ministry of Industry.

Xingtaipu Temple was responsible for transportation and purchasing, and if Xia Sicheng wanted to cut corners on materials, he would definitely be able to hide it from the eyes of Gong Huiwei, the Minister of Industry.

So when faced with the tens of thousands of project funds allocated by the Tianjia, Xia Sicheng and Gonghui Wei had bad thoughts. They cut corners on the project and deceived the superiors. Since that incident, the two of them have reaped the benefits and have become even more incompetent.

tidy.

However, Gonghui Wei used extremely poor materials to build the bridge. When there is a flood, the bridge will almost collapse with a single blow, and it will not survive forever.

Even though this was the case with Gong Huiwei, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, no one from the Ministry of Industry dared to report it to the emperor, so the completion of the bridge has been delayed until now.

After the bridge was completed, Xia Sicheng took advantage of his position as Minister of the Xingtaipu Temple to take advantage of many loopholes in the capital, buying offices and accepting bribes for others. Yesterday, he heard that the Empress wanted to investigate the matter thoroughly, so he hurriedly asked

Transfer the property obtained through corruption.

In addition, the empress had issued an order not to allow the people of Suizhou to go to the bridge. At that time, he and the Minister of Industry, Gong Huiwei, began to feel anxious.

Xia Sicheng also made a special trip to Gonghui Wei Mansion to discuss matters in the name of a visit.

"Gong Shangshu, now the Empress has ordered that the people of Suizhou are not allowed to go to the bridge. Does this...does this mean that our affairs have been exposed? Has the Empress already targeted us?" Xia Sicheng knew this news, and how many times did it happen?

I couldn't sleep all night, so I had no choice but to come to Gonghui Wei's house.

Gong Huiwei also knew that the Queen Mother had decreed not to allow the people of Suizhou to go to the bridge. The prefect of Suizhou blocked the bridge. The people did not know what was going on, but the government did not give an explanation, but they wanted to

Where can we explain it? They had not heard of such a decree in the court, and they only found out about it after it was promulgated.

Gong Huiwei wanted to ask the Empress, but he thought it was better to stay put on the matter, so he asked the Minister of Works to ask. The Empress closed the door to the Minister of Works, saying that she was not feeling well and could not see him.

people.

This frightened Gong Huiwei, who had been feeling uneasy in the mansion. When Xia Sicheng came to ask him about it, he was also upset.

"It was because of the war with Great Liang and the late emperor's funeral that the Celestial Empire's treasury was in deficit, and the imperial court halved the salary. We had no choice but to tamper with the project funds... I thought we had hidden it from the emperor, but who knows now

Was it discovered by the Queen?" Gong Huiwei said helplessly when facing Xia Sicheng who asked him.

"Your Excellency!" Xia Sicheng was so frightened that he couldn't sit still. If this was discovered, the whole family would be executed!

Lu Gaohong's example was vividly in front of them, but they still did it.

Xia Sicheng jumped up from his seat and whispered to Gong Huiwei: "You mean, the Queen has discovered us?"

Gonghui Wei frowned, looked at the panicked Xia Sicheng, and said: "I am responsible for the construction of the bridge in Suizhou. If you hadn't said that it would be fine, and there was still tens of thousands of dollars to make profits, I would have

I've always been a good official, and now I'm about to resign and go home, how could I do something like this!"

"What Mr. Gong said is not true!" Xia Sicheng felt like he was exploding when he heard that Gong Huiwei blamed himself for all the mistakes. "When the official said he wanted to do this, Sir,

There is no sign of any objection, it’s all for the tens of thousands of dollars, why do you have to pretend to be noble in front of your subordinates?”

"You!" Gong Huiwei blew his beard and stared in anger when Xia Sicheng said this. He pointed at Xia Sicheng's nose and said: "Then do you know that if the Queen knows about this, she will be the first to be punished?

It’s me! As long as you catch me, do you think you can escape?”

After saying this, Xia Sicheng fell silent. He was a young man in his thirties, and in the eyes of Gong Huiwei, he was like a child. After he knew that he might be imprisoned, he couldn't help but feel afraid.

"Then... Mr. Gong, what should we do now?" Xia Sicheng was still scared. After all, he was still young and had many ways to go in the future. Besides, it was not easy to reach his current position in his thirties.

, he has a promising future, and he doesn’t want to let it go like this.

"Huh!" Gong Huiwei glared at him and said, "Now you can think of calling me your lord."

Xia Sicheng was also frightened. When he saw that Gonghui Wei seemed to have something to do, he quickly smiled and said softly: "Sir, you don't remember the faults of villains. What kind of scene is it now? I hope you will, sir."

Please give me an idea!"

This was related to their official careers and the lives of the whole family, so Gonghui Wei stopped making things difficult for Xia Sicheng, and then said: "Send all the gold and silver you gained from bribery and corruption out of the palace, and wait until the queen empress

When I found out, I couldn't find the stolen goods, so I just gave up."

"Is this... feasible?" Xia Sicheng hesitated, "What if something goes wrong with the Suizhou Bridge and the Queen discovers it, I will die!"

"Have you thought of this now? Why didn't you think of this before?" Gonghui Wei glanced at him and felt that this person was of no great use, and dragged him into the water in vain. "As long as I am still in the Ministry of Works, when can I borrow the money?"

Re-reinforcement in the name of repair should not be a problem, but once this is over...the treasures you transported out of the city..."

Gong Huiwei was hinting at Xia Sicheng, and Xia Sicheng was also a good man. He immediately bowed his hands and said: "I will pay tribute to you and return to your hometown for your retirement."

Gong Huiwei nodded with satisfaction.

Xia Sicheng began preparations when he returned to the Qingfu of Xingtaipu Temple, hoping to take advantage of the night to send those boxes out of the city.

And all this was under the control of Liang Huanqing. After the visitors came to report, Liang Ji also took advantage of the night to take people to seal the mansion of Xia Sicheng, the minister of Xingtaipu Temple. It happened to be in the courtyard, and they seized Xia Sicheng's mansion.

The gold, silver and jewels that were about to be transported out of the city were stolen, and the Xia Mansion was sealed off without any effort.

Xia Sicheng, who was in the prison, quickly confessed several people who had committed corruption with him in the court, and among them was the name of Gong Huiwei.

Liang Huanqing had been waiting at the Qinzheng Hall early in the morning. If Xia Sicheng was arrested, someone would definitely be unable to restrain himself. She did not expect it to be Gong Huiwei, but she also expected it.

I don't know how long it took, but Liang Huanqing tapped the dragon case with her fingers, indicating that she was impatient to wait.

Gong Huiwei knelt down and didn't dare to look up at the Queen. When he heard the Queen tapping her fingers, it sounded like a voice urging her to die. He was trembling all over and sweating on his back and forehead.

I thought I could come and ask the Queen if she could produce any evidence.

But now it is conceivable that the Queen has been eyeing them for a long time. If they want evidence, they will not dare to look at it even if the Queen dares to take it.

"The Empress... I am guilty!" Gong Huiwei finally lay on the ground and said with a cry in his voice.

"What's the crime?" Liang Huanqing sat on the dragon chair, his voice was clear but solemn and majestic, echoing in the empty Qinzheng Hall, it was so straight that it could shock people's hearts.

"The guilty minister...the guilty minister should not have embezzled the money from the Suizhou Bridge project..." Gong Huiwei cried.

At this time, he felt very regretful, but it was obvious that it was of no use. What was the use of regret? People should pay the due price for what they have done.

Seeing what he said, Liang Huanqing picked up the paperweight on the desk with calligraphy and paintings on it and threw it away. The paperweight was made of white jade with a carved dragon. It hit Gong Huiwei directly in front of him and broke into two pieces. He was so frightened.

Gong Huiwei shivered and knelt back half a step.

"Queen, please calm down!" Yue Bai and the eunuchs and maids serving in the palace knelt down one after another to persuade the Queen not to be angry, lest she hurt her body.

But how could Liang Huanqing not be angry now? She pointed at Gong Huiwei, then got down from the dragon position, walked towards him step by step, and said as she walked: "So you also know that the embezzlement is the bridge construction money from Suizhou City!

Back then, the emperor ordered money to be used to build a bridge in Suizhou to withstand floods. The bridge was a life-saving dam!

There was a flood in Suizhou and Qinzhou last year! Countless people died, and then a plague started, which also killed countless people! Shangjing almost fell!

That money is the money that the palace and the people saved from their teeth!

At the beginning of the year, wars and plagues consumed most of the treasury of the Celestial Empire. The funeral of the late emperor and the emperor's enthronement further depleted the treasury. After the emperor ascended the throne, there was already very little left in the treasury. The palace had to cut back on food and clothing, and the common people turned in their surplus food and donated it.

, the unique Suizhou Bridge!

The emperor and the people only hoped that if there were heavy rains and floods this year, fewer people would die. With that bridge, no matter how big the floods were, they would not be afraid! Suizhou City and Qinzhou City would be safe!

But what about you?! You are all doing things that no beast would do!

Now that I have ordered that people are not allowed to go on the bridge, it can prevent the people of Suizhou from not discovering that the bridge is a defective project! But if there is a flood! How can I be worthy of the emperor! How can I be worthy of the people!"

Liang Huanqing became angry and kicked him. The person who was kicked by Gong Huiwei fell on his back and shouted: "The Queen, please forgive me, the Queen, please forgive me!"

Yuebai and He Yu looked at each other and shook their heads, sighing that Gong Huiwei had known this before, so why did he do it in the first place.

Liang Huanqing was not willing to listen to his nonsense, so he immediately said: "What a shame!"

"The slave is here!"

"Remove the official hat, official uniform, and official seal of the Gonghui Guard! Take him to the prison to await his fate!" Liang Huanqing looked at the Gonghui Guard lying on the ground and said mercilessly.

"Yes!" He Yu ordered two people, one on the left and the other on the right, to remove the official hat and uniform of the Gonghui Guard, take off his official seal, and then personally escort him to Tianlao and seal the palace.

＊

After everything was done today, Liang Huanqing only felt tired, but she still went to the Imperial Garden with Yuebai to enjoy the flowers.

Seeing that the Empress still looked sad, Yuebai asked carefully: "Empress, are you still worried? Gong Huiwei and Xia Sicheng have been imprisoned, what are the Empress still worried about?"

"There are more than one Gong Huiwei and Xia Sicheng in this court. Now I need them to manage the affairs of the court. I am using Gong Huiwei and Xia Sicheng to scare the monkeys. I hope they can understand.

There are too many things that I can still use without bothering with them. If I push further, I will have no choice but to give way to the top candidate in the palace examination." Liang Huanqing said while playing with the chalcedony in his hand.

"The Queen has good intentions, adults will understand." Yue Bai agreed from the side.

Liang Huanqing sighed, and suddenly smelled the scent of gardenia. It was not as elegant as other flowers, but had a strong fragrance when approached.

"When did this gardenia appear in the Imperial Garden?" Liang Huanqing was a little strange. He only remembered that he had never seen gardenias in the Imperial Garden. Why is there now?

"Mr. Si remembers that the Queen was very fond of gardenias when she saw them in the palace, and she even took some flower branches back to the general's palace. Now that the gardenias are in bloom, Mr. Si has had several gardenias transplanted to the palace.

Royal Garden.

Recently, the Empress has been busy with government affairs and has never had time to come to the Imperial Garden. How could she know that it is such a coincidence that the gardenias are newly blooming and the fragrance is very fresh and fragrant. If the Empress likes it, can I pick a few and bring them back to Qianning Palace for incense? Yuebai said respectfully.
Chapter completed!