In order to verify the conjecture in his heart, Xiao Lizi couldn't help but pursed his lips and whispered doubtfully, "Your Majesty~"
Emperor Qianxi glanced at him lightly, seeing through his little thoughts, and then chuckled, "Why, do you think it's strange why I'm not angry because of this?"
Xiao Lizi paused for a moment, then scratched his head and asked in confusion, "I'm stupid and haven't figured out the reason. Your Majesty, please explain."
It’s hard to tell whether Xiao Lizi is deliberately pretending not to understand, or whether he really doesn’t understand, because he has a silly smile on his face that makes it difficult to figure out.
Emperor Qianxi looked extremely calm, not at all angry as when Concubine He was present just now. There was always a slight smile on his face now.
Then he explained, "This matter is quite simple. If you think about it carefully, you can understand that if someone comes out to confess, then the corresponding clues must have been interrupted by the people behind him, otherwise you will wait for you to follow the clues and investigate, and finally The truth will come to light."
As soon as Emperor Xi explained, Xiao Lizi's eyes widened in surprise, and he nodded frequently, and then suddenly realized, "Oh~ I see."
After thinking for a while, he asked, "Your Majesty, how should we respond?"
Emperor Qianxi was silent for a long time, and said with a slight frown, "This clue cannot be broken. I guess there must be a mastermind behind this. If you send someone to follow up secretly, I will definitely find out the mastermind. I want to see what happens. Who dares to extend his claws into the palace?"
Xiao Lizi nodded knowingly.
Subconsciously, Emperor Qianxi still didn't want to believe that Concubine He had done this personally, because deep down in his heart, he believed that Concubine He was not a troublemaker, so he firmly believed that someone was manipulating people behind his back and deliberately framed Concubine He.
At the same time, Princess Yucheng on the other side was his most beloved daughter, and Concubine He would not dare to frame Princess Yucheng under his nose no matter what.
The last point is Ling Yun. That kid is the young generation he values the most. He mistakenly thought that he had been protecting that bastard very well. Since he promoted him, he deliberately left him in the cold. This was to prevent the ministers from seeing through it. The little thoughts in his heart.
But what he never expected was that the mastermind behind this was so capable that he could kill three birds with one stone and put the three people he loved or valued most at the same time into a deadlock. It was simply unforgivable!
Xiao Lizi looked at Emperor Qianxi who was deep in thought without disturbing him. After an unknown amount of time, Emperor Qianxi who came back to his senses suddenly asked, "Little Lizi, I recently asked you to pay attention to the most restless ministers. How are you doing?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Lizi took out a piece of white paper from his arms without thinking, handed it to Emperor Qianxi, and replied, "Your Majesty, the names of all the slaves are recorded on this list."
Emperor Qianxi took the white paper and slowly opened it. His eyes stayed on the contents of the white paper and stared at it for a long time without saying a word.
After a long time, Emperor Qianxi finally said, "Well! Please tell me, I have to go to court early tomorrow. It's also time to catch a few clowns and punish them. Otherwise, some people have nothing to do and are just thinking about causing trouble for me."
Xiao Lizi's expression changed, and his eyes showed happiness and misfortune. He thought that His Majesty was finally willing to take action. He had long wanted to show off to those arrogant ministers, and now he was in for a good show.
Sure enough, in the morning of the next day, Emperor Qianxi selected several ministers who were recorded in the records, cited the crimes they had committed during their official tenure, and then directly demoted them out of the capital.
One of them was an unlucky man who was dissatisfied with Emperor Qianxi because he was demoted from the capital. Desperate for his life, he actually yelled a few words in the court about Emperor Qianxi's private visit to the palace to look for flowers and willows.
Emperor Qianxi's expression suddenly changed with shock. He was furious and demoted him to a county below Nanyi Prefecture as a county magistrate. When the man heard this, he fainted on the spot.
This person is none other than Gao Anjian.
Other ministers who were familiar with Gao Anjian, namely the ministers headed by Gao Anxiang, wanted to stand up to intercede for him, but before they could come forward, Emperor Qianxi blurted out directly, saying that if anyone stood up to intercede for him, he would Go together.
As soon as these words came out, the temperature in the Jinluan Palace dropped. The ministers who were about to come out to intercede for him were frightened when they heard Emperor Qianxi's unquestionable words. They immediately took back their steps. Their faces were full of fear and uneasiness. They didn't dare to Move it.
As a result, the court was silent, and no one dared to stand up and speak easily, for fear that his slightest move would arouse the dissatisfaction of Emperor Qianxi. If Emperor Qianxi was dissatisfied and made them follow in the footsteps of those in front of them, it would be a disaster. Better to die.
Emperor Qianxi demoted all those below the fourth rank this time, and did not move anyone above the third rank. Perhaps he was worried that if he moved ministers above the third rank, it would involve too many people, and he was afraid of achieving the opposite result and being counterproductive.
All in all, Emperor Qianxi did not act cruelly and did not kill them all at once. Instead, he gave them some room to attack, and only used some small shrimp soldiers to achieve the effect of knocking on the mountain and shaking the tiger, thus making those ministers afraid.
Emperor Qianxi sat on the dragon chair, not angry and proud, looking down at the ministers below, all prostrate on the ground, trembling, not daring to move easily, feeling refreshed in his heart.
After the ministers got up, Gao Anxiang, the Minister of Civil Affairs, glanced at Gao Anjian who was unconscious on the ground, pursed his lips, finally shook his head and sighed, and looked away.
Just when everyone stopped paying attention to Gao Anjian and wanted to retreat from the court as soon as possible to protect themselves, Wang Zhengyang, the minister of official affairs, stood up.
"Your Majesty, in this state, Gao Langzhong may not be able to bear the hardship of traveling all the way to Nanyi Prefecture."
Wang Zhengyang stood up to speak for Gao Anjian, which frightened the other ministers into stunned silence.
As for why the officials were so surprised, the reason is that Wang Zhengyang and Gao Anjian did not have a deep friendship, but the former was the latter's superior.
It stands to reason that since Wang Zhengyang was Gao Anjian's superior, he should not have tried so hard to offend Emperor Qianxi by standing up to speak for him. Is there any hidden secret in this?
Emperor Qianxi naturally knew that Wang Zhengyang had suffered three years in Nanyi Prefecture, so he did not intend to refute Wang Zhengyang's request.
But then he thought about it and realized that he had already made up his mind to punish these ministers. If he suddenly relented and stopped talking halfway, it would definitely cause them to counterattack, which would be counterproductive and would also encourage their arrogance and domineering momentum.
Therefore, in order to successfully complete his plan, he could only refute Wang Zhengyang's face. Emperor Qianxi snorted coldly and said, "Humph! You have to walk if you can. If you can't walk, you have to be lifted by me." When you get somewhere, if there is an accident on the way...let it resolve itself, I won't bother you at all."
self resolved?
Hearing this, Baiguan's mouth twitched, thinking that Your Majesty is really determined to deal with those who are against him, otherwise he would not have said such hard-hearted words.
Upon hearing this, Wang Zhengyang immediately recognized Emperor Qianxi's determination. He did not continue to plead for mercy, but obediently returned to his original position, bowing his head and remaining silent.
From then on, with the precedent of Wang Zhengyang, the ministers did not dare to have the idea of asking for mercy anymore. They thought that Wang Zhengyang, who had suffered for three years, could not make Emperor Qianxi change his mind, and it was even more impossible for them to make him change his mind.
As he was about to retire, Emperor Qianxi didn't want to make the remaining officials feel better, so he added another general and said, "By the way, the post of magistrate of Nanyi Prefecture is vacant. You, the prime minister, have to select a suitable person within seven days, otherwise... hum. snort!"
After saying that, without giving them any time to react, he directly signaled Xiao Lizi to announce his resignation.
After Emperor Qianxi left, the ministers and officials in the Jinluan Palace did not leave, but focused their attention on the left prime minister Wang Yangyu and the right prime minister He Yushan.
Especially those ministers of the third, fourth and fifth grades, all gathered around the two of them and looked at them with pitiful expressions.
"Prime Minister Left, Prime Minister Right, help..."
Being in the Jinluan Palace, they did not dare to make any noise and could only plead for mercy in a suppressed voice.
Wang Yangyu didn't take sides or accept bribes, so he naturally ignored these people. So when he met the eyes of these people, he just said casually, "My lords, give way and let me borrow my money for a moment."
Everyone was helpless. At this critical moment, they did not dare to really stop Wang Yangyu. If they stopped him and made him hold a grudge, disaster would be imminent!
Although they dare not intercept, it does not prevent them from following.
So, after making way for Wang Yangyu, a group of ministers followed beside and behind him.
One of them wiped his tearless eyes and said pitifully, "Mr. Zuo Xiang, there are senior officials and junior officials. Mr. Zuo Xiang, you must not choose to be a subordinate..."
Before this person finished speaking, another person interjected, "Lord Zuo Xiang, the same goes for Xiaguan. Xiaguan's old mother is already seventy-eight years old this year. If Xiaguan leaves the capital, what happens to Xiaguan's old mother during this period?" , I’m afraid I won’t even be able to see her for the last time! Mr. Zuo Xiang, please don’t choose Xiaguan..."
As soon as the man finished speaking, someone in the team stood up and questioned, "Sir, I vaguely remember that your daughter-in-law just celebrated her fiftieth birthday half a month ago? How could she suddenly turn seventy or eighty?"
He Liangji glared at the speaker fiercely, with an angry look on his face, and then affirmed, "Mr. Yang, you must have remembered it wrong. My mother is indeed in her seventies... How could He lie?"
"That's not right! Your Majesty, I was invited to attend your daughter's fiftieth birthday half a month ago. How could I remember it wrong? I must have remembered it wrong, Your Majesty?"
"you…"
He Liangji wanted to say something else, but Wang Yangyu stopped him and said, "Okay, stop arguing. How is it appropriate to make noises in the palace?"
As soon as Wang Yangyu said these words, everyone immediately shut up.
At the same time, He Yushan, who was still behind, had a group of people gathered around him. But unlike Wang Yangyu, no matter who stood up to plead for mercy, He Yushan always had a smiling expression on his face and only said: Say two words, "Easy to say, easy to say..."
Li Chengyou, who was standing aside, did not step forward to talk to the left and right. His eyes kept changing, looking at Wang Yangyu's leaving back, with a solemn look on his face, as if he was making a decision in his heart.