"Well said! I agree with what Su Siqing said. Wang Deng, this matter is due to your incompetence and negligence, which led to this result."
Several people immediately looked outside and found that the person coming was actually E Chongming, the chief minister.
The emperor immediately asked how the situation was outside the palace, and E Chongming sighed.
"Your Majesty, the people outside the palace are so angry that they have all gathered in front of the palace gate. If Mr. Wang is not punished severely, I am afraid it will be difficult to explain to the people."
Wang Deng's face changed drastically, and he immediately begged the emperor: "Your Majesty, I have no choice but to do this! They can't understand my difficulties, but you, your Majesty, should know better."
"Wang Shangshu, what Su Siqing said is true. You are fully responsible for causing such a catastrophe. It is precisely because of your dereliction of duty that heavy losses were caused. Nearly three hundred people were killed, but they are still the pillars of the country. Even if the people can't do anything to you,
But the law will not forgive you."
A cold light burst out from E Chongming's eyes. The position of Minister of Rites should have been replaced by someone long ago.
He turned his head, lifted the hem of his official uniform, and knelt down with a plop.
"Your Majesty, this is Wang Shangshu's dereliction of duty. So many candidates were killed and even the Gongyuan Courtyard collapsed. This is a loss for the imperial court."
"With love, the families of those candidates are devastated. They have lost the backbone of their family. They have no one to rely on for their old age and no support for their children. There are also candidates who have studied hard for more than ten years in order to become officials and benefit the people, but they are innocent
They died in the fire, and they couldn't rest in peace!"
"Your Majesty! If Wang Shangshu is not punished, the people will not be angry!"
E Chongming let out a cry of sorrow and then fell to the ground.
Su Jinxun was surprised why the chief minister had the same opinion as him today, but then he thought of a possibility and couldn't help but feel cold.
But no matter what the chief assistant is planning, they are currently on the same front.
Wang Deng must be won today!
Wang Deng was immediately frightened and said, "Your Majesty, I have been wronged! I am not understood by the world, and they put all the blame on me. I cannot defend myself at all!"
The emperor did not say a word, but looked at the three people kneeling on the ground with grief on their faces, but their grief was different.
"Your Majesty, I know that Mr. Wang is a long-time minister, but there is no doubt that he made a mistake this time. You cannot treat him lightly and refuse to obey just because you care about old feelings!"
"I will not surrender!"
"I don't want to surrender!"
Su Jinxun fell to the ground, and the cries of dissatisfaction resounded throughout the imperial study, deafening the emperor. Seeing Su Jinxun crying and wiping away her tears, he couldn't help feeling a little pity.
"Your Majesty! There are people outside who want to break into the palace gate. I have sent troops to suppress them temporarily, but they are all filled with righteous indignation and more and more people are gathering."
The emperor was shocked when the commander of the imperial guards, Fu Congrong, suddenly came to report.
"They are clamoring to..." Fu Congrong glanced at Wang Deng who was kneeling on the ground.
"He said that he wanted to ask the court to hand over Mr. Wang, or to severely punish him, otherwise he would not leave."
"Your Majesty! It's not good! News came from the Military and Horse Department in Beicheng that Lord Wang's residence has been besieged by the people. They threatened to break into Lord Wang's residence if they were not severely punished. I originally wanted to lead the troops to besiege him.
But the people are very excited and dare not act rashly at this moment."
The commander Zeng Guolin hurried to the Imperial Study Room to report the incident.
Wang Deng was immediately frightened and said, "Those people, they are going to rebel."
"Master Fu, please quickly bring people to arrest them all, they are going to rebel!"
After Wang Deng finished speaking, he pointed at Zeng Guolin and said, "Master Zeng, hurry up! Go and protect my family. Those people are country men and my family will suffer!"
"Didn't you say that this matter should be suppressed for the time being? How could it spread so much?" The emperor had a headache, and he knew in his heart that there is no airtight wall in this world.
He glanced at Wang Deng and couldn't help but shook his head. Wang Deng could no longer be saved, but who would replace him? He was worried!
He sighed deeply, another pure minister was gone.
Glancing at Su Jinxun, the emperor's heart moved. He has no factions and no promising juniors, so he can be manipulated!
Acacia came back quickly, and it didn't want to leave Su Yizhao for a moment.
Su Yizhao gently tugged on Su Yijue's sleeve and suddenly said loudly: "Fifth brother, I want to go to the toilet, but I'm a little scared."
Su Yijue was stunned for a moment, then said: "Then I will go with you."
Then, the two of them hurriedly walked a long way and turned a corner.
"Fifth Brother, hurry up! Hold the fire folding piece for me."
Su Yizhao stuffed the Huozhezi into Su Yijue's hand, and then took out a few pieces of paper and a pen from his arms.
"You still have these on you? Do you still care about these when you escape?"
Su Yijue couldn't help but admire him. This should be a previous examination paper.
"I didn't think the fire could be controlled, so I brought the test papers out to avoid failing in the previous exams and not being able to use them."
Speaking of this, Su Yizhao couldn't help but sigh. It was the last exam and she had finished the exam.
She could wait one more day to leave the Gongyuan, but now it was of no use.
"What are you going to write?" Su Yijue watched curiously as Su Yizhao tore off a corner of the paper, wondering what he was doing.
"I have found reinforcements, but we can't go out yet, so I want Xiangsi to help me bring the news out."
As Su Yizhao spoke, he licked the dry tip of the pen in his mouth, and then began to write furiously.
"We found reinforcements? If we can't go out, why do you still need to write a letter?" He felt happy that they were finally saved.
Su Yizhao did not answer, but concentrated on writing something.
Su Yijue held up the fire fold, intending to get closer to see what he had written, but Su Yizhao had already rolled up the paper, tore off a small piece of cloth from his body, and tied the piece of paper to Xiangsi's leg.
"Xiangsi, I have one more thing to ask of you. Give this note to the person you just saw, and do it quickly!"
Seeing Xiangsi fleeing quickly, Su Yizhao breathed a sigh of relief.
"Let's make a long story short. Although we were trapped in the fire this time, it was really unlucky. But if you think about it carefully, it was actually an opportunity."
"What should I say?" Su Yijue suddenly felt that his brain was a little out of use. He had already lost his mind and didn't understand what Su Yizhao was talking about.
"This Spring Festival is hosted by the Ministry of Rites. There is a fire in the Gongyuan. Wouldn't the officials of the Ministry of Rites know about it? Such a big fire happened. Guess where Wang Deng, the Minister of Rites, was at that time? In any case, a dereliction of duty or dereliction of duty is inevitable."
Su Yijue suddenly understood, but he felt that he didn't quite understand.
"You mean? But even so, this position is not my grandfather's!"
"How will you know if you don't try? Even if you are not in this position, then the emperor should not have treated my grandfather badly. Maybe the third uncle can also benefit from it."
Su Yizhao quickly analyzed, "Even if we don't keep an eye on the position of Minister of Rites, others will, so we might as well be prepared."
"What are you going to do?" Su Yijue asked immediately.