The cool autumn wind blew off the yellow leaves on the branches, and a waning moon hung in the sky. Under the night, the majestic and magnificent palace also fell into a deep sleep, except for the Qing Palace with its lights on.
"Your Majesty, the night is already deep. Your Majesty's body is not well during this period. The imperial doctor has asked your Majesty to get more rest and take care of yourself." Gonggong An reminded him with a distressed look on his face. Anyone who dared to speak so bluntly in front of the emperor would not be able to do it in Daqi. I'm afraid he's the only one.
"Ahem! An Shi! How long has it been since Marquis Yongchang went to the Ministry of Punishment? How come there is no news yet?" The emperor frowned. In the past few days, the papers about the impeachment of Marquis Yongchang were flying into the Qianqing Palace like snowflakes, and the emperor's study room was closed. The desks are piled up.
But most of them are groundless rumors with no real evidence, and the emperor does not want to punish the crime easily, so as not to chill the hearts of the ministers.
"Back to Your Majesty, I have asked just now, but there is no news yet." Eunuch An learned that the Marquis of Yongchang arrived at the Ministry of Punishment and showed no repentance and kept talking about injustice. It is expected that there will be no progress in the near future.
"An Shi! Say what you have to say!" The emperor immediately understood what Eunuch An was about to say but hesitated.
"Your Majesty, Marquis Yongchang is afraid that he will not give up until he reaches the Yellow River..." An Gonggong replied with sincerity and fear.
"That's all! By the way, when the decree was delivered today, did the Third Prince see any strange phenomena?"
"Back to Your Majesty! I followed Your Majesty's instructions and deliberately ignored the Third Prince, but he was still respectful and cautious, but..."
"But what?" The emperor frowned slightly. Yu Wenyao had always paid no attention to the affairs of the court, but for some reason, he had become more and more obsessed with it recently, which made him feel suspicious.
Eunuch An took out a purse from his sleeve pocket, which was what Yu Wenyao had given him in the afternoon: "The third prince inquired about the news from the servant and asked the servant who reported the matter to His Majesty, Marquis Yongchang."
"Did you tell him everything?"
"In accordance with His Majesty's instructions, I told the third prince the truth."
"Well, I will go to bed after reading these excerpts." The emperor pondered for a moment and then said.
Eunuch An sighed, relit a few candles, and changed a cup of tea. After doing this, he quietly retreated behind the emperor as usual.
…
When the court and the Ministry of Punishment were in a stalemate, Xiao Wenjun personally sent Marquis Yongchang's internal account to the Ministry of Punishment, and the people from the Punishment Ministry quickly settled the case.
Following the clues, they found out that Marquis Yongchang had embezzled more than 300,000 taels of special money from the treasury, paid bribes of up to 1 million taels, and accepted bribes of more than 3 million taels. There were also silks and satins, rare jade stones, and countless antique calligraphy and paintings!
They couldn't help but not be diligent. The court was arguing about this matter every day, making as much noise as in the vegetable market. Although the emperor didn't say anything, Eunuch An sent people over several times a day to ask questions. Anyone who is not stupid can understand what's going on. mean.
Once the case was verified, the court was quiet for only two days, and then it became noisy again. There was such a big and fat vacancy in the household department, and everyone wanted to replace it with their own people, but the emperor was not in a hurry about it, and seemed to let them make trouble first.
Qianqing Palace Yangxin Hall.
The emperor, who was dressed in bright yellow uniforms, was lying on the couch with his eyes closed. Eunuch An was waiting in front of him, rubbing his sore forehead. In the past few days, he had been given a headache by the ministers who had gone to court. How could these people have read enough poems and books? , the appearance of Zhiwendali.
"Your Majesty, are you feeling better?" Eunuch An asked softly.
"Hmm! The Xiao Wenjun that Mr. Wangge mentioned that day was the noble daughter of which Gongqing's family?"
Mr. An's eyelids twitched, his hand movements paused, and he immediately responded: "Xiao Wenjun is the legitimate daughter of Xiao Daoyuan, the general of Zhenxi, and your majesty has made you the Princess of Lanling."
As Eunuch An expected, he did not show any displeasure. The emperor just gave a faint hum and said nothing more.
After a long time, Eunuch An thought that the emperor had fallen asleep, but the majestic voice sounded again, "Xiao Daoyuan was brave and good at fighting. He fought on the battlefield for many years, but he ended up with no body left."
There was sighing and loneliness in the voice.
Eunuch An's thoughts changed and he continued: "A few days ago, Mrs. Xiao also went."
"Oh? I remember that Xiao Daoyuan still has a son in Kyoto?" The emperor sat up straight, with a look of regret in his eyes.
"Your Majesty, Xiao Wenqing and Xiao Zhizi have been in Kyoto for twenty years!" Eunuch An stood up quickly, straightened the emperor's sleeves, and lowered his head.
"It's time to let him go back. Just make him a county official and let him return to Lanling to observe his filial piety!"
"Yes!" Mr. An was surprised. Xiao Wenqing had been in Kyoto for twenty years. Except when he first came to Kyoto, the emperor asked him a few times and never mentioned it again. He didn't expect that the emperor would think of him again in Xiao Wenjun's name today.
.
It's just that the younger sisters are both princesses, and the eldest brother only has a county prince, the prince of the Xiao family. I'm afraid it will be difficult. I don't know if it is a blessing or a curse to be remembered by the emperor. But such a big thing is not for him as a slave.
Something to think about.
"Xiao Wenjun!" The emperor whispered the name, slowly stroking the string of beads with his fingers, with a playful expression on his face.
When Eunuch An saw this, his heart beat violently. Anyone familiar with the emperor knew that he was interested in the person, and he couldn't help but be so frightened that his head almost dropped to his chest.
The emperor noticed Eunuch An's surprised look, but he didn't say anything. He just continued: "As a woman, Xiao Daoyuan actually took the '文' character of a male member of the Xiao family and her!"
There was a trace of imperceptible sarcasm in his tone. Hearing this, Mr. An did not dare to reply.
"I remember that the marriage between the third prince and her was my own decree." The emperor did not expect that Eunuch An would answer the question, and continued in an unbridled way.
"Your Majesty has a very good memory. He can remember things from more than ten years ago so clearly." An Gonggong felt something in his heart again. The cold sweat on his back had soaked his clothes several times. He couldn't figure out what the emperor meant by this.
But he still followed the words and complimented with a smile.
"You old loach!" The emperor glanced at him and cursed with a smile, "This girl is quite interesting."
Mr. An was even more confused.
The matter that had been quarreling in the court for many days finally came to an end on the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet.
Wangge Lao, on his side, acted quickly and carried out a series of changes. The Ministry of Household Affairs underwent a major change and many of their own people were added. As Xiao Wenjun expected, the proceeds from house confiscation filled the national treasury and alleviated a lot of financial pressure.
Winning the joy of Longyan.
In less than a month, the Yongchang Marquis Mansion ransacked the family and completely disappeared from Kyoto. The destruction of the Yongchang Marquis Mansion set off a bloody storm in the court, and everyone was in danger.
On the other hand, the people were very happy.
After the "Yongchang Hou Case", Xiao Wenjun's reputation spread far and wide in Kyoto, and the news also spread to the harem.
Since ancient times, the palace has been lonely. They envied Xiao Wenjun for living such a free and unrestrained life and being so decisive in killing, and they couldn't help but become a little curious about her.
Especially Wang Guifei, she had heard Xiao Wenjun's name from her nephew before. At that time, she didn't care much about how capable a teenage girl could be. Unexpectedly, it was really impressive. Wang Ge was more powerful in the previous dynasty.
The stronger you are, the more stable your position in the harem will be.
In the end, Yu Wenyao did not get any benefit from this matter. Instead, he suffered a setback. Not even a single person from Hubu intervened. At this time, compared with Mr. Wang Ge, his strength was still far different.