Three years ago, the assassination of an envoy from the State of Chu was ultimately blamed on the Tang family, but the focus was shifted. The Tang family paid for a housekeeper and the position of a wine minister in the Imperial Academy to eliminate the matter.
Just when everyone thought that the matter would end here, a letter from the envoy of the Chu State once again pushed the case to a climax and pushed the Tang family to the forefront.
The State of Chen and the State of Chu are friendly states. In addition to sending envoys for exchanges and communication every year, the two countries also have envoys stationed in each other's capitals.
Three years ago, an envoy from the Chu State was assassinated, and the Chu State was furious. In order to appease the Chu State, the Chen State ordered a thorough investigation of the case, but in the end it was left unsolved.
Now that the old case was brought up again, Chen Guo lightly let the culprit off the hook. This aroused great dissatisfaction among the envoys of Chu State. A letter was directly handed to Emperor Chen, demanding that those involved in the case be dealt with strictly.
Chu State is the victim of this case, so it is naturally qualified to make such a request.
However, the two words "strict handling" are very thought-provoking.
If an ordinary person was involved in this serious case, he would be killed at least, or his family would be confiscated and his family exterminated at the worst. Only in this way can the Chu State be given an explanation.
The Tang family had a special status, and it was impossible to behead and exterminate the entire clan. However, it was just a symbolic exemption from Tang Qi's imperial sacrifice, which would be too disrespectful to the Chu State.
It concerns the face of the country. Right now, the envoys of the Chu State are just handing over a letter of credence to Emperor Chen. If the court does not handle this matter well, the next submission may be the letter of credence from the Chu State to the Chen State.
A letter from the envoy of the State of Chu shocked the newly peaceful court again.
…
In the imperial study room, Emperor Chen was furious, threw the memorial to the ground, and said angrily: "Now you are asking me to explain, what have they done!"
The affairs of the Tang family have been concluded. If the envoy of the Chu State handed over a message at this time and demanded severe punishment for the Tang family, wouldn't it mean that he would overturn his order?
Jun Wuxi said, if the emperor's order can be overturned at will, where will the emperor's face be put?
However, if it is not overthrown, it will inevitably arouse the dissatisfaction of the Chu State. The emperor's face will be worthless compared with the interests of the country.
Chen Huang lowered his head to pick up the memorial, sighed, and said: "Those bastards from the Tang family know how to give me a hard time. None of them named Tang is a good person..."
Wei Jian stepped forward with a wry smile on his face and said, "Your Majesty, the envoy of Chu State has come forward. We must take this matter seriously, otherwise, we may be in serious trouble..."
Now that the threat from the grassland has temporarily disappeared, the Chen State has lost a strong enemy, but from this matter, the Chu State has benefited even more. The enemy is gone, and the Chu State can develop better. At this time, because it is unreasonable
It is obviously not a wise choice to go against the Chu State.
"Of course I know!" Emperor Chen waved his hand and said: "Summon the Prime Minister, the Minister of Dali Temple, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and the Imperial Censor to enter the palace... In addition, let that bastard come over too!"
Tang family.
The Chu envoy came forward and asked the court to severely punish the Tang family. Tang Zhao hit the mark, and the atmosphere in the Tang family became solemn.
The severity of the matter this time was completely different from before.
Last time the Ministry of Justice found out that the Tang family was related to the assassination of the envoy, it was a misunderstanding that the Tang family killed him, so it would not hurt his bones.
But this time it's different.
When it comes to relations between countries, small things can turn into big things. The envoys of the Chu State refused to let go of the case. Whether or not the Tang family was guilty or how serious the crime was was no longer important.
What is important is how to appease the envoys and satisfy the Chu State, which is what the court needs to consider.
As for whether the Tang family will sacrifice... no one cares.
The Tang family waited anxiously for the result. The food was already on the table, and no one moved their chopsticks.
Tang Zhao looked around, sighed, picked up his chopsticks, and took a big mouthful of rice while saying: "Eat, anyway, the Tang family has nothing left, and the uncle's prince's young master is just a decoration, except for this house
, the Tang family has nothing important to lose, just wait for the result, it is better to wait when you are hungry than to wait when you are full..."
Another courtyard of the Tang family.
Since that incident twenty years ago, Tang Jing no longer cares about family affairs, and does not eat with everyone on weekdays. He just guards this courtyard. In addition to going to and from the Yamen every day, even the Tang family's
The servants rarely see him.
He and a woman were sitting at the table. There was a simple meal on the table. The woman took a few bites, then put down her chopsticks and asked, "What will happen to the Tang family this time?"
"I don't know." Tang Jing shook his head and said, "Your Majesty has just summoned the Prime Minister and several ministers to discuss the matter, and there should be a result soon."
The woman looked at him and continued to ask: "Will it affect you?"
"I don't know either." Tang Jing said, "We still have to wait for news from the palace."
"If we had known this, why did we do it in the first place?" The woman sighed and said, "We should have persuaded them more back then."
Tang Jing shook his head and said: "They only care about the family's reputation and cannot listen to advice."
The woman looked sad and said, "So now they have not only lost their face, but also everything they care about."
"Let's eat." A trace of regret appeared in Tang Jing's eyes. He didn't want to mention it again, so he picked up his chopsticks and said, "It should be cold if you don't eat it."
…
The Chu envoys stirred up the dust that had settled, and the Tang family just emerged from the quagmire and fell into the whirlpool again.
Everyone was waiting for the results in the palace. At this time, Tangning received a summons from Emperor Chen.
When he was about to go out, Zhong Mingli chased him out and warned: "This incident is all because of you. When you face His Majesty later, be careful what you say."
Tangning nodded, indicating that she understood.
It was part of his plan that the Tang family's case would become such a big deal. As for Chen Huang, he wasn't too worried.
If Emperor Chen cared about the Tang family, he would have protected the Tang family many times when he was traveling in the six tribes, and would not wait until now.
He entered the palace under the leadership of a eunuch and came to the outside of the royal study. Wei Jian stood at the door and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is discussing matters with several adults. Mr. Tang will wait for a moment."
Wei Jian was Chen Huang's personal friend. Before meeting Chen Huang, Tang Ning planned to get information from him first.
He took out an apple from his sleeve. Qing'er gave it to him when he left. He handed it to Wei Jian and said, "Mr. Wei, please have an apple."
Wei Jian did not refuse. After taking it, he casually broke it in half, handed the other half to Tang Ning, and said with a smile, "Mr. Tang and I each have half."
Tangning took a bite of the apple and asked, "How's the situation inside?"
Wei Jian shook his head and said, "We don't know this either."
"Your Majesty is angry?" Tangning asked in a different way.
Wei Jian smiled slightly and said: "The matter has become so big that even the envoys of Chu are involved. Your Majesty is very angry, but Your Majesty also said that young people can only rely on the breath in their chests. This breath cannot be held back.
It’s human nature to have an incident from time to time..."
As expected, he is soft-spoken and short-handed when taking advantage of others. With Wei Jian's words, Tang Ning felt relieved.
He bowed his hand to Wei Jian and said, "Thank you, Mr. Wei."
Wei Jian took a bite of the apple and said with a smile, "We didn't say anything..."
Tang Ning waited outside the hall for a quarter of an hour. Then Wang Xiang and others walked out of the hall. When they saw him, they all had strange expressions on their faces.
Before Tang Ning had time to ask, a eunuch came out and said, "Master Tang, Your Majesty calls you in."
Tang Ning walked into the imperial study. Huang Chen looked at him condescendingly and said angrily: "Look at the good things you have done!"
