In the Tingwei Mansion, Zhao Gao handed Meng Tian the copy of the third imperial edict issued by Emperor Qin, and said to him seriously: "Your Majesty ordered that all members of the Tingwei Mansion be dispatched, and we must do it at all costs."
Apprehend the relevant criminals and bring them to justice.”
Meng Tian looked slightly ugly and said: "Lord Zhongshu Ling, there are many doubts about this matter. I'm afraid more investigation is needed."
Zhao Gao sighed and said, "Mr. Meng, don't think too much. Your Majesty is very resolute. Just act as ordered."
Meng Tian said slightly angrily: "Master Zhao, everything must be reasonable, and the case must be decided in accordance with the laws of the Qin Dynasty, right?"
Zhao Gao's face dropped and he said in a deep voice: "Master Meng, be careful what you say. Every three-year-old child in Chang'an market knows that Your Majesty is bigger than Qin Lu. It is useless to say more. Master Meng, please take care of yourself."
After saying that, Zhao Gao walked away.
Meng Tian was left standing on the spot, unable to recover for a long time.
After a long time, Meng Tian told his subordinate officials: "With my official warrant, I will send an order to the officials of the third rank and above in the Tingwei Mansion, asking them to put down what they are doing and arrive at the government office within half an hour to discuss matters."
All the subordinate officers immediately replied: "I obey my orders."
After Meng Tian left these words, he hurriedly left Tingwei's Mansion and rushed towards Wuchenghou's Mansion.
When the old disciple of Wuchenghou Mansion saw Meng Tian striding towards him, he recognized him on the spot as Lord Tingwei, who was in the prime of life. He sent his companions to inform the head of the family and greeted him with a smile:
"Meet Mr. Tingwei."
Meng Tian had been to Wuchenghou Mansion many times, so naturally he knew this old disciple, so he quickly asked: "Is your Lord Marquis in the house?"
The old disciple nodded repeatedly: "Master Hou is at home. I have sent someone to inform you. Mr. Meng will wait a moment."
Meng Tian nodded.
After a while, the door of Wuchenghou Mansion opened, and Wang Jian walked out with a hearty smile and said: "It is a sin for me to miss the opportunity to welcome Mr. Tingwei from afar."
Meng Tian smiled bitterly and said, "Shibo is teasing my nephew so much, which makes him feel a little embarrassed."
Wang Jian laughed: "Let's go, let's go into the mansion." Then he took the lead and walked into the mansion.
Meng Tian followed closely behind.
In the living room, after the two of them sat down in order, Wang Jian asked: "Why did my nephew come here today?"
Meng Tian didn't reply, just looked at the servant who was serving tea and water.
Wang Jian understood, waved his hand to the servant and said: "You guys go down first, you are not allowed to enter unless summoned."
A group of servants bowed, bowed, and retreated in an orderly manner.
Meng Tian took out the imperial decree directly from his arms, placed it on the tea table between the two of them, and said: "My nephew has just received your Majesty's imperial decree. Mr. Wu An was suspected of treason and was arrested and brought to justice in Tingwei's Mansion. Shibo, Xiao
My nephew is at a loss and really doesn’t know what to do. My father is far away in the north, so I came here to ask my uncle for advice."
When Wang Jian heard this, he quickly picked up the imperial edict, opened it, and said with a sudden change of expression: "No, Lord Wu An has been loyal to the Qin Dynasty all his life, and he should not end up like this. I have to persuade your majesty to take back his orders."
Meng Tian was shocked and said: "Shibo, what are you doing?"
Wang Jian stood up and said, "My dear nephew, you can do as you please. I won't say any more to you. I will go to the palace right now."
After saying that, he left Meng Tian behind and left in a hurry.
Meng Tian said with a confused look on his face: "Didn't Shibo and Lord Wu An turn against each other over who should be granted the title of king or marquis? How could Shibo take the risk of offending His Majesty to plead for mercy?"
In the Hall of Yangxin, Emperor Qin looked at Wang Jian, who was full of energy, and couldn't help but ask: "Why did Marquis Wu Cheng come into the palace to ask for an audience with me?"
Wang Jian bowed deeply and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have come to intercede for Gongsun Qi."
"Gongsun Qi is a murderer. Although his temper is a little unpleasant, it is well known that he is very loyal to the Qin Dynasty. For this reason, he is even willing to bear the infamy of massacre. Your Majesty, he should not die after being convicted. I ask your Majesty
Take back your life."
A look of surprise appeared on Emperor Qin's face and he said: "Wu Chenghou, did you hear me right? You actually interceded for Gongsun Qi? Have you wiped out all the grudges you have had for so many years?"
Wang Jian coughed slightly and said, "We are all loyal ministers of your Majesty. How can there be any unsolved hatred? There must be some inside story about Gongsun Qi's rebellion. I would like to ask your Majesty to think twice."
Emperor Qin said indifferently: "What's the secret? I asked Gongsun Qi to attack the traitor Wei Yang, but what about him? He pretended to be sick and refused to obey the order. I thought that he had made some contributions to the Qin Dynasty in the past, so I spared him once.
.
But he refused to repent. Wei Yang went to Chang'an to plead guilty, and he dared to release his soul in an attempt to help Wei Yang fight against me. He is obviously with Wei Yang's traitors."
"Now that the traitor Wei Yang has been punished, I will never forgive him."
Wang Jian fell to the ground with a pleading look on his face: "Your Majesty, Gongsun Qi was just confused for a moment. You can do whatever you want with Your Majesty, but I beg Your Majesty to spare his life. I beg you, old minister."
Emperor Qin's face turned completely gloomy, and he said in a cold voice: "Marquis Wu Cheng, there is no need to say more, I have made up my mind, please retreat."
Wang Jian shouted: "Your Majesty..."
Emperor Qin angrily shouted outside the palace: "Zhao Gao, please step down, Marquis Wu Cheng." After saying that, he ducked and disappeared into the hall.
Zhao Gao ran over in small steps and said to Wang Jian: "Wu Chenghou, please."
Wang Jian sighed, got up from the ground, and walked away staggeringly.
…
Lin Mansion, Lin Ze looked at the young man in official uniform in front of him with confusion, and asked: "Are you looking for me?"
The young man in official uniform saluted Lin Ze and said: "Master Lin, I am Jin Tian, an officer under Master Mengtian. On Master Mengtian's order, I have summoned officials of the third rank and above of Tingwei Mansion to discuss matters. Please be sure to arrive within half an hour.
To Tingwei's Mansion."
Lin Ze looked surprised and said: "Are you mistaken? I have been suspended from my job for more than a month. How could Mr. Meng think of summoning me to discuss matters?"
Jin Tian replied seriously: "Master Mengtian did not exclude you, Master Lin, I guess you are right."
Lin Ze thought for a moment and asked, "Did something big happen to Tingwei Mansion? Why did they recruit people back in such a hurry?"
Jin Tian replied: "I don't know, I don't know."
"Have Lord Meng ever said what it was for?"
"I don't know, my subordinate."
"Has anything big happened in Tingwei Mansion recently?"
"I don't know much about this."
Lin Ze stared at the young and impeccable subordinate officer Meng Tian in front of him, narrowed his eyes slightly, and knew that he might not be able to ask anything, so he said:
"I know about this. I will go to Tingwei's mansion in a moment. You should go back first."
Jin Tian quickly bowed and left.
Lin Ze immediately called Chen Ping and asked: "Go and find out for me, what happened in Tingwei Mansion? Meng Tian didn't even care about hating me and summoned me back to discuss matters?"
Chen Ping heard this and replied: "Uncle, wait a moment, I'm going to find out something."
A quarter of an hour later, Chen Ping hurried back and said to Lin Ze: "Reporting to Uncle Master, the spies have just received news. His Majesty issued three edicts in a row to denounce Lord Wu An. The last edict designated him as a traitor and ordered the court to denounce him.
The captain will try his best to capture him."
Lin Ze was startled and suddenly said: "No wonder Meng Tian hurriedly summoned his subordinates. It turned out that he encountered such a difficult matter."
"Oh, when you suspended me, you acted selfless. Now that something happened, you think of me instead. I don't want to wait on you. Anyway, I am suspended now."
Lin Ze thought for a moment and then said to Chen Ping: "Quickly send someone to send a message to the young master, telling him to ignore Meng Tian and rush back to the Lin Mansion quickly. We cannot drain this muddy water."