The Dongji Office was almost completely dark, except for the ever-burning oil lamp in the hall, whose flames flickered.
Occasionally, a spark falls from the lamp and falls into the lamp panel below.
An old eunuch was sitting on a chair, dozing with his eyes closed and his body swaying.
Maybe he was sleeping too deeply, and his body slowly tilted, and he was about to fall to the ground.
Suddenly he woke up with a jolt.
He hurriedly sat up straight, raised his sleeves, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, and took a look at the letter on the table.
Dongchang was providing disaster relief in Gongchang and discovered the case of Dingxi Hou's rebellion.
The factory owner took this very seriously and asked Xiao Chen to send back news every three days to report on the progress of the case.
Today is the day when the letter arrives at Dongchang. It stands to reason that the factory owner will come back to check. It’s already dead of night, why is he still nowhere to be found?
On the street outside Dong'an Gate, a thin figure walked towards Dongchang with one foot deep and one foot shallow.
It was none other than Dongchang Changgong Lin Shangli.
He looked exhausted, and his whole body seemed to be falling apart.
But thinking that today was the day for Xiao Chen to send back the news, he had no choice but to continue rushing towards Dongchang.
At the gate of the East Factory, two big red lanterns were hung high. Four captains stood under the lanterns, upright, looking at the dark places in the distance that the lights could not illuminate.
"Da, da, da." A sound of slight footsteps came closer and closer.
"Who?" The four captains shouted while holding the handles of the knives at their waists.
An old and delicate voice came from the darkness: "Me."
Hearing the voice of his factory master, a school captain hurriedly picked up the torch leaning against the corner, took out the torch from his waist, twisted out a trace of flame, lit the torch and went forward.
"Has Gong Chang sent back any news?" With the torch, Lin Shangli felt his eyes light up, and the fatigue all over his body seemed to have disappeared a lot, and he asked smoothly.
"Sent back."
"Yeah." Lin Shangli nodded.
These movements at the gate of Dongchang spread extremely far in this quiet night.
The old eunuch in the hall had already gotten up and stood respectfully at the door of the hall.
Seeing Lin Shangli walk into the door, the old eunuch hurriedly came up to him and stretched out his hand to support his arm.
"Mr. Factory Master, you go out before dawn and come back in the middle of the night. You sleep for less than three hours a day. If things continue like this, your body may not be able to bear it." As he walked, the old eunuch said "grievingly".
"It used to be better. Recently, something happened in Dingxi, and the emperor is also very upset. He has a little more time to ask me about Gongchang's affairs. In addition, the daily morning court is unshakable, and the emperor's daily sleeping time is also
Not much." Lin Shangli shook his head.
"You came back so late today, did you go out of the palace after sleeping with the emperor?" Supporting Lin Shangli, feeling his deep and shallow steps, the old eunuch felt a little distressed.
"Yes." Lin Shangli took a few steps quickly, stretched out his hand to support the table, and sat down on the chair next to him.
"In the court today, the emperor announced the decision to revoke the title of Marquis of Dingxi. There were many voices of opposition, which made the emperor feel very bad. He took me and talked about the matter of Dingxihou for a long time."
The old eunuch handed the brewed tea bowl over: "The emperor also needs some support for this kind of thing. After all, the title of marquis of Dingxihou was conferred by Taizu himself. However, what Dingxihou committed was the crime of treason.
There is probably a reason why there is so much opposition."
"So, the emperor specifically said today that the case of Dingxihou must be fully documented. No matter whether it is witnesses or physical evidence, no one can refute it. When Dongchang escorted Dingxihou and others back to Beijing, the three divisions merged
Trial and completely remove the halo given by Taizu from his head."
Picking up the tea bowl, Lin Shangli took a big sip.
"With Captain Ziyi personally taking action, no matter how big the case is, there will be no mistakes." The old eunuch said with a smile.
"Yes." Lin Shangli nodded, "With him here, I don't have to worry about many things. By the way, he didn't send back the letter this time?"
The old eunuch slapped his head: "I was just talking to you, the factory owner, and forgot about this."
Picking up the letter on the table, he handed it to Lin Shangli with both hands: "At noon, the letter from Colonel Ziyi arrived at Dongchang."
"The drought in Gongchang has been alleviated a lot, and the Gongchang Mansion has organized government officials to work with local people to build water conservancy projects. I think if it doesn't work, let Xiao Chen escort the Dingxi Hou and all the people involved in the case as soon as possible.
Entering the capital, the three divisions will interrogate and seize the Marquis title of Marquis Dingxi, implicating the nine clans, so that the emperor can rest assured as soon as possible."
With a smile on his face, Lin Shangli took the letter from the other party and slowly opened it.
"That's fine. Let's cut the knot quickly and solve the emperor's worries." The old eunuch bowed and agreed.
Holding the letter in hand, the smile on Lin Shangli's face gradually solidified.
Seeing the end, my brows knit together tightly.
"Mr. Factory Master, something happened over there in Gongchang?" Looking at Lin Shangli's expression, the old eunuch also looked nervous.
Lin Shangli had a gloomy face and slapped the letter in his hand on the table: "Read it yourself."
After taking a look at the other party's expression, the old eunuch tremblingly picked up the letter on the table.
When I saw the end, my hands started to tremble involuntarily.
"The Marquis of Dingxi is a marquis personally granted by Taizu. Before the court could convict him, the captain in purple robes killed all his guards, servants, family members, and even his clan members. This, I'm afraid this is inappropriate." Looking at Lin Shangli, the old eunuch
He couldn't help but stammered his words.
"Whether it's appropriate or not, everyone has been killed." Lin Shangli's palm on the table slowly clenched into a fist, "I have to think carefully about how to report this matter to the emperor."
"The key point is that even the Marquis of Dingxi himself is dead, so how can we allow the three-level trial? The emperor is confident that he will use the three-level trial to refute the voices in the court that do not agree with the deprivation of the Marquis of Dingxi. Now, this time
What should I do next?”
"Don't be surprised. The matter is now here. We need to find a solution. Xiao Chen's investigation of this case has eliminated a huge potential hidden danger for the court, which is a great achievement. Is it possible that we should also follow the trend and take all the responsibilities
Are you blaming it all on him? Didn't you see in the letter that the Marquis of Dingxi was arrogant about taking credit, and his servants and guards were even more arrogant and rude, and dared to resist the Dongchang's raids with arms?"
Lin Shangli glared at the old eunuch very dissatisfied.
"No, no, we don't mean that." The old eunuch waved his hands hurriedly, "Our family wants to say that since there are people in the court who disagree with the emperor's deprivation of the title of Marquis of Dingxi, they should be people who have been friends with Dingxi Marquis in private. If they know
Dongchang will surely make a big fuss if he kills Dingxihou’s people in advance."
"That's why I asked you to think of a solution. You are also an old man who is in charge of rituals. In our Dongchang, you are also the leader of the eunuch department. Why do you get so panicked when something happens?"
"Let's find a way right now." After being scolded by Lin Shangli, the old eunuch couldn't help but break out a layer of sweat on his forehead.
Although he was exhausted both physically and mentally, this piece of information made Lin Shangli no longer sleepy.
He held his forehead with one hand and thought quietly.
The flame of the oil lamp on the table flickered, and occasionally there was a crackling sound, and a lantern fell from the lamp twister.
"Mr. Factory Lord, tell me, in your heart, does the Emperor wish that the Dingxi Marquis, who wanted to rebel, would kill the nine tribes as soon as possible?" Looking up, the old eunuch's eyes shone with light.
"Of course it is. For other faults, the emperor may be given a lighter punishment with a little excuse. But the crime of rebellion is to seize the country from the emperor's hands. The emperor would like to personally kill the other nine and ten tribes."
Lin Shangli said.
"This means that when the emperor knew that Dingxihou wanted to rebel, it was already doomed that Dingxihou would be completely annihilated by the nine clans?"
"No need to ask? Have you just entered the palace?"
Lin Shangli glared at the old eunuch angrily.
Look at the wrinkles on your face, they are as good as mine. You have been serving the emperor for more than a day or two. Can you not guess what the emperor is thinking?
Do you still have to confirm it with me?
I'm as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, and you still have to go around in circles.
"As long as the emperor has murderous intentions, all this will be much easier to handle." The old eunuch laughed.
"If you have something to say, just say it. Don't talk nonsense all day long. It's urgent, and you still keep saying something like you are in the palace?"
Seeing Lin Shangli blowing his beard and staring, the old eunuch was not angry, moved his steps, and walked to the other party's side.
The palm of his left hand was bent into a trumpet shape and rested next to Lin Shangli's ear.
