The imperial concubine left the palace less than a moment later and returned.
Princess Yunyang hurriedly came out and asked, "Concubine, what did she say?"
The Crown Princess said calmly: "She is not in the palace."
Princess Yunyang's expression changed and she said decisively: "Impossible, she is no longer a member of the Zhou family. Where else can she go if she is not in the palace?"
The Crown Princess said calmly: "It must be true that she is not in the palace. I am afraid she has already calculated that you will let me beg her. Tomorrow Zongzheng Temple will judge the consort according to the law. She does not want to see us."
Princess Yunyang said anxiously: "Concubine, what should I do now? You have to help me think of a way..."
The Crown Princess thought for a while, looked at him and asked, "Do you really have to save him?"
Princess Yunyang nodded and said: "No matter what, I will save him!"
The Crown Princess thought for a long time, finally sighed, walked into the palace, took out a wooden box from under the pillow, opened the wooden box, handed a golden token in the wooden box to Princess Yunyang, and said: "This gold medal was given by the late emperor.
, the Ai family only has one piece, tomorrow you take it to Zongzheng Temple and give it to King Shou, he knows what to do."
Princess Yunyang asked suspiciously: "Can this token save the consort?"
The Crown Princess said: "You just need to do as I say."
…
Li Mansion.
Li Mu put the tofu ordered by the Queen into the boiling pot, and sighed in his heart, who would have thought that the Queen of Zhou, a powerful person in the seventh level of transcendence, was not in the palace, but she was sitting here, eating hot pot with them.
Most of the delicacies in the palace are very exquisite, characterized by small portions and exquisite presentation. Of course, they also taste good.
Needless to say, the cooking skills of the royal chefs. Those who can cook in the palace are all at the top of this profession. The palace dishes use the best ingredients and have the most exquisite processes. Li Mu was lucky enough to eat them twice.
What a treat.
In comparison, hot pot is much simpler.
Put some simple vegetables in a pot and boil them. In terms of taste, naturally it cannot be compared with the delicacies in the palace.
But several people gathered together, their faces flushed by the heat, fighting for a piece of cooked tofu. This different atmosphere was something that the palace could never experience.
When she ate in the palace, no one dared or had the right to sit with her.
Li Mu secretly glanced at the queen opposite, and couldn't help but wonder if the queen had a twin sister who looked exactly like her. The one in the palace was the queen herself, and the one outside was her sister.
Li Mu fished out a piece of meat himself and said: "Zongzheng Temple's final trial of Cui Ming today should be over soon."
The Queen put down her chopsticks, looked in the direction of Zongzheng Temple, counted with her fingers, and her beautiful eyebrows suddenly wrinkled.
Li Mu noticed something strange about her and asked, "What's wrong?"
The queen stood up and said, "I'm going back to the palace."
After her words fell, her figure disappeared in front of Li Mu and Xiaobai.
Xiaobai's mouth was so full of food that he finally swallowed it down and exclaimed: "Sister Zhou is so amazing."
Li Mu patted her head and said, "You eat first, I'll go to the palace."
The Queen originally planned to avoid Cui Ming here, but after only one night, she changed her mind. It seems that something happened at Zongzheng Temple.
Li Mu remembered Zhou Zhong's reminder, walked out of the house, and headed straight for the palace.
Zongzheng Temple.
Cui Ming's case will be heard for the final time today at Zongzheng Temple.
In Zongzheng Temple, many officials gathered to hear the trial.
King Shou looked at the people in the old party with a look of helplessness on his face, and asked: "The crimes committed by Prince Consort Cui are enough to kill him a hundred times. Tell me, what should I do? Kill him. He is one of our own."
, don’t kill him, it’s another case of favoritism and perverting the law. How can I explain to His Majesty and the people? It’s so difficult for me..."
The Minister of Civil Affairs asked: "Is there no news from the Princess and the Crown Princess?"
One person said: "Princess went into the palace yesterday to ask the Crown Princess to find a solution. It is said that the Crown Princess went to see His Majesty, but His Majesty was not in the palace and did not come back all night last night..."
"Ah, Your Majesty did not return to the palace at night!"
"If Your Majesty doesn't return to the palace, where can he go? Could it be the Zhou family? No, His Majesty and the Zhou family have no contact for a long time."
"It should be that he is avoiding the Crown Princess and the Princess on purpose. Obviously, His Majesty does not want to get involved in this matter..."
The Minister of Civil Affairs coughed and said, "Don't make irresponsible remarks, Your Majesty. The most important thing now is Minister Cui's affairs."
King Shou waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter if I save him or not. Who among you can tell me what I should do?"
Zhou Zhong said calmly: "Shilang Cui cannot be saved. If we save Shilang Cui, King Shou will be implicated. Moreover, King Shou can only protect him for a while. When the time comes, King Shou will be implicated, and Zongzheng Temple will definitely change its owner."
, the case of Cui Shilang needs to be retried, so we should not waste our efforts anymore."
King Shou said: "What Shilang Zhou said makes sense, otherwise, forget it..."
As soon as he finished speaking, a master from Zongzheng Temple ran in and shouted: "Princess Yunyang has arrived!"
"See Princess."
Princess Yunyang walked in, and everyone greeted her.
Princess Yunyang bowed to King Shou: "I've met Uncle Wang."
"No gifts, no gifts." King Shou waved his hand and said, "Have you found a way to save your consort?"
Princess Yunyang nodded and said, "Found it."
King Shou was stunned for a moment, and then he came to his senses and said in disbelief: "Found it?"
Princess Yunyang took out the golden token and said, "Uncle Wang, please take a look."
When he saw this golden token, King Shou came to his senses, patted his head, and said disappointedly: "How could I have forgotten this!"
Princess Yunyang said in surprise: "Uncle Wang, you don't seem to be very happy?"
King Shou sighed and said, "I blame myself. If I had remembered this thing earlier, my consort wouldn't have to suffer so much."
The imperial concubine did not tell her the purpose of this gold medal. Princess Yunyang quickly asked: "Uncle Wang, can this brand really save the prince-in-law?"
King Shou took the gold medal, weighed it, nodded, and said: "This is the token that the late emperor ordered the Ministry of Industry to make out of meteorite iron in order to commend important ministers of the court. The token was also plated with a
A layer of fine gold. Anyone who holds this card will be exempted from all death sentences except for treason. There are thirteen gold medals in total. The imperial concubine was extremely favored by the late emperor, and it seems that the late emperor also gave her one..."
One person asked: "Can the Crown Princess's gold medal also save Cui Shilang?"
King Shou nodded and said, "As long as the imperial concubine is willing, this gold medal can save anyone."
Upon hearing this, all the old party officials showed joy on their faces.
The Minister of Civil Affairs asked, "Can this gold medal absolve Minister Cui of his guilt?"
King Shou said: "You can be exempted from death, but you cannot be exempted from guilt. Anyone who uses the gold medal to avoid death will be dismissed from his post and salary, and is not allowed to be granted another title. This card can save his life, but he will no longer be the minister of Zhongshu. He will only have the title of Prince Consort, and no other title."
Since he is a prince-in-law, the imperial court needs to take back his prince-son-in-law's mansion and will no longer provide him with the salary of a prince-in-law."
Cui Ming is the Vice Minister of Zhongshu. This position allows them to gain immediate insight into national affairs and control the court through the decisions of Zhongshu. After the incident in Yangxian County, it was through Cui Ming that the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs made orders.
The imperial court has put a reward on the evil spirit. Once this position is lost, the old party will lose a large part of its control over the imperial court.
In other words, even if he can save his life, it will have no effect on the old party.
The Minister of Civil Affairs sighed and said, "This is the best ending."
A moment later, in Zongzheng Mansion, at the gate of Tianyao, Zhang Chun stopped King Shou and said angrily: "What, you are going to let Cui Ming go. Cui Ming has committed such a big crime, and you actually want to let him go. In your eyes,
, there is no royal method left!”
King Shou held up the token and said: "This is the gold medal for immunity from death given by the late emperor. Anyone who holds this medal will be exempted from the death penalty except for treason. This is the king's law."
Zhang Chun said loudly: "You use the tokens from the late emperor's time to absolve the guilty ministers of the dynasty from death. Where do you put your majesty?"
King Shou snorted coldly and said: "You are not joking. The late emperor's token represents the majesty of the royal family and the majesty of the Great Zhou Dynasty. As long as the Great Zhou Dynasty is still there, this token will be effective. Anyone who sees this token will be like seeing the late emperor and resist this."
Anyone who resists the imperial edict and disrespects it will be executed by execution. The three tribes of Yi..."
Zhang Chun instantly stepped aside, stretched out his hand and said, "Please."
…
When Li Mu came to Zongzheng Temple, he learned from Zhang Chun that Cui Ming had gone back with Princess Yunyang.
At the critical moment when Zongzheng Temple was about to go on trial, Princess Yunyang sent him a gold medal to exempt him from the death penalty.
Although Cui Ming lost his official position, his consort's palace, and his salary, he managed to save his life.
Only then did Li Mu understand the meaning of Zhou Zhong's words.
The so-called equality before the law cannot be achieved completely.
The death-free gold medal awarded by the late emperor was a privilege given to these people.
With a death-free medal in your hand, as long as you are not rebelling, you can be exempted from the death penalty even if you commit murder and arson.
With a death-free gold medal, you can become an outlaw.
This is not a special case in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Li Mu knows that in his world, this kind of thing has happened a lot in history, but the gold medal for avoiding death in that world is called the Iron Book of Pills.
Holding the Iron Coupon of the Alchemy Book, you can be exempted from death nine times, and your descendants can be exempted three times. These are all things that really happened in history.
This of course undermines the fairness of society and the fairness of the law, but the laws of this world are meant to serve a small number of people, and the country is essentially ruled by people rather than by law.
Zhou Zhong pointed out that the powerful were guilty of the same crime as the common people when they broke the law. Not only were they dismissed from their posts, but they also almost lost their lives, because the law was to protect the powerful, not the people.
Zhang Chun gritted his teeth and said, "Thirty-seven people in the Chu family have lost their lives. A broken sign has cost thirty-seven people their lives. This is such a stupid gold medal to avoid death..."
"I have heard it all." King Shou came out from the side and said, "You dare to say that the gold medal given by the late emperor is a bad brand. Zhang Chun, Zhang Chun, you have let me take advantage..."
"What did I just say?" Zhang Chun looked at Li Mu and asked, "Li Mu, did you hear it?"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "No."
Zhang Chun looked at King Shou and said, "I didn't say anything. My lord, please don't slander anyone."
King Shou snorted coldly at Zhang Chun and said, "I am so happy today that I am too lazy to argue with you."
Zhang Chun gritted his teeth and said: "Don't be too happy, I will not let that villain Cui Ming go!"
King Shou shrugged his shoulders and said disdainfully: "What else can you do? Although it is said that a death-free gold medal can only be used once, and one person can only use it once, do you still have something to do with Cui Shilang? Can you prove it?
Did he frame the governor of Jiujiang County? If you can't prove it, stop talking nonsense to me here..."
He glanced at Li Mu and Zhang Chun one last time and said, "Let's go home and listen to the show..."
