This disease cannot be cured, it must be cured

East Palace.

night.

The emperor, who had watched the memorial all day, still sat in Zhan's office and did not leave.

"What time is it?" he asked.

His tone had changed from the anticipation of the morning to deep anger.

His face also darkened.

"The time has passed, Your Majesty," Yan Zhen replied standing at the door, and then asked, "Have you gone to rest?"

Li Chen didn't make a sound, just breathing lightly and shallowly, if you don't listen carefully, even the sound of breathing can be ignored.

Yan Zhen knew why he was irritable, it was because of Song Chunjing.

Song Chunjing said that he would definitely come back when the class started. The class will start tomorrow, and today is the last day.

The child's time has passed, and Song Chunjing broke his promise.

He clearly felt Li Chen's angry mood today, and it became more and more depressed at night. Until now, Zhan's work room has been full of low pressure.

In the entire Eastern Palace, from the cooks to the cleaning maids, they all waited carefully with their breath held, for fear that one inattentive would cause anger and lose their lives.

Although Yan Zhen knew the reason, he never dared to bring it up again.

Originally, this pot was not opened, if you mention it again, you may die.

Two quarters of an hour later, the person behind the desk threw down the notebook and pen in an extremely irritated manner.

The folder was slapped on the table with a muffled sound, the pen rolled to the edge of the table, and fell to the ground with a "slap".

When the needle fell to the ground, the sound was particularly loud and clear.

The eardrums of the person who dialed trembled, and his heart jumped with fear.

Li Chen pushed the table, stood up, passed countless memorials under his feet, and walked outside.

Yan Zhen followed immediately, and signaled the maid to clean up Zhan's mess quickly.

The maid nodded and hurried in to clean up.

Li Chen strode ahead, without stopping, and left the East Palace.

The Eastern Palace was too quiet today, as if Tong Tong had been glued to his mouth, making them all dumb.

Feeling deeply depressed, he stood in front of the tall door and took a deep breath.

Yan Zhen finally asked, "Your Majesty, where are we going?"

Li Chen looked at the winding and bright road ahead, the night at midnight was deep and quiet, and there was nothingness and darkness at the end of the road.

"Go to the prison of the Ministry of punishment." He said.

Yan Zhen hesitated for a moment, looked at his gloomy face, and swallowed the comforting words like 'It's too late to go out'.

After a while, the carriage was ready to be seated, and Li Chen boarded it with a gloomy face.

In the middle of the night, the carriage is not dark, because there are shimmering night pearls at the four corners.

It is neither dark and hard to see things, nor blindly shiny and dazzling.

The soft light enveloped the people in the car, casting a layer of watery light on their tough faces.

He got in the car and sat firmly, closed his eyes, pressed the dark eyeliner on them, and drew a sharp and heavy dark line.

The carriage moved forward slowly, and at the same time, several people were sent out from the East Palace to notify each member of the Criminal Department to be ready to pick them up.

Shangshufu Chi Shangshu was lying on the bed dreaming, sleeping soundly, the servant couldn't wake up after calling several times, so he raised his hand and smashed the door, "Bang bang bang!"

Chi Shangshu woke up suddenly, sweating from fright, "What's wrong? What happened?!"

"Master," said the person outside the door anxiously: "Someone came from the East Palace, saying that the emperor is going to the Ministry of Punishment. If you have time, please go there immediately!"

The emperor personally visited the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs. As the Minister of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs, he had to accompany him even when he was busy. In any case, there should be no "no time".

"What time is it?"

"It's time." The servant replied.

Chi Shangshu thought about it stiffly, but didn't think of the reason, "Did you do what you said?"

"No." The servant replied.

While putting on his clothes, Chi Shangshu ordered, "Prepare the car."

"Yes," the servant replied, remained silent for a while, and then said: "The person who came to make the announcement is the former Chief Guard of the East Palace East School. Unhappiness written all over her body'."

In the middle of the night, the emperor went out late at night and was going to the Ministry of Punishment, so he even sent someone to notify him.

The mood is very bad again.

Chi Shangshu was so frightened that he almost flew out of his wits, his heart was pounding.

"Hurry up and get the car ready!" He hurriedly ordered, and before he could put on his clothes properly, he held his official uniform in one hand and his boots in the other, and put them on as he ran out.

The Shangshu has a high position and authority, and as the capital of the six departments, he is very busy, let alone other officials.

When the lights in He's residence were extinguished, they were all ablaze immediately, He Houcong grabbed his clothes and ran outside before he could ask any questions!

He Sixing glanced at his back, put on his shoes and official hat, and chased after him: "Father! Hat! Shoes!"

He Houcong glanced down and turned around immediately.

He Sixing was unprepared and bumped into him, his nose was so sore that he almost shed tears.

He Houcong took his things and pushed him hastily, "Go back to sleep, if I don't come back tonight, don't go to the hospital tomorrow."

"No." He Sixing covered his nose, and reached out to grab his father's clothes, "Physician Song is supposed to go to work tomorrow, I have to go to him to listen to his orders!"

He Houcong squatted down, pressed his hands on his shoulders in his busy schedule, and shouted: "Go back!"

He Sixing looked at him.

"When the supreme emperor travels late at night, he must be involved in a big event that will tear his flesh and blood." He Houcong said seriously: "Be obedient!"

He got up and pushed his hat on his head hard, holding a bundle of clothes, and hurriedly climbed into the carriage.

There was the rustling of clothes in the car, and his anxious voice came: "Quick, it's time for half a stick of incense! Hurry up to the Ministry of Punishment!"

Several hisses broke the silence of the night.

A group of people all arrived at the gate of the Ministry of Punishment within a stick of incense.

Divide them into two rows, respectfully stand up straight and guard their positions.

All of their pale, black faces looked as if someone had just sucked their blood, and the circles around their eyes were darkened.

Even Xu Zhuo, who was in charge of King Gu Li's father and son in the long-stay punishment department, smelled danger, and appeared at the very edge soberly.

Chi Shangshu was standing on guard, as if he had just reacted, his feet swayed, and he took a half step back. Qian Cheng who was beside him immediately stepped forward to support him, "Master Chi!"

Chi Shangshu closed his eyes and took it easy, getting over the feeling of being top-heavy, and then he stood firm, and thanked him, "Your servant is worth your trouble."

"Don't dare to do it." The servant hurriedly shied away.

Among these people, although Shang Shu has the highest official position, he is also the oldest, so his face is pale and weary.

It was obvious at a glance that he had woken up from a deep sleep.

The waiter was afraid that he would faint, because he had been paying attention to the movement.

Sure enough, the half-hundred old man suddenly started up, worried too much, and couldn't stand still even if he wobbled on his feet.

It's time for a stick of incense.

The steady carriage stopped its slow wheels.

Li Chen slowly opened his eyes, Yan Zhen opened the door curtain, and the hot red light from the lantern hanging at the gate of the Ministry of Punishment outside immediately rushed into the car.

It was cold inside, warm outside, and the two sides collided, neither of them would back down half a step.

Li Chen got up and got out of the car, the warm light of the lantern immediately enveloped his whole body, and the cold man finally gained some popularity.

It seems that the edges and corners have been smoothed out a lot.

The servant let go of the hand that supported the Shangshu's arm, and followed the others to salute, "My humble minister greets the emperor—"

Li Chen glanced at everyone who was in place, and asked casually, "Is everyone here?"

He Houcong stepped forward and said respectfully: "Except for the case manager who has asked for sick leave, the rest are here."

"Sick leave," Li Chen asked, "What illness?"

He Houcong: "It is said that it is dizziness and discomfort, which is not good for walking."

Li Chen glanced at him, then glanced back at the crowd, all the people he caught his gaze bowed their heads respectfully.

"Can you be more uncomfortable than Shangshu?" Li Chen asked.

Chi Shangshu: "..."

While rejoicing that he had arrived, he said loyally: "It's okay for a humble minister, if the emperor can get up, the ministers will definitely be able to get up."

Except for Yan Zhen who knew the truth that he hadn't slept at all, everyone else followed Chi Shangshu to respond.

Li Chen's brows moved slightly, and he said coldly, "Tell him, if you're not good enough, stay at home and don't go out from now on."

Yan Zhen immediately wrote down: "Yes."

That's the conclusion.

Everyone in the Ministry of Punishment was glad that they were able to stand here trembling in the north wind in the middle of the night, bearing the cold air of rain and dew, with drowsy head and hair like a chicken coop in the official hat.

Li Chen walked in, everyone didn't dare to talk nonsense, and followed behind silently.

The lobby of the Ministry of Justice was more deserted than usual, presumably because of the late night.

Sitting on the armchair in the hall, Li Chen flipped through the case on the table. It was the ins and outs of King Li's case, and it was being edited into the book.

He looked at it for a while without raising his head and asked, "How is the person?"

The servant and He Houcong didn't understand, so they looked at each other, and the meaning in their eyes was the same: Is King Li dead?

Chi Shangshu took half a step forward, and replied in a hoarse old voice: "After today, if you still refuse to die, someone will do it tomorrow."

Li Chen took a breath.

In the silence for a few breaths, there was a "pop" sound, and the knees and legs of several people were shocked, and the emperor's angry questioning voice was heard in their ears: "How long has it been delayed? Turning out?"

The sudden rage caught everyone by surprise.

The "you" in the words obviously refers to everyone in the Ministry of Criminal Justice.

I fell to the ground and smelled the needle for a while, maybe because my mind turned slowly late at night, everyone didn't react to what to say.

In the silence, Li Chen clicked on the cases on the table, and made a faint "da" sound, which was heard by everyone, but it was like a big knife being sharpened on a stone, and it was time to slash at the neck in the next moment.

In a terrifying voice, he said: "Department of punishment, it's useless."

Now everyone couldn't bear it, and they didn't care to deal with it, so they knelt on the ground in a clatter, and persuaded first: "The emperor calm down—"

Li Chen listened, raised his hand, and tapped on the table.

"Tell me." Then, he leaned back on the seat and closed his eyes.

The people from the Ministry of Punishment probably figured out why he was angry, but they still didn't understand why he got angry so suddenly.

The servant and He Houcong looked at each other, and then they both went to look at their immediate boss.

Chi Shangshu thought for a while and admitted his mistake: "This humble minister is guilty."

Li Chen didn't make a sound.

Chi Shangshu: "I got your instruction the day before yesterday, and I also ordered it to go on, so I put this matter on hold without further questioning, which led to the current situation."

He turned around and immediately asked, "Where are the people from King Li?"

He Houcong: "It's locked inside, I can't get up anymore, I can only lie down, and wake up for two or three hours a day."

After he finished speaking, he realized that the waiter was staring at him, and when he saw him looking over, he blinked very inconspicuously.

He Houcong suddenly recalled Chi Shangshu's words, as if he had thrown the blame on himself. He didn't make a big mistake, but made a small mistake like not asking about the result.

He looked at Chi Shangshu in disbelief. Chi Shangshu was facing the emperor, kneeling on the ground and holding his hands, loyal and righteous.

Looking at the face of the emperor above, it was already very ugly.

He hurriedly said, "Master Shangshu," he retorted boldly, "You only ordered 'deal with King Li as soon as possible', but you didn't say when or how to deal with it, let alone the emperor's order." mean."

He Houcong waved his hands upwards, expressing his loyalty and said: "Your Majesty, my humble servant has been wronged."

He didn't know if he was wronged or not, but Li Chen was quite annoying.

I was depressed at first, but after listening to two sentences, I became even more irritable.

Yan Zhen brought a cup of tea at the right time, which was tea brought from the Eastern Palace. After soaking in water twice, it became a light brown color, and the curling smoke slowly rose from the opening.

Li Chen opened his eyes and lifted his eyelids.

Glimpsing the stretched spring tea leaves through the opened gap, he stretched out his hand to pick it up, took a sip, and moistened his dry throat.

Seeing that he refused to comment, Chi Shangshu knew that he did not intend to pursue responsibility.

So he glared at He Houcong, and turned the conversation to King Li: "The poisonous wine has been prepared, why don't you find two strong guards to send it in directly, and 'please' King Li to drink it."

After all, he has been an official for a long time, and he has been with Li Chen for a long time, so others know him a little better.

With three-point guessing, three-point observation, guess what he wants.

He Houcong didn't know that Chi Shangshu had already obtained the emperor's order, so he insisted on asking: "Since the emperor's order is to 'kill yourself', if someone forces it, how can it be called self-killing?"

"The ending is the same, so it's over?" Chi Shangshu continued to stare at him.

He Houcong only glanced at the emperor sitting on his seat, turned his head and boldly said to Chi Shangshu: "If you only want the same ending, then why bother to ask him to 'kill himself'? Right at [-]:[-] noon, beheading for public display would be enough." ?”

"You!" Chi Shangshu felt the veins throbbing in his forehead, almost unable to control himself, and stepped forward to give him two slaps.

Although He Houcong's official position is not as high as Shangshu, he is a reserve member of the Ministry of Punishment at any rate, and he will only be rewarded after the ceremony.

Another thing is that he is upstart.

According to the usual practice, the official positions granted by the new emperor after ascending the throne are higher than usual.

That showed that they were the emperor's helpers when he ascended the throne, and they were sincere courtiers who had worked hard and sacrificed their lives.

Such as Uda.

Then there is He Houcong, from the point of view of his status in the court, even if he has not been granted a title, the courtiers still have to give a little face.

Unexpectedly, Chi Shangshu would blame him for all the crimes in order to wash off his guilt.

He Houcong felt aggrieved. Beforehand, Dali Temple was not taken seriously, so he just endured it.

But now it is different from the past, now he stands in the right line, has handled several major cases one after another, and finally has some confidence, so he pushes back.

"Since you want to have a reputation of being lenient, you have to do things well, so as not to spread the word afterwards, causing people to slander the emperor and engage in petty tricks behind the scenes." He said righteously.

Chi Shang Shu let out a heavy breath of anger, his face turned blue and white, he let out a cold "hum", he waved his hands, and looked at the current emperor——

The current emperor drank tea, most of the anger on his face disappeared, and he was watching the two of them quarreling with great interest.