bluestone

morning of the second day

"Start playing if there is something to do, and leave the court if there is nothing to do~" Dong Gui stood on the steps and said loudly.

A minister from Yushitai stood up and said, "I have something to ask the Holy Majesty to decide."

"Lord Nie, which minister are you going to impeach today?" Qing Ming looked at him and said with a smile, obviously he knew the behavior of this upright Yushitai official very well.

"Returning to the Holy Lord, I impeach Gao Ren, the servant of the Ministry of Punishment, on the charge of embezzling and accepting bribes and disregarding human life."

"I am wronged~" Gao Ren immediately walked out from the crowd, knelt on the ground and shouted for injustice.

"Oh? Tell me in detail." Qing Ming glanced at him and said, "After listening to Master Nie, it's not too late to complain."

Gao Ren's expression froze, he lowered his head and remained silent.

Nie Yushi immediately spoke in detail:

"Returning to the Holy Lord, there is a local snake named Li Liang in Lijia Village, a suburb of the city under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Capital City. He made a fortune in business in the first few years and started a usury business locally. He owed a huge amount of money, and then took the opportunity to send people to the door to collect the debt. If there was no money to return, they would rob the villagers of their fields, houses, and even their young daughters. The villagers in Lijia Village were forced to suffer unbearably. The situation, ran to the imperial capital to report to the officials."

"As far as I know, such cases should be reported to Jing Zhaoyin. What does it have to do with the Ministry of Criminal Justice?"

"Returning to the Holy Lord, this matter should have been handled by Jing Zhaoyin, but it happened that Jing Zhaoyin's official position changed when he reported to the official, so he was transferred to the Ministry of Punishment."

"What then?"

"Later, the Ministry of Criminal Justice accepted the case, and after three days of investigation, it rejected the pleadings of the villagers and warned the villagers to pay back the debts on time, otherwise they would be charged with defaulting on debts."

"Master Gao, is there such a thing?"

Gao Ren quickly replied: "Returning to the Holy Lord, there is indeed such a thing. But this matter has indeed been investigated by the subordinate officials. Li Liang also submitted the IOU signed by the villagers, the date of repayment, the name and fingerprint of the debtor, and the Some of the IOUs were not bad, so the lower officials rejected the villagers' pleadings."

Before Qing Ming could continue to ask, Master Nie straightened his neck and said sharply: "You are talking nonsense, it is clear that you accepted Li Liang's bribe and found him not guilty when you saw that this matter was profitable; Back to the village, the villagers were violently warned to pay back the money on time. Two villagers from Lijia Village who went to declare at the customs were beaten to death that day. And according to the law of the Great Zhou, lending usury is considered a crime, ranging from confiscation of money to confiscation of [-] board Frontier, you committed crimes knowingly, shielding sinners, condoning crimes, disregarding human lives, and committing heinous crimes, I ask the Holy Majesty to adjudicate!"

"Your Majesty, I don't know if I should say something or not?" Uncle Zhu Xun came out and bowed.

"Uncle Guo, please tell me."

"I would like to ask Mr. Nie." He turned half sideways to look at Mr. Nie who was standing upright in the same row as him, and asked, "Is there any evidence for what Mr. Nie said just now?"

"This...is evidenced by the villagers of Lijia Village." Master Nie paused and replied.

"It's just the one-sided words of a group of mobsters, how do they count? If they slander Li Liang in order to avoid debts, wouldn't they tarnish the integrity of the upright and fair Master Nie?"

"you?!"

"Besides, even if what Master Nie said is true, isn't it possible that Master Gao was also deceived by the villain?" Zhu Xun's words made Master Nie blush and neck thick.

Gao Ren, who was kneeling behind, seemed to be thinking of something, and suddenly said: "Your Majesty, this officer was also deceived~ Li Liang only brought evidence of debt, and this officer thought it was just an ordinary money dispute, so he didn't listen. Said it was a usury~ If the lower officials knew, they would definitely not work for tigers." After speaking, he knocked heavily on the ground twice, showing infinite remorse.

"Nonsense! How could you not know!" Poor Lord Nie has been an official for ten years, and even his nose is going to be crooked at this moment.

"How do you know I'm talking nonsense? If you don't know, you don't know. How dare I lie to the Holy Majesty in this hall!" Gao Ren asked back, poking his neck.

"You..." Master Nie pointed at him with trembling fingertips, unable to speak a word.

"It can be seen that Mr. Gao did not knowingly commit the crime and deliberately shielded the criminal. As for the corruption and bribery, and the carelessness of human life, it needs to be carefully investigated to avoid being framed and deceived by the villain. Don't you think so? Mr. Nie." Zhu Xun asked gently.

Master Nie also knew that Gao Ren would not be convicted today, so he snorted angrily and backed away.

"In that case, please ask your majesty to observe clearly." Zhu Xun finished speaking with pride in his eyes, and also retreated.

At this time, Qingming tilted his head, with one hand propped on the armrest of the dragon chair, with a smile still on his face, but endless cold fronts were brewing in those eyes, which were bitingly cold.

Gao Ren, who was kneeling on the ground waiting for his message, didn't get an answer for a long time. He cautiously raised his head and looked up. As soon as he moved his eyes, he was stabbed. Suddenly, his hairs stood on his head, his body covered in cold sweat, and he lay back on the ground with a guilty conscience, trembling. Stretched body, can't wait to hide myself in the crevice of the ground.

The hall was silent for a long time, and the ministers raised their eyes uncomfortably, as if wondering why the emperor was silent.

"Where is Jing Zhaoyin?" He asked suddenly.

"The minister is here." The new Jing Zhaoyin stood up.

"You should be responsible for this matter. Now that something goes wrong, you should investigate again and convict according to law."

"The minister leads the order."

"As for Mr. Gao, he is not good at handling things. He will be fined for three months and contemplate behind closed doors for one month. During the closed period, all duties will be suspended. The decision will be made after the case has a result."

"Sir, take the decree." Gao Ren said tremblingly.

"If there is nothing else, let's retreat."

After the words fell, the officials bowed and saluted, and formally retreated from the court.

It's night, the emperor's bedroom

"You won't just let Gao Ren go like this, will you?" Han Tuo and Qing Ming sat side by side on the low couch by the window.

In the huge imperial bedroom, only one lamp was lit in the middle of the room, and the side of the low couch was a bit dark, but fortunately the window was opened, the moonlight came in, and the other party's face could be seen.

The windows are facing the side of trees and flowers, so you don't have to worry about someone passing by, and you can see that there is one more person in the emperor's bedroom.

"Of course, although the newly appointed Jing Zhaoyin is young, he does things vigorously and quickly. Within a month, he will be able to find out the exact results of the investigation. Gao Ren must be removed."

"He belongs to Zhu Xun."

"Well," Qing Ming mocked, "except for his people, who else would have the guts to deceive others."

"Tsk tsk~" Han Tuo smacked his lips and said, "Zhu Xun is really pitiful. He probably still thinks that everything is under his control."

"People who are self-righteous always have to pay some price." Qing Ming said indifferently.

"What do you think he will do next?" Han Tuo blinked and asked with interest.

"Bing." Qing Ming gave him a deep look.

Han Tuo was taken aback, then laughed dumbly, "That's what you said, I can help."

"The Zhu family started to make a fortune in business. Although the power of business is in the hands of the old second-hand, in the past few years, after receiving so many gifts, they are still not short of money; nearly half of the courtiers have received the favor of my grandfather from the Zhu family. , many of them belong to Zhu Xun’s faction now, although some of them have been pulled out in various names, they are still in power, if you want me to abdicate, the only way is to force the palace to mutiny.”

Qingming retracted his gaze, and continued to explain: "Although the uncle's mansion is allowed to deploy private soldiers, there are only 2000 people. The only way is to win over a person who holds the military power. In the current court, it is well known that you and I are 'discord', Finding you should be the best way, and it is estimated that I will find you in a few days to find out."

"Then don't I have to get ready to play a cynical drama~" Han Tuo said, with a wicked light in his eyes.

"You can play to your heart's content, as long as he thinks he has won you over."

"Speaking of which, forcing the palace to rebel is a serious crime of confiscating the family and exterminating the family. How are you going to protect your mother and other Zhu family members?"

"You don't have to worry about this, I will naturally make arrangements. Besides, Zhu Xun is self-willed and smart, but it doesn't mean that other Zhu family members are also like this. At least my reclusive grandfather is a smart person. How do you know that he will not kill his relatives righteously?" Woolen cloth?"

The moonlight is like a dream, reflected on Qingming's picturesque and elegant face, ethereal like a fairy; in addition, when he said those words, his gaze was so beautiful that it was so beautiful, in Han Tuo's eyes, it was unusually tempting, and his Adam's apple Unconsciously moved, obviously approaching late autumn, but the body was unbearably hot.

Han Tuo stood up suddenly as if he was hiding something.

Qingming was taken aback by his sudden action, thought he remembered something important, looked at him in surprise, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"That...it's very late today, I'll go back first." When Han Tuo panicked, he didn't notice what he said, and ran away in a hurry.

Qingming looked at the time and frowned, "It's very late? It's not even the time of Hai, right? In the past, most people stayed until around three quarters of the time of Hai, and even sometimes it didn't leave, why did they leave so early today!"

Also, what happened last night, he left in a hurry, and he clearly agreed to wait until he finished his bath before talking.

He was sitting on the low couch with a puzzled look on his face.

what is the problem?

Looking at the direction he left, Qing Ming got up and walked into the inner room.

You will always know when you should know.

As Qing Ming said, it didn't take long for Zhu Xun to find Han Tuo.

It was a rainy afternoon, Han Tuo received a post from the Uncle Guo's mansion, and the Uncle Guo invited him to a restaurant.

Han Tuo replied: We must arrive on time.

On the second day, after the morning court was over, Han Tuo went back to the mansion, changed his clothes, and went to the agreed place.

As soon as Han Tuo arrived at the restaurant, he was stopped by the boy guarding the door.

"This is Young General Han, right? My master told me to wait here."

"Then let's go." Han Tuo raised his eyebrows coldly, and said in a deep voice, with a bit of impatience in his tone.

"Please, Major General." The servant bowed and made a gesture of invitation.

Han Tuo followed him upstairs and came to the door of a box.

The servant made a notification, and then the door of the box was opened.

Zhu Xun, who was waiting inside the door, warmly greeted him, "Young General Han, please!"

Han Tuo didn't make any excuses to him, avoiding his attempt to hold his hand, walked around him and walked in.

Zhu Xun turned his back to him, a trace of disdain and dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes.

You're just a martial artist, if it weren't for the fact that you have military power in your hands, I wouldn't bother dealing with you, a brat who doesn't know etiquette!

Thinking about it in my heart, I still showed a kind and tolerant attitude on the surface.

After winking at the boys, all the attendants left the box and closed the door before leaving, but they didn't go far, but guarded outside the door to prevent others from approaching.