Xu Tuzhi and

Yan Qing woke up at dawn. Fuying was waiting outside the house and went in after hearing the sound.

When she entered, Yan Qing had already put on his clothes and was sitting quietly at the kang table.

Fuying carefully observed Yan Qing's expression, wondering how much she remembered what happened yesterday.

Yan Qing must not remember anything, Fuying thought, because she saw that there was no anger or other disturbances in Yan Qing's eyes. Apart from being a little mentally weak, there was nothing abnormal about the rest.

Yan Qing also asked why he stayed in the flower room, and Fuying followed Jiang Weiren's instructions before leaving. He was still a little nervous when he said it, for fear that Yan Qing would see the flaw. .

"I do remember that I drank a lot with Chongning yesterday..." she said lightly, "I don't dare to drink anymore in the future."

Now that she said that, Fuying thought that she couldn't remember what happened last night.

That's fine. The maids and eunuchs involved yesterday were both killed by Eunuch Chen. The Eunuch of the Supervisor of Ceremonies didn't want his master to investigate this matter, and Mr. Yuan Fujiang didn't want his master to investigate this matter either. Since they had wiped out the evidence, No matter how hard he tried to find out, there was no way to find out. The master knew, but he felt a little angry.

But it’s just like Master Jiang said that day, will anyone get back the wrongs the master suffered on her behalf?

We couldn't stay at the Xiuling Palace any longer. Fuying wanted to persuade Yan Qing to return to the palace, but he was afraid that she would notice something, so he thought of finding a perfect excuse, but before she could say anything, Yan Qing decided to return to the palace on his own. .

Fuying was a little confused. The master had clearly been reluctant to return to the capital before.

"We can't just stay here forever..." Yan Qing smiled.

But Fuying always felt that her master's smile seemed to have changed a bit now. She heard Yan Qing say in an understatement, "There are some things that it's useless to hide..."

So she drove back to Beijing.

This ushered in another spring. After recuperating in Xiuling for so long, Yan Qing's health was finally much better. But this time, when she returned to the palace, she changed her past habit of not being too involved in the political affairs of the court. Zhang Fang asked Zhang Fang to show her the details of the cabinet vote.

Not only can they watch, but they are no longer like before, where everything is decided by the cabinet and the Supervisor of Ceremonies without any interference. Now if she sees something inappropriate, she will point it out.

Several times, Chen Min heard his master Zhang Fang say: "The temperament of this Queen Mother Shengyi has really changed."

On the day Yan Qing returned to the Wende Hall to participate in the discussion, Jiang Weiren didn't know it at first. He only saw Zhu after entering the hall . Two chairs were placed behind the curtain.

"It seems that the Queen Mother Shengyi is coming back to take charge of the government." Liang Chenghuan, Mr. Liang Ge, said while stroking his beard. As he spoke, he saw Jiang Weiren's expression was a little startled, so he asked, "Tingchen, I heard that there are many slaves in the Xiuling Palace. The commotion shocked Princess Chongning, and she was beaten to death by Chen Min, the supervisor of the ceremony. Do you know this?"

Jiang Weiren replied calmly: "The supervisor of the ceremony is the head of the internal prison. I have always had trouble

with those people. Even though it is a trivial matter, they still deserve punishment." Liang Chenghuan nodded and said, "I see that those people still don't respect the Queen Mother Shengyi. She is the late emperor's empress. Noble, but his temper has always been tolerant, so the people below him have been lucky..."

As he spoke, the voice of the inner prison came from outside, and it was the Empress Dowager Ciyi and the Empress Dowager Shengyi who had arrived.

When the two came in, several students in the hall and the ceremonial supervisors saluted one after another. Jiang Weiren knelt in front of everyone, watching the hem of Yan Qing's skirt brushing against the dark blue water-polished floor tiles, and the tip of his nose had a trace of her clothes. The lingering scent is almost non-existent.

That night in the Xiuling Palace, she huddled in her arms and circled his neck. The faint fragrance stirred up the heat in his heart all the time, and when her lips and teeth intertwined with his, they seemed to be filled with sweetness. , and her trembling breathing at that time was more like a demonic barrier that always echoed in her ears.

Many times, I always felt that that night was just a hallucination. It was not until she walked before his God today that those memories seemed real.

But when he stood up and carefully studied her expression and eyes, even when her eyes crossed with his, her eyes were still innocent. Jiang Weiren thought that she must not remember anything about that night.

It's fair to assume that she drank strong alcohol and was later intoxicated by the incense.

That night, he was worried that the thing would be bad for her health, so he specifically asked Chen Min to take out the incense plate that was left in the incense burner in the Tianxin Tower.

Later, he took the remaining incense to have people inspect it. The incense was highly effective and slightly harmful to the body, but it didn't matter if it was used only a few times. However, after being intoxicated by the incense, it would cause people to lose their minds. Most likely you won't remember what happened when you wake up.

It's fine if she doesn't remember. If she remembers, he doesn't know how embarrassed she will feel. He would rather she couldn't remember anything... Jiang Weiren thought silently, feeling both lucky and a little bitter for a moment.

After discussing the matter, Cao Dingzhen started driving first, and Yan Qing then walked out of Wende Hall. As soon as he walked out of the shoulder room, he heard Fuying calling to him at the side, "Empress, look..."

She looked up and saw that it was Jiang Weiren striding forward. Come towards yourself.

"Please stay a moment, Your Majesty, I have something to report." He walked up to her and said.

Yan Qing's expression was extremely cold, and his eyes did not fall on him. "Sir, why didn't you report something in the palace just now?"

He raised his head and replied, "Your Majesty, this matter is not a state matter."

Yan Qing then spoke lazily. Looking at him, "Sir, please speak."

"I heard that the Queen Mother is in poor health. The superficial symptoms are easy to cure, but the root of the disease is difficult to remove. The imperial doctors have looked at it several times, but they can't find a cure. Recently, two famous private doctors came to Beijing. Practicing medicine, I asked the Queen Mother to allow the two of them to enter the palace and check the Queen Mother's pulse."

Naturally, Yan Qing did not expect that he was doing this. Her illness was indeed cured even though she took the medicine prescribed by the imperial doctor. Zhao Yuan also mentioned whether to find some good doctors from among the people to come to the palace to take a look.

"No need," she said lightly, "Perhaps not all diseases in the world can be cured by medicine and stone..."

Jiang Weiren was startled when he heard the words, his eyes were a little dark, and when he wanted to persuade him again, Yan Qing had already said "Thank you for your concern, sir, but it's hard for you to deal with political affairs. I don't have to worry about my family's affairs anymore."

She got on the carriage and was surrounded by the palace people around her and left far away. Jiang Weiren stood alone. , looking at her retreating back between the two vermilion palace walls in the distance.

The spring was just right, catkins were flying in all directions, and there was the fragrance of grass and trees in the wind. Everything was fine. Her back alone caused inexplicable pain in his heart, making this beautiful spring dim.

At the end of the spring of that year, Cao Yu, the commander of the fifth military camp, was impeached by the governor of Beijing. As a result, tens of thousands of soldiers at the border were unable to obtain winter clothes in time, and hundreds of them froze to death.

The memorials were different from the excerpts. The excerpts were submitted from various ministries to the cabinet and then approved by Zhu, the Superintendent of Ceremonies. However, the memorials from the courtiers could be heard directly by the emperor. Zhao Yuan is now quite old, and he has to read the memorials submitted by officials in Beijing one by one. He was also shocked when he saw this memorial.

Although Zhao Yuan is no longer a child, he has always been severely taught by the Empress Dowager Cao and Mr. Jiang. He has a timid temperament. When he saw his uncle's memorial in which he participated, he neither dared to let the Empress Dowager Cao see it nor wanted to He dared to make his own decisions, so the cabinet sent a copy to the Sixth Section to make the matter public.

Therefore, the ministers were shocked. Firstly, the person involved in this memorial was the brother of the Empress Dowager Ciyi and also His Majesty's uncle. Secondly, because the lack of military resources this time was too serious.

Swallowing the military supplies sent to the border directly affected the morale of the frontline troops and shook the country's foundation.

When Cao Dingzhen found out, it was too late, and the matter was already known to the whole world. If he were dealt with according to the law, Cao Yu would at least be demoted to a commoner, but if he did not follow the law, this would be a blatant bending of the law for personal gain.

This matter was also brought up during the discussion in Wende Hall. Neither the cabinet nor the Supervisor of Ceremonies dared to make the decision. However, Yan Qing spoke up and said: "Master Cao is the elder brother of Empress Dowager Ciyi, your Majesty's elder, if A thorough investigation will damage His Majesty's face, so don't mention this matter again. "

Of course she is right, no more thorough investigation is what Cao Dingzhen wants. But upon closer inspection, her words sounded like she was saying that Cao Yu himself was guilty, but it was just because of his status as a relative of the emperor that the court refused to pursue him. This is neither justified nor justified.

In particular, Yan Qing also said "Your Majesty's face". After thorough investigation, it was found that there was an uncle who embezzled military resources, which certainly damaged Zhao Yuan's face. But if there is no investigation, it will be proven that Zhao Yuan is seeking favoritism to protect his uncle. As an emperor, it will cause the greatest damage to his reputation in the future.

How could Cao Dingzhen allow his son to be labeled as fatuous? So in front of several cabinet ministers and several chief ceremonial officials, he said resolutely: "It must be thoroughly investigated. The Aijia will not show favoritism, and your Majesty will not do it." Favoritism. If Marquis Wu Zhong is so bold, he should be punished according to the law and not treated lightly. "

Since Empress Dowager Ciyi has spoken, there is no reason not to investigate this case. According to past practice, if a relative of the emperor like Cao Yu, who is also an important minister in the court, violates the national law, he will naturally be handed over to the three judicial divisions for trial.

But everyone knew that Wu Zhonghou was the brother of the Queen Mother, and no one dared to bring trouble to the Queen Mother. The Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate were trying to shirk each other and deliberately delayed the case, so the case made no progress at all.

"Why don't you ask about this case?" Fuying asked Yan Qingdao.

"How to intervene?" Yan Qing asked her.

Naturally, she cannot interfere with her position, otherwise the outside world will speculate that the two palaces are at odds.

"How this case will turn out," Yan Qing said calmly, "it depends on the cabinet and Mr. Jiang's intentions."

Jiang Weiren's meaning is very obvious, that is, he is pretending to be confused, knowing that the Third Law Department is deliberately delaying, but turning a blind eye. Close one eye.

Fuying was extremely unhappy about this. Thinking about what Master Rijiang said in Xiuling that day, she thought that Mr. Yuanfu was really thinking about his master and on his side. But now it seems that she was mistaken. .

If this is the case, the matter may be over as it drags on.

But not long after, floods hit Lingnan Road, and hundreds of thousands of people were affected in several state capitals. What's even more unfortunate is that another earthquake occurred in Zhili, and natural disasters occurred one after another. Rumors spread in Beijing. They all said that it was because the emperor allowed his uncle to act recklessly, which angered God and issued a disaster warning.

This rumor started very quickly and could not be suppressed no matter how hard I tried. Within a few days it spread throughout the Zhili area, causing people to panic.

In desperation, Cao Dingzhen had no choice but to take off his hairpin and kneel outside the Ancestral Temple. Emperor Zhao Yuan personally ordered the Third Division to quickly find out the whole story of Cao Yuqian's lack of military resources and punish him severely.

After strict investigation, the crime was obvious. If he was dealt with according to the law, Cao Yu would be exiled. But in the end, Lord Yuanfu interceded for Cao Yu, and finally he was dismissed from his position and demoted. Cao Yu was originally named Wuzhonghou last year because of Queen Mother Cao, but now he was demoted to the original Wuzhongbo.

Although the matter was suppressed, the punishment from exile to dismissal was still too light in comparison. It was rumored privately in the court that it was Empress Dowager Cao who signaled Master Yuan Fu to accept the plea.

In the eyes of the world, Queen Mother Cao still protected her brother.

"Your Majesty, this is all thanks to Master Jiang." Cao Dingzhen's maid Wen Ying said to her, "But I have seen from the time of the memorial to the rumors that spread in the capital. No matter how you look at it, it seems that someone is tampering with you behind your back... "

A little clerk from the Metropolitan Procuratorate dared to play the role of the Queen Mother's brother. Although the subsequent natural disaster was an accident, the rumors started so quickly. It was obvious that someone was deliberately instigating it. How could Cao Dingzhen not care about it.

"Sooner or later, this day will come," Cao Dingzhen said calmly, "Ever since when she asked the late emperor to take His Majesty away from me, we have been at odds with each other."

"You suspect that what happened this time was also caused by Renshou Palace. "Who did it?"

Wen Ying said in shock, "As for the Xiuling incident, although Chen Min, the Superintendent of Ceremonies, messed up our plan, he also dealt with all the palace officials who knew about it and left no evidence. I heard from the person we placed next to Queen Mother Shengyi that she couldn't remember what happened that night because she was so intoxicated. Why did she suddenly attack you, Queen Mother?"

Cao Dingzhen smiled coldly, "Does she remember? Remember, who knows, but she wants to guess who meant what happened that night, and where to use what evidence..."

On that day, Zhang Fang gave Chen Min an order to erase all the evidence after he went over. Naturally, she didn't want to Let Yan find out the mastermind behind it. Zhang Fang didn't dare to make random guesses, but he dared to harm Queen Mother Shengyi. The people behind those dog slaves must be people from this palace. In order to prevent trouble in the palace, he asked his apprentice to suppress the matter.

But how did he know that on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Yan Qing broke something at the Suiyuxuan next to the wild goose pond.

Zhang Fang didn't understand why any evidence was needed. Yan Qing could guess who was behind it just based on the stakes.

"Then Madam, what should we do now?"

Wen Ying was a little anxious. She had been following Cao Dingzhen, and she had more than just a little cleverness. "Mr. Jiang spoke for our Lord Marquis. Although he meant to protect us, in this way, This case has become a clue. When it is revealed later, it can be said that the empress deliberately asked the cabinet to plead for the Marquis and protect her brother. "

What are you afraid of? Since I dare to take action, I am afraid that she will find out?" , said after taking a sip of tea.

Although the plan was disrupted by Zhang Fang, when she made such a ruthless move, she naturally thought that such a dispute would arise.

"Wen Ying, you have to take your time," she smiled and said softly, "We have plenty of time..."