Just as Zheng Yuheng expected, the three-division trial did not give an answer that satisfied Dong Lingjiu.
　　After Xu Xiang listened to the trial, he went to the Cining Palace to meet the Queen Mother and reported all the details of the three-division trial in person to ensure that no one could interfere. It was indeed Zhou Yao himself who refused to let go.
　　Dong Lingjiu turned a string of coral beads in his hand and said, "Where is he being held now?"
　　Xu Xiang said, "In the Ministry of Justice."
　　Dong Lingjiu said, "Let the people from the Internal Investigation Factory bring him to the inner prison."
　　After she said that, she asked the female official to draft a handwritten order and give it to Xu Xiang.
　　Xu Xiang thought for a while and said, "Even in the inner prison, there will be no more severe torture methods. I am incompetent and there is no way to make him speak."
　　Xu Xiang was known as a cruel official, so he was naturally a very resourceful person. However, he was wrong and thought that he was going to be interrogated with heavy punishment.
　　Empress Dowager Dong did not raise her eyebrows and said lightly: "I want to personally judge and watch the execution."
　　Xu Xiang frowned and knelt down and said: "The inner prison is simple and cold, and the Empress Dowager's body is worth a lot of gold..."
　　"Which is more important, the body of a lot of gold," Dong Lingjiu interrupted him, "or my 100,000 dan of military pay is more important?"
　　Xu Xiang fell silent, bowed his head and kowtowed, and replied: "Yes, I will prepare it for you." With
　　the handwritten order of Empress Dowager Dong, Xu Xiang easily brought people from the Ministry of Justice to the inner prison. It took about half a day to prepare. Because Dong Lingjiu urged him, it was about dusk, when the autumn night first came, and the inner prison summoned the Empress Dowager.
　　Dong Lingjiu did not wear the heavy and gorgeous clothes she usually wore, but simple clothes, a thin velvet cloak over a dark robe, black hair like clouds, and a few clear pearl hairpins.
　　Only Ruixue and Zheng Yuheng accompanied her, and the others were dismissed outside. Similarly, neither of them wore official or palace uniforms, but followed in casual clothes.
　　Ruixue served the emperor personally and accompanied him day and night, needless to say. The reason why the young imperial physician accompanied the emperor was that mistakes were inevitable during the interrogation, and there might be times when severe torture was used, but he could not be allowed to die from the torture. Having a capable imperial physician could also provide a layer of insurance for the personal trial. The
　　inner prison was indeed as Xu Xiang said, damp and cold. The walls on all sides were gray and dark, and green sprouts grew in the cracks of the bricks and stones. A damp air that penetrated the clothes rose from the bottom to the top, chilling people's bones.
　　Dong Lingjiu stepped into it and sat on a chair prepared by Xu Xiang. Zheng Yuheng stood quietly behind her, leaned over and stretched out his hand to gather the collar of the queen's cloak, tidying the cloak tightly, and then stood back without saying a word.
　　Li Ruixue had been robbed of her job by him more than once in the past two days. She glanced at him lightly and thought that the world is unpredictable. Even the pure and sincere Doctor Zheng has learned to flatter.
　　Dong Lingjiu had just sat down when she heard the cold sound of chains colliding. Amid the noise, she turned her head to see where the sound came from, and saw a skinny man being carried up by the eunuchs and tied to the rack.
　　He was very haggard and thin, so thin that it was a little scary. The prison uniform on his body was oozing blood, one by one, and the bone joints were the most serious. The deepest part was already ulcerated, and even the blood was overflowing with a smell of decay.
　　Supervisory Censor Zhou Yao, a meritorious official who once exposed Zhang Kui's bribery.
　　Zhou Yao raised his eyes and first saw the cold and solemn "Jade-faced King of Hell". He opened his mouth full of blood, stared at Xu Xiang and cursed: "How do you want to interrogate me, you dirty eunuch."
　　Xu Xiang's eyebrows did not move, and he was as silent as before. He turned sideways and gave up the main seat to Dong Lingjiu.
　　Zhou Yao then moved his eyes and saw the woman sitting there in the light of the lamp.
　　The firelight flickered, reflecting on her cheek, half of her face with smooth lines and silent eyes.
　　He became the Supervisory Censor only a month ago. Before that, he had never been summoned by the Empress Dowager, so he didn't know her at all.
　　He looked at this woman, from the coral beads in her hand to her magnificent and gorgeous appearance, and he was a little suspicious of her identity and couldn't make it. It was not
　　until Dong Lingjiu raised his eyes and looked over, and the sudden rise of the superior's momentum instantly suppressed the coldness in the inner prison, that Zhou Yao was completely sure who she was.
　　Zhou Yao's voice was half hoarse, and he was about to utter the respectful title: "Empress Dowager... Madam."
　　Dong Lingjiu said calmly: "Yes."
　　"...You," he paused, his tone a little surprised, "you actually came here."
　　Dong Lingjiu looked at him and repeated his name word by word: "Zhou, Yao. Named after Yao, Shun and Yu, I remember you."
　　The sound of coral beads rubbing slowly sounded, and her voice also revealed a lot of coldness in this environment.
　　"I told Minister Gan of the Ministry of Personnel that you are a person who writes simply, not showing off, talented and pragmatic. Your parents gave you this name, and you must be able to do something, and maybe you will have the talent of a prime minister in the future."
　　Zhou Yao's lips pulled hard, and his whole face was painful and twisted for a moment. It was a tragic bitter smile.
　　Dong Lingjiu said, "So you don't speak. I think it's not the severity of the punishment, nor is it that you are so stubborn... Your daughter is three years old this year?"
　　She changed her words so quickly that no one present reacted immediately, but when Dong Lingjiu mentioned his daughter, Zhou Yao's pupils shrank noticeably.
　　Dong Lingjiu said in a light tone, pointing to the rack under him: "Censor Zhou, I summoned your wife and daughter to the palace to meet you. Although you are not a high-ranking official, they are also the wives of officials and people of status. The girl is very cute, but she is too young, and some punishments are not suitable for her..."
　　Zhou Yao's hands clenched and creaked, and suddenly he struggled violently in vain. The chain tightened deeper into his flesh and blood, and he opened his mouth and said, "The guilty minister--"
　　"Stop his mouth." Dong Lingjiu said.
　　Xu Xiang immediately stepped forward and stuffed Zhou Yao's mouth.
　　These torturers always want him to speak, and they have never blocked him so that he can't speak. Zhou Yao's eyes widened, bloodshot and bloodshot.
　　The chains on the rack shook violently.
　　Dong Lingjiu continued, "Your wife is also very fragile. I'm afraid she won't survive a night in the inner prison. And... they are all very worried about you. When they were with me, they asked me carefully and indirectly, what happened to you, the pillar of the family who was taken away by the Qilin Guards and has no news since then?"
　　The chains collided more violently, and he made a "woohoo" sound.
　　The man who was so stubborn that the three judges were helpless was actually blocked at this moment, unable to say a word of defense or begging for mercy.
　　Dong Lingjiu remained calm and looked at him: "I heard that you never took a concubine after marriage, so I guess that was your beloved wife. If a person's beloved things are revealed, they are most likely to be used. Your confession said that you knew nothing about the case of embezzlement of military pay, but after hearing about the riots and killings in the market, you were passionate and angry and wrote to impeach."
　　When she said this, she felt a little thirsty, so Ruixue presented her with a cup of tea.
　　However, the tea here was not fine enough, so Dong Lingjiu just took a sip to moisten her lips.
　　"But, this matter has long been suppressed by Zhang Kui for personal gain, and the officials in the court are all unaware of it. How did you know?" She said, "No matter what kind of benefits the people who cooperate with you have given you, now, I am sitting in front of you, Censor Zhou, you only have one chance to plead with the current empress dowager, and this is your only chance."
　　She waved her hand, "Let him speak."
　　After removing the obstruction in his mouth, Zhou Yao originally had a heart full of grief and curses to say, but when he met her eyes as cold as ice, these curses suddenly stopped in his throat. He trembled all over, biting his teeth and squeezed out a sentence: "The current empress dowager! Even if I, Zhou Yao, am a guilty minister, I also feel disgusted that you, a vicious woman, are in power!"
　　Zheng Yuheng glanced at him, put his hand into his sleeves, and endured himself.
　　Dong Lingjiu smiled very gently, and there was no sign of anger on her face. This insulting word passed by her ears like the wind.
　　She said, "Are you going to tell me all this?"
　　After a pause, Dong Lingjiu said, "Remove his torture instruments."
　　Xu Xiang said, "My queen..." He was afraid that this man's intense emotions would hurt the queen mother.
　　"Remove them." Dong Lingjiu repeated.
　　So, these chains and torture instruments that were wrapped around Zhou Yao and almost integrated with his wounds, tightened his flesh and blood more deeply during his fierce struggle, and then suddenly fell down. His body was dragged down and knelt on the ground with a thud, and fell down.
　　Zhou Yao trembled all over, his hands clenched into fists, his eyes were red, as if he would go crazy in the next moment, but at this moment, the glory of the successful Jinshi, the grand scene of the red robe parade, and the future that he had expected, all left with his embarrassment and struggle, as if his bones were drained out.
　　He heard the rustling sound of the skirt, the footsteps coming from far away, the tone of voice coming from far away... Queen Mother Dong slowly stood in front of him.
　　"Censor Zhou," she said, "whose promise is more important than my promise?"
　　Zhou Yao calmed down.
　　He was trembling all over, his voice was chaotic: "Will you guarantee their safety?"
　　Dong Lingjiu said: "Yes."
　　"Empty words are not enough... Queen Mother."
　　She said: "If I regret it, I am willing to die under the punishment of heaven."
　　Zhou Yao raised his head suddenly, staring at her face with trembling eyes. The others were also shocked, and there was no chance to stop her.
　　For a person in power, such a promise is heavier than any decree, because once the promise is broken, the rest of the life will be lived in the shadow of "heaven's punishment", for fear of fulfilling this life-threatening prophecy.
　　Zhou Yao had blood in his mouth, and he smiled sincerely this time. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed in the direction of Dong Lingjiu's skirt, his voice hoarse and faintly buzzing.
　　"The guilty minister Zhou Yao, who colluded with the upper and lower levels and covered up the corruption, deserves to be cut into pieces!"
　　His strength fell on the last four words.
　　Dong Lingjiu looked at him silently.
　　"Madam, do you remember... who was Zhang Kui's teacher?"
　　Dong Lingjiu's movement of turning the coral bracelet suddenly stopped.
　　Zhang Kui was the emperor's companion, so his teacher was naturally the emperor's teacher - that is, the old scholar Li Zhuo who once taught the prince in Wenhua Hall and then officially served as the prince's grand tutor. At
　　this moment, all the tiny clues and all the details that were difficult to figure out all night were all connected. Who could mobilize Zhang Kui to protect him and kill the grain transport official in the name of "mountain bandits" in the suburbs of Beijing? Who could find no trace of officials and purge the court and the country of no use, but have such a magnificent energy.
　　That was the great scholar who had resigned from his official position and whose students were all over the world. Out of respect for his status, the Qilin Guards never even passed by his house!
　　"Mr. Li..." Dong Lingjiu slowly closed his eyes, and the rest of the words were suppressed in his throat.
　　Zhou Yao grabbed her skirt, and the blood on his hands dyed the gold thread dark red. He hissed, "Are you afraid? You're afraid of him, right? Even if Emperor Mingde was still alive, shouldn't we still respect him, honor him, and let him do what he wants? Half of the civil and military officials in the court have been taught by him. Yes, he is such a person, Empress Dowager! Can you imagine such a person?!"
　　Dong Lingjiu lowered his eyes and looked at his hands with bulging bones and trembling knuckles.
　　"I will never understand until I die why he would do such a thing! I am poor and have only been in the Censorate for a month. He promised that I would do it as long as I impeach him. Once Zhang Kui dies after being exposed, there will be no loopholes in this matter, and he will also give me... a large sum of money. Even if something happens, as long as he is not implicated, he will give the money to my wife and daughter to protect them... from being implicated for the rest of their lives."
　　His hand that was tearing at the hem of Dong Lingjiu's clothes loosened, his strength loosened, and slowly fell down, as if sinking into a whirlpool in a quagmire.
　　Dong Lingjiu said, "Then why did you do this, Censor Zhou."
　　Even though he was guilty, Dong Lingjiu still called him Censor. But such a title could only bring Zhou Yao a stronger and infinite sense of guilt.
　　He said, "...I am a criminal from a poor family. When I was a scholar a few years ago, the money I needed to manage the family was very expensive. She used her dowry and put her life savings on my future. A month ago, the queen transferred me to the Censorate. At that time, Yan Niang asked me if I would live a hard life in the future."
　　Zhou Yao never raised his face, so Dong Lingjiu could not see what his expression was. He could only feel a trembling regret from his voice.
　　"...She has always wanted a gold hairpin, ..."
　　This man who had experienced punishment and said nothing, actually choked up when he said this.
　　Dong Lingjiu said, "Does she want that gold hairpin, or does she want you more?"
　　The so-called cruel officials are nothing more than the torture of flesh and blood. When facing Dong Lingjiu, Zhou Yao felt the pressure of the chill. Her tone was light, but every word had the edge of destroying people's mind, which could be called heart-piercing words.
　　"Even if it is a windfall that you can't earn as a censor for a lifetime, if it costs your life, will your Yan Niang be happy?"
　　Dong Lingjiu heard his broken breathing, as if using this violent breathing to connect his torn life.
　　She turned the bracelet again, pacing back and forth on the damp and cold ground of the inner prison, and said: "When the late emperor was in power, the most difficult years of the country, the finances of the Ministry of Revenue were worrying, and it was always unable to pay salaries. Sometimes salt had to be used instead, and sometimes it was delayed from winter to spring, so there were always rumors that honest officials and clerks starved to death at home. But it's different now, Censor Zhou, we already have money."
　　People die for money, birds die for food, even the queen mother of the Great Yin has never looked down on the words "gold and silver".
　　"Do you know what we paid for these few words?"
　　Not only Zhou Yao, but also the people who were listening were all disturbed by the meaning of the words. This was the Queen Mother of the current dynasty. She actually talked about "us" with a guilty minister, and she talked about "us" with the dawn of the world. "
　　I tell you," she picked up the cup of crude tea. At this moment, Dong Lingjiu could not taste its roughness and bitterness at all. She drank it all happily, and then said, "That is not a rumor, that is the truth."
　　"Not only the Ministry of Revenue can't pay, not only the civil and military officials in the court are starving, but also the people of the world, tens of millions of ordinary people, have died because of natural disasters, droughts, and poverty, the number is countless!" Her voice became heavier, and a piercing flame rose from the calm, "Those people's fat and blood gathered in the hands of local tyrants, those invisible assets that were swallowed up, it was not until Meng Zhen passed away that the cancer was completely eradicated and the roots were removed. In order to kill those people and to prevent the local authorities from following suit, a total of three imperial envoys who were ordered to make decisions died, and among them was my own brother! He is not even thirty years old!"
　　In the inner prison, even the breathing sound was suppressed to invisible, silent as death.
　　This was the first time Zheng Yuheng saw her so angry.
　　But he felt vaguely that this anger did not burn towards Zhou Yao, but towards herself.
　　Dong Lingjiu put down the teacup, gently held the armrest of the chair, and whispered: "Censor Zhou, with the current salary of the censor, a golden hairpin, wait a minute, is it really not enough to save?"
　　Zhou Yao knelt on the ground, he was so ashamed that he wished he could die immediately.
　　The interrogation in the inner prison had never reached such a situation.
　　Dong Lingjiu sat back in the chair and said to Xu Xiang: "Record the confession."
　　Xu Xiang came back to his senses and bowed his head and replied: "Yes."
　　The censor who was just bound by the torture instruments, but still held his head high and looked down on the eunuchs with pride, now removed the torture instruments, but because of a moment of confusion and a mistake in the investigation, he became a pool of degenerate mud.
　　Whatever Xu Xiang asked, he answered with a hoarse voice, without any hesitation.
　　During this period, Dong Lingjiu was just a bystander.
　　Everyone thought she was calm, and the anger on her face only appeared for a moment, and the flames that burned through the bones were drowned by the tide in an instant. Only Zheng Yuheng didn't think so.
　　He stood by her side, carefully observing Dong Lingjiu's expression, quietly reached out his hand, leaned against her sleeve, and gently covered the back of her hand with his knuckles.
　　Dong Lingjiu tilted her head and glanced at him.
　　Zheng Yuheng did not speak, but just clumsily and comfortingly covered her hand, staring at her quietly with dark eyes, worried.
　　Dong Lingjiu said, "It's okay." Zheng Yuheng said
　　, "Your Majesty can be sad."
　　Dong Lingjiu smiled slightly and said to him, "Why am I sad?"
　　"Anyone can be sad." He said, "People are not plants, who can be heartless? Your Majesty can be sad for anyone."
　　Dong Lingjiu sighed, feeling that he had a very keen intuition about his emotions, and didn't know whether this was good or bad.
　　She didn't answer, and Zheng Yuheng didn't ask any more, but just thought that if the gods and Buddhas of heaven and earth knew and could listen to his wishes, it would be better for the Majesty to only smile at him and not be sad for him.
　　...
　　After returning from the inner prison, Dong Lingjiu washed and rested well, throwing the burden in his heart aside. If they didn't know her, everyone would have thought that she would let go of the prince's tutor, who was of extraordinary status.
　　The next day, after about noon, Dong Lingjiu met Zhou Yao's family for the first time. Before that, she had only vaguely gotten the appearance of these two people from the description of the Qilin Guards, and had never really seen them.
　　Zhou Yao's first wife's surname was Liu, and her nickname was Yan Niang. She was born graceful and beautiful. And the little girl was indeed three or four years old, cute and naive.
　　Dong Lingjiu smiled at the girl, and the little girl broke free from her mother's hand. She was obviously timid, but she came over bravely and nestled in the arms of the Queen Mother. Just as Dong Lingjiu expected, she asked about Zhou Yao's whereabouts in childish words.
　　Dong Lingjiu touched the girl's soft hair that had not grown yet, and whispered: "He went to do something for my family."
　　The girl blinked and asked actively: "What is it? Nunu wants to see daddy."
　　It turned out that the girl's name was Nunu.
　　Dong Lingjiu said, "It's a big thing for the country and the people."
　　Nunu frowned and said in a stuttering voice, "My mother misses my father very much. Can you let him come back, my mother? I miss him too."
　　Dong Lingjiu glanced at Liu Yanniang who was standing not far away. She knew that these words were taught to the child by Yanniang. Only when a child speaks without restraint will there be no trouble.
　　Dong Lingjiu said, "He went to buy a hairpin for your mother."
　　After that, the Queen Mother waved her hand, and the shy and silent woman came forward. Her eyes were red and swollen, and it was obvious that she had cried several times.
　　Dong Lingjiu took a golden hairpin from her bun and handed it to Liu Yanniang. Before she asked, he took the lead and said, "It is a gift from an elder, and it cannot be refused. It is disrespectful to refuse."
　　Yanniang had to bow her head to thank her.
　　She asked timidly, "My queen..."
　　Dong Lingjiu returned the girl to her and said, "You will stay in the palace in the future. I will grant you the title of Lady of Incense and the female historian of the Cining Palace. You and this child will have nothing to do with the Zhou Mansion from now on."
　　"But I, a commoner..."
　　"I promised someone." Dong Lingjiu said quietly, "to take care of you and your daughter for the rest of your lives." Liu Yanniang
　　was stunned and speechless.
　　She seemed to have understood something from the gentle scrutiny of the Queen Mother Dong, and she felt a surge of sadness very slowly. She looked at the ignorant Nunu, tightly grasped her handkerchief, bowed down, and said in a trembling voice: "I... thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."