When Xu Xiang was about to finish the interrogation, Du Yuewan came over specially to listen and accompany him. After confirming that nothing could be learned from the interrogation, she transcribed the confessions of these people and took them back to the Empress Dowager as evidence.
　　Xu Xiang personally sent her out and asked, "How did the interrogation go?"
　　Du Yuewan's face eased slightly, and she seemed to consider the wording for a while before saying, "The new chief provided some useful confessions, and the Empress Dowager took him away."
　　"Has he been released?" Xu Xiang frowned slightly.
　　Du Yuewan said, "He only came to the Ministry of Revenue on October 5th. He had no experience as an official before. These trivial matters probably have nothing to do with him. After the Empress Dowager finished her questioning, she let him go home."
　　Xu Xiang nodded and said nothing, estimating that he might not have the opportunity to see the true face of this Zheng chief.
　　Du Yuewan said, "All the accounts of the Granary Department have been collected. When they learned that the Qilin Guards had raided the Xuanhao Room, the Ministry of Revenue came to inquire three times in a row. The longer they detain you here, the more nervous the bureaucrats who actually reported false accounts and deceived others will become, and they will inevitably be exposed. Please keep a close eye on them, Xu Bingbi."
　　Xu Xiang said, "It is not right to attack people in the inner prison." Du
　　Yuewan nodded, and said, "Most of the people here are scribes and clerks. At most, they just help copy documents and write files. As for the young master who is imprisoned here, he is also a scapegoat who was picked out and put at this juncture. It's just that they have all seriously neglected their duties. Xu Bingbi doesn't have to think too much about his identity. As long as he is not beaten to death, just take it as a lesson."
　　Xu Xiang said, "I understand."
　　The two talked as they walked, and he sent the female minister all the way out of the punishment room. Du Yuewan persuaded him to go back, bowed and performed a female ceremony, and then left the inner prison.
　　Aunt Yuewan took a few steps and saw a luxurious carriage pulled by four horses. The curtains were thick and bells were hung on the four corners. It was already surrounded by eunuchs and palace maids. There were three smaller carriages behind, but no one was riding. They were just set up according to the regulations for the empress dowager's travel to prevent assassins and accidents.
　　She climbed onto the side of the carriage, opened a corner of the curtain, and handed the copied confession record through the gap in the door with both hands.
　　Dong Lingjiu raised his hand to take it and said softly: "Go back to the palace."
　　Du Yuewan said: "Yes."
　　Then, the carriage started to move.
　　The wheels rumbled. In order to avoid the severe cold, the door was quickly closed, and even the curtains were neatly arranged without a single gap. The interior was wide and spacious. Dong Lingjiu placed a half-hollowed golden animal brain charcoal stove under his knees. The four legs were on the ground, and the warmth rose.
　　The window gap was slightly open to keep the air inside and outside flowing.
　　She placed her hand above the golden beast's brain and glanced at the recorded confession in the light outside - as expected, there was nothing useful. Just as
　　Dong Lingjiu finished reading, a warm body pressed against the side of his arm.
　　She paused, did not speak to stop or reprimand him, but stretched out her arms and let him come closer.
　　Zheng Yuheng hugged her, lowered his head and buried it in the Queen Mother's shoulder, breathing a little hot: "Reading in the carriage will cause dizziness."
　　Dong Lingjiu raised her hand and pinched the back of his neck: "Then don't read it."
　　Zheng Yuheng clung to him stickyly.
　　He changed out of his green official uniform and wore a brocade robe embroidered with bamboo leaves. The belt and the jade pendant on his waist were put on again. Just now, the Queen Mother only indulged him for a while, and soon changed his clothes and took Zheng Yuheng to the carriage. When
　　he got into the carriage, because there were many palace servants guarding outside, he came up to ask for some sweets, but they were ordered to hold back their voices. Zheng Yuheng was secretly annoyed by Dong Lingjiu's habit of always stopping after a brief taste, but he couldn't really drag the Queen Mother into indulgence - wouldn't that be a sin for all eternity?
　　Every time Dong Lingjiu felt relaxed and satisfied and stopped, Zheng Yuheng was just teased to the point of being unable to bear it, and always had to throw away his face and tease the Queen Mother for a while. Fortunately, Dong Lingjiu was considerate of the kitten in heat every time, pampering and indulging him, letting him rub against him and kiss and lick him.
　　Zheng Yuheng was clinging to her, but he was also cautious about the sound. He didn't dare to speak too loudly. He asked softly in a low voice: "After the queen returns to the palace... will you still favor me?"
　　Dong Lingjiu wanted to laugh when she heard this. She said: "How dare I tarnish the talent of the country, right, Lord Zheng?" Zheng
　　Yuheng was a little anxious. He pursed his lips and said: "I am the queen's doctor, not Lord Zheng."
　　Dong Lingjiu said: "No matter who it is, they all have the intention to seduce you, and their crime is punishable by death."
　　Zheng Yuheng pulled her hand up and put it on her cheek, his eyes focused and his expression pitiful: "Wait until I have served you, then we can discuss the crime."
　　As he said that, he came closer again, eagerly and boldly doing intimate things with her.
　　The bell hanging on the eaves of the car kept ringing. The ruts pressed over the snow, making a slight creaking sound, and the sound inside the car was hidden in the sound of the wheels rolling.
　　Dong Lingjiu hugged the other's thin but strong waist back, while thinking about her bad taste in teasing him. The child who was usually well-behaved and obedient could not stand the teasing and became more and more clingy.
　　But she couldn't punish him because of her feelings. She knew that he was deliberately showing weakness to please her, but she still felt pity for him.
　　Dong Lingjiu let him kiss her, then said: "I don't know whether to say that you are too lucky or too unlucky about the Ministry of Revenue. The first thing has caused such a big hole... Fortunately, I know the inside story, otherwise I would have suffered for a while just being implicated and imprisoned."
　　Zheng Yuheng said: "If this is a matter of sharing your worries, then I should say that I am very lucky."
　　Dong Lingjiu smiled slightly and said to him: "In this case, then I will return to being an imperial physician for a few days. If this kind of thing is left to the low-level clerks, even if they have made contributions, they will be easily bribed or assassinated, and it will be difficult for them to be heard by the emperor. Secondly, the officials at the top will exploit the credit. By then, even if you have made contributions without any faults, it will not be your turn to be a small official."
　　"Fortunately," she said, pausing for a moment, her smile growing, "Lord Zheng is not an ordinary person. Although his official position is small, he can report to the imperial palace from time to time, and I am your backer."
　　Zheng Yuheng thought to himself that this backer had just pretended not to know him, and had played him to the point of being at a loss and losing his soul.
　　Dong Lingjiu saw what he was thinking at a glance, stretched out her hand to pinch this handsome and fair face, and said with a high attitude: "With such a backer, you must make some sacrifices. Otherwise, if I rush to save you and let the Cining Palace close its doors to visitors for a whole day, wouldn't it be too easy for you, Zheng?"
　　When Zheng Yuheng heard her call him like this, he was suddenly touched by the shame hidden in the bones of the scholar. Once the boundary between the monarch and the minister becomes clear - if he crosses the line so obviously, the scholar who has always regarded studying as an ideal to enter the officialdom will feel deeply ashamed and guilty.
　　In the case of little Lord Zheng, it seems very suitable to blackmail him to do something out of the ordinary.
　　Dong Lingjiu's fingers slid down and clamped his chin. The force was very light, and the tone was very gentle. He looked at him and said, "Besides your body, do you have anything else to give back to me?"
　　Zheng Yuheng's breathing stagnated: "Your Majesty..."
　　"Junzhi," Dong Lingjiu said with a smile, "You still have a lot to learn."
　　...
　　As for what the Empress Dowager said about "a lot to learn", whether it is about governing the country and maintaining peace in the world, or the pleasure of competing for favor and serving, or both, it is difficult to guess and have no idea of ​​the connotation.
　　Except for Zheng Junzhi, the other officials and clerks who were imprisoned in prison have served in the Ministry of Revenue for at least two years. They cannot be separated from the false reporting and omissions in the accounts. At least there is a charge of dereliction of duty waiting for them.
　　Xu Xiang guarded this group of people tightly and interrogated them day and night. Wen Yanei couldn't stand it anymore. He was talking nonsense and crying for his brother, the Minister, to save him.
　　Minister Wen was not a ruthless person. On the first day of knowing that Wen Haocheng was arrested, the Minister had already visited Xu Xiang in person. The noble scholar who was usually reserved and arrogant and didn't have a single word with him now lowered his face and posture and put on a humble smile with him.
　　Xu Xiang's reaction was flat. He didn't feel relieved or vindicated, nor did he feel flattered or complacent. He was still cold and taciturn, and except for the questions he had to answer, he was like a puppet with set rules.
　　Wen Haolan couldn't get any information from him, and was in a state of panic, like an ant on a hot pot. The old lady of the Wen family was so anxious about Wen Haocheng's useless little son that she fainted, fearing that her delicate little son would become a miserable person in Xu Xiang's hands.
　　The reputation of eunuchs as cruel officials can be seen from this.
　　On the 28th of the winter month in the second year of Huining.
　　The eunuch sorted out the prison records, stacked the relevant documents of this period one by one in order, put them in a wooden box, and prepared to send them to the Dali Temple.
　　When he was leaving, Xu Xiang was sending Wen Shilang back for another visit. He stood near the door and saw him coming out, so he said, "I'll go with you."
　　The young eunuch was not surprised. It was the responsibility of the Internal Investigation Office to send these records to the Dali Temple, and the supervisor attached great importance to this matter and often supervised his colleagues more than once.
　　He bowed and followed behind Xu Xiang.
　　Xu Xiang was wearing a simple and elegant dark blue eunuch uniform, with only patterns on the cuffs and collar. The decoration was also very low-key, and people who didn't know him could hardly tell his identity.
　　The two used the carriages of the Internal Investigation Office and soon arrived at the Dali Temple office, showed their identities, and entered.
　　There was a lot of rain and snow in the capital. It was sunny when they came, but when they arrived, a flurry of light snow fell on their shoulders and hair.
　　Xu Xiang walked through the corridor in the Dali Temple. Before he arrived at the place where he was handed over, he saw several yellow-clothed maids in front of him urging the old man in the imperial physician's clothes, talking in a flurry.
　　"Thank you, Doctor Zhang. It's too far from the Imperial Hospital. If your mansion hadn't been nearby, the princess would have been in pain for a while."
　　"Our prince has been very studious recently. Even the temple minister said that his insights into matters of judgment and trial are getting deeper day by day. The princess was so happy after hearing the praise this morning that we didn't pay attention and his foot slipped..."
　　"Your Excellency said that he will be fine after a few days of rest. Is that three to five days, or seven to eight days? Oh, your Excellency doesn't know. The princess heard that a woman in the previous dynasty had become a prime minister and drafted imperial edicts. Her prince was very dissatisfied and often said that she wanted the Empress Dowager to look at her with new eyes after three days of absence. If she couldn't walk for a few days, she would be worried."
　　These maids were favored in the princess's mansion at first sight. Princess Zhaoyang never made things difficult for them. So when the maids mentioned her prince, they felt sorry for her sincerely and teased her at the same time.
　　The doctor said, "It will take at least seven days. The princess has fallen a lot, so you have to apply the medicine carefully." The
　　maids nodded in agreement.
　　The two groups of people bumped into each other head-on. The maids of the princess's mansion saluted according to the rules, and Xu Xiang also bowed slightly, always being humble.
　　After they sent the doctor out for more than ten steps, Xu Xiang stopped for a moment and looked back at them.
　　"Master?" the eunuch asked softly.
　　"Give it to me." He took the box from the other party, stood there thinking for a moment, and whispered, "Go back and get the most effective ointment for sprains in the inner prison. If you don't know which one it is, ask the senior class of the back province who supervises the punishment. After getting it, send it to the Dali Temple and say that... The roads are slippery in winter, and the temple minister should be careful when going out. If other officials of the Dali Temple are injured, it can also save the emergency of not having regular medicines." The eunuch
　　first said yes, then he was a little puzzled and quietly asked Xu Xiang: "Master, the Dali Temple will not think that we have a problem with them, right? Will sending medicine be like intimidating them..."
　　Xu Xiang hesitated for a moment: "Will it?"
　　The eunuch nodded repeatedly, with a very sincere attitude.
　　Xu Xiang lowered his eyes, and his expression seemed to be suppressed a little more. He was introverted and silent, like a frozen lake, and said: "Then forget it."