Chapter 515 You're in Big Trouble
It was the first grand court meeting after many years, and unexpectedly, an explosive scene took place before it even started.
"Jiang Qingzhi is still like that, always using his fists to speak."
Lan Zhen was with several officials.
"There aren't many people around him. If he starts talking, we can drown him with a spit from each of us!"
There was a hint of gloom in Lan Zhen's eyes. Jiang Qingzhi glanced over here at this time. He subconsciously touched his nose bridge. The swelling there had gone down, but it was still purple, which looked quite funny.
"His good days are numbered." Lan Zhen chuckled, with more hatred in his eyes.
The city gates opened and the grand court meeting began.
It was rare for the Taoist to wear formal clothes. Jiang Qingzhi took a look and felt that the Taoist was sitting there to endure the discomfort. Otherwise, according to his personality, he would probably change into a Taoist robe and sit cross-legged casually.
Yan Song came out with a rosy face. He first praised the emperor and then talked about the recent major events in the court.
This is the rule. In the past, these major issues were resolved in the Western Garden, and ordinary officials had no chance to get involved, let alone express their opinions.
As for memorials...inappropriate memorials will be intercepted and suppressed by Zhao Wenhua.
And the grand court meeting is such an opportunity.
However, this was the first grand court meeting of the Taoist priest in many years... The one on New Year's Day was more of a ritual, so the ministers were very cautious.
Jiang Qingzhi thought they were worried that if he acted too harshly, he would force Daoye back to Xiyuan. With Yan Song's party as a wall of separation, it would be impossible for them to interfere in many things.
Therefore, the initial discussions went very smoothly with almost no disturbances.
"Your sister-in-law gave you a prescription, saying that it can help you have a son. Go home and boil the medicine yourself." Zhu Xizhong quietly handed a piece of paper to Jiang Qingzhi.
"Old Zhu, have you ever tried it?" Jiang Qingzhi felt that the so-called secret recipe for having a child was unreliable.
"God knows." Zhu Xizhong was stunned. "But I remember that a few years after we got married, that woman said she had found a tonic recipe and asked me to drink it every day... Could it be this?"
Old Zhu only had one son, Zhu Shitai, and he loved him dearly. But for such a wealthy family, the more sons the better. In order to have a son, the couple tried their best.
Jiang Qingzhi had just put the paper away when someone came out of class and mentioned him.
No, it's his father-in-law.
"Your Majesty, I impeach Li Huan, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites..."
Impeach the father-in-law?
Jiang Qingzhi was startled and glanced at his father-in-law.
He was placed on the side of the nobles, while the civil officials were on the other side.
Li Huan was obviously a little surprised. After leaving the class, his face flushed, and it was unclear whether he was angry or embarrassed.
The one who came out was the Imperial Censor Huang Yao. He said in a loud voice: "After the death of the first crown prince, the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Observatory, and the Imperial Palace investigated the burial site. The Imperial Palace strongly advocated it, but the Ministry of Rites opposed it. However, Li Huan insisted... Yesterday, news came that a spring was dug out at the crown prince's tomb..."
What the hell!
The court exploded in an instant.
The prince passed away, and the Taoist priest was extremely sad. Unlike in history, in order to find out the cause of the prince's death, the Taoist priest had his body dissected, which damaged the prince's body. Afterwards, the Taoist priest ordered the coffin to be kept for 81 days, and monks and Taoist priests performed rituals every day to pray for the prince's soul to be reborn.
Therefore, the matter of the prince's tomb was not so urgent and was presided over by the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Observatory, and the Taichang Temple.
The Ming Tombs in later generations were the imperial cemeteries of the Ming Dynasty royal family. Apart from the emperors’ mausoleums, there were burial areas for the accompanying dead.
The people buried with the deceased were either concubines, princes or crown princes.
After Zhu Zaigang's death, where to bury him became a point of contention among the three families.
The Taichang Temple insisted on burying the late crown prince at the very edge of the left side, also for the convenience of future planning. For example, if concubines or... princes go there later, there will be empty space.
But what was unexpected was that a spring was dug out.
It is unlucky to dig a spring in the emperor's mausoleum, and the same is true for digging a spring in the prince's tomb.
Daoye had a deep affection for the late crown prince, and the fact that the late crown prince died of poisoning made Daoye extremely sad and guilty. He felt that it was the fight between him and the literati that led to the death of the late crown prince.
Therefore, when something went wrong with the former prince’s tomb, one can imagine how furious the Taoist priest was.
Taichang Temple!
Taoist priest turned his gaze to Li Huan.
Li Huan said: "Your Majesty, when the site was selected, the two people in the Taichang Temple predicted that it was auspicious, and I also asked the people who built the mausoleum, and they said that the place was quite dry when they dug it..."
He spoke for a while, then suddenly smiled bitterly, "I am guilty, Your Majesty, please punish me!"
No one looked at him, but at Jiang Qingzhi.
"Get him!" Taoist had no other choice at this time.
This was the gift those people gave to the Taoist priest, and a slap in the face to Jiang Qingzhi.
As soon as he walked out of the Western Garden for the first grand court meeting, the Taoist was hit by a club.
And Jiang Qingzhi was slapped.
My father-in-law Li Huan made a serious mistake. If he were dealt with according to the rules, Li Huan's fate would not be much better than those five military heroes.
Zhu Xizhong took a deep breath, "This is a serious crime. Qingzhi, calm down!"
Jiang Qingzhi watched his father-in-law being taken away by the Embroidered Uniform Guards and glanced at Lu Bing.
When the news reached the Li family, Chang was stunned for a moment, and then her body went limp.
"Madam! Madam!"
The maid supported Chang and pinched her philtrum hard.
Chang woke up faintly, "Go to Xin'an Lane, go to Xin'an Lane!"
Not long after, the eldest daughter Li Xuan, who was married, also rushed back after hearing the news. "My son!" Chang was strong, but she was helpless in the face of this situation. She held Li Xuan's hand and said, "That is the tomb of the former prince. It is a taboo to have water in a new grave. Your father...I am afraid he will not be able to escape."
While Li Xuan was comforting her mother, she asked the maid, "Is there anyone coming from Xin'an Lane?"
The maid shook her head. "No one has come yet. But the lady has sent someone to ask."
"Brother-in-law, are you just going to do nothing about it?" Li Xuan was angry.
The servant came back, and with him came Hu Zongxian.
"Li Sicheng is now imprisoned in the imperial prison. My wife said that we should not rush this matter. Once we rush, it will be easy for others to catch us. We should not ask for help from others..."
"Why?" Li Xuan asked dissatisfiedly.
Hu Zongxian said calmly: "Who in the court today can provide more help than Lord Bo?"
"What about the son-in-law..." Hope rekindled in Chang's eyes.
Hu Zongxian said: "My uncle has not returned home yet, and he sent a message saying that someone is behind this."
"Then...then..." Mrs. Chang shed tears. Li Xuan said, "Dad is a kind person. Why did those people want to harm him?"
This was a rather unkind remark. Hu Zongxian knew that this woman had some bad relations with the hostess of the Bo Mansion. He said, "Jiang and Li are relatives by marriage, and we share honor and disgrace together."
——Li Huan relied on his son-in-law to manage the Taichang Temple, which was a benefit. If you enjoy the benefits, you will naturally also suffer the disadvantages.
This is sharing honor and disgrace.
"You!" Li Xuan wanted to blame Hu Zongxian, but Chang held her back and said, "That's right. Since we are a family, it doesn't make sense for us to take advantage of the good things and hide when there are bad things."
But as soon as Hu Zongxian left, she wept and said, "They all say that few people who go to the imperial prison can walk out safely."
……
Imprisonment.
Li Huan smelled the fishy smell and his legs couldn't help but go weak.
"A newcomer?" A prisoner suddenly jumped onto the fence and grinned, "Isn't this Li Sicheng? You have come to this day, too. Hahahaha!"
Amidst the wild laughter, prisoners in the cells on both sides kept lying on the fences and staring at Li Huan.
Those pairs of eyes turned green, looking like hungry wolves...
……
"This method is too shady."
Yang Qing and Han Yu had a rare moment of free time, so they had just left the city to find a place to go fishing when they heard the news.
"Taichang Temple is a place with lucrative resources. Your Majesty has let Yan Shifan be the nominal Minister of Taichang Temple, and has not appointed the Junior Minister of Taichang Temple. This is the advantage. With the vacant Junior Minister position in the middle, Li Huan, who is in power as the Secretary of Taichang Temple, must be trembling with fear... This is also a way to preserve his safety." Yang Qing put the earthworm on the thread, threw the hook beautifully, then sat down and took out a cloth towel to wipe his hands.
"The tomb of the late crown prince is flooded, and Li Huan is to blame. He was your Majesty's beloved son, and it is said that an autopsy was performed at the time. You can imagine how angry your Majesty would be..." Han Yu smiled and said, "Those people did a great job on this matter."
"I heard that the group wanted to launch another attack later, but I didn't expect that Your Majesty would actually leave the West Garden. So let's just treat it as a greeting gift." Yang Qing said quietly, "But Jiang Qingzhi is in trouble. If he doesn't take action, Your Majesty won't be able to protect Li Huan, otherwise he will be criticized by everyone."
"Protect... How can he protect it? Can he block the spring? Even if he blocks it temporarily, who can guarantee that it won't come out again in the future?"
"What if we change the location?"
"It is necessary to change the location, but mistakes are mistakes. Merits should be rewarded, and mistakes should be punished. This is the way of ruling. Even if Your Majesty is willing, you cannot ignore it."
"Interesting, eh!" Yang Qing exclaimed softly and suddenly lifted up the fishing rod.
"bingo!"
“Good luck!”
"Hahahaha!"
……
Jiang Qingzhi went to the Ministry of Rites first.
Xiao Zhuo was just about to go look for him, but when he saw him coming, he invited him to his duty room.
"No need for tea." Jiang Qingzhi waved his hand, "Let's talk about business."
Xiao Zhuo sat down and said, "After the death of the late crown prince, the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Palace, and the Imperial Astronomical Observatory jointly investigated the tomb. The three parties joined forces to supervise each other and to learn from the strengths of all parties. The Imperial Palace was responsible for the sacrifices and had a professional fortune teller. At that time, the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Astronomical Observatory selected the location, and we asked someone to do the fortune telling. The result was..."
"Unlucky?"
"No, it's a disaster!" Xiao Zhuo lowered his voice, "Someone suggested that since it was chosen by the two families, we should just turn a blind eye. As for what happens next, it has nothing to do with our Taichang Temple."
Jiang Qingzhi sighed, "But my father-in-law is too stubborn. He won't agree to such a thing. Otherwise, he will be unable to sleep or eat."
Li Huan is a man without much ambition. He does his job conscientiously and has a strong sense of responsibility.
"Yes." Xiao Zhuo said, "At that time, Li Sicheng asked for divination again, and the result was still very bad."
Seeing Jiang Qingzhi's bitter smile, Xiao Zhuo sighed: "Li Sicheng made a decision immediately and switched to the opposite side!"
"Keep an eye on the fortune teller!" Jiang Qingzhi said, "I'll go to the Imperial Guard now."
If nothing unexpected happens, the Jinyiwei will definitely investigate. Jiang Qingzhi needs to sound a warning to Lu Bing.
He had just arrived at Jinyiwei and was about to see Lu Bing when Zhu Hao came in and glanced at him. "The two people in charge of divination in the Taichang Temple... are missing."
Lu Bing looked at Jiang Qingzhi.
"You're in big trouble!"
(End of this chapter)
