Two quarters of an hour later.

Chen Tuo, facing the solemnity and depression, knelt down among the courtiers on the left and right, and reported to the emperor everything about how he was ordered to persuade Mei Guangyan to seize Jiao Shun.

Although most of the courtiers had vaguely guessed some clues during this period, they still couldn't help but burst into an uproar when Chen Tuo explained it in detail.

Of course, they were basically just showing off, but in reality, most of them were complaining that the person behind the scenes was not cautious enough, and actually entrusted such an important matter to the second and fifth boys, and a good killing blow turned into a counter-kill.

After listening to this with a sneer on his face, Emperor Longyuan immediately shouted and asked: "Who is the master who ordered you? Tell me quickly!"

"Yes, yes..."

Chen Tuo subconsciously turned his head to look at Zhang Qiu. When he met Zhang Qiu's gloomy gaze, he first subconsciously wanted to lower his head to avoid it, but he soon thought that now the two of them no longer have a teacher-student friendship, but a life-and-death relationship.

So he gritted his teeth and glared back with more ferocity, then kowtowed and said: "Reporting to your Majesty, this person is none other than my advisor - Mr. Zhang from the Ministry of Rites!"

Because of the eye contact just now, everyone had already known that it must be Zhang Qiu, but they still joined in the fun and exclaimed.

Amidst the exclamations, Zhang Qiuze silently walked out of the queue, knelt down, took off the black gauze hat on his head, and carefully placed it beside him.

Although he didn't say a word from beginning to end, he made it clear that he was admitting his guilt.

Emperor Longyuan was obviously a little surprised, and even a little disappointed. In his and Jiao Shun's plan, how to pursue and fight Zhang Qiu was the highlight. Who would have thought that before he could exert any force, the opponent would fall first.

After a while, Emperor Longyuan asked with emotion: "Zhang Qiu, what is your current position?"

"The right minister of the Ministry of Rites."

As soon as Zhang Qiu finished his reply, a black shadow flashed in front of him, but it was Emperor Longyuan who picked up the inkstone on the imperial case and smashed it in front of him. At the same time, he angrily shouted: "In order to frame the minister, I will not hesitate to do so."

You have fabricated rumors to slander the wisdom of Taizu and Emperor Sejong, but you have the nerve to mention the word 'property'!"

At this moment, the courtiers on both sides felt like they were on a roller coaster. They were afraid that the emperor would smash Zhang Qiu to death with an inkstone in his rage.

It’s a dead end, no one can stay out of it anymore!

Zhang Qiu had a calm face, and was not frightened by the inkstone that was thrown at him. Instead, he slightly cupped his hands and said seriously: "Your Majesty, I did instruct Chen Ao to ridicule Mei Guangyan and go to the concert, but those rumors are not trivial.

I fabricated it..."

"You didn't make it up? Ha!"

Hearing that he finally started to defend, Emperor Longyuan's first reaction was excitement. He immediately let out a weird laugh and said disdainfully: "Since you didn't make it up, why didn't the Imperial City Department know about it, the Shuntian Prefecture didn't know about it, the City Patrol Department didn't know about it, and the Five City Soldiers didn't know about it.

I don’t know, Ma Si, but you were the only one who heard it all and suddenly thought of Jiao Aiqing?!"

After saying that, he immediately turned his attention to He Tiren, the cabinet scholar, and asked with a sneer: "Mr. He Ge, you just said that compiling Taizu's quotations is enough to prove that Jiao Aiqing had the motive to create rumors. Let me ask you, now

Now do you think this Qiu Ma is innocent?"

"this……"

He Tiren glanced at Zhang Qiu and said in a deep voice: "I think this matter should be investigated thoroughly, and everyone involved in the case will be severely punished!"

Although he did not answer directly, he obviously acquiesced in Zhang Qiu's suspicion.

The emperor was not satisfied with his reaction, and said with a cold face: "The first assistant became an official, and you also followed suit. Now that something like this has happened, how can I face my ancestors?"

As he said that, he slammed the table again: "Zhou Long's case has not come to a conclusion so far, and now Zhang Qiu has appeared - hum, I am so kind to you! Check it out, check it out for me.

!If we can’t find out who is behind the scenes..."

He raised his hand and pointed at the Minister of Rites: "Wang Yan, your Ministry of Rites is a den of thieves, and you are the den of thieves!"

Wang Yan, the Minister of Rites, immediately came out and knelt down, claiming to be guilty.

Seeing this, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites had no choice but to kneel down with his superiors to apologize.

"Don't worry, I can't even run away from you..."

"His Majesty!"

Emperor Longyuan was about to make a decision when suddenly Zhang Qiu raised his voice and said: "I dare not argue forcefully, but I would like to ask your Majesty to make it clear that the rumors that slander Taizu Shizong are definitely not the work of the ministers, and Jiao Shun cannot be exonerated because of this."

Crime!"

"ha!"

Emperor Longyuan once again let out a weird laugh and looked down at Zhang Qiu and said: "How dare you dare to accuse Jiao Aiqing now? Zhang Qiu, do you think that if Chen Ao hadn't betrayed him on the battlefield, your conspiracy to frame Jiao Aiqing would have been impossible.

Can you succeed?"

"Haha, I might as well tell you now that the matter of denouncement of Mei Guangyan was done by me under the instructions of Jiao Aiqing. He had to report everything no matter how big or small every day. Are you doubting that he can't get rid of the suspicion?

,Did I ask him to fabricate these rumors?!"

"minister……"

Zhang Qiu raised his head in astonishment, and soon lowered his head in despair. His voice also changed from high-pitched to low-pitched: "I don't dare."

"I'm sorry you don't dare!"

Emperor Longyuan stood up from his throne, put his hands on the table and looked around the ministers: "Zhang Qiu, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, framed the minister and slandered Taizu Shizong. From now on, he will be imprisoned in the Longjing Guard Prison and will not be investigated strictly!"

"His Majesty!"

All the ministers were shocked when they heard this. They were not surprised that Zhang Qiu was imprisoned, but were shocked that the emperor wanted to reopen the imperial edict.

Because Taizu was a famous fan, he naturally did not forget to build a prison when he established the Dragon Guards. However, after Emperor Sejong came to the throne, he canceled the prison in compliance with the "popular sentiment". Now that the prison has been reopened, why?

Can it not be frightening?

Immediately, five or six people jumped out, all talking about admonition.

Emperor Longyuan didn't wait for them to finish speaking, then rolled his sleeves and said: "The matter involves the royal family, and the Longjing Guards and the Imperial City Department will investigate. Is there anything wrong? Besides, Zhou Long's case has been delayed for a long time, and now

How do you expect me to trust the Sanfa Division? There is no further discussion on this matter, it’s settled like that!”

After forcibly suppressing the ministers, he continued to arbitrate: "The Minister of Rites and Zuo Shilang are responsible for negligence, and there is Zhou Long in front of him and Zhang Qiu in the back. It is difficult to escape the suspicion of the chief envoy. From now on, he will be suspended from office pending consultation!"

This was another controversial ruling, but the emperor ignored the following questions at all and continued for a moment: "The Ministry of Rites fines three months for those above the sixth rank, and one month for those below the sixth rank. Cabinet scholar He Tiren also made an oversight.

He will be punished and will be fined three months as a warning to others."

The latter points are not controversial. After all, everyone present, including Jiao Shun, has long since left the class that relies on salary to live, so they do not understand the embarrassment of "living in the capital is not easy".

After the emperor finished his announcement, he waved to Dai Quan next to him, turned around and entered Yuyun Garden.

"Retreat from the court~!"

Amidst Dai Quan's melodious voice, the courtiers were in an uproar again, and many tried to stop the emperor in order to protest the first two measures.

If they were in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and the Hall of Wenhua, they might have succeeded, but the temporary throne was set up outside the gate of Yuyun Garden, and the emperor entered in three steps at a time, unable to stop him.

Everyone knew that this was the residence of the concubine, so it would be hard for the ministers to chase her in and argue with the emperor - and this was the main reason why Jiao Shun suggested that the emperor summon the courtiers in Jingren Palace.

Everyone was spreading their hands and stamping their feet, when suddenly they saw a little palace maid coming out of the palace, saying in a calm voice: "Your Majesty, please invite Jiao Jijiu inside to discuss matters."

Xu Furen, another cabinet bachelor, asked hurriedly: "Then shall I wait?"

"Your Majesty didn't say."

The little palace maid shook her head first, and then added: "Hasn't he already retired from the court?"

Everyone was silent, and many people glared at Jiao Shun.

Jiao Shun bowed his head and followed the little palace maid into Yuyun Garden as if nothing happened.

"etc!"

At this time, Chen Tuo, who had been kneeling on the ground, suddenly ejected and started to get in front of the little palace maid, pointing at himself excitedly and saying: "Didn't your Majesty explain anything related to Chen Tuo, the censor of the city?!"

"Censor Chen Tuo?"

The little palace maid tilted her head cutely and confusedly: "Who is it?"

…………

That afternoon, inside Rongxi Hall.

Because tomorrow will be the Double Ninth Festival, Jia Zheng spent most of the day in his study, planning to come up with a poem to suit the occasion. However, after drafting it for ten years, he was not satisfied, so he wanted to dig out his old works for inspiration.

As a result, when I was looking for old works, I accidentally found the letter of explanation I wrote to Mrs. Wang on the third day of September.

This letter was supposed to be sent on the third day of September, but after Jia Zheng finished writing it, he felt that he was hurting the face of the head of the family by being so eager to explain, so he prepared to turn around and send it to Mrs. Wang.

As a result, tomorrow came tomorrow, and it was delayed until the eighth day of September.

He thought about it for five or six days, not to mention that on the Double Ninth Festival tomorrow, the couple would definitely meet in front of the old lady. Why not give her a step and let her admit her mistakes in person?

With this in mind, Jia Zheng sent someone to deliver this letter of explanation, which was five or six days late, to the Qingtang thatched cottage.

After sending the letter, he was wondering how much regret Mrs. Wang would have after reading the letter. Suddenly he saw Jia Lian coming in from outside in a hurry, not even caring about the courtesy, so he shouted loudly: "It's amazing, that Jiao Shun is in the palace."

It broke the whole sky!"

Jia Zheng was startled and almost pulled out a few strands of his beard. He didn't care to cry out in pain and hurriedly asked: "What's going on? When did he enter the palace?!"

"Just last night!"

Jia Lian said excitedly: "I heard that he spent the night in the palace last night. I don't know what the reason is for the Ministry of Rites. This morning, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites was sent to jail because of him. Wang Shangshu and Zuo

The Minister of Servants was also ordered to suspend his duties and wait for his appointment - everyone in the Ministry of Rites was also implicated, and even Mr. He Ge was fined three months' salary!"

After hearing these words, Jia Zheng opened his mouth for a long time without uttering a word.

It wasn't until Jia Lian inquired that he let out a breath of anger and said dejectedly: "Oh~ I thought our family had an extra helper, but now it seems that there is clearly a demon king!"

After that, let’s not talk about how Jia Zheng sent Jia Lian to investigate in detail.

However, it was said that the woman who delivered the letter arrived at the Qingtang thatched cottage and handed the letter to Mrs. Wang with a flattering look on her face. She saw that Mrs. Wang had read it in a hurry, and her whole body seemed to have turned into a clay and wood sculpture. She did not see any reaction for a long time.

The woman who delivered the message had no choice but to call out cautiously: "Madam, madam? Do you have anything else to tell the slave?"

Mrs. Wang finally came to her senses, but her three souls and six souls were only half returned to their places. She looked up at the woman in a daze, and after a while she asked: "This letter said it was written in the third year of junior high school. Why did it happen at this time?"

Just sent it?"

"this……"

The woman said coquettishly: "I didn't tell you, how about... I go back and ask?"

They had been married for more than 20 years, and even if they knew nothing about their relationship, Mrs. Wang could roughly guess that it was probably because Jia Zheng couldn't lose face.

But……

She unconsciously crinkled the letter paper, with mixed feelings on her face.

The reason why I ignored Jiao Shun on the third day of September was precisely because I mistakenly believed that Jia Zheng secretly sent his subordinates to investigate me. If I had sent this letter directly after writing it, I would still...

Who would have thought that half a lifetime of chastity would be ruined by such a shameless thing as her husband!

Mrs. Wang felt disappointed, but if she really wanted to say how much she regretted it, she didn't have it. After all, after being a wife and mother for so many years, it was only in that woodshed that she truly realized the joy of being a woman.

Recalling the scene at that time, Mrs. Wang's pale face gradually gained color again. Looking at the letter of explanation in her hand, she actually felt much calmer.

Then he nodded slightly and said, "I understand - Caixia, give her a hundred dollars."

Although the reward was not much, the woman still went with a lot of thanks.

As soon as the messenger left, Aunt Xue walked in briskly. She always felt that Baochai's marriage was a benefit gained by her niece's humiliation, so she always felt sorry. Now because of Jiao Shun's secret plan, public opinion has

Completely reversed, this knot will naturally be resolved.

After entering the door, I saw my sister with a complicated expression on her face, tearing and balling up several pieces of gold-sprinkled paper. She couldn't help but wonder: "What's going on?"

"Nothing."

Mrs. Wang shook her head and said casually: "I haven't written for a long time, and my writing is not as good as before."

Aunt Xue believed it to be true and thought she was really practicing writing, so she regretted: "Such a good paper, even if you can't write well, don't tear it up. Use it to color and fold things for the children." - Xiang

Girl Yun has been obsessed with origami a while ago. Paper swallows, paper cranes, frogs, boats, and hats are all made on scrap paper."

Mrs. Wang lowered her head and looked at the torn and crumpled letter paper, and thought to herself that the face-saving person used this letter to make a big cuckold for herself, right?

…………

Go back and talk about the Rongxi Hall.

When Jia Zheng saw the woman who had delivered the letter coming back, he quickly asked, "What did the lady say?"

"I didn't say anything..."

The woman shook her head subconsciously. Seeing Jia Zheng's face darken, she quickly changed her words and said, "Although she didn't say anything, my wife was stunned for a while holding the letter. She was obviously emotional!"

"Hmm~"

Jia Zheng then twisted his beard and nodded, feeling secretly proud in his heart, thinking that since the woman knew that she had misunderstood him, she would not show any inappropriate emotions in front of the old lady tomorrow.

He is full of filial piety, and as for completely reconciling with Mrs. Wang...

As an old couple, what happens even if they reconcile?
Chapter completed!