The Red Mansions

Chapter 1563 Jia Heng: Queen Mother, please calm down

Chapter 1563 Jia Heng: Queen Mother, please calm down...

Above the Palace

The cabinet ministers all looked anxious at this moment. They stood on the top of the city wall and looked down at the students of the Imperial College who were making a fuss below.

Cabinet minister Lu Jiang had a look of anger on his face, and beneath his thick dark green eyebrows, his heart was already in a state of inexplicable worry.

He remembered that he had not sent anyone to spread rumors among the students of the Imperial College before, so how come it became like this now?

Why were there rumors slandering the succession of Emperor Sejong Heon and Emperor Gwangjong?

Zhen Qingxiu raised her eyebrows, and accompanied by several Jinyifu guards and eunuchs, she came to the palace. With a warm gaze, she looked at the cabinet minister Li Zan and said in a gentle voice: "Lord Li, I heard in the palace that these students of the Imperial Academy spread rumors that Emperor Guangzong is not the son of Emperor Shizong Xian? They also said that my son is the son of Prince Wei?"

Li Zan, Gao Zhongping: "..."

Lu Jiang's heart skipped a beat. The Queen Mother came here with her child in her arms to call for an explanation.

Li Zan felt a headache when he heard this. He quickly clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, these are all rumors made up by the students. They are not true. Please forgive me."

Zhen Qing's eyebrows were raised, and a hint of coldness surged in her cold, narrow eyes. She said in a cold voice: "What do they want to do? Could it be that the remnants of King Zhao, Chen Yuan, are secretly instigating the students to spread rumors and cause trouble? To disrupt our great Han country?"

Gao Zhongping paused for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "The Imperial Guards are already arresting the students involved. It won't be long before they can torture out the mastermind behind the scenes. Your Majesty, please be patient."

Zhen Qing nodded her head with long black hair, her eyes cold and bright, and said, "This is going to bring disaster to our Han Dynasty. Should I hold my child and jump off the top of the city to make room for these traitors?"

As soon as these words came out, Li Zan and Gao Zhongping's expressions suddenly changed. They bowed and said, "Queen Dowager, please calm down."

"Where is King Wei?" Zhen Qing raised her eyebrows, suddenly gave a delicate shout, then held the child and looked at the young man in the python robe riding on the saddle.

Jia Heng held a finger-thick rein in his hand, led the horse forward, clasped his fists, and said, "Your Majesty, I greet you."

Zhen Qingxiu raised her eyebrows, looked at Jia Heng with clear and shining eyes, and asked, "Prince Wei, what's going on with these students?"

Jia Heng nodded and said, "Your Majesty, they want to force me to resign my title, and they want to tarnish the legacy of the Han dynasty. They think they have ulterior motives, and they deserve death!"

Zhen Qing's eyebrows were curved like a crescent moon, and her clear, narrow eyes were full of anger. She said, "Prince Wei, according to what they said, do I have to hold Jie'er and jump off the top of the city wall to fulfill their wish?"

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Jia Heng cupped his hands and begged.

He thought to himself that this soul-searching question from Mopan in front of all the ministers had indeed hit the sore spot of the students of the Imperial College, or in other words, it had completely crushed the troubles of the students of the Imperial College.

Jia Heng's face became serious, and he said loudly: "Your Majesty, this must be instigated and colluded by the scoundrels. I will send the Jinyifu Guards to investigate this matter soon, and I will give Your Majesty a satisfactory answer."

Under Zhen Qing's emerald eyebrows, her pair of crystal clear phoenix eyes were narrow and clear. She stared at the young man in the python robe, her eyes as bright as water, and said, "Prince Wei, you are leading the Jinyi investigation. You must be careful about such things. You must not allow such villains to tarnish the reputation of Emperor Shizong Xian and Emperor Guangzong with rumors."

Jia Heng bowed and said, "Your Highness is right."

As he spoke, he ordered the Jinyi Guards who were waiting on all sides to escort out the Imperial College students who were being tied up.

Zhen Qing's jade-like face was as cold as a thin layer of frost. She said in a cold voice, "Prince Wei, go to Wuying Palace with all the ministers in the cabinet. I want to ask some questions."

Jia Heng sat upright on the saddle with a solemn expression. He bowed to Zhen Qing and said nothing else.

At this moment, Jia Heng, accompanied by the Jinyifu guards, entered the palace gate with vermilion lacquer and shining copper nails, while the ministers of the cabinet had gloomy faces and walked towards the palace gate silently.

In this way, Jia Heng and other cabinet ministers entered the palace and came to the Wuying Palace.

Wuying Palace, inside the palace——

Jia Heng and a group of cabinet ministers sat down. At this moment, Zhen Qing sat on a lacquered pear wood chair, and her graceful and beautiful face was full of cold frost.

"My fellow ministers, such a big thing happened today. How do you plan to deal with it?" Zhen Qing, dressed in a plain dress and with a frosted face, picked up the blue and white porcelain teacup beside her and took a sip gently, with a cold look in her eyes.

Li Zan thought about it, remained silent for a moment, and said, "When the Jinyifu guards find out the relevant criminals, they will severely punish those who spread rumors and smeared the royal family. The court will definitely punish them severely!"

Gao Zhongping nodded and agreed, "What Lord Li said is correct. Today's incident must have been secretly directed by someone. The court will never tolerate evil!"

Jia Heng continued, "The Jinyi Mansion will also quickly investigate the relevant clues and find out the mastermind behind this."

As he spoke, he glanced at Lu Jiang intentionally or unintentionally, only to see that his face was pale and his eyes were dazed. No one knew what he was thinking about at the moment.

Zhen Qing raised her beautiful eyebrows, her eyes sparkling like water, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, such rumors must not be allowed to spread, otherwise where will the face of our royal family be?"

If the scandal between her and that bastard got out, where would she put her face?

Upon hearing this, all the ministers in the hall nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Gao Zhongping looked at the listless little emperor in Zhen Qing's arms, and said worriedly, "Empress Dowager, the weather is hot, why not let the new emperor return to the harem first, and be careful not to get a heat stroke."

Zhen Qing nodded her beautiful head. Her cold and sparkling eyes glanced at the ministers and Jia Heng present. She said in a clear voice, "All matters concerning the previous dynasty have been entrusted to the King of Wei and the ministers. I hope you will investigate carefully."

Upon hearing this, all the ministers in the palace responded in agreement.

When Zhen Qing left Wuying Palace carrying the little emperor, the atmosphere in the palace undoubtedly dropped to freezing point.

Jia Heng stared at the ministers present and said, "My dear ministers, I think there are some explanations for the disturbance caused by the students of the Imperial College today."

"We really don't know about this matter." Li Zan denied it flatly and said sternly: "Let the Jinyifu investigate first, but many students are ignorant of the truth and are instigated by the bad guys. Prince Wei, if some students are innocently involved, the Jinyifu should not be too harsh on them."

Jia Heng's face was indifferent, and he said in a cold voice: "Lord Li, I know my limits!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Zan's eyes turned cold and his breathing stagnated.

I know that the person on the other side is already angry and is expressing his dissatisfaction to the cabinet.

To put it bluntly, what happened today was an act of coercion.

Jia Heng nodded, his cold and sharp eyes scanned the ministers, and whispered: "My Lords, I have other things to do, so I will not accompany you any longer."

While he was speaking, he stood up and walked away with a gloomy face.

"Arrogant!" Lu Jiang said coldly from the side.

Li Zan's face was as gloomy as iron. He glanced at Lu Jiang, whose face looked unclear whether it was anger or fear, and there was some dissatisfaction in his eyes.

Gao Zhongping also frowned. As he listened to what Lu Jiang said, a look of surprise appeared on his resolute and dignified face.

If it was really Lu Jiang who did it, it was a really bad move. Now that Prince Wei has got the evidence, I am afraid there will be another bloody storm!

……

……

As for Jia Heng, he left Wuying Palace alone. He did not go to the harem to see Zhen Qing or Queen Song, but went straight out of the palace.

Jinyi Mansion, government hall——

At this moment, Qu Lang, Liu Jixian and other Jinyi officers had already returned to the government office and sat down in the hall. He said, "Let those students expose and testify against each other and collect evidence."

Liu Jixian nodded in agreement.

At this moment, a clear and loud voice was heard from the Jinyifu Guards outside, saying in a deep voice: "His Royal Highness Prince Wei has arrived!"

Liu Jixian raised his thick dark green eyebrows slightly, stood up, stared at the young man in the python robe, and said, "I am honored to meet the governor."

Qu Lang also came over from behind the desk, with a look of awe in his eyes, and said, "I greet the governor."

Accompanied by the Jinyifu guards, Jia Heng walked into the government office, looked at Liu Jixian, and said in a gentle voice, "Everyone, get up."

As he spoke, he sat down on a lacquered pearwood chair with a backrest and asked, "How is the trial going? Have you found the mastermind?"

Liu Jixian shook his head and said, "Reporting to the governor, the chief of punishment is still torturing him."

Jia Heng said loudly: "This case involves thousands of students. There must be ministers behind the scenes. The Jinyifu must follow the clues to find out who is behind it. How dare they do this? The law will never show mercy!"

Liu Jixian looked at the young man in the python robe and said, "Your Highness, there are so many students in the Imperial College that the Imperial Prison is already a little overwhelmed."

Jia Heng was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice: "Those who agreed with the incident should be sent back, and the ringleaders and the students should be carefully interrogated to prevent them from doing anything wrong outside."

Qu Lang and Liu Jixian looked at each other and saw inexplicable meaning in each other's eyes.

Jia Heng said in a gentle voice: "In addition, Jinyifu has been investigating recently, so we need to intensify the search for Chen Yuan and prevent him from causing trouble outside."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jixian clasped his fists in agreement.

As Jia Heng spoke, he walked around a lacquered wooden table and sat down on a pearwood chair behind the desk. He picked up a file with a light yellow surface and said, "Recently, the Jinyi Mansion has also been alert and has been keeping a close eye on the movements of the relatives of the scholars in the capital to prevent those with ulterior motives from spreading rumors and causing trouble in secret."

Upon hearing this, Qu Lang's face became serious. He nodded and bowed in agreement.

Jia Heng pondered for a moment and asked, "By the way, how are the Junggars in the northwest doing recently?"

Qu Lang bowed and said, "Reporting to the Governor, the Junggar troops have been preparing for battle recently, and there seems to be some unusual movements."

Jia Heng said in a deep voice: "There must be some connection between the Junggar and Khoshut tribes. Let the spies in the Jinyifu pay more attention to it recently."

Qu Lang nodded and bowed in agreement.

Jia Heng's expression paused slightly. He gently picked up the teacup on the small table beside him, took a sip, and flipped through the files.

Just like that, Jia Heng lingered in the Jinyi Mansion for a while, and while talking, he quickly returned to the Ningguo Mansion.

Ningguo Mansion, outer study, wing room——

Beside the carved windows, one can see two curvaceous beauties playing chess across an apricot-yellow chessboard.

Chen Xiao was sitting on a soft couch with a mattress on it at this moment. He stared at the young man in the python costume and asked in surprise, "You're back?"

Jia Heng nodded, his eyes sparkling as water, and said: "All the students have been arrested, and the rest is to close the net."

Chen Xiaoxiu frowned slightly and said in a clear voice: "The two in the cabinet are not fools. After Lu Jiang was implicated, they may not be unsuspecting."

Jia Heng said coldly: "At this point, it's nothing more than a fig leaf covering the outside, nothing else."

Gu Ruoqing looked at the young man in the python robe and said, "So many students were taken to the imperial prison. Will it cause an uproar among the scholars and cause a lot of discussion?"

There are precedents in history. When powerful officials were in power, they arrested scholars, the rules and regulations were relaxed, the country was in chaos, and Jia Heng's reputation was not very good.

Jia Heng nodded and said in a gentle voice: "This matter is inevitable after all."

Chen Xiao thought about it, stared at the young man in the python robe, and whispered: "If you are a loyal minister, then no one will criticize you for this."

Jia Heng shook his head and said, "When the prosperous times begin in the future and all nations come to pay tribute, the slight stain on our reputation will be nothing more than a passing cloud, not worth mentioning."

Chen Xiao said: "This is a good argument. It's almost like Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, who killed his brother, imprisoned his father, and bullied his sister-in-law, but he was still a wise ruler. I don't know how the world views him."

Jia Heng nodded and said, "That's right."

As long as he is guided well, there will be great scholars who can explain the scriptures to him.

……

……

While Jia Heng was talking to Chen Xiao and Gu Ruoqing, the entire Shenjing City was plunged into chaos.

A series of purges also began within the Censorate, and Xu Lu, the Chief Censor of the Censorate and the Left Censor-in-Chief, sent people to interrogate the censors involved in the case and investigate their crimes in detail.

Zhang Zhi's eyes flashed fiercely under his thick dark green eyebrows, and he said loudly: "Xu Zongxian, what happened today is too shocking. How can a student spread such a shocking rumor?"

Xu Lu frowned and said in a deep voice: "Someone wants to throw dirty water on Prince Wei and muddy the waters of the court."

There are so many doubts about this, which is really confusing.

Zhang Zhi looked thoughtful and said loudly, "Prince Wei, we went to Anshun Gate today and sent the Jinyifu Tiqi to arrest the relevant students."

Xu Lu nodded and said, "We should be able to find out who is behind this in the next few days."

But why did this incident of disturbance by the students in charge of the Imperial Academy give him such a confusing feeling?

Zhang Zhi frowned and said worriedly, "I'm afraid that the Jinyifu will frame innocent people and cause unrest in the capital."

Xu Lu shook his head and whispered, "Prince Wei is a man of good character, so there should be no problem."

Zhang Zhi said: "That was in the past. Now that we have experienced so much, it is hard to say."

Xu Lu was silent for a moment when he heard this, but then he said righteously: "Since we are eating the emperor's salary, we should repay the emperor's kindness. If there are traitors who bring disaster to the country and disrupt the government, we can only repay them with our own death."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhi frowned and a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

Xu Lu frowned and said in a deep voice: "Collect all the confessions and evidence of the censors into a volume and submit it to the cabinet for review."

Zhang Zhi frowned, his eyes flickered, and he responded.

Xu Lu put down the brush in his hand, raised his eyes to look at the vast sky outside the door, and a hint of coldness appeared in his eyes.

If King Wei really dared to usurp power, he would certainly not sit idly by!