The legitimate daughter was reborn, and the emperor’s little Jiaojiao went crazy.

The Empress Dowager waited for a long time but received no news, so she pretended to be casual and came over to "take a look" in person.

When she entered the Chaoyang Palace, Emperor Mingde stood up to greet her. A little girl kneeling on the ground was also shouting, "Long live the Empress Dowager."

She had never seen Shi Anxia, ​​so she naturally didn't know that the girl in front of her was the so-called beautiful lady.

All I saw was a lot of small plates on the small round table, filled with all kinds of snacks, all of which were the little girls' favorite snacks.

Then he turned his gaze to the kneeling girl, and asked Emperor Mingde knowingly, "Who is this? What crime has she committed?"

Why are you eating in Chaoyang Palace? Are you here to enjoy yourself or to confess your sins? How unruly!

The little girl lowered her head. The Empress Dowager couldn't see what her face looked like, so she couldn't help but frown.

Emperor Mingde did not hide the truth and told the Empress Dowager the results of the Xiyingwei's investigation.

The Empress Dowager was furious. "How dare you disrupt the imperial examination? It is not too much to execute all nine generations of your clan."

Emperor Mingde did not make any statement on this, which made the Empress Dowager a little unhappy.

Although the Empress Dowager cannot interfere in government affairs, she can still give some advice from the side. Just as he was gathering his strength and preparing to give her some earnest advice, he heard Emperor Mingde change the subject, "Mother, you came at the right time. I was going to see you later."

The Empress Dowager sneered in her heart, "I don't believe you! If I hadn't come to see you, you would never have thought of visiting me."

In the early years, I still pretended to be nice, but now I don't even pretend anymore. Now you try to flatter me with nice words! It's too late!

After sitting down, a gentle smile appeared on his face, "The emperor is busy with many things every day, don't worry about me."

Emperor Mingde was a little embarrassed, but he didn't really worry about you. After all, if I really worried about the little things you did in private, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to keep your position as the Empress Dowager.

If it weren't for the little bit of mother-son relationship we had in the early years, and the turmoil in the court caused by a single move, I would have to settle accounts with your Li family.

He said calmly, "Recently, it was reported that Li Changjing and local officials in Suzhou privately occupied the salt mine and deceived their superiors and subordinates for three years."

Queen Mother: “…” What a turn!

I came here to watch the fun, and you hit me on the head with a stick!

Li Changjing was the son of the eldest brother of the Empress Dowager's mother's family, and her nephew. A few years ago, she sent him to Suzhou to serve as an official, but secretly to occupy the local salt mines.

Over the years, most of the private money that flowed into her pocket came from here.

The Empress Dowager clenched her hands tightly in her sleeves, and her face looked bad. She tried to remain calm and control her expression. "Could it be a rumor?"

Emperor Mingde shook his head. "He was trafficking in illegal salt. The evidence is irrefutable. The Dongyu Guards have already set out to Suzhou to arrest him overnight."

The Queen Mother: “!!!”

I was so upset! I didn't get any news about other people, but I was shocked by my own news.

Selling illegal salt is not only a capital crime, but also a family crime! Especially since Li Changjing occupied the salt mine, it was an even greater crime.

She couldn't keep her composure any longer, so how could she care whether the little girl kneeling on the ground was a beautiful girl? She didn't even have time to think, was it a disrespect to the Empress Dowager to say such a big thing in front of a bunch of people?

The Queen Mother's voice deepened. "How conclusive is the evidence?"

Emperor Mingde replied, "There are both witnesses and evidence."

The Queen Mother: “!!!”

My heart is pounding! That bastard! He is so dirty!

She couldn't help but raise her hand to suppress her pounding heart, and asked with difficulty, "How is the emperor going to deal with Li Changjing?"

Are you going to execute my entire clan as well? If so, although you are not my biological son, an adopted son is still my son, and is also included in the nine clans.

Emperor Mingde stroked the manuscript in his hand and said calmly, "This is a serious matter. I am suppressing this case because I want to discuss it with my mother."

Negotiate? That means there is still room for maneuver. The Empress Dowager's expression softened a little, "Your Majesty, why don't you just speak frankly?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Mingde said directly, "I want to abolish the system of collective punishment. Whoever makes a mistake will be punished. As long as Li Changjing admits the crime, I can let the Li family members go."

The Queen Mother's eyes lit up.

She didn't feel bad about the death of Li Changjing. After all, if Li Changjing died, there were still Li Changfeng, Li Changde, and Li Changying... As long as her foundation was not affected, she didn't care.

This was the first time that she felt the emperor's warm concern for her from his adopted son.

She couldn't help but think of the loving mother-son relationship she had with this adopted son, and her words became much softer, "I don't know how to thank the emperor for doing this for me."

Emperor Mingde said frankly, "I have wanted to abolish the system of collective punishment for a long time, and it is not just for my mother."

The empress dowager was even more moved when she saw that the emperor did not take credit for it, and she instantly liked the adopted son a lot better. She also imagined that the emperor finally came up with a way to abolish the system of collective punishment in order to comfort her.

Emperor Mingde sighed and said, "I am afraid that the old officials in the court will oppose this move, but I will try my best to persuade them."

The Queen Mother secretly glanced at the list of names on her side, thinking that she must make arrangements so that these old guys would not hinder the Emperor from amending the law.

She spoke a few more words to the emperor, then lost interest in the conversation and walked away without even looking at the little girl kneeling on the ground.

What a pity, she didn't see the cunning that could not be concealed in the little girl's eyes.

Ever since they knew that Shi Anxin had done something stupid, Shi Anxia and Cen Yuan had been preparing for today.

In his previous life, Li Changjing sold private salt, and the Empress Dowager protected him. He embezzled a lot of money from the national treasury. Later, with the protection of Emperor Rongguang, he became even more blatant.

It was not until Shi Anxia came to power that Li Changjing's crimes were exposed.

But because this guy had been immersed in corruption for many years and had complex connections, he also colluded with Pei Yu, who later became an official, and his power was extremely great.

In order to eliminate this scourge, Shi Anxia spent a lot of effort. And the one who exposed Li Changjing was none other than his cousin Li Changan.

At that time, Anxia abolished the system of collective punishment and saved Li Changan.

Today, Li Changjing is just a young seedling.

A gentle pull brought out the mud.

Cen Yuan had secretly placed the evidence of Li Changjing's guilt on Emperor Mingde's desk a few days ago, but he had not deliberately designed how to use it.

Until today, the time, place and people are all right.

First there was Shi Anxia's manuscript, then the Empress Dowager made a sudden move, and then Emperor Mingde had a flash of inspiration, which perfectly put the abolition of the system of collective punishment on the agenda.

When Emperor Mingde wanted to implement or abolish a system, the biggest obstacle was the camp of old ministers headed by the Empress Dowager.

Now it seems that everything has come to fruition. He has tricked the Empress Dowager and solved the problem of the Jian'an Marquis Mansion at the same time.

As for why he didn't take this opportunity to wipe out the Empress Dowager's camp, it was naturally not the right time yet. Whenever there was unrest in the imperial court, the people would suffer the most, which was something Emperor Mingde didn't want to see.

He would rather take his time than rush things. If he could cut off one or two of the other party's minions, he would be very pleased.

Emperor Mingde cast his eyes on the little girl who was still kneeling upright, and his tone was indistinguishable from sadness or joy. "Tell me, did I act according to your plan? How was my performance?"