Reincarnation of the powerful minister

"Where's Zhao'er? Have you seen Zhao'er?" Concubine Wei woke up from a coma, her hair was not combed and her face was unwashed, her eyes were swollen with walnuts, and she just grabbed the maid of honor to ask for her son.

The maid said anxiously: "Your Majesty forgot, His Royal Highness the Second Prince is in the Empress Dowager's Palace, and he hasn't come back yet..."

"—Go and bring Zhao'er back! Go!" Concubine Wei pushed her hard.

The court lady prostrated herself and pleaded guilty.Concubine Wei was so angry that she kicked her, the maid did not dare to move even when she was beaten, she just said repeatedly in a terrified tone: "Your Majesty, please spare this servant!"

"Okay, okay, you don't want to go, I will go by myself!" In a rage, Concubine Wei went straight to the palace gate with her skirt, but saw several unfamiliar guards closing the gate of Yongning Palace, hanging Put a heavy lock on the door.

Concubine Wei cried out in shock: "What are you dog slaves doing!"

The guard said coldly: "According to the imperial decree, the door is closed and the palace is closed. The emperor ordered the empress to cultivate her body well, so that she does not have to go out of this door again, and does not need to miss His Royal Highness the Second Prince."

"This... is this going to throw me into limbo? I don't believe it, the emperor won't treat me like this, I don't believe it!" Concubine Wei roared, grabbing the crack of the door and pulling it aside, "I want to see the emperor ! Let me out!"

"The emperor will not see the empress again. Please let the empress let go, so as not to be accidentally injured."

Concubine Wei looked at the guard's stone-like indifferent face, and tears welled up in her eyes: "The emperor refuses to see me, so it's okay to let me see Zhao'er? That's my own son! I worked so hard to conceive in October, and I was shocked when I was about to give birth." The dear son who almost died in exchange for it! You give Zhaoer back to me, give me back!"

The guard pushed her away expressionlessly and continued to close the door.One of the guards murmured, "Who wasn't born by my own mother in October? When you arbitrarily executed palace servants who made mistakes, you didn't seem to feel sorry for other people's own children."

Another guard leader glanced at him: "Stop talking nonsense."

Concubine Wei was frightened and sad, desperate to the extreme, she threw away all the etiquette she had learned to enter the palace, and sat down on the threshold, slapping her thighs and crying and cursing, tears streaming down her face: "Dear mother, you At the beginning, I was blind or lacking in heart, so I was sent to the palace to catch up with this old crime! I have been treated in the cold and neglected on weekdays, but now even when I go out, I have to be blocked... Zhao'er is the only hope I have left, if you want to take him away, I'm dead..."

"...Stop howling!" The leader turned his head unbearably, and shouted to the other guards, "Hurry up and send the empress back!"

The two guards stepped forward immediately, one on the left and one on the right took the arms of Concubine Wei, and dragged them towards the door.

Concubine Wei was fluttering about, but she heard the voice of the guards restraining her say in a low and cold voice: "The only thought left by others, isn't it also burned by you? The way of heaven is reincarnation, who is to blame?"

Concubine Wei was stunned, she poked him hard with her nails, and gnashed her teeth: "It's the prince, isn't it? It's that little bastard who is behind the scenes...I want to see the queen mother! Let me go!"

The guard threw her to the ground in the courtyard, and said with a sneer, "Young master asked the humble officer to send a word to your mother—live well, and the future will be long."

The palace gate slammed shut.Concubine Wei sat motionless with a dull expression.

The sound of rattling iron chains outside the door suddenly woke her up from her trance.She wiped away the tears all over her face with her sleeve, gritted her back molars, and let out a sharp light of hatred from the two black pupils: "Then Bibi, whose future will be longer!"

In the Palace of Compassion and Ning, the first thing the Empress Dowager did when she came back from the Ancestral Temple was to order the maids to bring the Second Prince over.

Zhu Hezhao is usually favored by the Empress Dowager, as soon as he sees her, he stretches out his hand and acts like a spoiled child: "Grandma, hug, hug!"

The queen mother took a step back silently, and slowly squatted down, looking at her little grandson carefully, the sharp scrutiny in her eyes was shocking.

Zhu Hezhao went to hug her neck, but she stopped her by holding her head and face with both hands.She just held Zhu Hezhao's small face like this, her sharp eyes brushed over the other's eyebrows, eyes, mouth and nose one by one, and after a long while she was slightly relieved, and said in a low voice, "Like."

The queen mother stood up.Zhu Hezhao vaguely felt wronged, and cried while hugging the emperor's grandmother's leg.The Empress Dowager was in no mood to hug him for a while, and told the maid: "Coax him well. In addition, tell the emperor that Zhao'er should be raised in the Palace of Compassion. Concubine Shu has a pair of daughters herself, and it's time to discuss marriage in a few years. Busy Don't come."

The maid took the order and carried away the second prince.

The Empress Dowager sat back on the Arhat couch, let Aunt Qiong pinch her neck and beat her shoulders, and sighed heavily: "I don't live up to it!"

Aunt Qiong thought about some rumors she had heard from the previous court, and asked softly: "The queen mother...does she really not save the Wei family?"

The Empress Dowager leaned on the cushion, her eyes slightly closed: "How to rescue? The handle fell into the hands of the enemy, with all the witnesses and material evidence, and the prisoner was blocked at the door of the house - how do you rescue it!"

Aunt Qiong thought for a while and suggested, "Draw the bottom of the pot?"

The queen mother knew that she was talking about Su Yan.

This son is not very old, but he is very good at making a monster. He is not a courtier who keeps his own law... But the emperor spoils him too much.It would be unwise to deal with him head-on.

It's better to drive people away far away, and it's pure if they don't see them.

The queen mother waved her hand, noncommittal.

Qiong Gu asked again: "Has the Empress Dowager considered switching to another support object?"

The queen mother sighed: "Manchurian civil and military affairs, only the Wei family has a natural advantage over me. It is not only my sister's husband's family, but also the second prince's mother family. Over the years, the Wei family has obeyed me. After all, they I also rushed to make Zhao'er the crown prince. As long as Zhao'er is the lifeline, the Wei family will never betray me. Those other officials said, "I am willing to serve the Queen Mother as a dog and horse", but what? How can there be such loyalty and reliability?"

"Look, servant girl, Mr. Jiao and Mr. Wang among the elders are also loyal to the Queen Mother."

He was talking about the assistant Jiao Yang and Wang Qianhe.

"They?" The queen mother sneered, "Li Chengfeng is getting old, and the position of chief assistant will be vacated sooner or later. Their goal is this position, because they are not valued by the emperor, so they come to me to find another way. How can I not know their position?" thought!"

Aunt Qiong reminded her: "There are still quite a few old ministers, although they don't hum on the surface, they are actually thinking about the old love of the Queen Mother."

"You talk about those old guys." The queen mother said with emotion, "When the emperor first came to the throne, some important officials who have been stubborn since the first emperor bullied him because he was still young, and they relied on the old to sell the old, always thinking of influencing the government. I had to end it myself. After contacting the late emperor's former officials and helping the emperor suppress and clean up those who disobeyed him, he gained the right to speak.

"Seeing that more than ten years have passed, the emperor's prestige has increased, and his dissatisfaction and restrictions on my mother have become more obvious. I summoned the master a few times, and he said that he was a demon monk. He said that he wanted to promote some of his own people. He is not capable enough to be an official; he has objections even when various provinces and governments pay tribute to a few viburnum flowers to make me happy."

The Queen Mother spoke more and more seriously, and finally patted the handrail and asked the emperor from the air: "Do you still remember what you said when you came to me with a restless mind the night before you ascended the throne? Said that she didn't want to be alone; , When you want to take a step back, I hope that there is a hand that can rest firmly on your back and say to you, "No matter how rough the road ahead, I will accompany you to the end."

"In these years, which time did I, as a mother, not support you?

"You want to raise the name of the first emperor's temple, you insist on refusing to abolish the Jinyiwei, you set up a new official examination system, and those old officials came to me crying because their interests were damaged, but I never spoke for them. In the end, I also nodded my head! Tell me yourself, as a queen mother, how can I be sorry for you?

"But you are good, knowing that I have a heart, knowing that your third brother died miserably, knowing the results of divination by the masters - that Mrs. Zhang is the reincarnation of Mrs. Mo, and that her son came to me to ask for his life to collect debts, but you Still want to make Zhu Helin the prince!

"Your heirs are weak, and there was only such a prince in the first 14 years, so I can bear it. Now that you have Zhao'er, there will be more princes in the future, but you refuse to listen to my advice, and you have to keep your eyes on a crooked prince. On the melon split date!"

The queen mother took a long breath, still unable to calm down the excitement, and said angrily: "No matter how bad it is, Aji is more suitable than him!"

Qionggu said in shock: "Queen Mother, that is the prince's son, not Zhengshuo."

The queen mother sneered slightly: "If I pushed Chenger to become the emperor, wouldn't I be Zhengshuo? What is the difference between the eldest son and the youngest son? Whoever is filial to my mother is my good son!"

——What the queen mother said was angry.Aunt Qiong knew it in her heart, but she couldn't persuade her in anger, so she could only say: "Although the emperor is not as good at making the empress dowager happy as His Royal Highness Prince Yu, he is also extremely filial. The empress dowager forgot that once you had a severe cold, the emperor endured it I have a headache, and I have to wait on the sickness in front of the bed all night, and I have tasted every bowl of soup and medicine before giving it to the Queen Mother."

The queen mother was silent for a moment, seemed to be touched, and finally said: "He just wanted to enshrine me there as a clay sculpture. Clay sculptures cannot speak or interfere, but I am not willing to be the most noble clay sculpture in the world."

Su Yan handed over the written impeachment memorial to the imperial censor Chuqiu who came to visit him, and asked him to help submit it to the court.

Chu Qiu was deeply moved, and he cupped his hands and said, "If you entrust such an important matter to me, you must be foolish enough to live up to your trust. Morality and justice come first, punish rape and eradicate evil for the country and the people, and you will die."

This is the true character of a speech official!Su Yan replied: "Brother Lingchuan, please."

Not to mention how at the court meeting the next day, Chu Qiu brought a group of imperial officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate to bombard the Wei family, and even insisted that this memorandum be printed on the residence newspaper and published throughout the world;

Not to mention the fact that the "backwards" were united under the banner of Su Twelve, and the east wind in the court gradually overwhelmed the west wind.

Let's just talk about the imperial prison of Fusi in Beizhen. A visitor came in late at night.

The jailer yelled, "Ahead is the cell for important prisoners, and visitors are not allowed to enter!"

The prison visitor lifted the hood of his cloak, revealing a head full of jewels and a face resembling a queen mother: "I am Mrs. Qin."

Everyone in the capital knew that Mrs. Qin was a sister whom the Empress Dowager valued very much.Even her maiden name "Qin" was preserved under the special approval of the Queen Mother, so she was not called "Mrs. Wei" after marriage.The queen mother said that Mrs. Qin had made great contributions to the late emperor.

It just so happened that the first emperor was titled "King of Qin" before he ascended the throne, so the "Qin" surname was extraordinarily noble, and Mrs. Qin was proud of it.

At this time, the "seriously ill mother" that Concubine Wei called, although her face was a little pale and haggard, she had no obvious sick appearance, and she came alone to the Jinyiwei Prison, which was darkened, with a food box.

In front of the jailer, Mrs. Qin showed the badge bestowed by the Queen Mother herself.

"I'm not embarrassing you. I just want to visit my husband and uncle. This is human nature, and even His Majesty will understand and agree. Please make it easier for me." After she finished speaking gently, she handed over a large bag of treasures. money.

The jailer hesitated for a moment, put the banknotes into his arms, nodded and said: "It's a time for a stick of incense, and leave after speaking...things need to be checked."

Mrs. Qin agreed and handed him the food box.

After looking through it, the jailer determined that it was just food and drink, nothing else was involved, and it was not poisonous, so he put her in the cell.

The husband's cell was in front, but Mrs. Qin went to visit her uncle first.

Seeing her, Hou Weijun of Feng'an was very excited, saying that the prison is really not treated by people, and begged her to intercede with the queen mother and release herself and her brother immediately.

Mrs. Qin ignored the request, and instead said, "Your son is sick."

Wei Jun is only an only son, a tyrant in the capital, pampered lawlessly, he was shocked when he heard the words: "What disease? Have you seen the doctor before? What did the doctor say?"

Mrs. Qin said: "It's useless to seek a doctor, this disease can only be cured by your own father."

"—I can cure it? What kind of disease is it?"

"If you don't take responsibility for the entire Wei family, he will die."

Wei Jun was stunned for a while, shocked and angry: "You want me to stand alone? How can I bear such a big crime by myself?!"

"If you can't carry it, you have to carry it!" Mrs. Qin was unmoved, "If you carry it, your son will live, and the rest of the Wei family will live; if you refuse to carry it, everyone will die. How do you choose? "

"The rest of the Wei family... aren't you and your wife?" Wei Jun was out of breath, coughing loudly.

Mrs. Qin said: "Anyway, you only have half your life left. What's the disadvantage of using it to protect your son and brother-in-law? Don't worry, we will treat our nephew as our own son from now on. What's wrong with my Queer? He will never lose a penny."

After Wei Jun was overwhelmed with shock, he thought over and over again, but he couldn't find a second way out, and asked unwillingly, "Can't the Queen Mother come forward to save Wei's family?"

Mrs. Qin proudly said: "What I mean is what the Queen Mother means."

Wei Jun has nowhere to go now.For the sake of his son, so that his own bloodline would not be cut off, he finally made up his mind and said: "I will carry it!"

Mrs. Qin gave him a blessing: "I am on behalf of my husband and the whole Wei family, thank you uncle."

Wei Jun showed a wry smile that was uglier than crying: "You are acting for your husband and wife."

Mrs. Qin added: "It's also for your son."

Wei Jun was panting like a bellows, and waved his fingers as if he was waiting to die: "You go. Treat my son kindly, otherwise you and your husband will not be spared even if you are a ghost!"

Mrs. Qin left Wei Jun's cell, went to Wei Yan's office again, and explained something.

The jailer came to urge.Mrs. Qin pulled up the hood again, covered her head and face, and quietly left the prison.

After she left, the jailer touched the bulging Yin Liang in his arms, his legs suddenly trembled, and a shudder ran up his back, which couldn't go away no matter what.

——He thought of the chief officer, Shen Tongzhi.Thinking of what a tragic end I would have if my actions today were found out by Qiming Qilang!

While trembling, he tightly held the heavy gold in his hand, and said silently in his heart like a ruthless: Man dies for money, bird dies for food.

"What did you say?"

Su Yan's internal injuries had improved, and he was walking slowly around the old peach tree in the courtyard, when Shen Qi came to see him and said something that he hadn't expected.

He was a little surprised: "Wei Jun took all the blame on himself? He is not a person who values ​​love and righteousness. I believe that he would not be able to do this kind of thing of sacrificing the ego to make everyone better. I thought the two brothers would bite each other during the interrogation, vying to drag each other to hell."

Shen Qi also agreed with him, but this matter did happen.

"Wei Jun also wrote a very detailed confession, which basically picked Wei Yan clean, at most it was a fault of ineffective family management and lax discipline. Wei Yan also claimed to be unaware of those allegations. Love. The confessions of the two are actually very consistent. " Shen Qi said.

Su Yan frowned and asked, "Did these two collude?"

"Those who are detained separately are afraid of colluding confessions." Shen Qi said, "The Ministry of Punishment, Jin Yiwei, and Metropolitan Procuratorate will conduct a joint trial. After Wei Jun's confession is obtained, the Ministry of Punishment will report it immediately, and the entire court will know about it."

Su Yan pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Someone is trying to defend their home, and they don't want to see it completely destroyed... What does the emperor mean?"

"There is no decision on the spot. But I heard that the cabinet is drafting an order—the second assistant Jiao Yang will write it, and it is going to be submitted to the imperial court for review."

This "person" who "listens to what people say" is probably Shen Qi's eyeliner buried among the cabinet writers.Su Yan saw through it but didn't say it, and asked again: "Where is Mr. Li Ge?"

"Li Chengfeng had a fall two days ago, he had a small stroke, and he couldn't even speak clearly." Shen Qi said.

Su Yan sighed: "The battle for the head and assistant of the cabinet has already begun."

Shen Qi asked abruptly: "Do you want to fight too?"

Su Yan still couldn't help laughing under the heavy heart: "Me? To compete for the first assistant? Qilang, what are you kidding, how old am I, and what qualifications do I have to compete for the position that is under one person, above ten thousand, almost prime minister!"

Shen Qi said firmly: "There is always age, and there will always be qualifications."

Su Yan shook his head: "Let's not talk about those things that have no shadow, just talk about Wei Jun's matter now, how does the emperor plan to deal with it?"

Shen Qi didn't answer, nor could she answer.

After he returned to Beizhen Fusi, he took out all the guards who guarded the imperial prison that day, and tried them one by one.The jailer who accepted a lot of bribes and let Mrs. Qin in was quickly caught.

The jailer was scared out of his wits before waiting for him to be released. He only said that Mrs. Qin came here under the order of the Queen Mother, and that he, a humble official, could not resist orders at all.

Shen Qi asked lightly: "Madam Qin picked your tongue on the spot, making it impossible for you to report a letter to me?"

The jailer wept bitterly and kowtowed repeatedly to beg for mercy, saying that he was obsessed with money and would never do it again next time.

"Since the tongue is useless, why keep it?" Shen Qi plunged the torture awl in his hand into his mouth, and then cut off his hands with the Xiuchun knife, "I'll use the treasure money you accepted to make it later A pair of golden hands, hold them for the rest of your life."