After Bai Yuyang finished saying this, his blood was already rushing up, his meridians were throbbing, and he was a little unsteady on his feet.
Yang Lun looked up at him, and after a short confrontation, he suddenly stood up. He was a man with broad shoulders and long arms, and a tall figure. His back was half a head higher than Bai Yuyang's. Qi Huaiyang thought the two were going to have a conflict, so he stood up with Yang Lun. But Yang Lun said nothing, glared at Bai Yuyang, and walked out of the Ministry of Revenue.
Bai Yuyang said angrily, "If father didn't think highly of him, his words today, as well as his blocking of the Qing school field last autumn, should have left room for his name on the impeachment memorial!"
Qi Huaiyang advised, "Forget it. When Mr. Bai was ill, he repeatedly told us to suppress our tempers and discuss things carefully. We must write this impeachment memorial, but we must choose the right words."
"snort."
Bai Yuyang sat back in his chair, pointed at the front door and shouted murderously: "How can we discuss this? The people are gone!"
The Minister of Revenue pressed his eyebrows and pressed his palm towards Bai Yuyang, "He hasn't left yet. The officials and officials of the various departments outside are making trouble for the empty salaries. If he goes out, they can barely suppress it. Let him go. We can still talk calmly without him."
Bai Yuyang took a sip of cold tea and managed to suppress his temper.
Qi Huaiyang said: "Now that Yang Lun is unwilling to take the lead, who will write this memorial?"
Bai Yuyang glanced at the Minister of Revenue, who lowered his head to drink tea without saying a word.
Seeing that they were all silent, Qi Huaiyang also sat down without saying anything.
After a long while, Bai Yuyang finally said, "Let me ask what Mr. Bai thinks."
Qi Huaiyang said: "The elder's condition is getting better, right?"
Bai Yuyang suppressed his head and said, "It's not good yet since the beginning of spring. I'm afraid we have to wait until the weather gets warmer."
Qi Huaiyang sighed, "When you get older, you really can't afford to offend. I heard that Zhang Ci Fu is not doing well in the imperial prison. It seems that he will not be well by the end of the year."
Bai Yuyang said: "Indeed. His son... is very cruel."
At this point, the three of them felt uneasy, and after the noon hour, each group had something to do, so they dispersed.
On this day, the Imperial Pharmacy gave Yi Lang some tonic soup, and Yang Wan followed Imperial Physician Peng to get medicine for Deng Ying.
Imperial Physician Peng said, "The factory supervisor's injury is almost healed."
"Yes, your medicine has worked. But recently I've seen him walking uncomfortably. I'm afraid his leg injury has recurred."
Imperial Physician Peng said, "It's hard to cure. If he doesn't take care of internal and external medicines for a period of time, all the previous efforts will be wasted."
Yang Wan lowered her head and said, "Yes, I'll ask you to take more care of me. I will keep an eye on him in the future and treat him well under your care."
Imperial Physician Peng laughed, "Miss, you worry too much. You should also take care of yourself. At the turn of winter and spring, old injuries are prone to recurrence. If Miss Yang feels unwell, you can talk to the internal female doctor and ask for some maintenance methods."
Yang Wan nodded and replied "Yes."
While preparing medicine for Deng Ying, the two of them talked for a while about the dietary methods for treating lung heat in children at the turn of winter and spring.
By the time I got the medicine, the sun was already setting in the west.
Yang Wan was walking towards the Inner East Factory with the medicine, but suddenly she saw a man in a black robe walking towards her.
Yang Wan recognized the man as Zhang Luo at first glance.
She did not try to avoid him, but stopped silently and waited for him to come to her.
"Thank you for not torturing my brother."
She said this and knelt down in greeting.
He stood up and met Zhang Luo's gaze. "In the Qingbo Pavilion case, you didn't take your anger out on anyone else. I'm very grateful. Now I'm here. No matter what you do to me, I won't say anything."
Zhang Luo's face was pale, and the stubble on his chin was light blue. He stood straight, and his face was stiff as if it was covered with a layer of cloth. He had just been released from the imperial prison. Before leaving the torture chamber, his father knelt in front of the rack and begged for mercy. He said nothing, but ordered people to change his torn prison uniform.
The Qingbo Pavilion case was about to be concluded, and he finally recalled what Yang Wan said to him in front of the Wenhua Hall: "I only hope that when the truth is touched, you can still treat the guilty people as you treated me in the past."
"That man is my father. You are using me to deal with him. Aren't you afraid that I will kill you?"
Yang Wan shook her head. "It's just a bet. It's a bet on the Ming Dynasty Law in your heart."
It is not uncommon for a woman to calculate people's hearts, but the difficult part is to calculate the system and people's hearts together.
Zhang Luo looked at Yang Wan like a hawk staring at its prey. "How can the Ming Dynasty Law allow slaves to interfere in government affairs? Yang Wan, you are courting death."
Yang Wan raised her head. "I understand, but I have no other choice. I don't murder any innocent people. I only seek justice for those who have been wronged. The Ming Dynasty Law does not allow women to do this, but I want to ask, if I don't do it, who will do it?"
As she spoke, she took two steps towards Zhang Luo. "More than 80 people in Tongjia Academy were tortured and killed by you. Zhang Zhanchun died tragically, Zheng Bingbi was beaten to death, my sister was imprisoned, my brother almost died on the cold river, and the eldest prince was in fear in Chengqian Palace all day long. He must respect the emperor and his father, and understand the great politics. I won't say what I should do as a woman. As a person who has not lost his mind, I can't save them, but I can't do nothing."
Zhang Luo grabbed Yang Wan's wrist, and the medicine in Yang Wan's arms instantly fell to the ground. "You are so arrogant, where do you think the Ming government is!"
"Then you do it."
Yang Wan's eyes softened, "Deputy Envoy Zhang, please save those who have been wronged... If you can save them, I am willing to be punished. If you can't save them, then please let me go."
After she finished speaking, she slowly pulled her wrist out of Zhang Luo's hand. She took a deep breath and rolled up her sleeves to pick up the herbs on the ground. The herbs were too broken and Zhang Luo had stepped on them, so she couldn't pick them all up. Fortunately, she knelt down and put down her sleeves to pick them up.
Zhang Luo looked down at Yang Wan's hand.
In his eyes, Yang Wan has always been very contradictory.
Like all the prisoners in the imperial prison, Yang Wan was a powerless and trembling female prisoner after being wrapped in prison clothes. Now kneeling on the ground with medicinal herbs, she looked just as humble and helpless as the other palace maids. But no matter how scared and terrified she was, she could still coerce him with words. Zhang Luo even felt that it was not verbal coercion, but a kind of "integrity" crushing another kind of integrity.
As for why he used the word "integrity" to describe a woman, he himself couldn't figure it out.
"Someone, help her pick it up."
Yang Wan knelt down and looked up, "I don't need a man's pity."
"Don't want a man to pity you for what you live on."
Yang Wan pursed her lips and said, "Depend on my mercy on you."
Zhang Luo said to the captain who was picking up the medicine, "Pull her up."
Yang Wan was lifted up by the Jinyiwei. In front of the strong man, she was like a bunch of fluffy vine flowers, hanging there alone. Zhang Luo raised his hand, but before his fingers touched her chin, he heard her say, "I don't like being touched like this."
Zhang Luo was silent for a while and slowly lowered his hands.
The captain presented the picked herbs to Zhang Luo. Zhang Luo took them and handed them to Yang Wan. Yang Wan looked at him warily but did not take them.
Zhang Luo raised his chin, looked down at her and said, "Yang Wan, I am not as shameless as you think. My father has failed the emperor's grace and should be convicted. I will not retaliate against you for the Qingbo Pavilion case. I will also temporarily record your crime of not obeying the rules of propriety and interfering in the government affairs of the court."
He raised his arm and said, "Take the medicine back, and take care of yourself."
The golden sun sets in the west, casting long shadows across the ground.
Yang Wan took the medicine back into her arms, and after a while, she slowly let out the anger that was pressing against her chest.
She pulled her clothes tightly together and walked quickly to the Inner East Factory, but Deng Ying was not in the factory. Tan Wende told Yang Wan that the emperor would come to Fengtian Gate during the regular court tomorrow. The Imperial Household Department would hold a grand meeting as usual, and the chief minister had gone to attend the meeting.
Since the reign of Emperor Tai (Harmony) Zu, the daily court sessions in the Ming Dynasty were usually non-stop, and even in bad weather, the court sessions were rarely suspended. Only when the empress, concubines, or relatives of the princes passed away, the routine "court session ceremonies" would be suspended for one to three days. However, during the reign of Emperor Zhenning, the court sessions gradually became slack. Since the fourth year of Zhenning, the regular court sessions were basically stopped, and the daily administration was completely handed over to the cooperation of the Silijian and the cabinet. Only when there were major court issues would Emperor Zhenning go to the Fengtian Gate to listen to government affairs.
Yang Wan calculated that in the fourteenth year of Zhenning, the last day when the emperor would personally visit her would be on the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, which was tomorrow.
Emperor Zhenning was obsessed with controlling the country's finances. At the beginning of the year, there was usually a major discussion on finances, as it was the lifeline of the country. If the discussion was not done well, it would be a disaster for the Ministry of Revenue, local taxes, and even border defense. In addition, this year was the first year that Hangzhou implemented the "new land tax". Before the New Year, the cabinet had expressed its opinion in the Yangxin Palace and pleaded with Emperor Zhenning to come and discuss it.
The emperor was going to attend the court in person, and almost everyone in the Imperial Household Department could not sleep the first night.
Deng Ying had been sitting for a long time and was unable to get up, so he simply stood in front of the desk and bent over to look through the memorial from the Ministry of Revenue.
The snow was melting under the eaves, and the snow water hit the window in waves. The charcoal fire in the main hall was burning less and less. Seeing that Deng Ying was afraid of the cold, the two young eunuchs secretly moved the charcoal fire basin to his feet.
"Is your leg hurting?"
He Yixian walked in from outside, and Hu Xiang hurriedly helped him take off his cloak.
Deng Ying put down her pen and said, "Thank you for your concern, old ancestor. It always hurts for a few days at the turn of the season."
He Yixian walked up to him and asked, "Can you still hold on?"
"I can."
"I'll take a look at it and raise it."
Deng Ying bowed his head and said nothing. He Yixian said, "The cabinet has already written a memorial to impeach you. Someone will read it in court tomorrow."
Deng Ying's hand holding the pen paused.
He Yixian continued: "Do you know who started it?"
“I don’t know.”
"It's your teacher."
Deng Ying slowly tightened the pen in her hand.
He Yixian looked at his finger and said calmly, "Why don't you be nice to these people? You have thousands of acres of school land and collect rent, but you haven't even bought a two-story courtyard this year. I didn't know that and thought your master was treating you harshly. I told your master about your illness and situation today. Your master has a reward for you and asked you to receive it tomorrow."
Deng Ying raised her head and asked, "What does the ancestor mean?"
He Yixian said with a "tsk". "My master and I both still love you."