After the three-way drum, the bell rang, as if it came from the vast sky, echoing round and round on the sky street. It was still early, and it was a slight blue, and a waning moon hung in the east, thin and transparent, the only thing white. The Meridian Gate opened with the sound of the bell, and two columns of officials slowly walked out from behind the gate and entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony along the steps of the sky.
In the hall, the Jinyiwei stood silently, the flying fish suits embroidered with ferocious colors, and the embroidered spring knives with gold inlaid treasures. The officials were divided into two classes under their gaze. The young emperor has not come yet, which is a common occurrence. The emperor was too young to get out of bed from time to time. The officials remembered that there was a time when the young emperor was unable to get up. They waited in the hall for half an hour, and a servant came in a hurry to announce that he was leaving the court today, and another time they finally waited. When he arrived at the young emperor, he was in the hall on the back of Shen Jue's back, and he didn't seem to be fully awake when he sat on the throne.
The sky slowly became clear, and the dim morning light entered the main hall. The red flower row door on the side of the hall finally opened, and surrounded by the inner servants, a man cuddling his waist held a child's hand and walked onto the throne. The child wears a good crown of Wusha Erlong Playing Pearls and Wings, a dragon robe with a yellow field collar, the jade belt is too wide, and hangs on the waist, and under the apricot-colored skirt, soap-colored royal boots are exposed.
The young emperor ascended the throne with support, his feet could not reach the pedals, and he could only hang in the air. The man beside him tucked his robes for him, stood up calmly, the man's face could not be seen clearly in the morning light, but he could only hear him speak slowly, his voice clear and clear like a ring hitting each other.
"kneel-"
All the officials bowed their heads and knelt down one after another, shouting: "Long live my emperor, long live!"
The voice was like a tide, from the Hall of Supreme Harmony to the entire Forbidden City. When Baiguan stood up again, he finally saw the man beside the young emperor. His face was neither sad nor happy under the black gauze hat. The golden embroidered python complemented his handsome appearance. He was the most prominent eunuch in Daqi, and he was in charge of the palace. , power over all officials.
After all the ministers finished the ceremony, Shen Jue said loudly, "If there is something to do, I will play, and if there is nothing else, I will retreat to the court."
The last class in the hall raised a voice: "Your Majesty, I have something to announce!"
The Young Emperor said, "Precise play."
Zhongshusheren walked to the front of the imperial court from the last shift, and said with a piercing voice: "Shen Jue was murdered on the street by the head of the Sili Supervisor, and Yao's mother and son of the Mentougou Herbal Medicine Store were corpse at the gate of Shen's residence, and the young children were no more than eight years old, and Shen Jue was insane. , the people are horrified, the people's grievances are boiling, please ask Your Majesty to decide!"
The officials were amazed, and there were many discussions. Shen Jue controls the factory guard and has enormous power. Few people oppose him. Ordinarily, the only people who died were two plain-headed people, who had no power and no power. He put some money to seal the mouths of their families, and then went to the Dali Temple of the Ministry of Punishment to deal with them. The matter was revealed. Who would have thought that there was someone who didn't have long eyes, and brought this matter to the hall.
The young emperor glanced at Shen Jue subconsciously, but Shen Jue didn't react, and his eyelashes were still lowered, as if the people below him were not impeaching him. The young emperor clenched his fist and coughed, and said: "I already knew about this matter. Chen Changchen had already handed over the book and discussed it with me in detail. This is the first challenge for Yao's mother and son. In this case, Fanzi tried to obstruct it, pushing and shoving the two of them to death, but it has nothing to do with the factory officials."
Zhongshusheren relented, "This is what Shen Jue's family said. Your Majesty is so assertive, I'm afraid I might be biased!"
It is not that Shen Jue has no supporters. The eunuchs looked at Shen Jue's expression and exchanged glances. The commander of Jin Yiwei stood up proudly and said, "Lord Lu's words are bad. Once the case was released, Jin Yiwei had already investigated it. Ming. An autopsy was conducted, and it was found that there was no sign of fighting on the two of them. The Yao woman only suffered a fatal bruise on the top of her head, and the cause of the boy's death was even more strange. It was a poison in Zhongxue. I have long known that these two would make trouble in the Shen residence, so why not give the boy poison first?"
The Emperor nodded in agreement. Dali Temple's secretary tucked his teeth and walked out of the queue, saying: "Your Majesty, according to the Daqi Law, the case will be investigated and dealt with by the Department of Punishment, and Dali Temple will review it. Although Jinyiwei also has the responsibility of investigating, but after all, he has a close relationship with the factory officials. In the past few days, the minister has often heard that the Jinyiwei sided with each other, and the people refused to accept it. According to the minister's opinion, it is better to transfer the case to the Ministry of Punishment for a new trial, or to restore the innocence of the factory minister."
The eunuchs have all changed color. Dali Siqing said that he was thinking of Shen Jue, but once the case was out of the control of the factory guards, who knew what would happen? It seemed that Zhongshusheren was just a vanguard officer who took the lead in firing the cannons, and the great ones were still to come. This is an old trick in the officialdom. The low-ranking charge takes the lead, and the real ambassador sits in the rear, but I don't know who is behind the scenes.
Everyone in the eunuch party looked at Shoufu in unison. It was an old man, obsessed with the wat board, his two eyelids were drooping, and he looked like he was watching his nose and heart. The eunuch party winked, it doesn't seem to be him
The young emperor couldn't make up his mind, and looked at Shen Jue frequently, but Shen Jue seemed to have swallowed a dumb medicine, and there was no sign of moving his lips. The young emperor pondered and said, "Then..."
"Your Majesty," the commander of Jinyiwei said again, "there is a Jinyiwei Yamen to check the documents. Why should it be so troublesome to review it again? Why don't you ask Dali Temple to send someone over to check the documents. If it is not necessary, the prison will be in front of the ministers and workers of Dali Temple. Face, try again. Wouldn't it be cheap?" Saying that, he squinted at Dali Si Qing, "Could it be that Dali Temple suspects that Jin Yiwei is ineffective?"
"My lord, worry too much," Dali Si Qing smiled slightly, "This minister is also thinking of Shen Changchen. If the factory minister is innocent, why should he be afraid of another trial by the Ministry of Punishment?"
The two of you come and go, and you don't mean to give in at all. The young emperor sat on the throne for a long time, and he was already impatient, and his buttocks moved left and right. The two sides have already quarreled. Daqi Civilian is quite bloody, and he can't lift his hands or shoulders, but his lips can crush people to death. The young emperor's ears hurt when he heard it, and he patted the golden lacquer screen and said loudly: "Enough! Shut me up!"
The Han general shouted loudly, and the ministers and workers all sighed in anger. The young emperor looked at Shen Jue and said, "Chen Chen, this is your business after all, but if you say something, how should you deal with it?"
Dali Siqing was about to speak again, but Shen Jue slowly raised his eyes, his eyes were full of lightning, and he was forced to shut his mouth. Carrying his robe, Shen Jue stepped down from the white marble steps, took off his black gauze hat, and kowtowed to the young emperor: "In the matter of the emperor's loyalty and loyalty to the emperor, the minister is the chief of ceremonies, and it is the minister's duty to share the worries for your majesty. Who would have thought of causing trouble to His Majesty, bringing such matters to the palace, and causing His Majesty to worry, the minister is really to blame for his death. The unprovoked death of these two really has nothing to do with the minister, but the minister said nothing. Ya, I really don’t understand, since the Ministry of Punishment can restore the innocence of the minister, I hope Your Majesty will hand over the case to the Third Division, and the minister will take off his black gauze cap, close the door and repent, and let him decide.”
The young emperor panicked: "How does this make it happen? The factory minister has taken off his post, what can he do in the palace? In a few days, I will go to Guangling Temple to incense incense. This should be handled by the factory minister. How can I just leave? ?"
The commander of Jin Yiwei stepped forward and said: "It's better to ask the factory minister to temporarily take care of everything. If the Ministry of Punishment wants to try it, send someone to summon it at any time. The same is true, so that your Majesty will not worry."
"It's justified, just do it!" The young emperor said happily.
After leaving the court, Shen Jue helped the young emperor to return to the palace. The eunuchs gathered at the palace gate, with their hands in their sleeves and waiting for Shen Jue to discuss countermeasures. The comers were not good, and they were still aggressive, and everyone was caught off guard. As he was sighing, he saw that man from a distance walking up the street, and the bright morning light embraced him, as if he was someone who was extremely favored by the heavens.
Shen Jue approached, but Xu Xu raised his hand, everyone fell silent, bowed their hands and stood back. He got into the carriage, and everyone watched him leave the palace, looking at each other, not knowing what to do next.
The day of incense came in a blink of an eye. The road was cleared on the imperial road, and there were obstacles on both sides. The people stuck their heads upstairs to look out, and there was a long list of dark clouds below. Because the emperor was driving in summer, this year's incense was very simple, but it fell in the eyes of the people. Still the same luxury. The phoenix chariot and the dragon chariot, the halogen book clearing the way, the guards of the forbidden army, the factory guards accompany, the splendid piles are piled up, and the style is Tianjia.
The young emperor was at the front of the team, and he finally got out of the palace. He was so happy that he looked at the scenery outside through the window. Behind the dragon chariot is the queen mother's phoenix chariot, who sits inside, slowly counting the beads in her hand. She still had a beautiful face, wearing a bun with pearls on top of her head, making her hair more like ink on the temples and her complexion like snow. Lips were smeared with grease, oily, as delicate as a finely crafted gem. Zhu Xia served next to him, and the chariot passed Shen Jue. Zhu Xia's eyes lit up and he bowed to him through the window.
"How is the factory minister recently?" The Queen Mother glanced at Shen Jue and said lightly.
"Lao Niangniang misses, the minister is still the same."
"But I heard that the factory officials recently got into a lawsuit and killed two people. I heard that their family members are very arrogant. These days they squatted at the gate of the east factory, crying and wanting to avenge their grievances. Is there such a thing?"
Shen Jue replied with a light smile, "It's true. Your Majesty has already handed it over to the Ministry of Justice for investigation, and I believe there will be a result soon."
Seeing his calm expression, the queen mother frowned imperceptibly, but her tone was still light, as if indifferent, "The factory minister is a good man, and he will not be dragged down by such rascals."
"Borne your mother's auspicious words." Shen Jue squinted at the sunlight on the imperial road, "Whether it's a rogue or not, we'll have to wait and see."
"Oh? The factory minister's words don't seem to have a deep meaning?"
"Niangniang has been thinking too much, and the minister has no intention of being sidelined. Left and right are the duties of the three ministers, and the minister is left to the stewardship. It is expected that there is no reason to wrong the minister due to the talented Gao Dejun." left before.
The queen mother looked at his back and snorted coldly. If he is allowed to cook, is he still Shen Jue? The Empress Dowager calmed down and asked Zhu Xia in a low voice, "Is the news from Wan Bohai ready?"
Zhu Xia nodded, "It's all right."
"Okay," the queen mother slowly hooked her lips, "this person is very powerful. I don't think Yao's mother and son can put him down. But he must not have thought that I have another move, Guangling Temple, and watch it!"
Zhu Xia hung her heart and bit her lip slightly, "Niangniang, will you kill him?"
The queen mother held Zhu Xia's hand and smiled: "Silly boy, how could I kill him? It's just to teach him a lesson and suffer. Don't worry, Hengzhu will save his life, and I can't let you be a widow."
Zhu Xia nodded hesitantly.
Shen Jue walked slowly, Situ Jin rode up to catch up, and whispered, "Master."
Shen Jue pressed his temples, the weather turned cold, and his body was not very refreshed. He turned his face and asked, "Xiahou Lin didn't come."
"No, I have told him the wrong time. He should think that he should rest today, and the day after tomorrow will be the day to put incense."
Shen Jue nodded, "That's good." He didn't want Xia Houlin to be involved in the matter of pickling in the courtroom. Xia Houlin's hard-earned stable life cannot be dragged down by him.
"Master..." Situ Jin looked at Shen Jue's pale face and said solemnly, "Be careful in everything."
————
Xia Houlin peeled garlic at home.
The East Factory has been very uneasy these days. Jin Yiwei is still investigating the case. The Yao family gathered a group of neighbors and carried the body to the East Factory Yamen to cry. I don't know where they came from to be so bold and dare to challenge Dongchang. The most difficult thing to do is that this matter has been heard in the sky, and Dongchang can't handle it at will, so they have to let them mess around.
Xia Houlin intuition that things are not easy, but his position is low and can't help Shen Jue. The Yao family was so noisy that the yamen could not work, so Xia Houlin brought a group of brothers out of the prison and moved out of the nail bed and spread it at the door. The Yao family had no place to lie down or settle down, and they yelled and scolded a few times across the wall before they left in anger.
After all, everyone was relieved.
After peeling off a small basket, Xia Houlin stood up and went to the kitchen, when the door was suddenly knocked. Xia Houlin wiped his hands and opened the door, while Zhu Shunzi stood at the door panting against the wall.
"how… "
Before Xia Houlin had finished asking, Zhu Shunzi took his arm and walked out, "You man! Long live today to go to Guangling Temple to incense incense, but you escaped from the class! Just run away, and you were discovered by your elders! It's a loss! You guys have good hearts, you didn't report it, and sent me to find you to let you return to the team! Hurry up, let's go to Guangling Temple, I guess we can catch up by now."
"What is it?" Xia Houli frowned, but he went back to change the yisa, and took the goose ling knife with him. "Didn't you say that the incense will come in the day after tomorrow?"
"You were dozing off when Shangfeng was talking! It's today!" Zhu Shunzi shouted.
Zhu Shunzi didn't have time to chat with him, so the two hurried to Guangling Temple, walked along the ancient road, and reached the foot of the mountain, directly stepping on the stone steps up the mountain. The mountain wind was thin and cool, the leaves of the old locust tree rattled, and the stone steps of Guangling Temple were too long. The two of them looked like two ants on the top, crawling up.
Crawling and crawling, Xia Houlin felt that something was wrong. When the emperor entered the incense, there should be Jinyiwei and the Imperial Army guarding along the way, and there was no one.
He turned his head and asked Zhu Shunzi, who was also sluggish.
There was a voice in the woods, Zhu Shunzi wanted to go over, Xiahou Rin grabbed him and made a seal gesture. Xia Houlin hunched over and touched it. The grass was so tall that it could reach to his thighs. Xia Houlin slowly rubbed over, like a silent snake, attached to the edge of a locust tree, staggering a little. Take a peek over there.
There were five soldiers of the Imperial Army, and one of them walked a long way, only five paces away from Xiahou Lin, tore off his sweat towel and urinated in the grass.
The other four sat on the ground and rested, with a triangular eye pulling out a string of tourmaline beads from their armor, adorned with a pair of falling horns, and a lapis lazuli Buddha's head tower, shining in the sun. The beads were stained with blood, and the triangular eyes were wiped with the sleeves, and asked, "Hey, boss, how much do you think this thing can sell for?"
"Then how do I know? If you send it to Liulichang, it will definitely sell for a good price!" The one called the boss picked his teeth and said, "It's a pity that he only chopped off his hand and didn't catch anyone, otherwise the bounty would be enough. We'll be there for the rest of our lives!"
Someone laughed and said, "Niang Niang, have you seen what he looks like? It's called a Peugeot! I heard that the person who came out of the palace is Shui Ling, but I didn't expect a eunuch to have such a fairy-like appearance."
The man who urinated said loudly over there: "If you are short of two taels of meat, you should be a woman! If you can refresh the Lord, it will be a life in vain!"
Just as he was talking, a icy iron light suddenly flashed in his line of sight, like a knife slashing his eyelids, and everyone was startled.
Ten paces ahead, the locust leaves were flying, and their companions screamed back, holding the unworn pants with one hand and covering their faces with the other. He stepped on the locust leaf, making a creaking noise, and everyone saw that every time he stepped on a leaf, dripping blood dripped from his mouth and dripped on the leaf, bright red and dazzling.
And what forced him to retreat was a goose ling knife. The knife stuck into his mouth all the way, and blood flowed along the corner of his mouth into the blood groove of Yangjin. He stepped back step by step, and the man hidden behind the locust leaf finally appeared. It was a man dressed in black, holding a knife in one hand. Under the mottled sunlight, his eyes were terrifyingly dark.
Everyone stood up, drew their knives, and faced the man.
"If you don't want to die, tell me where the overseer is? Otherwise," the man's hand with the knife shook violently, the Yanling knife shattered their companion's mouth, the corner of his mouth cracked open, and his chin fell slantingly, "like him. ."