After the morning court session ended, An Yizi hurried back to the Shangshu Mansion, called Zhao Jingyu and Xie Nanjia to the study, and told them in detail what had happened in the court.
The emperor is too ill to attend court, and the crown prince takes over the government. Prince Dongshan sues Zhao Jingyu for killing his son, and has a green silk jade pendant as evidence... Zhao Jingyu and Xie Nanjia are horrified when they hear this, and they both smell a hint of conspiracy.
"There's no one else here. You must tell me the truth. Did you kill King Dongshan's son?" An Yizi stared at Zhao Jingyu and asked seriously.
"Of course it wasn't me." Zhao Jingyu said, "Prince Dongshan and I have no grudges in the past or in the present, so why would I kill him? Besides, I was being chased last night and I couldn't even escape, so how could I have the time to kill him? Even if I had the time, I've never seen him!"
"But he has your jade pendant in his hand, how do you explain it?" An Yizi asked again.
"The jade pendant must have been picked up by someone." Zhao Jingyu said, "Xiu'er reminded me to take off my outer robe last night, but I forgot to take off the jade pendant in a hurry. Then we were busy escaping, so maybe the outer robe was picked up by someone with ulterior motives."
"What you mean is that the person who picked up the jade pendant went on to kill Prince Dongshan, and then deliberately left the jade pendant to frame you. So, what was his purpose?" An Yizi questioned his explanation.
"I don't know, maybe it's just to frame me." Zhao Jingyu spread his hands. The emperor's sudden illness made him feel very upset, and he always had a bad premonition.
An Yizi fell silent, stroking his chin and thinking about the truthfulness of what Zhao Jingyu said.
He had little contact with Zhao Jingyu, and all he knew about Zhao Jingyu was what he heard from others. In any case, in the eyes of most people, Zhao Jingyu was arrogant, domineering, spent his time in debauchery, and was not serious about his job, a complete playboy.
He was not sure how credible the words of such a person were, but then he thought again, if Zhao Jingyu was really that despicable, with the strength of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion and Miss Xiu'er's intelligence, why would he choose to marry him
Therefore, he really couldn't decide whether this person was reliable or not, and whether he could help.
Besides, Zhao Jingyu was in big trouble this time, and even his father, Marquis Dingyuan, might not be able to help him solve it, let alone himself, the Minister of Personnel who had nothing to do with him.
Judging from the situation at today's morning court, Prime Minister Meng and his faction are obviously eager to let the prince take control of the government and replace the emperor. If the emperor is really ill for ten days or half a month, the court will probably change. It is uncertain whether he can keep his position at that time. Is it necessary to wade into muddy water for Zhao Jingyu
Xie Nanjia sat quietly, looking calmly at the youngest Shangshu of the Great Zhou Dynasty in front of him.
Although An Yizi's expression did not change, Xie Nanjia could guess what he was thinking.
He is a fair, honest, and loyal man. Xie Nanjia has no doubt that if it was him who was in trouble today, he would help him without hesitation, but if it was Zhao Jingyu, he might not be willing to take the risk to help.
After all, he and Zhao Jingyu have no relatives, and he still has to worry about his wife, children and the elderly. This is human nature and there is nothing wrong with it.
If possible, Xie Nanjia didn't want to drag him into the water, but he was the only one who could help at the moment.
She thought for a moment, then said to Zhao Jingyu, "Second Young Master, please step aside for a moment. I have a few words to say to Minister An alone."
Zhao Jingyu was stunned: "What can't you say in front of me?"
"Of course, these are words that you cannot hear." Xie Nanjia said sincerely.
Zhao Jingyu: "...Okay!"
An Yizi calmly watched Zhao Jingyu leave the study, but his heart was in turmoil. He knew very well that Miss Xiu'er would definitely ask him for help next, but he was very hesitant whether he could help.
"Minister An, don't worry. I won't force you." Xie Nanjia smiled at him. "Minister An is a career official. People in the officialdom have no choice. You were promoted by the emperor. According to what you said about the situation in the morning court today, the Meng family has already gained the upper hand. I think what you are most worried about at this moment is whether you can keep your position, right?"
An Yizi's heart skipped a beat. She didn't expect that a little girl like her could have such keen insight. She wasn't even present in person, but she could glimpse the direction of the court and see through his inner worries just by his narration. She was truly extremely intelligent.
"Did I speak too directly and offend the Minister?" Xie Nanjia asked, staring into his eyes.
"No, no." An Yizhi waved his hands hurriedly, "To be honest, Miss Xiu'er really hit the nail on the head. I have elderly parents and young children to take care of. If I take a wrong step, it may affect the whole family. I hope you can understand."
"Of course I understand." Xie Nanjia straightened his back, put away his smile, and said seriously, "But there is a truth I hope Minister An understands. No one is immune from the flood, and no egg is intact when the nest is overturned. In the officialdom, there are some things that you can't avoid by being cautious and keeping yourself out of trouble. If the Meng family and their party control the government, as a person who is not in their party, no one can escape unscathed, including you, Minister An."
An Yizi stared blankly at the youthful, lively and even somewhat naive girl in front of him. He looked at her with more admiration and his heart was filled with turmoil because of her words.
She was right. At the beginning of the regime change, the most important thing for the person in power is to unite the party and eliminate the dissidents. Even if he remains neutral, he cannot gain a foothold in this torrent because what they need are their own people, not neutrals.
Especially for a position like the Minister of Personnel, they would never give it to someone who is not in agreement with them.
"I understand what Miss Xiu'er said." An Yizhi said slowly, "But I don't understand, what does this have to do with whether I help the Second Young Master Zhao or not? The Meng family won't let me off the hook just because I helped the Second Young Master Zhao, right?"
"Your Excellency Shangshu is really humorous." Xie Nanjia laughed, his phoenix eyes slightly curved, and deep thoughts were hidden in them. "Meng's party will naturally not show leniency to you, but the second young master will help you rise to prominence."
"What do you mean?" An Yizi was very confused.
Xie Nanjia stood up, said "excuse me", and then leaned over and whispered to him.
An Yizi's face changed as soon as he heard a sentence. He couldn't sit still halfway through. After forcing himself to finish listening, he froze in his chair and didn't recover for a long time.
"I have told the Minister everything that can and cannot be said, and I swear to heaven that every word is true. Now, whether the Minister intends to use this matter to seek credit and beg for mercy, or to give it a try and earn a bright future for yourself, it is up to you to choose." Xie Nanjia sat back down and picked up the teacup calmly.
An Yizhi remained silent, stroking his chin and thinking for a long time. Finally, he made up his mind and said with a firm look: "Tell me, how can I help you?"
Xie Nanjia felt relieved, and calmly put down the teacup, smiling and saying, "Sir Shangshu is indeed a man who can accomplish great things. I would like to thank you on behalf of the Second Young Master!"
An Yizhi: “…”
For some reason, he always had an illusion that he was obviously 10 to 20 years older than this girl, but he had no age advantage in front of her. Instead, he was conquered by her aura and couldn't help but want to obey her.
Is this the innate ability of the girl with the Phoenix destiny
He had never believed in supernatural things, and even ignored Bodhisattvas and ancestors. But at this moment, he felt from the bottom of his heart that the Girl with Phoenix Fate was absolutely real.
Just like he believed that the second son of Zhao was really the emperor's son.
In fact, many people in the outside world have speculated in this direction these days, but every time he heard it, he always sneered, until he heard Miss Xiu'er say it herself just now, and he believed it all at once.
The reason is just as Xiu'er said. If Zhao Jingyu was not the emperor's son, the emperor would be a fool to marry the daughter of the Phoenix to him.
To be honest, he was a little confused now. He was just kind enough to take in a bastard to avoid disaster in his home, but he was inexplicably shouldered the responsibility of saving the prince in distress and protecting the royal bloodline. The gap between the two was too huge, which caught him off guard and secretly felt like he was on a pirate ship.
But he had no choice, because from the moment he took Zhao Jingyu in, he was destined to not escape unscathed.
…
All day long, the whole city was looking for Zhao Jingyu's whereabouts.
At first, only people from the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion, the Zhenguo Duke Mansion and the Wu'an General Mansion were searching, but after the Crown Prince gave an order at the morning court, all the officers and soldiers from the relevant government offices were mobilized to conduct a carpet search with Qinzheng Lane as the center, checking every household, no matter whether they were common people or wealthy families, and not letting any one go.
As officials of the Meng family, they naturally tried their best to cooperate. Even if the other officials did not want to cooperate, they did not dare to say it clearly. After all, the death of a prince was a very serious matter. Moreover, this order could be said to be a pathfinder for the prince to govern. It was not only a test of his prestige in the minds of the ministers, but also a test of who was the enemy and who was the friend.
There was still no news from the emperor, and no one could tell how serious his illness was. The empress personally attended to the emperor and did not allow anyone to disturb him, nor did she allow General Wuan to stay in the palace. Even the princes' requests to visit the emperor were rejected. At this time, officials at all levels had no choice but to obey.
Therefore, the search went smoothly, and even the residence of Minister An was not spared.
Fortunately, those people were quite afraid of the Shangshu who held the power to appoint and dismiss officials, and did not dare to conduct a large-scale destructive search. Zhao Jingyu and Xie Nanjia were able to avoid the search in the secret room under Shangshu An's study.
The city was full of the prince's spies, and Minister An did not dare to pass the message to Marquis Dingyuan rashly. Even if he passed the message, Marquis Dingyuan could not openly take Zhao Jingyu back, because once Zhao Jingyu showed up, he would have to go to the palace to be questioned by the prince, and it would be hard to say whether he could come out at that time.
After wave after wave of searches, Zhao Jingyu was still not found until dark. The prince was furious and immediately held a number of officials accountable. Several of them were directly dismissed and investigated.
No one expected the prince to be so swift and decisive. He made such a big scene on his first day in charge. Everyone in the court felt insecure. There was no other way but to work harder to find someone.
The Duke Zhenguo's Mansion was shrouded in sorrow. Unable to find his daughter, Sheng Qingyun's tears were almost dry.
Su Xian and his son were already certain that Xiu'er was with Zhao Jingyu, but for fear of the news leaking out, they kept it a secret from the entire family and didn't dare tell anyone. They could only watch Sheng Qingyun cry her heart out.
Sheng Qingluan has been staying at the Duke's Mansion with her sister. She is also extremely worried as there is no news about Xiu'er.
In order to find someone, Xie Nanfeng didn't close his eyes for more than ten hours, and his eyes were red from staying up all night.
Xie Zhanting waited for the emperor in the palace for most of the day. After being persuaded to go back by the empress, he stayed in the general's mansion and did not go out again.
After nightfall, Marquis Dingyuan went to the general's mansion under the cover of darkness and had a secret discussion with Xie Zhanling for a long time before leaving.
Later, several princes except Prince Dongshan received orders from the Crown Prince, ordering them to leave the capital with their families early the next morning without delay.
Prince Nanzhao and Prince Jin had no objection and were eager to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible. Anyway, the Queen would not allow them to enter the palace to visit the Emperor, so there was no benefit for them to stay here.
When the King of Wei received the notice, he said nothing. He waited until late at night and quietly went to the Queen's bedroom through the secret passage.
Queen Meng was frightened by his sudden visit. She didn't bother to be affectionate with him and kept urging him to leave quickly.
"The prince has reconciled with me over Zhao Jingyu's matter. He may come to report to me at any time. It would be terrible if he saw us."
"I am his father. So what if he sees me? Can he kill his father?" The King of Wei sneered.
Queen Meng quickly stopped him: "Shut up! What if someone hears you?"
"Look how scared you are. Isn't Jingxing the one who has the final say in the court now? Why are you still so trembling with fear?" King Wei pinched her chin and said softly.
"He is just acting as the governor of the country. He is far from having the final say. You think too simply." Queen Meng said.
"I know whether it's simple or not." King Wei said, "I came to you just to ask you to tell Jingxing that I don't want to leave the capital for the time being. I want him to withdraw his order and allow me to stay in the capital to accompany the Queen Mother for a while."
"No, don't even think about it!" Queen Meng's face changed, she slapped his hand away and said sternly, "What are you planning? I warn you, don't do anything reckless!"
"Oh, the Queen is going to burn the bridge after crossing the river!" The King of Wei rubbed his hands and said with a fake smile, "Jingxing doesn't know, but don't forget that the reason why Jingxing's plan went so smoothly is that I have half the credit. If you can't even satisfy me with such a small thing, then I will go to Jingxing in person to take credit."
“How dare you!” Queen Meng gnashed her teeth and yelled, but when she met the cold gaze of King Wei, she could no longer yell, “I’ll tell Jingxing, please be quiet. If you ruin Jingxing’s plans, neither of us will be well.”
The King of Wei was finally satisfied. He chatted with her for a while and then returned through the secret passage.
Queen Meng restored the bed and made it again. She sat alone and sulked for a while, then put on her clothes and went to the outer hall, where she told someone to call Wang Lu.
"Go see my father now and ask him to find a way to kill King Wei!" she said to Wang Lu.
Wang Lu's heart skipped a beat, and all his sleepiness disappeared: "My queen, why is this happening? Isn't the King of Wei on the same side as us?"
"But he is too ambitious. If we keep him, he will be a disaster sooner or later!" Queen Meng gritted her teeth.
She admitted that until tonight, this man was still the man she loved the most, but if his status was a threat to her son, then don't blame her for being ruthless.
Compared with his son, a man is nothing!
The next day, at five o'clock in the morning, the city gates were opened. At five o'clock in the morning, the King of Nanzhao, along with his family and servants, left the capital through the South Gate.
In order to prevent Zhao Jingyu from escaping from the city, checkpoints were set up at the four city gates, and all passers-by had to be checked, even King Nanzhao was no exception. Therefore, as soon as their team arrived at the city gate, they were stopped by the soldiers on duty.
(End of this chapter)