After hearing this, Jiang Songwen understood what was going on.
He said that the old man was old and had offended so many people while in office, so he could not step down. Once he stepped down, everyone would come and step on him.
Having been strong all his life, the old man would never let himself suffer such a loss when he is old. In the old man's eyes and heart, serving the country is inevitable, but serving the country does not mean that one must be so self-disciplined that he cannot touch this or that.
When he took the position of Minister of Works, the old man put a lot of effort behind the scenes.
The Zhou Dynasty valued civil officials over military officials. Those civil officials were all self-righteous and would curse anyone they could get their hands on, fearing that their curses would not be enough to make them famous and be remembered.
In the families of several prime ministers of the previous dynasty, whenever any of their sons passed the imperial examination or got a promotion, they would go home to prepare, because they would be pointed at and scolded the next day.
Being in a high position is already enviable. Many people will want to cause trouble for you, and no one is willing to believe that your son got to that position based on his real ability.
Therefore, when he was about to take this position, he was indeed subject to countless criticisms. For this reason, his mother even secretly advised him, thinking that the old man was under too much pressure and had a bad reputation, and asked him to simply submit a memorial saying that he was ill or requested to be transferred to another position.
He himself hesitated at the time because those people's insults were too harsh. They cursed their whole family and even brought up the fact that the old man had a concubine eight hundred years ago.
But the old man withstood the pressure, and when he was lecturing to Emperor Longqing, he specifically mentioned the story of Guan Zhong to prove that he promoted talented people regardless of their relationship with him.
Later, he climbed to his current position as he wished.
When Jiang Songwen thought of this, his eyes became cold again.
He did get a little greedy, and he didn't deny that.
But apart from being a little greedy, he had no other problems. Over the years, he was in charge of the Yellow River water control, river supervision, and road construction in various places.
If it weren't for him, the officials under him might have embezzled a lot of money. It was because of him keeping an eye on them that Liu Biping and his men didn't dare to go too far.
Now Wei An and Shen Chen have violated his interests and made him suffer such a huge loss, yet they still want to get away with it unscathed, and they are even going to drag him down with them.
Thinking of this, he couldn't control the anger in his heart.
The butler beside him looked at him in a daze, his hands still hanging in front of him, silent. He waited for him to gradually come back to his senses, and then he said softly: "Master, I won't see you off. You know, the emperor is probably watching our family right now, and the old man has to show an attitude..."
Jiang Songwen hummed, waved his hand, walked out of the door with a furious look, got into the sedan chair, and ordered to return home.
Dong Chengqi was still waiting in the villa. When he saw him coming back like this, he thought Jiang Zining really didn't agree, so he asked him, "Why? Is the old man really angry and doesn't want to take care of you?"
Jiang Songwen remained silent and sat beside the desk for a long time before he supported his dizzy body and replied tiredly: "The old man didn't see me. The housekeeper came out and said that the old man waited for a whole day but didn't get to see the emperor."
Dong Chengqi was startled and looked at him in disbelief, then frowned: "Is it really this serious?"
Then he understood why Jiang Zining didn't meet Jiang Songwen.
Under the current circumstances, if he meets Jiang Songwen, there will be even more people gossiping about him. I'm afraid everyone would want to kneel down and die at Zuo Shunmen.
It is actually better not to meet him. He should correct his attitude and explain that he has nothing to do with this matter and does not intend to get involved in it. If there is real evidence, just arrest his son and punish him.
The older you get, the wiser you are. It is true that he understands Emperor Longqing's thoughts best and knows how to dispel other people's doubts.
Jiang Songwen nodded dejectedly and leaned back in his chair, letting Dong Chengqi ask him several questions without saying a word. He felt his eyes were blurry and he couldn't see things clearly. His heart was beating wildly, his head was buzzing so loudly that even his eardrums ached.
Being forced to this point by two little kids... .
He sneered and opened his eyes. Seeing Dong Chengqi's worried expression, he said, "Don't worry, you won't die. The old man has pointed out a clear way for me. I know what to do."
Dong Chengqi heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this. He was indeed afraid that Jiang Zining would just ignore it, so he said, "Is the old man asking you to retreat in order to advance?"
Jiang Songwen rubbed his temple and hummed, his voice still light: "The old man wants me to write a letter of apology, saying that I am not strict with my subordinates."
Dong Chengqi immediately grasped the key point and looked at him for a moment: "Not strict with your subordinates? In other words, it's not a murder for hire?"
There is a world of difference between the two.
Jiang Songwen stared at him as if he was looking at a fool: "Do you think I am really behind this? Of course I will put the blame on those idiots."
Those low-ranking officials from the Ministry of Works' Firing Room who had made such a fuss before were bound to suffer this time, so they had to force them to admit that they suddenly changed the time and route of transporting gunpowder in order to assassinate Princess Shouning. When the assassination failed, they were afraid that the matter would be exposed, so they deliberately bribed Zou Qing, hoping to use Zou Qing's connections to poison and murder her again.
As for the reason
Jiang Songwen had completely come to his senses by this time, and had become the calm and restrained Minister of Industry. He exhaled, expelling the burning breath in his throat, and then he felt better. He punched the table viciously and said in a cold voice: "I will make them pay the price!"
Dong Chengqi smiled, but his expression was cold: "That's a matter for the future. Let's deal with the current matter first. Didn't the Jinyiwei forbid people to visit Zou Qing? Is there any way to let Zou Qing know..."
Jiang Songwen stood up, the ring on his hand flashing brightly. After a long while, he thought of a candidate and immediately called out Lai An.
Lai An hurriedly responded, agreed to lift the curtain and come in. He stared at Lai An, coughed and said, "Take this for me and go to Yunxiufang."
Yunxiufang
Lai An was surprised for a moment, and looked at him puzzledly: "Master, what are you doing there?"
"Give this to Yunniang, she knows it clearly." Jiang Songwen coughed and said, "Tell her that I can't do anything about these things. Let her think carefully about how to save her lover." (To be continued)