The morning court session ended, and after the emperor and the crown prince walked away, the ministers remained standing where they were, with everyone's eyes on Mr. Zhuo.
Zhou Shuren waited for a moment. He saw that there was a grudge involved. Other colleagues had no sympathy for Mr. Zhuo at all. They just watched coldly as Mr. Zhuo fell to the ground and recovered.
Zhou Shuren looked at the King of Qi and the King of Chu who seldom attended the court. It would be inappropriate for anyone to make the first move without these two people taking action. The royal family members were narrow-minded, and the eyes of the King of Qi and the King of Chu were very cold.
Fortunately, the two princes knew that the emperor still needed the Zhuo family, so as soon as the King of Qi made a move, the King of Chu also followed.
Before Zhou Shuren turned around and walked out of the hall, he heard the voice of the Minister of Rites, "The Ministry of Rites will go to the Duke's Mansion at 9:00 p.m."
Oh, yes. He just remembered that the Duke's Mansion was a reward, and now the emperor doesn't want the Zhuo family to stay there for another day.
Zhou Shuren left without stopping, and Lord Lin and Lord Wei hurriedly followed him.
The three of them walked quickly to distance themselves from the people behind them, and Lord Lin spoke up, "We almost capsized just after we met."
Lord Wei said, "Yes, it only took one day to find the Duke, no, the evidence of the Zhuo family's crimes."
He felt a little scared when he saw this energy!
Zhou Shuren sneered, "It's not all evidence found by the five families. There are many noble families implicated in the marriage and network of relationships..."
Lord Lin frowned, "The Zhuo family has lost the title of Duke and has fallen into a lower class now."
Zhou Shuren said dimly, "So the emperor was furious."
A good chess game was almost ruined. After all the years of the emperor's planning, this was the first time he almost lost at the very beginning.
The Lin family is a family loyal to the imperial power, and the emperor values the imperial censors. This time, the imperial censors explored the way first, and then the Lin family. The Lin family has a lot of evidence. Lord Lin frowned, "It's bad luck."
Lord Wei agreed in his heart, "The Zhuo family has lost its title, and there is only one Zhuo Guyu tut tut."
The following words are clear. It would be fine if the prince continues to promote Zhuo Guyu. But once the prince abandons Zhuo Guyu, the Zhuo family’s piece of meat will be divided and eaten!
Zhou Shuren thought to himself that the Zhuo family was a real failure. All the ministers just watched coldly, and even the in-laws didn't even offer to lend a hand. So the Zhuo family felt guilty towards the retired emperor, and everyone remembered it in their hearts.
At Marquis Zhou’s mansion, Zhulan was speechless when she heard the news. If she were the emperor, she would be so angry that she would die.
Su Xuan and Zhao looked at each other, and Zhao spoke first, "Mother, is the Zhuo family finished?"
Zhu Lan shook her head, "The Emperor gave me a chance."
Su Xuan continued, "The emperor still needs the Zhuo family!"
"Um."
Zhulan signaled to Butler Ding to arrange someone to keep an eye on the place and come back to report any news at any time.
Li waited for her mother-in-law to finish making the arrangements and said, "We will keep an eye on the Zhuo family today."
Su Xuan snorted coldly, "The Zhuo family doesn't deserve sympathy."
Zhao nodded, "We have walked the path we have walked ourselves. The Zhuo family's current situation is inevitable, it's just a matter of time."
Zhulan smiled, "You can see clearly."
The Zhuo family lost the title of Duke, and the Duke's Mansion was in chaos. Old Master Zhuo came back and endured the discomfort to arrange for people to pack their luggage. The Ministry of Rites said that if the packing was not completed today, don't even think about taking the remaining things away.
After giving the instructions, Mr. Zhuo arranged for people to deal with his confidants, with a sinister look in his eyes. The three days given by the Emperor were not for him to really find evidence, but to completely clean up the people.
Zhuo Shizi, no, now it's Master Zhuo, looked miserable, "Dad, did we lose?"
Mr. Zhuo slapped his son and said, "Shut up."
The other masters of the Zhuo family didn't dare to say a word. Master Zhuo covered his face and regained consciousness, "Dad."
The old man looked at his sons and said, "We, the Zhuo family, are not done yet. From today on, you will stay at home."
Uncle Zhuo's brothers were terrified, fearing that they would die, and they said they would not go anywhere.
With Master Zhuo keeping things in order, the situation was relatively orderly here, but the women and children in other parts of the courtyard kept crying in fear.
The Minister of Rites arrived on time, and Chang Yi got the job. Originally, Chang Yi was not involved, but the Minister of Rites knew that Zhou Shuren disliked the Zhuo family, so he added Chang Yi to the group.
Chang Yi stood outside the gate and watched the plaque being taken down. He shook his head at his colleagues' suggestion, "You guys go in. I won't go."
My colleague frowned and said, "The inspection will not be completed in a short time."
Chang Yi knew clearly, and he pointed to the cleaner steps, "I'll sit and wait for you."
The other officials of the Ministry of Rites were surprised. They thought Zhou Changyi would take advantage of the situation. They looked at each other and led their men into the mansion.
Chang Yi and the others walked away with a frown on their faces. Not only did he watch the show and add insult to injury, he also lowered the family's reputation for nothing.
The concierge was very observant and quickly brought out a clean mat. He also sent someone to inform the master, and Chang Yi was drinking tea and eating snacks soon.
All the officials from the Ministry of Rites who entered the palace today had made a fortune, and the Zhuo family took out many purses filled with silver bills.
The officials from the Ministry of Rites did not go too far. After the inspection, they left someone to watch over the people and required them to move out before sunset, otherwise the mansion would be sealed off.
When Changyi returned to the Ministry of Rites, he also got some silver and money. After counting it, it was quite a lot, about 500 taels.
In the Hanlin Academy, Zhuo Guyu's mouth was tightly bound. He looked calm on the outside but was actually in a panic. He wanted to go find the prince but the thought was suppressed as soon as it came to his mind. He could not go to find the prince at this time. The Duke's Mansion was ashamed of the royal family. Today, the Emperor had already given him a chance.
In the past, the Duke's Mansion was not worthy of its name, but at least it still had a title. Now that the title is gone, everything it was protecting is exposed to the public, ignoring Zhuo Guyu and only the money is left.
Master Qi whispered, "Today is really dangerous."
Chang Zhi was speechless, "Are you free?"
Master Qi nodded, "There really hasn't been anything important recently."
Changzhi doesn't follow the Master Qi, "so he can only burn his boats in the future."
Lord Qi, "If you have lost your title, what else can you give up?"
Changzhi ignored Master Qi, and Changzhong took over, "Silver money and people."
Lord Qi was silent for a moment and left. Chang Zhicai said to his brother, "Today, the Zhuo family has lost its title and is in a weak position. On the bright side, the emperor will help the Zhuo family gain confidence."
Before it got dark in the afternoon, the Zhuo family had already moved out of the Duke's Mansion. In such a rush, they left a lot of things behind, so the Emperor didn't order anyone to clean up and directly sealed the mansion.
The next day, Zhou Shuren followed the emperor to the government hall. The emperor said, "After this busy period is over, I will find a new owner for the Duke's Mansion."
Zhou Shuren, "The Emperor wants to confer a new title of Duke?"
The emperor wanted to roll his eyes, "Do I look stupid?"
Zhou Shuren smiled and asked, "Which prince did the emperor give it to?"
The emperor knew that the old fox had done it on purpose. "Who do you think I will give it to?"
Zhou Shuren glanced at the blueprint of the garden and smiled, "I heard from my boy that the Third Prince has been studying hard behind the scenes." He said to the Crown Prince, "After hearing the truth, I knew I couldn't hide it from him."
The prince said cheerfully, "It's obvious what father did."
Zhou Shuren knew that the emperor had prepared houses for several princes to build their own palaces. Originally, he treated all of them equally except the Fourth Prince. But now the Third Prince thought about this and looked at the Crown Prince one more time. Without the Crown Prince's help, the emperor would not single out the Third Prince.
Firstly, the address of the Duke's Mansion is good. Secondly, the Zhuo family left in a hurry and left behind too many good things. This time, the Third Prince got a great advantage by not opening a mansion.