Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 233 Mei Niang, Only This Time

After Master Xu Yu took his leave, the hall fell into a long silence.

Di Renjie observed the emperor's expression and saw that he seemed to have more instructions, so he did not ask to leave.

After a long while, Li Zhi slowly said, "Di Qing, there are many people like Xu Ziran in Chang'an City."

Di Renjie said, "Your Majesty, I think there should be some, but they would not be as unbridled as he is."

Li Zhi sighed, "This incident just happened to happen to me. How many people have been bullied but have no way to appeal?"

Di Renjie bowed and said, "I have failed in my duty. Your Majesty, please punish me."

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "This is not your problem. Go handle the case."

Di Renjie bowed and took his leave.

Li Zhi returned to his bedroom and paced back and forth in the room.

He has another problem to solve right now.

This time, Li Zhi not only misunderstood Helan Minzhi, but also wrongly blamed Wu Meiniang and neglected her. He also felt a little guilty.

Just as he was wondering whether he should go to Lizheng Hall to coax her, the eunuch came to report that the queen had arrived.

Li Zhi said, "Please invite the Queen in."

Soon, Wu Meiniang walked in gracefully in a red palace dress.

She had dressed up carefully, with three diamond-shaped flower ornaments on her forehead, one in the middle and one on each side, making her look more charming than usual.

Li Zhi didn't say anything, nor did he apologize, he just looked at her quietly.

Wu Meiniang walked over to sit beside Li Zhi and said softly, "Your Majesty, I heard that Minzhi was released."

Li Zhi hummed, then said, "It was Xu Yushi's son who trampled the crops, not Minzhi. They just happened to be talking about Minzhi. I was wrong to blame him."

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "Your Majesty only sent him for questioning, and did not convict him. How can you say he was wrongly accused?"

Li Zhi coughed and said, "Mei Niang, you are always so considerate."

Wu Meiniang suddenly hooked her arms around his neck, her face almost touching Li Zhi's, and said charmingly: "Your Majesty did not blame Minzhi wrongly, but you blamed me wrongly."

Li Zhi looked into her dark eyes and noticed that she exuded a different aura than usual. He laughed dryly and said, "How could that be possible?"

Wu Meiniang said quietly, "Your Majesty didn't say a word to me in the carriage yesterday, and even spoke so coldly after getting off. Isn't he blaming me for not disciplining my nephew well?"

Li Zhi was indeed somewhat in the wrong, so he said, "Never mind, it was my fault, I will apologize to you."

Wu Meiniang stretched out a finger, gently placed it on Li Zhi's lips, and said with a smile: "Jiulang, I won't accept your apology with just words."

It seems that Wu Meiniang is really a little angry this time. She is no longer as docile as usual and has become more aggressive.

But Li Zhi didn't find it disgusting, instead he felt it was a bit interesting.

"Then what do you want?"

"Tonight I want to..." Wu Meiniang pressed her whole body against Li Zhi, her breath as sweet as orchid, her voice full of extreme charm.

Li Zhi sighed and said with a smile, "I really can't do anything to you. That's all, just this once."

Empress Wu was very angry today and became much wilder than usual.

It was not until midnight that the bed returned to peace.

Li Zhi leaned against the wall of the couch, held Wu Meiniang in his arms, played with her long black hair with his hands, and enjoyed his sage time.

Wu Meiniang suddenly said, "Jiulang, I'm actually not really angry about this matter."

Li Zhi laughed and said, "Oh, then why was it so intense just now?"

Wu Meiniang glanced at him and said, "I'm not angry, not in that sense. You were so cold yesterday, and it made me sad all night."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Well, didn't I apologize just now?"

Wu Meiniang said, "When I said I wasn't angry, I was referring to Minzhi being arrested by the Dali Temple."

"Oh? Why?"

Wu Meiniang sighed, "Although this incident was a false alarm, it is also a lesson. I will discipline him more strictly in the future. Otherwise, if something similar really happens, it will be too late to regret it."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "It's great that you can think this way."

Wu Meiniang said, "Jiulang, I've been thinking that there may be many similar injustices happening in Chang'an City, but they are just covered up by the powerful and we are unaware of them."

Seeing that her thoughts were consistent with his, Li Zhi's expression became more serious and he said, "Yes, I think so too."

Wu Meiniang tilted her head slightly, stared at him, and said with a smile: "I have thought of a way that may improve this situation."

"Oh, what can I do?"

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "We can build a copper box and place it outside the Vermillion Bird Gate. If the people have grievances, they can put them inside the box."

After hearing this, Li Zhi did not say anything.

This was exactly the move that Wu Zetian made after she became emperor. Judging from the results, it did not play a big role. Instead, it caused the trend of informing on others to flourish in Chang'an City, and a group of cruel officials replaced the role of the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice.

"Jiulang, is this suggestion inappropriate?"

Li Zhi said slowly, "Mei Niang, your idea is good, but it's still unrealistic. In fact, the Dengwen Drum and the Lung Stone outside the Suzaku Gate have the same function, and in the end they became just decorations."

Dengwen Drum is a method of direct remonstration developed in the Zhou Dynasty, which allows ordinary people to have a channel to reach the emperor.

It was called Lugu in the Zhou Dynasty and was renamed Dengwengu during the Han and Jin Dynasties.

Later dynasties established and abolished it from time to time. The Sui Dynasty also established it. The law stipulated that the officials should record the situation and report it.

There is also a red stone next to the Dengwen Drum, called the Lung Stone. Its function is similar to that of the Dengwen Drum, which means expressing one's true feelings and striking the stone to redress grievances.

Nowadays, these two things have more symbolic meaning than practical significance, and no people will come here to complain.

Wu Meiniang nodded and said, "I was overthinking it." Li Zhi said slowly, "In fact, the one who can really play a role is the Censorate. The Supervisory Censors patrol the country and have the best chance of discovering these injustices. The problems that have arisen now show that the Censorate has not fulfilled its responsibilities."

After hearing this, Wu Meiniang's eyes flashed slightly.

The Censorate has always been controlled by pro-military officials.

Of course, there are no pro-military officials nowadays. Yuan Gongyu has been exiled, and many pro-military officials in the Censorate have also been dealt with.

Only Cui Yixuan, the chief of the Censorate, remained firmly in his position thanks to his ability to adapt to changing circumstances and protect himself.

Judging from what Li Zhi said, he might have to reorganize the Censorate, and Cui Yixuan's position as the chief official would definitely be in jeopardy.

Although Wu Meiniang never took the pro-Wu faction too seriously, she was quite displeased with Cui Yixuan's fence-sitter behavior and would not speak for him.

After all, Cui Yixuan was a third-rank official and the head of the Censorate. Li Zhi could not punish him just because of a case of trampling crops. He needed to find a reason.

The next day, Li Zhi summoned several ministers, told them the case of trampling crops, and asked them how to deal with Xu Yushi.

In fact, all the ministers had already known what he said yesterday about Xu Yushi no longer having to serve as the Minister of Personnel.

Li Yifu immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is of a serious nature. I believe that Xu Yushi should be dismissed from his position as Prime Minister."

All the ministers agreed.

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Also, this case serves as a reminder for us: why do ordinary people have no place to appeal? What are those inspectors doing? Have they failed to fulfill their duties?"

The emperor's words obviously had hidden meaning. After the ministers left Ganlu Palace, they gathered together to discuss the meaning of the emperor's words.

After Li Yifu returned to the Secretariat, he instructed a clerk, "Go and invite Zhang Sheren over."

Zhang Jianzhi is a confidant recently won over by Li Yifu.

Like Di Renjie, this person was summoned to Chang'an by the emperor as an exception.

When others were still jealous of him, or ignored him out of self-righteousness, Li Yifu acted quickly and took the initiative to win him over.

When Zhang Jianzhi first entered the Secretariat, he was a little nervous. The emperor summoned him to the two ministries for no reason and did not summon him alone, which made him really unable to understand the emperor's intentions.

Li Yifu came to show his goodwill at this time, helped him familiarize himself with the environment and government affairs, and reassured him not to worry too much. Zhang Jianzhi was very grateful and naturally willing to follow Li Yifu.

The two hit it off and soon became close.

After a while, Zhang Jianzhi came to Li Yifu's office, and Li Yifu repeated what the emperor had just said exactly.

After listening to this, Zhang Jianzhi said in a deep voice, "Mr. Li, the Saint's last words clearly showed his dissatisfaction with the Censorate."

Li Yifu smiled and said, "I think so too. So, do you think the Saint just mentioned it casually, or does he want to change the chief official of the Censorate?"

Zhang Jianzhi thought for a moment and said, "It should be the latter."

"Oh, why?"

Zhang Jianzhi said, "Many government offices were guilty of dereliction of duty in Xu Ziran's case, but the Censorate was the most negligent. Cui Yixuan cannot escape blame."

Li Yifu nodded.

It is understandable that Wannian County does not dare to intervene in this matter. After all, the gap in official positions is too big and the responsibilities are also different. They mainly deal with cases between ordinary people.

However, the Censorate was different. They were independent of the two provinces and six ministries, took orders directly from the emperor, and supervised all civil and military officials.

It can be said that the arrogance and indulgence of the powerful and wealthy in Chang'an City today is due to the Censorate's dereliction of duty, which has fostered this trend.

Zhang Jianzhi continued, "Logically, Your Majesty should have reprimanded Cui Yixuan. This would have been the normal course of action. However, Your Majesty has remained silent, indicating your utter disappointment in him and your decision to replace him."

Li Yifu nodded repeatedly and sneered, "Cui Yixuan is a scoundrel who only knows how to protect himself. He is not worthy of being a censor at all. He should have stepped down long ago."

Zhang Jianzhi said, "It is precisely because this man is so good at protecting himself that the sage couldn't find a reason to dismiss him at the moment, so he deliberately said that, hoping someone would impeach him."

Li Yifu twirled his beard and smiled, "Jianzhi, you are indeed my think tank. Your analysis is very reasonable. If I were to make a suggestion to him now, it would surely please His Majesty."

Zhang Jianzhi hurriedly said, "Mr. Li, this is not possible."

Li Yifu was stunned and asked, "Why?"

Zhang Jianzhi said, "The Saint is unaware that you and Cui Yixuan have already broken off relations. If you impeach him, the Saint will think you are a man without integrity, only interested in currying favor with superiors, which will not be beneficial in the long run."

Li Yifu was startled and said, "Yes, yes, you are right. Then..."

He looked at Zhang Jianzhi and said, "Jianzhi, no one knows Cui Yixuan's crimes better than me. Let me tell you, how about you impeach him?"

Zhang Jianzhi bowed and said, "Thank you, Lord Li, for your generosity. However, I have been criticized for my humble position in the central government. I only wish to be promoted through the proper channels."

Li Yifu knew that he was very principled and did not want to use this method of impeaching others and flattering the emperor to get promoted. He sighed and said, "Okay, but this credit will be taken by Xu Jingzong."

"I heard that Xu Jingzong and Cui Yixuan have a good personal relationship. Will he really impeach him?" Zhang Jianzhi asked.

Li Yifu snorted, "Xu Jingzong is a hypocrite, and he has always wanted to be appointed prime minister. He will definitely do it."

Zhang Jianzhi said, "Lord Li, don't worry. If Xu Jingzong impeaches Cui Yixuan, the same problem will arise as with you."

Li Yifu laughed and said, "Yes, he is closer to Cui Yixuan. If he turns against him, His Majesty will definitely dislike him and will not appoint him as Prime Minister."

"Not only that, Cui Yixuan now has a good relationship with Lu Chengqing and others. If Xu Jingzong impeaches him, he will also offend Lu Chengqing." Zhang Jianzhi added.

Li Yifu laughed and said, "In that case, it's better not to wade into this muddy water."

Zhang Jianzhi said, "That's right."

Two days later, Xu Jingzong indeed submitted a memorial to impeach Cui Yixuan, and Cui Yixuan then submitted a memorial to resign.

Li Zhi agreed to Cui Yixuan's request to resign and transferred Shangguan Yi to the Censorate to serve as Chief Censor.

Xu Yushi was also dismissed from his post and replaced by Xu Xiaode as the Minister of Personnel.

In the end, due to Xu Ziran's rampant behavior, two third-rank officials in the court were dismissed, and this incident became a hot topic among the people in Chang'an City.

(End of this chapter)