I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

Beijing.

Dark clouds covered the city and the wind was surging.

North City.

Right Prime Minister Lu Jun walked into a teahouse with heavy steps. He did not stop, and under the guidance of the waiter, he walked out of the back door, walked around two alleys, and came to a huge mansion.

There were guards guarding the gate. They looked around vigilantly and then opened the gate.

When Lu Jun walked in, he saw quite a few people already gathered in the lobby of the mansion.

These people have extraordinary identities, and they are all court officials.

Whether they are from the three provinces and six ministries, the central government or local governments, civil or military, they are all important figures.

Now they gather together for one thing.

"Prime Minister."

When these people saw the Right Prime Minister arrive, they all leaned forward to greet him.

Lu Jun was undoubtedly the highest-ranking official among this group of officials.

Their meeting today is kept absolutely confidential.

Although the empress condoned the factional struggles in the court, she would never allow court officials to form cliques for personal gain, even in secret.

On weekdays, Xu Renyou often visited the Prime Minister's Mansion, and most of the time he was under the surveillance of the Thousand Cavalry Division.

These court officials with ulterior motives were well aware of their situation.

"Is everyone here?"

Lu Jun said in a hoarse voice.

"Everyone is here."

Seo Inwoo replied.

As Lu Jun's loyal henchman, Xu Renyou has always worked for Lu Jun. His loyalty to the prime minister is even higher than to His Majesty.

"Then stop talking nonsense and get straight to the point."

Lu Jun frowned and continued, "I have reported to Yecheng that the Li and Liu families in Jiangnan have been confiscated by the court. You can only hope that the court has not obtained the list."

The list mentioned by the right prime minister was about Li Yang's crimes of colluding with court officials.

Everyone present now has interests tied to the Jiangnan family.

"Then, Prime Minister, do you think that Your Majesty has obtained that thing?"

Someone asked softly.

Lu Jun hesitated for a moment and said, "Absolutely not."

"Why?"

Others don't understand.

Ever since the emperor spoke out the list in the court that day, these officials have been in a panic, fearing that they would be purged one day.

Lu Jun said with a grim expression: "Given your Majesty's temper, if he really got the list, he would be furious and punish everyone."

After hearing this, the others breathed a sigh of relief and felt that what the prime minister said made sense.

Everyone in the court knew that the empress was cruel. Not to mention her brutal means of seizing power, such as killing her brothers and forcing her father to abdicate, more recently, she executed her trusted ministers and ordered the execution of all officials who gave her advice. All these actions showed that this woman would never forgive those who were corrupt and committed injustice.

However, what the empress said in the court was obviously not true.

"The Prime Minister is saying that the Emperor is bluffing?"

Xu Renyou quickly understood.

Others also said: "No wonder they want us to admit it voluntarily, it turns out they are trying to trick us out."

"Now that Li Yang is dead, everyone must stay alert and be prepared at any time."

Lu Jun reminded.

The target of the response he mentioned was naturally the empress of the current dynasty.

"These days, the empress has killed many like-minded officials. Her methods are quite cruel..."

Xu Renyou said bluntly.

The reason they gathered here was because they had ulterior motives towards the current emperor.

"How can a woman like this possibly understand how to govern a country?"

Others echoed.

The ministers in the court had secretly long been dissatisfied with this empress who had risen to the throne through killing.

He originally wanted to take advantage of the disaster in Jizhou to secretly trip up the empress.

But they never imagined that Jiang Zuo not only successfully provided disaster relief, but also defeated the Jiangnan aristocratic family forces headed by Li Yang.

"Prime Minister, we can't wait any longer. If the empress really has any evidence, she may take action at any time. We must strike first..."

Xu Renyou ventured to give advice.

"A secret letter has come from the northwest. Do we need to take action in advance?"

Someone whispered.

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place fell silent.

This means that he is planning a rebellion.

They were all officials appointed by the imperial court and knew very well the consequences of treason.

But if they don't take action first, and the empress really has evidence, they will surely die.

"We still don't have all the imperial city guards under our control, so we can't act rashly."

Lu Jun lowered his voice to an extremely low level.

In the capital, undercurrents are surging.

……

royal palace.

Royal study room.

It was already three o'clock in the morning when Chen Qingyun finished reviewing the last batch of memorials.

There are extremely many things to do today, and there are many important matters to deal with. Chen Qingyun can only rest for two or three hours a day and is quite tired.

Fortunately, the disasters in Jizhou and Yuzhou have been dealt with, and the matter of the Jiangnan family is also slowly coming to an end.

While thinking about that, Chen Qingyun unlocked the cabinet again and took out the list that made her extremely angry.

The key names on the list were like a sharp blade, almost piercing Chen Qingyun's heart.

If it was just one or two people, the empress would definitely not show mercy.

But things are different now.

Almost half of the important officials in the court are included in this list.

Chen Qingyun knew that the Jiangnan families were powerful and deeply rooted, but he could never have imagined that these families would extend their hands into the very core of the imperial court.

"Fourteenth Prince Chen Di, Right Prime Minister Lu Jun..."

Just these two names are enough to give Chen Qingyun a headache.

Right Prime Minister Lu Jun has always had some complaints about the empress, which Chen Qingyun certainly knew, but the fact that Lu Jun was able to sit firmly on the position of a veteran of three dynasties must be due to his abilities.

Over the years, Chen Qingyun has always tolerated Lu Jun's little tricks, which led to today's result.

The Fourteenth Prince Chen Di was the royal relative who supported Chen Qingyun's ascension to the throne back then, but now, he is indeed standing on the opposite side of Chen Qingyun.

The Fourteenth Prince, who used to hate evil, actually colluded with the Jiangnan noble families. Not only was he corrupt, he might even have the intention of treason!

Chen Qingyun really didn't know how to decide at the moment, because Chen Di was not only the Fourteenth Prince, but also the leader of an army of 200,000 in the Northwest.

If the Fourteen Kings were forced to rebel, Dayan would surely fall into civil strife.

The military affairs of the northwest still need the fourteen kings to take charge.

The current situation cannot be chaotic...

Chen Qingyun suppressed the murderous intent in his heart and locked the secret letter back in the cabinet.

If it weren't for the secret letter from Jiang Zuo, Chen Qingyun would definitely have the Thousand Cavalry Division arrest all of these people and then execute them.

Thinking of this, a hint of melancholy appeared on Chen Qingyun's peerless face.

"As the son of destiny, why would I listen to the advice of a fourth-rank official..."

Chen Qingyun didn't know either.

She silently took out the latest memorial submitted by Jiang Zuo and read it again.

"Your Majesty, please fulfill your promise and allow me to return to Anding County, as well as the two hundred thousand taels..."

After the memorial, Jiang Zuo brought up this matter.

Chen Qingyun hesitated.

After all, it's a pity to send Jiang Zuo, such a talented person, back to Anding County.

But a gentleman never jokes, and since he has promised, Chen Qingyun cannot go back on his word.

"permit."

Chen Qingyun wrote two words after the memorial.