After the death of the previous emperor, the Empress Dowager became arrogant

Zhong Xiao took another quick look inside the room and said, "It's okay. It would be best if there are no assassins. Otherwise, I will not be able to explain to His Majesty."

The group left in a hurry again and waited for the two people in the lobby.

"I want to take a shower." Yuan Qing said.

The implication was that Lu Zhao should take his people and leave quickly so as not to delay her bathing.

Lu Zhao didn't think of staying any longer. His clothes were wet and sticking to him, making him uncomfortable. He also wanted to go back and change them as soon as possible, so he quietly left with the stunned assassin in his arms.

After this incident, Yuan Qing gave up his previous plan.

It was impossible for her to be the only one waiting for her in the lobby with so many people. She would feel guilty about that, so she hurriedly washed off the unspeakable smell on her body, put on her clothes and went downstairs.

Lu Zhao had packed up long ago. He was sitting in the lobby chatting with Zhong Xiao. He caught a glimpse of the figure on the stairs and said, "Since you're out, let's go."

He turned around, looked at Zhong Xiao who was in a trance, and called out, "Master Zhong?"

Zhong Xiao came back to his senses and realized that everyone was looking at him. His old face turned red and he said, "Let's go."

The three of them rode in the same carriage. Fortunately, the interior was spacious and not crowded.

"When you enter the palace later, you must follow my instructions and do not lose your composure. If I cannot take care of you, you can go to Lord Lu as well." Zhong Xiao instructed.

Lu Zhao is a bureaucrat, so naturally he doesn't need any advice. These words were originally meant for Yuan Qing to hear.

Yuan Qing accepted it humbly. Zhong Xiao's gesture of goodwill was probably related to Wen Chengyu and Lu Zhao's attitude towards her.

The two men were released from prison in the early morning. When they entered the palace, it was not yet time for the morning court session, so they went directly through the main gate and entered the palace to meet the emperor and the court officials.

The morning court session was extremely boring. The ministers kept talking about the same few things over and over again. Things were a foregone conclusion and would not change.

Do these people really think he is made of clay and can be manipulated at will?

Wen Chengyu rubbed his forehead and said tiredly, "Besides this, do you have anything else to report?"

The Minister of Justice was not there, so the Vice Minister of Justice stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

"explain."

This man is a descendant of an aristocratic family in the capital. Because of his noble birth, no one dared to make things difficult for him while he was working in the Ministry of Justice. Although he was young, he behaved in a calm and elegant manner, without being arrogant or impatient.

He said, "Your Majesty, I heard that you are going to release those two people in prison today?"

This was the first time that someone openly questioned the emperor. Wen Chengyu perked up and looked at the people below.

It turned out to be Shen He, the son of General Shen, a man of loyal and brave family.

Although the Shen family is a large family, the only direct descendants left are Shen He and his elder sister Shen Chi, who is a general in the North City.

More than ten years ago, General Shen unfortunately died in battle in Beicheng, leaving behind an orphan and a widow.

The youngest son was weak and sickly, unable to practice martial arts, so he had to be entrusted to the Shen family relatives in the capital to raise him. His sister Shen Chi continued the family glory and joined the army of Uncle Zhan Wang to go on an expedition to the border.

I remember that when my mother mentioned the candidates for the main wife, the first one on the list was the legitimate daughter of the Shen family.

Although Shen Chi is different from the ladies in Beijing, she holds military power, has a good family tradition, and has a huge family influence behind her. She is indeed the only choice for the main wife.

Later, when he learned about this, he explicitly refused to marry the daughter of the Shen family as his concubine.

It's not that she dislikes her, but she feels that a heroine like Shen Chi shouldn't be confined in the harem and waste her entire life.

What's more, he is about to... There is no need to delay his arrival.

One guards the border, the other plans in the capital. Although the two bloodlines of the Shen family take different paths, they both inherited General Shen's unyielding spirit and would rather die than surrender.

Wen Chengyu collected his thoughts and said slowly, "What do you think, Minister Shen?"

It was normal words, but everyone in the court heard it as a threat.

He looked up and saw that half of the people in the court were silently looking at Shen He, but only a few were actually sighing for him.

These old foxes have been flattering my father for so long that their edges have been smoothed over. It is harder than climbing to the sky to ask them to speak the truth.

It was hard to find someone who dared to speak frankly, so Wen Chengyu naturally would not let him go.

Shen He was very smart, and he figured out whether His Majesty was really angry or just pretending, so he cupped his hands and said, "I dare not give any opinion, but I just don't understand."

This person understood his thoughts, and he was indeed the top think tank in Beijing. Wen Chengyu asked back, "What's the confusion?"

"Let's not talk about Lord Lu for now, let's just talk about Gong Bin who has already been imprisoned. The other students involved in the case have been summoned to the Dali Temple for questioning, but he has been imprisoned all the time. Is this unfair?"

As soon as these words were spoken, many people with hidden thoughts looked towards the emperor.

Although it has long been said that Gong Bin had no financial dealings with the examiner who accepted bribes, no one has seen definite evidence, so the truth and falsehood make people think that His Majesty is deliberately covering up for him.

In this way, even if Gong Bin became an official, he still had a handle that was not small, and could become a reason for being criticized at any time.

The others kept silent, not only because they didn't want to cause trouble, but there was also a high possibility that they wanted to save it for later.

Since he asked Qing'er to be an official, he must not leave any hidden dangers for her.

Only by bringing the issue to the surface can we silence the gossips.

"Except for Minister Shen, who else has doubts about this?" Wen Chengyu asked casually.

His Majesty's attitude did not seem to indicate that he was worried about Gong Bin. Instead, it made them feel even more uncertain.

Several adults who had wanted to join in the conversation with Shen He moved their feet back and looked at each other. No one was willing to take this step.

Wen Chengyu waved his hand and told Zhongshun to distribute the booklet he had prepared in advance. "Since none of you have anything to say, I will show you something."

The booklets were distributed to everyone.

It records the detailed process of the interrogation, including the unjust cases of students who were framed and imprisoned by guilty officials in recent years, and each case has his own written confession.

The three judges held a joint trial and the evidence was conclusive and there was no room for falsehood.

This time, Wen Chengyu made a big move and dismissed batches of people from the Censorate, Imperial College, Hanlin Academy, etc.

Everyone knew that His Majesty was ruthless in this game.

Unstable political situation means unstable national situation.

Since the founding of the Yuan Dynasty, no emperor dared to muddy the waters of the court all at once. Most of them only imposed minor punishments and severe warnings, for fear of shaking the foundation of the country.

Over time, this led to a situation in which officials in the Yuan Dynasty were connected with each other, and a seemingly insignificant case often affected the lives of many people.

Where there is bond, there is shelter.

Where there is protection, there is no justice.

Looking at the final list written in the book, the eyelids of several of them twitched, and they had a bad feeling.

Wen Chengyu glanced over and said coldly, "Do you want me to read out the names in public, or do you want to stand up and confess your crimes?"