After the cannon fodder father and daughter married into the family, the whole family regretted it

General An is a general guarding the northern border. He has guarded the border for ten years and has made great contributions. He is a general of the first rank.

General Behemoth has even more prestige and fame.

Such a person should not have anything to do with the Zhang family and a group of ordinary people.

But they are destined to be together.

Mr. Zhang had four sons in total. The eldest and second sons were conscripted and joined the army.

The eldest brother was more talented and clever, so he became General An's personal soldier. He blocked arrows for General An twice, and later, when he was old enough, he could retire and return home.

He also planned to return home to marry and have children, so General An invited him to drink and see him off.

But that time, General An was assassinated. Zhang Da hadn't even finished his drink when he blocked the knife for General An and lost his life.

He had no regrets before his death, except that he could not fulfill his filial duty to his father. General An was moved and felt guilty. One year when he returned to Beijing to report on his work, he made a special trip to the Zhang family and recognized Mr. Zhang as his adoptive father.

After that, the General's Mansion took good care of the Zhang family, at least allowing them to live like ordinary citizens and not be bullied.

As for Zhang Laoer, he climbed up step by step from a small soldier and is now a centurion, but he also relied on his ability to shoot an arrow through a hundred paces to get to General An's side.

General An values ​​him very much.

Although the Zhang family is an ordinary family, it is different with General An as their backer.

All the civil and military officials in the court were mobilized.

Originally, they thought that this kind of thing could be dealt with easily, and that once Fang Tong accepted the punishment and reconciled with the Zhang family, the matter would be over.

At most, Fang Tong was dismissed from his official position, but things are different now.

Are the Zhang family the kind of people who would do anything for money? Is General An so easily fooled?

Censor Zhou was sweating profusely, feeling it was really difficult.

After all, they are just his father's disciples and family members. There is no need for him to sacrifice his career for this.

The worst that could happen is that I get beaten up by my father afterwards...

He wavered.

The emperor's majestic eyes swept over the Jingzhao Yin: "Lord Cen, is this true? Isn't that copper in Huai'an Prefecture? When did it come to the capital?"

Ceng Gong sighed.

Yesterday, when he investigated the case in detail and discovered Fang Tong's identity, he knew he had taken on a hot potato.

Unexpectedly, the deceased was not a simple person either. This was not just a hot potato, it was a life-threatening one.

He felt that after working as the Jingzhao Yin for several years, it was time to find a way to change his position.

People in the capital were too good at causing trouble. He felt like he had aged quite a bit just cleaning up their messes.

No matter how much he complained in his heart, Ceng Gong remained serious and neither humble nor arrogant on the surface.

"Your Majesty, Lord Fang's carriage did accelerate inexplicably yesterday, and an elderly man died in front of the carriage. However, the specific cause of the incident is still under investigation. According to the coroner's autopsy, the deceased showed no signs of being struck by a collision, so the possibility of the carriage hitting someone can be ruled out."

Ceng Gong's words are very artistic.

He discussed the carriage's loss of control and the old man's death separately, and did not confuse them.

"Lord Cen, Grandpa Zhang is old and could die from fright. Isn't that also considered as harming people by Mr. Fang?" General An hated evil the most.

It is a clear rule that riding a horse is not allowed in the inner city. Mr. Fang was the one who rode the horse first, and thus indirectly caused someone's death. Isn't that also murder?

Ceng Gong glanced at him calmly and said, "General An, a case requires evidence. Whether Lord Fang rode his horse with malicious intent is still under investigation, so it's not right to jump to conclusions."

General An's eyes were red, he clenched his fists, but said nothing.

The emperor spoke up, "Since that's the case, Lord Cen, I give you three days to thoroughly investigate this case. Regardless of the outcome, it must be handled according to the law."

This means not to be partial and not to give Fang Tongwang any leniency.

"Yes." Ceng Gong agreed.

General An was also relieved.

All the officials looked at each other.

The major general is still fighting on the front lines. If he knew that his brother and sister-in-law were in prison and might be tortured, could he still fight with peace of mind?

Can the border still be stable?

Seeing that the court had become quiet again, Mr. Zhou clenched his sleeves and stepped out with forced composure.

"I wish to impeach General Meng's mansion for harboring evil intentions and plotting rebellion!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at him.

There's no need to rush to kick someone when they're down, right? The Fang Tong case hasn't been fully investigated, the Young General and the Emperor haven't had any rift, and General Meng isn't dead yet.

It's too early to do this now.

Lord Zhou ignored the gazes of his colleagues and continued, "General Meng's steward abused his power, gathering beggars and giving them land to settle down. He nominally claimed the land was donated, but in reality, he was buying people's hearts. His intentions are ill-intentioned, Your Majesty."

Everyone was stunned.

Isn’t it a good deed to donate land and settle refugees?

Is this impeachment or a show of merit?

The emperor frowned and said, "Master Zhou, please don't make a fuss. The Meng family is doing good deeds and praying for General Meng's well-being."

Lord Zhou knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, that's not the case. In just the past two weeks, General Meng's Mansion has collected five hundred beggars near the capital. Although General Meng's Mansion has registered these beggars, they may be trying to keep them as hidden households."

As he spoke, he took out a list from his sleeve.

After receiving the signal, the eunuch beside the emperor hurriedly took it and presented it to the emperor.

The emperor slowly flipped through the booklet.

The ministers below were winking at each other. What were they doing?

What's this about raising hidden households? That's nonsense.

Most of the aristocratic families among them have hidden households, which means they are oppressed and not registered, and they are not even considered human beings.

This makes it easier to manage them, allowing them to eat less than chickens and work more than donkeys.

Who would be so stupid as to register a hidden household? They still have to pay the head tax.

wrong!

Prince Ning just said that he has already settled all the older beggars in the capital and registered their household registration.

Where did General Meng’s Mansion collect beggars from?

Prince Ning also understood that this was not an impeachment of General Meng's Mansion, but was directed at him.

He cursed inwardly and stood up, saying, "I believe that Lord Zhou is slandering General Meng. The beggar incident is probably a fabrication, and the list cannot be taken seriously."

Lord Zhou lowered his head and said nothing.

Whether it is true or false, the emperor is not stupid, the civil and military officials in the court are not stupid, and the people who want to bring down Prince Ning are not stupid either.

He just needs to get the stuff out and muddy the water.

The muddier the water is, the less attention Fang Tong and his team will receive.

Alas, there was nothing he could do. His father had written to him several times, asking him to take care of Fang Tong and his wife. He couldn't be unfilial.

The anger on the emperor's face grew more and more intense. Finally, he slammed the list shut and glanced coldly at Prince Ning.

"Where is the Minister of Justice?"

The latter was busy getting out of the queue.

"The minister is here."

"I order you to thoroughly investigate this matter and find out where our Prince Ning has arranged his people."

"Yes!" The Minister of Justice responded.

However, he also felt like he was being roasted on the fire.

Prince Ning, he's always been favored. How could the Meng family do good deeds, and yet, it had to involve this person.

He and Ceng Gong looked at each other, and they felt sympathy for each other, feeling that they were in the same boat.

The morning court session ended just like that.

When everyone walked out of the hall, they breathed a sigh of relief and felt their backs were soaked.

Lord Wang was helped out by others.

I was really scolded continuously and my hands and feet were weak with anger, but I couldn't lose face and I would never let anyone carry me out.

Apart from him, Lord Zhou also came out alone, and no colleagues were willing to talk to him.

They admired this person who stirred up a hornet's nest, but kept their distance from him.

It was the second prince who stopped the man.

"Master Zhou, where did you get that list? Is it possible to guarantee its authenticity?"

He asked straight to the point.

Ever since Prince Ning took on the task, the princes have been sending spies to keep an eye on him.

The original intention was to cause him some trouble, but it was resolved and several people were killed.

During this process, they didn't notice anything wrong.

Lord Zhou smiled bitterly: "I don't know the origin of the list, but I did send people to secretly check a few people, and their identities are not wrong."

The Second Prince stroked his chin. "Oh? Lord Zhou, do you know how Qingyao dealt with the beggars? Where did the people he registered come from?"

Lord Zhou's smile became even more bitter: "Your Highness, I am only the Imperial Censor, not a senior official from the Ministry of Justice, so I really don't know."

The second prince looked at him for a while and suddenly grinned.

"Master Zhou, are you here to help that Fang Tong today, or are you boarding the Meng family's ship?"

Fang Tongdu has been thoroughly investigated, so his relationship with the Zhou family is naturally no secret.

Unexpectedly, Lord Zhou immediately spoke righteously and uprightly: "I am the emperor's minister, and I am on the same boat with the court."

He was not familiar with Fang Tong or General Meng.

The second prince sneered and turned away.

I think he is boring and hypocritical.

Lord Zhou did not dare to relax. He hurried out of the palace and got on the carriage before he breathed a sigh of relief.

The Zhou family can't get that list, but the Meng family can.

After Butler Zhou returned yesterday, he found a way to contact the Meng family. The two parties tacitly agreed to temporarily join forces to save Fang Tong.

He also sent someone to deliver the ear of corn, but he didn't know if it was useful.

It turns out that it is very useful.

Not long after the emperor arrived at the imperial study, a eunuch came to invite someone.

"Princess Mingzhu has arrived at the palace and is currently staying with the Empress Dowager. I'd like to invite you to come over and have lunch with us."

Princess Mingzhu is the emperor's aunt.

The first daughter of the late emperor was very favored, as evidenced by her title Mingzhu.

When the emperor first ascended the throne, his subordinates were dishonest, and it was thanks to this aunt that he received help.

In order to help him stabilize the court, Princess Mingzhu recruited the then prime minister as her son-in-law. The prime minister had a great influence in the court, and he was more optimistic about Prince Ning.

I think Prince Ning is young and easy to control.

This crisis was resolved by Princess Mingzhu herself.

Later, after he regained power, Princess Mingzhu gave him the prime minister's leverage, allowing him to completely overthrow the prime minister.

The Prime Minister died, and Princess Mingzhu remains a widow ever since.

If we say that the emperor respected the empress dowager and had some real feelings for his aunt, he also felt guilty.

Cining Palace.

Princess Mingzhu came with her daughter, Princess Yiyang.

The princess was cute and well-behaved, with a sweet mouth. I don't know what she said, but it made the Queen Mother and the eldest princess laugh continuously.

"Yiyang is really smart. He has only been in Cining Palace for a short while, but he has already made the Queen Mother so happy. It seems that my aunt will have to let Yiyang into the palace more often in the future."

The emperor strolled in, laughing and joking.

Princess Mingzhu and Princess Yiyang hurriedly stood up and saluted.

The emperor asked them to stand up.

We are a family, so why should we be so polite? But that's how my aunt is, she always treats him with courtesy.

"Your Majesty, please don't praise her. This child is prone to taking advantage of others and becoming arrogant." Princess Mingzhu said with a smile.

"Mother!" Prince Yiyang stomped his feet, looking very coquettish.

"Don't say that about Yiyang. I think this child is fine." The Queen Mother looked kind and pulled her over.

"Yiyang, just come to the palace and keep me company whenever you have time. You don't have to come all the time. Otherwise, I'm afraid the county magistrate will get jealous."

Princess Yiyang's face turned even redder. She was teased by her elders one after another and was too embarrassed to speak.

Princess Mingzhu looked at her daughter and couldn't help but sigh.

"Silly child, why are you shy? The Queen Mother loves you. It would be better if you and the County Master had a child sooner."

The young couple loves and lives in harmony, and the weight never leaves the scale.

Her son-in-law did not seek fame or wealth. He took the princess out to play every day to make her happy.

Princess Mingzhu was very satisfied with this and did not think that he did not strive for advancement. If he wanted to advance, why would he become a county horse? Most people who entered the imperial examination were upright.

Being a county magistrate means being honorable but without real power.

This kid just happens to have no big ambitions, and he's a good match for her daughter.

Even after three years of marriage, they still had no children, and Princess Mingzhu couldn't help but worry.

"Yiyang doesn't need to worry. Matters concerning children depend on fate. In my opinion, Yiyang's blessing is still to come." The Queen Mother comforted.

After they chatted about family matters for a while, Princess Mingzhu found an excuse to send her daughter out to appreciate the flowers.

She then talked about serious matters.

"Royal brother, I heard that the Ninth Rank Walking Agricultural Minister you specially appointed has caused a big incident in the capital?"

The emperor waved his folding fan.

"It's not that big. Fang Tong is a henpecked man. He just accompanied his wife to the capital to participate in the dim sum competition."

That’s right, he knew that Fang Tong came to Beijing, but he pretended to be ignorant in the court.

With so many people in the capital keeping an eye on Fang Tong, there was no reason for the emperor not to know about it.

"Madam Qian, I heard that the cheese rice cakes she made are delicious. Xiao Ba has been talking about it for a long time." Princess Mingzhu said.

Xiao Ba, I’m talking about the Eighth Prince.

"I have heard about it. It was Xiao Ba who just told me that they had invited Old Xing to come to the palace to make osmanthus cakes. She also recommended a chef from a cake shop, saying that the pastries she made were novel." The Queen Mother also spoke.

She raised three children, only one of whom was her biological child.

But when it comes to thoughtfulness, Xiao Ba is still the best.

"Mother, Xiao Ba is filial to you, so you should just respond to him. Anyway, he doesn't work properly, so it's good for him to be more filial to you." The emperor said.

"You, you." The Queen Mother said helplessly: "Don't say that about Xiao Ba. You are the older brother. There is nothing wrong with Xiao Ba. Just be more tolerant."

"Yes, mother." The emperor agreed readily.

Princess Mingzhu watched with a smile.

No matter who saw this scene, the royal family was in great joy.

If Prince Ning's power had not grown day by day, Princess Mingzhu would have believed it.

After lunch, Princess Mingzhu took her daughter out of the palace.

She didn't specifically plead with Fang Tong. Given her status, just mentioning it was enough.

She had repaid the favor of the old doctor Zhou.

As long as Fang Tong is truly innocent, the emperor will release her for her sake.

Princess Yiyang snuggled up to her and said, "Mother, why are you unhappy?"