Princess Promotion

When the empress first ascended the throne, she started to kill many corrupt officials. Li Jinglong and his men later found out that the empress killed so many ministers not to eliminate her own party members, but to kill corrupt officials.

As long as you are not a corrupt official and have not violated the law, you will not be killed even if the Emperor of Qi supports the party.

Killing corrupt officials in all dynasties, even if the means were cruel, could not be considered a stain.

But it was he who advised the Zhou Emperor that the empress was a tyrant and had committed many murders, which would surely make life miserable for the people of Qi.

If people knew that the empress was not as rumored, the Zhou Emperor would have sent troops to attack Qi. He would then have contradicted himself by saying that what he had said before was all a rumor.

It is said that the empress was actually quite wise, so wouldn't he be held accountable by Emperor Zhou?

Li Jinglong had to suppress the news so that everyone in the Western Zhou Dynasty would think that the empress had been murdered.

That's why Li Jinglong was so sure that the empress hated corrupt officials. The reason why the empress didn't clean up the Western Zhou was definitely to reassure people's hearts. If she started shouting for war and killing right away, even if the people she executed were corrupt officials.

How many people in the world believe that you are really executing corrupt officials rather than taking the opportunity to eliminate dissidents?

The second reason is that the empress did not understand the officials of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and it was not easy to find the corrupt officials because they had words carved on their faces.

“But how can we find such evidence?” someone asked.

"You must have all heard about the tragic massacre of Mengchangjun's family, right?" Li Jinglong suddenly changed the subject.

The old ministers looked at each other and nodded.

"That was exactly what the thief Xiao did to cover up his crimes," Li Jinglong continued. "Fortunately, Mengchangjun's only son, Meng Fan, managed to escape alive."

As he spoke, a thin figure was brought into the room. It was Meng Fan, his eyes filled with fear and indomitable spirit.

"Meng Fan, tell us the truth and let everyone know about Xiao's crimes." Li Jinglong encouraged.

Meng Fan's voice trembled as he began to describe the horrific scene he had witnessed and how the thief Xiao was willing to kill people to silence them for the sake of profit.

As Meng Fan spoke, the flames of hope gradually ignited in the eyes of the old ministers.

They realized that with Meng Fan as a key witness, they had a chance to bring down Xiao Ze.

Li Jinglong looked at everyone and already had a plan in mind.

As the dawn began to break, a faint pale fish belly white appeared on the horizon. Fu Hongxuan stood in front of the bronze mirror, holding the brand new Qi military general's court robes in his hands.

This set is brightly colored, with dark blue as the main color and embroidered with golden cloud and dragon patterns. Fu Hongxuan's fingers gently stroked the delicate fabric, but his heart was filled with waves.

A surrendered general of the Western Zhou Dynasty now had to wear the court robes of the enemy country and stand in the court of the enemy country, which made Fu Hongxuan feel both unfamiliar and heavy.

Fu Hongxuan took a deep breath and slowly put on his court robes. Every button seemed to carry a heavy burden.

After leaving the mansion, Fu Hongxuan set out on the road to the palace.

The people on both sides of the street cast strange looks at him, some with curiosity, some with contempt, and some with indifference.

Fu Hongxuan tried his best to maintain a calm pace, but he felt mixed emotions inside.

Arriving at the palace, Fu Hongxuan walked through the long corridor, thinking that the civil and military officials in the court would look at him, either openly or secretly.

As a result, Fu Hongxuan found that he was overthinking it, and few of the old ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty paid attention to him.

Instead, they were all staring at an old official from Qi State, and might not even have noticed him?

The eunuch's voice echoed in the hall: "If there is anything, report it. If not, dismiss the court."

After this familiar opening remark, the silence broke and officials continued to report one after another.

It’s not like Fu Hongxuan had not attended court before, but when the ministers reported on things, they would first quote from classics and talk for a long time before getting to the point.

Why are they coming up one by one and starting to speak now? If no one had come before to report to His Majesty, he would have thought that this was just a vegetable stall on a busy street.

At this moment, an old minister, wearing a faded brocade robe, walked out of the queue with a unsteady gait.

His face was pale, beads of sweat oozed from his forehead. He was obviously extremely nervous and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Yao Chuguang sat upright on the dragon throne and said, "Speak."

The old minister took a deep breath, as if gathering his courage, and then began to denounce Lord Xiao: "Your Majesty, Xiao Cheng'en abuses his power to bully others, disregarding the suffering of the people. He has wantonly plundered the people's wealth, causing widespread resentment among the people and making their lives miserable!"

Elder Xiao stood aside, his expression unchanged, but the cold light in his eyes revealed his anger.

When Fu Hongxuan heard this, he felt that the place was inexplicably familiar.

Xiao Ge Lao immediately retorted, "Your Majesty, this is nonsense. I have always been honest and upright, and I have never dared to overstep the line. This person's words are clearly a false accusation against a loyal and honest person. I hope Your Majesty will understand!"

The old minister refused to back down and continued, pointing at Elder Xiao, saying, "Your Majesty, Xiao Cheng'en is not only corrupt, but he also abuses his power to suppress dissidents. His subordinates are even more tyrannical, seizing people's land and oppressing the people. I have seen all this with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears!"

Fu Hongxuan stood aside and listened for a long time before he realized that the official was actually talking about An Tian's large-scale purchase of grain and grass a while ago, and using spices as collateral for silver.

It seems that these merchants have reacted and realized that they have been cheated.

It was obvious that An Tian had planned this for a long time. The contract was signed the moment before, and the next moment someone came with spices and took away the food.

But because the spices given by An Tian were genuine, the merchants could not figure out what kind of trap it was.

When they got the spices and were ready to find someone to take over or sell them, they discovered that a large amount of spices suddenly appeared on the market.

The price of this spice plummeted, even lower than grain. After all, grain could be sold to the poor at a low price in small quantities to make some profit.

But this spice was originally supplied to wealthy families. Now it is everywhere on the streets and no one is stupid. Why would anyone spend a huge amount of money to buy it?

The reason why wealthy people pursue these spices is because of their scarcity. Who would spend money to buy something that is everywhere?

If the poor have this money, who wouldn't buy food and these things?

Elder Xiao sneered and responded, "Your Majesty, everything this man said is groundless and without any basis. I have always been conscientious and diligent in fulfilling my duties. How can I accuse him of suppressing dissidents? As for the seizure of civilian land, it is completely false. I am willing to confront him and set the record straight!"

For a moment, the hall was filled with fierce quarrels.

The old ministers came out to support the colleague who spoke, while the supporters of Lord Xiao vigorously defended him.

Fu Hongxuan looked at Lord Xiao, whose expression looked even more aggrieved than Dou E's, and felt that he might really be completely unaware of the situation.

Because the mastermind was sitting in the middle watching them fight each other. He had seen these civil officials look so powerless before.

No matter how he cursed, his momentum was no less than that of the soldiers on the battlefield. Fu Hongxuan silently took two steps back.

Fortunately, he was wearing a mask all the way and no one saw his true face.

If he were to come, he really wouldn't be able to win an argument with this group of literati.

Lord Xiao is worthy of being a veteran of three dynasties. He fought against ten of the old ministers alone and exchanged insults with them without being at a disadvantage at all.

Just as the two sides were arguing, a heavy drumbeat came from a distance, breaking the tense atmosphere.

When the heavy drumbeats of the Dengwen Drum penetrated the palace walls and reached the Golden Throne Hall, the originally tense atmosphere suddenly froze.

Li Jinglong stood among his ministers and said, "Your Majesty, the sound of the drum must mean that the people have suffered a great injustice. I hope Your Majesty will be able to see through this and eliminate this harm for the people."

Other old ministers also responded.

"Your Majesty, this is an unusual incident. There must be deep public resentment behind it. We must immediately investigate the truth and bring justice to the people."

"Yes, Your Majesty, we cannot sit idly by and let the people suffer."

Fu Hongxuan saw Yao Chuguang sitting on the dragon throne with a serious expression on his face. "My dear ministers, you are absolutely right. When the drum sounds, I will naturally conduct the trial myself. Eunuch, quickly bring the person who beat the drum. I want to hear his grievances."

Fu Hongxuan looked at Elder Xiao, whose hair was already gray and who looked old enough to be his grandfather. He was already exhausted and out of breath.

I think Yao Chuguang is so immoral for cheating an old man like this.

The old ministers exchanged glances with each other. They knew that the next situation would be extremely favorable to them.

At this decisive moment, the unity and determination of the old ministers reached an unprecedented level.

When Lord Xiao saw the unity of these traitors of the Western Zhou Dynasty, he was almost irritated to death.

What a shameless and despicable bunch of people who used such despicable means to frame him.

Soon, a ragged young man was brought into the hall, his eyes full of despair and anger.

He knelt in the hall and said in a choked voice, "Your Majesty, I am Meng Fan, the only son of Lord Mengchang. Elder Xiao stole my family's business, and my father, unwilling to be associated with him, even murdered my entire family."

"I have escaped with my life, but I have nowhere to appeal. All I can do is beat the drum and ask Your Majesty to help me!"

Yao Chuguang's expression instantly turned serious. She looked at Elder Xiao and spoke with unquestionable authority, "Elder Xiao, how do you explain this?"

Xiao Ge Lao's face turned pale as he said, "Your Majesty, this must be a false accusation against me. I have never met the merchant Mengchangjun, and it is impossible for me to issue any order to harm his family."

Meng Fan knelt on the ground, his body trembling slightly with excitement. "Your Majesty, every word I said is true. That day, I was hiding in a corner of my house and heard An Tian, one of Lord Xiao's subordinates, talking to someone outside the door. She said that she was under Lord Xiao's instructions to eliminate my family. This is the result of disobeying the Xiao family."

Yao Chuguang's eyes swept back and forth between Meng Fan and Elder Xiao, as if weighing the authenticity of both sides.

Yao Chuguang asked in a deep voice, "Meng Fan, do you have any evidence to prove what you said?"

Meng Fan raised his head, his eyes filled with grief and indignation. "Your Majesty, my family is destroyed, and the only evidence is my life and everything I have heard. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can summon An Tian to confront me."

Yao Chuguang nodded slightly, then ordered the eunuch: "Go and bring An Tian here immediately. I want to interrogate him personally."

Soon a woman was brought up. Her long hair fell like a waterfall, black and shiny, swaying gently with her steps, emitting a faint floral fragrance.

She was wearing a light blue long dress with exquisite patterns embroidered on the hem. As she walked, the skirt swayed like ripples on the water, beautiful and charming.

The ministers' attention was involuntarily attracted to An Tian.

"How could it be a woman?" a minister exclaimed in a low voice.

An Tian stood in the center of the court, facing everyone's gaze, she was not at all nervous.

An Tian naturally denied any connection to Mengchangjun's case: "Your Majesty, I have never been involved in any illegal activities. Mengchangjun's death has nothing to do with me."

When Fu Hongxuan saw An Tian coming to the hall, he opened his eyes intentionally.

At this time, Fu Hongxuan had to admire the acting skills of these two women. It looked like he was seeing them for the first time.

As one of the only three people holding the book of truth present, Fu Hongxuan suddenly felt like he was the only one sober while everyone else was drunk.

Xiao Ge Lao stood aside and said, "Your Majesty, I have never met this woman, let alone the so-called instructions. This matter must have been framed by someone with the intention of disrupting the government."

Meng Fan was furious when he heard this. He pointed at Elder Xiao and An Tian, his voice filled with grief and indignation, "Your Majesty, they are trying to defend themselves! I heard it with my own ears, how could it be false? They killed innocent people to cover up their crimes, and now they are pretending to be innocent!"

Yao Chuguang's eyes darted between the three of them. Her voice was calm but powerful. "This matter is fraught with doubts, and we cannot hastily reach a conclusion. Since both parties are at loggerheads, I have decided to imprison An Tian and Meng Fan first, and will deal with them after the truth is revealed. At the same time, each party will nominate a presiding judge and an investigating officer to thoroughly investigate this case."

Upon hearing this, Li Jinglong immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to serve as the presiding judge of this case. I will be impartial and impartial and will investigate the truth."

The head of the Liu family also stepped forward, his tone revealing an unquestionable authority: "Your Majesty, I recommend Yu Zhijian to investigate this case. He is upright and rigorous, and he will definitely get to the bottom of it."

Yao Chuguang nodded slightly and spoke slowly, "Since both parties have no objection, Li Jinglong will serve as the presiding judge, and Yu Zhijian will be in charge of the investigation. I hope you will enforce the law impartially and give me a satisfactory answer as soon as possible."

Li Jinglong and the head of the Liu family responded in unison, and the atmosphere in the hall eased slightly, but everyone knew that the struggle had just begun.

Yao Chuguang continued, "This case concerns the laws of the country and the integrity of government. I do not want to see any favoritism or corruption. If anyone is found, they will be severely punished."

Following Yao Chuguang's order, An Tian and Meng Fan were taken away and imprisoned, and the crowd in the hall began to disperse.

After the court session, Li Yi received the news and rushed to the general's mansion.

When he saw Fu Hongxuan, he immediately stepped forward anxiously and said, "General, what should we do? Manager An has been arrested!"

Fu Hongxuan nodded silently, even though he knew that all this was a setup by Yao Chuguang.

There are some things he still can't figure out, what exactly is Yao Chuguang trying to achieve.

The purpose was to provoke a fight between the old ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the old ministers of the Qi State. As long as the fight between them continued, Yao Chuguang would be able to control the outcome by standing on whichever side.

In order to avoid losing, both sides will desperately try to get Yao Chuguang to stand on their side.

If this is the case, then An Tian, the chess piece, will be abandoned. Only if An Tian dies will everything seem perfect.