bookcurios Chapter 104 Memorial
Chapter 104 Memorial
"Liao Chengyi, under the pretext of investigating a case in Mo City, was tyrannical and reckless, especially after the murderer surrendered, he still did not interrogate the suspect and continued to arrest people without reason, which eventually aroused the indignation of the people..."
"Everyone in Mo City is a suspect, everyone is a murderer..."
"Students were arrested for petitioning, teachers were still arrested for petitioning, and scholars..."
"Even the women who died in Yi Garden were said to have committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and their families were also punished..."
"And now even the prefect has asked to be imprisoned."
Such discussions spread everywhere, and the entire Changyang Street and the official road were alarmed. The patrolling garrisons and inspection officers all flocked to Mo City, and the people of the entire Mo City also petitioned outside Yiyuan Garden.
There was no sound of reading at the gate of Yiyuan any longer. Compared with the common people, the number of students and scholars was still too small, and their different voices were all drowned out.
"We, the Wei family, have always been kind and virtuous"
"Sir, to prove our innocence, we are going to examine and verify the body of the deceased."
At the front of the crowd, about 170 to 180 people were kneeling on the ground, young and old, men and women.
The gate of Yi Garden was closed and heavily guarded by a series of Beijing soldiers, so no one else was allowed to approach.
A young man jumped out and shouted, "No need to salvage. The water in Yi Garden's lake is brought in from the east and can be led out at the same time. It's all running water. I just need to open the gate and the corpse will emerge."
Someone recognized the person speaking as Mr. Chen and the young master of the Chen family.
"It's the young master of the Chen family."
"The Chen family is naturally not wrong."
“This is indeed a good idea.”
Then someone started to cheer and applauded. Chen Junhe immediately jumped up and said, "Come on, I know where the gate is. I'll take you there."
Xue and Liu Wenru, who were standing at the back of the crowd, looked slightly surprised.
"It turns out that the Chen family, who usually doesn't care about anything, has also taken action. Why? Aren't they always just watching the fun, no matter if it's someone else's misfortune or the government's fun. This time it's really unusual."
"Do you think he is helping Yingzi?"
Liu Wenru said, "I did help, but I don't know whether it was intentional or not."
"Well, anyway, I hurt Yingzi on purpose."
Liu Wenru smiled bitterly and said, "Let's not talk about this now. With our current plan, I'm afraid that neither you nor she can leave."
Looking at the people surrounding her in three layers, Xue pressed her forehead helplessly. She had been in a coma for two days last time before she woke up. She became like this after waking up. If she used violence to kill all the people in Yiyuan, it might not be a problem. The key point was that even with so many people, she might not be able to escape.
Thinking of this, she felt a little panicked and suspicious. Someone had stopped her on purpose that time. As a person with some skills, she certainly knew that someone had tampered with her, otherwise she wouldn't have slept for so long, just like how she treated Liang Jingtian. But what she was more worried about was who the person was who stopped her from doing this and whether he knew everything they did, and whether this person was still a friend.
When Xue thought of this, he felt somewhat uncertain. The water in Mo City was getting deeper and deeper.
The cheers and jeers from outside came in from the tightly closed door of Yiyuan Garden, and Liao Chengyi could hear them even from inside the door.
Gate, he didn't know that Yiyuan had such a gate. Was this true or false? At this moment his face was pale. A group of rioters, rioters, these were the rioters of Mo City.
"Lord Liao, things can't go on like this." Many officials from Changyang Street sat in the hall. Among them was an official in a red official robe. His expression was different from the other anxious officials. He had a look of disdain on his face and an arrogant tone. "It's just a few suspects. Let's release them first, and then explain everything. Then we can ask all the merchants to discuss and resume the strike. The officials of Mo City are trying to appease them."
Liao Chengyi said, "According to what you said, should we also release Nian Shilan next?"
Nian Shilan surrendered himself, and the people saw it with their own eyes. How could he let him go just because of the threats from outside? Now we have received threats, it is obviously because Lord Liao arrested people at random, otherwise it would not happen.... The garrison of Chengyang Street smiled bitterly, "Sir, we don't compare like this. If there is a civil riot, it will be a serious matter."
Liao Chengyi interrupted his narration, "This matter is already of great importance. I have already reported it to the court and asked the Ministry of War to come and quell the rebellion immediately."
Suppress the riot? Are they treating this place as a riot? The officials of Changyang Street were horrified. What should they do about this... this... this?
"Why not now see how the court arranges it?"
"Huh, I just don't believe that there are things in this small Mo City that even the imperial court cannot solve." When he said this, his hands were already tightly pressed on the armrest, and he didn't even notice that his nails, which he had been growing for so long, were broken... It's true that in this Mo City, everyone is a suspect.
In October of the first year of the Yongfeng reign of the Great Zhou Dynasty, urgent memorials poured into the capital from all over Changyang Street like snowflakes, bringing a chill to the late autumn. In the West Garden of the Imperial City, the scattered dead leaves fluttered like summer butterflies and were trampled under one person's hurried footsteps.
Several layers of thick official boots clattered past. Compared with other places, this place seemed a little cramped, but inside it was furnished with tall antique shelves, valuable embroidered screens, tables and chairs.
There was a tall figure behind the screen, and it was that voice that was speaking at this moment.
"Didn't Liao Chengyi go to Mo City with Zhang Zhe to investigate Lu Gongqing's case? How come the investigation caused such a bloody storm in the entire Mo City?"
The voice was slightly mellow and low, and then a person walked out from behind the screen. The originally cramped and dim room suddenly became brighter, probably because of the red wide-sleeved robe with python pattern he was wearing, or the red gold and glazed ring on his hand.
This man was strong and sturdy, with a dignified appearance. When he raised his hands and moved his feet, the glazed red gold would emit a stream of light. He took big steps and sat on a high chair not far away in just two or three steps.
All the officials in the hall bowed and kowtowed, "Hu Gongye."
Since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, although many dukes and marquises have been conferred titles, not everyone will be rewarded. Hu Haoran is a special one, because his title is not for his merits or because the current empress dowager is his cousin, but because he was conferred by the late emperor himself. Hu Gongye, his surname is Hu, and his name is Gongye. He is a member of the Mingdu Hu family. He entered the palace at the age of eight to accompany the late emperor to study.
When the late emperor was still the crown prince, he selected a concubine to accompany him in his studies. When he met her for the first time and heard her name, he made fun of her and said, "Gong Ye, Gong Ye, it seems you are born to be a king, a duke, or a general. So just become a duke."
The emperor's promise is as good as gold, and the late emperor was also very trustworthy. When he took on the important task, the first reward he gave was to fulfill his joke. Although some ministers in the court complained later, after some discussion, no one dared to say anything. At that time, Gongye, who was 17 or 18 years old, was the first person in the Great Zhou Dynasty and was praised by many people.
Hu Gongye later left the court and went to the border to join the army. He was skilled in martial arts and fought bravely for more than 20 years. He suppressed the rebellion of Daliang and protected the peace of the Zhou Dynasty. He made great military achievements and became a first-class general of the Zhou Dynasty. Many of his descendants were later made kings and prime ministers, but he was still a duke, which was unfair to him.
At this point, Hu Gongye, who was only a duke in name only, and whose actual power was enough to be crowned as a king, could only be envied by others.
The late emperor was proud of Hu Gongye. He was not lustful after he ascended the throne. He had only one empress and one concubine since he ascended the throne. The concubine was the cousin of Hu Gongye, who later became the current empress dowager, and the legitimate daughter of Liang Bogong.
The Duke of Liang was a family with great military achievements in the Zhou Dynasty. His ancestors were also good fighters who followed Taizu in the war. However, the only regret was that they had few descendants. In this generation, there was only one legitimate daughter, Liang Wanying, born to Hu Gongye's aunt. It was pitiful that the family was so scattered. Fortunately, her aunt was still alive, so she came to marry the Qin Liang family in the famous capital. She lived there for twenty years. When the late emperor selected concubines, she took the initiative to go to the mistress of the Qin family and said that she was willing to enter the palace as a concubine. In the end, this matter was also a matter of course.
After the late emperor, the late crown prince and the Duke of England all encountered accidents, it was because Hu Gongye was in charge of the court that some of the evil spirits in the court were curbed and those princes and nobles who were ready to make moves gave up the idea until the new emperor ascended the throne.
Of course, there were many rumors, and several other ministers of state in the court also had complaints. Hu Gongye then asked the empress dowager to issue an order prohibiting the children of the Hu family from serving as officials in the court, leaving only him in the court to show his innocence and integrity, thus declaring that the message was unreliable.
When the late emperor was in power, Hu Gongye only had eyes for the late emperor. Now, he only has eyes for the emperor and the empress dowager. He never disobeys the emperor's orders. Many people believe that if the late emperor issued an edict asking Hu Gongye to follow him to be buried with him, he would probably follow without blinking an eye and without hesitation.
Hu Gongye had been steadily fulfilling his duties as a regent, attending court diligently, working diligently on duty, and guarding the room. Perhaps because of the sufferings he had endured in battles for many years, he was at most a little extravagant in his food, clothing, housing and transportation.
The officials saluted. Hu Gongye hummed, raised his body slightly and said, "Tell me, what's going on?"
A tall, pale-faced official at the bottom hurriedly brought the prepared memorial and said, "Sir, all parties are here."
Hu Gongye nodded and reached out to look through the documents one by one. There was no sound in the room except for the sound of opening and closing memorials.
It seemed like a long time had passed and it seemed like just a moment. After Hu Gongye finished reading it, he said, "These are all decided by the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice. This is also the decision of the Minister of the Central Secretariat. Those who need to be consulted should be consulted, and those who need to be inquired should be inquired."
"You should ask for instructions from Lord Ji and Lord Lu." Ever since the former Crown Prince's tutor resigned, the position of Lord Wang Wenzhong has remained unfilled. It was as if everyone tacitly acknowledged that they knew nothing about this, and a strange balance had emerged in the court.
Hearing him say this, another official in the audience immediately stood up and saluted, saying, "Sir, what you said is true, but Lord Liao wants to ask for permission to mobilize the military to quell the rebellion, so he needs to ask you, my lord."
All the troops of the Great Zhou, whether they were the imperial guards or the camp troops, were controlled by Hu Gongye.
Hu Gongye nodded to show that he knew, but he flipped through some memorials again and said, "I didn't know about this matter. Have you read these memorials?"
Everyone nodded in response.
Hu Gongye said, "The murderer in Mocheng has been caught, but Liao Cheng said something that Zhang Zhe concluded that the real murderer is still at large, so is this a fuss over catching the real murderer?"
Everyone present spoke up one after another, "Zhang Zhe's autopsy method cannot be wrong, and the suspicious points are clearly listed in the memorial. It is said that the murderer's method is definitely not something that this scholar Nian Shilan can do, even if it is three, four or five bandits."
"With such a thorough assassination, there must be a lot of criminals. It is reasonable for Liao Neijian to launch a large-scale search. Of course, Mo City is trying to resist the threat by going on strike. Its intention is obvious."
"And Shang Zichun actually brought a group of students to openly cause trouble and provoke the imperial court..."
"Eunuch Liao did something wrong, but the matter is of different priorities. They didn't bring enough people with them this time, so it's understandable if they don't have time to interrogate him, right?"
"This farce was obviously manipulated by someone behind the scenes, and it was investigated strictly at the time."
Hu Gongye raised his hand to stop everyone's discussion, and just flipped through the memorial and said, "I will think about it again. You go and invite the Minister of Justice, Mr. Xie, to come."
Everyone bowed and left. Perhaps it was because the duty room was too luxurious and too small. After leaving, everyone slowly exhaled and stretched their bodies.
"This Mo City is too bold now."
"We must not condone this, otherwise the other four parties will follow suit. What should we do?"
Several people were talking in low voices. A few officials were walking towards them. When they saw them, they stopped and asked, "My lords, have you seen the document from the cabinet? It has just been delivered. Prime Minister Ji wants to see it."
An official here laughed and said, "What a coincidence! It has just been delivered to the Duke."
The official looked surprised when he heard this and said, "Zhongshu, it is usually sent to us. It should be reviewed by the Prime Minister and then reported to His Majesty for discussion."
The man said, "Okay, then you go find Hu Gongye." After that, he continued chatting and laughing with other officials and walked away.
The faces of the two officials who were laughing turned pale and blue. They were about to step forward when they heard footsteps behind them. They turned around and saw a thin man in his forties walking quickly towards them with his hands raised. This man was none other than Lord Xie, the Minister of Justice.
The two of them saluted hurriedly. He didn't look at anyone. The man, wearing a bright red official robe, walked straight past them and went away. After walking a distance, he came back and the two of them saluted again. "Brother Hua, Brother Shunce, what's the matter?"
The two men hurriedly saluted and said, "Thank you, sir." This man was the famous dung beetle. He was wearing a red official robe, which seemed to be unable to support his body and looked empty. His face was pale, but his eyes were always looking around, making him look a little uneasy. He did not look like an official, but more like an old storekeeper.
Yes, he was just a postman, and even though he was wearing a red robe now, it couldn't change his origin. The two officials always had this thought every time they saw him. They probably didn't know that just because they were thinking this way, the entire court would think so too.
The Minister of Justice, Lord Xie Ping, was not a close friend to them. Even though his background was not good, it did not change the fact that his official position was higher than the two of them.
"Why do you two look so sad? Is there anything we can help you with?" Xie Ping said with a smile. There was a hint of frivolity in his words, as if he had met an old acquaintance on the street.
Help? They hesitated for a moment and said, "Our memorial from the Secretariat has been sent to Lord Hu. I wonder if he has finished reading it?"
Xie Ping laughed, "So that's the case. I was just about to go see the master. It's okay, I'll ask for you." After saying that, he patted their shoulders and left with a smile.