Chapter 16 Empress: How do you explain this?
The empress will not go to court today.
The location for the confrontation was chosen in a side hall.
When Zhao Duan and Zhang Changshuo followed the leading palace man, passed through the classical buildings with brackets and cornices, and arrived at their destination, they saw palace attendants standing with hands tied outside the door.
The palace door is open.
There were already two figures standing inside, one on the left and one on the right, facing each other, like two distinct rivers.
The person on the left is wearing a black Feiyu suit. He is thin and tall. The joints of the hands hanging on the waist are thick and slightly red. Perhaps they have thick calluses from holding the knife all the time.
The slender face is stern and beardless, and he is concentrating with his eyes closed.
On the slightly protruding brow bone, two slightly gray eyebrows grow diagonally, giving the person an irritable and irritable temperament.
The person on the right is the complete opposite.
He is about forty or fifty years old, wearing an indigo official robe, a black veil on his head, and a goat's beard. He holds his head high and his chest high, looking righteous.
Typical clear-cut manner and sharp eyes.
"Ma Yan, Lu Liang!"
Zhao Duan immediately guessed their identities.
The original owner had met Ma Yan, and in his remaining memory, he was quite afraid of the eunuch in charge of the imperial office.
Rumor has it that this man was a member of the royal family's internal guard. He was originally loyal to the late emperor and later followed the prince. During the "Xuanmen Coup", Ma Yan fought to the death with the rebels.
Outstanding performance.
After the empress succeeded to the throne, she took over the subordinates of the old emperor and the prince. Ma Yan was reused and promoted to the governor of "Zhao Ya".
Similar to the role of the commander of the Jin Yiwei.
Responsible for supervising hundreds of officials, and also the main force in arresting traitors, she is a sharp knife in the hands of the empress.
Nicknamed "The King of Hell with White Eyebrows", he is said to be moody, and the original owner keeps him at a distance, and the two sides don't have many interactions.
Zhao Duan couldn't help complaining, saying that the original owner was a coward, but in the end he dared to take credit from others, which can only be said to be addicted to food.
As for the censor named "Lu Liang", he was completely unfamiliar.
All I know is that he is from the Xiangguo faction and the main force behind his impeachment.
"Both envoys, please wait here for a moment. We will inform your Majesty immediately."
The palace leader who led the way said nothing, turned around and left.
at the same time.
The two people in the hall also turned their heads and looked over.
"The Governor arrived early. I'm really ashamed that I came a little late."
Zhao Duan was the first to speak, and he cupped his hands towards the "White-browed King of Hell" with a look of shame on his face:
"I have offended many people before for going against the Party. I wanted to apologize in person, but in the past two days, I have been in the spotlight, but I didn't find it." Chance."
Ma Yan, who was wearing a Feiyu official robe and had a stern expression, looked at Zhao Duan's familiar appearance, and his eyes couldn't help but look strange.
He had imagined the scene where the two sides would meet today.
Based on old impressions, Ma Yan thought that Zhao Duan would roar angrily at him, or cower and beg.
After all, the reason for this impeachment was that the imperial edict accused him of exceeding his authority, arresting people, and leaking information against the party.
Zhao Duan had reason to hate him.
But the scene in front of him was far beyond expectations:
There was no anger, no begging, but something like a calm and gentle exchange between courtiers.
Is this still the pretty boy from legend?
"You must be polite. We are officials in the same dynasty, so it is normal for us to have friction with each other."
Ma Yan spoke calmly, paused, and added: "Your Majesty asked today, and I will report truthfully."
There are two implicit meanings in this sentence:
First, I am not targeting you intentionally, but I am discussing the matter as it is. I am not the main force behind your impeachment.
Second, although you are very polite, don't expect me to cover for you. I will tell you whatever your Majesty asks.
Zhao Duan said seriously: "It should be so!"
As he spoke, he breathed a sigh of relief... In this inquiry, Ma Yan's attitude was crucial.
Unlike Lu Liang, who represented the power of civil servants, Zhaoya was the knife in the hands of the empress. If divided by camp, both Zhao Duan and Zhao Duan belonged to the empress's faction.
And there was no grudge in the past.
In other words, the imperial edict to impeach him was purely to shirk the blame and prove to the empress that it was not our fault for being a traitor to the party.
Perhaps he was also a little annoyed that Zhao Duan had interfered and lost the credit.
But in the follow-up investigation, Ma Yan will definitely know about the arrival of the magician in the bamboo forest.
Although he did not have complete information, he may not have realized that Zhuang Xiaocheng was fishing.
But more or less, I will be happy——
If one of his own people went to arrest him, he would probably miss it.
When the time comes, he will have to bear the blame.
From this perspective, the resentment towards Zhao Duan will naturally fade a lot:
Who would resent a colleague who took the blame for themselves?
After thinking about this, Zhao Duan understood that his main enemy was Yan Guan, who represented the civil servant group.
And through the testing just now, this has been basically confirmed.
"Ahem," at this time, the censor Lu Liang, who was standing on the other side of the side hall and felt that he was being ignored, said coldly:
"I will report the truth to your majesty, and I will not let your majesty be raped by an adulterer." Blinded by false faces!”
Who the hell are you calling the traitor? He is clearly a lackey... no, a licking dog... Zhao Duan is one of those who has a clear positioning of the original owner...
His face was expressionless, standing on Ma Yan's side.
He stood with his hands up and looked at the sky, as if he was indifferent. "..." Lu Liang was so angry that his goatee trembled.
As a scholar, he couldn't stand this kind of naked neglect and differential treatment.
Seeing this, Zhang Changshuo took the initiative to say hello, which made Lu Yushi's demeanor relax.
The two stood opposite each other, and for a while both sides waited in silence.
…
About a quarter of an hour later, footsteps were finally heard outside the palace, and the palace attendants all bowed and saluted:
"See your majesty!"
Xu Zhenguan's figure appeared in front of Zhao Duan again.
Two days later, the empress has not changed. She is still dressed in white and spotless clothes, with her black hair fixed with a jade hairpin.
Her plain white and beautiful face is breathtaking, and her pair of majestic eyes make people dare not look into her eyes.
In a daze, it was almost impossible to tell whether the person coming was a king who ruled a country or a fairy who came from the cold world.
"Wei minister, please see Your Majesty!"
Zhao Duan and others bowed and saluted. Xu Zhenguan walked through the crowd without squinting and sat down on the golden dragon chair on the high platform of the hall.
Only then did the cool voice sound like a clear spring, tinkling:
"Get up."
"promise."
When everyone stood up, Xu Zhenguan glanced at everyone. After seeing Zhao Duan and Ma Yan standing together, he paused for a moment, seemingly surprised.
But he didn't stay too long, and went straight to the point: "I've summoned you to come here today. There is no need to elaborate on what I am doing. Ma Yan, you can tell me first."
"Yes," Ma Yan came out. This stern and stern eunuch, who was as docile as a cat in front of the empress, lowered his head and said:
"I report that Zhao Duan, the envoy of the White Horse Prison, overstepped his authority without authorization, disrupted my plans, and frightened away the traitor Zhuang Xiaocheng..."
Then, he described the matter exactly as it was.
Including how he hurriedly hunted after learning the news, and how he was blocked and delayed due to the "day ban"...
Xu Zhenguan already knew this. He just went through the process and looked at the censor after he finished speaking:
"Lu Liang, please tell me."
Lu Yushi, who had been holding back his anger, was shaken up, like a screaming chicken on a clockwork.
Immediately he gushed excitedly:
"Your Majesty, I report that Zhao Duan has colluded with the rebels... and he has committed many evil acts in the capital over the past year. He is actually deliberately trying to ruin your Majesty's reputation... This is an unforgivable crime!"
Yan Guan is indeed a big troll. He has a strong desire to express himself and spits out all the crimes he has prepared.
In his description, Zhao Duan is simply a villain who can be punished by everyone. He harbors evil intentions and has long-planned plans. He is a spy placed beside the empress against the party...
Big hats are thrown out one after another, and the central idea is:
If we don’t kill such evil beasts, the people will not be angry, but if we don’t kill them, the country will be in danger!
Zhao Duan was excited and filled with indignation.
I feel that if Lu Liang's speech was made into a video and posted on the Internet, Zhao Duan would have his house confiscated and his family exterminated by the Weibo judges in minutes...
Xu Zhenguan waited for him to finish spraying, looked at Zhang Changshuo calmly, and said calmly:
"Why are you here?"
Zhang Changshuo, who had been holding back for a long time, strode out with a righteous look on his face, and bowed deeply to the empress first.
When he caught a glimpse of the latter's face and the outline of his figure hidden under the white clothes, a trace of greed flashed in his eyes, but he quickly restrained himself and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I want to impeach Zhao Duan for accepting bribes and interfering with the judiciary of the Ministry of Justice. Get off the hook!"
Everyone was surprised.
Even the empress frowned and said:
"What's the evidence?"
This was a new crime she didn't know about.
Zhang Changshuo immediately took out the scroll from his sleeve, handed it to the female official next to him, and said loudly: "This is the scene of Zhao Duan's private meeting with Ning'an County. Yesterday, he even went to the Ministry of Punishment to negotiate the matter. Your Majesty only needs Order someone to go to the Ministry of Punishment and ask, and you will know whether it is true or not!”
Xu Zhenguan slipped his bare hands out of his sleeves, took the scroll and unfolded it. Suddenly, images like water waves rippled on the scroll, accompanied by the voice in the painting:
"In the capital, you have to follow the rules. You can get the deposit easily, but the person still refuses to save you..."
"Don't forget, I also have evidence that you took advantage..."
"Your Majesty...are you okay?"
"Don't worry, I have been chasing the rebels these past few days and have no time to worry about him. Now that I have my hands free, I will handle what you said."
Then there was the sound of the private room door breaking and screams.
"Ugh...you dare...you dare to hit Xungui?!"
"How dare a run-down county in a remote area dare to challenge me?"
…
There was silence in the side hall.
Only in the picture scroll, the conversation between Zhao Duan and Wang Xian that day can be clearly heard.
During this period, the expressions of Ma Yan and Lu Liang changed to varying degrees.
The former is surprise and contempt, the latter is excitement and excitement.
As for Zhang Changshuo, he had already looked at his "love rival" standing opposite with his head bowed, with a confident smile on his face.
Finally, the light in the scroll disappeared.
Xu Zhenguan, the Empress of Dayu, raised her head calmly and threw the scroll directly at Zhao Duan's feet. There was no expression on the empress's face:
"How do you explain this?"
(End of chapter)