Daqian Night Emperor

Chapter 75 This is a step for me
The person named was Qin Desheng, the Minister of Personnel among the six ministries.

Among the six ministries of the Daqian period, the Ministry of Personnel had the highest status. It was in charge of the system of selecting and ranking officials, the method of examination and promotion and demotion, the system of granting titles and rewards, and the method of finalizing the household registration system.

The Minister of Personnel is also known as the "Tianguan".

Among the civil officials in the court, it can be said that Qin Desheng was the official with the highest status except for the left and right prime ministers.

But after the Left Prime Minister Wu Yong called Qin Tianguan's name, Qin Tianguan was hesitant and dared not respond.

Who in the court didn't know that Zhang Hanqing, the governor of Jingzhou, was the favorite student of Wu Yong, the left prime minister?
If what happened in Jingzhou was true, Zhang Hanqing would certainly die.

But who dares to say that in front of the Left Prime Minister?
Qin Tianguan held the tablet in his hand, sweat dripping down his forehead. He said vaguely, "The incident in Jingzhou is shocking and must be taken seriously. But whether it is true or not is still under discussion. I think the first priority is to send an imperial envoy to Jingzhou to find out the situation."

These words seem to make the attitude clear, but in fact they are just playing Tai Chi and passing the buck.

Someone in the court immediately shouted, "If this is true, the situation in Jingzhou is so critical, how many people will die if we delay for one day? Are you going to sacrifice your life for the lives of those innocent people?"

Qin Desheng became furious and turned around to look at the back of the train.

Before he could figure out who had just spoken, another official stepped out and said:

"Left Prime Minister, Qin Tianguan treats the people like grass and is a traitor to the country. Please ask His Majesty to capture this beast and set things right!"

"you……"

For a time, everyone started to criticize.

Qin Desheng was so angry that he almost vomited blood, but when he noticed that these officials were all from the Wu party, he endured the rage and swallowed his anger.

Wu Yong watched the farce in the court, held his forehead with his hand and sighed softly, then shouted in a deep voice: "Silence."

With a shout of "Silence", the noisy court became quiet again. The officials who walked out of the class train returned to their seats silently, lowered their heads and looked at their tablets, looking as if they were watching their noses and their noses.

But just before Wu Yong could speak again, a young eunuch hurried in from outside the hall. Under the surprised gazes of the court officials, he lowered his head and took small steps to quickly walk around the side of the hall and went behind the screen on the high platform.

The snoring behind the screen suddenly stopped.

After a while, a eunuch came out from behind the screen and stood beside the hall, saying in a sharp voice: "Your Majesty has ordered that the court meeting continue, and Prime Minister Wu will make the decision on your behalf."

As soon as this statement came out, the whole audience was in an uproar.

The case of Jingzhou is comparable to the massacre of the city by Prince Yong'an. For such an important matter, the emperor just listened for a while and just left like that?
The officials in the court were discussing this. One young official was so angry that he gritted his teeth and said, "How can you be a monarch?"

"Silence!"

The older colleague next to him immediately gave him a serious look and spoke out to stop him.

Compared to the uproar among the officials, Wu Yong appeared calm and composed. He bowed and said, "I accept your order."

……

In the Yangxin Palace, An Shoudao was led here and had tea in a side hall.

Before he finished his cup of tea, the Fifth Marquis arrived and bowed to An Shoudao, saying, "President An, follow me to see His Majesty."

An Shoudao stood up and followed the Fifth Marquis from the side hall towards the main hall.

After arriving at the main hall, he looked up and saw a vague figure behind a row of screens.

Even when meeting An Shoudao, Emperor Tianwu still did not meet him in his true form.

An Shoudao took a few steps forward, came to the outside of the screen, and bowed: "I am An Shoudao, the humble servant, and I am honored to meet your Majesty."

Not kneeling when meeting the emperor was the courtesy that Emperor Tianwu showed to An Shoudao.

Behind the screen, the voice of Emperor Tianwu came: "President An, you don't come to the palace for no reason. Are you here to see me today for the matter of Jingzhou?"

Although he is already in his eighties, his voice does not sound old at all. Instead, it is deep and rich, like an ancient bell in a temple.

An Shoudao smiled slightly and said, "Yes and no."

Just at this time, the Fifth Marquis Qiansui stepped behind the screen and whispered a few words in Emperor Tianwu's ear.

After a while, the surprised voice of Emperor Tianwu was heard from behind the screen:

"Yuzhen?"

After a while, Emperor Tianwu's voice became deeper: "President An, can you give me an explanation?"

An Shoudao was not flustered when facing the questioning of Emperor Tianwu. He had already prepared a plan in his mind and said slowly and calmly: "Since Your Majesty wants to give an explanation, I will give one myself. Please ask the Fifth Marquis to present the things I brought to Your Majesty for inspection."

The Fifth Marquis Qiansui looked out of the palace and shouted to the eunuch standing at the palace gate, "Present it."

Soon, a group of young eunuchs lined up to enter the hall, each holding a tray covered with a red cloth.

A breeze blew through the hall, lifting a corner of the red cloth, revealing a pickled human head!
An Shoudao said: "These are all members of the Salvation Church. The Red Lotus lineage practices the Way of Desire. The Niwan Palace is different from ordinary warriors. Your Majesty can ask the Five Marquises whether the identities of these people are correct."

After Wu Hou Qiansui entered behind the screen, he whispered a few words.

Emperor Tianwu was silent for a while behind the screen, then asked, "What does this have to do with Yu Zhen?"

An Shoudao said: "These people are all members of the Salvation Church hiding in Kyoto City, and the sponsor behind the scenes is Princess Yuzhen!"

Wu Hou Qiansui was stunned when he heard this. He stared at An Shoudao and wanted to speak several times, but finally kept his mouth shut.

There was a sudden silence in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

After a long while, Emperor Tianwu spoke from behind the screen: "Do you have any evidence?"

An Shoudao calmly took out a memorial from his bosom and looked at Wu Hou Qiansui: "Please present it to Your Majesty on my behalf."

The Fifth Marquis took the memorial away and handed it to Emperor Tianwu behind the screen.

The memorial described how the Zhao Company channeled money through the Princess's Mansion, and how they discovered something was amiss, and found out about the Baiyun Temple and a group of people from the Salvation Sect hiding in the Baiyun Temple.

It also describes every event between Yuzhen and the little Taoist nun, who is none other than the Red Lotus Saint of the Salvation Sect.

He even wrote about sending people to Jingzhou to investigate the whereabouts of the missing refugees...

Clearly organized and thoughtful in details.

Every single one of these is indefensible!
When Emperor Tianwu read the contents of this memorial, he knew that his beloved little daughter had an inseparable relationship with the group of salvationists who came to Jingzhou from the capital city...

The Yangxin Palace fell into silence for a long time.

An Shoudao seemed not to feel the sudden heavy atmosphere, and continued: "I was entrusted by the Zhao family to serve the Zhao family and sit in the Zhao's business, so I can't just sit there and do nothing. I sent someone to investigate, and they implicated the Jingzhou bloody case. They found out that this group of salvationists in Jingdu City came from Jingzhou!"

"The bloody case in Jingzhou is shocking, but it is not something that a commoner like me can take care of. I have no choice but to go to the palace to meet His Majesty and inform him of this matter."

At this moment, no one in the hall questioned his words.

Wu Hou Qiansui said to Emperor Tianwu: "Your Majesty, there is something I didn't have time to report. A few days ago, the Imperial Master used the 'Armillary Sphere' to detect that a powerful person had taken action in the West City Market, but with Dean An in charge of the West City Market, he thought nothing would happen. Now that I think about it, it was Dean An who took action to eliminate the evil obstacles of the Salvation Sect in Kyoto City."

"Ah."

Emperor Tianwu responded, and this incident just happened to confirm what An Shoudao said.

He looked through the screen and asked Xiang Anshou, "Yuzhen, what happened?"

An Shoudao remained calm and replied, "Of course I was harmed by this Savior Church." As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a pair of eyes falling on him, full of deep meaning.

After a long while, that gaze finally withdrew, and a deep voice came from behind the screen: "The one I love the most is Yu Zhen..."

An Shoudao remained calm and bowed: "I hope Your Majesty will accept my condolences."

A sigh came from behind the screen: "Yuzhen has been spoiled since she was young. Although she was deceived by the villain this time, she also made a big mistake... Now she has fallen into this situation, it can be said that she deserves it."

The words that sounded like he was talking to himself made An Shoudao look at the screen meaningfully.

Is this Emperor Tianwu’s answer?

But is this the answer that Zhao Dongjia wants?
Several thoughts flashed through his mind, but his face remained kind and benevolent. He retracted his gaze and bowed again:

"What your Majesty said is true."

……

It only takes a cup of tea to enter the palace and see the emperor.

An Shoudao said a few words and then said goodbye and left.

As he was leaving, Emperor Tianwu suddenly asked, "President An has been keeping a low profile for many years. Could it be that he has really indulged in pleasure and forgotten his ambitions? Have you ever thought about returning to officialdom?"

An Shoudao stopped and smiled: "Although I am old, I still have great ambitions. But Your Majesty doesn't need my assistance now, so how can I display my talents?"

"When will the dean come out?"

"When your majesty decides on the position of the Eastern Palace and the next great ruler of the Daqian Dynasty appears, I will then enter the official career again."

An Shoudao left, not caring about Emperor Tianwu's attempt to keep him.

Emperor Tianwu did not force him to stay and let him leave.

How can one have the best of both worlds? Since he had chosen the "fallen immortal from heaven" back then, how could he have the "saint on earth" again?

After An Shoudao left, Wu Hou Qiansui came behind the screen and reported in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the princess's Qi Sea was broken. Although her Dantian was withered, it can be seen that she has used the "Flying Immortal Pill" of the Salvation Church. It is not groundless that she is colluding with the Salvation Church."

"However... Her Highness's 'madness' looks like the result of acupuncture by a highly skilled doctor, not the work of the Salvation Church."

His face was calm as he said this. Even though he knew that these words were extremely unfavorable to Dean An, he still said them without thinking.

President An is undoubtedly his best friend, and he also admires President An's vision and talent.

But for Wu Hou Qiansui, all of this is no match for his loyalty to His Majesty.

However, after hearing all this, Emperor Tianwu did not blame him, but sighed: "This is the way that Dean An gave me."

The events of Prince Yongan are still fresh in my mind.

Emperor Tianwu tried to save himself, but encountered unprecedented backlash from officials in the court.

That dispute did not produce any result, and ended with Prince Yong'an hanging himself in the clan house.

Is the Jingzhou massacre today less serious than the Nan Guo massacre fifteen years ago?

Not necessarily.

If Yu Zhen is involved in this, will his fate be better than Prince Yong'an's?

With Dean An's prestige in the court, he could just take Yuzhen to the Golden Palace and ask all officials to hold a public trial.

But in the end, he came to the Yangxin Palace and met Emperor Tianwu first.

Regardless of whether An Shoudao had other intentions, at least... he did not push things to the point where there was no room for maneuver.

Emperor Tianwu was not in high spirits and asked, "Is there any chance that Yuzhen can recover?"

The Fifth Marquis Qiansui bowed and said, "If I help nurture your Niwan Palace for ten years, I can cure your madness. But... the acupuncturist is very skilled. Even if I can cure your madness, I'm afraid your IQ will only be that of a seven or eight-year-old child, and there is no hope of recovery in your lifetime."

"That's it..."

Emperor Tianwu stretched out his voice, as if pondering, and shook his head and said: "It is her fate. She is even more ignorant of the word 'contentment' than her mother."

"Just leave her in the Yangxin Palace, and keep an eye on her."

"Yes."

The Five Marquises bowed their heads and accepted the order.

Emperor Tianwu then said, "Since An Shoudao has come for the Jingzhou incident, it seems that the Jingzhou incident is not groundless. Pass on my decree, appoint General Ling Fang of the Patrol Heavenly Observation as the imperial envoy, grant him the power of 'making decisions on all matters', and anyone below the third rank can be executed first and then reported. Grant him the 'Royal Command Flag', and all the local soldiers in Jing, Liang, Yu, and Yang can be commanded."

"Order the Ministry of War to assist in this matter, and your East Factory to send some people to check the accounts of Jingzhou in the past few years."

Wu Hou Qiansui wrote down everything and said respectfully, "As you wish."

He bowed deeply and was about to leave, but Emperor Tianwu stopped him: "One more thing..."

What else?

There was a hint of doubt in Wu Hou Qiansui's eyes.

The matter of Jingzhou has been properly arranged, and Princess Yuzhen has also been told how to deal with it...

He had served His Majesty for many years and thought he had a very good idea of ​​His Majesty's intentions, but this time he had no idea what the "one more thing" His Majesty was talking about was.

After Emperor Tianwu opened his mouth, he hesitated for a long time, which was unusual, and did not speak again.

Finally, the Fifth Marquis Qiansui asked, "Your Majesty, is there anything else?"

Emperor Tianwu then asked, "What should I do with my son-in-law?"

Wu Hou Qiansui was stunned for a moment, then he suddenly realized.

He finally remembered what he had overlooked.

There are three princesses in the current dynasty, but the one Your Majesty is talking about now must be the third prince consort, that is, Princess Yuzhen’s husband—Zhao Qi’an.

It's no wonder that the Fifth Marquis couldn't remember him. After all, Zhao Qi'an had been too low-key since he came to Beijing. He neither served as an official in the court nor caused any trouble. It was said that he stayed in the princess's mansion every day without going out of the door. On the contrary, Princess Yuzhen liked to socialize and often went out for social events.

The Fifth Marquis had paid attention to Zhao Qi'an when he came to the capital and got married, but he was too mediocre and soon lost his impression of him.

Princess Yuzhen's current state may be closely related to An Shoudao, who is the Zhao family's worshiper...

But it is unknown how much Zhao Qi'an knows about the truth.

Wu Hou Qiansui felt that he understood what His Majesty was thinking about, and after thinking for a while, he replied: "Your Majesty, although the Zhao's Trading Company in Kyoto is now managed by Dean An, Zhao Qi'an is after all the only son of Zhao Wanjin, the Grand Duke of Donghai. Now that the princess has done something like this, it is reasonable to win her over and appease her, and not let her become disloyal and betray her morality."

Emperor Tianwu nodded slowly: "That makes sense."

"In that case, then summon Zhao Qi'an to the palace tomorrow. I want to meet him in person."

This chapter is hard to separate, so I combined it into one



(End of this chapter)