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Chapter 595 Careful thinking
Zhu Yu was somewhat surprised, and for a moment he didn't know exactly what surprised him.

She originally thought that the biggest trap the other party had set for Zhao Bi by taking advantage of the Duke of Yan's birthday banquet was that dress made of flowing cloud silk.

Unexpectedly, there was also such a serious stain as the tribute that Zhao Bi had previously withheld.

When Zhu Yu first heard Fu Wen say that, he thought that those people knew that the Duke of Yan had previously kept some tributes at home, so they said it on purpose. If they really searched his house and found it, even if it wasn't out in the open, he would have no way to defend himself.

But then she thought again that perhaps it wasn't a complete frame-up, but rather that Zhao Bi was truly fearless and had been caught red-handed.

After all these years, Emperor Jin has been tolerant of him in all sorts of matters, and it can even be said that he has indulged him. In addition to making himself appear as a benevolent ruler who treats meritorious officials well, the more important thing is to spoil Zhao Bi and make him more and more fearless.

Since Luo Yushu's accusation against Zhao Bi mentioned that Zhao Bi had been embezzling and misappropriating tribute goods for many years, and pocketing public funds for private gain, this is enough to show how many times it happened.

Sometimes people are like that; they steal once and then proceed with extreme caution, afraid that the stolen goods will be discovered, so they hide them away.

However, if you steal countless times, for a year, two years, three years, five years, or even longer, you will become bold and numb. Over time, you may not even be able to distinguish which rewards you have earned and which you have embezzled.

When she sneaked into the Duke of Yan's mansion that day, even someone like her who didn't know much about treasures could tell that the mansion was luxuriously furnished, and there must really be something there that shouldn't be there.

Otherwise, even after the birthday banquet incident, which split the court into two factions, at least more than half of them would still have remained aligned with the Duke of Yan.

If the furnishings in his residence were completely normal and without any problems, then in the face of such unfounded accusations, someone would surely stand up to defend him.

After all, Duke Yan was the hope of everyone in his faction, and many people had taken a desperate gamble by choosing sides. If he fell from power, many people's careers would come to an end, and some might even lose their lives.

"So, when Zhao Bi was accused like this at the morning court session, no one stood up for him?" Zhu Yu asked Fu Wen, then suddenly realized another problem, "Wait, how did you get the news about these things?"

“Outside.” Fu Wen pointed behind him and grinned. “It’s already all over the place, everyone knows about it. Otherwise, given the current situation, I would have a hard time finding out about these things.”

Zhu Yu nodded with interest: "What else? What else have you heard?"

"It is also said that when His Majesty heard about these things, although he was furious, he still wanted to save face for the old ministers and wanted to give Duke Yan a way out first, and then deal with it privately later."

As a result, someone from the Ministry of Rites stepped forward and said that they had heard that many scholars who were originally preparing to take the imperial examinations in the capital were suddenly in a state of panic, and many of them left the capital overnight to return to their hometowns.

Initially, the Ministry of Rites didn't take it too seriously, since there were always people who backed out at the last minute before each imperial examination.

Later, when more than half of the candidates had chosen to leave the capital, they realized something was wrong. They sent people out to investigate and learned that the candidates had heard a folk rhyme and felt that there might be a change in the court. They were worried that participating in the imperial examination at this critical juncture would not only fail to bring honor to their ancestors, but might also make them scapegoats. They thought it would be better to return to their hometowns to avoid trouble and wait until the situation stabilized before considering officialdom.

The emperor then asked what nursery rhyme it was and why it reminded people of the turmoil in the court. So, some bold people told the emperor the nursery rhyme.

The Emperor was furious upon hearing this. The Duke of Yan, of course, continued to protest his innocence and vehemently deny any wrongdoing. However, the Emperor argued that there's no smoke without fire, and that everything that had happened couldn't possibly be a fabricated lie to frame him. Furthermore, the Ministry of Personnel's frequent appointments of officials had already put the Duke of Yan in the wrong. Therefore, although the charges against him weren't yet substantiated, this time he wouldn't be allowed to get away so easily.

"It was indeed a premeditated scheme." Zhu Yu couldn't help but laugh. "For such matters from the court to be spread so widely and vividly in the marketplace, it's clear that someone wants to block all of Duke Yan's escape routes and is afraid that the Emperor will show him leniency again."

“Madam is mistaken this time.” Lu Qing smiled and shook his head after hearing Zhu Yu’s words. “Although there are many eyes and ears in the court, who would dare to arrange for such a thing to be spread so widely, without even trying to hide it from others?”

Zhu Yu suddenly realized that he had indeed overlooked this problem.

If that's the case, then there's only one answer—the net that Emperor Jin has been weaving for many years has finally been completed.

Sure enough, a few days later, it suddenly became very noisy outside. Zhu Yu and the others didn't have time to put on their fake skins and hurriedly ran out wearing veils.

The streets outside were crowded with onlookers. Some had their own baskets and straw baskets from selling goods at their feet, some were holding sleeping children in their arms, and some, unable to squeeze to the front, simply climbed up the trees by the roadside.

When Zhu Yu and the others came out, the alleyway next to Yunyin Pavilion was already crowded with people, so they could only stand at the back of the crowd.

Lu Qing was alright; even standing at the back of the crowd, it was enough for him to peek out and see what was happening on the road ahead.

Zhu Yu is different.

She wasn't short for a woman, but her height would be considered average among men.

Standing several layers behind the crowd, she looked up and saw only layers of heads in front of her, and with the veil of the hat obscuring her view, she could hardly make out anything through the gaps in the crowd.

As she stood on tiptoe and craned her neck to try to see more clearly, Zhu Yu suddenly felt her legs being grabbed, which startled her. Looking down, she saw Lu Qing with one arm around her legs, silently lifting her up.

Zhu Yu grew more than a head taller in just one instant...

Now, there was nothing in front of Zhu Yu except the white veil, and her view was so open that it felt a little unfamiliar to her.

The air is indeed fresher up high...

Zhu Yu looked down at Lu Qing and saw him standing there steadily, as if he were holding a child with one hand, without the slightest strain.

Since recovering from his injury, Lu Qing has been practicing martial arts diligently every day. Judging from his posture, his physical strength has been fully restored, even better than before he was beaten.

So she felt relieved and turned her attention to the street in front of her.

(End of this chapter)