Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 272 Attack in groups

"A lot of people are against it?" Lin Zhiqing immediately grasped the key point.

“That’s right.” Lu Huai nodded: “You know that Marquis Zhenyuan took leave a few days ago.”

Jiang Liuyun argued that this matter was nonsense.

"Apart from him, more court officials disagreed with retrying the case, followed by those who did not express their opinion, and very few agreed."

Upon hearing this ratio, Lin Zhiqing frowned slightly:

"I expected some people to disagree, but are there really more disagreers than neutrals?"

“That’s also what I’m wondering about.” Lu Huai looked at Lin Zhiqing:

"According to the information I have, in the court, when there are important matters, there are more ministers who take a neutral stance, as they seek stability."

Lin Zhiqing was aware of this as well.

The current emperor is not fond of women, and his offspring are few and far between; he can count his children on one hand.

The late empress's legitimate son was named crown prince as soon as he was born, while the other princes were all unfit for important positions.

After the emperor fell ill, the crown prince was even given the imperial edict to oversee the country, which was no different from directly announcing that the crown prince would be the next emperor.

Because the crown prince's position was secure, the other princes had little competitive ability, and most of the court officials took the middle path, seeking stability.

If you can protect yourself and your official position, you can be safe and sound.

This is precisely why there are more opponents than neutrals, which shows that on this matter, the moderates have become biased and no longer moderate.

This is obviously not in line with common sense.

Could it be that all those who opposed it were involved in this...? Lin Zhiqing stroked her chin, thinking for a moment, feeling as if she were at odds with the whole world. She asked Lu Huai:

Who are the leaders of the opposition?

Lu Huai quickly named several people:
“Dingbei Earl, this man has a good personal relationship with Zhenyuan Marquis and can be considered to have been promoted by Zhenyuan Marquis. Most of the people he leads are military officers, and Zhenyuan Marquis has helped them to some extent.”

"Besides, the people led by the Marquis of Anping, the father of Princess Pingning, and the Censor-in-Chief, are mostly political enemies of the old Marquis and Uncle Lin, and they already have a grudge against the Lin family."

"The last type is led by Grand Secretary, Duke of Pei, Grand Tutor and others. These old foxes are usually very cunning and maintain a neutral attitude towards everything."

Hearing this, Lin Zhiqing raised her head:

"The lineup of neutrals is too impressive."

The Grand Secretary was Miss Hua's grandfather, who held the position of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and was essentially the emperor's secretary.

The Duke of Pei was one of the few people in the Great Sheng Dynasty to be granted the title of Duke. In his youth, he fought on the battlefield and made great contributions to the Great Sheng Dynasty.

Grand Tutor, the teacher of the Crown Prince.

The top civil and military officials have been assembled.

Lin Zhiqing exclaimed, "Good heavens! Could it be that being cunning is the ultimate secret to getting promoted and making a fortune?"

"Lu Huai, could it be that all these people are related to my father's affairs?" Having no clue, she asked.
“Not necessarily.” Lu Huai shook his head: “The Duke of Pei and the Grand Secretary used to have a decent relationship with the old Marquis Lin. After Uncle Lin’s accident, they did not take advantage of the Lin family’s misfortune.”

"The Grand Tutor used to value Uncle Lin highly. My father told me that the Grand Tutor once intended to form a marriage alliance with the Lin family and wanted to marry his daughter to Uncle Lin."

In other words, it is unlikely that all of these people were involved in framing Lin Congrong, or even that they had dealings with the Lin family before. Even if it was a disguise, at most one or two of them would have been very good at it.

Lu Huai's words make a lot of sense.

If all these important figures had intervened, the Lin family wouldn't have been able to survive until now.

Unable to understand why these neutrals had suddenly stood up to oppose him, Lin Zhiqing turned his attention to another minister:

"Is this Censor-in-Chief related to the previous one?"

She remembered that it was the former Censor-in-Chief who personally presented the evidence, driving Lin Congrong to his death. Lu Huai thought for a moment: "Yes, the current Censor-in-Chief, Wang Yuan, is a student of the former Censor-in-Chief."

"According to the tradition of Dasheng, this position was originally to be held by the son of the former Vice Censor-in-Chief."

"But for some reason, the former Censor-in-Chief took his son back to his hometown and recommended his student Wang Yuan for the position."

"Wang Yuan is a man of great temper, very upright, and loyal to Da Sheng. Because of his treasonous act, he has always disliked the Lin family."

Lin Zhiqing nodded slowly: "What was the former Censor-in-Chief's temperament like?"

Lu Huai looked puzzled: "I know very little about this person. Not long after what happened to Uncle Lin, he resigned from his post."

"But according to my father, he is just like Wang Yuan, someone who cannot tolerate any injustice."

"He did not have close relations with the Marquis of Zhenyuan."

Lu Huai's account was not much different from what Lin Zhiqing had heard and learned in the past few days.

Uprightness and integrity can also be faked.

Lin Zhiqing did not believe that the former Censor-in-Chief had no connection with the Marquis of Zhenyuan.

They are two birds of a feather.

After some thought, Lin Zhiqing decided to also include the current Censor-in-Chief, Wang Yuan, in his considerations.

The court's power structure is complex and intertwined. On the surface, it appears to be a large net, but the net is intricately connected, so who can claim to be innocent?

"Things are more complicated than I imagined." Lin Zhiqing frowned.

"A single newspaper has managed to expose so many court officials."

"Judging from today's situation, there's still room for discussion, and the results will probably take some time to come out." Lu Huai's eyes showed some worry.

Lin Zhiqing smiled slightly: "It's better to wait a while before we get the results, rather than having them suppressed silently."

"No, it won't be suppressed." Lu Huai's eyes seemed very confident.

Lin Zhiqing took it as him comforting her and nodded.

After seeing Lu Huai off, Lin Zhiqing used a tree diagram to list all the court officials involved.

Before leaving, Lu Huai left her a booklet, which not only recorded the opinions of various ministers on the matter, but also detailed the words and actions of certain people.

Lu Huai's handwriting is vigorous and powerful, and his records are very detailed.

After looking at it carefully, Lin Zhiqing took out another booklet.

The handwriting was very neat, but the content recorded was almost identical to Lu Huai's, only far less detailed.

This booklet came from the Minister of Rites.

Lin Zhiqing held leverage over the Minister of Rites, so getting something like this wouldn't be difficult for him.

When Lin Yangyang sneaked out to do some work, she brought this booklet back with her.

Even though she trusted Lu Huai, Lin Zhiqing dared not be negligent in the slightest when it came to such a life-threatening matter.

The more cautious she is, the more chances the Lin family has of survival.

After confirming that the contents of the two booklets were almost identical and that the Minister of Rites had not included any personal agenda, Lin Zhiqing focused on Lu Huai's booklet.

She marked the key figures that Lu Huai had mentioned earlier with triangle symbols.

What she needs to do now is to find out what these people have in common and figure out why so many people oppose the retrial of Lin Congrong's case.

Only in this way can I identify the individuals involved and persuade them one by one to support a retrial.