My father Zhao Kuangyin

Two days later, Li Shouxin had basically reached a conclusion, but Zhao Xiangong obviously had not anticipated the severity of the situation. It was not until the Central Secretariat carried out large-scale layoffs that he realized the emperor was serious and was filled with anxiety.

"One-third of the Secretariat has been emptied, and not everyone in the Secretariat is related to the Prime Minister. Yet, those dismissed are all his people. How is this any different from effectively sidelining the Prime Minister? Doesn't this reveal Zhao Guangyi's ambition?"

Inside the Prime Minister's residence, Secretary Hu Zan spoke with deep concern.

Secretary Wang Dong, who was listening nearby, was also anxious.

"Sir, you should go to see the official in person and explain the whole story to him, lest that official Su fabricate evidence and arrest people everywhere..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Pu sighed repeatedly, but still said nothing.

Zhao Pu, who served as prime minister, was never known for his talent, let alone his learning. He often made mistakes in etiquette, and this time he was a step too late. The water had already seeped up to his neck before he realized he had to get ashore to save himself.

The best course of action right now is for the gecko to shed its tail and sacrifice the pawn to save the king.

"One wrong step leads to another. In any case, the Emperor will certainly not abandon me now. However, once the Emperor loses heart and deliberately distances himself... in the long run, I will be left to fend for myself."

The character "木" (wood) actually has a significant meaning.

The character 宋 (Song) is composed of a radical on top of a radical 木 (wood).

This veil, naturally, represents Heaven, which is the government.

Zhao Pu first condoned his cronies' private timber trade, and then he was falsely accused of being a close associate of Li Shouxin, who was under the jurisdiction of the Three Departments Commissioner.

Regardless of whether it's a frame-up or not, this prime minister always seems to have a problem with the character "木" (wood), and always wants to steal "木". What does that mean?

Don't think this is being cryptic. It's true that Song was associated with the element of fire, but the very name of the dynasty makes it hard not to wonder what this powerful minister truly desired...

If he doesn't personally explain and clear things up, and put aside his grudges with the officials, it will be too late to tell whether he did it or not.

Having seen through this facade, Prime Minister Zhao was deeply troubled and sighed helplessly.

"He must have seen the Second Prince's flamboyant demeanor and feared that the Emperor had truly changed his mind, hence his eagerness to dismiss me from my position as Prime Minister..."

"Then, my lord..."

"Prepare the carriage; I will personally go to plead with the Emperor."

………………

The Ma family residence.

When Zhao Dezhao arrived, the place was deserted and very quiet.

One of the few maids who greeted him was Li, the wife of Ma Shi, who came in a hurry after entering. After seeing him clearly, she was stunned.

"Second... Ah Lang."

"Madam, please don't panic. I'm not here to take anyone away; I'm just taking a look around during my free time."

Despite this, Li was still flustered and unable to speak, but when an old woman bent over and went outside with a cane, the situation was quite different.

"Your aunt has difficulty walking, how could you let her out?"

Upon hearing this, the maidservant repeatedly said no, and hurriedly went to help him up.

The aunt, also known as the husband's mother, should be Ma Shi's mother.

"And this young man is...?"

"He is the second son of the emperor."

"Official...the Emperor."

The old woman murmured incoherently, and after realizing what she had said, her eyes immediately welled up with tears.

"Since he is the son of the Emperor, could you... could you please tell the Emperor on my behalf that my son has been wronged!"

Zhao Dezhao had anticipated this when he arrived, not to mention seeing the shabby residence and the lonely relatives. At this moment, he felt a lump in his throat and could not say anything.

Su Xiao led dozens of officers and soldiers in a thorough search, but they couldn't find anything. In the end, it was Ma Shi who turned himself in... This was obvious.

Just as Zhao Dezhao's thoughts were wandering, Ma's mother trembled as she returned to the inner room. After a while, she brought out a blue robe covered in patches and said in a red voice.

"My son suffered hardship from a young age, but he was strong-willed and ambitious. He would study diligently by lamplight late into the night, and after many years, he finally passed the imperial examinations and moved to Kaifeng with me. Look at this official robe, my son... It was left behind when he was the chief secretary in Guang Prefecture. Since he was promoted and put on the green robe, he has been very honest and upright, as his colleague Jia Huangzhong also knows... No one knows a son better than his mother... My son would not do such a foolish thing..."

The old woman spoke for a long time, but all she said was that she was wronged.

"And what about Li? Your daughter-in-law's father committed a serious crime, and he entrusted a letter..."

"It's fake...it must be a villain trying to harm my son!"

"On the eve of Ma Shiyi's surrender, did you see him go out?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Li couldn't bear it and said, "Ever since my father moved away, my husband has gone out several times, always getting up at night... I thought he had found someone else... We argued for days..."

"Why didn't you say anything when Lord Su came?"

"It was my husband who told me not to tell..." Li said, her eyes brimming with tears. "He said everything would be alright... Who... who knew this would happen..."

An old woman and a young woman were crying and sobbing, which put Zhao Dezhao in a very difficult position.

"Do you know that Ma Shiyi was under the patronage of Prime Minister Zhao, and countless officials of the Secretariat were arrested and imprisoned as a result..."

These words sound like a question, but they are actually a urging, to see if any new evidence can be found.

The Dali Temple has now finalized the case, but it's still in the final stages and hasn't been publicly executed yet. There's no breakthrough, so it can't be overturned.

"What you're saying, sir...does having corrupt officials in one government office mean they're all corrupt?" But Zhao Dezhao's question immediately ignited Ma's temper, and she retorted indignantly, "Does sir know how many people have died in the past hundred years of chaos? Even in this filthy world where people eat each other, didn't it still produce Emperor Zhou Shizong...and your father, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty?!"

As soon as the words were spoken, Zhao Dezhao trembled and was speechless.

After a long pause and careful consideration, he spoke sternly.

"Alright, since you feel wronged, then come with me to the Dali Temple to speak with Lord Su and to my son and husband in person."

"Go! This old woman will go with you, my lord!"

Needless to say, Ma's mother was also taken along. As for Li, her father had just died and her husband's fate was unknown, so she simply took her seven-year-old daughter with her.

Zhao Dezhao couldn't bear it, so he gave up the carriage and rode ahead to clear the way.

Leaping over the throng of people, a group of heroes who had been sitting in the tavern laughing and chatting suddenly appeared with serious expressions. After glancing at them briefly, they dropped a sum of money and hurriedly left.

"Sir/Madam? You've overpaid!"

The servant still had a conscience; he called out into the crowd, but there was no one there.

A moment later, the shopkeeper, having overheard this, strode out and kicked the servant in the backside with a loud kick, his voice low with anger.

"What are you yelling about? Any extra money is a gift from a noble person, not something you're begging for!"

Such noises continued unabated, but Zhao Dezhao paid no attention to them.

But for some reason, I always felt a chill down my spine, and a pricking sensation in my heart.

Upon arriving at the Dali Temple office, Zhao Dezhao, relying on his position as the magistrate, swaggered inside and even had his clerks escort the Ma family.

"Without Su Gongxin's order, Ah Lang is not allowed to enter the prison..."

Seeing the guards in the dungeon struggling to speak, Zhao Dezhao immediately laughed in anger.

"I ask you, whose world is this?"

"It is...of the Emperor."

"Wrong," Zhao Dezhao laughed. "The world belongs to all people."

The officers and soldiers scratched their heads and ears, their faces turning red.

"But the emperor is the emperor after all, and the people of the world need the emperor to govern them. I will not arrest him, but just ask him some questions."

"Then please, Ah Lang, don't say... say that I let it go."

"Of course, if Lord Su wants to punish you, I will take the blame. If he dismisses you from your post, I will come to the Prime Minister's office to work."

Zhao Dezhao did not make things difficult. He confidently uttered a sentence, which immediately intimidated the official. He eagerly opened the door latch and bowed to lead Zhao Dezhao.

The underground chamber was dimly lit, with a faint candlelight flickering. Moreover, the fermenting, sour smell came and went, causing Zhao Dezhao some physical discomfort.

"Ah Lang, this is the place."

"Go and bring Li and her daughter here."

"Here you go!"

Ma Shi leaned against the mottled wall, his hair disheveled.

Although I have two meals a day, my spirits have been extinguished, and I feel like a walking corpse.

"Ma Shiyi?"

"Ma Shiyi?!"

"Who?"

Ma Shi sat up from the straw mat and looked out into the room.

"Yes... Erlang."

Zhao Dezhao smiled and waited for him to calm down before speaking.

"Shiyi was the top scholar in the third year of the Jianlong era, a model for all scholars. I would like to ask, what were your thoughts upon passing the imperial examination?"

It would have been better if Zhao Dezhao hadn't mentioned it, because the mere mention of it brought up a flood of images of Ma Shi's thoughts.

After a long silence, the reply was only eight words long.

"His ambitions were sky-high... but his fate was as fragile as paper."

"So what if I'm the top scholar? If the emperor wants me dead, it's just a matter of a word." After saying this, Ma Shi gave a bitter smile, slowly sat down, and said self-deprecatingly, "A warrior is a sword, a scholar is a book, in the end, they're nothing more than commodities."

"Your wife and children..." Upon hearing this, Zhao Dezhao paused, then said solemnly, "Your father is furious and wants to execute your whole family. What are your thoughts on that?"

Ma Shi didn't seem to notice anything at first, then paused for a moment, and then suddenly lunged forward, gripping the prison bars tightly, his withered hands feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"Don't lie to me, my lord! I can recite the Song Dynasty law backwards! Bribery isn't one of the ten heinous crimes, so how could it implicate a close relative?!"

Zhao Dezhao did not respond or refute.

When the Li mother and daughter emerged from the dim light and walked into another empty room, Ma Shi was stunned and speechless.

"How could this be! How could this be?!"

Seeing this, Zhao Dezhao didn't give him a chance to think it over and immediately put pressure on him with words.

"You've really messed things up! Grandpa's furious! How could this happen?"

Zhao Dezhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said slowly.

"The truth is clear, and there is still room for maneuver. If you wish to clear your name and protect your family, listen to what I have to say."

Ma Shi trembled and slid to the ground like mud.

After a short while, he slowed his pace and bowed to the young master Zhao Zhao in front of him.

"I... I entrust the lives of my entire family to you, my lord."