Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World

The Hai family produced five generations of scholars who served in the Hanlin Academy. His cousin became a high-ranking official and was also a matchmaker in his marriage. They were all family members who supported him.

Since her sisters-in-law got married, her life has gradually become more comfortable.

"My father's ancestral temple!"

For a moment, only Wang Ruofu wept softly.

Chapter 224 Burning the Imperial Envoy, Acting on Behalf of the Emperor, and Taking Advantage of One's Own Powers! The Chain Reaction Caused by the Yang Wu Case!

Empress was deposed and removed from the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Once it spread, it shocked the world.

The empress of a nation is the head of the central palace, the mother of the nation, and a model for women.

Entering the Imperial Ancestral Temple to receive the emperor's sacrifices brings glory to the entire family and sets a model for all subjects.

In terms of influence, whether it was the Empress or the meritorious officials of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, they were all top-notch.

However, it was precisely these two figures who were subjected to political persecution at the same time.

The empress was deposed, and the Imperial Ancestral Temple was moved!

As for civil and military officials, decrees of demotion continued to be issued, with dozens of people being demoted in succession.

In an instant, the entire land of China was shaken.

Jiang Mansion, Cool Pavilion.

The copper bells jingled softly, and the water rippled gently.

Several pear wood tables, each about ten feet long, were set out with pastries, fruits, and tea.

The couples Sheng Minglan and Gu Tingye, Sheng Changbai and Hai Shi, and Cai Jing and Sheng Rulan were all present.

"Hi~!"

“That old bastard Qi Heng has submitted memorials several times opposing the removal of the empress. Even when Zichuan petitioned for the removal of the empress, he showed no sign of backing down.”

Gu Tingye munched on a plum, looking puzzled: "Someone like him wouldn't be wrong to be demoted to the ninth rank, so why was his salary only slightly reduced?"

"cough!"

Sheng Minglan glanced at her husband and coughed.

It's been several years already!

Are you jealous?

“Upright and stubborn, inflexible, it’s hard for him to rise to a high position.” Cai Jing pondered for a moment, then said calmly, “But such a person has integrity, and he doesn’t necessarily have to be demoted.”

As he spoke, Cai Jing looked at his brother-in-law.

This time, as many as sixty or seventy people were demoted.

Many people were demoted three or four ranks in succession, and some ministers of the third rank or above were even demoted four or five ranks in succession.

Qi Heng, however, only had some of his salary deducted, and his official rank was not even affected. He was the one who received the lightest punishment, without exception.

He doesn't believe there's nothing fishy going on here!

Sheng Changbai sipped his tea and sighed, "They came to question him, and instead of demoting him, they protected him. A prime minister's belly can hold a boat!"

Qi Heng's visit to question the Grand Secretary was already widely known in official circles and was no secret.

After this incident, many people praised Qi Heng for his courage and Jiang for his magnanimity.

When questioned, instead of punishing them, they actively offered protection.

Such tolerance truly demonstrates a broad mind.

Jiang Zhao held the chilled honey water, shook his head, and said calmly, "It's just that we won't suppress them."

"The one who protected him was actually the Empress Dowager."

We're not on the same wavelength, so it's perfectly fine to tolerate Qi Heng's "offense" out of appreciation.

However, it's impossible for them to offer active protection.

The constant protection of a Grand Secretary in the Cabinet is a privilege enjoyed by only a handful of people in the Korean faction.

Previously, the only Koreans to receive this treatment were Wang Yaochen and him.

Subsequently, Wang Yaochen and he entered the cabinet one after another, and Zhang Fangping and Zhang Heng were the only two to receive this treatment.

They are all typical candidates for cabinet positions.

What virtue or ability does Qi Heng possess?

“Not suppressing them is also a form of protection, isn’t it? Brother-in-law, you truly have the magnanimity to tolerate others,” Cai Jing said earnestly.

Recently, Qi Heng has been almost going against the government and Jiang Zhao. The fact that they haven't taken the initiative to suppress him is already a form of "protection".

Jiang Zhao nodded and pondered for a moment before saying, "There are specific ways to use an advisor."

"If one were to condemn someone based solely on momentary joy or anger, every official in the land would only have one chance in their entire life to speak the truth."

Generally speaking, if an official who offers advice gets too arrogant and tries to test the limits, he will almost certainly be demoted, and Jiang Zhao will not tolerate such a person.

But a straightforward and stubborn remonstrating official like Qi Heng is truly quite rare.

Such people possess a rare kind of "foolishness" and "straightforwardness," daring to say anything, which can serve as a warning to those in positions of authority.

Therefore, neither he nor the government would easily suppress Qi Heng.

Gu Tingye, Sheng Changbai, Cai Jing and the others nodded in succession, seemingly deep in thought.

In some respects, Qi Heng is indeed a rare "talent".

"Hey~!"

"Eh-"

A few cries broke the silence.

"ah!"

Sheng Rulan was startled and quickly got up: "You-ge'er is awake."

Youge'er, also known as Cai You, was Cai Jing's eldest son.

"Quickly, tell You-ge'er to ask his uncle for a longevity lock. His uncle is a well-known and powerful figure in the world," Gu Tingye laughed and egged him on.

"Have."

Jiang Zhao smiled gently: "Yes."

Today happens to be Cai You's "hundred-day celebration," and the group took the opportunity to have a small gathering and rest.

As he spoke, Jiang Zhao took out a gold longevity lock from his sleeve. The front was engraved with the four characters "Long Life to a Hundred Years" and the back with the character "Jiang". It was understated yet meaningful.

Some longevity noodles, longevity cakes, and longevity fruits were also served up by the maids.

A short while later, Sheng Rulan, carrying the child, slowly walked out.

A longevity lock was passed over at just the right time.

Cai Jing caught a glimpse of it and was secretly startled. He quickly accepted the gift and said, "Thank you, brother-in-law."

"Here, may you live a long and healthy life." Gu Tingye smiled, took out a golden longevity lock from his pocket, and passed it over.

Sheng Changbai followed the same method and also made a longevity lock.

Cai Jing accepted them all and returned the gifts repeatedly.

Just as he was about to say something.

"The imperial edict has arrived—"

A sharp cry rang out, and more than ten people turned to look, all of them surprised.

Oral instruction?

More than ten people bowed down one after another.

"Grand Secretary Jiang."

At a call, Li Xian, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, approached and bowed deeply.

After bowing, he said, "His Majesty has decreed that the Grand Secretary be summoned to the palace for an audience."

Jiang Zhao understood.

"Lord Gu is here too?" Li Xian looked at Gu Tingye and continued, "Lord Gu also has to enter the palace to pay his respects."

"Yes, sir." Gu Tingye quickly bowed.

The act of bowing and paying respects to high-ranking officials was a privilege usually reserved for senior cabinet ministers or the head of military officers.

He is not enough yet.

Royal study room.

On a corner of a wooden table, a memorial to the emperor was picked up.

Zhao Ceying glanced at it, his face unusually cold.

The Yang Wu case!

This was a case that went through the legal stages step by step, from the county, prefecture, circuit, Dali Temple, and Ministry of Justice, before finally being submitted to the Imperial Study.

Conventionally speaking, the highest judicial authority for adjudicating cases is the Dali Temple. If the Dali Temple adjudicates a controversial case, the Ministry of Justice can review it; it is impossible for the case to be submitted to the Imperial Study.

However, there are occasional exceptions.

Some cases with significant political impact might be submitted to the palace in the form of memorials.

The case of Yang Wu is one such example.

This is a case related to the candidates for the imperial examinations, and the difficulty of judging the case is not particularly high.

The suspect in the case was named Yang Wu, a native of Chun'an County. He was a scholar in his early twenties who occasionally wrote petitions for ordinary people, which also served as practice for the third round of the imperial examinations. He was quite well-known.

His wife was the third daughter of a school official in Danyang County, surnamed Xu.

The couple ran a small hotel together, and they had both money and social standing, living a very comfortable life.

One of the tenants was a man named Ge Lian, who was a student in the imperial examinations, and his wife was surnamed Bi.

One day, Yang Wu was writing a legal document for someone when he happened to pass by an inn and saw Bi practicing calligraphy. He offered her a few words of guidance.

Who would have thought that these street scoundrels would spread rumors that he had "raped and seized Bi's property."

After Bi cried for several days, her husband Ge Lian, worried about his reputation being damaged, took the initiative to move out of the inn run by Yang Wu and Xu.

Originally, the matter was simply a matter of being "spread rumors," not even a minor incident.

Unexpectedly, just a few days after the couple moved out of the hotel, Ge Lian died from foaming at the mouth, convulsions, and chills.

Ge Lian's birth mother, Shen, suspected something was amiss and believed that her daughter-in-law, Bi, had indeed had an affair with Yang Wu and that her son had been poisoned by her wicked daughter-in-law.

Therefore, the matter was reported to the magistrate of Chun'an County, who was requested to conduct an autopsy.

Upon examining the body, the magistrate of Chun'an County concluded that the corpse bore at least six or seven parts similarity to arsenic poisoning. Without further investigating whether the remaining thirty or forty parts of "dissimilarity" might lead to a wrongful conviction, he directly arrested Yang Wu and Bi Shi.

Yang Wu and Bi Shi initially denied it, but after several days of beatings and severe torture, they had no choice but to confess.

The magistrate's initial assessment concluded that the defendant was guilty!

After the county magistrate has heard the case, he must report it to the presiding judge.

As a result, during the first trial in Hangzhou, Yang Wu surprisingly recanted his confession in court, claiming that he had been severely tortured and that he did not admit to the crime.

Immediately, public opinion was in an uproar.

Logically speaking, the case should have been overturned from this point on.

Unfortunately, the Hangzhou Prefectural Magistrate and the Chun'an County Magistrate were brothers-in-law.

In order to protect the magistrate of Chun'an County, the prefect ordered a second round of torture to extract a confession, and took the opportunity to have someone tamper with the logically flawed testimonies and autopsy records.

Even the source of the arsenic was meticulously documented, and there were even arsenic dealers who testified in court.

Yang Wu and Bi were beaten twice, and they were once again forced to confess under torture.

Thus, it combines testimony, witnesses, and physical evidence.