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

This is the peak competition!

"Your subject, Jiang Zhao, a compiler of the Hanlin Academy, pays his respects to Your Majesty!" Jiang Zhao strode to the front and bowed.

"Hum hum!"

"Finally, someone has stepped forward to admit their mistake!"

Zhao Zhen looked down.

The young man was composed, but his face was flushed, clearly indicating that he was still somewhat nervous.

"Speak! Tell me everything you want to say!"

At this moment, Zhao Zhen focused his attention on one person, his furious eyes now showing a hint of expectation.

He knew this wasn't the real mastermind.

But it doesn't affect anything. Someone has stepped forward, and we can keep questioning them until the truth is gradually revealed.

The fact that a low-ranking official of the sixth rank had to take the blame was not the outcome he wanted.

If Jiang Zhao can really explain something and help him understand the cause and effect, he wouldn't mind loosening his grip a bit.

Even, appropriate promotion.

Of course, if Jiang Zhao only silently accepts his punishment and doesn't know how to seize the opportunity, then he can't be blamed for being unmerciful.

Jiang Zhao took a deep breath, forced himself to remain calm, and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I humbly request that you allow me to view the congratulatory letter written by Huang Jing."

He had no way out.

Taking the initiative to step forward is a huge gamble.

If he wins, he'll be playing in the top-tier tournament right from his debut, and he'll likely go down in history.

If we lose, we will be doomed forever.

"A congratulatory message?"

Zhao Zhen's anger subsided, and he looked at the scholar he had personally selected with surprise.

"Even now, you still say that what Huang Jing wrote was a congratulatory letter?"

The fact that it is described as a "congratulatory message" rather than "disobedient words" implies that the sender was unaware of the situation.

interesting!

It's really interesting!

He refused to believe that Jiang Zhao was so slow to react that he didn't realize He Biao had a problem.

At such a time, he specifically referred to it as a "congratulatory message," showing that Han Zhang has truly taught a good disciple.

"Your Majesty, I humbly beg you once again to allow me to see what Huang Jing wrote," Jiang Zhao said, his back covered in cold sweat.

He knew what Huang Jing had written; it was nothing more than disobedient words.

But it was precisely for this reason that he had to see what Huang Jing had written.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be a contradiction to know the contents of a congratulatory message without looking at it?

Besides Huang Jing, who else could know the contents of the congratulatory message? They're all just accomplices!

Even if Zhao Zhen doesn't care, Jiang Zhao has to.

This was because, besides Zhao Zhen, there were other schemers watching all of this.

The slightest mistake could be seized upon by someone with ulterior motives, leaving one with no way to defend oneself.

This process must be followed.

Faced with this request, Zhao Zhen neither agreed nor disagreed, but instead questioned, "Are you saying that you had no prior knowledge of what Huang Jing wrote?"

"Your Majesty, I truly know nothing about this," Jiang Zhao said, trying his best to clear his name.

As he spoke, Jiang Zhao felt a chill in his heart.

If it was truly impossible to allow viewing the congratulatory message, he could only offer a weak explanation.

Of course, aside from the few sentences read aloud by the emperor, he genuinely didn't know the rest of the congratulatory message.

To everyone's surprise, Zhao Zhen nodded: "Agreed."

After he finished speaking, a chief eunuch presented a congratulatory letter.

Jiang Zhao let out a long breath and quickly began to read.

Little did he know that Zhao Zhen felt relieved by his words.

That's exactly the kind of person he wants, Jiang Zhao.

The more you talk, the more information you reveal.

In less than ten breaths, Jiang Zhao had finished reading the congratulatory letter and returned it.

"Who exactly presented this document written by Huang Jing?" After reviewing the congratulatory memorial, Zhao Zhen began to question about the details.

He trusted no one; he wanted to find out the source of each information himself.

"It was I who went to the Han residence and personally retrieved it from Huang Jing," Jiang Zhao answered truthfully.

Zhao Zhen nodded, then asked, "And who sent you to fetch it?"

This is something that a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Rites would absolutely not dare to do.

There must be someone even bigger behind this.

Jiang Zhao was the one who went to retrieve the congratulatory message. He needed to gradually uncover the source of the message by getting information from Jiang Zhao.

Jiang Zhao also realized this and hesitated for a moment.

He was completely baffled.

He was just attending court as usual.

The only thing he knew was that his mentor had asked him to urge the collection of the congratulatory letter, and the last person to collect the congratulatory letter was Liu Hang.

He knew there must be more to this story, and that his teacher, Han Zhang, must have been framed by someone else.

After all, if the teacher really knew there was something wrong with the congratulatory message, he certainly wouldn't have let me retrieve it.

Liu Hang!

Jiang Zhao glanced at Liu Hang, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, who was the most likely person to frame him.

However, he had no evidence and had not had any communication with Liu Hang.

"Silent? Afraid to reveal who's behind you?" Zhao Zhen said in a deep voice, his words laced with sarcasm.

He was still furious.

"Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Liu Hang arrived in haste. After a few words with the other grand secretaries, Minister Han instructed me to urge the collection of the congratulatory letter." Jiang Zhao added, "It was outside the Chui Gong Hall, at 6:30 a.m., in front of all the civil and military officials, that I was instructed to urge the collection of the congratulatory letter."

It doesn't matter if you don't have evidence; just state the facts.

Jiang Zhao did not try to take any shortcuts and answered truthfully and completely.

As a monarch, Zhao Zhen certainly had his own judgment. In this situation, the less subjective assumptions he made, the more satisfied he would be.

The fact that they urged the arrest in front of all the civil and military officials means that this was not at Han Zhang's behest, but a perfectly normal official business.

Han Zhang was the Minister of Rites, and Huang Jing was a Vice Minister of Rites; it was perfectly normal for them to be eager to collect the congratulatory letter.

The timing and the people present were all matched perfectly, without any shortcuts.

In one sentence, Han Zhang was almost completely cleared of suspicion.

In the main hall, Han Zhang deliberately raised his foot, then lowered it again, letting out a sigh of relief.

My good disciple!

"Oh? Liu Hang?" Zhao Zhen frowned slightly and glanced over out of the corner of his eye.

Han Zhang's order for Jiang Zhao to urge the collection of the congratulatory letter matches what Li Qi said, proving that what he said is true.

Unexpectedly, Liu Hang was also involved?

Seeing the Emperor's attention, Grand Secretary Liu Hang quickly stood up and explained: "At the beginning of the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), Grand Secretary Fu Bi knew that Huang Jing's congratulatory letter might be delayed, so he sent me to urge him to deliver it. However, when I arrived at Huang Jing's house, I was told that Huang Jing had already gone to Han's residence."

This old minister has difficulty walking and has no connection with Minister Han. Since the Han residence is Minister Han's home, it is truly inconvenient for this old minister to go directly there. Therefore, upon returning, I was prompted by the matter of Compiler Jiang urging the collection of the congratulatory memorial.

The answer was reasonable and well-founded.

The two were political enemies and disliked each other, so Liu Hang naturally refused to go to Han's residence.

He never actually held a congratulatory tablet; at best, he was just an intermediary.

Zhao Zhen hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand without saying anything.

Liu Hang bowed and retreated, his heart sinking slightly.

He really didn't expect Jiang Zhao to be so clear-headed!

It should be noted that when Zhao Zhen was furious, many high-ranking officials in purple robes trembled and their minds went blank.

How could Jiang Zhao, a mere sixth-rank official, have held out for so long?

The two men, the emperor and his minister, engaged in a question-and-answer session, but Jiang Zhao remained completely unmoved and showed no sign of admitting guilt.

Liu Hang's nose was sweating.

This whole affair has taken several unexpected turns, which is truly surprising.

Of the six Grand Secretaries in the Cabinet, the three who were involved all overlooked something.

Fu Bi overlooked one thing: he didn't anticipate that his strategy of taking sides would be foiled.

Han Zhang overlooked one thing: he didn't anticipate that He Biao had a problem.

Unexpectedly, he, who thought his grand plan was about to succeed, overlooked one thing: he didn't expect Jiang Zichuan's true abilities!

Liu Hang's heart sank.

This is already a risky move; if we can't defeat the enemy in one move, the outcome could be reversed.

The original plan was to have Han Zhang present a congratulatory memorial, and then personally engage in political infighting to punish Han Zhang.

Unexpectedly, Fu Bi's plan was foiled without his knowledge.

Originally, this was nothing; dragging the top scholar down to confess would have the same effect.

At that time, Han Zhang would also have to step in to save the day for his apprentice.

And once Han Zhang makes a move, he can naturally join in as well.

According to Liu Hang's plan, even if he were to leave the competition, he would never fight against Han Zhangzheng. Instead, he would do his best to target the top scholar who had flaws in his "crimes".

In this way, Han Zhang, eager to save people, will inevitably reveal his weakness, and he can cleverly win.

As a result, Jiang Zhao actually withstood the punishment and was not punished.

This plan got stuck at the very first step, unable to make any progress.

This is really upsetting.

If Han Zhang doesn't participate, he naturally can't either, otherwise it would be an admission of guilt.

No, we have to send someone to set a trap for Jiang Zhao.

Liu Hang's heart skipped a beat, and he glanced casually at Chen Ting, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

“Jiang Zichuan, one should take responsibility for one’s actions. If you are a hero, you should dare to do it and admit it.” Chen Ting, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, stood up and shouted loudly after being signaled, his face full of righteous indignation.

Judging solely from Chen Ting's tone and demeanor, at least 99% of people would consider him a righteous and outspoken good person.

"Huh?" Someone stood up to confront him, and Zhao Zhen couldn't help but clasp his hands together in front of him.

Someone came out!

interesting!

Zhao Zhen stopped speaking and simply watched the two men face off.

"Jiang Zichuan, Huang Jing, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, submitted a poorly written memorial. You were the one who took the congratulatory letter, and you were also the last person to see him. The one who submits the memorial and the one who writes it are equally guilty! What, you dare to do it but not admit it?" Chen Tingtang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, a high-ranking official of the third rank, a figure at the pinnacle of his career, rebuked him in a stern voice that reverberated throughout the palace.

If it were an ordinary official, those two reprimands would probably leave him speechless and unable to utter a coherent sentence.

Jiang Zhao glanced at Chen Ting.