box of hearts

Chapter 95
1.
The secret room agreement between Wang Zhengting and Qi She rewrote everything.

The inside story of Wang Zhengting beheading his elder brother Wang Zhenghao, putting his father Wang Chazhao under house arrest, and presenting the roster of Dongdang party members in order to protect himself was finally published in the official mansion newspaper [1] controlled by Qi She. It became: Wang Zhenghao, the second assistant of the cabinet and the left servant of the official department, colluded with Wei Yuan, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, to pretend to steal the government and endanger the country, but was found out by the first assistant Wang Quezhao. At the same time, you are ashamed that you are not good at teaching your children. Please resign from all official positions and hand over to the Ministry for discussion.His Majesty said that the first assistant, Wang Quezhao, was a relative of the country, who had assisted in government affairs for many years, and was commendable for his loyalty and bravery when he killed his relatives righteously. Permanent punishments and divisions shall not be punished-so only from Kuange to Taishi, Shangzhu Kingdom and other noble titles, they are still allowed to walk in the cabinet to show light punishment.

And just when the Dongdang people were still worried about making troubles for the Wang family, and at the same time celebrating for the royal court, an operation to fabricate charges and cut off party members has been launched with lightning speed.On the third day after the regent returned to Beijing, two ruling officials were accused of being Wang Zhenghao's rebellious party, which was related to the Mianfu incident and the Beijing camp mutiny.Among the Dongdang people, there are those who have a clear vision and a bright heart, and immediately take the initiative to apply for an official post[2]. There are also those who are not reconciled and still want to invite the old chief assistant Wang Quezhao to turn the situation back, but they get it from the mouth of the indifferent third son Wang Zhengting. Knowing: The first assistant will never see any visitors due to sudden illness.

Then, like a single spark igniting a prairie fire, dozens of decrees of dismissal from office and investigation were issued one after another. The charges ranged from "bending the law for personal gain" and "violating training and exceeding authority" to "defying laws and regulations" and "corruption and deception". From being ordered to commit suicide, hang one's head in the market, to being imprisoned, exiled into the army, there are all kinds of things; as for those who are impeached and removed from office, there are countless others.For a full ten days, Shamao Alley, Shijar Alley, and Wangfujing Street, where rich and powerful families gathered, were crowded with the Zhen Fusi's servants everywhere, and ransacked from house to house.At this time, all the prominent officials and gentlemen were escorted out of the Red Gate in chains and shackles, followed by the women's relatives with disheveled hair, crying and howling.

As for the Regent's faction, they are unprecedentedly high-spirited, especially Zhu Yiqing, the veteran of the Western Party, and Meng Zhongxian, the hero of the coup d'état and the commander of the Zhenfu Division. They replaced the violent deaths of Wang Zhenghao and Wei Yuan respectively. , it is the time to be complacent, but you still need to be respectful and humble in front of your master:
"The Wang family has governed the country for several generations, and the empress dowager is still in the honorable position. If this matter is too involved and pursued too much, it will definitely cause slander in the world. Therefore, Wang Chazhao, Wang Zhengting, father and son, and some elders of the Eastern Party It cannot be liquidated for the time being. Even so, among the four cabinet seats, although Wang Quezhao still holds the vain title of 'Chief Assistant', he is already in name only. , Mr. Meng, after you two enter the cabinet, you will be in charge of all central powers. This is the first time in a hundred years that the power of the prime minister has returned to the hands of Shilin. In the following year, this king will continue to punish his relatives and pick up bad governance. The two of you are my right-hand men. I hope you will do your best, be loyal, assist the holy cause, and revive the decline. If you have done well this year, this king will ask for credit for you in front of the Holy One; if you fail, it will be like Today’s Dongdang gangsters are like ordinary members of the Eastern Party, dismissed and punished, dismissed and investigated. Do you understand?” Qi She’s young face is like a bronze sculpture behind the big red sandalwood case with white porcelain rooster statue and sapphire moon vase, calm And impeccable.

Under the case, Zhu Yiqing and Meng Zhongxian both made up their black clothes, knelt down and kowtowed, "Understood, I am willing to serve the loyalty of dogs and horses, and I will never disappoint the high expectations of my lord." Grace."

Qi She's eyelids twitched, and his eyes turned to one side, "Master Meng."

"I'm humble."

"The recent raids on the house were done by the people under you, right?"

"Go back to the prince, that's right."

"My king heard that when Wei Yuan's mansion was searched, the people in charge drove his family back to the old house for temporary confinement, but did not leave water and rations. As a result, when the registration of the family property was completed five days later, more than a dozen people died of thirst and hunger. It is also heard that there are some slaves who have behaved badly and openly entered the inner room to harass the family members of the official family. The men in the family have committed crimes, and their crimes are not as good as their wives and children. Except for serious crimes, such bad news that affects innocent people is not allowed to happen again."

Qi She's tone was very ordinary, but Meng Zhongxian's face changed with fright, and he kowtowed twice, "It's because of the lax control of the lowly position, the lowly position deserves to die, please punish the crime of the lowly position."

"Things have been complicated these past few days. Everyone is working day and night, so it is inevitable that there will be omissions. Just pay attention to it in the future. Get up." Qi She put his hands on his forehead, pinched his fingers on both sides of the nose, "Don't think that we should be proud of looking at the Wang family these days. The more we look at the Wang family, the more we should use it as a wake-up call, and be careful when sailing for thousands of years."

Zhu and Meng stood up with their clothes lifted, and they responded respectfully in unison: "Thank you for your teaching, my lord, and I will keep my humility in mind."

Outside the Shu brocade door curtain with a picture of eight cranes hanging in the room, there was a soft voice: "My lord?"

Qi She looked up, "Come in."

It was Xiao Xinzi who came in. He first greeted "Your Excellencies" with a smile, then walked straight to Qi She's side, bent down and said in a low voice, "My lord, the emperor has summoned you."

"Oh," Qi She raised his right hand and waved, "You guys go first. There are still a lot of things going on recently, and the two of you have a difficult task, so you have to take care of yourself. The king will be in Chongding Courtyard later, so just go there if you have something to do .”

Zhu Yiqing and Meng Zhongxian thanked En and retreated, walked outside the gate, and wiped their sweat with their sleeves.The red sun above the head shines like stones and gold, shining on the thousands of clumps of bamboo outside the palace and Taoist hall.

With a blink of an eye, and then looking again, I saw the Taoqi willow path, which is already full of courtyards, leading to the Jiuying Hall and the Compassionate Ning Palace.

After a stop, the big sedan chair stops at the palace gate, the sedan chair falls, the curtain opens, and Qishe steps out.In the dense shade of flowers and trees, the young emperor Qi Hong, who was dressed in a golden dragon dancing, greeted him, "Uncle, you are here, no courtesy. Since the mother returned to the palace, the phoenix body has been in disharmony, and it has not been effective these days. I scolded the imperial physicians, but they said that it was the empress mother who refused to take the medicine. It was useless to persuade me for a long time. Seeing that I should go to listen to the lectures of the Hanlin at this moment, I have to go, and I also ask the emperor to help me Advise."

"Don't persuade me!" After a while, like an echo, the empress dowager Xi He's own stubborn answer came.

She was sitting crookedly in the tent of the carved bed in the palace. She was wearing a thin light green blouse with piled flowers on her upper body, and a cotton quilt was wrapped around her lower body. The delicate features of her eyebrows were already visible, but the hematoma on her cheeks had not disappeared. , still scarred, "Oh, don't persuade me, why don't I take medicine, the third master knows best."

Qi She was sitting on a brocade pier outside the bed, holding a medicine bowl in one hand and leaning on his knee in the other, and there seemed to be words of comfort in his lips that he could not say enough.He lowered his eyes in silence, then raised them to stare at Xi He, who was also staring at him.

In an instant, some past incidents broke out intermittently in the two people's eyes.

When Qi Hong was nine years old, he suddenly contracted smallpox. The palace invited the Goddess of Pox, hung up red curtains to ward off evil spirits, and ordered all the officials to wear flowered clothes, but the imperial doctor still shook his head nonchalantly.In front of the shrine, Xihe, who closed her eyes and prayed, suddenly opened her eyes, as if she had realized the truth, and immediately passed on the regent to enter.After trembling his lips for a while, every word he uttered seemed to be vomited from the depths of his heart, bitter and laborious, "Brother-in-law, my sister gave birth on the same day as me, two hours earlier than me. The emperor said that he would Fulfilling his promise, I issued an edict to appoint you as the reserve. Just after the news came out, I sent congratulatory gifts to you and your elder sister's eldest son. You probably don't remember it. Among them was an extremely exquisite patchwork robe. That dress was given to me by the first emperor. He said: "This is what the father gave to the third son, and it was sent in your name. The third princess is your own sister. You and her have always been sisters. You She won't be suspicious of the things I gave you.' I didn't close my eyes all night. In the morning, I wrapped the clothes with my own hands and sent them to your house. The clothes were soaked in the pox pulp of the smallpox victims, and the children's skin Once you touch it, you will definitely die. Brother-in-law, it was the father and the first emperor who wanted you and your sister’s children to die, but the murderer, the murderer was me. I knew it was a poisonous garment, but I didn’t say anything, I knew, I Know!"

Xihe's tears fell like sand, and her body seemed to have turned into a plate of loose sand, sinking and collapsing, repeating constantly: "I know, I know, I know..."

"I know." Qi She cut her off, using the same three words, without any disturbance.

Xihe looked forward in shock, and finally, she recalled the first meeting with Qi She: At the funeral of her sister Yongyuan, the mourning hall was covered with white lights and white curtains, and her filial brother-in-law stood in the dark In front of the coffin.She had heard many stories about him. She heard that the prince spent his entire youth as a hostage, but he not only survived in the enemy camp, but also learned to wrestle, ride and shoot, march and fight with the enemy, It is even called "Sahada" on the grassland by the enemy, which means "the bravest hunter".Xihe couldn't imagine how a lame boy who left his country and grew up to be a warrior alone. She only saw the young man in white straightening his back like a javelin, and the eyes that looked directly at her were agitated. The cold wind that polished the tip of the gun.

At that time, she thought he was just grieving.

(End of this chapter)