Shi family.
The originally bustling mansion became much deserted today, but the people of the Shi family didn't care about this at all. The whole house was filled with a panicked aura of doomsday.
The slave held his breath and concentrated, moving lightly, fearing that his master would catch him making a mistake and use him as a tool to vent his anger and kill him directly.
Everyone in the master's family was even more panic-stricken. Mrs. Shi was running around anxiously in the house, and the concubines and ladies beside her were restless. They seemed to have seen the tragic situation of being charged into the Jiaofangsi before their eyes.
In the study room, Shi Dingzhong and Shi Zijun, the real helmsmen of the Shi family, sat opposite each other, while the family's staff accompanied them, discussing countermeasures.
"Proprietor, in my opinion, since Your Majesty did not make a decision in court, allowing you to submit a letter to defend yourself tomorrow means you are treating the matter lightly, so there is no need to worry too much."
Shi Dingzhong shook his head, "That being said, who dares to bet?"
He sighed and stood up, "I have only stayed in the Chongning Dynasty for twenty-three years. There is no one who is too big to fail. What about the former emperor's master? The so-called internal and external matters, Your Majesty asked him for advice, and then, if he had not realized his own interests and took the initiative to retire, he might not have had a happy death. How was Su Prime Minister in the past? His disciples and former officials filled the dynasty, were famous all over the world, and had numerous meritorious deeds. He was known as a wise prime minister. What next? His Majesty's mind changed, his appearance was different, and he immediately resigned and returned home. Even if he cooperated so much, he still had to die for peace under His Majesty's secret instructions and the Qin Prime Minister's full pursuit, in exchange for the peace of the Su family, and he would not end well. How many once extremely prominent ministers were asked to beheaded and exiled to exile, but now their names are no longer heard in Zhongjing."
He turned to look at his staff, "I'm just afraid that if I make the wrong move, I will follow in their footsteps."
Shi Zijun couldn't help but angrily slapped the case, "How do you think that stupid censor knew those things!"
The staff member shook his head slightly. There was no point in worrying about that right now. He pursed his lips and thought deeply, then tentatively asked: "Why don't you go find the British Duke?"
Shi Dingzhong stood by the window and looked out the window for a long time, "Do you think it's possible that the British minister was responsible for this? He didn't say a word in the hall today!"
Shi Zijun's expression changed, but the staff member shook his head, "It's unreasonable. The proprietor has promised to give him a reply in a few days. There is no reason why he can't wait even this time. Moreover, the proprietor's position has been eliminated. Dong How useful the Lord is to him!"
Although these words sounded very unpleasant, it was indeed the case. Shi Dingzhong was not dissatisfied just because of these words. He nodded, "This is reasonable, but I am paranoid. If it were not for the British Lord, Prime Minister Qin and I There is no bad blood, and Concubine De is standing still today. Could it be that this little censor did it on his own?"
Shi Zijun snorted, "Father, Mr. Zhang, I think it is that Xia Jingyun. This person has a deep hatred for my Shi family and has deep intentions. He must be behind it!"
Shi Dingzhong and his staff silently ignored such stupid words. Xia Jingyun was just a young man in his twenties who had not even passed his prime of life. He had some talent and learning, so there was no way he could handle such a thing.
I don’t even say whether it can be done, I don’t even dare to think about it!
You said that Wei Yuanzhi's plan was pretty much the same.
"Proprietor, so, what I mean is, you see, the British are the only ones among the founding fathers who have maintained their position. Now they are so popular, and you have said that you surrendered to him, why? Why don’t you go ask him for advice?”
"Hey, first of all, the British Lord has not said a word today. If I rush to beg for help, my position under him will be weak in the future, so I want to see if I can do anything myself. The second is , I'm worried that Your Majesty let me go during the day, maybe because he wanted to see who I was colluding with, and who I was complicit in, and contacting him rashly would endanger my life."
Shi Dingzhong's words made the staff couldn't help but sigh secretly. It seemed that this important minister with great fame was actually walking on thin ice with trepidation!
Just when the three people in the room were helpless, there was a knock on the door.
The housekeeper stood cautiously at the door. Seeing Shi Dingzhong's frighteningly dark face, he trembled and said, "Master, there is a food deliveryman who wants to see you about something that affects the lives of our entire family. I don't dare to neglect him."
With that said, he waved his hand, and two nursing staff grabbed a man wearing coarse cloth and walked over, one on the left and the other on the right.
Although the man was wearing coarse clothes and was made by others, he didn't care about it, but showed a high and arrogant look.
And when the light poured on his face, allowing Shi Dingzhong to see his face clearly, Shi Dingzhong's expression immediately changed, "Let go! You have nothing to do here, get down!"
The housekeeper and the nurse still hesitated, but Shi Dingzhong immediately glared, and the three of them immediately ran away.
After letting the man into the house, Shi Dingzhong thought for a while and asked his son to stand outside, guarding the door personally and not allowing anyone to approach. Then he asked the man to sit down at the table, and then poured the tea himself, "Mr. Xu, but What does the British Duke have to say?"
The visitor smiled and said, "Today in the court, the young master did not offer any help. Mr. Shi doesn't have any grudges in his heart, right?"
Shi Dingzhong said quickly: "What are you talking about, Mr. Xu? In that situation, the details were not clear, and if we ended up hastily, we would be afraid of falling into the enemy's conspiracy, so it would be best to stand still."
"That's good. Is Mr. Shi worried now?"
When Shi Dingzhong heard this, he immediately became sensible, stood up, and bowed deeply to the other party regardless of his identity, "Please teach me, sir!"
However, the other party did not show support in front of him, an important minister of the imperial court, and quickly stood up and stepped aside, then helped Shi Dingzhong up, "Master Shi, you and the father-in-law are now on the same page, why do you have to speak two different languages? Is there anything to teach or not to teach, don’t you think so?”
"Yes, yes! I was confused."
The visitor smiled, motioned for everyone to sit down again, and said slowly: "My father-in-law has inquired about today's matter from many sources after he returned, and it is indeed only the little censor who did it. Therefore, the key to this matter lies with your majesty. Attitude.”
Shi Dingzhong sighed, "But the key is that His Majesty's attitude is hard to figure out!"
"Master Shi thinks it's hard to figure it out, but isn't it because the father-in-law is still here!"
The visitor smiled slightly and said, "My lord, your Majesty understands the way of being a king and knows where a true king should set his sights."
He nodded on the table, "What's wrong with ministers living a more indulgent life? After climbing to such a high position, you still can't enjoy it? Then who bothers to work hard to contribute to the country? What's wrong with the suffering people? Billions of people , there are only so many officials. These are just to support the officials. As long as they don’t go too far and don’t arouse public resentment, doesn’t Your Majesty know how to be considerate of your ministers? As for helping a group of family members, is it a common thing for human beings? If you become an official of the imperial court, you have to be ruthless and destructive? In that case, who would be willing to do their best for His Majesty and the imperial court, right? These words cannot be said to the outside world, but Shangshu Shi naturally understands."
Shi Dingzhong nodded quickly, but did not speak, but continued to look at the other party expectantly.
"But your Majesty is not a clay Bodhisattva. If there are those who turn a blind eye, there will naturally be things that he will never tolerate. You can't form a clique to fight against the imperial power; you can't be so corrupt that your Majesty is not as rich as your family; You cannot completely understand the meaning above, cannot implement the above ideas, and become a waste with little success and more than failure; you cannot touch his reverse scale."
After an analysis, the visitor smiled and said, "Master Shi, do you now know how to write a letter to defend yourself?"
Although Shi Dingzhong was still a little uneasy, after being explained in this way, he felt more at ease. He stood up and handed over his hands, "Thank you, Mr. Xu. Thank you, Mr. Xu."
——
Early the next morning, a self-defense memorial written overnight by Shi Dingzhong, the Minister of Rites, was sent to the palace and placed on Emperor Chongning's desk.
Emperor Chongning picked it up, read it silently, and pondered for a long time, "Come here and draw up the decree!"
At noon, Gongsun Jing hurried back to Jiang'an Hou Mansion.
In the study, he found Xia Jingyun and Su Yuanshang, "The decree has come."
Xia Jingyun and Su Yuanshang both raised their heads.
"Shi Dingzhong, the Minister of Rites, had bad personal ethics and was not strict with his subordinates. He was fined three years' salary, dismissed from the post of bachelor of Wenhua Pavilion, and deprived of his wife's second-grade royal title. His son Shi Zijun improperly raised a domestic slave and was fined one Thousand; his nephew Shi Zixian was deprived of Jinke's qualifications as a Chunwei official and was expelled from Beijing."
Xia Jingyun was slightly shocked, "No more?"
Gongsun Jing shook his head and said, "In addition, Zhou Yinglong, the censor of the censorship station, is upright and resolute. He speaks out and gives advice. He was promoted to serve as censor in the palace and was given a silver fish bag."
"This is just a gag." Su Yuanshang sighed.
Gongsun Jing also sighed, "But what happens next? Shi Dingzhong made such a mistake, and His Majesty handled him so lightly and simply spared him. How can we touch him!"
Between words, he was already very pessimistic about the prospect of this incident.
Xia Jingyun smiled softly, "Can't move him? How is it possible!"
Gongsun Jing spread his hands, "The most powerful evidence in our hands has been thrown out. This rare censor who has nothing to do with us but can be used by us has also been used. In addition, after this incident, Shi Dingzhong arranged If the hidden danger is removed, the position becomes more stable, how can we do it?"
At this moment, a flash of lightning flashed through Xia Jingyun's mind, and he suddenly understood why Mr. Zhao didn't bring up matters such as the Shi family's private outhouse and the rape of civilian girls.
Perhaps, this wise old man has already understood His Majesty's character and knows that such things cannot move His Majesty's heart.
He looked at Gongsun Jing and said, "He has passed this test. It has nothing to do with the size of the charges. It's just because these charges cannot touch the heart of our Majesty. But if they can touch his heart, even a small matter can make him happy." His body will be destroyed and his family will be destroyed. When the time comes, his current kindness will only become his bigger crime!"
He snorted softly, "Don't worry, the real battle has just begun!"
(End of chapter)
