In the capital, Xu Jie's home.
At this moment, Xu Jie was pacing the room with his hands behind his back, his face full of worry.
Ever since Xu Jie sent his clan brother away from his home, he felt a vague sense of crisis enveloped him.
Xu Jie quickly forced himself to calm down and began to analyze based on the situation he had obtained so far.
"First of all, the cause of this incident was that some students had gathered to make trouble and opposed the imperial court's policy of integrating grain payments between officials and gentry. Then the Jin Yiwei followed the lead and implicated many people!"
"Next, someone took the opportunity of the palace examination to express their dissatisfaction on the answer sheet."
"And this act completely angered His Majesty, which caused all the people from Dongchang and Jinyiwei to dispatch and start killing people everywhere in the capital!"
"As for Brother Cai and the others who came to visit just now, they might have been noticed by the Jin Yiwei lurking in the dark."
Thinking of this, Xu Jie's face suddenly became ugly. Xu Jie had a hunch in his heart that this matter was very likely to have happened.
Immediately, Xu Jie called the housekeeper and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Go and check, have the brothers just returned home?"
"Yes, sir!"
Just as the housekeeper was about to turn around and leave, there was a rush of footsteps from outside the room. The young man who was responsible for guarding the door of Xu Mansion ran in panting, turned his eyes to Xu Jie, and reported respectfully.
"Master, someone from the palace is here. He asked me to tell him that your clan brother has been imprisoned by the Jinyi Guards!"
"In addition, the man also said that he wants you to go to the palace in person to meet His Majesty!"
After hearing the boy's report, Xu Jie's head buzzed, and he lost all his strength at that moment. Fortunately, the butler on the side had quick eyesight and quick hands, and helped Xu Jie in time, so it didn't cause trouble.
"I knew this day would come sooner or later!"
After Xu Jie murmured something in a low voice, he smiled miserably, and without much hesitation, immediately followed the eunuch and embarked on the road to the palace.
…
Xu Jie looked at the stairs in front of him. He only had to walk this part of the stairs to reach the Yangxin Hall and meet His Majesty. But for some reason, Xu Jie's legs seemed to be filled with lead and he couldn't lift them up. .
Xu Jie raised his head and looked at the nearby Yangxin Hall. At this time, the Yangxin Hall was the same as usual, without any changes.
But in Xu Jie's view, His Majesty must have found some evidence when he called him to the palace. As long as he entered the Yangxin Palace today, there would be no possibility of coming out alive.
Even the family behind him will not be able to escape disaster, and his majesty will soon send the royal guards to the door to kill them all!
Xu Jie closed his eyes in despair, and the relevant scenes automatically appeared in his mind.
For a moment, Xu Jie even wanted to turn around and run away. At worst, I, Xu Jie, would not be the second assistant in this cabinet!
But soon, this idea was extinguished by Xu Jie himself.
"Forget it, this is the last time!"
Xu Jie comforted himself in his heart, raised his legs, and stepped onto the stairs in front of him step by step.
In the Yangxin Hall, the guiding eunuch came forward to report to Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, Xu Ge is old!"
Jiajing heard this, waved his hand, and immediately gave instructions.
"Well, I understand, let him come in!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After the guiding eunuch responded, he immediately turned around and left the Yangxin Hall without stopping at all.
After a while, Xu Jie entered the Yangxin Hall with heavy steps.
Although he was quite uneasy in his heart, the expression on Xu Jie's face was still the same as before, making it impossible to tell the difference.
"I bow to your majesty, long live my emperor!"
After Xu Jie entered the Yangxin Hall, he knelt on the ground, turned his eyes to the figure sitting on the dragon chair, and said respectfully.
"Well, get up."
Jiajing's voice was quite indifferent, and no emotion could be heard in it.
After Xu Jie stood up, Jiajing continued to ask.
"Xu Jie, you should know why I came to you, right?"
When Xu Jie heard this, an expression of resignation immediately appeared on his face, and he responded like this.
"Your Majesty, Weichen understands that Your Majesty, you came to Weichen this time because of the fact that Weichen's clan brother was imprisoned by the Jinyi Guards!"
Hearing this, Jiajing nodded and immediately asked Xu Jie.
"Xu Jie, tell me the truth. At this time, your clan brother suddenly came to visit you at your home. What is the reason?"
"Is it possible that you, Xu Jie, are behind all the things that have happened in the capital in recent days?"
Hearing Jiajing's heart-wrenching words, a look of panic appeared on Xu Jie's face. Without much hesitation, he immediately knelt on the ground with a thump and choked with sobs.
"Your Majesty, I am wronged!"
"Weichen didn't see them at all. After hearing the news, Weichen ordered his servants to send them away!"
"In recent years, as Wei Chen's official position has become bigger and bigger, the clan often sends people to visit Wei Chen. There are even some tribesmen who want to make profits by using Wei Chen's status. However, the above-mentioned behaviors They were all discovered by Wei Chen and sternly rejected them!"
"The loyalty of this humble minister to Your Majesty can be seen from heaven and earth, and can be seen from the sun and moon!"
When Xu Jie said this, he paused for a moment and then continued.
"Weichen...Weichen has never done anything like this. I'm sorry for your Majesty's affairs!"
After hearing what Xu Jie said, Jiajing looked at the ground casually, waved his hand, and gave random instructions.
"Xu Jie, I still trust you!"
"Let's do this. I'll say hello to the Jin Yiwei later and ask them to release your clan brother. How about that?"
When Xu Jie heard this, a look of gratitude appeared on his face, and he kowtowed immediately.
"Your Majesty is wise, and I will do my best to relieve your Majesty's worries. I will not hesitate even to the death!"
Seeing this, Jiajing took his eyes away from Xu Jie and said excitedly.
"Just in time, I have something I need you to do!"
When Xu Jie heard Jiajing's words, an ominous premonition suddenly flashed through his heart, but since he had already spoken out loudly before, no matter what, he could only hold his nose and admit it.
"Exactly, I have something here that needs your signature!"
As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, the eunuch who had been waiting came to Xu Jie with a tray.
On the tray, there is a piece of paper with the content already drawn up, but the signature area is still empty.
"Your Majesty, this...is this?"
Since Xu Jie was still kneeling on the ground, he couldn't see clearly, so he immediately confirmed it to Jiajing.
"Xu Jie, you might as well get up from the ground and take a closer look!"
Jiajing waved his hand and gave instructions quite casually.
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
After Xu Jie finished speaking, he stood up from the ground and turned his gaze to the white paper in the tray.
When Xu Jie saw clearly what was on the paper, the expression on his face was immediately replaced by a look of horror.
What came into view was a statement that read as follows.
"The first assistant of my cabinet, Yan Song, and the second assistant of my cabinet, Xu Jie, hereby support the policy promulgated by the imperial court to integrate the government and gentry in paying grains, and call on the officials of the imperial court to join in..."
Xu Jie was no longer in the mood to read the rest of the content.
Xu Jie knew in his heart that if he did not sign this statement today, His Majesty would never let him leave safely!
But if he signed it, he would be ostracized from the entire gentry class.
In this way, Xu Jie fell into a deep entanglement.
"Xu Jie, why are you still standing there? Didn't you just say that you wanted to share my worries?"
"Or are you saying that everything you just said was deceiving me?"
Just when Xu Jie was still struggling, Jiajing's Gujing Wubo voice came, making Xu Jie shudder.
Finally, as if Xu Jie had made up his mind, he picked up the brush and wrote his name on it.
When Jiajing saw this situation, his face was filled with relief and he spoke words of encouragement.
"Well, that's right."
"Go and send this statement to Yan's Mansion. I want Yan Song to sign it too!"
(End of chapter)
