Forbidden City, Manna Palace.
In the early morning, when Jiajing came out of the room of the imperial concubine Shen, Lu Fang, who had been waiting for him, immediately stepped forward, leaned down and lowered his voice.
"Your Majesty, something happened!"
"Oh, what happened?"
When Jiajing heard what Lu Fang said, curiosity suddenly appeared on his face. He glanced at Lu Fang and asked.
Seeing this situation, Lu Fang carefully sorted out the words in her mind before speaking carefully to report.
"Your Majesty, I have received news that not long ago, the Taoist priests who were invited by Xiaoge Lao Yan Shifan to exorcise evil spirits in Gongyuan all died unexpectedly. There was no sign of a fight at the scene!"
"Last night, Xiao Ge Lao Yan Shifan went to the scene personally after receiving the report!"
"Right now, rumors are spreading in the court, saying that ghosts and gods are causing trouble. Some officials even want to report and ask you to postpone the next exam!"
When Jiajing heard Lu Fang's words, he couldn't help but sneered, and then said in a deep voice.
"Hmph, what kind of ghosts and gods are causing trouble? I think their purpose is to take this opportunity to postpone the exam!"
Then, Jiajing looked away from Lu Fang and gave the order.
"This is not the place to talk, let's go back to Qianqing Palace!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
When Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, she immediately looked stern and responded in a deep voice.
After that, Lu Fang followed Jiajing closely and headed towards the direction of Qianqing Palace.
…
Outside the cabinet, after the sedan that Yan Song was riding in stopped, Yan Shifan on the side immediately stepped forward and helped Yan Song out of the sedan.
At this moment, Yan Shifan's face was full of conviction.
"Father, you are right. Rumors are already spreading throughout the court, and the argument for asking Your Majesty to postpone the exam has already become rampant!"
When Yan Song heard this, he glanced at Yan Shifan quite indifferently and turned to ask.
"Then do you think His Majesty will compromise with them?"
"No, it won't happen. As long as His Majesty decides on something, he will do everything possible to do it!"
As soon as Yan Song finished speaking, Yan Shifan responded categorically.
After hearing what Yan Shifan said, Yan Song nodded, looked away from Yan Shifan, and spoke unhurriedly.
"Well, it's good that you understand this. When you see His Majesty later, you know what to say, right?"
"Father, what do you mean..."
When Yan Shifan heard this, his face was full of hesitation, and he subconsciously asked.
When Yan Song saw this situation, he immediately flew into a rage. He immediately looked at Yan Shifan with a look that hated iron but not steel, and reprimanded him.
"Yan Shifan, you idiot, do you think you can hide this from His Majesty?"
"When you meet His Majesty later, remember to tell everything you know. Don't hide anything!"
When Yan Song said this, he paused for a moment and then added another sentence.
"Yes, father, the child knows!"
After listening to Yan Song's explanation, Yan Shifan finally came to his senses and responded respectfully.
Just as Yan Shifan was about to support Yan Song and march towards the cabinet, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng's sedan chairs.
Then, he leaned down and lowered his voice.
"Father, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng are also here!"
"Yeah, I know!"
After Yan Song finished speaking, he immediately lowered his eyes and looked at the ground casually, not knowing what he was thinking.
Not long after, Xu Jie came to Yan Song's side and said respectfully, taking three steps and two steps at a time.
"I've met Mr. Yan Ge!"
"Oh, it's Mr. Xu Ge!"
Hearing this, Yan Song looked Xu Jie up and down with his cloudy eyes before he spoke.
After Xu Jie, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng on the side also followed closely and saluted Yan Song respectfully.
"I've met Mr. Yan Ge!"
"Um."
Yan Song only responded slightly to Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng's greetings, and then immediately looked away.
After that, Yan Song and Xu Jie were seen walking side by side, while Yan Shifan, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng kept an appropriate distance and followed behind them without saying a word.
After Xu Jie exchanged a few words with Yan Song, he immediately got down to business.
"Mr. Yan Ge, have you heard about what happened in Gongyuan last night?"
When Yan Song heard what Xu Jie said, he smiled and responded.
"Mr. Xu Ge, to be honest, I went to bed very early last night, so I don't know what happened in Gongyuan!"
When Xu Jie saw Yan Song not answering his words, a sinister look suddenly flashed in his eyes, and he said to himself.
"Humph, Yan Song, you old guy, you are still here pretending to be stupid with me, I think you won't shed tears until you see the coffin!"
Afterwards, Xu Jie was seen concentrating his mind, a look of worry appeared on his face, and he said slowly.
"Since Mr. Yan Ge doesn't know what happened in Gongyuan, let me tell you about it!"
"It is said that something dirty is causing trouble in Gongyuan, and the Taoist priests sent by Xiaoge Lao to exorcise the evil spirits all died unexpectedly!"
"Actually, it doesn't matter if a few Taoist priests die, but the key is that in a few days, the imperial court will hold an examination specifically for the clan and nobles in the Gongyuan. I'm worried about Mr. Xiao Ge..."
When Yan Song heard Xu Jie's words, although he didn't show any abnormality on the surface, he was already scolding him in his heart.
"Hmph, Xu Jie, you shameless thing, I'm afraid you are already happy now, and you even pretended to come forward to comfort me. Maybe you, Xu Jie, planned this behind the scenes!"
"It seems that His Majesty's evaluation of you earlier is indeed correct. You, Xu Jie, are really a despicable and shameless villain!"
Afterwards, Yan Song came to his senses, looked away from Xu Jie, and responded calmly.
"Don't worry about this matter, Mr. Xu Ge, I will take care of it!"
After Yan Song finished saying this, he turned away and looked at the scenery in the distance, losing the desire to communicate anymore.
"Huh, Yan Song, let's wait and see what happens next!"
Xu Jie thought so and couldn't help but quicken his pace.
…
Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.
Soon, Lu Fang followed Jiajing's footsteps and returned to Qianqing Palace.
After the master and servant returned to Qianqing Palace, they saw Jiajing sitting on the dragon chair, supporting his chin with one hand, and began to think about the ins and outs of the whole thing.
Then, Jiajing came back to his senses, looked at Lu Fang, and asked.
"Lu Fang, I remember that you said before that because of what happened at Gongyuan, rumors are spreading in the court. Some officials even want to take this opportunity to ask me to postpone the exam, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, it is mainly the officials who are causing trouble at the moment!"
Lu Fang, who was waiting beside Jiajing, heard this and immediately responded without thinking.
"Well, let me take a closer look. First, Yan Shifan invited Taoist priests from Longhu Mountain to go to Gongyuan to exorcise evil spirits for the upcoming exam. Then, these Taoist priests died in Gongyuan!"
"Then, rumors spread around the court, and those officials wanted to take this opportunity to ask me to postpone the upcoming examination specifically for the clan and nobles at the Gongyuan!"
When Jiajing said this, he couldn't help but sneered, gently rubbed the dragon head carved on the dragon chair with his hand, and said to himself.
"Hmph, these guys are really good at calculating!"
Immediately, Jiajing turned his eyes to Lu Fang and gave instructions.
"Lu Fang, go to the cabinet immediately and call Yan Shifan over. I want to ask him for details!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
Lu Fang, who was on the side, immediately looked stern when he heard Jiajing's words and responded in a deep voice.
After that, Lu Fang did not stay in the Qianqing Palace for too long, but left directly and headed in the direction of the cabinet.
…
The situation in the cabinet has not changed much compared to the past. Everyone is dealing with the memorials sent by subordinate officials.
However, in this seemingly plain scene, there are many hazes hidden. Neither Yan Song nor Xu Jie focused on the memorials that needed to be dealt with urgently.
Yan Shifan's face was full of worry that could not be concealed.
"Oh, I don't know what questions His Majesty will ask me later?"
"In case this matter makes His Majesty angry, and further..."
Yan Shifan thought so, and the corresponding picture appeared in his mind at the right time. When he came back to his senses, he couldn't help but shudder.
At this moment, Zhang Juzheng's voice sounded from the side: "Hey, is this the memorial to Ouyang Yijing from the Criminal Division?"
As soon as Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he instantly attracted the attention of everyone present.
There is no other reason. This Ouyang Yijing is a very difficult nut to crack. Not only does he speak uprightly and is not afraid of the powerful, but he is also very good at swearing. He can be called the leader of the officials!
Yan Song on the side suddenly turned extremely ugly when he heard this. He clenched his teeth and muttered to himself silently.
"Damn it, why did those officials get involved in this matter?"
Then, Yan Song suppressed his inner uneasiness, looked at Zhang Juzheng aside, and asked.
"What did Ouyang Yijing write in his memorial?"
Even Yan Song himself didn't realize that at this moment, his tone was a little frightened.
After all, this Ouyang Yijing impeached more than 20 civil and military officials of third rank or above with his seventh-rank official position. Not only that, he also impeached British Duke Zhang Rong!
If he didn't have to, Yan Song really didn't want to face this kind of person. After all, he couldn't scold him or hit him. He was really too cowardly!
Facing everyone's curious eyes, Zhang Juzheng glanced through the contents of the memorial and said slowly.
"This Ouyang Yijing requested Your Majesty in his memorial to postpone the exam!"
"What, how dare he, a small criminal officer..."
As soon as Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, Yan Song became furious, stood up from his seat suddenly, and immediately lost his voice.
But then, Yan Song came to his senses, sat back in his seat, looked around, and said apologetically.
"Sorry, I lost my temper!"
Everyone did not comment on Yan Song's words, and although Xu Jie looked calm, he was already smiling in his heart.
"Huh, Yan Song, you have today too!"
After such an episode, an unavoidable question was placed in front of everyone, that is, whether Ouyang Yijing's memorial should be sent to the Supervisor of Rites in accordance with the established procedures.
If this memorial from Ouyang Yijing is sent to the Supervisor of Ceremonies according to the established procedure, His Majesty will definitely be angered by the time. If it is not delivered, the procedure will not be justified.
Finally, Gao Gong stood up, looked cautiously in the direction of Yan Song and Xu Jie, and asked.
"Mr. Yan Ge, Mr. Xu Ge, tell me, should you deliver this memorial from Ouyang Yijing or not?"
When Yan Song heard Gao Gong's words, a look of confusion suddenly appeared on his face.
After hesitating for a long time, Yan Song seemed to have accepted his fate, nodded, and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Oh, hand it over!"
"Yes, Mr. Yan Ge!"
Gao Gong couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Yan Song's words, and immediately responded in a deep voice.
After all, this matter was personally approved by Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet. Even if His Majesty investigates it, he will not be the unlucky one.
After that, a rush of footsteps was heard outside the cabinet, and a subordinate official entered the cabinet. He looked in the direction of Yan Song and Xu Jie, leaned down and said respectfully.
"Sir, Mr. Lu, Mr. Lu is outside asking for an audience!"
After hearing the report from the subordinate official, Yan Song and Xu Jie did not show any surprise on their faces.
The two of them had already expected this situation. After all, the Taoist priests who died in Gongyuan were invited by Yan Shifan on his own initiative. Moreover, last night, Yan Shifan personally went to Gongyuan.
Immediately, Yan Song came back to his senses, looked at the subordinate official, and then gave instructions.
"Well, let Eunuch Lu come in!"
"Yes, Mr. Yan Ge!"
After hearing what Yan Song said, the subordinate official quickly took the order and left. Not long after, Lu Fang was seen entering the cabinet under the guidance of the subordinate official.
When everyone saw Lu Fang's arrival, they all stood up from their seats and saluted him respectfully.
"I've met Eunuch Lu!"
"You don't have to be so polite. Our family came here this time to obey His Majesty's order!"
When Lu Fang said this, he turned his gaze to Yan Shifan aside and continued.
"Mr. Xiaoge, please come with our family, His Majesty wants to see you!"
When Yan Shifan on the side heard this, a serious expression appeared on his face. He immediately lowered his head, cupped his hands, and responded respectfully.
"Yes, Eunuch Lu, I'm going to go right now!"
"Um."
When Lu Fang heard the words, she responded in a subtle way, and then she went to lead the way.
Seeing this situation, Xu Jie couldn't help but have a look of schadenfreude on his face, and then he looked back and said silently to himself.
"Humph, Yan Shifan, I want to see how you can pass this test!"
In this way, Yan Shifan, led by Lu Fang, walked out of the cabinet and headed towards the direction of Qianqing Palace.
…
Along the way, the two of them had little communication. When they arrived at Qianqing Palace, Lu Fang saw Yan Shifan looking anxious and uneasy, and immediately stopped, turned around, and spoke comforting words.
"Don't worry, Mr. Xiao Ge. His Majesty summoned you here because he wants to find out from you the true nature of the matter!"
When Yan Shifan heard Lu Fang's words, the expression on his face instantly became much better, and he was no longer as anxious and uneasy as before.
Immediately, he reacted, with a grateful look on his face, and bowed to Lu Fang.
"Thank you, Eunuch Lu!"
"Well, let's go and follow our family in to meet His Majesty!"
Lu Fang didn't care about this, just nodded slightly to Yan Shifan, and then spoke.
"Yes, Eunuch Lu!"
Afterwards, Yan Shifan, led by Lu Fang, stepped onto the stairs of Qianqing Palace.
As soon as Lu Fang entered the Qianqing Palace, she turned her gaze to Jiajing, who was sitting on the dragon chair, and saluted respectfully.
"Your Majesty, Xiaoge is old enough!"
"Um."
When Jiajing heard the words, he just responded in a subtle way. After that, Lu Fang came to stand beside Jiajing as usual.
Immediately, Yan Shifan was seen kneeling on the ground respectfully and said in a deep voice.
"I bow to your majesty, long live my emperor!"
"Well, get up!"
After receiving Jiajing's permission, Yan Shifan slowly stood up from the ground.
After Jiajing looked Yan Shifan up and down, he waved his hand and asked.
"Yan Shifan, you should know what happened at Gongyuan, right?"
"Your Majesty, I know!"
When Yan Shifan heard Jiajing's words, he immediately suppressed the panic in his heart and responded respectfully.
After listening to Yan Shifan's report, Jiajing nodded and gave instructions.
"Okay, if that's the case, then tell me everything that happened!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
After that, Yan Shifan organized the words in his mind and began to describe the whole story to Jiajing in detail.
"Your Majesty, this is what happened..."
Under Yan Shifan's narration, Jiajing had a general understanding of the whole incident.
Then, Jiajing turned his gaze to Yan Shifan, and then confirmed.
"Yan Shifan, you mean that no valuable clues have been found at the scene yet, right?"
"Yes...yes, Your Majesty, but Weichen will do his best to solve this case as soon as possible!"
When Yan Shifan heard Jiajing's words, he immediately lowered his head and responded tremblingly.
Jiajing did not comment on Yan Shifan's words, but changed the subject and asked immediately.
"Since those corpses are in the hands of Shuntian Mansion, is there any news from Shuntian Mansion now?"
"Qi... Your Majesty, there is no news from Shuntian Mansion for the time being, but the Shuntian Mansion Yin promised to the official before that once..."
Before Yan Shifan finished speaking, he was impatiently interrupted by Jiajing.
"Huh, after doing this for a long time, you don't know anything. I ask you, what do you do for food?"
"If it delays the normal progress of the exam, Yan Shifan, how many heads do you think you have that I can chop off?"
When Yan Shifan heard Jiajing's words, his whole body felt as if he was struck by lightning. Immediately, he quickly reacted and knelt on the ground with a thump, saying in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me and give Wei Chen some more time. Wei Chen will investigate the case as soon as possible!"
Jiajing took in the expression on Yan Shifan's face, waved his hand, and gave the order.
"Forget it, I will give you some more time!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty!"
When Yan Shifan heard this, his face was full of the expression of surviving a disaster, and he kept kowtowing on the ground.
"Okay, let's leave it like this for now. If you have any news, report it to me immediately. Do you understand?"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
After Yan Shifan left Qianqing Palace, Lu Fang, who was waiting beside Jiajing, stepped forward with a worried look on his face and spoke out words of admonishment.
"Your Majesty, I feel that this case is full of weirdness. I am afraid that the relevant evidence has been destroyed by the people behind the scenes!"
"Yes, I know!"
After hearing Lu Fang's worries, Jiajing didn't show any surprise on his face and immediately spoke.
After listening to Jiajing's explanation, Lu Fang's face showed doubts in time, and then asked Jiajing.
"If that's the case, then why do you still have to..."
After hearing this, Jiajing glanced at Lu Fang and immediately explained to Lu Fang unhurriedly.
"The purpose of those officials is to use this case to let me postpone the upcoming examination specifically for the clan and nobles. Therefore, it is not important whether the real culprit can be caught!"
"The reason why I asked Yan Shifan to investigate this case and ordered him to solve the case within a time limit and apprehend the real culprit is because I wanted Yan Shifan to attract their attention for me!"
"As long as I can prove that there are ghosts and gods at work in Gongyuan, it is completely false, then all their efforts will be in vain!"
After listening to Jiajing's explanation, Lu Fang suddenly felt enlightened. Then, she lowered her head and said sincerely.
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
…
Forbidden City, room of the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
At this moment, Feng Bao, Huang Jin, and several other eunuchs, eunuch Bingbi, were sitting in their respective positions, reviewing the memorials sent from the cabinet.
After one of the eunuchs, who had finished marking the memorial, put it aside, he was ready to continue marking the next memorial.
But when he saw the signature of the memorial, his face was full of shock, and he couldn't help but exclaimed: "What, Ouyang Yijing!"
Everyone in the duty room stopped reviewing the memorials in their hands and looked over curiously after hearing the noise coming from the eunuch with a gift of pen.
As the oldest and highest-status eunuch, Huang Jin immediately stood up from his seat and stepped forward to ask.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"Eunuch Huang, to be honest, this is Ouyang Yijing's memorial!"
When the eunuch heard what Huang Jin said, he immediately pointed to the memorial and said this.
Huang Jin followed the position pointed by the eunuch and saw a memorial signed by Ouyang Yijing lying quietly on the table.
At first, Huang Jin thought he had seen it wrong. But when he rubbed his eyes and continued to look at the memorial, he suddenly realized that everything he had done before was true. Ouyang Yijing had really come to his aid. Wrote a memorial.
Seeing this situation, Huang Jin couldn't help but stroke his forehead, his face was full of embarrassment, and he said with emotion.
"Now things are in trouble!"
As a eunuch who had stayed in the palace for most of his life, Huang Jin naturally knew how difficult Ouyang Yijing was.
Back then, this Ouyang Yijing made His Majesty very angry when Shangshu impeached the British Duke Zhang Rong.
Now, this Ouyang Yijing gave another memorial to His Majesty, which instantly put Huang Jin in a dilemma.
If this memorial is left unpublished, there will first be big problems in the process. When Ouyang Yijing uses the topic to his advantage, no one will be able to live with it!
But if this memorial is sent to His Majesty in such an honest manner, His Majesty will most likely be angered.
After thinking about it for a long time, Huang Jin finally decided to read the contents of this memorial first.
Then, Huang Jin stepped forward, picked up the memorial, and began to read it carefully.
Soon, Huang Jin was shocked by the contents of the memorial.
The memorial clearly stated that he requested Jiajing to postpone the upcoming exams for the clan and nobles to be held in Gongyuan!
Afterwards, Huang Jin put the memorial back to its original position and murmured to himself.
"This Ouyang Yijing, how dare he!"
"Eunuch Huang, what happened?"
Feng Bao on the side saw Huang Jin's face full of fear, and immediately stepped forward and asked cautiously.
"Here, Feng Bao, see for yourself!"
After Huang Jin finished speaking, he handed the memorial written by Ouyang Yijing to Jiajing into Feng Bao's hands.
(End of chapter)
