The palace changes on New Year's Eve began with He Ling's auspicious offer.
Although He Ling died, the He family's guilt could not be escaped. A total of more than 170 members of the He family, from top to bottom, direct and indirect, were imprisoned in the dungeon.
After interrogation at Dali Temple, it was revealed that even the head of the He family, He Hanhai, did not know about He Ling's rebellion plan, let alone other members of the side branches. In other words, most people were innocent and implicated, but the rebellion involved the nine clans. If it weren't for He Xiao's great contribution, these people would have been pushed to the guillotine long ago.
The emperor was merciful and gave He Xiao the authority to handle matters on his own.
"There are many followers of He Ling in the side branch. Although they are not aware of He Ling's rebellion plan, they also contributed money and efforts to the preliminary preparations for the rebellion. These people should be punished." He Xiao pursed his lips, "But, I The meeting petitioned for the pardon of the children under the age of twelve and the women over sixty years old among the side branches. The side branches who have not served He Ling can be deprived of their official posts and released without guilt... As for the direct lineage..."
At this point, he paused.
The direct line of the He family is very thin. He Hanhai only has two sons, he and He Ling. He Ling had a son with his first wife. The entire direct line only has six people in total, and one of them is three or four years old. Luo Qi, the eldest daughter of the Luo family, was married just recently.
"He Ling's rebellion was due to He Hanhai's failure to teach his son. Although he didn't know it, he had to pay the price." He Xiao lowered his eyebrows and said slowly, "Although He Ling is not my mother's biological child, my mother I also have the responsibility of upbringing. I will use my merits to ask the Holy One to forgive my mother's sins... He Ling's son is still young and is on the pardon list. As for my sister-in-law... If she is willing, I can write a letter of resignation on He Ling's behalf. , then the He family’s affairs have nothing to do with her.”
Cheng Wanwan sighed.
He Xiao was a kind-hearted person at heart, and even after he had come this far, he still deliberately planned to save He Ling's son's life, and also gave Miss Luo a way to survive.
She said: "From now on, you will be in charge of the He family. What are your plans next?"
"After returning to Beijing, I often dreamed about what happened in Dahe Village." A trace of nostalgia appeared on He Xiao's face, "I want to find time to go back to Dahe Village for a walk, and then go outside the Great Wall to have a look. In short, I I don’t want to stay in the capital, there are too many intrigues and unpleasant things here..."
Cheng Wanwan felt the same way.
If Sidan's road to the imperial examination hadn't been over yet, she would have wanted to go back earlier.
"I haven't seen Li Zheng for a long time. Oh no, he is the county magistrate now. There is also Grandpa Zhao and Grandma. I wonder if you are healthy? Can Wang Yongcheng manage the patrol team? Is there anyone in the house where I used to live? Live? I wonder if the persimmon tree in the yard is bearing fruit. Did the greedy bird fly in again and peck the persimmon skin..." He Xiao smiled and said, "I will escort my cousin when she returns. .”
Cheng Wanwan nodded.
After seeing He Xiao off, Gu Bing and Gu Leng came to meet formally.
The twin sisters are fifteen years old this year and have very good martial arts skills. Together, the two of them can make Cheng Yi unable to fight back.
"You two can usually be the guards of the courtyard." Cheng Wanwan said kindly, "If I go out, just change into women's clothes and be my personal maids."
"Yes, Master!"
The two clasped their fists at the same time, their voices loud and powerful.
In the afternoon of the next day, Cheng Wanwan received a secret letter from the queen from the palace, which was about the results of the imperial master's treatment.
The Imperial Preceptor is the most sacred profession in a country. Failure of the Imperial Preceptor to do his or her duties will destabilize the people. Therefore, any matters related to the Imperial Preceptor at the Lantern Festival banquet are forbidden to be spread to outsiders.
The imperial court's treatment of the imperial masters was also carried out in secret.
The letter stated that at midnight last night, the Imperial Preceptor was given a stay-at-home order. The Imperial Preceptor was not allowed to leave the Imperial Preceptor Hall for even half a step until the next Imperial Preceptor was found.
In addition, the emperor sent someone to diagnose the pulse of the son of the Imperial Preceptor, and found that the son of the Imperial Preceptor was not born stupid, but suffered too much pressure the day after tomorrow, and chose to close his heart and became like a three-year-old child... because he was It was formed the day after tomorrow and could be cured, so the emperor ordered his son to be taken out of the palace and sent to a Zhuangzi on the outskirts of Beijing for special treatment.
Treatment is one of them, and the other is to hold the imperial advisor as a hostage so that the imperial advisor can continue to serve the court.
Cheng Wanwan closed the secret letter and burned it in a lantern.
She no longer cared about the affairs in the palace, and Rongqing's beheading had nothing to do with her. She opened the book and started to talk about the girls' school.
The women's school was led by the Queen and implemented by Cheng Zhao, and some of the rules, regulations, and content planning were all suggested by her.
Since the queen gave her such an important task, she must do it well.
There are many schools and private schools for ethnic studies in the capital, but there is no women's school. This is the first school to be opened. It must be a blockbuster and cannot make any mistakes, otherwise the queen's reputation will be damaged.
Cheng Wanwan locked herself in the study and studied carefully.
Next door, Zhao Sidan and Yu Zhan were studying hard. In the sound of reading loudly, her heart felt particularly peaceful. In less than three days, she made a preliminary plan.
She revised the plan again and planned to send someone to the palace to show it to the queen. At this time, Mrs. Qi walked in and reported: "Madam, Mrs. Zheng and Mr. Zheng want to see you."
Cheng Wanwan closed the plan and raised his eyebrows slightly.
Zheng Wangfeng married the legitimate daughter of a collateral line of the He family, and was considered a member of the He family's ship. Now that the He family has collapsed, the Zheng family has no backer, and it should be in trouble now.
Thinking of the things Zheng Wangfeng and Mrs. Zheng did a long time ago, such as falsely accusing Cheng Zhao of cheating, such as setting up Miss Lin to fall into the water... To be honest, she didn't have the slightest affection for the Zheng family.
However, she also thought that two years ago, when He Ling planned to go to Dahe Village to do evil, it was Zheng Wangfeng who came to report the news immediately.
She said: "Bring people into the flower hall."
Mrs. Zheng and Zheng Wangfeng waited at the door of the house for a while, and then Mrs. Qi came out and welcomed them in.
Mrs. Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, before coming to the door, she was really afraid of being turned away. If Mrs. Sui rejected them, she didn't know who else to turn to.
The two followed Mrs. Qi to the flower hall.
It is already the twentieth day of the first lunar month, the weather is slightly warm, the winter jasmine flowers in the flower hall are in bloom, and their branches are dancing with the breeze.
"When I see Mrs. Sui later, please say more gentle words." Mrs. Zheng warned, "We are from the same hometown as Mrs. Sui, and you and Cheng Zhao are classmates. If you don't look at the monk's face and the Buddha's face, Mrs. Sui will definitely help. Our..."
Before she could finish speaking, Cheng Wanwan walked to the flower hall.
Zheng Wangfeng quickly raised his hands and saluted: "I have met Mrs. Sui."
"Master Zheng, Mrs. Zheng, there is no need to be polite." Cheng Wanwan said with a smile, "Sit down, don't be polite."
The two of them sat down anxiously and took a sip of tea, but they didn't taste anything.
"Is Mr. Zheng doing well in the Etiquette Department?" Cheng Wanwan asked casually, "Now it seems that he is in charge of the Sixth Grade Etiquette Department. The director is quite busy on weekdays. I wonder how Mr. Zheng has time to come to my place?"
After she asked this question, Mrs. Zheng naturally stopped talking about him and went straight to the topic.
