Fortunately, Xiao Li was not beaten to death by these arrogant followers, but what was unfortunate was that Xiao Li was seriously injured and fell into a coma.
The old doctor in He Zhanjing's mansion gave emergency treatment, and he just regained his breath. As soon as he opened his eyes, he asked anxiously: "Xiao Li,...how are you doing?"
Xiao Li was picked up by He Zhan on his way back to the army when he was young. He Zhan had no son but only one daughter, so he always raised Xiao Li as his own son. I originally wanted Xiao Li to adopt my surname He, but when I picked it up, I found a beautiful jade with the surname "Li" engraved on Xiao Li's swaddling clothes.
He Zhan thought that the child might have been accidentally lost by the family with the surname Li. Since he had a clear surname, it would be a bit bad to follow his own surname of He. So the child was still given the surname Li, hoping that he could find his biological parents and recognize his ancestors as soon as possible. But he never thought that eighteen years would pass by, and Xiao Lizi would still not be able to find his parents when he grew up, but would stay in the He Mansion to serve He Zhan.
On weekdays, Wu Zhun just indulges his subordinates to act arrogantly in Zhennanguan. Who has the support of Liu Ji, the chief minister of the current cabinet, behind him? But this time he hit his "son" Xiao Li. If He Zhan still swallowed his anger at this time, he would have lived half his life in vain.
"Dad, don't worry, Xiao Lizi is out of danger, but..." He Zhan's daughter replied.
He Zhanben had just breathed a sigh of relief after hearing his daughter say, "Little Plum is out of danger," but then he heard her stuttering, and finally managed to get the word "but" out of her mouth. Suddenly, her breath was not smooth, and it was stuck in her chest. Come.
"But what? But what, tell me quickly!"
He Zhan's daughter wiped away her tears and said, "He has been unconscious for a day!"
He Zhan forced the maid to help him sit up, clenched his fists and gritted his teeth and said, "Wu Zhun bullies others too much. It's intolerable, but it's intolerable! Come here, prepare some paper and ink for me, I want to complain to the Holy Emperor!"
…
Ten days later, after exhausting all the fast horses, He Zhan's imperial certificate finally arrived at the Forbidden City.
In the Xinuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, Yan Hai, the eunuch in charge, was reading a memorial to Zhu Youtang, while Zhu Youtang was half-lying on the dragon couch playing with a sword brought as tribute from Goryeo.
While Yan Hai was reading the memorial, he secretly glanced at the changes in Zhu Youtang's expression. Since Pan Gu, the imperial staff of Chengtianmen, died suddenly when he returned home a few days ago, some censors in the court who were not afraid of death have sent insinuations to Zhu Youtang. Zhu Youtang saw that Long Yan was furious. At that time, a young eunuch accidentally knocked the tea to the ground, which undoubtedly angered his emperor even more. Zhu Youtang immediately threw the teapot away and hit the little eunuch with a bloody head.
Yan Hai understood what Zhu Youtang wanted to hear and what he didn't want to hear. Especially those reports on border battles, Zhu Youtang liked them very much. Therefore, Yan Hai was careful when selecting memorials to read and did not dare to be careless at all.
Suddenly, a letter from the guard congratulating Zhan at Nanguan in Southern Xinjiang of the Ming Dynasty came into Yan Hai's eyes. Yan Hai was overjoyed, took out the envelope, unfolded it, and read it loudly. However, just halfway through the reading, Yan Hai discovered something was wrong with the envelope. This was not a frontier battle report, but an impeachment envelope.
Zhu Youtang played with the sword for a while and felt tired. He closed his eyes and squinted to listen, only to see Yan Hai stop reading halfway through. He opened his eyes and said, "Why don't you read it anymore? Is there some war going on in southern Xinjiang?"
Yan Hai wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered: "Your Majesty, this is an impeachment note."
When Zhu Youtang heard the word "impeachment", he suddenly sobered up a lot. He opened his eyes and asked, "Impeach? Who is being impeached? Keep reading."
After getting Zhu Youtang's permission, Yan Hai dared to continue reading. When he read: "The chief minister of the cabinet, Liu Ji, formed a clique for personal gain and indulged his subordinates, Yan Hai raised his head and glanced at Zhu Youtang to see if he wanted to continue reading. Go down. Surprisingly, Zhu Youtang's face was very calm, and he was not as angry as Long Yan had imagined.
After Yan Hai finished reading, Zhu Youtang pondered for a while and said: "I have given you a verbal order to order the commander of the Jinyi Guards, Comrade Mou Bin, to come into the palace."
"My slave obeys the order."
"etc."
Yan Hai was about to turn around and deliver the order when he was stopped by Zhu Youtang's shout.
"Your Majesty, do you have any other instructions?"
"You go quietly and don't let others know about Mou Bin's entry into the palace." When Zhu Youtang heard that Liu Ji had formed a clique for personal gain, he guessed that Liu Ji might also have his own eyes and ears in the Jinyi Guards.
Yan Hai instantly understood what Zhu Youtang meant and turned around to leave.
After receiving Zhu Youtang's order, Mou Bin did not dare to delay, quickly changed into casual clothes, and followed Yan Hai into the palace.
After Yan Hai completed his mission, he was eager to go back and resume his life. After entering the palace, his feet accelerated even more quickly, and Mou Bin followed closely behind.
As soon as Mou Bin stepped into Xinuang Pavilion, he saw Zhu Youtang lying on the armchair with eyes narrowed, and a palace maid who looked like a fairy stood beside him, guarding him, never leaving.
"Comrade Mou Bin, commander of the Jinyi Guards, has met Your Majesty."
"My dear, you are here. Please give me a seat."
After Zhu Youtang saw Mou Bin sitting on his butt, he stood up and stretched his muscles while asking: "How did you do with the task assigned to you last time?"
The emperor was standing to speak, how could he dare to sit down? Mou Bin quickly stood up and replied: "To answer your Majesty's question, I have been observing the chief minister for many days. The Mongolian tribute envoy did not return directly to the post house after going to court. I transferred to the Shouxingfu Yamen."
Zhu Youtang frowned and asked, "You mean the Tatars have contact with our Chief Minister Liu?"
Mou Bin said: "I dare not say anything about this. The chief minister did not receive the Mongolian envoy. Instead, Master Zhang, the Minister of War, murmured a few words to the Mongolian envoy. Because there was still some distance, I did not hear clearly."
Zhu Youtang thought of the Wuying Palace meeting not long ago. Zhang Peng, who always stood in a neutral position, uncharacteristically kept speaking for Liu Ji. No matter what the second assistant Xu Pu said, Zhang Peng would express his objection without thinking.
Hearing this, Zhu Youtang became more certain that Zhang Peng, Minister of the Ministry of War, had become Liu's party. Zhu Youtang asked, "What other unusual behavior has Liu Ji had recently?"
Mou Bin replied: "In addition to spending time with Mr. Li, the Minister of Rites, the Chief Assistant has been going to restaurants to eat wine with some ministers in the past few days. Fengmingyuan also often comes out of some sedan chairs to go to the Chief Assistant's office."
Zhu Youtang nodded and said: "Send more people to check Zhang Peng in the next few days to see if he has any contact with the Tatars again. Just go check Liu Ji yourself and see if this is the case." Has anyone come to Beijing from southern Xinjiang to see him in the past two days? Check who are the ministers of the DPRK and China who interact with him on weekdays. I want a detailed list!"
