Daming Palace.
Long Chen and Di Luoxi walked into the court hall, and the ministers in the court saluted and said hello.
"Wei Chen paid homage to the princess and met Lord Long."
On the surface, they all looked polite, but Long Chen could feel the subtle changes in their attitudes.
Di Luoxi ignored them, Long Chen returned the salute and followed them inside.
"Have you heard about the ridiculous things Long Chengen did in the Ministry of War?"
"I heard that Wang Wei is staying behind closed doors. He seems to have a mental problem."
"Yesterday, I entered the palace shirtless to complain. The Holy Emperor urgently sent an order to Long Chengen to enter the palace."
"This Long Chengen is too arrogant, even more arrogant than the general..."
"do not talk..."
Standing on the train, Long Chen closed his eyes and rested, too lazy to say hello to other people.
The eldest princess Di Yuwei and the second princess Di Xingwan looked at Long Chen with strange eyes.
"Fourth sister, what's going on?"
Di Yu asked in a low voice.
Di Luoxi shook her head and said she didn't want to say anything.
"Master Long, thank you very much."
Long Chen opened his eyes and saw Hu Chengfu, the Minister of Punishment, walking over.
"Hu Shangshu, there is no need to thank me. The Holy One asked for your vindication."
Because of the pirate incident, Hu Chengfu was thrown into jail. Long Chen complained about his injustice. After interrogation by the Metropolitan Procuratorate, it was found that there was indeed a mistake, and Hu Chengfu was rehabilitated and reinstated.
Hu Chengfu heard that it was Long Chen who defended him, so he came over to thank him.
"If Lord Long hadn't defeated the pirates, I would have died unjustly."
Hu Chengfu didn't expect that the person who saved him was actually Long Chen.
Long Chen smiled and said, "Don't worry about things that are within your scope of duty."
Hu Chengfu bowed again and returned to his train to stand.
The ministers all arrived, and the empress came out of the inner court and sat on the phoenix chair.
"My dear friends, I have something to report."
The empress was dressed in a red phoenix robe with gold threads embroidered with hundreds of birds facing the phoenix, and she looked extremely luxurious.
None of the ministers in the hall stood up, but everyone's eyes unconsciously turned to Long Chen.
Li Yizheng, a veteran cabinet minister, came out and paid homage: "Your Majesty, I want to impeach Long Cheng'en for beating and insulting the court ministers. He is lawless and lawless. Please remove Long Cheng'en from his post and investigate!"
Li Yizheng spoke, and other ministers began to discuss.
Bai Anning, the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, came out and paid homage: "Your Majesty, it is true that Long Chengen humiliated and beat Wang Wei, the Minister of War, yesterday, and I also ask your Majesty to deal with it."
Bai Anning is the imperial censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate appointed by the empress. He is responsible for supervising all officials. He has the responsibility to impeach Long Chen.
At the beginning of these two people, other ministers also discussed loudly.
Di Luoxi was secretly worried. There was no room for maneuver in this matter, and Long Chen had gone too far.
The empress looked at Long Chen and said coldly: "I know about this. Yesterday, Wang Shilang went to the palace to complain, shirtless, and Long Chengen also admitted it."
"Bai Yushi, Hu Shangshu, you two tell me how to deal with it?"
Hu Chengfu, the Minister of Punishment, had just received favor from Long Chen. He didn't want to speak ill of Long Chen, so he looked at Bai Anning.
Bai Anning said: "If you humiliate and beat a court minister, you should be dismissed from his post and investigated. At the same time, he should plead guilty to the minister."
The ministers in the court were gloating about the misfortune, and they all looked at Long Chen, waiting for the empress to make an apology.
Di Luoxi came out and said: "Mother, Long Chengen is at fault, but Wang Wei, as the Minister of War, deliberately excused himself to stay home because of illness. He is also at fault."
Long Chen bowed and said, "Your Majesty, it is true that lowly officials should not insult and beat Wang Wei, but Your Majesty ordered me to take charge of the Ministry of War, but Wang Wei blatantly refused to cooperate. If I am not punished, how can I convince the public?"
The empress began to hesitate.
The ministers in the court thought that the empress was favoring Long Chen again. They felt unhappy, but they were helpless. Everyone knew that the empress was partial, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
At this time, the maid outside the door came in and reported: "Your Majesty, Lao Zhuguo is here."
Gongsun Yun was wearing a court uniform and was followed by a tall guard.
Gongsun Yun walked into the court hall, and all the Chinese, civil and military officials saluted. Even Di Luoxi stood respectfully.
The empress got up from the phoenix chair and walked down to greet her: "Old Zhuguo, why are you here?"
"Old minister Gongsun Yun pays homage to the Holy One."
Gongsun Yun bowed and bowed.
The empress quickly helped Gongsun Yun up and said, "Hurry up and give Lao Zhuguo a seat."
The maid in the court immediately brought a chair over and asked Gongsun Yun to sit down and talk.
"Why are you here today, Lao Zhuguo?"
The empress guessed it in her heart, but she didn't say it out loud.
Gongsun Yun glanced at Long Chen and said: "Your Majesty, I have been serving as an official for many years. I shouldn't have to interfere with the affairs of the court. It's just that this time it's so outrageous that I have to come."
The ministers in the court all looked at Long Chen. Gongsun Yun was obviously coming towards Long Chen.
"What Lao Zhuguo said is..."
The empress smiled awkwardly.
Gongsun Yun's eyes were like lightning as he looked straight at Long Chen and said, "I saw Wang Wei, the minister of the Ministry of War, being escorted through the street yesterday, and then being humiliated and beaten by the Ministry of War. This matter is too shocking."
"I know that the mastermind of this matter is Long Cheng'en, who has military exploits and is deeply favored by the Holy Emperor and the Princess. I am afraid that the ministers in the court dare not say anything, so I went to the court specially to ask the Holy Emperor to handle the matter impartially."
Lao Zhuguo once assisted the empress's mother and made great military exploits for the Great Zhou Dynasty. His status was respected and aloof, and everyone had to give him face.
He came out and asked the Empress to deal with Long Chen. The Empress must deal with it.
"Lao Zhuguo, calm down, I'm discussing how to deal with this matter."
Lao Zhuguo nodded and said: "Old minister, listen, the Lord will handle it."
Di Luoxi stood aside and did not dare to speak. She knew that this matter was dirty.
The empress returned to the phoenix chair and sat down, with a gloomy and stern look on her face, and said: "Long Chengen, as an important minister of the imperial court, did not abide by the imperial laws and humiliated and beat Wang Wei, the Minister of War, in public. Long Chengen is immediately dismissed from all ministerial positions!"
Di Luoxi was anxious, but there was nothing she could do.
Di Yuwei and Di Xingwan sighed secretly in their hearts.
Other ministers in the court were gloating over the misfortune.
Long Chen climbed up too fast. In two years, he went from a young eunuch to three ministers, chief eunuch, and general.
In the whole world, no one can compare to Long Chen.
They were jealous, but had no choice but to do it. Now Sun Yun, the old Zhuguo Gong, took action and finally fixed Long Chen.
"Lao Zhuguo, what do you think of this treatment?"
The empress asked Gongsun Yun what he meant.
The removal of three ministerial posts at once is indeed a significant decision.
Gongsun Yun nodded slightly and said, "This decision is okay. I think the government and the opposition will approve of it."
The empress breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid that Gongsun Yun would pursue him fiercely and demanded that Long Chen be removed from his position as eunuch chief eunuch and general.
Gongsun Yun turned to Long Chen and said: "Long Chengen, I know your abilities. You recaptured Linjiang City, attacked Caishi City, killed Shangguan Xiu, forced Shangguan Wei to death, and recently defeated the pirates. You are my master. The best young man I have ever seen.”
"But I also want to remind you that if virtue is not matched, there will be disaster. You are gifted, so you must cherish it. Don't rely on pampering to make you spoiled. You must convince others with virtue."
After saying these words, Long Chen felt that Gongsun Yun was bragging about him.
