It was already three days later when the capital received the news that Princess Heyue was seriously injured.
Gu Jinghe sat on the dragon chair, looking at the secret letter in his hand, with earth-shaking anger brewing in his calm eyes.
He slapped it on the table.
"This is outrageous!"
In the main hall, the ministers knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I wonder what happened?"
Gu Jinghe's face was solemn.
"Lu Siye went to the south of the Yangtze River to provide relief and was hunted down. In order to save him, Princess Heyue was seriously injured by an arrow. Who is so bold as to assassinate the minister of the DPRK?"
Lu Xinghe is his personal imperial envoy.
The assassination was carried out in such a fair and just manner, which shows that the person who carried out the assassination did not take him as the emperor seriously.
This is a blatant challenge to his authority.
All the ministers looked at each other and began to whisper among themselves.
Gu Jinghe looked in the direction of his sons. He said nothing, but the princes were too scared to raise their heads.
Finally, he set his sights on Gu Jingning.
"Prince Jing thinks, what should be done if the person behind it is discovered?"
Gu Jingning remained calm. Since he dared to take action, he must have made arrangements.
"This person knew clearly that Lu Siye was an imperial envoy appointed by his father, but he was still so bold and carried out an assassination at a critical moment for the survival of the people. He has a despicable intention and deserves to be killed!"
After listening to Gu Jingning's words, a trace of doubt flashed in Gu Jinghe's emotionless eyes.
Could it be that I thought wrongly? Wasn't the second brother doing this?
But if it wasn’t him, who else could it be?
At this moment, Lin Shangshu walked out of the queue.
"Your Majesty, Princess Heyue, as the person who took the lead in donating supplies in Jiangnan this time, was seriously injured while rescuing the imperial envoy. Although she had selfish motives, this move is equivalent to saving the people of Jiangnan, so she deserves a reward."
Some time ago, he was able to uncover Chen Yiliu and the Chen family's conspiracy so quickly, thanks to the help of Princess Heyue. Of course, he had to return this favor.
As soon as the words came out, several people responded.
But others clearly don't think so.
"Your Majesty, although Princess Heyue has meritorious service, she has not been ordered to leave the capital. This matter can be big or small. She and Lu Siye are an unmarried couple. If the news this time is just a show she made in cooperation with Lu Siye Why do you want to win His Majesty's sympathy and expect leniency? But I heard that it took ten days from Lu Siye to the south of the Yangtze River, but the water has not receded."
"It hasn't receded in ten days?" A minister pretended to be surprised, "In the past, when King Jing was controlling floods, the water would recede within ten days every time."
A slight smile appeared on Gu Jinghuan's face, and she turned towards Gu Jinghe and cupped her fists.
"Brother Imperial, I have heard that the rain in Jiangnan this year is more than in previous years. In addition, there were assassins who blocked the way, so it is not surprising that we have not retreated for ten days."
"Prince Su's words are wrong." Fan Weiyuan, the censor of Zuodu, stepped forward and said, "His Majesty is well aware of the seriousness of this disaster. Not only did he transfer two imperial doctors from the imperial hospital, he also asked General Wu to take over 300 strong men. When strong soldiers go there, no matter how big the water is, it will take ten days to clear it."
Gu Jinghuan glanced in his direction, the smile in his eyes unabated.
"If I remember correctly, the river bank in the south of the Yangtze River was personally supervised by the Imperial Censor last year and repaired and reinforced by the Ministry of Works, right? It has been repaired on time in recent years, and there is only overflow, but there is no time when the bank breaks, let alone this river bank It took less than a year to repair it?”
His voice was very soft, but everyone in the hall heard it clearly.
Fan Weiyuan, the censor of Zuodu, couldn't help but look in the direction of Li Zhenjian, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and saw that Li Zhenjian was also looking at him.
The two of them were sweating and immediately knelt down in the hall.
"Your Majesty is aware that I have served in the court for many years and am loyal to Your Majesty. I dare not slack off in doing the things Your Majesty has ordered. However, there has been too much rain in the south of the Yangtze River this year and there is a lot of water in the river. No matter how strong the embankment is, it will be washed away. It’s inevitable.”
Gu Jinghuan's lips curved into a sneer.
"Master Yushi will use the heavy rain as an excuse now."
Fan Weiyuan was speechless by Gu Jinghuan and just remained silent.
Gu Jingning looked at Fan Weiyuan who was kneeling in the hall, with a hint of displeasure in his narrowed eyes.
Fan Weiyuan seemed to feel Gu Jingning's gaze, as big beads of sweat fell down his cheeks, looking worried and uneasy.
If he had known that the blame would be pointed at himself, he would not have spoken out just now.
Li Zhenjian, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, did not dare to speak.
On the dragon chair, Gu Jinghe looked at the ministers with dark eyes.
"Do you know that this secret letter is not the only one Mr. Lu sent from Jiangnan this time?"
He winked in Li Dezheng's direction and saw Li Dezheng presenting an account book and several stones spread out on a cloth.
"Sent together with the secret letter, there are also this account book and several materials for filling the river embankment." He glared at the two people kneeling in the hall, "Yushi Zuodu, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, the supervision and inspection of the river embankment last year. The two of you will be personally responsible for the repair and reinforcement. How about I give you a chance to talk about it in person?"
Fan Weiyuan and Li Zhenjian did not dare to speak. They fell to the ground sweating and their heads made a muffled sound in the hall.
"Your Majesty is aware that I was deceived by the people under my command and did not know the inside story. However, after all, I was suspected of negligence and caused the current situation. I hope your Majesty will punish you."
Gu Jinghuan glanced at the two of them and said lightly, "Is it just an oversight?"
Gu Jinghe threw the account book directly in front of the two of them, furious.
"Suspected of oversight? Do you want to see for yourself what key role you played in this? You dare to ignore the river embankments in Jiangnan. There are so many people and fields. Do you really not understand the importance of Jiangnan?"
"The Censor of Zuodu, as the leader of the public officials, has actually done such an unscrupulous thing for the sake of money. I am very disappointed in you!"
Before the two of them could speak, Gu Jinghe hurriedly gave the order.
"From now on, Fan Weiyuan and Li Zhenjian will be relieved of their positions in the court and sent to the prison of the Ministry of Justice to await trial." He then looked at Gu Jinghuan, "Emperor brother, the assassination of Jiangnan Dyba and Lu Siye will be left to you. Come to investigate and investigate, and the Ministry of Punishment will have the right to cooperate with your actions."
Gu Jinghuan clasped his fists.
"My brother obeys the order."
"Your Majesty, I have not betrayed you. Please be more careful. Your Majesty cannot judge me based on an account book alone."
No matter how Fan Weiyuan and Li Zhenjian pleaded for mercy, Gu Jinghe ignored them and asked someone to pull them down.
"Princess Heyue went to the south of the Yangtze River to assist Lu Siye in disaster relief with my permission this time. It was because of the difficult plague. She didn't leave the capital without an order. Who would have thought that she was injured by a gangster by accident."
Gu Jinghe raised his eyes, with a hint of exhaustion in his eyes.
"Li Dezheng, make a list and send some nourishing food to Princess Heyue so that she can have a good life."
Li Dezheng hurriedly bent down.
"yes."
"That's right." Gu Jinghe seemed to have thought of something and said again, "I heard that Princess Yue has a younger sister?"
Li Dezheng nodded.
"Yes, Princess Heyue's sister is named Chu Wenzhu. She is about to be ten years old. She has been dependent on Princess Heyue since she was a child. The two sisters have a very deep relationship."
Gu Jinghe pinched his eyebrows tiredly.
"Female County Lord."
Li Dezheng held a fly whisk in his hand and bowed in front of Gu Jinghe.
"yes."
…
