But Liu Shouyou didn't expect that these people would dare to do this! In his opinion, it would take ten years for a scholar to rebel! The Lord's Association is nothing more than a group of sour men who gather together to seek wealth, fame, and official positions!
In fact, through his observations over the past few years, he has indeed discovered that the people who dominate the association have been taking advantage of their own conveniences for personal gain! The current Juggernaut Association has become more and more like a collection of corrupt officials. It is impossible for such people to rebel!
Moreover, it can be seen from what has just been said that the people who were placed in the palace by the Lord were basically placed one after another long before Emperor Wanli ascended the throne, and no one entered the palace again after that. This shows that maybe the masters were somewhat ambitious before, but now they have completely degenerated and are no longer a threat at all!
But he also understood what Emperor Wanli was thinking. No matter what the reason was, these people were a source of danger around him. No emperor would accept this!
But he also knew at the same time that this was definitely not the time to defend himself. The more he defends himself, the angrier Emperor Wanli will probably be! If he wants to excuse himself, he can only wait until this storm passes! So now he can only kneel upright and listen to Emperor Wanli's loud roar!
After an unknown amount of time, Emperor Wanli finally became angrily and became quiet. Liu Shouyou just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Empress Dowager Li say: "Long live my lord, don't be too busy scolding Mr. Liu now. I think he already knows where he went wrong!"
Liu Shouyou took the opportunity and repeatedly buckled his head and said: "I really know my mistake! I will arrest all these gangsters immediately!"
However, Queen Mother Li said: "There is no rush for this. But Master Liu, you should get up first. You are tired after kneeling for so long!"
Liu Shou kowtowed repeatedly as if he had been granted amnesty before he stood up and subconsciously rubbed his knees, but he immediately reacted and stopped. After all, he holds a high position and has not been on his knees for so long!
Seeing Liu Shouyou standing up, Emperor Wanli snorted and turned away. Liu Shouyou smiled bitterly when he saw this situation! He also knew that this must be a method that the mother and son had agreed upon to fight each other, but he could only accept it all!
Because he is different from other civil servants and generals, Jin Yiwei is directly under the emperor, and removing him or throwing him directly into prison is just a matter of decree! Now he can only hope that the mother and son will consider Zhang Juzheng's face and not embarrass him too much!
At this time, he heard Queen Mother Li say: "Mr. Liu, I think there are many files about the Master Association in Jinyiwei, right?"
Liu Shouyou immediately said: "Go back to your Majesty, it is indeed there! If your Majesty wants to see it, I will arrange for someone to send it over immediately!"
Queen Mother Li waved her hand, and a palace maid came over with a tray with pen and paper on it. Liu Shouyou quickly wrote a warrant and stamped it with his personal seal. Then the palace maid took the warrant and left the palace. Presumably the eunuchs outside would rush to Beizhen Fusi immediately.
When Queen Mother Li saw that he had finished writing the warrant, she said warmly: "While there is still some time to get the things back, why don't you, Mr. Liu, tell the Lord Long Live and the Ai family in detail about the Lord's Association?"
Liu Shouyou was eager for this opportunity, so he immediately stated his analysis results in detail, especially focusing on analyzing the changes in the Overlord Association during this period, trying to absolve himself of his unfavorable actions.
After hearing his explanation, Emperor Wanli and his son felt much relieved. If what Liu Shouyou said is true, then the danger of this master association will be greatly reduced! But just looking at what the Lord's Association has done in the past, the mother and son will definitely not let them go!
Sure enough, Emperor Wanli said loudly: "Just because you think they have no intentions that they shouldn't have, do you just let them develop? It seems that you haven't figured out where your biggest mistake is yet? Well, since you don't understand, let me Tell you!"
Liu Shouyou immediately complained in his heart! He just tried to excuse himself by avoiding the important matter, but it seemed to have no effect at all.
Emperor Wanli slapped the table and said, "It's your first mistake not to arrest people from secret societies like the Master Society in accordance with the law! It's your second mistake to allow them to develop and grow without authorization!" Your biggest mistake is that you made the decision for me privately! You thought everything was under your control, so you concealed it and didn't report it! Don't forget that your official position was given to you by me!"
When Liu Shouyou heard this, he knelt down again like a thunderbolt, kowtowed repeatedly and said, "I am guilty! Please allow me to plead guilty and meritorious service. I will arrest these people immediately! We must wipe them out in one fell swoop!"
In a moment of panic, Liu Shouyou actually used the wrong word, which shows that he was panicking! Now that he has worked so hard to reach this position, he is not willing to give up the glory and wealth he has enjoyed for many years!
At this time, Empress Dowager Li said: "We must arrest you! But we are not in a hurry now! After all, according to you, you don't even know who their leader is, how can you arrest them? So you go back Don't act rashly in the future. You should send someone to conduct a secret investigation first and wait for the opportunity! As for your fault this time, the Ai family will beg for you and Lord Long Live, so that you can take the blame and make meritorious service. Do you understand?"
Liu Shouyou felt that he was saved, and while kowtowing repeatedly he said: "I know! I will definitely investigate them clearly!"
Then Empress Dowager Li asked him to get up and comforted him with gentle words. She also told him to come back in a few days to retrieve the files of the Master Association. At the same time, she told him not to leak what happened today before sending him away.
When he left, Emperor Wanli added angrily, "If you think Mr. Zhang can save you, you can also ask him for help!"
This sentence scared Liu Shouyou to the point where he knelt down again and again, but in his heart he gave up the idea of asking Zhang Juzheng for help. He decided to hide the matter for the time being and wait to see how things develop before deciding whether to confess to Zhang Juzheng.
When Liu Shouyou left in despair, Emperor Wanli immediately asked: "Mother, do you think he can obey me after this beating?"
Empress Dowager Li shook her head and said: "That's impossible! This person is used to being a wallflower. Now that the civil servants are powerful, he will inevitably fall to the civil servants in the end. This beating can only serve as a warning, and I'm afraid it won't take half a year. He’s back to his old ways!”
Emperor Wanli snorted when he heard this and said, "What an ignorant white-eyed wolf!"
Empress Dowager Li said: "There is nothing we can do about this. Who gave the civil servants the power? But right now, we can't move him. After all, he still needs his efforts! As for the future..., let's talk about it later! But now the Ai family is exhausted. The files of Jin Yiwei will be delivered in a while, so Lord Long Live, please just let someone take them away. You can check it out with your people to see if, as Liu Shouyou said, they no longer have any ambition!"
