So they stayed behind closed doors after returning home, because the next day was the court meeting. As long as they finished explaining the matter at the court meeting, they would save others from asking questions over and over again.
But Zhang Shi was different. He was from the palace and reported to Queen Mother Li as soon as he entered the palace. As expected, Queen Mother Li immediately summoned him when she heard that he had returned to the palace.
When Zhang Shi rushed to Cining Palace, he saw Empress Dowager Li hurriedly bowing down. After he got up, Empress Dowager Li said: "The Ai family has called for Long Live Lord. Zhang Shi, just wait a moment. Let Lord Long Live listen to it together, and it will save you the trouble of doing it twice!"
Zhang Shi bowed and said: "My slave, there is no trouble here. It doesn't matter how many times I tell you. But since the Queen Mother has given you the order, I will tell you a few interesting things to relieve your boredom!"
Empress Dowager Li said: "Oh, what's the interesting thing? Is it what you saw in Tianjin this time?"
Zhang Shi said: "Time, but these things were all told by Wu Ninghou to his slaves. They were all interesting things he encountered in Tianjin. Just treat it as a joke!"
Queen Mother Li was naturally interested and said, "Then tell us quickly! The Ai family doesn't have anything interesting to do in the palace, so you can relax by listening to what's going on outside!"
Since Zhang Shi could be the eunuch in charge of the first room, his eloquence was not bad, so he told the stories he heard from Liu Haojia vividly, making Empress Dowager Li and the maids around her laugh!
While he was talking, Emperor Wanli strode over from outside with Zhang Jia, and said at the same time: "What kind of joke is this? Are you so happy?"
When he came closer and gave Empress Dowager Li a gift, she said, "This stone has just come back from Tianjin, and he went to the Ai family to report the news. The Ai family asked him to wait until the Long Live Lord comes before talking about Tianjin, so he will give it to Ai Jia." We told a few jokes, which were quite interesting!" Kanshu La
Zhang Shi hurriedly stepped forward to pay homage to Emperor Wanli. Emperor Wanli turned around and sat down and said, "Get up! It's hard to go to Tianjin on business this time! Tell me carefully, what did you see and hear in Tianjin?"
Zhang Shi stood up and immediately started talking. And he knew very well what Emperor Wanli and Empress Dowager Li wanted to know, so he simply expressed it in a third-party way without adding any of his own judgment throughout the process. However, this way of telling did satisfy Emperor Wanli and his son.
When he was about to finish, he said: "Just like that, the clerk and accountant brought by the Ministry of Accounts only found errors and omissions of less than ten taels of silver! You know, these people are all good people from the Ministry of Accounts. You can’t go wrong!”
Emperor Wanli slapped his thigh and said, "Okay, I know that Liu Aiqing will definitely not engage in those greedy things! He has countless businesses and is already making a fortune every day. How could he be greedy for that little money!"
Zhang Shi immediately fell silent when Emperor Wanli said this, while Empress Dowager Li said casually: "Long live my lord, don't be too arbitrary! There are greedy people everywhere. There are millions of people in the imperial court, but there are still very few people who are willing to take advantage of them." Is that so? So we still need to check if we should!"
Emperor Wanli muttered in his heart: "My uncle is such a person!"
But he couldn't say these words. Instead, he said to Zhang Shi: "Looking at the way you half-talk and leave the other half, I know you still have a lot of things to say? What's going on?"
Zhang Shipei smiled and said, "Long live my lord, this is the most difficult part for me to talk about!"
Emperor Wanli said: "If there is anything difficult to say, tell it quickly!"
After hearing the order, Zhang Shi lowered his head and told Liu Haojia how to deal with the red-faced people. Of course, Liu Haojia told him the whole process, and he still made it vivid! And even a few of them told the truth without any concealment!
Emperor Wanli became more and more angry as he listened. By the time Zhang Shi finished speaking, he was already pounding the table and roaring: "What a bastard! What a bastard! No wonder Liu Aiqing said that these civil servants are sanctimonious on the surface, but they are full of Male thieves and female prostitutes! I will deal with them when I get back!"
Empress Dowager Li, who had been listening with her eyes closed, opened her eyes and said slowly: "Long live Lord, don't be too excited. This matter needs to be planned in the long run."
Discuss! "
Emperor Wanli said loudly: "Queen Mother, what's the long-term plan for this? The reselling of weapons has actually been resold to the hands of the White Lotus Sect. How can I maintain my stability?"
Queen Mother Li said: "That Xu Wanjiang is a Jin Yiwei, it is very easy to deal with him! But the other few people cannot be dealt with directly! After all, Wu Ninghou is involved here, you can't let him be a dishonest villain, right? "
Emperor Wanli was stunned for a moment when he heard this, but then he said angrily: "The other people can be left alone for the time being, but this bastard Jiang Yuzhong must be dealt with! He actually raised a child during the national mourning period, and he couldn't hide it. Retribution! If I don’t deal with him, I will be a son of man in vain!”
When Jiang Yuzhong was mentioned, Queen Mother Li's face turned cold! She raised her head and said, "Zhang Jia, I leave this matter to you! Since Jiang Yuzhong has this handle, he has done a lot of other dirty things. Go find out and use other charges to deal with him!"
Zhang Jia naturally agreed quickly. When Emperor Wanli saw that Empress Dowager Li had given the order, he temporarily put aside his anger, picked up the teacup and drank a few sips of tea. But after he put down the teacup, he looked at Zhang Shi standing there with his head down, and said, "Zhang Shi, is there anything else you haven't said?"
This was what he was waiting for with this posture, so he immediately said in national mourning: "Please step aside, the Queen Mother and Long Live Lord!"
When Emperor Wanli and his son heard this, they both sat upright. After looking at each other, Queen Mother Li waved her hand, and the other maids and eunuchs in the palace slowly retreated. Of course, Zhang Jia, Zijuan and others still stay here. They are the real confidants, and what Zhang Shi said about retreating from the left and right will definitely not include them!
When Zhang Shi exposed the dirt on He Xianli and others just now, he didn't back down, because he knew that their futures would be completely ruined after they returned to Beijing! Even if some of their information leaks out, it doesn't matter, but what they are going to say next really cannot be known! Otherwise, not only would Wu Ninghou be in trouble, he would also be in trouble here!
After everyone had withdrawn, Emperor Wanli said, "Now you can speak!"
Zhang Shi said seriously: "Empress Dowager, long live my lord, I have already told you everything I saw when I went to Tianjin this time. However, Wu Ninghou said something that I have not said yet when chatting with my slave."
