However, when Mrs. Zheng, who was full of thoughts, was ordered to follow the eunuch who was delivering the message and walked out of the scope of Yeting Palace, she found that the person leading the way was taking her in another direction. She couldn't help but stop and exclaimed: "Here,... This shouldn’t be the way to Shang Gong Bureau, who are you!”
Because they are under the name of the Palace Province and are assigned to the Shanggong Bureau and the Fourth Division, one of the six female officials in the Central Palace, they are responsible for the construction of hundreds of laborers and the allocation of female workers; they are also the daily workers of the palace people and criminals in the Yeting. The most direct management department; it is also the place where Madam Zheng has the most contact.
"Ms. Zheng, what you are saying is meaningless." But after hearing this, the ocher-shirted eunuch who was leading the way didn't take it seriously. He showed a sad smile and said: "The Zajia family is the one sent by the Shanggong Bureau. , if you have any questions, you will naturally understand the whole story when you get there."
At this time, Mrs. Zheng also suddenly realized that she was far away from the familiar South Alley; she was only surrounded by the waiter who followed the ocher-shirted eunuch; if the other party had other agendas and malicious intentions, she would be alone and helpless. But then a gust of wind blew by, calming her down.
Because in the midst of the rustling wind shaking the trees, she suddenly saw a pair of faint lights flickering in the shadow of the trees; obviously acting as the biggest barrier between mother and daughter, they also followed them secretly. But during the rest of the trip, no matter how Madam Zheng tried and speculated, the other party remained silent.
The ocher-robed eunuch led her for a moment between the palace gates and gardens, and then came to the south of Tingye Palace, near the Chamber of Internal Affairs, in the courtyard between Youzangku and Tongming Gate. . Then he was taken to the side hall across the courtyard, with carved beams and painted pillars and shady flowers.
Then, the ocher-robed eunuch stood outside the steps, faced behind the curtain in the side hall, and saluted respectfully: "I have seen Lin Dianzheng, and the convict wife Zheng has been brought there; but I heard that Gong Zheng was listening." News." Madam Zheng couldn't help but feel a thump in her heart when she heard the words, and her entire body became cold and stiff.
Because, among the six female officials and the twenty-four divisions, the most powerful one is undoubtedly the Shang Gong Bureau, which is responsible for guiding and coordinating the affairs of the middle palace. It belongs to the four departments of Siji, Siyan, Sibu and Siwei; they are responsible for the entry and exit of palace documents, the declaration and payment of imperial edicts, the joint management of keys, the register of women's history, and the printing of all documents of the six ministers.
The most feared ones are the four departments of Shang Gong Bureau, besides Si Zhi (imperial tailors), Sizhen (treasures and goods), Sicai (silks, silk and cotton colors), and Siji (clothing, food and charcoal). Gong Zhengsi, who is in charge of the matters of precepts, corrections, bans and punishments. There are separate positions of Gong Zheng, Si Zheng and Dian Zheng.
As one of the third-level Dianzheng, he is responsible for supervising and judging the rewards and punishments of many palace people and family members who have committed crimes in the palace; making judgments with ultimatums, deciding punishments on small matters, and hearing about major matters. In a sense, Lin Dianzheng, in addition to the power of life and death, can take various disciplinary measures.
What's more, since the Second Saint came to the court to ask questions, the status of the Liushang female official who assists the central palace has also increased. Her power and influence in the palace have greatly expanded, and she is vaguely superior to all the officials in the palace who originally belonged to the palace. , and formed a rivalry with the original Ministry of Internal Affairs;
"Mrs. Zheng, the guilty wife, do you know the crime?" Therefore, from behind the curtain, a sharp female voice immediately said coldly: Madam Zheng came to her senses after hearing the words, and immediately leaned down and saluted: "I have seen Dianzheng before, but I really don't know. If there are any offenses or mistakes, Dianzheng must be summoned privately..."
"Are you stubborn and unrepentant?" The voice behind the curtain became more and more serious: "Originally, for the sake of being diligent in official affairs, some people asked me to leave you some dignity in private. , it’s also to avoid past mistakes and avoid future ones; but I don’t want to be obsessed with profit, and I don’t think about it..."
"Dianzheng was surprised by what he said!" Madam Zheng had already thought about it a few times after hearing the words, but she slowly straightened her body and said in a gentle and firm voice: "According to the system in Ye Ting, if the young woman does anything that is not against the rules, ; I should issue an ultimatum since then, thinking that the punishment is clear and fair; how can I give it in private orally?"
"Okay...very good." The voice behind the curtain also laughed angrily, and ordered someone to pull up the curtain. Immediately, a female officer wearing a light crimson shirt, a black-horned bun, long eyebrows and slender eyes was revealed; He looked at Mrs. Zheng with sharp eyes and said slowly: "It seems that you will never repent until death."
"In this case, it's useless to talk more, so I'll let you be convinced." Lin Dianzheng, surrounded by several female historians in skirts, suddenly waved his hand gently and said: "Bring the person up and identify him carefully." As soon as she finished speaking, two warriors came out from the side door to support one person.
When Madam Zheng saw this, she couldn't help being slightly startled and took half a step back. Because this man had been severely tortured, and his clothes were ragged and his body was covered with bruises. But under the purple scars and blood scabs on his face, he saw a familiar face; it was the little cook supervisor whom he had seen in the dining room before.
It was just that he had been tortured into a human shape, so he could only look at Mrs. Zheng carefully with his swollen eyeballs with the support of the strongman. He muttered a few vague words and then lowered his head feebly. "Young man... I can't bear it... I'm sorry... Madam..."
"Ms. Zheng, the convict wife, do you have anything else you can say to your advantage?" Lin Dianzheng scolded: "I have already confessed everything. You, a convict concubine, are still alive thanks to God's grace. Without thinking about repenting, he dared to violate the palace prohibitions, secretly communicate with both inside and outside, and plot evil."
"Who is the behind-the-scenes instigator? How many accomplices are there outside the palace, and how many gangsters are gathering in the palace? Why don't you bring them in quickly? At least you can avoid the pain of torture. I'll give you a break! Otherwise, the crime will be added to the crime. , even if your little daughter is young, she can’t escape the pain of being cut into pieces..."
However, although Madam Zheng did not speak at this moment, her heart was filled with poison called despair and regret. She hated that she was too careless and did not listen to Mr. Linu's warning in time to make amends. Instead, she secretly sought possible solutions outside the palace.
As expected, it turned out to be true. Someone was indeed secretly monitoring the behavior of their mother and daughter. And what she did was almost like throwing herself into a trap and giving others a hand. It would be fine if it was just her fault, but what she couldn't let go of the most was Wan'er, being involved in a huge disaster.
What's more, as her elder brother who has been secretly supporting and assisting her outside the palace, he is also involved in this unreasonable disaster. This makes it difficult for her to have the face to meet the ancestors of her natal family's Zheng family. The next moment, Madam Zheng suddenly sneered:
"Lin Dianzheng! Why bother to accuse me? You deliberately planned to use this to accuse me, and secretly ignored the rules and regulations. You tortured and forced the chef to bite others. Are you trying to please some noble person in the palace? How? The benefits make you a lackey and bite you regardless of your dignity?"
"Rebellion, you are just a criminal, how dare you use strong words to falsely accuse Shangguan." Lin Dianzheng also turned pale, and said more and more angrily: "There are dead people on both sides, why don't you hurry up and arrest them in court, use all means carefully After seeing it again, I don't believe that her body can be stronger than her words."
However, at this moment, Madam Zheng calmed down and cast a longing and pleading look at the shadow in a corner. It was just like what she had said just in case; if there was no way out, please ask this Mr. Li slave to kill himself and take Wan'er to escape in the chaos.
Of course, as a price for causing chaos and completely muddying the waters, none of the people who witnessed the scene, including Lin Dian, would have another chance to survive. Therefore, she calmly continued to count the possible selfish motives and intentions of the other party.
It also made Lin Dian's upright face turn white and red, red and blue, and finally turned as gloomy and ugly as the bottom of a pot; however, the warriors on the left and right who were supposed to step forward to subdue Madam Zheng, as well as the eunuchs in the courtyard, did not know why. He fell to the ground quietly, as if he had suddenly lost consciousness.
Therefore, Lin Dianzheng, who was furious and could not contain himself, couldn't help but urge the female historian next to him to continue to step forward to grab Madam Zheng; however, she unexpectedly tightened her fist and swung one of them in the face, and it suddenly seemed like It whined like a frightened little animal and ran away.
In the struggle with the remaining three people who tore their clothes and pulled their hair, Mrs. Zheng tried hard to recall the self-defense stance that Mr. Li Nu taught her daughter. She used backhand elbows and poked her eyes, tore her ears, and waved. The hammer will hit or even hit the crotch, knocking them back and knocking them down one by one.
Finally, with disheveled strength, he rushed in front of Lin Dianzheng, who was dumbfounded and shocked. He threw her to the ground without hesitation, and tightly held her eyes and ears. While the other party struggled and screamed in pain, he used his grip to grab her. The books were smashed all over my face.
At this time, there was belated running noise outside, and a slightly older female voice shouted "Stop!" "Stop it!". However, when the owner of the voice stepped into the courtyard, he was stunned to see the eunuch lying on the ground or the woman leaning against the wall wailing endlessly.
But it was a female officer in her late forties, with mottled gray hair and a red robe. She yelled with almost gritted teeth: "How could this happen? Where is Lin Dianzheng!" "This department has been informed that someone failed to report to Gong Zheng. If you report it, you will assemble the equipment without any reason and use it to torture you privately in the hospital!"
Then, she finally noticed Lin Dianzheng in the side hall, behind the torn curtain, lying on the ground with disheveled hair, breathless and swollen like a pig's head; and his body was bruised and purple, and his dress was splattered with blood. Madam Zheng, who leaned against the wall exhausted and calmly responded;
However, after seeing what happened next, Jiang Tian temporarily gave up the plan of finishing the attack and left quietly in the darkness at the top of the wall. Immediately afterwards, he followed a Huangmen envoy who left on the spot and was suspected of rushing to report the news elsewhere, and disappeared among the numerous palaces and palaces.
(End of chapter)
