Yu Lei and Xu Yan didn't even blink, and they recognized that it was a royal carriage. After all, it was inlaid with copper, and officials and princes did not dare to use it.
As for Zhou Zong, who was once the emperor's bodyguard and had been in and out of the Ministry of Justice many times, Ding Lei didn't recognize him as a newcomer, but Xu Yan knew that he was the sword-wielding servant of the East Palace, and his words were probably those of the prince!
Oh my god, who is this Gu Zhengchen? Before he entered the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, the prince actually took action to protect him!
Zhou Zong looked deeply at Gu Zhengchen, nodded slightly and turned to leave.
Gu Zhengchen saw the curtain of the carriage that was slightly opened and finally dropped, and knew that Zhu Biao was probably restricted from moving at this time, and the only person who could restrict him from showing up was probably Zhu Yuanzhang.
The Ministry of Punishment is outside Taipingmen, not far away from Hou Lake, which is also known as Xuanwu Lake in later generations.
The scenery here is pretty good. It is estimated that if the person who was pushed out and beheaded could raise his head a little higher, he might be able to see the scenery before going on the road.
Of course, Lao Zhu set up the Ministry of Punishment outside the city, close to Houhu, not to facilitate beheading and cleaning, but because the design of Nanjing City echoes the stars. The so-called Law of Heaven and Earth, simply put, is to move things from the sky to Come up on the ground.
The one in the sky that represents Heaven is Taiwei Yuan, while the cable that represents the prison is in Tianshi Yuan. This is not a place, so among the six departments, only the Punishment Department was "driven" out of the inner city.
Gu Zhengchen arrived at the gate of the Criminal Department and looked at the official who "greeted" him. He had a mustache, small eyes, thin cheeks, and a sinister smile hanging from the corner of his mouth. He looked like a powerful villain.
Li, the doctor of the Ministry of Justice, looked at Gu Zhengchen who was walking easily, his face darkened, and he yelled angrily: "Yu Lei, Xu Yan, how are you two going about your business? It would be merciful not to be shackles for such a criminal who is so greedy and has brought disaster to the country and the people. Why don't you even need to use shackles? If he escapes, can you afford it?"
Yu Lei's mouth moved. Seeing Xu Yan lowering his head and saying nothing, he had no choice but to stand up and say, "Mr. Li, isn't he already here?"
Li Guan was still dissatisfied and ordered: "Shackle me!"
Yu Lei looked at Xu Yan.
Xu Yan had no choice but to step forward, walk to Li Guan's side, and whisper: "Donggong has spoken, don't harm him in the slightest."
"East, East Palace?"
Li Guan's expression changed.
Although Zhu Biao does not handle government affairs alone now, he already has the power to read documents and put forward opinions on how to deal with documents. What's more, his status as a prince is more stable than Mount Tai. Mount Tai can have earthquakes, but there will never be earthquakes in the East Palace. He attaches great importance to him. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in the future.
Offending the East Palace is equivalent to offending the future emperor.
Lao Zhu may not live another thirty years, but he still wants to fight in the court for fifty more years...
Gu Zhengchen walked to Li Guan, stopped, and said calmly: "I have been busy these days with the treasure collection and filing, and I am very sleepy. My accommodation has been arranged. I want to rest."
Li Guan gritted his teeth.
Your sister, Gu Zhengchen, this is the Ministry of Punishment, you are going to the prison, not your post office inn!
"Lock him up!"
Although Li Guan was unwilling to do so, he still did not forcibly shackle Gu Zhengchen.
As expected of Jinling, the prison of the Ministry of Punishment is much larger than the Jurong Prison, with more cells, and in addition to the brick structure, it is also a stone structure.
At the end of the corridor, there is a trail that leads down to steps.
This is the dungeon.
Li Guan talked to the dungeon jailer, the dungeon door opened, and Gu Zhengchen walked in.
Damp, dark.
There is an unbearable smell in the space.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the cells on the left and right. There were actually two or three prisoners in each cell, some even more. When these people heard the movement, they shouted loudly: "It's wrong, it's wrong."
Gu Zhengchen stopped, looked at the hands stretched out in the prison cell, and sighed: "If you are wronged, tell the people behind you. I am also a prisoner. What are you trying to do against me..."
Not polite, he even cursed and spit!
It is not unfair at all to lock you in!
The prisoner was also speechless. You are a criminal prisoner. You are walking in the front with a majestic eight-character step and an attitude of doing whatever you don't accept. I thought you were a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Punishment!
Li Guan scolded everyone and walked to the end. Ding Lei opened the cell door and winked at Gu Zhengchen.
Gu Zhengchen looked into the prison cell and saw a middle-aged man in ragged clothes, wearing shackles and shackled feet, sitting on a pile of hay. His disheveled hair moved as if he was looking at him.
"Who is he?"
Gu Zhengchen asked.
Li Guan pushed Gu Zhengchen into the prison cell and shouted: "You are a prisoner, why are there so many questions!"
The prison cell was locked.
Li Guan looked at Gu Zhengchen through the wooden fence with cold eyes: "It won't be long before I send you on your way. Cherish your last days."
Gu Zhengchen ignored Li Guan, kicked the hay inside, took off his coat and laid it out, then lay down: "Don't bother me if you have nothing to do, otherwise, your teeth may not be saved."
Li Guan was indignant, kicked down the wooden fence, turned and left.
Ding Lei looked at Xu Yan. Xu Yan turned around and left without saying anything. Before leaving the dungeon, he did not forget to give Dong Gong a warning.
The hot dungeon is like a garbage dump, especially when all kinds of smells hit your nose, and the turbid air is very uncomfortable. Although no one urinates anywhere here, the toilet bucket is placed in the corner, and you can only solve it. it's here.
No bed, no quilt, no table.
Gu Zhengchen rested his arms on his head, closed his eyes and meditated.
Things were a bit out of control and seemed to be developing in an unpredictable direction.
Obviously, Lao Zhu nodded his head when he was imprisoned.
You shouldn't. I dare not say that every move I make is under Lao Zhu's control, but at least any incidents that may cause problems were done with Lao Zhu's permission.
Raising honest silver is his permission.
Liu Qian'er, he knew it.
He nodded to the three courtyards.
A whip maker cannot do it by himself.
The heavy tax only applies to the transactions of the three major courtyards and does not involve other transactions in Jurong. Is it wrong to send money to the court? What's more, the Ministry of Revenue has known about this for a long time and has been enjoying the benefits happily for almost a year. Now you are saying that you are pretending to be a public servant for personal gain?
As for corruption, the Gu family is not so poor that they can take advantage of it. If you want to check the accounts, you can look through them at will. The family accounts are clear, and even the money sent by Zhu Biao has been recorded. When talking about corruption, you need evidence. Open your mouth. To say that people are greedy is to accuse them unfairly.
He was innocent and sitting upright. Why would Lao Zhu nod and lock himself up?
Gu Zhengchen couldn't understand.
Huagai Palace.
Zhu Biao and Mu Ying knelt in the hall and refused to get up no matter how much the chamberlain tried to persuade them.
Zhu Yuanzhang scowled, threw a pile of memorials on the ground, and shouted majestically: "With so many impeachment documents, what do you want me to do? Everyone said, if you don't give an explanation to all officials and forcibly suppress speech, then in the future the court will Who else dares to speak? If the way of speech is blocked, the country is in danger! Don’t you understand this truth?"
Zhu Biao looked at the scattered memorials and raised his head stubbornly: "If a large number of people can achieve false accusations, how can there be honest ministers in the court in the future? If an official is upright, he must sin against the villain! If the villain roars, then he will Is there any difference between locking up an honest official and letting dogs bite the people, beat them with sticks, and let the dogs bark? I think that Gu Zhengchen is innocent and should not be imprisoned!"
Mu Ying added: "Your Majesty, it is a common practice among civil servants to impeach Gu Zhengchen. It is not to speak out for justice and plead for the people. It is actually for one's own selfishness, to make plans for others, and to act according to orders! Now that Gu Zhengchen is imprisoned, a gentleman will end up in a dirty place. , and for the villain to pop his crown and celebrate, it is really a misfortune for the country! I sincerely request your majesty to release Gu Zhengchen!"
"shut up!"
Zhu Yuanzhang rose up after taking the case and said angrily: "So many officials are impeaching him, how can it be groundless? I also want to see whether he is corrupt or not! You two, get out of here!"
Zhu Biao and Mu Ying looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, with confusion and uneasiness in their eyes.
The two had to bow and exit the hall.
Mu Ying frowned and looked at Zhu Biao: "Prince, why do I feel something is wrong?"
Zhu Biao was bitter.
It's not just wrong, it's outrageous.
More than ten days ago, his father hosted a banquet for Gu Zhengchen, chatting and laughing, and now he started sending people to the dungeon.
As for the reason, it was just because of rumors of impeachment, impeachment without any actual evidence!
Father is not like this on weekdays.
"Perhaps the officials pressed too hard, and His Majesty really had no choice, so he had to compromise. It's a matter of openness of speech, and you can't issue a decree to make everyone keep silent."
Mu Ying was a little helpless.
Zhu Biao knew clearly that someone was definitely behind this overwhelming criticism. As for who it was, you would know who had the ability.
"The Criminal Department dungeon is not safe, do you understand what I mean?"
Zhu Biao looked at Mu Ying.
Mu Ying nodded.
Although people usually don't die inexplicably in the Punishment Department dungeon, this is a common situation. Some strong-willed people may be killed by themselves. There are also some people who are sick and die after sleeping. Although such things are rare, after all, It could happen.
If someone did something dirty and killed Gu Zhengchen in the dungeon, it would be useless even if the emperor got angry again. At most, one of the officials from the Ministry of Punishments would suffer from poor supervision, or at worst, they would be dismissed from their posts, but their heads would not be taken off.
"I'll make arrangements right away."
Muying saluted.
Zhu Biao looked at Mu Ying leaving, turned around and glanced at Huagai Palace, and finally did not go in again, but turned to Kunning Palace.
Queen Ma was also surprised when she heard that Gu Zhengchen was imprisoned, and quickly asked why.
Zhu Biao informed the courtiers of the impeachment details one by one, and at the end he defended Gu Zhengchen: "Many things were only possible in Jurong with the permission of my father. How could he be blamed on him? Besides, Gu Zhengchen had won the hearts of the people in Jurong. If How can you be loved by the people if you abuse them?"
Queen Ma looked at the eager Zhu Biao with a smile on her lips.
"Why is the queen still smiling?"
Zhu Biao didn't understand.
Queen Ma pulled Zhu Biao to sit down and said gently: "Biao'er, you have never been so anxious for someone in your life. This is the first time. Mother, I am so happy. I am so happy that you understand what is..." Cherish talents. Don’t worry, my mother and I have met Gu Zhengchen. He is a man of upright character. Her mother will not miss him, and your father will not miss him..."
