Yang Pu patted Yang Shiqi on the shoulder: "Don't worry, after all, you are also an important minister of the three dynasties. The emperor is not inexperienced and will not do anything wrong."
Yang Shiqi nodded and forced a smile, "It's almost midday time, let's go!"
…
Palace entrance.
Yang Shiqi got off the sedan and happened to meet Li Qing, who had come to court with a little something.
"Li...Li Qing?" Yang Shiqi was shocked. Isn't this Li Qing?
Yang Pu was a Jinshi in the second year of Jianwen. After high school, he went to the Hanlin Academy to work as an editor. He had no contact with politics at all in the early stage;
Yang Shiqi was different. He followed Fang Xiaoru's path. Although he did not have a diploma, he came into contact with politics early and met Li Qing as early as the first year of Jianwen.
At that time, Li Qing only had a beard and two simple wrinkles. He had not yet begun to formally disguise himself, nor did he wear a mask.
Yang Shiqi recognized at a glance that this guy was Li Qing.
But soon, he overturned his thoughts. No one is ageless. The person in front of him is much younger than Li Qing in the first year of Jianwen. He cannot be the same person.
Li Qing glanced at Yang Shiqi, raised his hands and said with a smile: "Is this Yang Shangshu? I have admired him for a long time...!"
Yang Shiqi felt a sense of embarrassment in his heart. After all, he took the position of Minister of War from Li Qing. If Li Qing didn't go to the countryside, what would happen to him?
After thinking about it, I felt relieved again. They just had the same name and looked very similar. They were not the same person. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.
"You're welcome." Yang Shiqi smiled in return.
When Li Qing entered the palace first, he whispered: "Hong Ji, is this the Li Qing you mentioned?"
"Well, what's wrong?"
"Don't you think...he looks very similar to that Li Qing?" Yang Shiqi asked.
"It's somewhat similar, but it's not very different, right?" Yang Pu wondered.
Yang Shiqi shook his head and said: "That's because you haven't come into contact with Li Qing from an earlier period. The Yongqing Marquis back then almost looked like him."
"Could it be..." Yang Pu said in surprise: "You mean, this Li Qing is the son of that Li Qing?
This is wrong, Li Qing didn’t leave any heirs, and besides, how could he have a son with the same name as me! Isn't this treasonous? "
Yang Shiqi was speechless, but he couldn't explain it clearly. He smiled bitterly and said: "Forget it, go to court. Pay more attention to this Li Qing."
Yang Pu nodded.
~
Fengtian Temple.
When the officials saw Yang Shiqi returning to the court, they knew that something big would happen today.
Not long after, Zhu Qizhen stepped into the main hall. After the courtesy of the monarch and his ministers, the ministers returned to their seats and stood up.
Zhu Qizhen glanced at the eunuch on duty, who understood and sang in a sharp voice: "Announce the prisoner Yang Ji to the palace."
"brush--!"
Everyone's expressions changed drastically, and Yang Shiqi's eyesight went dark. If Yang Pu hadn't helped him, he would have fainted.
The crime Yang Ji committed was very serious, but no matter how serious it was, it would not be enough for a criminal to go to court!
Now, Yang Shiqi was no longer sure that he could save his son.
The little emperor was still too young and energetic, and didn't follow the rules at all... Yang Shiqi was angry, but he didn't dare to act out.
His son's life was still in someone's hands, so how could he dare to explode?
After a while, Yang Ji was dragged in by Wang Zhen and another eunuch. Yang Ji was too frightened to leave.
"Plop——!"
As soon as the two of them let go, Yang Ji lost his support and fell heavily to the ground, paralyzed on the ground with his eyes blank.
The court was full of human beings, and it was obvious that the little emperor was going to quarrel with each other.
Yang Shiqi is already old. Even if he is lucky enough to survive this crisis, he only has a few more years of political career, so he might as well cut off his flesh as soon as possible.
Guo Jing was the first to stand up and scolded Yang Ji: "You are so bold, Yang Ji, how dare you not be polite when you see the emperor."
Zhu Qizhen glanced at Guo Jing, and a feeling of disgust suddenly rose in his heart: How can such a wallflower be reused? It seems that this official of the Ministry of Civil Affairs needs to be replaced!
Guo Jing, however, thought that the flattery was right and immediately wanted to add fuel to the fire.
At this time, Yang Pu stood up, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the suspect Yang Ji should be tried by the three judicial departments. How can the emperor decide the case?"
"What Grand Scholar Yang didn't know is that the case has already been tried. Yang Ji killed more than 30 people, raped women, and dug people's graves... His crimes were so numerous and outrageous that he himself confessed to the crimes he committed. Wang Zhen took out the confession from his arms and said, "Do you want to take a look at it, Master Yang?"
Yang Pu paused and stopped talking.
Yang Shiqi already understood at this time that the little emperor wanted to humiliate him in public to achieve the purpose of establishing his authority.
There were three fires when a new official took office. When the little emperor first took over the power, the fire was burned on him, the most powerful minister. Yang Shiqi was not only angry, but also bitter.
At this time, Yang Ji finally came to his senses and kowtowed hurriedly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, please forgive me, I will never dare to do this again...!"
Zhu Qizhen looked at him coldly without saying a word.
His resentment towards Yang Shiqi was not the slightest bit, he hated him as much as he could, and he even hated Yang Ji to the extreme.
Seeing that the little emperor was silent and full of murderous intent, Yang Ji couldn't help but feel his liver and gallbladder bursting. "Dad, help me. I don't want to die. Dad, please help me!"
Excessive fear caused his voice to become distorted, and his face was covered with snot and tears, making him look very embarrassed.
Is this the son taught by the first powerful minister? All the officials couldn't help showing contempt.
Yang Shiqi's old face turned red for a while. After decades of wisdom, his son had made such a fuss about him, and he really didn't even have a fig leaf left.
"That's enough!" Yang Shiqi stopped shouting and took a step forward to bow: "The son's failure to teach is the father's fault. Yang Ji has committed such a serious crime. As a father, I cannot escape the blame. I am willing to share the same crime with Yang Ji."
These words are beautiful, but their purpose is still to plead for his son.
Zhu Qizhen heard the meaning of the words and said calmly: "Yang Ji is Yang Ji, Yang Qing is Yang Qing, how can they be confused?"
"Your Majesty is wise." Guo Jing praised him. He had already made up his mind to side with the little emperor.
Obviously, Yang Shiqi can't do it anymore. Now that he has curried favor with the little emperor, the power void after Yang Shiqi's departure belongs to him, the official of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
He was very good at making calculations, but he was not the only one who made the same calculations.
The Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, the Minister of the Ministry of Works, the Censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate... all of them paid homage: "Your Majesty is wise, please ask your Majesty the Holy Judge Yang Ji to rectify the law and set an example for others!"
Yang Shiqi felt extremely chilled. He thought that none of these people had knelt down and treated him with respect. Now that he had lost power, instead of helping, they only added insult to injury.
Even a brothel prostitute is not so ruthless!
In fact, if these people are colluding and still have no brains to support Yang Shiqi, then Zhu Qizhen can't do anything to him.
But the problem is, everyone wants to sit in Yang Shiqi's position.
What Zhu Qizhen has to do is to show his firm attitude. As Li Qing said, they can fight on their own.
That's it for now!
Yang Pu watched his colleagues who had been with him for decades fall into such a state of desolation. He felt heartbroken and could not help feeling cold at the same time.
He stepped forward despite the pressure, "Your Majesty, Yang Ji has indeed committed a heinous crime. However, Grand Scholar Yang has made great contributions to the country. I hope that the Emperor will... treat him leniently."
Guo Jing snorted coldly: "The prince broke the law and committed the same crime as the people. How can we forgive Yang Ji just because he is the son of Grand Scholar Yang?"
He has entered the state, and his voice is passionate: "Let him go? Will the women who were robbed agree?
Will the undead whose graves were dug agree?
Will the more than thirty living lives agree? "
These words were so impassioned that if the unsuspecting people saw it, they would definitely shout: Mr. Qingtian!
Guo Jing had a majestic look on his face, "Your Majesty, if you don't kill Yang Ji, it is against the law of heaven!"
"If you don't kill Yang Ji, heaven will not allow it!" The officials knelt down and shouted in a deep voice.
Zhu Qizhen, who had been indifferent just now, became entangled and said to Yang Shiqi: "Yang Qing, what do you think about this matter?"
Murder and heart-wrenching!
Yang Shiqi's old body was trembling, and he knelt down stiffly to salute. His muddy old eyes were red, and he said in a trembling voice:
"Please, Your Majesty, follow the laws of the Ming Dynasty... and kill Yang Ji!"
"Dad!!" Yang Ji's eyes were about to burst and his soul was flying out of the sky, "Dad, my son doesn't want to die, he doesn't want to die!!!"
Yang Shiqi ignored him and continued to urge tremblingly, "Please, Your Majesty...immediately order Yang Ji, Mingzheng...to be sentenced!"
He was approaching his eighties and had been an official for decades, without any merit but with hard work. Zhu Qi Zhenrao hated Yang Shiqi so much that he couldn't help but feel a trace of compassion at this moment.
"Yang Qing has made great contributions to the country, how can I bear to let you send a white-haired person to a black-haired person?"
Yang Shiqi was overjoyed. Sure enough, his pitiful appearance moved the little emperor.
But soon, he came to his senses. What the little emperor really meant was: If you die, I will kill your son again.
Zhu Qizhen's face said: I am interesting enough, please praise me!
"Your Majesty is as kind as heaven, moving heaven and earth." Guo Jing was afraid that the words would fall to the ground, so she quickly picked up the words.
The officials were also busy praising him, but everyone knew that if Yang Ji died, he would only die after Yang Shiqi.
Only Yang Ji, who felt that he had survived the disaster, kept kowtowing with blood on his forehead, and did not forget to thank him.
Seeing such a stupid son, Yang Shiqi's depression reached its peak. He couldn't take a breath and fainted on the spot.
