This year, the atmosphere in the capital city during the first month was very extreme, with the rich and the poor and the common people in a lively mood.
The families of the princes and ministers changed the tradition of visiting relatives and friends in previous years and did not hold any gathering activities, so they lived in an extremely deserted manner.
Even the most prosperous banquets held by the ministers of each government in previous years were interrupted for one day because Fang Zilan closed the government on the sixth day of the lunar month. After that, the ministers who held the banquet were extremely low-key. Although the banquet was held, the banquet was invariably transformed into a flowing banquet for the common people, instead of the official banquet where all the royal family members and nobles were invited as in previous years.
Because they knew that at this time of year, if a banquet was held in the mansion, no one would dare to come to the banquet even if they invited relatives and nobles from the court. After all, before the investigation results of Wei Subaru and Zhuge Ming were officially released, no one in the government or the public dared to interfere. They all stayed in their own homes, for fear of being accused of forming a clique for personal gain.
The dignitaries in Beijing remained silent, hoping that the first month could pass safely. But the people in the capital cheered for the flowing water banquet that lasted for several days. Some of them used the flowing water banquet to judge which adults were generous and which aristocratic families were stingy. After tasting the flowing banquet, he urged his chefs to improve their cooking skills and improve their dishes to be in line with those of noble families...
In short, the feast of flowing water was unprecedented. The people gradually forgot about the case in the north after eating and drinking. However, the dignitaries in the whole capital did not dare to forget it for a moment, and waited for the final result with trepidation all day long.
Only Prime Minister Fang Chongzheng didn't seem to care and went to the palace to pay his respects on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month as usual.
As the father of the Queen, it was customary for Fang Chongzheng to enter the palace to pay a visit to the Queen during festivals, especially on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
But this year, due to the Northern Territory case, Li Shengxuan and the Empress Dowager were at loggerheads. Everyone was afraid to avoid it, fearing that they would be offended for whatever reason after entering the palace. .
Who would have thought that at this juncture, Fang Chongzheng would be so unscrupulous, which is also a strange thing.
Therefore, the Empress Dowager became vigilant when she heard that Fang Chongzheng was entering the palace. She ordered the capable secret guards around her to keep an eye on Fang Chongzheng to see what he was going to do when he entered the palace.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Fang Chongzheng entered the palace with his second daughter Fang Zitong. After entering the palace, the two went straight to Fengyi Palace where Fang Ziqin was, without stopping along the way.
However, when the two of them passed through the imperial garden, they were blocked by several servants.
When the female officer standing aside to supervise the work saw Fang Chongzheng and Fang Zitong, she hurried forward to greet them and said, "Master Fang, Miss Fang is well." After she saluted, she immediately signaled to the servants who were sweeping the house to get out of the way.
Fang Zitong stopped where he was and looked at the attendants carefully. He saw that each of them was holding a bucket, and the white flowers in the bucket looked like grains of salt.
Seeing this, she couldn't help but ask: "Are the adults spreading salt to melt the snow?"
"Second Miss Fang has good eyesight and can tell at a glance that they are spreading salt." The female officer looked at Fang Zitong approvingly, and then explained: "It's just that they are spreading salt not just to melt snow."
"Not just for melting snow?" A flash of surprise flashed in Fang Zitong's eyes, and he quickly said clearly: "Or for repelling insects?"
"Exactly." The female official nodded and said: "A few days ago, the gardener in the womb saw insect damage when he was maintaining flowers and plants, so he told him to spread more salt after the snow in winter, which can not only melt the snow, but also repel insects. The Emperor The Queen Mother cares about the flowers and plants in the garden, and we must take care of them even more carefully."
"Really?" Fang Zitong's face showed clear disapproval, "There is nothing wrong with spreading salt to repel insects, but not all insect pests can be expelled by spreading salt, and the right medicine must be prescribed."
Hearing this, the female officer couldn't help but change her expression, and said sarcastically: "What Miss Fang Er said is..."
"Zitong." Fang Chongzheng's voice came from beside several people. It was neither light nor heavy, but it carried a shocking power.
Upon hearing this, Fang Zitong walked to Fang Chongzheng's side, bowed his head and said nothing.
Fang Chongzheng was standing under a plum tree, his jade hair crown was tied up meticulously, his beard was neatly grown, his official uniform and long cloak were neatly straight, and he stood upright and majestic.
He nodded to the female official and said, "How the gardener in the palace behaves has its own reasons. I am ignorant and talk nonsense. I hope you will not be as knowledgeable as her."
The female officer respectfully lowered her hands and said, "Master Fang, you are serious."
But then I heard Fang Chongzheng say: "But even if you are driving away insects, you have to be cautious. Going too far is not enough. It is against nature to harm the roots of plants and trees for temporary benefits. I am afraid that after the beginning of spring, the garden will not be able to see the colorful flowers and fragrant flowers." Great scene."
Every word he spoke was gentle and natural, but he clearly showed the severity of being calm and authoritative.
The pressure from the high-ranking person made the female officer involuntarily lose her composure and said with a stern expression: "Master Fang taught you that we must remember Master Fang's teachings."
It was just a small episode in the imperial garden, but when it reached the ears of the Empress Dowager, she was shocked.
The Empress Dowager still asked the secret guard calmly: "Too much is not enough, it hurts the fundamentals and goes against nature. Is this really what Fang Chongzheng said?"
The secret guard nodded hurriedly, "Yes."
The Empress Dowager waved her hand to signal that he could go down. The nanny on the side came to her side and whispered in a low voice: "Too far is not enough. If the person from Qiankun Palace is determined to get to the bottom of it this time, I'm afraid our Pei family..."
Before Mammy could finish her words, the Empress Dowager knew exactly what she meant and said softly: "Fang Chongzheng is indeed very powerful. Everyone in the court, not even the Aijia and the Emperor, can think as clearly as he does." . If this case continues to be investigated, once it damages the foundation of the imperial court in Dajing and violates the system of public ministers, the ministers of the family will rise up and rebel, and the capital will be in danger."
Hearing this, Mammy's eyebrows were full of worry, "Mother, what should we do now..."
The Empress Dowager composed herself, regained her composure, and snorted coldly: "That's all, go and inform Wang Quanrui and ask his brother Wang Quanzhi to find a scapegoat to take the blame and close the case."
She thought for a moment and then said: "As for the man named Lu, the Ai family thinks he is the right one to be the culprit."
Mammy confirmed: "Is the empress talking about Yanzhou Inspector Lu Zhizhang?"
"That's right." The Empress Dowager leaned lazily on the chair and said coolly: "This case was originally brought about by him to avenge his nephew. If he does it well, the Ai family will be in trouble. I don't mind helping him and pushing Fang Zilan to dismount. But now he screwed up. Not only did he fail to take Fang Zilan's life, he also wanted to drag other aristocratic families into the water. Of course he couldn't stay. I think his Lu family can be considered everyone in the north. , Come out to take the blame, it’s enough to block everyone’s mouth.”
"What about the other people in the North?" Mammy couldn't help but ask more, but she saw the Queen Mother's expression getting colder, "Those people in the North are just pawns in the game between the Ai family, the Emperor, and Fang Zilan. The Ai family doesn't want to make Fang Zilan go crazy and fight for that group of people. For the sake of their many years of guarding the border, let's keep him."
