When a married princess returned to the palace, it was like returning to her parents' home. Regardless of who she wanted to see, according to the royal family's etiquette, she had to go through a set of fixed procedures. First, she had to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, then to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress. If there was a Crown Prince, who was older than her, she had to pay her respects to the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess.
The Wuzhou Dynasty had a female Emperor, there was no Empress Dowager or Empress. Even though there was a Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace, he was basically a prisoner. Although Taiping was favored, he did not dare to violate the taboo of paying his respects. Now it was different, the Crown Prince's situation was much better than before.
Princess Taiping came out of Changsheng Courtyard and rushed to the Empress Dowager's palace.
"Bada!"
Taiping was walking leisurely when her shoulder was suddenly hit lightly by something. She turned her head and saw a green and red jujube rolling on the ground. She raised her head and looked into the distance. She saw her little enemy, Yang Fan, dressed in military attire, looking valiant and heroic with a sunny smile on his face.
Princess Taiping rolled her eyes at him and walked leisurely toward him. The two maids from the Princess' mansion behind her had good eyesight and stopped in their tracks. Princess Taiping gracefully walked in front of Yang Fan and said with a straight face, "Do you have nothing to do? Why are you strolling around here?"
Yang Fan said, "Who said I was strolling around? Am I not inspecting the palace?"
Princess Taiping looked at him and said, "You are so dedicated to your duty?"
Yang Fan laughed and said, "I am going to take a break, how can I not look around? When the imperial court gave me the clothing leave, I was busy preparing to welcome the Emperor in Chang 'an and could not take a break. Now with Great General Wu's permission, I will take half a month's leave from tomorrow onwards. I plan to go out with my family. "
According to the Tang dynasty's system, officials inside and outside the palace were given farm leave in May and clothing leave in September, divided into two periods of fifteen days each. The Wuzhou Dynasty continued.
Taiping said, "It is already past the best autumn season, why are you suddenly in the mood to go out?"
Yang Fan sighed and said, "Princess An Le's mansion holds banquets every day, the music is incessant. I don't know how many days her housewarming party will last, I am really annoyed by her. I can go out for a walk. How about it? Do you want to come with me? "
Princess Taiping was somewhat moved and asked in a low voice, "Where do you want to go?"
Yang Fan said, "Qi Province, where Zhou Wen Wang's Fengming Qi Shan is located, go there and buy some good farmland."
"Qi Province?"
Princess Taiping suddenly recalled that the Shangguan Family was the biggest landlord in the Qi Province. Did Yang Fan go to the Qi Province to buy land? Who was he trying to fool? There was an eighty to ninety percent chance that it was to accompany Wan'er from Shanghai. Needless to say, Wan'er must have asked for leave from the Mother Empress in these two days. This little sweetheart only casually extended an invitation when the other party asked. There was no sincerity at all.
Princess Taiping's heart was sour, thereupon she said, "You two live together, why would I go and be an eyesore? I'm not going! "
Yang Fan chuckled dryly and did not extend the invitation again. Actually, Taiping had only guessed half of it correctly. It was true that Yang Fan wanted to accompany Wan'er, but he also wanted to give Wan'er and her mother a chance to be together. If he really invited Princess Taiping along, there would be many inconveniences.
Taiping turned to leave, but suddenly stopped and said, "That's right, I just received news that someone from the Censorate wants to harm the Second Zhang. The mastermind behind this is actually the Du family of Fan Chuan."
Yang Fan knew that Taiping had people in the Censorate. Plotting to deal with the Second Zhang was no small matter. There must have been many people involved, so it was impossible that there was no news at all. However, Taiping was able to say that the mastermind behind this matter was Du Jingting. It was evident that there were Taiping's eyes and ears among the Imperial Censors who participated in this matter.
Yang Fan said, "The Second Zhang is in the prime of his imperial favor. This is not the right time to deal with him."
Taiping sighed and said, "Du Jingting has been blinded by the hatred of his dead son."
Yang Fan thought, "If Du Jingting knows that his son was killed by the Wu family because he seduced a girl from your Li family, I wonder if he will hate the Li family or the Wu family."
Yang Fan said, "Du Jingting is furious, but the people in the Censorate shouldn't be so irrational. Now that the Second Zhang has just established the merit of writing a book and making a statement, it is even more inadvisable to make things difficult for them. "
Taiping said, "The Censorate has been planning this for some time, but they did not anticipate that the Second Zhang would present his book at this time. Although they know that the time is not right, some things are already half done. If they stop now, all their previous efforts will be wasted, and they will alert the enemy. They may even suffer the Second Zhang's counterattack. They can no longer stop."
Yang Fan thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid the people in the Censorate don't have the guts to do this. Prime Minister Wei has been in charge of the Censorate for many years, and most of the censors are his former subordinates. Is this Prime Minister Wei's plan? "
Princess Taiping did not speak and only looked at Yang Fan. She knew that Yang Fan would not ask about this for no reason. There must be more to it.
Yang Fan said, "Prime Minister Wei is the Crown Prince's man …"
Taiping found it a little harsh and immediately emphasized, "Prime Minister Wei is Li Tang's loyal subject."
Yang Fan smiled and did not want to argue with her about the difference. He changed the subject and asked, "Did you come to find the Crown Prince to ask the Crown Prince to step in and tell Prime Minister Wei to stop, or to make preparations to clean up the mess for them if they fail?"
Eunuch Taiping shook his head and said, "Neither. The Crown Prince cannot be involved in these matters. This matter can no longer be resolved peacefully. In my opinion, although this isn't the best time, there's an advantage to it. Precisely because this isn't the best time to make things difficult for the Second Zhang Clan, the Queen Mother won't believe that this was a deliberate act. In this way, we can use this to test the waters and see how much the Empress protects the Second Zhang! I went to the Crown Prince's palace only because I entered the palace and wanted to pay a visit. I do not want him to know about this matter. "
Yang Fan said, "If you are not here for the Crown Prince, then you are here for the Sage. What is it?"
Taiping rolled her eyes at him and said, "Isn't it because of your orders to recommend the Second Zhang to the Empress?"
Yang Fan smiled and said, "Look at you, you are so resentful, as if I have bullied you. Then, who am I racking my brains for? "
Princess Taiping glared at him, but then she thought about it. Although she came here because of his words, everything he had planned was to restore her Li family's empire. Princess Taiping's heart warmed, and she softly said, "Alright, I know I was wrong. Great General Yang, you have worked hard and made great contributions. In the future, I will repay you even if I have to work like an ox or a horse."
Yang Fan teased, "Why wait for the future? As long as you are willing to work like an ox or a horse, I will definitely ride you."
Princess Taiping blushed and spat at him, "Did you ride me less in the past?"
As soon as she said this, she blushed even more. She only felt that the two of them were talking more and more nonsense. She said shyly, "I don't want to talk to you anymore. I am going to see my brother."
Yang Fan whispered behind her, "When you want to work like an ox or a horse, remember to tell me …"
Princess Taiping walked with her head down and pretended not to hear, but she quickened her pace and walked with a fragrance.
Yang Fan looked at her back and smiled. He looked up at the sky and murmured, "The weather is going to change …"
…
The next morning, Yang Fan quietly left Chang 'an with his family and went to Qishan. On the same day, Shangguan Wan 'er left Chang' an with her mother Zheng and went to Qizhou. There was not only a large amount of the Shangguan family's fertile land there, but also an old house. Wan 'er went to accompany her mother to relax.
These two things did not attract other people's attention. The most eye-catching thing that day was the Empress's commendation to the forty-seven officials and famous scholars who had participated in the compilation of the Pearl of the Three Schools. Some were promoted to nobility, and some were rewarded with mansions and fields. Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, who were in charge of the compilation, were conferred the titles of Duke Heng and Duke Ye respectively.
Wu Zetian did not accept the request of Wu Sansi, the Crown Prince, and the Prince of Xiang to make them kings, which greatly disappointed them. But they did not know that this was clearly flattery. Even if they were made Duke, it was already enough to raise the attention of the world. It had always been believed that those who were made Duke were either meritorious contributors to the founding of the country, had outstanding military service, or were old ministers who had been in charge of state affairs for decades.
Even Xue Huaiyi had only been promoted to the rank of Duke because he had twice led an army to 'repel' the invading Turks, and he had also presided over the construction of the two magnificent buildings, the Bright Hall and the Heavenly Hall. Just what sort of meritorious service did the two sons of the Zhang Clan have? Everyone knew who had compiled the 'Pearl of the Three Sects', yet the two brothers were both made Dukes.
They received nobility, but they also received even more hostility. The civil officials were not convinced, the generals were not convinced, and the descendants of those meritorious officials whose ancestors had only been conferred the title of Marquis, Count, or Baron were even more unconvinced. Their ancestors had risked their lives and used their abilities to fight for the title of Duke, but they had still not been able to obtain a hereditary title of Duke. The two sons of the Zhang family had slept with the Empress for a few nights, and now they were fucking Dukes. Who would be convinced?
Under this kind of undercurrent, the Censorate's first attack on the Second Zhang began.
In the past, there had been people who had submitted petitions to the Empress to distance herself from the Second Zhang, or to expel them from the palace. They had all used high-sounding but superficial principles of righteousness. If the Empress did not accept it, she could simply laugh it off. There was no need for her to give an explanation to the officials or the people of the world.
But this time was different. This time, they were directly looking for the Second Zhang's crime. Since there was a crime, they had to determine who was right and who was wrong. The Second Zhang was under the Empress' protection. This attack on the Second Zhang was no different from a challenge to the Empress' authority.
On the second day after the Second Zhang was made Duke, Imperial Censor Zhang Tinggui accused Vice Supervisor Zhang Changyi of accepting bribes. Wu Zetian did not connect this matter to the Second Zhang. If there was corruption, there would definitely be things that harmed the country, and the country was hers. She was the Empress, so she naturally hated corruption.
Wu Zetian issued a decree, ordering Vice Supervisor Zhang Changyi to appear in court for interrogation. A day later, Disciplinary Judge Jia Jingyan submitted a memorial. "Zhang Changzong forcefully bought someone's farmland, and should be fined twenty catties of copper."
Although this matter involved Zhang Changzong, it was too small of a matter, and the punishment could be completely ignored. Although Wu Zetian doted on Zhang Changzong, the officials were acting according to the law, and there was no harm done to her beloved. Wu Zetian did not raise enough alarm, and so approved the memorial.
On the third day, the Censorate's investigation of Zhang Changyi's bribery case made a breakthrough. The Vice Minister of Rites, Zhang Tongxiu, and the Provincial Governor of Bianzhou, Zhang Changqi, were both implicated as accomplices in the bribery case.
When Zhang Changyi was detained by the Censorate, Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were at a loss. They did not know what to do. They had always thought that they would directly ask the Empress for help if they had any problems, but this step involved the law, and they had no reason to let the Empress interfere so easily. However, if they had to think of a solution themselves, they did not know what procedures to follow or what channels to go through.
These two little flowers that grew up in a greenhouse not only did they not have any henchmen in the Censorate, but they also did not know any of the rules and methods of the officialdom. All along, they had relied on their special privileges to handle special cases. Once they were asked to do things according to the normal rules, they had no way of entering.
However, Zhang Changyi was detained by the Censorate, and was still in the interrogation stage. There would not be any urgent situation for a while, so the two Zhangs were still able to keep their composure. After all, they had the Empress to back them up, and they still had some confidence. However, the next day, Zhang Changzong was fined for forcefully buying someone's farmland.
After the rich and powerful in Luoyang moved to Chang 'an with the Emperor, they were all buying houses and land. Land was the wealth that the rich and powerful were most passionate about. Even if there was a mountain of gold at home, it would not be as reassuring as ten thousand hectares of good farmland. That was the kind of wealth that would not be easily passed down for generations to come, and the Zhang Family was naturally no exception.
The Zhang Family did use their power to forcefully buy someone's farmland. Although the fine was not much, the problem was that he was a dignified State Duke, and he could not afford to lose face like this. When Zhang Changzong was vexed, Zhang Tongxiu and Zhang Changqi were also implicated in the corruption case and were detained by the Censorate for interrogation. The two Zhangs were even more at a loss.
At this time, the Censorate Li Chengjia once again impeached the Emperor in front of the court, pointing the spearhead at the two Zhangs, "Your Majesty! The corruption case of Zhang Tongxiu, Zhang Changqi, and Zhang Changyi may involve Zhang Yizhi, Duke of Heng, and Zhang Changzong, Duke of Ye. Your Majesty, please allow the two Zhangs to come to the Censorate for interrogation. "
At this time, Wu Zetian had already realized who their real target was. Wu Zetian said calmly, "The report of the approved minister!"
She wanted to see who else would jump out!
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