The prison of the Censorate was empty, and the overcrowded scene was gone. There were only three people locked up in the entire prison, but these three people were still very important people. The Censorate only caught big tigers, and the commoners were not qualified to be locked up in this place.
The three people were Prime Minister Su Weiwei, Prime Minister Zhang Xi, and Prime Minister Cui Yuanzong.
Cui Yuanzong sat there dumbfounded.
It had been less than half a year since he became prime minister, and he was already in prison. In the end, he could not escape the curse of the Prime Minister of the Zhou Dynasty. Cui Yuanzong wanted to cry when he thought of his ambition when he became prime minister and how he wanted to climb step by step to the position of Chief Minister.
Zhang Xi sat on the straw couch, facing the wall. He looked like Bodhidharma, but he did not know if he could leave a shadow on the wall and understand the true meaning of Buddhism.
Zhang Xi was like this because he was ashamed to see his friends.
He was the one who confessed to Su Weiwei and Cui Yuanzong, and he was the one who dragged them into this mess. To be more precise, they did not take bribes on purpose. The reason why they accepted his gifts was not to help the officials who asked him to do things, but because they did not want to offend him as a Prime Minister. In the end, he called these two friends out as soon as he entered the prison. He did not do things properly, so how could he still have the face to see his old friends?
Su Weiwei sometimes sat down, sometimes stood up, sometimes walked, and sometimes raised his head to stare blankly at the light coming from the vent. He hated Zhang Xi for not being loyal. He hated himself for not sticking to his nature. He regretted not showing mercy in the beginning. He was worried that his future would be ruined because of this.
All these thoughts made his gray hair almost completely white in just a few days.
At this moment, he was looking at the dark corner of the prison, thinking about his future.
He had four sons. The eldest, third, and fourth were all officials in other prefectures. He did not know if they would be implicated because of him. He only committed the crime of taking bribes. He hoped that the saints would be wise and not punish them.
His second son, Su Fen, was also talented and learned. Among his four sons, he was also one of the best. However, Su Wei knew that the career of an official was filled with endless temptations and dangers. Especially after Empress Wu's dictatorship, there were endless killings. In order to be safe, he did not let his second son become an official.
His second son, Su Fen, was married and had children. He lived in Meishan County in Sichuan. He was the Prime Minister's son, plus he was very knowledgeable. He was now a famous local gentleman, so this official career turmoil should not affect him. In this way, even if there was an even greater change, the Su Family would at least be able to preserve a branch of their bloodline.
Thinking about this, Su Wei Wei felt a bit more comforted. However, just as he was feeling gratified, he suddenly thought of his brother Su Wei Xuan and couldn't help feeling a bit miserable.
Su Wei Xuan was his brother, the age gap between the two brothers was very big, their father died early, he raised this younger brother like a brother and also like a father, he also taught him knowledge, now he was an official to wash the horses of the Crown Prince, it could be said that he did not let his deceased parents down. He was very protective of this younger brother, but since he became the Prime Minister, the two brothers instead became more and more distant.
Because Su Wei Xuan saw that his older brother became the Prime Minister, he often asked him to do some unreasonable things. Every time Su Wei Wei Xuan refused, Su Wei Xuan would become angry out of humiliation. Not only did he throw and beat his older brother, he even spoke ill of him. Su Wei Wei Wei always did not feel disobedient, he pampered his younger brother very much, it could be said that he fulfilled his role as an older brother.
Now that he was in prison, Wei Xuan still did not come to visit. Perhaps it was because the supervision of the Council was strict and did not allow family members of the officials to visit. However, three meals a day were sent by his own servants, and Wei Xuan did not do anything. How could Su Wei Wei not know that his younger brother was angry at him, to the point that he did not care about his brotherly relationship. Thinking about it, he could not help but feel sad.
This official position, to be in fear, to not get along with each other, it was so boring.
Su Wei was moaning and groaning as he walked and stopped. He seemed to be at a loss. Wang Deshou, who was patrolling inside the prison, saw everything.
Wang Deshou used to be a judge of the Imperial Censorate. Last time when Di Renjie and the other six high-ranking officials were imprisoned, Wang Deshou was envious when he saw other people using the case as an excuse to get promoted. He wanted Di Renjie to use other officials as a stepping stone for his own promotion. Who would have thought that Di Renjie would be so fierce, he hit his head on the pillar to show his determination, which scared him so much that he wet his pants.
After Di Renjie and the others were acquitted, some of the imperial censors who were promoted through torture were exiled to the desolate border. He, who did not get promoted, escaped this disaster, but he was demoted from a judge to a prison official.
Wang Deshou watched the reactions of the three Prime Ministers coldly, he saw them one by one, and secretly remembered them.
For many years, the Imperial Censor had been deceiving the superiors and the subordinates, which made the Empress vigilant. This time, when the three Prime Ministers were sent to prison, the Empress specially summoned him, the criminal official, to closely monitor the movements in the prison. Not only did he want to see how Wan Guojun and the others interrogated the three Prime Ministers, he also wanted to observe the reactions of the three Prime Ministers in prison.
Wang Deshou knew that this was a great opportunity for him to be reinstated, and he was very excited. Now that he was the Emperor's secret agent, his heart was completely on the Empress' side.
Su Wei Wei sighed as he thought about his future, his brothers, and his son. He sighed again and again, feeling very regretful. He did not know how many times he had sighed, when the prison door opened, and a big man stood at the door and shouted, "Censor Wang, bring the criminals Zhang Xi, Su Wei Wei, and Cui Yuanzong to trial!"
Wang Deshou heard this, stood up, and took out a bunch of keys from his waist.
Su Wei Wei, who was pacing around the prison like an ant on a hot pan, could not help but shiver when he heard Censor Wang's name.
The civil officials had fought with the cruel officials several times, and although they had suffered heavy losses, the cruel officials in the Imperial Censor had also withered and were no longer as prosperous as before. Now, there were not many famous cruel officials in the Imperial Censor. Needless to say, the censor with the surname Wang and the right to bring them to trial must be Wang Hongyi.
It was no wonder that Su Wei Wei was afraid. Wang Hongyi was an extremely tyrannical and ruthless person.
Thinking back, in order to ascend to the throne, Wu Zetian ordered the cruel officials to fabricate charges and massacred Li Tang's royal family and officials who were loyal to Li Tang. At that time, Lai Junchen concocted evidence and accused the Shengzhou military governor, Wang Anren, of treason. Wu Zetian sent Wang Hongyi to interrogate him.
Wang Hongyi rushed to Shengzhou and imprisoned Wang Anren and his son. Wang Anren refused to accept this and clenched his teeth, refusing to admit his guilt. Wang Hongyi did not care and brazenly chopped off the heads of Wang Anren and his son, and brought them back to the capital in a wooden box sprinkled with lime. When he passed by Fen Zhou, Fen Zhou's Sima Mao Gong hurriedly welcomed him and treated him like an honored guest.
Wang Hongyi entered the city and attended Master Mao's welcoming banquet. After three rounds of wine, his expression suddenly changed. He scolded Master Mao, accusing him of being a rebel against Empress Wu. He immediately ordered him to behead both of them, using his spear to pick his head off. Blood dripped all the way back to the capital. Because of this, he immediately became a capable general under Lai Junchen.
Wang Hongyi also had a method of torturing prisoners. In a hot summer day, he would spread a blanket in a small, airless room and cover the prisoner. After a while, the prisoner would die without a single wound on his body. Then, he would report that he had died a sudden death. His vicious reputation was so great that when his report arrived, the prefectures and counties trembled with fear and followed it even more faithfully than an imperial edict.
Because of this, Wang Hongyi boasted, "My official documents are like wild kudzu, no one is not afraid of them!"
"Now I want this person to interrogate me …"
Thinking of this, Su Wei Wei's face was ashen.
…
In the main hall, Wang Hongyi sat solemnly, wearing his hat neatly.
Ever since Lai Junchen was demoted to a prefectural military officer, the Imperial Censorate's reputation had plummeted. The Imperial Censorates had tucked their tails between their legs and behaved themselves.
The Imperial Censorate's prestige was gone and it was difficult for him to earn money. For safety reasons, he even had to rack his brains to set up an antique shop. He only had one business every ten to fifteen days, which was nothing compared to the money he used to make.
Now that the three Prime Ministers were in jail, the Imperial Court was shaken. If this case was solved, the Imperial Censorate's reputation would be restored. Wan Guojun had secretly instructed him, "The Son of Heaven is old, his jealousy and jealousy is stronger than before. You must think of a way to turn this corruption case into a case of rebellion. As long as it involves rebellion, the Son of Heaven will be alarmed and will put the Censorate in an important position."
The reason why he was asked to interrogate the three Prime Ministers was because of his vicious reputation. Wan Guojun wanted to borrow his reputation to intimidate the three Prime Ministers into giving him the confession he wanted.
"Bring the criminal!"
Wang Hongyi slammed the gavel and was in high spirits.
At this moment, a group of people suddenly appeared at the entrance of the Council Chamber. There were twenty armed men with knives and twenty armed men with spears and sticks. They wore black scarves with feathers on their heads and wore blue uniforms with red edges. They wore black boots. There were two banners in front of them and three men on horses. They formed a triangular formation and went straight to the entrance of the Council Chamber.
The guards at the entrance saw them and stepped forward to stop them. They shouted, "This is the Council Chamber of the Imperial Censorate. Who dares to trespass?"
The man in the middle of the three horses was full of heroic spirit. On the horse behind him, a green-robed official raised a yellow scroll and shouted, "The Ministry of Justice is here to arrest someone. Whoever dares to stop you, stand down!"
The guards were shocked. Seeing the glistening yellow scroll in his hand, they thought he would not dare to fake an imperial edict, so they had no choice but to withdraw in fear. Three horses led dozens of servants and unexpectedly they broke into the Censorate Courtyard.
The officials in the Censorate Chamber saw this scene and did not know what was going on, so they followed behind them to watch. Not long after, more and more people came to the Censorate Chamber. There was a low-ranking official who ran out in a hurry, he did not even have time to put down the brush in his hand, it was quite funny.
This was Yang Fan's second time entering the Senate. The last time, he came here as a prisoner. This time, he was followed by officials carrying shackles and iron shackles, but this time, he was the judge who came to arrest him.
Yang Fan rode his horse straight into the Censor's Courtyard. Only when he reached the Yamen did he flip over and dismount his horse. Placing his hands behind his back, he glanced at the man on his right.
Beside Yang Fan were Feng Xihui, the head of the Ministry of Justice, and Yuan Han, the head of the Ministry of Justice. Yang Fan glanced at them. Yuan Han immediately shouted to a low-ranking official, "We are here to arrest someone. Where is the Imperial Censor Wang Hongyi? Ask him to come forward and answer!"
The low-ranking official's face changed. "Imperial Censor Wang … is interrogating three criminal officials!"
Yang Fan smiled. "Where is he interrogating?"
Yang Fan smiled. The low-ranking official looked at him and felt a chill in his heart. His hand trembled and the brush in his hand fell to the ground. He didn't recognize that this chilling official with a cold smile was the disheveled and dirty Yang Langjiang from the Imperial Censorate.
The low-ranking official pointed forward while trembling with fear. Yang Fan turned his head to look, and with a shake of his chin, dozens of ferocious bailiffs pounced on him …
…
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