The sky was a vast expanse of blue. The gentle breeze carried the intoxicating scent of spring, gently brushing past the red flowers and green willows, the green hills and clear waters, the palaces and pavilions, and the streets and alleys. The criticism and impeachment of Lai Junchen from both the court and the commoners grew stronger and stronger, like the Luo River after a series of spring rains that began to show signs of ferocity.
The impeachment of Lai Junchen, regardless of whether the participants were deliberate or hot-headed, as long as they had already participated, there was no turning back. If Lai Junchen did not die this time, they would have to prepare their own coffins in advance. At this time, there was no retreat!
And the people in the court who had long feared and hated Lai Junchen were constantly adding fuel to the fire. Perhaps they did not have the ability or the courage to directly express their hatred for Lai Junchen to the Emperor, but they could vent their anger at the wine tables, in the brothels, and in the marketplace. And this would eventually reach the Emperor's ears.
Beautiful Spring Terrace, hundreds of flowers bloomed, and the air was filled with a refreshing fragrance. Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi found many young and handsome boys for Wu Zetian, filling her harem. However, Wu Zetian mostly only tasted these handsome boys. Her favorite ones were still the two boys with the surname Zhang.
Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi accompanied Wu Zetian as they strolled among the flowers. In the midst of the butterflies and orioles, Zhang Yizhi also whispered to Wu Zetian in a voice as gentle as an oriole, "This Lai Junchen has already provoked the wrath of the heavens and the resentment of the people. His Majesty remembers his past contributions and cherishes him very much, but his various perverse actions have tarnished His Majesty's illustrious name! "
Displeased, Wu Zetian furrowed her brows and said, "We are a little tired, let's go back!"
In Wucheng Hall, Wu Zetian summoned a group of prime ministers to discuss which generals to send out to fight against the Khitans. The newly promoted prime minister, Wang Jishan, forcibly shifted the topic to Lai Junchen and solemnly remonstrated, "Lai Junchen is vicious and greedy, the root of the country's evil! If this person does not go, the court will definitely be shaken! "
Wu Zetian flicked her sleeves and left. Whether she wanted to kill or protect someone, she had to make the decision herself. She did not want to give the prime ministers a feeling of indecisiveness.
Chen Dong was in charge of Lai Junchen's trial in the Ministry of Justice. Outside, there were constant complaints every day, and inside, there were revelations from Wei Suizhong, Lai Junchen's trusted aide, who had always been by his side. Chen Dong uncovered more and more information about the wrongful cases that Lai Junchen had created, as well as his abuse of power for personal gain.
When these developments were reported to the Emperor, Wu Zetian was furious.
Qian Chaojun, the former assistant minister of the Ministry of Appointments and the current Minister of Works, had been instructed by Lai Junchen to appoint more than a hundred of Lai Junchen's henchmen to the posts of Patrol Inspector, County Lieutenant, and Judge in various prefectures and counties. With so many of Lai Junchen's henchmen in charge of the local judicial departments, it was convenient for him to frame officials, fabricate evidence, and fabricate charges.
The reason why Lai Junchen was able to accuse others in front of Wu Zetian was because of his seemingly detailed and real evidence. Wu Zetian was unable to restrain her anger. She immediately summoned Minister Qian to the palace and interrogated him face to face.
Qian Chaojun knew that it was inevitable, so he simply hardened his heart and answered straightforwardly, "I have failed Your Majesty, and deserve to die! However, I have violated the laws of the country, and the crime only belongs to me. When Lai Junchen was in power, he covered the sky with one hand. Those who submitted to him would prosper, and those who opposed him would perish. If I offended him, I would definitely face the calamity of extermination. I would rather be exterminated than exterminate my entire clan! "
After hearing this, Wu Zetian was silent. After a long time, she stood up in disappointment and frustration and slowly walked back to the inner palace. She actually did not pursue Qian Chaojun's responsibility. When the news spread, whether it was the Zhang faction, the Wei faction, the Crown Prince faction, or the Princess faction, they were all excited. They knew that under the overwhelming suppression, the Empress finally had the thought of abandoning Lai Junchen.
In the Liang Palace, there was a joyous song and dance.
Zuo Buque Zhang Shuo improvised a poem, "The Liang Palace is good, the morning phoenix building is connected. Bamboo paths, Luo Qianwei, the Lan Banquet falls to two palaces. Under the fragrant tree, the graceful dance of the falling flowers. I feel that the banquet is pleasing to the ears, and even the wind of a great country. "The entire hall was filled with cheers. Wu Sansi also listened with pride and was very pleased.
Wu Sansi bestowed a cup of fine wine to Zhang Shuo and praised him with a smile. He then said in a low voice to the Minister of Glories, Song Zhixun, who was standing in front of him, "I don't know why, but recently Wei Wang has spared no effort in attacking Lai Junchen. Wei Wang is Gu's greatest opponent in seizing the throne. His friend is my enemy, and his enemy is my friend. Gu wants to lend a helping hand to Lai Junchen, what do you think? "
Song Zhixun immediately said with a serious expression, "Absolutely not! This matter does not only concern Wei Wang. Once His Majesty reaches out, he will become the enemy of the whole world. In my opinion, we can either watch from the side and not say anything, or if we want to help, we can only hit him when he is down. We cannot go against the general trend of the world! "
Wu Sansi stroked his beard and pondered for a while before slowly nodding his head.
The entire situation was very disadvantageous to Lai Junchen. Being detained in the Ministry of Justice's prison, Lai Junchen's supervision was not very strict. Perhaps the prison guards were afraid of his ruthlessness and were afraid that if he did not die this time, they would suffer greatly when he was released from prison. Therefore, they did not treat him harshly.
Every day, the Lai Residence's family sent food to Lai Junchen. They could even enter the prison and personally deliver it to Lai Junchen. Under these circumstances, it was easy for Lai Junchen to send some information to the outside world. But Lai Junchen racked his brains and could not find a single person he could entrust this task to.
He had long walked this road to a dead end!
… …
Those who feared that Lai Junchen would not die were not only the Zhang faction, the Wei faction, the Crown Prince faction, the Princess faction, and the faction of the Prince of Luling that did not have a leader but saw an opportunity to strike. There was also the Grand Scholar Ji Xu.
Ji Xu had secretly reported the news of Liu Sili and Liu Sili's rebellion to Lai Junchen. Lai Junchen had taken all the credit and attempted to eradicate Ji Xu as a traitor. As a result, Ji Xu hated Lai Junchen to the bone.
When a wave of crusade against Lai Junchen rose in court, Ji Xu had been closely watching the development of the situation, but he did not interfere. It was not that he was afraid of Lai Junchen. Although he was afraid, ever since he had seen the emperor as the first person to accuse Liu Sili and Liu Sili of rebellion, he and Lai Junchen no longer had any leeway.
The reason he did not stand out was because he felt that his words carried little weight and that he would not be of much use in this matter.
But the empress was still unwilling to make the decision to punish Lai Junchen. Ji Xu was somewhat unable to restrain himself. He knew that this was the best chance to deal with Lai Junchen. If he missed this chance, he would never be able to overthrow Lai Junchen. Even if he had the empress's protection and would not be harmed by Lai Junchen, he would never have the chance to stand out and could only continue to be an idle official.
Thus, on this morning, during the morning court, Ji Xu decided to take a risk.
He was the Grand Scholar, in charge of guiding the palanquin, writing the Five Ceremonial Notes, monitoring the ceremonial objects, and deciding on matters such as the conferment of the nobles and ministers. Every morning court of the emperor, when the imperial carriage came out of the rear palace, it had to be led into the hall by the Grand Scholar. On this day, he was on duty.
The Wan Xiang Divine Palace had been burned and was now being rebuilt. The Emperor's court was temporarily changed to the Hall of Proclamation. Early in the morning, Ji Xu was waiting in front of the Hall of Proclamation. When the Emperor's imperial carriage came from afar, Ji Xu, who was supposed to be leading at the front, suddenly charged into the guard of honor, went straight to the front, and grabbed the handrail of Wu Zetian's carriage.
The imperial guards were shocked and immediately went forward to arrest him. Wu Zetian frowned and waved the guards away. She said sternly to Ji Xu, "Subject Ji, why are you obstructing the imperial carriage? Are you not afraid that we will punish you?"
Ji Xu sternly said in a loud voice, "Subject broke up the guard of honor and obstructed the imperial carriage. Subject is guilty and is willing to be punished by Your Majesty to uphold the country's law! Lai Junchen's crimes are monstrous and the people are angry. Evidence of his crimes can be found everywhere. The court and the public have long been calling for him to be punished. Subject asks Your Majesty, why are you still not punishing him? "
All the civil and military officials were waiting in front of the hall to enter. Seeing this scene, they could not help but be dumbfounded. Many people were secretly impressed by Ji Xu's courage.
Wu Zetian was somewhat embarrassed and answered unhappily, "Lai Junchen has done meritorious service for the country, that is why we are hesitating!"
Ji Xu loudly said, "Lai Junchen has done meritorious service for the country, Your Majesty has also given him corresponding rewards. Lai Junchen was originally a commoner in Chang 'an. How could he become the Deputy Prime Minister of the Imperial Censor and the Governor of the Capital? Isn't it because Your Majesty has rewarded him for his meritorious service? Today, Lai Junchen has gathered lawless people and framed the good. His bribes are as high as mountains and the wronged souls are blocking the way. He has already become a traitor to the country. Your Majesty, please be fair in your punishment and reward to uphold the country's law! "
Having said that, Ji Xu took three steps back, lifted his robe and knelt down to pay his respects. Standing at the head of the civil and military officials, Wu Chengsi and the others saw this opportunity and immediately knelt down. They said in unison, "Your Majesty, please be fair in your punishment and reward to uphold the country's law!"
As soon as these people knelt down, more than half of the officials knelt down. The remaining people stood there like cranes in a flock of chickens. Looking left and right, they hurriedly knelt down as well.
Wu Zetian sat steadily on the imperial carriage, her face expressionless. After a long silence, Wu Zetian slowly opened her mouth and said, "My beloved subject is right. This matter has been dragged on for long enough. The Qiu Guan yamen and Supreme Court, please discuss the punishment as soon as possible!"
Wu Chengsi was overjoyed and took the lead to shout, "Our Majesty is wise, long live Your Majesty!"
Ji Xu secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Only now did he realize that his clothes were already soaked in sweat!
In the Yang residence, Tang Supervisor Yang, who had been suspended from his duties but not his salary, was extremely bored. He had seen all the sceneries in and out of the city. One day, he had just discussed with his two lovely wives about going to Mount Laojun and building a garden there to escape the heat every summer when Gu Zhuting returned.
Since Young Master Jiang's death, Gu Zhuting did not need to continue hiding her identity because she and Yang Fan shared a secret. Yang Fan was not at all worried that she would betray him. Now, Gu Zhuting was Yang Fan's number one confidant. She was in charge of the communication between him and the Ji Si Hall.
Yang Fan took her back to the study and listened to her report about the 'Ji Si Hall'. He nodded and smiled, "Hmm! They've done a good job, especially the scheme that the 'Sky Observation Division' set up against Lai Junchen. Not only did they deal with Lai Junchen, they also found out some of the hidden forces in various aspects, instigated deeper suspicion between the two parties, and expanded our living space! "
Gu Zhuting smiled, "When I came back, the elders of the 'Heaven Observation Division' specially asked me to bring back a message. They said that they are deeply honored to be able to serve the Sovereign!"
When Young Master Jiang was still alive, the 'Heaven Observation Division' was just a decoration. The headstrong Young Master Jiang had always been dismissive of the things designed by the old men of the 'Heaven Observation Division'. Now that Yang Fan thought so highly of them and often adopted their suggestions, these old men felt like they had met a bosom friend.
At this moment, someone suddenly said outside the door, "Ah Lang, Ren Wei requests an audience!"
Yang Fan waved his hand and Gu Zhuting immediately hid behind the screen. Yang Fan said, "Come in!"
Ren Wei rushed in and said, "Sovereign, the Emperor has issued an edict in today's court meeting. He ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court to discuss Lai Junchen's crime!"
"Good!"
Yang Fan clapped his hands and laughed. Before he finished laughing, he suddenly saw a strange expression on Ren Wei's face. He could not help but ask, "Is there anything else?"
Ren Wei hurriedly said, "Sovereign is wise!"
Yang Fan rolled his eyes and said, "If there is something, just say it!"
Ren Wei took a deep breath and said quickly, "The imperial court is about to attack Khitan. The Emperor has named 28 generals. Sovereign, you are also … among them!"
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