The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 483

"Master Jiang, please come with me."

Gu Dayong said respectfully.

Jiang Ning nodded and then walked out of the hall.

After Jiang Ning left, Zhu Houzhao's face darkened again, and it was a long time before Gu Dayong returned.

"Is Jiang Ning watching?"

"Yes."

Gu Dayong said respectfully, "Master Jiang is already reading in the Wenyuan Pavilion."

Zhu Houzhao was somewhat surprised. Jiang Ning hadn't slept all night yet still had the energy to read, unlike him who was already exhausted. Were all martial artists this resilient?

Shaking his head, Zhu Houzhao ignored the matter and asked.

"How's the interrogation of those men going?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Dayong said solemnly, "Your Majesty, those officials have been detained in prison and interrogated all night, but they still refuse to confess."

"Humph."

Zhu Houzhao's face darkened.

"Continue the investigation; a result must be reached within three days."

Upon hearing this timeframe, Gu Dayong immediately thought of Zhu Houzhao's earlier statement that he would meet with the court officials at the morning court session in three days. Now, Zhu Houzhao had given him another three days, clearly indicating that he intended to give the civil officials a shock at the morning court session.

"Gu Daban, I don't care what methods you use, I'm only giving you three days."

Zhu Houzhao said.

Listening to Zhu Houzhao's calm tone, although he didn't mention the consequences, Gu Dayong knew that this was related to whether he could hold onto his position as the head of the Eastern Depot.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, if I cannot extract a confession within three days, I am willing to offer my head in return."

Gu Dayong's face revealed a sinister expression, but this expression was not directed at Zhu Houzhao, but at the officials in the prison.

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand, and Gu Dayong withdrew, heading straight for the prison after leaving the Qianqing Palace.

Two days later.

"Brother Jiang, what are you looking at?"

Jiang Ning was lying on a recliner flipping through a book when Zhu Houzhao came over curiously.

"The Supreme True Wisdom Precepts of the Great Grade".

Jiangning Road.

Zhu Houzhao said "oh," picked up a book from the table next to Jiang Ning, glanced at it, and then put it back.

Jiang Ning originally planned to read in the Wenyuan Pavilion, but Zhu Houzhao was in a state of extreme insecurity, so Jiang Ning continued to read in the Qianqing Palace.

Two days have passed since the night Lan Fenghuang was killed and the officials who conspired with her were arrested. Zhu Shijin, the leader of the Hundred Medicines Sect who escaped, has still not been caught. It is unknown whether he has fled the capital. However, the Eastern Depot has not given up the search and has instead made even greater moves.

In the past few days, the Eastern Depot has been conducting a large-scale search and arrest operation, which has prompted more civil officials to impeach it. In the past two days alone, there have been several stacks of memorials impeaching the Eastern Depot. Zhu Houzhao has kept them all in the palace and suppressed them.

For the past two days, Gu Dayong has been completely immersed in the prison and hasn't left it, interrogating those officials day and night.

During this period, an incident occurred where the wife of one of the arrested officials went to the Eastern Depot to demand his release that very day, and many civil officials also lent their support.

The civil officials thought the Eastern Depot would be afraid of their power and would give in and release the woman, but the next day the woman only got back an arm.

The official was dismembered in prison that same day.

This scene further enraged the civil officials, and memorials impeaching the Eastern Depot poured into the palace like snowflakes.

Zhu Houzhao ignored all these memorials.

Zhu Houzhao was eating while looking at the confession in his hand.

Tomorrow is his last day with Gu Dayong, but Gu Dayong got the verdict in just two days.

When those officials were first arrested and imprisoned, they refused to admit their crimes and even shouted that the Eastern Depot should release them immediately, otherwise the court would not let them off the hook.

Faced with these stubborn individuals, Gu Dayong immediately chose one to dismember in front of the others, making them turn pale.

But they still didn't confess. Gu Dayong then skinned one of them alive, which finally broke their defenses, and they confessed.

After reading the confession, Zhu Houzhao's face turned very gloomy.

At this moment, Gu Dayong was kneeling in front of Zhu Houzhao, trembling with fear.

Gu Dayong was already terrified when he read the confession; he never expected to uncover so much more.

At this moment, Gu Dayong thought of the questions those people asked him before he confessed.

"Eunuch Gu, are we just going to answer whatever they ask, and implicate whoever they're dragged into?"

Gu Dayong was so eager to make a contribution that he didn't realize the seriousness of the matter at all. His hands were shaking when he received the confession.

boom!

Zhu Houzhao suddenly smashed the tea set on the ground, scattering tea shards and tea everywhere.

Zhu Houzhao's face was ashen, and his eyes were filled with barely concealed rage.

Upon seeing this, Gu Dayong immediately pressed his head to the ground, trembling with fear and not daring to utter a single word.

Ok?

Jiang Ning, who was reading a book, looked over here, wondering what was written in the confession that made Zhu Houzhao so angry.

After a while.

"Grasp."

Zhu Houzhao practically gritted his teeth as he uttered that word.

Gu Dayong, who was originally delighted by the results of the trial, was not overjoyed at this moment. He looked up and glanced cautiously at Zhu Houzhao.

"Your Majesty, is it the confession that says everyone should be arrested, or...?"

At this moment, Gu Dayong's asking such a foolish question was not because he was foolish, but because his heart was trembling.

Zhu Houzhao glanced at him, and although he didn't say anything, the meaning in his eyes was clear.

"The servant understands."

Gu Dayong quickly said, then got up and walked outside.

After Gu Dayong left, Jiang Ning looked at Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao was seen clutching the confession tightly in his hand, gritting his teeth, and tears streaming down his face.

Chapter 658: Zuo Shunmen

Seeing Zhu Houzhao's expression, Jiang Ning didn't know what was written on the confession, but he knew that Zhu Houzhao needed to be alone for a while.

Without saying much, Jiang Ning put away the book, got up, and left.

After Jiang Ning left, Zhu Houzhao finally lost control of his emotions, which he had been holding back.

The confession was crumpled by Zhu Houzhao, who then burst into tears.

"Father Emperor!!"

The emperor wept bitterly.

……

Another day has passed, and tomorrow is the morning court session, but yesterday a major event that shocked the capital occurred.

Because the Eastern Depot arrested two people, one of whom was a physician from the Imperial Medical Academy named Liu Wentai.

The arrest of this imperial physician by the Eastern Depot did not elicit much of a reaction from the court officials, because the physician was not of any importance. However, the Eastern Depot's action did provoke a reaction from some officials, but it was not significant.

What shocked the civil servants was something else entirely.

The Minister of War, one of the six ministers, was arrested and imprisoned.

This incident shocked the capital and greatly alarmed the court officials.

They had been impeaching the Eastern Depot for the past few days, but the Eastern Depot not only did not stop, but also imprisoned the Minister of War. This had already angered the civil officials. Before dawn today, a large group of civil officials came to Zuoshun Gate, knelt down, and wailed, demanding to see Zhu Houzhao.

"How disgusting."

Zhu Houzhao stood on a high point in the distance, looking at the large group of officials kneeling down, and sneered.

Jiang Ning was also there at the time. He was reading a book when Zhu Houzhao suddenly said he wanted to see a good show, so he came here.

Upon hearing Zhu Houzhao's words, Jiang Ning remained silent, his gaze sweeping across the crowd before settling on one of them.

Chen Qingyuan is here too?

Chen Qingyuan was formerly the prefect of Hanzhong. His wife and daughters were violated by Tian Boguang. Later, he was promoted to the capital and served as the vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He had also had several interactions with Jiang Ning. He never expected that the other party would come here today.

I just don't know if the other party was involved in anything.

At this moment, Chen Qingyuan, who was kneeling on the ground in the crowd, buried his head in the ground and had a bitter expression on his face.

To be honest, he didn't really want to come, but the fact that Gu Dayong had imprisoned the Minister was too big, which angered many officials, who all wanted to come to Zuoshun Gate in groups, and he was dragged along as well.

"What a grand display! All five ministers of the six ministries except the Minister of War have arrived, along with members of the cabinet. Are they trying to force the emperor to abdicate?"

Zhu Houzhao sneered.

"Aren't you going to see me?"

Jiang Ning asked.

"not see."

Zhu Houzhao said.

"Tomorrow will be the day when I confront them."

Zhu Houzhao actually used the word "confrontation," which shows how much he loathed these civil officials.

Jiang Ning stayed there for a while, and then left.

He wasn't interested in any of that and planned to go back to reading.

He has now reached the end of the fourth level of the Innate Skill, and is only one step away from breaking through to the fifth level. However, this one step seems like an insurmountable chasm. At this point, continuing to cultivate diligently is of little use, so Jiang Ning devotes more time to reading.

After Jiang Ning left, Zhu Houzhao watched for a while longer, but then felt bored and prepared to go back. At that moment, a group of people hurriedly headed towards Zuoshun Gate not far away.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to rebel? Get out of here right now!"

Gu Dayong was both shocked and furious, and his face turned pale.

He never expected that after arresting the Minister of Revenue yesterday, this group of civil officials would dare to collectively stage a coup at Zuoshun Gate.

Gu Dayong, who already knew some of the inside information, was even more alarmed. Upon hearing that the civil officials had arrived at Zuoshun Gate, he rushed over with his men like a cat with its fur standing on end, trying to scare them away.

But he was met with a mouthful of spit.

"Grudge!"

A civil official glared at Gu Dayong with eyes blazing with fury, his teeth clenched as if he wanted to devour him.

"You have deceived the Emperor, blocked his ears, flattered those in power, manipulated authority, and wantonly persecuted his most trusted ministers!"

Gu Dayong's expression was cold, and he forced himself to remain calm.

"I am here on orders to arrest people. What does this have to do with you? If you continue to cause trouble, don't blame me for being impolite!"

This was the first time Gu Dayong had ever seen such a scene. Although he appeared calm, he was inwardly panicked.

"By imperial decree? How could His Majesty, a wise and sagacious ruler, issue an order to a eunuch like you to persecute loyal officials? It must be that you eunuchs are trying to interfere in state affairs and harm loyal officials. How can we tolerate your reckless behavior!"

Gu Dayong's words did nothing to frighten the group of officials who had been tyrannical for eighteen years during the Hongzhi reign. On the contrary, they were even more enraged, and some civil officials were already looking at him with eagerness.

Gu Dayong was terrified by the scene, especially when he saw the group of civil officials getting up from the ground as if they were about to pounce on him. The Eastern Depot agents who came with him were also frightened and dared not draw their knives. Gu Dayong fled in fear, lacking the vigor and enthusiasm he had shown in the previous days when he had searched the entire city.

Upon seeing this, the civil officials laughed heartily as if they had won a great battle.

Seeing this scene from afar, Zhu Houzhao's expression gradually darkened.

Gu Dayong is not up to the task.

Since ascending the throne, he has experienced many things, including playing games with this group of civil officials and being poisoned and cursed. He has realized that no official in the court can be trusted. In the future, if he wants to fight against this group of officials, he can only rely on eunuchs, the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. But now, Gu Dayong is acting so cowardly in the face of the civil officials banding together. How can he use him?