The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Li Dongyang did not rashly ask about his brother's case because he knew that it would be useless if he went.

It was not until the next morning, after the morning court session, that Li Dongyang learned that his brother had returned home. He hurried to his own villa at noon and called Li Dongming over to inquire about the situation.

Li Dongming looked very haggard and said, "I was questioned for several hours. I was also questioned at night, but no torture was used. After dawn, the Jinyiwei told me that I could go back. They also told me not to leave the capital recently, and that they could question me again at any time."

Li Dongyang asked: "Are you involved in the case?"

"What case is this?" Li Dongming seemed very wronged.

"It's good that you don't know." Li Dongyang seemed relieved and nodded, "Remember, no matter who asks you, don't say anything nonsense, and don't force yourself to confess."

"I think they are quite polite." Li Dongming said.

Li Dongyang said coldly: "They are targeting me this time, you just need to stay out of it."

After saying that, Li Dongyang was about to leave.

However, he did not notice the indescribable complex expressions in Li Dongming's eyes. It was obvious that Li Dongming had not mentioned many things to his brother, and Li Dongyang naturally thought that Li Dongming knew nothing.

……

……

That morning, a carriage stopped in front of Princess Yongkang's mansion.

Li Song was escorted here by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and then people from Princess Yongkang's mansion took her into the mansion.

In the backyard, Yongkang met her best friend whom she had always been thinking about.

"I pay my respects to Her Royal Highness the Princess." When Li Song saw Yongkang, she bowed.

Yongkang quickly helped him up and said, "We are all family, why should we be polite? You have suffered a lot these days, so stay here today and I will welcome you back to the good old days."

Li Song said: "I was only forgiven and was able to see the princess once. I dare not have any more delusions and will return to the prison afterwards."

Yongkang said, "That Duke Cai is really heartless. He said he could be flexible, but in the end he was so rude. You...didn't suffer much, did you?"

This kind of "suffering" is obviously not in the ordinary sense.

Li Song shook her head.

Yongkang sighed, "Don't hide anything. We almost became a family, but fate was unfair. Maoren is in Liaodong now, and he doesn't know about this."

"I dare not disturb the Princess and Marquis Jingshan." Li Song said humbly.

Yongkang said, "Sit down and talk to me. I know you've suffered a lot. Tell me. I'll help you wherever I can. I'll talk to my father later and I'll find a way to rescue you."

……

……

Li Song stayed at Princess Yongkang's mansion for less than an hour before she was taken away by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Yongkang was naturally a little angry.

That night, she went to Zhang Zhou's theater in person and brought two jars of good wine, which she had brought up. It seemed that she wanted to compete with Zhang Zhou in drinking again. She was very upset that she lost the last time, and this time she wanted to get back at him.
Zhang Zhou gave her face. It was not easy for others to see her, but since it was the eldest princess who came in person, Zhang Zhou only let Yongkang wait for half an hour.

Yongkang walked into the observation deck where Zhang Zhou was, looked around and said, "Your place is quite quiet, but it's open to the wind on all sides. Aren't you afraid of being attacked by assassins?"

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "I am afraid, but if I am so afraid that I dare not even show up to meet people, then I really can't survive. Who would blatantly assassinate me here?"

"Be careful." Yong Kang sat down. "I have asked someone to put the wine I brought downstairs. You don't have to drink it. It's the same with drinking your wine. As long as you lose this time, just let me go. This time, I will risk my life to accompany you."

Zhang Zhou directly picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Yongkang himself.

Yongkang said: "I don't deserve it."

Zhang Zhou said calmly, "This is my way of entertaining guests. It's up to you whether you want to drink or not."

"My pleasure." Yong Kang rarely felt that she had the upper hand. Zhang Zhou actually took the initiative to pour tea for her. In her opinion, this was a great honor.

Zhang Zhou laughed and said, "Why do you have to be obsessed with this woman, and even want to save her from danger, without even asking for her opinion?"

Yongkang said: "Old friend."

"I don't think they are old friends." Zhang Zhou said, "From what I know, this girl almost married into your Princess's mansion a few years ago... Hehe, that's not quite right. In fact, she almost married the princess's husband."

"Nonsense." Yongkang naturally did not admit it.

Zhang Zhou said: "If it happened before Prince Consort Cui married the princess, it would be fine, but it happened after..."

Yongkang's expression suddenly turned ugly.

Zhang Zhou added: "I heard that the marriage was initiated by you, the eldest princess. I can't understand why a dignified eldest princess would want to share her husband with others. It seems that Prince Consort Cui really married a virtuous wife."

"That's enough!" Yongkang said, "Don't think it's going to rain just because you hear the wind. It's not happening. My relationship with her is purely a family friendship, and I'm just being considerate of her."

Zhang Zhou said, "Is it the Princess who wants to marry her, or is it Prince Consort Cui's intention? I think even Prince Consort Cui himself can't explain this matter clearly, right?"

The muscles on Yongkang's face looked very unnatural, and it was obvious that Zhang Zhou had guessed her thoughts.

Zhang Zhou sighed, "In fact, I can understand some things. This girl's life was rough, and you, Princess, are kind-hearted and wanted to help her out, so you planned to let her marry into the Princess's Mansion. As a result, the Song family had already compromised, but something went wrong behind the scenes, forcing this girl to marry someone else. After all, it was the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words, and Princess did her best in this matter."

Yongkang said, "Duke Cai, do you always like to pry into other people's privacy? Didn't I come here to drink with you today?"

"Drinking can easily cause trouble." Zhang Zhou said, "Especially for you, Princess. I don't mind. I am famous for not getting drunk after drinking a thousand cups. Of course, whether I would get drunk after drinking ten thousand cups is hard to say. But Princess, you got drunk here with me... I can't explain it to others."

Yongkang frowned and asked, "Then what do you want?"

Zhang Zhou said, "She will obviously not go with you. You can still see her in the future if you want to. Everything is done according to the law. I can't do anything about it. I also hope that you, the eldest princess, will stop making fun of the court's laws. If it is really inappropriate, I can only ask Cui Fuma for her opinion and see if she is willing to save this woman from the water and fire."

This is clearly a threat.

If you continue to make trouble, I will make your relationship with this woman public and let others know that your eldest princess is actually a bit unusual.

If you stop here, then this matter will be in the past and I will not bother you about it anymore.

Yongkang was of course very angry, but in the end she just picked up the teacup on the table angrily, drank the tea in one gulp as if she was drinking wine, and said, "Then you must remember to treat her well. Let's go!" After that, she went downstairs without looking back.

……

……

"What a stubborn woman."

Zhang Zhou looked at Yongkang's back and couldn't help but smile.

I guess Yongkang would never have thought how Zhang Zhou got to know her secrets.

But in fact, the method used by Zhang Zhou is very simple... Since Li Song wants to achieve his goal of revenge, he has to reveal his past. Otherwise, how can he get Zhang Zhou's support?
The person who knows the reason best is naturally not the Jinyiwei, but the victim himself.

It just so happens that Cui Yuan was just being used, and he didn't know the details of the matter. Only Yongkang and Li Song knew the reasons behind it.

"How is it? Are you touched?" Zhang Zhou said, "She is still helping you after all. She only handed you over to me because of the situation."

A woman came out from behind the partition screen next to the observation deck and stood respectfully in front of Zhang Zhou.

From Li Song's expression, Zhang Zhou knew that Li Song was also grateful to Yongkang. After all, this best friend really treated her as a human being. It's just that she can never go back to the past, and because she is already a convict, it is impossible for her to enter the mansion of Jingshan Hou openly.

Zhang Zhou said: "What you mentioned before are some middle-level officials in the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works. Of course, in the eyes of ordinary people, they are already senior officials in the court, but in my eyes, they are not core figures. So if you want to get what you need, you must come up with some more solid stuff... The so-called solid stuff is what I want."

The woman said, "The Song family used to have many dealings with local feudal lords, and they transported food and other items for them. Some of them also relied on the Song and Li families to purchase wood and stone materials in the court. Although I cannot know all the relevant accounts, I know who is the leader behind them, and I also know how many of the merchants in the capital are their people."

"Very good." Zhang Zhou nodded. "That's what happened, but we should not involve the local princes. We just need to find out how many people are parasites. This is what I want."

"I understand, I am guilty." Li Song seemed to be very clear about the rules of the court.

A smart woman will be well prepared.

Zhang Zhou said, "Then write down everything you know and ask for it tonight. Give it to me in person later."

Having said that, Zhang Zhou stood up and walked in front of Li Song.

Facing the pressure from Zhang Zhou's aura, Li Song didn't even dare to raise her head.

But Zhang Zhou just passed by her and then went downstairs.

……

……

The one waiting for Zhang Zhou was Yang Peng.

Yang Peng came to inform you about Li Dongming.

Obviously, arresting the brother of the current cabinet minister was very stressful for Yang Peng. However, because of the case, Yang Peng felt it was necessary to let Zhang Zhou know, because the censors might get instructions from Li Dongyang and others to impeach the East Factory for usurping power.

The two met in a private room in the theater. As the Mid-Autumn Festival had passed, the weather had become cooler and Zhang Zhou no longer spent most of his time on the observation deck blowing in the cold wind. It seemed more convenient to talk about things in the private room.

Yang Peng said: "The fourth master of the Li family is not as active as the son of Master Jiao, but he is also very famous in the official circles of the capital, and he is a guest at many banquets. What he does is not necessarily exposed to the public. He may not know about many secret activities, but he supports those people."

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "That is to say, when the officials in the capital secretly do something, he will be there to act as a banner for those people, so that people will think that the old man Li is backing him up?"

"That's probably it." Yang Peng said, "The banquets held by officials in the capital are usually very grand. One banquet costs at least 180 taels of silver. The guests invited are all relatives of high-ranking officials. Because Lord Li has a great reputation in the capital, his fourth brother often attends these occasions."

Zhang Zhou said: "Is there any evidence to prove that he took the silver?"

"silver……"

Yang Peng said, "It may not be directly accepted, but it may be a bribe, or some complicated income. We are still verifying it. In fact, the salaries of officials in the capital are not high. A lot of shady income may be made by these people in secret."

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Eunuch Yang is here with me, why do you need to hide it like this? Just say it directly."

Yang Peng sighed, "There is always a price for welcoming and seeing off guests in the capital. Even Lord Li himself has attended such occasions, but it is relatively rare. He has restrained himself in the past two years, perhaps because you, Duke Cai, have emerged as a rising star in the court. If it were in the past, no one would dare to intervene, and no one would intervene."

"Ugh!"

Zhang Zhou sighed heavily.

He knew very well that although the Ming Dynasty did not have any gift-giving programs such as ice, charcoal, and farewell gifts, the giving and receiving of gifts between officials had always been prohibited.

Although the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty severely punished corrupt officials, the emperors of subsequent generations basically maintained leniency towards civil servants. Of course, there were some special cases such as beatings in court, but as for catching corruption... at least during the Chenghua and Hongzhi dynasties, only a few people lost their jobs because of this, and no one was beheaded.

At least middle and upper-level officials have not experienced such harsh scrutiny.

Yang Peng asked, "Do you want to continue investigating the people in Li Gelao's residence?"

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "If there is a connection, then we must investigate. If there is no evidence and we can't investigate further, then we can stop investigating. We should investigate the matter, not the person."

"Yes, yes." Yang Peng nodded in response.

But I was thinking in my heart, isn't it because the cabinet has been aggressive towards you recently and has used some means, aren't you fighting back?

It depends on the time and place when it comes to what is right and what is not.

If the other party is just dealing with the person and not the issue, and you insist on dealing with the issue and not the person, then you will be a big loser in the game.

Zhang Zhou said, "Oh, Eunuch Yang, I may have to go to Binhai City again soon. This time I won't be away for long, I will be back in about half a month."

"You are leaving Beijing?"

Yang Peng is also a veteran.

After hearing this, I seemed to understand it immediately.

It's time to close the net.

The work of closing the net can only be carried out when Zhang Zhou is not in the capital. When Zhang Zhou returns to the capital, everything should be settled.

What corrupt officials, what behind-the-scenes plots, and what about the Duke of Yingguo and the Duke of Chengguo, all the problems that need to be solved should be solved. (End of this chapter)