Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 560 Something big happened in the imperial mausoleum

In front of Ningguo Mansion,

There was a chilling atmosphere,

I was a little surprised when I suddenly heard the sound of drums.

Zhang Jinyu looked at the anxious look on Wang Gonggong's face. It didn't look like he was telling lies. He really couldn't hear the sound of the drums clearly, but the sound of the trumpet sounded clearly. When the troops gathered in the military camp, it must be the same as the trumpet. Playing together, I have long memorized it by heart. I thought it was the sound of playing during the training of the Forbidden Army. Could it have other meanings?

"My lord, I just heard the sound of the tuba. Although the drums were not clearly heard, there was still a faint sound. Is there any explanation here? How can it be related to the court meeting? Isn't it too far-fetched?"

"Master Marquis, don't worry. Listen to what Zajia said in detail. The sound of drums and trumpets must be familiar to the Marquis. They are often heard in the military camp, but they can be heard in the capital, especially in front of the Meridian Gate of the Imperial Palace. That makes a big difference."

The prince held the Buddha dust and shook his head. He spoke slowly, confirming that the sound was coming from the Meridian Gate. He also expressed emotion that who was so brave to actually knock on it.

"Oh, then you have to explain it carefully. Why is it different? Someone broke into the palace without permission. That's not right. There are many people from the imperial army on duty. Who can be so fierce!"

Zhang Jinyu thought a little wrong and thought it was caused by someone forcing their way into the palace. After all, after the Meridian Gate, there is the Chongwen Gate. Once you enter the Chongwen Gate, you can directly enter the Qianqing Palace. Just as he was thinking about it, Wang Gonggong looked a little embarrassed.

"Master Marquis, it's not like someone broke into the palace. No one is so bold. The guards of the Forbidden Army are not vegetarians. What the Zajia said is that outside the Meridian Gate, a Dengwen drum was set up at the east end. If there are officials who beat the drum, there must be The imperial envoy received the document and presented it to the imperial envoy's official, and then reported it to His Majesty, followed by a court meeting to discuss the matter. This was also a rule that had been established long ago.

After His Majesty ascended the throne, he even arranged for the Forbidden Army to be on duty every day. Someone would beat drums and blow trumpets so that they could be heard in the palace. Therefore, the sound of the trumpet just came from the Forbidden Army. Since the first year of Yuanfeng, it has been No one has beaten the drum since then, and I don’t know anyone who is so bold today. "

After hearing Eunuch Wang's explanation, Zhang Jinyu finally understood why there was a saying of going to court at night. Although it was not dark yet, it would be unknown what time it would be when people changed into official uniforms and then went to the palace.

But Zhang Jinyu didn't understand in her heart, who could be so indifferent, not knocking in the morning, not knocking in the afternoon, and knocking in the afternoon when she was hungry. What couldn't be delayed for a day? Besides, who was not hungry after a damn day's work? .

"Daddy, who would be so bold as to go to the Meridian Gate and knock on that thing? Although there is a chance to become famous, there is no definite evidence. Bringing small matters to the court to present to His Majesty, the official who plays the drum can do it,"

Xiao Yunzi helped Wang Eunzi into the carriage, and then said some caring words. Wang Eunzi naturally took advantage of it, patted Xiao Yunzi on the shoulder, and said with a smile,

"Xiao Yunzi, you have to remember that you can't find anyone within two days. After two days, you have to arrest the person. The rest, the Za family is keeping an eye on the Ningguo Mansion. There must be no mistakes, especially Jia Zhen. Nothing can happen, as for Rongguo Mansion, just stop it."

The prince gently stroked the Buddha dust with his fingers, and looked in the direction of the palace with a half-smile. Everyone was ready to make a move, as if they wanted something. However, it was Marquis Luo Yun who was truly free and at ease. His Majesty relied on him very much. , on Wu Xun's side, the Marquis also integrated into the border army system, but also established relationships with civilian officials.

"Yes, Eunuch Yun!"

"I see, I have heard of the Dengwen drum, but I have never heard of anyone beating it. I thought it was just a decoration. I didn't expect it to be a stupid thing. Prince Wang, why do you think it's so urgent?"

After seeing Mr. Hou go away,

Xiao Yunzi hesitated but did not say anything. This matter was somewhat taboo. The officials in the court were all afraid of those who would do this. Not to mention the enmity of life and death, if this hammer goes down, both jade and stone will be destroyed and there is no turning back.

Seeing how lightly the Marquis said it, the prince was a little embarrassed and couldn't answer. Wherever the decorations were, they were already there, but no one dared to knock on them. As for what happened, the Zajia family was not there, so how could they know.

Zhang Jinyu cursed secretly in her heart, glanced at the door of Rongguo Mansion again, and sighed, wondering if the meat that reached her mouth had flown away.

"Okay, I'll go right away. I'll leave it to you, prince, to take care of things here."

The Hall of Nourishing Heart,

Outside Emperor Wu's palace,

Xiao Yunzi stood outside the car, nodded understandingly, and agreed. Then, the prince waved his hand, and the carriage moved immediately, accompanied by the royal guards of the Imperial City, who left the place together.

Xiao Yunzi behind him closed his sleeves, came closer, and whispered,

Without giving the prince a chance to speak, he led the soldiers and ran away from the place as soon as the horse was under the horse's belly. The prince was a little dumbfounded. The marquis was still so vigorous and resolute, without saving any face.

When he reaches the position of the Marquis, there is really nothing that can excite him. Well, there is one thing, that is, beauty. The hero is sad about the beauty, shakes his head, lifts his feet and gets on the carriage, Xiao Yunzi is serving him carefully behind him. ,

"Uh."

"Go and give Liu Qianhu an order to search more carefully, not too quickly!"

"Godfather, please slow down. My son is watching here. You must go back and rest first. If you have any news, you will tell me. Nothing will go wrong."

"Yes, godfather, my son will remember it!"

"Huh, the official who can come to the palace gate to beat the drum must have been prepared for it. You think he is the only one here. If the Zajia guess is right, there must be someone behind him to give him advice and beat the drum. The people are just chess pieces asking for directions. Tonight's court meeting will be extremely exciting, with civil and military competition, who will be unlucky."

"Master Marquis, the Za family has been staying with you, how can we know what happened? Since we can sound the drum, there must be a reason. I think it's something serious. Master Marquis, you'd better get ready to go there as soon as possible."

There was a man prostrate on the ground, kneeling there and not daring to move. This man was Cao Xianliang, the imperial emissary. He knelt there in fear.

"Your Majesty, outside the Meridian Gate, there was a strict obedient official. He held a memorial and beat the drum. The minister did not dare to neglect and received the memorial delivered by the imperial envoy. He immediately entered the palace and presented it to Your Majesty for preview."

After finishing speaking, I saw no movement inside the screen, and thin cold sweat spread all over my forehead. I wanted to secretly observe the situation inside, but I still didn't dare to raise my head, and I was worried.

"Well, I understand. Do you know what happened when Yan Cong beat the Dengwen drum?"

Emperor Wu sat on the dragon couch, gathered up his sleeves, and put on the dragon robe under the service of Dai Quan. When the drum sounded, there must be a court meeting. Yan obeyed. He remembered that he was a disciple accepted by Lu Wenshan of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Although the capital Nan's matter was a big mistake, but he had to figure out the Holy Will, and Gu Aiqing was always a little behind.

Yan Conongneng must have come here to stir up trouble, divert the attention of the court, and protect Li Shoufu, so that the court will be stable. But this matter, when he thought of Jia Zhen of Ningguo Mansion and the evil Taoist, Emperor Wu's face flashed with anger. Those who cause harm to the country and the people must be severely punished without mercy.

"Back, back to your majesty, I just received the news and heard a little bit about it. According to Zhong Yugu, the imperial envoy who delivered the letter, the official Yan Cong sued the powerful general Jia Zhen of the Ningguo Mansion for raising demons, confusing the people, and causing trouble in the capital. To the extent that he is blamed on heaven and earth, causing changes in heaven and earth, and causing disasters, it is truly an unpardonable crime and requires severe punishment. It also requires a joint trial by the three departments and a thorough investigation of the Ningguo Mansion!"

He had just put on his clothes and looked stunned. It was indeed the work of Mr. Lu Ge. He hit the snake seven inches, and the noble side was taken advantage of this time. Although Jia Zhen of Ning Guo Mansion was a bastard, Ning Guo Mansion was once the head of the Eight Dukes. , it will be impossible to remove the title, otherwise everyone in the entire Dawu Xun family will be in danger. We can only use this as a basis to balance. Jia Zhen of Ning Guo Mansion should not be able to stay. Then where will Ning Guo Mansion go, and Jia Jing of Xuan Zhen Guan , is it really a matter of cultivating Taoism and forgetting about the world of mortals, or is it that you have deliberately avoided the world these years, as the companion of the former prince Zhou Yongxiao, how can you really let go, and my good brother, what is happening now, they say you are dead, I don’t believe it.

It is better for the Tian family blood to remain among the people than to be cruel to the royal family. He glanced at the imperial censors who were kneeling outside. They were all useless people in the capital. They could only watch the drums and sit in the yamen. It was really difficult for them to examine such a big case. The key matter involved a lot. I must be sure enough to control the situation. I think people with some ideas will not be able to help it.

"The three divisions will conduct a joint trial. This is a big case. Let me tell you whether it was your idea or someone else's idea. You can explain it to me!"

Cao Xianliang, the imperial censor who was kneeling outside, heard Emperor Wu questioning him from inside, and his voice trembled.

"Back, back to Your Majesty, I am useless. Since I became the imperial envoy, I have made no achievements. I can only guard the ministry hall and have no intention of making the decision. The Dengwen drum outside the Meridian Gate has been left for a long time without anyone beating it, so I just can't do it. With a lazy mind, I never thought that there would be someone bold enough to beat the drum. I had no clue for a while, and the Duke of Ning was involved. I was panicked and didn't know how to investigate, so I handed over the case to Dali. The temple also has an inspectorate, and the three divisions will conduct a joint review. The Ningguo government must not unjustly accuse the case and investigate the case thoroughly."

After saying that, he kowtowed again.

But when Emperor Wu heard this, his face was full of displeasure. He was like a useless waste. He was obedient at most, but had no ability to relieve the king. Since someone knocked on the Dengwen drum for the first time, there would be a second time. Three times, the imperial envoys still have to be obedient. As for the joint trial of the three departments, people from the official department need to be involved. The nobles also need to send people. What is needed is balance. Thinking of this, I gave the imperial emissary a lecture. Fan,

"You are sincere. As soon as you push it out, you are right. This matter does need to be reviewed by the three departments. As for how to review, the courtiers need to discuss it in detail and cannot be hasty. As for you, you must be optimistic about Dengwen Drum, and It is the responsibility of the imperial envoy to tell the official what to say. If the important matters are urgent, they must be brought to me. Do not make any announcement, but you understand."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand."

"Well, it's good to understand. I'll leave the memorial and prepare to talk about what's going on at the court meeting. Keep an eye on the official and go to court at any time."

"Yes, sir, please retire."

The imperial envoy was overjoyed and quickly kowtowed and left. Dai Quan took the memorial and presented it to Emperor Wu.

Zhou Shihong briefly browsed through it. The words are precise and the writing is sharp. It is a good article. The person who wrote it is a talented person, but he is too reckless. If he plunges in too hard, he may choke to death, but it is also an opportunity to test. How to deal with the 48,000 people.

Zhongshun Wangfu,

As soon as King Zhongshun Zhou Jianan returned to his mansion, an official was waiting at the mansion. He stood on the porch. When he saw the prince coming back, he immediately paid his respects.

"Your Majesty, I have something important to report to you."

When Zhou Jianan saw that the visitor was the chief official of the mausoleum, his expression changed slightly. He looked at the gloomy sky in the courtyard, frowned, twirled his beard with his hand, and said in a deep voice,

"I know, call me in the living room."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The mausoleum official nodded hurriedly, not daring to say anything. He followed the prince into the living room. When the prince sat down, the mausoleum official stood there and continued to salute.

"Your Majesty, I have something important to report."

At the same time, on the street behind Prince Zhongshun's palace, several slow horses came galloping with whips raised. Horseshoes stepped on the bluestone road, making a clicking sound. After arriving at the place, the eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' fortification supervision hurriedly got off his horse and put Ti He threw the rope casually and ran into the mansion.

The steward guarding the back door was stunned. He was not from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. What was he doing here? He was puzzled and did not dare to ask. However, the eunuch from the Ministry of Internal Affairs ignored him and walked quickly to the courtyard, staggering a bit. , came straight to the hall,

Before entering the door, he said in panic,

"Your Majesty, something bad has happened."

"It turns out it's Eunuch Song. Why are you so flustered?"

King Zhongshun looked unhappy. He was discussing important matters here, so he barged in without knowing the rules.

Eunuch Song had a deathly look on his face and murmured,

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Mausoleum, something happened over there..."

Eunuch Song looked horrified and lowered his voice and said,

"Something serious has happened."

Zhou Jianan's pupils shrank, he quickly stood up and asked,

"Supervisor Song, what happened over there at the imperial mausoleum?"

"The underground palace at the east end of the imperial mausoleum collapsed. At least 600 craftsmen were working on it. They were all trapped in the underground palace of the mausoleum. There were also two master craftsmen who were responsible for the construction. There were also rooms, palaces, and sleeping quarters in the underground palace. All collapsed."

Eunuch Song, the supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, said quickly intermittently, his face was gray and his voice was trembling and hoarse,

"The imperial mausoleum collapsed. The Zajia are the overseers of the palace. If something goes wrong, they will be the first to be blamed. I'm afraid my head will be moved. Your lord, the Zajia"

It was like a thunder exploding on the ground.

King Zhongshun shook his figure and exclaimed:

"How could it be? It was just a small earthquake. Only one building in my palace collapsed. Why did the imperial mausoleum collapse? My father's palace also... collapsed?"

At the end of the sentence, I was shocked and felt my hands and feet were cold. Yes, the original wood materials were too poor, because the money in the Ministry of Revenue was locked up by the emperor's brother, and there was too little silver, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not provide enough. Civil engineering procurement is done by oneself, selling low and selling high. For example, half of a tenth of the silver is not enough, and then the oil and water are distributed to others. In the end, very few mausoleums are used for construction.

But I had asked the craftsmen who had been hired before, as well as several big craftsmen, and they all said that there was no serious problem. Why did it collapse when it couldn't withstand even a small earthquake?

Then he looked at Official Ling Ling behind him and asked,

"Is this what you came here to talk about?"

"Back to my lord, it's these, and just now, at the mausoleum, the craftsman made him commit suicide in the house,"

The mausoleum official was also frightened. Although he did not participate in the supervision of the construction, the craftsman committed suicide. As a mausoleum official, he must be investigated and how to deal with it.

Seeing King Zhongshun look downcast and helpless, Eunuch Song and others felt their hearts go cold, fearing that his death was not far away.

"Your Majesty, you have to think of a way. We are all in the same boat, and the whole family is doing it for you, Your Majesty."

"My king, what else can I do now!"

(End of this chapter)