Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 570
"You bastard!"

The filigree jade cup was slammed against the pillar, and the clear clinking sound broke into a chain, leaving a tea stain on the warm and soft carpet. In the deep hall, there was only the old man's heavy and angry breathing, and the maids in green clothes knelt with their heads bowed, as quiet as statues.

Li Du had not yet taken off his official uniform, his face was filled with anger and his hair and beard were as puffy as an old cat. He threw himself down on the couch, and the teacup on the table next to him was overturned, showing the mess he had just made with his sleeve.

Even though the wind direction in the court had changed, Li Du never felt that he was suffering a crushing defeat.

All government offices were still firmly in his hands. Although Yuanzhao had driven some disgusting nails into many passes, the name of the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty was still Li Du, and he would continue to hold the position for at least two years.

The new prime minister's foundation was certainly unstable, and his followers were all weak scholars. At least 70% of the things in the court were still influenced by Li Du.

As the saying goes, a three-foot-thick ice does not form overnight. The Li family has been rooted in the court for so many years, it is impossible for it to be burned down just because of a man named Yuan. Even if it is the so-called Two Days, isn't it still the same as two days coexisting?

The left and right prime ministers were in the same position, which was the normal practice of the Shangshu Province. With two prime ministers, it was easy for a saint to have power. The name of Yuan Youjing was being called in the trend of the capital. The political center of gravity was indeed shifting to the new prime minister, but few people thought that Prime Minister Li would step down.

He has been in the imperial court of Shenjing for too long. He is noble, dignified, and indifferent, like an old but unbroken jade tree.

The Li family did not need radical political ideas like Yuanzhao, and even Li Du did not need any political focus. Let anyone do the work. He just needed to chant Buddhist scriptures and recite Buddhist scriptures as before, and live a life of drunkenness and dreams in the Fantasy Tower. This flag standing here would stabilize a large area of ​​the court.

Li Du had a gloomy face on the Winter Sword Stage for half an hour, because he really felt very embarrassed. He foresaw that some disgusting things would exist alongside him in the court for a long time, just like the word "Xu" ten years ago.

Even though he has lived more than half of his life, he rarely encounters things that go against his wishes.

For three days, he stood silently at the head of all the ministers, watching indifferently those peasants and the lower classes put on jade belts and court robes, like monkeys in a crown, and ordered things around in the court. He thought he had suffered enough insults... until today, when three impeachment memorials came, all that was missing was to point directly at his name, Li Du.

The four words "shocked, frightened and angry" are not enough to describe the threat and offense the old man felt at that moment.

Right in the Xuanzheng Hall, right before all the ministers, right in front of the sage, it was not like the previous times when the petty officials who risked their lives were dragged away as soon as they opened their mouths. Instead, three officials in red robes, Jingzhao Yin Di Jiu, Ministry of Justice Guan Zhiyi, and Ministry of Rites Yu Ziqian, simultaneously submitted a thick stack of official documents.

There are three main events:
One of them was the case of human trafficking in Liguan, in which the people were harmed by using Taipingcao and Fengshuiwu as their minions, colluding with Jinwuwei as a cover, setting up private prisons, and accumulating huge wealth.

The second is that the Ministry of Justice had more than 300 wrongful imprisonments of varying sizes that were instigated by other people, which harmed both officials and civilians, and turned public laws into private laws.

The third is that the Ministry of Rites had more than 30 officials, most of whom were from aristocratic families. They all held positions for nothing, or abused their power for personal gain, or even brought singing girls to the yamen for fun, turning the Ministry of Rites into a place where rituals and music were in disarray.

As soon as the three matters were reported, all the officials in the court who knew some inside information held their breath.

The Ministry of Rites was where Li Du was born, and the Ministry of Justice was one of the places where the Li family had the deepest roots. The reason why the Taiping Cao and others were so harmful was that the Southern Yamen guards were in cahoots with them - the power to mobilize these guards was in the hands of the prime minister.

The three incidents were actually pointing in the same direction. This must be a case for which they had been well prepared. As long as the saint said he wanted to investigate, the three yamen would be able to come up with a solid chain of evidence in a very short time and point it at the same time to Xi, who had been sitting back and relaxing for the past ten years.

The sage was silent. After three memorials, Yuanzhao spoke in a long voice, "Your Majesty, the danger to our court today is not the sparrows with gray feathers, but the woodworms with purple skins."

Li Du turned his head and looked at him coldly. On just the third day, this man with a rat-like face and a sly look, who was clearly still not on his feet, had bared his undisguised fangs at him.

The memorial was very thick and was not approved immediately, so the saint said he would take it back to take a look.

It was at this moment that Li Du realized that this huge wave of wind and waves had actually swept over him.

“You have not violated the precept of anger for a long time, but you have violated it twice in the past month. I hope you can cultivate your mind and not lose the Buddha’s spirit.” The old monk said kindly, and he and ten white-robed monks sat around him, silently counting their rosaries, and the incense and candles drifted away quietly.

Li Du was silent for a while, then slowly relaxed his brows and returned to his usual calm expression. He picked up the Buddhist beads on his wrist, nodded and bowed slightly: "Thank you for your advice, Master. I am really troubled by the world. I will hand-copy another hundred volumes of scriptures and donate ten thousand silver coins to restore my sincerity and peace of mind."

"In this turbulent world, many people who cannot see their true nature are trapped in their own prison. As laymen, our fate is determined by heaven, and we should seek to transcend as soon as possible, so as to avoid letting our pure minds be contaminated by worldly affairs."

Li Du nodded slowly, his face cleared up, and he glanced at the mess in front of him: "Let's put it away for now."

Two men in green lowered their heads and walked over, their hands trembling slightly as they picked up the broken porcelain on the ground.

Li Du closed his eyes and twisted the Buddhist beads one by one, thinking about the memorial that had just brought the turmoil in the court to a new peak. It was obvious that the storm was pressing towards him.

But in fact, Li Du was never ready to step down, nor did he ever think about stepping down.

He liked the huge and prosperous city of Shenjing, the exquisite Buddhist teachings and the gentle girls here, his position above everyone else, and the comfortable climate with distinct four seasons...

However, as the elder brother of the head of the Li family and as the fulcrum of the Li family in Shenjing, he could also keenly smell the coming of the real threat.

The change of Tianlun was a big deal. He had thought about the consequences of failure and had roughly anticipated the scope of the Li family's expansion, but the reality might not be as he wished.

The Yuan faction was aggressive, and the memorial was still pending on the imperial desk. At this point, he might not be able to control the situation. Or rather, the fact that the memorial was delivered to the imperial desk was a signal that he could no longer ignore it. As for the next step, he should first confirm the attitudes of the two parties.

"Prepare ink." Li Du closed his eyes and uttered two words.

Two more waiters stood up, and soon fine ink with a faint fragrance, paper and pen were placed on the table. Li Du lifted his sleeves slightly and wrote the letter carefully with his own hand.

Send it west.

Then the waiters helped him to bathe and change his clothes. His body completely relaxed in the warm steam. He went out with the Buddhist beads in his hand and came to the eaves, wrapped in a purple cloak. Two maids held up a large umbrella with a warm array painted on it. In the courtyard, Zhezi and Shangshu, who had come by appointment, were standing in the snow and chatting.

"Hello, Mr. Li." Lu Chunshui, with his neatly trimmed sideburns, turned around and bowed to the old man.

Next to him was the Minister of Justice Li Hanfei, who was also his nephew and the current queen's brother.

"What gorgeous plum blossoms." The minister sighed and turned around, "The flowers and plants in my uncle's yard are more lively than those in the imperial palace."

"The colder it gets, the more beautiful the plum blossoms become." Li Du walked down the stairs and said calmly, "You, the Ministry of Justice, have led people to dig so deep, which has caused me a lot of trouble."

"It's my nephew's fault."

"You can release him elsewhere, but try not to release him in the Ministry of Justice." Li Du said, "I think they will also take action in the near future."

"It's been a while, and they're making quite a move. They're gnawing at it like a worm, even for the position of a jailer." Li Hanfei said.

"You should fight for it as much as you can here, don't be reluctant to put in the effort." Li Du looked at the darkening sky, "Now there are so many cases on hand, and the court is also making a big fuss. They probably want to take advantage of this storm to clean up the Ministry of Justice. You sit here firmly and bear what needs to be resisted." "There is nothing handy."

"I have a sample for you to use."

"Ok?"

"Xu Ji's case ten years ago." Li Du picked a rather tender plum blossom and twisted it in his hand until it was mashed. "That day, the sage agreed to clear his name. The matter was pushed forward yesterday. The court was full of charges against him. If we want to overturn them, we have to go through the Ministry of Justice."

"...So it is." Li Hanfei pondered for a moment, nodded, and continued to appreciate the plum blossoms.

"Hello, Brother Lu, do you have any good news for me from Tianliyuan?"

"The Ertian theory is still immature, but 'Haotian's only' is indeed untenable." Lu Chunshui smiled faintly, "The Tianli Academy can help Li Xiang in a simple way, just suppressing the young successor, but that's all."

"I once heard Brother Chunshui say that the sky is not two skies, but it really cannot be two skies," said Li Du.

Lu Chunshui was silent for a moment: "Yes, the Heavenly Theory must not be moved, especially now, it must not be moved."

He folded his hands and looked towards the north: "This matter has shaken the foundation of the Five Surnames, the Five Surnames are the pillars of the Tang Dynasty... Fortunately, your Majesty can now support the Tang Dynasty by yourself. I will go to the palace tomorrow to discuss this matter with your Majesty in detail."

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"Then please ask Brother Chunshui to pass a memorial for me." Li Du took out a memorial from his warm cloak, which was obviously just written by himself.

Lu Chunshui didn't ask, just nodded and took it.

"It's getting late, and it's a rare first snow. With such beautiful plum blossoms, please leave some tender mutton for us to eat." Li Hanfei said with a smile.

"I won't break the precept of killing. I'll sit with you guys for a while." The old man sat down calmly. The maid behind him held the warm umbrella steadily, just enough to block out the evening light.

……

……

It was getting dark, and many people who had taken off their court robes gathered around the stove, talking about the same topic.

Many people think that they will face a situation of two prime ministers in power for a long time. The new prime minister will take the opportunity to expand his power as quickly as possible. People have to balance or choose in this situation.

However, who would have thought that before he could gain a firm foothold, Yuan Zhao would once again stir up the most intense storm, targeting the former prime minister who had been in office for ten years. When the news spread, scholars in the capital expressed their support.

This was not an attack intended to bite off a piece of flesh from him. It left no room for maneuver. It was clearly intended to force Li Du to step down completely.

The collision of huge waves at this level is often no longer fierce, or in other words, the stage of their fierce fighting has passed. When the game reaches the end, only a few key chess pieces are left to be exchanged, which is actually just a few steps.

The current atmosphere is filled with a kind of oppressive silence. Everyone knows that according to the style of today's saints, this matter will soon have a result, but no one dares to be sure what the result will be.

Only the so-called Yuan faction was not too surprised by this trend. This was exactly what they were pushing for. At the beginning of the confrontation, a few months ago, the woman said: "I want to change a prime minister."

In the Jingzhao government office, the newly appointed Yuan Pushe sat opposite a long desk with a lamp burning on the table. Case files rustled under the lamp. His cuffs were stained with ink, with new ink overlapping old ink, showing the look of someone who had been in the writing field for a long time.

Yuan Zhao ate a bowl of rice with vegetables without any expression, stared at the pen tip, and suddenly said: "There is no need to be so meticulous, and we won't go this far."

Di Jiu paused for a moment, but still copied it word for word. The original handwriting was beautiful and sharp. It was the case document carefully sorted out by Xie Chuantang. Now it was about the investigation of a carriage used by Qiu Tianyu. The woman gave two direct evidences and five circumstantial evidences, speculating that the prime minister's mansion had also used this carriage for a period of time.

This is a memorial to the emperor. There is actually no need to mention the carriage, or just a sentence "it is also related to daily use" will be enough.

"I am 70% sure about this matter." Yuan Zhao said, "According to your habit, let's be conservative."

"What if we are not conservative?" Di Jiu said.

"Perfect." Yuanzhao finished his bowl of rice in big gulps and put down his chopsticks.

"Li Du has always been an old, rotten tree. He does not hold any power. All power comes from the word 'Li'." Yuan Zhao said slowly as the candle flickered. "So whether he wants to leave or not actually depends on the attitudes of two directions."

"Big Li, Little Li."

"Yes. I submitted this memorial because the Saint allowed me to make this attempt. We should continue to exert pressure in the next few days. After about two or three days, there will be a result in the West and in His Majesty as well." Yuan Zhao said, "Now these days are just small fights. Then it will be time to truly spread your wings. Tell me what you want first and I will remember it for you."

Having said that, the new prime minister's face did not show complete confidence. He silently looked at the swaying candlelight on the table. Just as Li Du might not be able to control the situation, at this stage, Yuan Zhao was also cautious with every step.

"I just got promoted, so I don't have much to ask for... In fact, I'd like to be the mayor of Beijing for the rest of my life. It's a solid job." Di Jiu sighed, put down his pen and looked at the shadow on the wall, thinking about the difficult questions that the silent and efficient female detective had asked him over the past few days.

——"Master Di, I would like to ask privately, can Li Du...can he be put in jail?"

——"Just kidding."

--"……Um."

At this time, Di Jiu turned his head, expressionless: "I really want to kill him."

"…Just kidding."

"Yes, just talking." Di Jiu sighed lightly, picked up the pen, turned the page, and continued writing.

That is of course just political pressure, just political pressure.

If we don't respond, they will continue to push the matter forward. If we accept and exchange ideas, there will always be a way to resolve the problem, and that is exactly the political success that the Yuan faction is seeking.

Do you really want to send such a core figure of the Five Surnames to the execution platform? He has neither treason nor rebellion... just because he likes to spend lavishly, enjoy pleasure, worship Buddha and practice meditation? Where is Lu Yugu?

(End of this chapter)