After entering the wrong bridal chamber, I went to farm with the powerful minister

Morning next day.

An official stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Fu has been busy with his family affairs since returning from Pengzhou, and has not yet returned to the Hanlin Academy to take up his duties. Official duties are piling up, and Lord Fu is being lazy like this."

Another official followed and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Fu not only neglected his duties, but also accepted bribes. Last night, my people saw Lord Fu accept two boxes of gold, silver and jewelry, and he accepted them with a big smile."

Another official stepped out and said, "This morning, a colleague from the Zhanshi Mansion asked me to accuse Lord Fu of taking bribes." He then presented a gift list, "It lists the specific amounts of gold, silver, and jewelry."

Both the witnesses and the evidence are there.

Civil and military officials were whispering to each other.

Some even shouted: "The officials of the Zhanshi Mansion are of low rank and cannot attend the court. Is this how Lord Fu bullies low-ranking officials?"

The emperor raised his eyebrows: "What do you think, Prime Minister Cai?"

Cai Tingzhou bowed and said, "Master Fu is the new champion, and I heard that he is quite skilled in both civil and military affairs. He is a worthy pillar of our great country."

Soon the topic changed: "He who neglects his duties and accepts bribes must be severely punished even if he is a talented person."

"Your Majesty, I think that Master Fu should be punished severely to prevent him from going astray and getting deeper and deeper into trouble. If he reforms, he will still be a pillar of Dajing."

Cai Tingzhou lowered his head and spoke with great sincerity.

Yan Cheng smiled.

The emperor asked, "What does Lord Yan think?"

Yan Cheng said, "I think Prime Minister Cai's hypocrisy has led to evil deeds. Can an official who has been convicted of a crime be reused in the future? I have never heard of this."

The emperor turned his gaze to Fu Ciyi: "What do you want to defend yourself, Fu Aiqing?"

Fu Ciyi calmly stepped out and bowed: "The Emperor has already made a holy decision."

The emperor laughed loudly, then snorted and frowned: "Do you know that Lord Fu rode for four days and three nights without sleep to return to Beijing from Pengzhou?"

"In this case, I order him to rest for half a month."

"According to what you said, the fault lies with me?"

The ministers below said repeatedly: "We dare not, we dare not, we dare not."

The emperor waved his hand and said loudly, "Late last night, Fu Aiqing brought two boxes of gold, silver and jewelry into the palace."

He had already gone to bed last night, but a troublemaker was still a troublemaker and he let the eunuchs take him out of the bedroom.

Soon, four imperial guards arrived at the hall carrying two large wooden boxes.

When the wooden box opened, Cai Tingzhou's eyes narrowed.

This was prepared by himself and sent to the Fu family by a clerk.

The ministers immediately changed their tune and said, "Master Fu is an honest and upright official."

Fu Ciyi then said, "I impeach Cai Tingzhou."

"First, the official who bribed him last night was actually a student of Prime Minister Cai. What was Prime Minister Cai's intention in framing him?"

"Secondly, Prime Minister Cai has no way of educating his sons, but he is fine in educating his daughters. He is unworthy of being the head of the civil officials."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was in an uproar.

They had heard that—

Cai Mingzhi had an affair with someone before marriage and was caught on the spot.

Cai Mushi was clearly granted marriage, but she also had an affair with the son of Minister Dong at Yingtian Lake and was caught on the spot.

It can be seen that both things are true.

For a moment, everyone looked at Cai Tingzhou with eyes that were waiting for a good show.

Cai Tingzhou's face turned pale and blue, and he shouted, "Fu Ciyi, don't talk nonsense!"

Fu Ciyi added calmly, "Third, Prime Minister Cai appoints people based on personal connections, and his relatives sell official positions and titles."

After saying this, he took out the impeachment documents and the evidence that had been sorted out in advance and presented them with both hands.

It has been more than two months since the investigation of Cai Tingzhou's crimes. It must be said that Cai Tingzhou is indeed cunning. He has been the prime minister for a long time and has done many things perfectly. He could not find any more direct evidence against him.

These are still hard to find nowadays.

The eunuch took the evidence from Fu Ciyi and presented it to the emperor for review one by one.

It was clearly written in black and white, and the emperor's face became increasingly gloomy: "Cai Tingzhou, do you have anything else to say?"

Cai Tingzhou immediately defended himself: "Your Majesty, it was all done by my relatives. It has nothing to do with me. I tried to persuade them before, but they didn't listen. I had no choice but to sever my relationship with them."

The prince stepped out and said, "Father, Prime Minister Cai is a man of integrity and uprightness, and all the ministers present here have witnessed this. I have heard more than once that Prime Minister Cai refuses to have any dealings with those relatives. I hope that Father will make a wise decision!"

After all, he has been immersed in officialdom for many years and has many disciples.

With the crown prince as a guarantor, many ministers immediately spoke up for Cai Tingzhou.

The emperor had a gloomy face and remained silent, his majesty fully displayed.

Yan Cheng cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, even if Prime Minister Cai has no merit, he has worked hard. For example, he has promoted many officials by himself."

What this means is that those who come to plead for mercy at this moment are people around Cai Tingzhou.

The emperor frowned and glanced at the civil and military officials below with a stern look in his eyes.

"As the Prime Minister, I should appoint people who are virtuous. It is reasonable for Lord Fu to refuse the marriage, but Prime Minister Cai set a trap for him and wanted to accuse him of a crime he did not commit. This disappoints me."

"Since this is the case, Cai Tingzhou is unfit to be the Prime Minister and shall be stripped of his position as Prime Minister of the Cabinet."

"Since entering the government, Mr. Fu has worked diligently and made many achievements."

"I have received memorials from officials in Jinzhou and Pengzhou more than once, all of which praised Mr. Fu."

"A good official is one who can do practical things for the people."

"Here, I promote Fu Ciyi to the third rank." The emperor said, pointing to the two wooden boxes below, "These two boxes of gold, silver and jewelry should have been added to the national treasury. It just so happens that I have not yet rewarded Fu Aiqing for the Pengzhou incident, so these two boxes are given to you, Fu Ciyi."

Fu Ciyi clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

Cai Tingzhou's eyes rolled back and he almost fainted.

Having lost his position as the cabinet's chief minister, it can be said that his power is no longer as strong as before.

As for the gold, silver and jewelry, you should know that when he took out these two boxes of wealth, he was already prepared to fill the national treasury. He never expected that the emperor would reward them to Fu Ciyi.

He gritted his teeth for a moment, thinking that the emperor might still hold him accountable, he simply closed his eyes and fainted.

After he fell to the ground, he clearly heard the emperor say loudly: "Carry him back to Cai's house."

"The position of the chief minister of the cabinet is vacant. You can all recommend someone." The emperor added, "The prince of the Southwest has arrived in Beijing. The palace will hold a banquet tonight to welcome him. My dear ministers, please bring your families to the palace to have dinner tonight."

In the past, eunuchs were sent to pass on news of palace banquets to various mansions.

Now that the emperor has announced this matter personally at the morning court, all ministers have to come. Not only they have to come, but also their wives and children have to come.

In the evening, Yan Funing and her brothers followed their parents into the palace.

Zeng Kerou stayed in the mansion because she was pregnant.

The palace banquet had not officially begun yet. Her father and brother were summoned by the emperor to discuss state affairs, and her mother took her to chat with the ladies of noble families.

Tired of chatting, Yan Funing wanted to enjoy the beautiful sunset view of the imperial palace along the lake, so she said to her mother, "Mom, I'll take a walk around the lake."

Hong Qingyi agreed: "Go ahead, and be careful."

"Well, don't worry, mother."

Yan Funing smiled playfully.

She never expected that after walking only half way around the lake, as soon as she passed a rockery, she was pulled into the rockery.

The force was so great that she was frightened and was about to call for help...

The man covered her mouth tightly and hugged her from behind with his other hand.

"Did he touch you?" (End of this chapter)