Song Yi

Chapter 397 Injustice
The next day, Du Wenhao went to Sanya to work as usual. However, Li Pu and others who accompanied the inspection found that Commander Du was a little out of his mind today. He was sitting on the viewing platform, watching the soldiers drill below, but he didn't know what was going on in his head. Sometimes frowning, sometimes giggling by myself.Reporting things to him often had to be said twice before he could react, but sometimes it was wrong to give instructions.

In the afternoon, Du Wenhao returned to the Si Yamen in front of the palace to handle some official duties.

At this moment, soldiers came to report that the Prime Minister Wang Gui was visiting.

Hearing this, Du Wenhao dropped the brush in his hand, his expression was rather flustered, he stood up and sat down again, dazed for a long time, then blushed and ordered to please.

Du Wenhao straightened his official robes, pretended to be calm and walked three steps to the meeting hall, where Prime Minister Wang Gui had already sat upright as a guest.Seeing him coming in, he hurriedly stood up and cupped his hands: "General Du invites you!"

Du Wenhao saw the smile on his face, he didn't seem to come to Xingshi to inquire about the crime, he settled down a bit, thinking that this old man might soon be his father-in-law, he stepped forward and bowed.

The two sat down as guests and hosts. Du Wenhao looked at Wang Gui's shriveled old man, and thought of Wang Runxue, who was as beautiful as a flower and overwhelmed the country.It seems that people should not be judged by their appearance, this sentence is really very reasonable.

Du Wenhao looked at Wang Gui and laughed dryly, but couldn't find anything to say for a while.On the contrary, Wang Gui looked calm, cupped his hands and said, "General Du, this old man is here for my daughter's sake."

Du Wenhao's head buzzed, he grabbed both sides of the handrail nervously, and kept complaining in his heart, did Wang Gui really come to Xingshi to ask his guilt?Is he going to force himself to divorce his wife and marry his daughter?If this is the case, how can I refuse?Divorcing his wife is definitely not acceptable, but it seems that this old man is not a kind person, I am afraid that he cannot give up easily.Du Wenhao was worried, and said: "This..., Mr. Prime Minister, a low position can explain..., in fact, at that time..., this..."

Wang Gui smiled and said, "Thank you, General, for your kindness. Madam Zun personally came to the door to say goodbye. I'm really terrified..."

Du Wenhao was taken aback for a moment, hearing this didn't sound like a crime, he immediately beamed with joy, and said, "This..., hehe, the humble job is really reckless, really presumptuous, really..."

"How could it be?" Wang Gui stroked his gray beard and said with a cheerful smile, "The little girl is naughty, and her mother passed away early, so the old man doted on her a little bit, and I hope the general will take care of her in the future."

Du Wenhao was overjoyed, his voice trembled a little: "My lord, did my lord agree?"

Wang Gui nodded with a smile, and was a little surprised: "Mrs. Madam proposed marriage in person in the morning, and the old man agreed immediately. Afterwards, Na Cai, name asking, Na Ji, and Na Zheng have all been completed, and there is only time left to invite you to greet me in person. Could it be that my lord is still waiting for you?" Don't you know?"

"This..., hehe, I have been in the barracks, and I have never returned home. This matter is all handled by me, so..., hehe, -- humble job, ah no, my son-in-law has seen my father-in-law!"

Du Wenhao stood up, took a few steps forward, and hit the ground with an arch.

Wang Gui hurriedly got off his seat and stepped forward to support him: "Your son-in-law, don't be too polite!"

Hearing Wang Gui call out the word "virtuous son-in-law", and hearing him call Pang Yuqin a respected wife earlier, that means agreeing to the proposal of flat wives. Ping wife, now it is confirmed that the most beautiful woman in the world is about to become his wife, which makes Du Wenhao so happy that he can't close his mouth with joy.

After the two returned to their seats, Du Wenhao managed to hold back the urge to laugh heartily, leaned forward and cupped his hands and said, "My lord father-in-law, please show me how to arrange this marriage...."

Wang Gui stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Your Madam also asked for an appointment in the morning. I think that the empress dowager and the emperor's funeral are not yet over, and the government and the public are observing filial piety according to the rules. The court also has a ban on drinking and singing here, so, After the funeral period expires, we will then engage in a marriage period, what do you think my son-in-law would like?"

"It's natural, everything depends on Yue Zhang's arrangement..." Du Wenhao replied awkwardly, although he knew it had to be like this, but thinking that he would have to wait for a while to marry this peerless beauty, he didn't feel itchy in his heart, but he also no way.

Wang Gui sighed, and said: "It is reasonable to say that the mourning period has been nearly a month, and it should be brought into the imperial mausoleum, but the empress dowager has not said anything so far, presumably her old man wants to decide on the succession of the throne first before sending it out." However, the people who have succeeded to the throne are now in a mess, if the Empress Dowager still doesn't make up her mind, even if it is March or May, there will be no results."

Du Wenhao's heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, Wang Gui led the conversation to this point, followed his words, and sighed: "Yes, the Empress Dowager should have made up her mind earlier, the country cannot live without a master for a day. .As soon as possible, the world will be peaceful."

"Exactly what he said, Prince Yong should also know that it is orthodox for the sixth prince to inherit the throne, but he has to fight for it. Can he be compared with Emperor Taizong? When Emperor Taizong inherited the throne, it was a last resort for brothers to die. Now There is orthodoxy in the future, if you still mention brothers and brothers, the ancestors' legacy will be completely ruined, once this example is opened, what will happen to future generations? The disaster will be endless!——What does the son-in-law think?"

Of course, Du Wenhao firmly supported the succession of the sixth prince. Now he has a deep understanding of the power of King Yong's smiling face, and he absolutely cannot tolerate King Yong's succession. Otherwise, he is afraid that he will have to launch a coup in the palace to end the matter.However, to the extent that he could not reveal his thoughts, Wang Gui had to feel that he was supporting him and buying his face.Otherwise, what would people do for themselves by giving away their celestial daughter for nothing.

So Du Wenhao pretended to be embarrassed and said: "Actually, my son-in-law still has a good impression of King Yong. I think that day my son-in-law took the two kings as hostages and accidentally injured King Cao, but the two princes didn't care. Especially King Yong, who is broad-minded and has a big belly, his son-in-law admires him very much. He thinks that only such a person can lead our Great Song Dynasty to fight against the powers, and ensure that our country of Great Song Dynasty is as solid as a rock for thousands of years. ..."

Du Wenhao peeked at Wang Gui, saw that his face was dark and blue, and he was about to interrupt his words several times, but finally held back, his gray beard kept shaking under the agitation of his mood, he didn't realize that it was a little funny, so he changed the topic, humbly With a smile: "After listening to Master Yue Zhang's words just now, I was immediately shocked, only to realize that I had lost the right path. My son-in-law only cares about character and ignores the teachings of the ancestors. I am really ashamed. Master Yue Zhang is far-sighted and hits the target. My son-in-law suddenly realized, Only now did I know that the succession of the sixth prince to the throne is in line with the orthodoxy and the right way, even if others have the talent to stabilize the country, they can only assist them, and must not do it for them."

Wang Gui slapped his thigh, and his gray beard shook with joy: "My son-in-law is indeed a sensible person! Good! That's great! It would be great if the empress dowager could hear these words. Hehehe"

Du Wenhao stood up and bowed, "My son-in-law will immediately enter the palace and report to the Empress Dowager to make an early decision and let the sixth prince inherit the throne."

"Okay, okay!" Wang Gui said three good things in a row, rubbing his hands excitedly, "The marriage date of the son-in-law and the little daughter is set to be within one month after the funeral of the empress dowager and the emperor. How about choosing a date to get married? ?”

Du Wenhao was overjoyed, bowed and said: "It's all up to my father-in-law's arrangement!"

The two discussed the specific arrangements for the marriage, and Wang Gui took his leave and left. Du Wenhao sent him all the way to the gate of the mansion, and respectfully sent his father-in-law into the sedan chair and left without a trace. Then he returned to the hall with a smile.

He walked around the room several times excitedly, not knowing what to do for a while, thinking about going to the Empress Dowager to talk about it, but thinking about not knowing how to speak.You have to think about this kind of thing before you go, otherwise, there is no reason to speak up, and you won't be able to convince the empress dowager, but you will just ask for trouble.Because Du Wenhao felt that the empress dowager was still tempted to let her son inherit the throne, but there was no good reason for that.

Du Wenhao was thinking about what to do when the guard came to report that two old women were begging to see him.It is the old lady and wife of imperial physician Wei Zhan.

Du Wenhao hurriedly asked me to come in.

The two women came in and knelt down and kowtowed, Du Wenhao hurriedly helped each other, but the old woman didn't get up, just kowtowed and cried: "General, please save my son!"

Du Wenhao said: "Old man, get up and talk, what's going on, speak slowly."

The old woman just fell to the ground and cried, and the middle-aged woman next to her tearfully said: "General, they said that my husband was too drunk and fell asleep, which delayed the treatment of the emperor. However, my husband is not in good health and has been ill for many years I haven't been drinking anymore, so how could it be possible for me to get drunk. There must be grievances in it, please be the master."

Du Wenhao wondered: "I am the commander of the three Yamen capitals, and I also mention various prisons. I have no right to intervene in this kind of capital prison. You should go to the Kaifeng Yamen, or Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and Yushitai. Voice grievances. These yamen have Dengwen drums, so you can directly complain about grievances."

The old woman kowtowed to the ground and said, "I found it! We found everything the general said, but we were kicked out, and no one paid any attention to it. When we went to Yushitai to appeal for grievances, we were beaten by Zaoli at the door." Dun, woo woo woo..."

"It's unreasonable!" Du Wenhao said, "Get up and talk."

The old woman still refused to get up, kowtowed and said: "General, I heard that my son was going to be beheaded to show the public the day before yesterday. We really can't do anything about it. I heard that the general is a righteous man, and he proposed various prisons to fight with my son Wei Zhan. I used to work together, but there is nothing I can do, I can only come to you, I beg you to be the master, my son is really wronged, please help us, general, save my son's life!" After saying that, he kowtowed loudly.

Du Wenhao really had no choice but to step forward to support the old woman's arms: "Old man, get up, and tell me what's going on slowly. If you keep kneeling like this, I really won't care."

After hearing Du Wenhao's words, the old woman struggled to get up with the support of her daughter-in-law, held Du Wenhao's arms, and begged Du Wenhao for help with snot and tears.

Du Wenhao asked for a while, but he didn't find out anything. Both of them didn't know what was going on. Anyway, they insisted that Wei Zhan hadn't drank for many years, and it was impossible for him to indulge in drinking, so he was wronged.

Du Wenhao naturally knew that this matter was of great importance, so Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment, Yushitai, and Kaifeng Mansion did not dare to take care of it.Although I have not exempted the criminal officers from various prisons, they are only in charge of various prisons, not cases in the capital, let alone cases involving the royal family.However, judging from what the two women said, if it is true, then there is indeed a problem with this case.

What to do?To care or not to?
Du Wenhao was in a bit of a dilemma. Shen Shengping taught him the way to be an official. The first thing is to never be confused. Don't think that you are the smartest. Even if you are really smart, you have to pretend to be confused. This is the real smartness.One needs to know how to do red tape, one needs to talk too much empty talk, and one needs to know how to hide from matters involving major consequences and unpredictable consequences.According to the ideas taught by Master Shen, Wei Zhan's case must not be touched, just play haha ​​and fool around.Anyway, it's none of your business.It is the right way to be wise and protect yourself.

However, Du Wenhao's personality does not allow him to be like this. His uncle instilled in him the idea of ​​a doctor's parental heart since he was a child, telling him that it is the duty of a doctor to save lives and heal the wounded. He must first heal his own heart before he can heal others.Faced with such a case that is likely to be an unjust case, and he has the ability to deal with it, but he shuns it because he is afraid of trouble, he really can't do it.

However, as an official these days, he has lingering fears because of the reckless and unlucky things, and this matter involves the death of the emperor, let alone hasty, so, after some calculations in his mind, he decided to investigate secretly first, understand clearly before make a decision.

Naturally, Du Wenhao didn't dare to make a clear statement in front of these two women. He only said that the emperor's kindness is great, and he would never indulge a bad person, and of course he would not wrong a good person. He would reflect their opinions to the relevant departments and said a lot He piled up clichés and empty talk, and only then did he persuade the two women to leave.

Du Wenhao was not in a hurry to enter the palace, what Wei Zhan's mother and wife said made him have new considerations.When he came back, he felt that the emperor's death was too strange. Before he left, he gave the emperor a comprehensive physical examination. Although the emperor had chronic renal failure, it was not at a critical level. Du Wenhao is sure that his condition will not worsen for a year after taking the prescription, plus the Cordyceps sinensis recovered from the Western Regions. How could he suddenly get sick?
In particular, the emperor's illness was very sudden, and even the imperial doctor had no time to rescue him. This was too fast. The imperial hospital was not too far from the emperor's bedroom. Can't get through this time?It stands to reason that chronic renal failure cannot directly cause sudden death, but the possibility of the emperor's own hidden cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases leading to sudden death cannot be ruled out. Moreover, in practice, there are a certain proportion of sudden deaths and even post-mortem autopsies cannot find a reasonable reason. explain.Sudden death caused by cardiovascular and cerebrovascular will kill in a very short time. From this point of view, it is not surprising.

Due to the existence of these possibilities, Du Wenhao did not delve into it.But now after hearing what the imperial physician Wei Zhan's mother and wife said, doubts emerged in his heart again. Could there be something hidden in the death of the emperor?

Du Wenhao has been pondering over this matter while holding a cup of tea. However, if one cannot find an answer to this kind of matter, one must obtain first-hand information to help judge.

Therefore, Du Wenhao decided not to go to the empress dowager for now. Although the two were already lovers, when it came to such a major issue as the succession of the country, the relationship between lovers might not be enough for her to change her decision.Therefore, before he was sure of persuading the empress dowager to designate the sixth prince to succeed him, he was not going to speak to the empress dowager.

Anyway, Wang Gui has already promised to get married, and the six ceremonies have been completed and the four ceremonies have been completed, so the only thing left is to ask for a date and greet him personally.Besides, I have already married Miss Runxue, so I don't have to worry about the Wang family regretting their marriage.It's just a pity that I couldn't marry the world's most beautiful woman early, but in order to do the best, I can only slow down.

Du Wenhao will now investigate the exact cause of the emperor's death.He first came to the palace in a sedan chair and found Eunuch Ning.Eunuch Ning was the emperor's personal eunuch. After the emperor passed away, he had been guarding the mourning hall.

In the emperor's mourning hall, two of the four auxiliary ministers, Cai Que and Wang Gui, are currently in charge of funeral arrangements.The other two auxiliary ministers are Prince Yong and Prince Cao. They have been placed under house arrest by the Empress Dowager in her bedroom, and they will not be released until the succession to the throne is finalized.So now there are only two prime ministers left to preside over here.

When Prime Minister Wang Gui saw Du Wenhao, he just smiled lightly and didn't go forward to greet him, but Cai Que warmly greeted him.

Cai Que is having a difficult time with Du Wenhao now. As the prime minister's chief assistant, he is truly one person under ten thousand people, and his rank is much higher than Du Wenhao's. Originally, he didn't need to express anything. He just waited for Du Wenhao to come and salute. That's fine, but the situation is very delicate now. He himself is a reformist on Wang Anshi's side. If the sixth prince succeeds in the future and the empress dowager listens to the government behind a curtain, since the empress dowager is a representative of the conservative faction, he will definitely be replaced as prime minister.Prince Yong is also a reformer, which is why he desperately wants to protect Prince Yong's succession. Only in this way can he keep his position as prime minister.

But now it is unknown whether the two princes can inherit the throne, and they are under house arrest again. Now the one who can control the political situation is Du Wenhao, who has the military power of the three armies and is the most popular person in front of the empress dowager.For his own future and destiny, Cai Que had to bow his noble head.

So when he saw Du Wenhao coming in, Cai Que forced a smile, stepped forward and cupped his hands and said, "General Du is here."

Du Wenhao bowed to return the salute: "Yes, the Prime Minister has worked hard. I am here to find Eunuch Ning. I wonder if he is here?"

"Here! I saw him go to the back just now, as if he was going to burn paper money and offer incense. Can I call him for the general?"

Hearing that he called himself an old man, Du Wenhao was very humble, of course he knew what he was thinking, he waved his hands politely and said: "No, no, how dare you work for me in a humble position, Prime Minister, I can go by myself." Du Wenhao hurriedly cupped his hands and bowed.

"It's okay, there are many adults here, and the general is not easy to find. How about this, the old man will accompany the general to find it."

"Well, thank you, Prime Minister."

The two walked side by side into the mourning hall, bypassing the hanging white veils, and came to the mourning hall. There were many people burning incense and offering sacrifices, and the light was very dim, so they couldn't find where Eunuch Ning was.

(End of this chapter)