Chapter 58 Conspiracy

  "The reason on the memorial is that Fang Congzhe colluded with Empress Zheng and Li Keshu, who had previously been rewarded for presenting the elixir Hongwan. After the incident, no responsibility was pursued against Li Keshu, but he was only driven back home. Therefore, Fang Congzhe must have colluded with Empress Zheng and Li Keshu, hoping that Your Majesty will deal with it seriously."

  As soon as Li Lan saw the Tianqi Emperor stroking the sword in his hand, her body trembled with fear. She still remembered that bloody night in the imperial palace. Countless eunuchs and palace maids were executed, and the Tianqi Emperor had said at the time that it was better to kill wrongly than to let one go. There were too many deaths that day, and the Forbidden City had a bloody smell for many days, and even now, many people dare not go out at night.

  Li Lan couldn't help but resent these officials. This matter had led to the Tianqi Emperor's purge of the palace, and yet after all this time, why was it being brought up again? In Li Lan's view, the Tianqi Emperor had never forgotten the cause of his father's death, so she always spoke very cautiously, afraid of touching on a sore spot in the Tianqi Emperor's heart.

  Looking at the gloomy face of Emperor Tianqi, Li Lan didn't dare say a word, and her body seemed to be trembling slightly.

  The next day, Emperor Tianqi did not attend the morning court session. All the ministers found it strange, but they also did not ask deeply about it.

  The emperor did not attend the court, and what was urgently ruined was not the eunuch but the minister of the imperial court. At this time, Sun Shenxing, the Minister of Rites, was a bit restless, his memorial had been submitted, but there was no news. This morning, Emperor Tianqi also did not attend the court, which made Sun Shenxing very anxious. Originally thought that Emperor Tianqi would bring this matter to the court for discussion, so with his own power, he could absolutely drive Fang Zhenzhi out of this position. This day seemed calm, nothing happened, but many people's hearts were very worried.

  The sun sets in the west, casting a golden glow over the capital city. On this evening, two groups of people are gathering together.

  The first group was at the mansion of Yang Lian, Minister of War, and included Donglin Party leaders such as Left Assistant Censor-in-Chief Zuo Guangdou, Minister of Personnel Zhou Jiamo, Vice Minister of Rites Sun Shenxing, and other key members of the Donglin Party in Beijing.

  The second group was at the residence of Fang Zongli, the chief assistant to the cabinet, and included Liu Yijiang, who attended the Imperial Academy, Huang Kezhan, Minister of Justice, Wang Zhidao, an imperial censor, and Wang Qing, a supervising secretary, as well as other key members of the Chekiang, Kiangsi and Hunan parties.

  In Yang Lian's mansion, these people took their seats as host and guest, but their eyes were all focused on the Minister of Personnel Sun Shenxing.

  "Sir Sun, I don't know what you've called everyone here for this time. Can you tell us now?" The speaker was Zuo Guangdou, the Assistant Minister of the Grand Court of Revision. Although they all belonged to the Dongling Party, Zuo Guangdou looked down on these people. Every day, he didn't think about how to contribute to the country, but rather how to increase his own power, which really went against the way of scholars.

  "Alright! Then I'll say it. Yesterday, I submitted a memorial to the throne, which was to impeach Grand Councilor Fang Zongli. After submitting the memorial, it should have reached Your Majesty's hands, but so far there has been no news, and Your Majesty also did not attend the morning court today." Sun Sheng stopped talking here, because he believed that these people could understand his words.

  "What crime is he being accused of?" someone asked impatiently.

  "It was colluding with Zheng Guifei and Li Keshao, plotting against the former emperor." As soon as Sun Shenxing's words came out, the hall suddenly fell silent, and a pin could be heard dropping.

  "I don't know what idea Lord Sun has in doing this. There are no outsiders here, so it doesn't matter if we talk about it." Yang Lian gently put down the teacup in his hand and spoke slowly, his facial expression unchanged, and no one could tell what this lord was thinking.

  "Everyone knows that we have gathered here for the sake of our country and people, so how can a pest like Fang Zongluo remain in this imperial court? At this moment, he should be pulled down from his horse, and then we will jointly recommend a more suitable person to become the Grand Secretary. Sun Shenxing's words were brief, but somewhat inexplicable, yet everyone present understood them clearly. At that time, the Donglin Party had already gained enough momentum to pull Fang Zongluo, the leader of the Chu Party, down from his horse and replace him with one of their own."

  Sun Shenxing's words were finished, and the hall fell silent. After a slight calm, Guanglu Temple's Zou Yuanbiao spoke loudly: "When treachery prevails, we naturally cannot tolerate it. Tomorrow in the imperial court, we must teach Fang the old thief a lesson."

  As soon as Zou Yu's voice fell, the house suddenly became lively, as if Fang Zhongzhe was the number one treacherous minister in the world, and it would not be enough to calm the people's anger without removing him, nor would it be enough to uphold the country's law without killing him.

  However, no matter how these people quarreled, there were three people who remained silent. These three people were Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and Zhou Jiamou, the newly appointed Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

  As they watched the three people who didn't speak, the room gradually became quiet, and everyone's eyes were focused on them.

  "What does Brother Zhou think about this matter?" Yang Lian looked at Zhou Jiamou with an expressionless face and asked.

  "I won't say anything more to you all, but I have one piece of good advice. As the saying goes, 'A gentleman makes friends without forming cliques, while a petty person forms cliques without making friends.' You all should take care of yourselves!" With that, Zhou Jiamou also ignored everyone else, cupped his hands together in respect, and turned to leave.

  Looking at Zhou Jiamou walking out, the people present were all stunned and didn't know what was wrong with Lord Zhou. Why was he in this state? Everyone's eyes fell on Yang Lian.

  "Wait a minute, Brother Zhou, let's go together." With that, another person also walked out in big strides, without even saying goodbye.

  As they watched Zuo Guangdou leave, everyone's mind began to calculate, while the Minister of Rites Sun Shenxing was stunned. Immediately afterwards, he became furious, his anger beyond measure, and he slapped the table and stood up, shouting: "You are not worthy of discussion!"

  Looking at the angry Sun Shenxing, Yang Lian slightly furrowed his brow and hesitated for a moment. He knew that today's matter couldn't be discussed further, so he slowly said: "Everyone, let's stop here for now! After all, it's a big deal, I'll think about it carefully tonight, and tomorrow I'll go see Left Brother and Zhou Brother before making a decision."

  After hearing Yang Lian's words, Sun Shenxing suddenly swung his sleeve and left, followed by everyone else.

  After everyone left, on the rooftop of Yang Lian's mansion, two black-clad figures suddenly sprang up and flew off in two different directions.

  Today's second chapter seeks recommendations and collections

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