Chapter 431

Love Shenjing, Great Zhou Palace City, Wumen Gate.

Early morning, the eastern sky was faintly bright, and the magnificent and splendid capital of the Great Zhou had not yet fully awakened from the long night.

On the streets, only a few shops had opened, and pedestrians were still very scarce.

Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar; at first, it sounded like muffled thunder, but as the sound grew closer, it was like a gale and a sudden rain, sounding like beating drums.

On Hongming Street leading to Wumen Gate, the shopkeepers and clerks on both sides looked on with surprise as five or six fast horses galloped past on the street.

They kicked up a trail of dust and strong wind, causing the flags and shop signs hanging on both sides of the street to flip in the wind.

If it were not for the fact that it was just dawn and pedestrians were scarce, even the Imperial City Forbidden Army would not dare to gallop like this in the city.

The riders on the horses were all covered in sweat, and the galloping horses were breathing heavily, with a layer of sweat seeping out on their necks.

These riders looked as if they had traveled a long distance; they were all panting and had reached the critical point of exhaustion.

However, they still did not dare to relax in the slightest, as if every step the horses took was a final sprint.

When this team of riders was about to approach Wumen Gate, they saw that Wumen Gate was bustling, with many officials waiting to enter the palace for the morning court.

The Forbidden Army guarding the palace had long since seen the several horses galloping over and immediately lined up to step forward to warn and block them.

A young man, the leader of these riders, took out a gilded token from his horse.

He shouted: "I have the military order token of Count Lord Weiyuan, and under the instruction of the Count, I have an urgent report from Jin Ling to be reported to the palace; please pass it on!"

The Forbidden Army Captain in charge was shocked upon hearing this; the name of Count Lord Weiyuan, Jia Cong, was known to everyone in Love Shenjing, and at this time, he was handling official business in Jin Ling.

More importantly, among officials below the fourth rank in the current imperial court, only a handful of people were granted the right of direct report by the Emperor.

Each one of them was someone trusted by His Majesty, and Count Lord Weiyuan, Jia Cong, was one of them.

The Forbidden Army Captain verified that the military order token was correct and did not dare to delay, hurriedly entering the palace himself to deliver the news.

This action attracted the attention of many officials waiting for the morning court at Wumen Gate.

And Jiang Liu's words just now also allowed many of them to hear clearly, causing a slight commotion among the crowd.

That young man from the Jia family had stirred up many storms in Love Shenjing and had always been quite eye-catching, but recently he had gone south under imperial decree and had been silent for quite some time.

Now that he had actually sent a trusted subordinate to gallop to Wumen Gate to report an urgent matter from Jin Ling, could it be that he had caused some other incident?

Although Jiang Liu had already stated his identity and the Forbidden Army Captain had already sent a message into the palace, he still needed to receive a reply before the report could be sent into the palace.

At the current time, he still needed to wait for a while at Wumen Gate.

Because Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao was very diligent in government, rising every day at dawn and holding morning court every day, rain or shine; except for the routine holidays of the court, there had been few days of suspension in decades.

It was currently the time for the morning court, so even if there was an urgent report from outside the region entering the palace, it would be postponed until after the morning court.

Jiang Liu and the others waited at Wumen Gate until the second quarter of the Si hour before a palace official from the Ceremonial Directorate came to take the report and present it to Ganyang Palace.

Watching the palace official holding Jia Cong's report and walking quickly into the palace until his figure gradually disappeared, Jiang Liu finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Following Jia Cong's instructions, he had been careful and cautious all the way, traveling day and night without daring to relax in the slightest.

Finally, it took only four days to travel from Jin Ling to Love Shenjing to deliver the report into the palace.

The five accompanying firearm soldiers were elite soldiers in the army, and after such a long-distance rush, they were all exhausted; in just a few days, they, like Jiang Liu, had all lost a circle of weight.

Fortunately, they had finally not disgraced their mission.

With the major task accomplished and his spirit relaxed, a deep sense of exhaustion flooded Jiang Liu's entire body.

He climbed onto his horse rather sluggishly, turned the horse's head sharply, and said: "Let's go to Lord Gu's mansion to deliver the letter!"

Great Zhou Palace City, Chonghua Palace.

This is the most heavily guarded place in the Great Zhou Palace City, as it is the sleeping palace of the Great Zhou Retired Emperor, Emperor Yong'an.

Inside the imperial study of the palace, an old man wearing a green nine-dragon robe was holding a teacup and savoring tea; his appearance was refined, his spirit was vigorous, and every gesture he made carried authority.

Sitting in the lower seat was an old woman with silver hair, wearing a precious and complex phoenix-patterned ceremonial dress; her expression was clear, her eyes were bright, and her demeanor was dignified; she was none other than Empress Dowager Yizhang.

Empress Dowager Yizhang personally refilled Emperor Yong'an's teacup and said: "Your Majesty, yesterday I went to Qinghe Palace to pay my respects to the old Imperial Consort, and she spoke to me about Zhen Fangqing and Jia Cong.

She wants to match these two in marriage.

Although Zhen Fangqing is not of royal descent, she grew up in the palace, and this child is talented and beautiful, and I have always liked her very much.

As for that Count Lord Weiyuan of the Lady Rongguo Jia family, although I have never met him, it is rumored throughout Love Shenjing that he is a young man of great talent, both civil and military, with an unparalleled and peerless appearance.

Such a person would be a very good match for Zhen Fangqing; the Imperial Consort said she had mentioned this matter to Your Majesty, and I wonder what Your Majesty's thoughts are?"

Emperor Yong'an picked up his teacup and took a slow sip, saying thoughtfully: "If we look only at character and appearance, these two are indeed a match.

It is just that Jia Cong comes from the Lady Rongguo Jia family, a descendant of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes, and is now highly valued by the Emperor.

This girl Zhen Fangqing is the legitimate daughter of the Jin Ling Zhen family; she not only has the connection of the old Imperial Consort, but her cousin is also the Wang Fei of Beijing.

The family background and connections of these two are extraordinary; marriage is not just about emotional harmony, and the things involved are not few.

The Zhen family sent a letter to the old Imperial Consort, specifically discussing this matter, and their thoughts are probably not simple either...

It would be simple for me to grant them a marriage, just an imperial edict, but if Jia Cong marries Zhen Fangqing, I fear his future official career will be ruined."

Emperor Yong'an put down the teacup in his hand and sighed slightly: "The Empress also said that this young man is both civil and military, unparalleled and peerless.

It would be a pity for such an outstanding person to be sidelined at such a young age; after all, talent is hard to come by, and in short, the old Imperial Consort has given me a difficult problem."

Upon hearing Emperor Yong'an's words, Empress Dowager Yizhang could not help but have her thoughts churning.

After all, she was a person of the inner palace, and she considered problems more from the perspective of children's affairs; although she had also thought about the family background of these two, she had not thought as deeply as Emperor Yong'an.

Emperor Yong'an had only said five parts of his words and had not said everything, because he was the Retired Emperor living in the palace and was no longer the Emperor in charge of the world, so he needed to be restrained in his speech.

But Empress Dowager Yizhang had been immersed in the inner palace for decades, and as a woman of the inner palace, there were some things she might not have thought of for a moment, but that did not mean she did not have enough vision and insight.

Therefore, she had only heard Emperor Yong'an's words for a moment before she understood the deep meaning behind them.

The legitimate daughter of the Zhen family's main branch is the Wang Fei of Beijing, and Prince Beijing, Shui Rong, has quite a reputation among the Four Kings and Eight Dukes.

The Zhen family's old Imperial Consort is also the Emperor's foster mother, and their relationship is deep.

Who among outsiders could not see the connection between the Jin Ling Zhen family and the Four Kings and Eight Dukes, not to mention the obscure origin between the Zhen family and the Retired Emperor.

When the Emperor first ascended the throne, in order to secure his position, he spared no effort to suppress and weaken the Four Kings and Eight Dukes; although the Retired Emperor was unhappy, for the sake of the stability of the country, he could only ignore it.

This is the heart disease between father and son.

That young man from the Jia family was granted a hereditary countship by the Emperor, and everyone could see the Emperor's esteem for this young man; he was a trusted official deliberately cultivated by the Emperor.

The old Imperial Consort just wanted to find a desirable husband for her beloved junior, so how could she have thought so deeply...

Moreover, the Zhen family and the old Imperial Consort raising this matter, just as His Majesty said, their thoughts might not be simple...

If His Majesty really granted a marriage to these two, breaking the Emperor's plans, the face between father and son would not be good.

With the Emperor's city-like depth and scheming, he would surely isolate that young man from imperial favor and become distant from him from then on.

If this marriage only had these hidden worries, it would be fine; at worst, he would not grant the marriage, although it would be troublesome to explain to the old Imperial Consort.

It was just that what made Empress Dowager Yizhang even more surprised was another matter.

When the Retired Emperor mentioned this marriage just now, he did not mention the Emperor at all, but said that Jia Cong was both civil and military, and if he married Zhen Fangqing, his official career would surely end there.

The Retired Emperor was worried that once the marriage was successful, the Emperor would surely become distant from Jia Cong and would no longer reuse this young man, leaving him sidelined and wasting his life.

Empress Dowager Yizhang had been a wife to Emperor Yong'an for a lifetime and knew his temperament and words very well.

The feelings of sentimentality in Emperor Yong'an's words just now were evident, and he actually had an indescribable concern for this young man he had never met.

How could Empress Dowager Yizhang not be surprised by this? How many young talents had the Retired Emperor seen in his life, so why did he have such an unusual favor for this young man alone?

But she turned her thoughts and recalled many past events, and she probably guessed the Retired Emperor's thoughts.

The Retired Emperor was at the peak of his military power in his youth, conquering the north and south, and expanding the territory, almost catching up to the founding merits of the Great Ancestor.

If he did not have such world-shaking military strategy, how could he have made the military families like the Four Kings and Eight Dukes so loyal to him?

Among the Retired Emperor's sons that year, only the Prince of Wu was most like his father, both civil and military, with outstanding talent, ranking first among all the princes.

The Prince of Wu had the highest reputation among the court officials, and was especially admired by the Four Kings and Eight Dukes.

He was also the most favored by the Retired Emperor; although he had not been formally invested as the crown prince according to ancestral system, he was the person the Retired Emperor had in mind to inherit the throne.

But it was such a heaven-defying prince who, in the imperial upheaval fifteen years ago, was personally ordered by the Retired Emperor to be executed and died an unnatural death.

The Retired Emperor was also disheartened by this, gave up the throne, retired to the deep palace, and lived as if he were self-imprisoned; the tragedy of human relations shows the depth of the trauma.

The Retired Emperor grew up in the army in his youth and had always had a partiality for young talents who were outstanding in both civil and military affairs; many of the outstanding descendants of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes were promoted because of this.

For more than ten years, the Retired Emperor had abdicated and lived in seclusion in the deep palace, but this preference seemed not to have changed.

Perhaps the young man from the Jia family was too outstanding in both civil and military affairs, able to win the top spot in literature and pacify bandits in military, making his name known throughout the world.

Wasn't that person back then also so dazzling?

The Retired Emperor probably saw some familiar shadows in him...

Empress Dowager Yizhang turned her head inadvertently and saw a piece of calligraphy hanging on the wall, with vivid brushwork, ancient and handsome, elegant and spirited, full of spiritual energy, and dazzling.

That was the poem "Linjiang Linjiang Xian" written by Jia Cong himself; this calligraphy and that scroll of the Heart Sutra from back then were both the Retired Emperor's favorite things.

Empress Dowager Yizhang was certain that her guess was not wrong, and she could not help but sigh slightly.

Great Zhou Palace City, Ganyang Palace.

Although it was the end of summer, the heat in Love Shenjing had not yet dissipated, and the huge palace felt a bit stuffy.

Guo Lin calculated the time when Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao would retire from the morning court and placed several ice basins in the palace in advance.

The bronze cranes for longevity on both sides of the imperial desk flashed with heavy, dark yellow light, and the sharp crane beaks spat out milky white dragon saliva incense smoke, which was refreshing and lingering.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao had just retired from the morning court and walked into the palace when Guo Lin presented the report Jia Cong had sent urgently to Love Shenjing.

He said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, Jia Cong sent a report from Jin Ling to the capital, and the messenger was waiting at Wumen Gate before the morning court today, saying that the report was an urgent matter."

Since Jia Cong went to Jin Ling, some time had passed, but there had been no new progress in the Zhou Zhou Zhengyang matter.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao was somewhat disappointed; Jia Cong, who had always been successful in handling matters, seemed to be struggling this time, and the Jin Ling matter was so tricky.

He did not expect that just after the morning court today, Jia Cong's report would be sent urgently to the palace, which was a pleasant surprise for him.

Because with Jia Cong's usual style of handling matters, sending a report thousands of miles away suddenly must mean that there had been a major breakthrough in the Jin Ling matter.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's spirit was slightly lifted, and he immediately unfolded the report to browse it carefully, but after reading a few lines, his expression gradually became gloomy and solemn.

Guo Lin had served Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao for many years and naturally understood his temperament very well; seeing the Emperor's expression, he knew that what Jia Cong's report said must have made His Majesty very unhappy.

His heart jumped, and his back, which was already bowed, bent even more involuntarily.

The stuffiness of the end of summer in the palace suddenly became chilly, and everyone was silent.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's solemn voice suddenly sounded from behind the imperial desk, echoing and surging in the palace, full of anger and coldness.

"A dignified Su Zhou Guard Commander actually shelters and hides imperial fugitives; this is truly lawless!"

"Two of the five major guard offices under the Jin Ling Commandery are involved in the Water Supervision Office case; are they trying to rebel!"

"Commandery Commander Du Du Hengxin, who governs without direction and fails the imperial grace, his crime deserves death!"

Upon hearing the name Du Du Hengxin, Guo Lin's heart jumped; that was a high-ranking military official of the second rank in the Southern Nan Zhili Guard Army, and in His Majesty's words, his crime deserved death; this was going to be a big deal.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao suppressed the anger in his heart and finished reading Jia Cong's report carefully, and the last part of the report described in detail the investigation content of the Central Vehicle Office into Du Du Hengxin's official duties.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao soon noticed an unusual name: Zhen Zheng Yingquan.

He read the content linking Zhen Zheng Yingquan and Du Du Hengxin several times, the veins on his forehead bulging slightly, and his hands trembling slightly with anger.

"A good Jin Ling merchant, a good scheme, actually having the ability to manipulate and support imperial officials; this is like Lu Buwei hoarding goods for profit; it's outrageous!"

"Guo Lin, you dog slave, I let you control the Central Vehicle Office; why has the Central Vehicle Office never reported such merchant involvement in government affairs and selling of official posts!"

Hearing Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's angry voice, Guo Lin was so scared that he trembled all over, but he really did not know what was going on, so he asked tremblingly: "This slave is stupid, please enlighten me, Your Majesty."

He heard a slap, and Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao threw Jia Cong's report in front of Guo Lin.

Guo Lin knelt down with a thud, crawled forward a few steps, picked up the report, and browsed it quickly.

The inside story about Du Du Hengxin's official career in Jia Cong's report was obtained by Xu Xu Qiniang of the Central Vehicle Office through secret investigation.

In fact, when Jia Cong reported the report to Love Shenjing, Xu Xu Qiniang almost simultaneously sent the inside story of Du Du Hengxin's secret investigation to the general file through the Central Vehicle Office channel.

However, Jia Cong, worried about long delays, specifically instructed Jiang Liu to travel day and night and deliver the report to Love Shenjing within four days, which was an efficiency that broke the usual speed.

Therefore, Jia Cong's report arrived at the palace ahead of the Central Vehicle Office's secret report.

So, Guo Lin did not know at the moment that the information was originally obtained by the Jin Ling Central Vehicle Office through secret investigation.

By the time he saw that the Jin Ling sea merchant Zhen Zheng Yingquan had run around and lobbied for the former Jin Ling Guard hundred-household Du Du Hengxin, and even used the connections of the Prince of Beijing's mansion to promote him to a thousand-household of the Water Supervision Office.

Guo Lin was already so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat; this matter not only involved the secret rise of a high-ranking military official of the second rank, but the hidden threads behind it were also extraordinary.

The Jin Ling Zhen family! The Prince of Beijing's mansion!

He had served by Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's side for many years and naturally knew what kind of connections and taboos were hidden behind these two names.

Guo Lin kowtowed and said: "Your Majesty, the report of Count Lord Weiyuan says that Du Du Hengxin was able to be promoted from a hundred-household to a thousand-household with the financial assistance of Zhen Zheng Yingquan of the Jin Ling Zhen family.

If we want to thoroughly investigate this matter, we must involve the Jin Ling Zhen family.

There are rumors in the palace in the past few days that the Jin Ling Zhen family has taken a fancy to Count Lord Weiyuan and wants to marry the third Miss Zhen to him, and the old Imperial Consort Zhen has already spoken to the Retired Emperor, wanting to grant a marriage for the two.

The old Imperial Consort Zhen is highly respected, and even the Retired Emperor treats the Imperial Consort with filial piety.

Investigating the Zhen family at this juncture, I am afraid that if the Retired Emperor and the Imperial Consort find out, they will be offended..."

Guo Lin had been in the palace for many years and naturally knew the intricate connections involved.

Investigating the Zhen family carried no small risk.

Even if he could go through fire and water for the Emperor, if he offended the Retired Emperor and the Imperial Consort and lost his official position and life because of it, he had no confidence that His Majesty would save him from fire and water.

After all, maintaining the balance and harmony between His Majesty and the Retired Emperor was more important than his own little life, which was why he dared to ask this question.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao frowned slightly upon hearing this; he had also heard about the matter between Jia Cong and the third Miss Zhen in the past few days.

Jia Cong was talented in both civil and military affairs and was granted a title at a young age, and he had always been highly valued by him; the Jin Ling Zhen family wanting to recruit him as a son-in-law was just to cling to power and wealth and cultivate family influence.

He said coldly: "This marriage is very inappropriate; Jia Cong comes from a noble family and is a noble of the imperial court, so marrying a merchant's daughter is not proper.

As for the Zhen Zheng Yingquan matter, for the sake of the Retired Emperor and the Imperial Consort's face, investigate and correct it secretly first, and do not make it too public; once we have obtained solid evidence, I will make a decision!"

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao had already been dismissive of the marriage between Jia Cong and the third Miss Zhen.

Now that he knew about the Zhen Zheng Yingquan matter, he became even more alienated from the Jin Ling Zhen family, and naturally became even more resistant to this marriage.

He even thought about how to deal with it if the Retired Emperor really wanted to grant the marriage.

It would be nothing more than seizing the opportunity to grant a marriage for Jia Cong before the Retired Emperor.

He would never let the young official he deliberately cultivated be tainted and eroded by others, losing his value for being reused.

There were many noble daughters in Love Shenjing who met the Emperor's own interests and whose fathers and uncles were also trusted officials of Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao.

Some of them even had family status and background that were higher than the Jin Ling Zhen family...

Guo Lin put the report back on the imperial desk, and Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao glanced at the report.

Jia Cong found that Luo Xiong sheltered Zhou Zhou Zhengyang, presuming that the Su Zhou Guard was also involved in the Water Supervision Office case.