At the beginning of the new year, it snowed for three consecutive days. However, no matter how cold the weather was, it could not stop the popularity of Chen Mansion.

In front of the Chen Mansion, there are people arriving every day, including BMWs and carved cars. Some lower-ranking officials have to wait outside the door for a long time in order to send a congratulatory note.

"Why are there so many people this year? I think there are people from the Ministry of War. If they don't go to the Gu Mansion, what are they doing here?" Among the people lining up at the door, there was a young man wearing a brocade coat and a black and red hat.

Wearing a white hood, my sleeves and hands were still freezing in the cold wind. Haha, I couldn't help complaining to my colleagues around me.

"You don't know?" The young man next to him dressed in a rich and noble manner leaned close to his ear and lowered his voice, "Gu Ge is about to lose his power."

"Are you talking about the Ministry of Rites?"

"It's not just the Ministry of Rites. I heard that the Chen Mansion will be the Governor's Mansion from now on."

"You mean?"

"No. I heard that the emperor paid a private visit to the Chen family years ago and took a fancy to the paintings of the eldest lady of the Chen family. He praised her talents as unparalleled in ancient times and modern times. The marriage was immediately completed."

"Oh, in my opinion, what the emperor is interested in is not necessarily Miss Chen's calligraphy and painting talents, but the chief minister's ability to govern the country."

"No matter what he is interested in, this matter has been widely spread throughout Shengjing City recently. It is probably close to the same."

"What about Mr. Gu Ge? There's no movement?"

"How could there be no movement? I must have been unable to sit still for a long time. Let's see, the two sides will definitely fight more fiercely after the new year."

…

Although the market rumors are exaggerated, they are by no means groundless.

In fact, just a few days after the start of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Ye Qinghuai's desk had already piled up several excerpts about Chen Yuansi's performance. Several excerpts had different angles and clear ideas. One of them even listed in detail the direct descendants of the Chen family.

The male-to-female ratio indicates that the Chen Mansion has a strong yin and a weak yang, making it difficult to give birth to a boy.

For the first time, Ye Qinghuai felt grateful to the cabinet for approving memorials for her. She didn't know how many more outrageous memorials the cabinet would read on a daily basis.

Along with these excerpts about Chen Yuansi's performance, there were also case files from the Ministry of Punishment.

The Ministry of Punishment acted vigorously and resolutely this time, and in just one month, the case of the leaked scientific examination questions was concluded.

A total of eight people from the Ministry of Rites were involved in the case. The principal culprit Shi Taiping and a group of accomplices were exiled or dismissed from their posts.

Interestingly, Ye Qinghuai saw Wang Lisong's name again in the list of accomplices. And his punishment also stated that he would be exiled to the Leizhou Coal Kiln for hard labor, which was the same as the result of the three-division trial.

The difference is that this time it is a case handled by the Ministry of Punishment, and it does not require Ye Qinghuai's personal approval before the order can be executed.

In other words, even if Ye Qinghuai still drags out the official document from the three-division trial without a seal, Wang Lisong will also be exiled this time.

Not to mention whether Wang Lisong could make it to Leizhou alive, even if he could make it to Leizhou alive, given his age of over sixty, he would probably be dead within a few days of digging coal.

Ye Qinghuai mentioned twice before that he would go to Tianlao for inspection, but the court officials argued hard to persuade him to withdraw.

It can be seen that this Wang Lisong is indeed inaccessible without Jie Jie.

Ye Qinghuai then began to think about how to start with Song Zhe.

While she was thinking hard, an unexpected person appeared.

Li Wenqing returned to court.

After being "sick" for more than a month, Li Wenqing appeared in court again.

He has lost a lot of weight, and although he is in his early thirties, he looks like a man in his late fifties.

Throughout the morning, he didn't say a word. He was like a still object in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, standing there motionless for half an hour.

After going to court, Ye Qinghuai asked Li Baoquan to find an excuse and called him to the Qinxian Hall to face the saint.

Seeing Ye Qinghuai, Li Wenqing bowed dully and then stood there like a piece of wood.

"Li Qing, you have been recovering from this illness for more than a month. Why do you look more haggard today? Are you really cured?" Seeing that he didn't speak, Ye Qinghuai began to greet him warmly.

Unexpectedly, Li Wenqing remained silent. He lowered his eyes to the ground, his eyes unfocused, and there was a deathly silence in his eyes.

Ye Qinghuai winked at Li Baoquan who was beside him. Li Baoquan immediately understood, went down with the attendants, and closed the palace door firmly before leaving.

"Li Qing, there is no one here. You can say whatever you want, and I will make the decision for you." Ye Qinghuai said solemnly.

As soon as she said this, Li Wenqing suddenly knelt down with a plop.

He kowtowed heavily to the ground and said, "I beg your Majesty to grant me death."

What's happening here?

Ye Qinghuai was startled, frowned and asked, "Why did Li Qing say this?"

Li Wenqing stopped talking again. He knelt on the ground, his thin body like a dead tree.

Ye Qinghuai gave a short laugh: "Oh, if you want me to kill you, you have to have a reason. Are you guilty of corruption and perverting the law, or are you guilty of disobedience? What crime is so heinous that it can lead to death? Raise your head and answer my words."

Li Wenqing raised his head, but did not dare to look at Ye Qinghuai. He lowered his eyes and looked at the dark red carpet in front of him and said: "Your Majesty, I once heard that the saint said that filial piety is the beginning of virtue; loyalty is the beginning of virtue.

This is the right thing to do. Nowadays, loyalty and filial piety cannot be fulfilled at the same time. I am unwilling to live in this world. I beg your Majesty to grant me a death."

"Why can't you have both? Li Qing, I don't understand what you are saying."

Li Wenqing paused for a moment and replied: "Your Majesty, I have a sixty-year-old mother above me and a young boy below me. I am the only one left on the lintel of the Li family. I really can't ignore the incense of the Li family. But I'm fine."

If you are filial and righteous, you will not be able to be loyal to the country. In fact, you will have failed the emperor's favor and will no longer have the face to see the Holy One."

As he spoke, tears filled his eyes, and he knocked his head heavily on the ground again.

Ye Qinghuai's face turned cold, and so did her voice: "Someone is threatening your family?"

What answered her was Li Wenqing's motionless figure lying on the ground.

She let out a long sigh.

She had somewhat expected such a situation.

If the person who kidnapped Li Wenqing was able to release him, they were absolutely sure.

After a while, Ye Qinghuai said: "Wang Lisong is going to be exiled to Leizhou. He won't live long."

She seemed to be telling Li Wenqing, but also seemed to be telling herself.

Ye Qinghuai lowered his head and glanced at Li Wenqing, and saw that his hands folded on the carpet had become fists at some point.

After a long time, Li Wenqing finally managed to choke out a sentence: "I beg your Majesty to grant me death."

His voice was hoarse, as if he was suppressing tears. This was the third time he said this today.

An unknown fire ignited in Ye Qinghuai's heart. She had always been most annoyed by these civil servants who always mentioned the word "death" on their lips. They looked loyal and fearless. In fact, they could not share her worries, but were forcing them.

More.

She grabbed Li Wenqing's shoulders and forced him to raise his head and look at her by holding his court uniform.

"Listen to me, I will not grant you death, and don't even think about seeking death." She stared into Li Wenqing's eyes and said word by word, "What's the use of you dying? Wang Lisong can live if you die.

? If you die, will the evildoers be punished? If you die, will the government and the public be in peace? I tell you, you think too highly of yourself, and none of these things will happen! If you die, you die. You deserve to die.

Those who deserve to be greedy are still greedy, and your death is not even worthy of being a topic of conversation for them after dinner."

Li Wenqing's tearful eyes were only a few inches away from Ye Qinghuai, and Ye Qinghuai saw his red eyes full of fear.

"Let me tell you what will happen after you die. After you die, your wife and children will have no one to take care of you. Your wife has to work day and night to support your son in school. Your mother misses you day and night.

You fell ill within a few years, and the people who used to look after your family for your sake have disappeared, and they even thought of ways to distribute the assets you left behind."

Perhaps Ye Qinghuai's words were too miserable, and tears fell from Li Wenqing's lifeless eyes. He was completely helpless, like a frightened and tortured poor man.

Seeing his appearance, Ye Qinghuai felt that she had spoken too harshly, and most of her anger was extinguished. She let go of Li Wenqing's hand, stood up, turned sideways, and stood with her hands behind her back.

Looking at him again, he said: "In this world, death is the most useless thing. Li Wenqing, don't you want to have both loyalty and filial piety? I will tell you how to have both loyalty and filial piety. If you live well, you will have both loyalty and filial piety. If you live, you will have both.

It’s something that makes your loved ones happy and your enemies painful.”

Ye Qing was silent for a long time, then turned her head to look at him. Seeing that he was still hanging his head, she was worried that he wouldn't listen, so she went home and hung herself with a rope, so she asked: "Understand?"

Yet?"

Li Wenqing lowered his body a few inches and replied: "Wei Chen accepts the order."

His voice had regained its clarity, and Ye Qinghuai felt relieved.

"As for Wang Lisong, I will find another way. It's not something you should worry about." After saying that, Ye Qinghuai paused and said, "Go ahead. It's not good to stay here for too long."

Li Wenqing stood up, bowed to Ye Qinghuai, looked up at her, and met the emperor's concerned gaze on him, and his heart skipped a beat.

Ye Qinghuai's voice softened and he said: "I can't reward you at this time. It's easy to attract people's attention. If you go back and take good care of yourself and take good care of yourself, the court will be able to use you one day. By then,

, please don’t ask me for sick leave again.”

After speaking, she gently patted Li Wenqing's shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile.

Li Wenqing looked at her, his eyes seemed to be resurrected, and sparks were ignited again.

"I will obey your Majesty's instructions, and I will protect myself and be loyal to the country." He kowtowed again before retreating and leaving the Qinxian Hall.

After Li Wenqing left, the room became quiet again.

Ye Qinghuai sat alone in the room, lost in thought.

It seems that Wang Lisong's matter can only be solved by finding Song Zhe.

But outside the palace walls, who can she use and who can be trusted? Both the Forbidden Army and the Criminal Ministry are in the hands of Gu Shihai. To find someone in the capital is equivalent to finding someone under Gu Shihai's nose. It is definitely not something ordinary people can do.

It can be done.

Ye Qinghuai only has two choices at the moment. Either Chen Yuansi or Lu Yanchen.

But these two people both made her feel in danger.

Ye Qinghuai felt a little tight in her chest due to the heat in the room. She walked to the window and opened the wooden window, and the cold wind outside the window hit her face.

Ye Qinghuai raised her eyes and saw a branch of red plum blooming in full bloom in the corner of the courtyard. There was a bit of fragrance in the cold wind, which lifted her spirits.

Ye Qinghuai couldn't help but sigh: "The taste of the soup is still there, let him be bullied by the wind and snow. It has to be plum blossoms. It's a pity that in the Jing Dynasty, there is not even a virtuous minister with the character of plum and bamboo."

?"
Chapter completed!