Out of the study, I looked up at the sky silently, and I could see that the morning star was lit up in the lonely. It was pitch black all around, only around the sedan chair, the guards, the entourage, and many eunuchs from the palace stood there respectfully with lanterns, lighting a way for him to get on the sedan chair.

Although he was wearing thick mink fur boots and warm hats, as soon as he came out of the room where the earth dragon was burning, Shen Mo still felt a chill, and without saying anything, he bent down and sat on the sedan chair, grabbed the copper soup woman with his hand, which was more comfortable, and said in a deep voice: "Let's go, hurry up." ”

So in the crowd of people, the sedan chair got up steadily, and quickly went out of the courtyard gate, alley, and onto the street. Whenever I pass by this chessboard street, there is always a lot of noise in my ears, but at this time, it is silent, only the footsteps of my own line.

In this cold winter city of Běijīng, even the hard-working people will never get out of the bed at this moment; But that, the Furong tent is warm**, and the king has not been in court for a long time, Emperor Longqing, will summon him into the palace when the palace door has not even opened. It really made the silence who had been mentally prepared for a long time feel a big surprise.

All the way to the complicated thoughts, soon arrived in front of Zuo'an Gate, the gatekeepers who had already received the order had already opened the gate and waited.

Seeing that his palanquin man was about to get off the sedan chair, the eunuch who led the way hurriedly said: "The emperor's decree, Master Shen doesn't have to walk, just sit in the sedan chair to meet him." So the sedan chair man carried the sedan chair again, went straight up to Chang'an Street, and then passed through the palace gates, and carried Shen Mo to the front of the Huangji Gate in one go.

When he got here, although the eunuch still wanted to lead him in, he silently said that he had to come down and leave by himself..., in order not to talk too much, he didn't wait for the people outside to lift the sedan curtain, he opened the curtain and drilled out of the sedan door.

"Press the sedan chair," the head of the eunuch hurriedly shouted.

The two sedan chair drivers in the back hurriedly lifted the sedan pole, and the sedan pole in front hit the ground. Silently got off the sedan chair and looked at the heavy palaces dormant in the dark, only to see that under the eaves of the various palaces, there were rows of dense red sè lanterns, but the surroundings were still pitch black, which made the huge palace eaves, like floating in the middle of the air under red and black, giving people a mysterious and solemn feeling.

But Shen Mo was not at all deterred by this painstakingly created atmosphere, but thought quite off-line: "How much silver can be obtained from tens of thousands of lanterns lit overnight"... It seems that there is money in the palace. , followed the eunuch into the outer hall of the Qianqing Palace, and a little eunuch came up, took the silent warm hat, ear protection, mink fur, smock and took a pair of brand-new single boots, and asked him to replace the warm boots on his feet, "... The warmth in the palace room is like chūn, and these are unbearable.

The little eunuchs were busy, and the red-eyed Feng Bao greeted him, saluted Shen Mo respectfully, and said, "I didn't expect the Pavilion Elder to come so quickly." ”

"The emperor summoned so early." Shen Mo said softly: "This official does not dare to slack off. ”

"The emperor hasn't closed his eyes all night." Feng Bao heard the words and said, "You have to persuade him to take care of the dragon body later, and he can't be sad anymore." ”

Shen Mo nodded and said, "Of course I know." ”

"Please come in." Feng Bao turned sideways and solemnly pleaded and took him into the Xinuan Pavilion.

Longqing summoned the ministers, all of them were in the East Warm Pavilion as the upper study, but they were the only ones who saw silence, and they were always in the West Warm Pavilion where they lived. For the overly fragrant and charming furnishings and decorations in the Xinuan Pavilion, xìng's silence was not used to it at first, but after watching it for a long time, it became accustomed to it.

"The minister is silent, come to the banquet." Silence lifted the placket of the official robe. Worship with a big bow.

"Hurry up, don't be polite." The curtain slowly opened, and Emperor Longqing appeared in front of him.

Shen Mo raised his head and glanced at the emperor, only to see that Long Qing was wearing a Xuan sè gold silk straight jacket, a purple sè gown, and the boneless gauze hat on his head was also worn casually. At first glance, it is the casual clothes of Ouchi's casual life, and it is not possible to meet with foreign ministers. But Long Qing is now dressed like this, and walked up to support Shen Mo and said: "It is said that you will not provoke the red-faced man and not disturb the three watchmen" but called the master out of the hot quilt, and he really didn't want to go. ”

"The emperor is going to kill Wei Chen." Shen Mo took advantage of the situation and said softly: "Chen Yiyu didn't sleep. ”

"Yes, the case has come out, and I can't sleep......" Long Qing let go of his hand and said with a sad face: "Master, let's take a look." ”

Shen Mo followed the emperor to the inner hall and saw that on the huge rosewood bookcase, there were neatly placed records of interrogation pressed with paperweight and jade.

"This is the file sent yesterday", seeing that the silent eyes looked quickly from top to bottom, from left to right, Long Qing said on the side: "I originally planned to look at it again tomorrow, but I always thought about it in my heart, and I was absent-minded about anything, so I asked Chen Hong to take it, alas, ......", "Said and sighed: "If you don't look at it, you can't feel at ease, and you are even more uneasy when you look at it, and I can't have a charter after turning it over and over all night, so I can only invite the master before dawn and give me this idea." ”

Silent whispered, "Don't dare", but he never left the table......,... Hai Rui's interrogation record, he only knows most of the front, but the most important part of the back, that is, the part that Teng Xiang reported to him, because Lu Lun cleverly avoided it, so he only saw it for the first time.

After reading this part, I can only describe it in four words, that is, shocking, "No wonder the emperor can't wait for dawn, so he has to ask for advice!"

Teng Xiang is a very scheming person, if it weren't for the dizziness of one step to the sky, which made him lose himself temporarily, and then he was beaten by the old eunuch Chen, he would definitely not end up like this. But before the incident, the palace and the palace were very optimistic about him, thinking that he would be in charge of the cow ear for a long time, so among the cabinet ministers, the six ministries and nine secretaries, and even the feudal officials, there were also a considerable number of people who secretly communicated with him and bribed him on a large scale. As for Meng Chong, he is much more pitiful, almost no one is optimistic about this cook, except for rì Chang Xiaojing, there is almost no one to open a small stove for him.

Of course, what makes Longqing sad the most must be that among the several masters he has always trusted, there are also people on the list, one is Yin Shizhan, and the other is Zhang Juzheng!

Seeing this, Shen Mo couldn't help but secretly rejoice, sure enough, "If you want people not to know, unless you don't do it", if you are like the Jiajing Dynasty, and the inner supervisor eyebrows, your name will be on the list. In that case, there will definitely be no chance to stand here at this moment, and be regarded as a trustworthy person by the emperor to participate in the fate of the princes of the court.

In the end, his eyes fell on Teng Xiang's confession about the case...... "...... Teng Xiang said that in August this year, because of the urgency of Rì* Long's urging, he couldn't come up with the money to pay off his debts for a while, so he asked Li Chūnfang for help. But Li Chūnfang also had no money, and told him that Zhang Juzheng had a deep relationship with Rì Yilong and could ask the latter for help. So Teng Xiang asked Li Chūn Fang about this, and in September, Li Chūn Fang really got the money from Zhang Juzheng and brought Zhang Juzheng's conditions, which led to a series of events that happened later.

Through Teng Xiang's confession, it is very tolerant to conclude that Zhang Juzheng is the mastermind and Li Chūn Fang is a Chinese person. But Shen Mo knew that this was because Teng Xiang hated Zhang Juzheng deeply and deliberately pushed the responsibility on him..., in fact, Zhang and Li were embarrassed that there was no good thing for Jiān.

After reading it, Shen Mo raised his head, looked at Emperor Longqing with a melancholy face, and said in a low voice: "I don't know how the Sacred Heart is?" ”

"Hey......" Long Qing sighed, but it was the old eunuch Chen Hong who answered, he had naturally seen it a long time ago, and he must have discussed it with the emperor At this time, his old voice said angrily: "The old slave dared to ask, what is that Hai Rui going to do?" Dare to submit such a confession, isn't this forcing Banzai to go to prison? But now that the Long Live Lord is not long in the world, the Ming Dynasty is suffering from internal and external troubles, and the court is also unable to live in peace for a moment. He Hai Rui still has to bring in all the high-ranking officials and officials, and the emperor has done it all, it's easy! But who is the country relying on? Still have to mess up right away? After all, he was old and frail, and after saying so much in one breath, he became out of breath, and paused for a while before he said in a deep voice: "The old slave said something heavy, but it made the emperor so embarrassed, the old slave really couldn't bear it, Shen Ge Lao forgive me." ”

Shen Mo shook his head and said that it was okay, but his heart was like a mirror, these words must have been acquiesced by the emperor, and the old eunuch Chen was a royal spokesman.

Seeing that Chen Hong was a little harsh and silent, Long Qing couldn't help but say loudly: "Master Shen, don't take it to heart, Lao Chen watched me grow up, he was anxious for me, not for Master Shen." ”

"There is a way to be a king, a minister, and a disgrace! Now the emperor can't sleep at night because of this matter, it is a dereliction of duty as a courtier", Shen Mo had no choice but to say: "Old man Chen is worried. Such a confession is presented to the emperor, and it is indeed necessary to force the emperor to make a decision to raise a big prison, but the emperor takes care of the overall situation, how can he make such a decision? This makes it difficult for the emperor, Hai Rui and they are indeed too impulsive, but they are also loyal to the country, so they will be so ignorant, so they can't be said to be at fault. ”

There is a proverb circulating in the Ming officialdom, saying, the cloud of the cabinet, the wind in the palace. It means that if you want to be an official and rise step by step, you must have the cloud of the cabinet to rain, and as for whose head that cloud can be covered in the end, it depends on where the wind in the palace blows the cloud, which is a layer of meaning.

But there is another layer, which is that what happens in the cabinet is often like a cloud, which is difficult to see; And the emperor is always surrounded by so many palace people, no matter how confidential the matter is, there will be wind in the palace in a moment. When it comes to the Longqing Dynasty, I am afraid that this latter layer is more reliable.

Therefore, Shen Mo knew very well that at this juncture, all the words he said in front of the emperor would inevitably spread throughout the capital soon, so every sentence must be carefully considered to avoid misfortune from coming out of his mouth.

Long Qing didn't know what was going on in his belly, but he was deeply relieved that Shen Mo could not only understand himself, but also take into account the overall situation: "If they have half of your public loyalty to the country, I don't need to be so ......,... Alas, the most unexpected thing is that Master Zhang and Master Yin will also be involved. Saying that, he gently pulled the wide and supple sleeves, and seemed to express his emotion: "There is a way, clothes are not as good as new, and people are not as good as the old" This is really true, my heart hurts as much as it is torn. But in fact, he secretly expressed his attitude, hoping that silence would let them go.

"Your Majesty, this matter is just one side of Teng Xiang's words, and there is no basis for empty words, you can't question the two ministers who have always been upright based on this alone." Shen Mo sighed secretly in his heart, and said, "They are the teachers chosen by the first emperor for you!" ”

Of course, Long Qing could hear the silent grievances, he looked at his master Shen deeply, his eyes were full of three points of gratitude and seven points of sadness, and said: "I hope so, ......", after a pause, the emperor beat jīng Shen Dao: "But the family has family rules, the state has national laws, it should be thoroughly investigated, and it must be thoroughly investigated, and it must be given an explanation to the people of the world!" Saying that, Yin Yin looked at Shen Mo and said: "I really know that this burden is not easy to pick, it is difficult to please, and it may offend people." But at this time, I can only trust you, Master Shen, and besides you, I really don't know who else can take on this important task "............"

"The emperor doesn't need to say it." Silently clenched his fists and said: "It is the duty of the courtiers to share the worries of the king, and besides, I am the minister in charge of the criminal law, and it is my duty to properly handle this case!" ”

"Master Shen", Long Qing saw that Shen Mo did not hesitate to take over his problems as he had done several times before, and ironing, gratitude, relief, and apology rose in his heart, "Multiple emotions were mixed together, making him almost fall into tears, and he held Shen Mo's hand tightly and said, "I'm causing you trouble again......,..."

"This is Wechen's honor." When the emperor was excited enough, he silently withdrew his hand and said softly: "Weichen also has an invitation to brush up......,..."

"Tell me." Long Qing didn't feel coerced at all, but was very happy that Shen Mo could beg himself once.

"The trial of the case has ended, and the remaining sentence and how to deal with it should not be used." Silence's eyes turned red and said: "Hu Shaobao's body has been in the Prison God Temple for more than ten days, and it was thirty-seven days before. Thirty-seven days have not been able to live in peace, I, a man who has no faith in my words, is really difficult to sleep, and my heart ............is piercing," said tears, knelt on the ground and said: "The minister is willing to use his own merits to atone for his sins, and I implore the emperor to be extrajudicial and forgive his sins, and let him be buried in peace." After speaking, he kowtowed to the emperor vigorously, and every time he banged.

The emperor's eyes were also red, and he hurriedly held him up, and pulled him up vigorously and said: "Hu Zongxian Gong was in Sheji, but he was tortured to death, this is the shame of the Ming Dynasty, and it is also my fault, and I should never let the master bear it." He said to Chen Hong: "Immediately send a decree to the Ministry of Rites, and order it to quickly agree on Hu Shaobao's mourning and nickname, and I will have the result tomorrow!" ”

The silence was already in tears.

…“…“………… One by one............ "... ｍ… Unexpectedly, there are eleven places, it seems that it is the first time that Xiao Langjun has stood so high in this life, I am a little dizzy, don't let me fall ......! ~！