Chapter 180 - Impeachment
Zuo Shaoqing thought about it carefully. Indeed, ever since he had come back, he had not seen the foreign minister that was targeting him. But to him, that person was just a scheming person who didn't understand the situation.
“Sir, do you have any evidence?” “There's no need to say anything about it. I would never put a first rank official of this dynasty in jail just because of a single word of suspicion from you.” Zhan Yuanfeng said with a hint of anger.
“Your majesty, this subject knows that Duke Zhen definitely cannot do it himself. Even if we find out that Duke Zhen was captured as a scapegoat, this subject cannot watch Duke Zhen's power grow. He can't cover the sky with one hand and ignore the law.”
“Is my beloved supposed to imply that I am an incompetent and unconscious monarch?”
Tutor Zeng prostrated himself on the ground. “Your Majesty, please forgive me. This old official is only speaking the truth. I can't bear to see the late emperor's good fortune end up in the hands of a thief.”
All the ministers held their breath. They did not understand why Tutor Zeng would say such words today. It was obvious that Master Lu was suspected of causing a rebellion.
Although everyone knew that Tutor Zeng and Duke Zhen had not been at odds for a day or two, this was still the first time they were making such a desperate accusation.
Zhan Yuanfeng's probing gaze fell on the two of them. He frowned as he recalled the news he got from the intelligence agency.
The first person among the officials stood up to make a fuss and retorted: “Tutor Zeng, since the age of 11, when Master Lu went to the battlefield and chased away a strong enemy for Great Yang, when did he ever complain in the slightest? Yet, an old man like you, who only knows about the nightiest of people, is constantly making things difficult for Master Lu. I wonder what your intentions are? “
Zuo Shaoqing was about to clap his hands together in applause. Hearing the familiar voice, he stuck out his head and looked at the face that stood out. After a long while, he finally recognized that it was Lu Zheng's vice general Soong Hanlin.
There was a second one after the first one. Most of the military officials of the imperial court stood up one after another to correct Lu Zheng's name. On the contrary, Tutor Zeng was ridiculed to the point where his entire body was covered in wounds.
Tutor Zeng had a lot of face in the beginning, but he was provoked by the group of crude military officials.
Fortunately, Tutor Zeng had not been a teacher for nothing in the recent years. Since there were countless students, there were naturally a few loyal to him. One by one, they stood up for Tutor Zeng.
“Look, look …” Tutor Zeng shook his body and pointed at the military official, “Your Majesty, see, this old subject has only impeached Duke Zhen, and they are attacking him together. Isn't that enough to prove that the Duke of Lu can cover the sky with one hand?”
Soong Hanlin was dumbfounded. All the military officials had innocent and angry expressions on their faces. They all stared at Tutor Zeng, not daring to speak carelessly.
“Then wouldn't the civil officials who stood out be your trusted aides, Tutor Zeng? Then, can this humble subject suspect that you, esteemed tutor, are trying to form a personal alliance? ” A loud and clear voice rang out from behind. When everyone turned around, they saw a young man dressed in a crimson official robe standing there with a calm expression.
“You're just a young doctor, how can you have the right to talk here?”
Zuo Shaoqing sneered, “Tutor Zeng, you are of the first rank in the imperial court, yet you dare to say such ignorant words. It is the right of the court to negotiate with the officials. Tutor, do you have the authority to rule who can't speak? “
Zuo Shaoqing took a few steps forward, knelt in the middle of the hall and said loudly, “Reporting to your majesty, this subject also has a piece to play.”
“Yes.”
“This official wants to impeach Tutor Zeng's influence, to cover the sky with one hand, and ignore the law!” Zuo Shaoqing repeated Tutor Zeng's words, causing everyone's expression to turn strange.
Some people thought that Zuo Shaoqing was just angry at Tutor Zeng for impeaching Duke Zhen, which was why he jumped out to protect his husband. They didn't think that he could come up with any evidence.
“Still, what about the evidence?”
Zuo Shaoqing straightened his back and spoke clearly: “Tutor Zeng has three sons and seven grandchildren, with a few grandchildren, among them not less than three people have committed murder, no less than three of them have never bullied men and women, forcefully taking them away, and as for taking over land and property, there are even more things that happen, but Zeng Family has committed so many great crimes, yet they are still unharmed, is this not Tutor Zeng's way of covering the sky with one hand? If it wasn't Tutor Zeng who put the law aside, then what was it?
As for the evidence, the Emperor can send his Ministry of Justice or Shuntian prefecture overseer to investigate. Even the citizens of the capital know quite a bit about it, and it is definitely not something this humble subject can create randomly.
When Zuo Shaoqing said the last few words, he stared at Tutor Zeng with a mocking smile on his face, making Wu Tie so angry that he was holding onto his chest and gasping for air.
He sighed and looked at Tutor Zeng in disappointment, “Honored tutor, this official knows that you hate me for accidentally injuring my grandson, but what hatred do you have for this official? Why did you vent your anger on Master Lu? This official doubts whether your character will be good enough for the position of tutor.
“The honored tutor is the emperor's master. If you are unrighteous, how can you be an assistant professor to the emperor?”
The military officials snickered. Although they were just grinning silently, their mocking and disdainful faces made Tutor Zeng feel stifled and suffocated for a moment.
“Imperial Tutor …” “The honored tutor …”
Zhan Yuanfeng suppressed the smile on his face with great effort and glanced at the aggressive Zuo Shaoqing. He waved his hand. As for the love between the two of you, you should just hand it over to Ministry of Justice for review, we have to see the results tomorrow. “
Minister of Justice walked out with a bitter face to receive the edict. He was quite resentful towards Tutor Zeng. “You said that your own home was in chaos, how dare you impeach others?” Isn't this asking for trouble?
“Withdraw.”
“Greetings, Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty …” The officials saluted and left the court. All of them glanced at Zuo Shaoqing meaningfully as they passed by him, thinking, “Before, Master Lu never responded to the impeachment of a hundred officials. Now that he has a wife, he doesn't even need to open his mouth anymore.”
After exiting the palace, Zuo Shaoqing hugged Lu Zheng and asked shamelessly, “Master, how was your performance just now?” “Are they not worse than those famous lawyers?”
Lu Zheng held the back of his head with one hand and hugged his waist tightly with the other. Then, a strong kiss fell and Lu Zheng answered the question using his actions.
Fortunately, it was inside the horse carriage, otherwise, there would definitely be another report impeaching Duke Zhen in the morning assembly tomorrow.
“Whooosh.” When Lu Zheng let go of the person, Zuo Shaoqing panted rapidly, his face flushed red and he couldn't even speak properly, “Erm… Is that what you meant by calling him Minister? “
“Of course not.” Lu Zheng leaned to the side and let Zuo Shaoqing lie on his chest, “Didn't that old fart say that he was drunk and lost his footing? What does that have to do with me?”
Zuo Shaoqing raised his eyebrows. Since he had an answer in his heart, he didn't continue to talk about this topic.
“I didn't expect that old man to hate us so much. He's going to tear off all decorum with us. Will his words arouse the Emperor's suspicions?”
Lu Zheng caressed his hair, his eyes were sharp, “Doubts or doubts only lie in the Emperor's mindset, it's not something others can change with a word or two. As for why he hates us so much …” “Heh …”
Zuo Shaoqing stood up and wrapped his arms around Lu Zheng's neck. He asked curiously, “Is there something else?”
“A few days ago, I received news from the southern navy that a high-ranking officer had clashed with someone and accidentally killed him. And that person was the grandson that old man doted on the most.”
“Ah …” “What's a fine man named Zeng doing in the south?”
“There are too many restrictions under the feet of the Son of Heaven. How can he be as carefree as the lofty emperor?” Lu Zheng curled his lips in mockery.
“So he blamed it on us?”
Lu Zheng was especially moved when he said the word “we”. He lowered his head and kissed Zuo Shaoqing's face and explained, “Because… I've protected that general. “
Lu Zheng briefly told Zuo Shaoqing about the matter. It turned out that Tutor Zeng's favorite grandson had been staying in the south for a long time in the name of travelling and studying. Since the south had an extravagant life without any restrictions, that young master naturally couldn't bear to come back.
It was a pity that once, on the street, a guard would gang up with a high-ranking officer. That high-ranking officer was also very straightforward, and when he saw that people were about to be beaten to death, he helped them out, causing them to naturally become enemies with that young master.
He thought that this would be the end of the matter, but who would have thought that after a few days, that young master of Zeng Family would bring a bailiff to abduct his wife and children while the high-ranking officer was not at home. In order to vent his anger, not only did he humiliate that lady, but he also beat his son half to death.
Because the person was brought away by the prefectural attendent, the people who were left behind to guard the family did not dare to resist and could only go to the water master's camp to notify the officer. There was no need to speak further about what happened after.
Zuo Shaoqing shook his head, “What crime did this Tutor Zeng commit? I don't know what kind of son he has, but I'm afraid that Prefect would be hard to protect.”
“We can't keep this family any longer.” Lu Zheng said in a low voice. His face was terrifyingly gloomy.
Zuo Shaoqing reached out his hand to rub away the creases on his forehead and asked: “What do you want to do?”
Lu Zheng took his hand and kissed it, “It's not what this official wants to do, but what the Ministry of Justice will show His Majesty tomorrow … There are some things that have to be done openly. “
Zuo Shaoqing's heart skipped a beat. He knew that Lu Zheng had made the arrangements, so he relaxed.
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