"Emperor, you have broken your promise once, and the Ai family doesn't want to see you the second time."

Regarding Zhu Qiyu's guarantee, Empress Dowager Sun did not choose to believe it immediately. When he showed his emperor's potential, any promise would only serve the throne. Since ancient times, the king has been like this!

"I wish to swear to the previous emperors of all generations, and I will definitely welcome the emperor's brother back to the capital as soon as possible!"

Faced with Empress Dowager Sun's indifference and doubts, Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu burst into tears. Perhaps this was the last ray of family affection in his heart that had not been given up.

Looking at the appearance of Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu, Empress Dowager Sun also felt an indescribable feeling. There were too many things that had changed in just half a year, and she could never go back to the past.

"I'm tired from the Ai family, please step down."

Empress Dowager Sun leaned on the back of the chair and waved her hand powerlessly. She had already done her best for Zhu Qizhen. After all, the women could not dominate the direction of the situation, let alone fight against the general trend of the world.

"The mother takes care of her health, and the son has stepped down."

Zhu Qiyu bowed heavily to Queen Mother Sun, then wiped away the tears from her cheeks, turned around and left Kunning Palace without looking back.

I won, but for some reason I didn’t have much pleasure in victory.

Cheng Jing, who was waiting outside the yard, saw Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu coming out and roughly guessed the result of the conversation between the "mother and son".

So he leaned over and asked, "Your Majesty, will you go to the Meridian Gate to appease the scholars of the capital now and release the Ge Lao Chen who is still in the imperial prison?"

"Go."

Zhu Qiyu didn't say much, waved his hand and walked towards the Imperial Study Room.

The red walls and yellow tiles of the Forbidden City were now covered with white snow in the capital. Zhu Qiyu, the long palace road, walked forward, followed by many guards, but his back looked so lonely.

The emperor's identity is destined to be an idle person.

Outside the Meridian Gate of the Imperial City, with the news that the Empress Dowager wanted to send troops to suppress him, and under the influence of righteous indignation, more and more literati and officials from the capital gathered here.

Especially when Ni Qian, the Hanlin Academy, and Qian Xili, the Minister of Rites, arrived, the emotions of the literati present jumped to the next level. After all, the Hanlin Qinggui represents Confucian morality. The Ministry of Rites controls the rituals of sacrifices and rituals, and it is definitely not tolerant of the chaos of the hen's sacrificial rituals.

Like exists!

"Thank you for your hard work, Dasi."

Looking at Li Shimian, who had already fallen on his robe, Ni Qian couldn't help but feel moved. This is the character and integrity that literati should show when facing challenges in etiquette and law. Even if the other party is the noble empress dowager, she still

Can't retreat in the slightest!

"What's the hard work? Isn't the country's support for the original purpose of clearing the source?"

Li Shimian was righteous. He did not surrender when Wang Zhen was tyrannical, but now the empress dowager is not afraid of interfering in politics.

"Gaoyi of the Grand Secretary, I admire you!"

Qian Xili bowed to Li Shimian, and then said, "There was news from the palace that when the Empress Dowager was about to mobilize the Southern Expedition Army to suppress the scholars, my official came to support the Grand Secretary."

"We literati can rely on integrity and die for righteousness, and will never tolerate dark clouds covering the sun!"

Qian Xili's words were loud and loud. He instantly felt his blood boiling when listening to the scholars of the capital present.

"That's right, Wu died and Wen died and advised him. We should defend the dignity of Confucianism and Taoism."

"If you have the ability to destroy the etiquette and law, otherwise I will never accept the hen's morning!"

"The warriors shed their blood in the war of the capital. Now it is time for us literati to sacrifice their lives. I want to see how we can cover the world's mouths!"

"The Empress Dowager will not return to the court for one day, and will not leave the Meridian Gate at all."

The voices of the scholars in the capital resounded through the sky, making the soldiers standing in front of the palace gate secretly frightened.

If it was really as rumored, the Empress Dowager would send troops to the Meridian Gate to suppress the clearance of the scene, according to this angry attitude, there would probably be a scene of blood flowing.

Moreover, as time passed, not only the civil servants came, but also the arrival of Ni Qian and Qian Xili. The cabinet minister Gao Gu and the Minister of Revenue Jin Lian appeared in the group of petitioners at the Meridian Gate.

In addition, the subsequent sound spread throughout the capital, Chen Xun, the chief minister of the cabinet, and Wang Zhi, the Tianguan of the Ministry of Personnel, were all ready to go to the Meridian Gate. Regardless of whether their position was on Chen Yichen's side, or even on or not. Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu.

As literati, they could not accept it anyway. The power in the court was controlled by the Empress Dowager, a woman, and they had acted to send troops to suppress the literati's sons.

At this moment, if they don’t come forward, it will be like betraying the entire scholar-official class and will be criticized by thousands of people in the future!

Seeing that the storm was about to sweep the entire capital officialdom, the Wumen Gate, which had been closed for a long time, finally slowly opened from the inside. Cheng Jing, the eunuch in the inner robe, appeared in front of everyone.

"My ministers and scholars have suffered."

As soon as they met, Cheng Jing bowed respectfully to the people outside the Meridian Gate. His image and attitude were completely different from that of Wang Zhen's time in power. The eunuchs in the palace were arrogant and domineering, and were filled with a kind of civil servant elegance.

"Eunuch Cheng, did the Empress Dowager see the "Original Commentary"? Are you going to punish me for my official position?"

Li Shimian knew how intense the words in the "Original Commentary" were. According to the Queen Mother's actions of sending troops to suppress the petitioners, she would definitely not let him go in anger.

"I have no other requests. One person does things and one person is the one who is the one who is the one who is in charge. I also ask the Empress Dowager not to hurt the scholars of the capital and the hearts of the literati in the world!"

The consequences of dispatching troops to suppress the army are unpredictable. If Li Shimian could bear it alone and protect the safety of thousands of scholars in front of the Meridian Gate, Li Shimian thought it was worth it!

"Sir, students are those who read the books of sages, how could they be afraid at this time?"

"The Grand Secretary, I am not a person who is greedy for life and fears death. My mother needs to plead with the Queen Mother."

"I don't have the courage to die for justice, and I deserve to be called a literati?"

In an instant, the scholar Kang, outside the Meridian Gate, was excited. The backbone of the Ming literati was not interrupted. Who would be the cynical crawling under the imperial power?

To emphasize integrity and indifference to life and death is the spiritual character that literati should have.

Looking at the young scholars outside the Meridian Gate becoming more and more excited, Cheng Jing quickly said: "You all misunderstood. Our family is not going to blame anyone for coming here this time."

"But Your Majesty has an edict, and you have known your loyalty to the king and the country, and you should be widely spread and regarded as an example for the scholars in the world. Another cabinet minister, Chen, had no intention of disobeying the emperor after verification, and could release the official and restore his post after being resigned. !”

What?

Hearing Cheng Jing's words, the group of scholars stood in place in front of the Meridian Gate. Many of them were even prepared to martyrize themselves. However, they never expected that the emperor did not punish anyone and returned the palace. Old innocent.

Compared to the shock of ordinary scholars, Li Shimian and others, as court officials, saw something deeper. That is, this decree was not issued in the name of the Queen Mother, but in the name of the emperor. convey.

This means that the direction of power in the palace has changed, and the new king may have taken control of the power of the court!

What happened overnight?

As time goes by, some rumors will gradually spread, but it will not be now.

"Your Majesty's wise!"

No matter what happened, the empress dowager gave up interfering in politics, which meant that her original works had achieved results.

Li Shimian immediately knelt down and shouted toward the Meridian Gate to vent his excitement.

"Your Majesty's wise!"

In an instant, the snow outside the Meridian Gate fell to his knees, and many young scholars couldn't help but burst into tears on their faces.

Through their own struggles, they defended their adherence to etiquette, law and morality. This is the concept pursued by literati on reading books of sages!

Chen Yichen, who was in the prison of the imperial edict, didn't know so quickly what happened outside. However, an extremely familiar figure came from the prison. Chen Qingtong resolutely stepped forward despite the obstruction of his mother Chen and the prince.

Come and visit.

She couldn't believe the safety conveyed by the prison guards. Only by witnessing her husband's safety and safety with her own eyes can she let go of her hanging heart.

The prison of a serious criminal in a spy agency like the Zhaozhuo, and it is natural for outsiders to come in and visit. However, in the face of Chen Qingtong's request, he learned that he was the wife of the old man Chen, and no one dared to stop the prison guards, and Wei San even led the way himself.

Take her to Chen Yichen's cell.

Just like Chen Yichen's feeling when he first entered the imperial prison, the dim stairs, the gloomy environment, the painful wails, and the smelly air all challenge the ordinary people's senses.

Feeling Chen Qingtong's concern and nervousness, Wei San, who was leading the way, explained: "Don't worry, Mr. Chen was placed in a single room, and his treatment was completely different from those of these prisoners."

Yeah?

After hearing the jailer's explanation, Chen Qingtong was still not much easier. How good can a single room be like this?

After passing through a long dark corridor and in a cell near the corner, Chen Qingtong saw the familiar back.

Chen Yichen was facing away from the prison door, still looking at the foot of the skylight. When he heard the sound of unlocking the locks coming from behind, he subconsciously turned around and said, "Wei San, is there any news from the Meridian Gate again?"

But this time when I turned around, what caught my eye was Chen Qingtong's face. Chen Yichen was stunned in the spot, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Husband, you have suffered."

Almost the moment the prison door opened, Chen Qingtong threw herself into Chen Yichen's arms, her eyes were red and covered with a layer of mist. When Wei San saw this scene, he was very tactful and covered the prison door, and then turned around and left.

.

"Qingtong, why are you here?"

After recovering from his senses, Chen Yichen asked. He clearly asked Wei San to report his safety to Duke Chengguo's Mansion, but he didn't want Chen Qingtong to be too worried.

"How can I feel at ease if I don't see my husband safe with my own eyes?"

"You see, I'm fine, it's okay."

Looking at Chen Qingtong's tears couldn't stop flowing down, Chen Yichen tried his best to pretend to be relaxed and gently patted the other person's back to comfort him.

"Every time it's okay, but every time I have to be in danger, do you know how scared I am over the years?"

"In the past, when you left the town, I couldn't be with you. Now I'm in the imperial prison of the capital, can I still stand by and watch in the mansion?"

While Chen Qingtong was worried, she also had this deep complaint. It was not that she didn't know the truth that a real man was determined to be in all directions, but in the past few years she married Chen Yichen, she had been worried about being afraid of it every day and night.

It is not easy to return to the capital and become an official, but in the blink of an eye, I issued an edict to punish him. When will I live the peaceful life I hope for?
To be continued...