Women dressed as men: powerful officials

Chapter 241 Escort!

Madam Hua walked slowly into the main hall holding a pipa.

Even in winter, in order to look good, she still wore a thin cloud shirt that she would only wear in summer. When her sleeves waved, the candlelight in the main hall reflected each other beautifully, which was breathtaking.

Many young men were surprised and said: "How beautiful!"

"The Moonlit Tower is a land of wealth and gentleness."

"Let's go and have a look some other day and listen to some little music."

As soon as the young man finished speaking, he was kicked by his father, who said sternly: "Look at where you are and what nonsense you are talking about!"

No matter what people around her were talking about, the expression on Hua Madam's face did not change, and she remained as calm as ever.

A maid brought a chair over.

Madam Hua did not sit down in a hurry, but gently plucked the strings of the zither.

After the short piece of music ended, the whole room fell silent.

Lady Hua put down her pipa and saluted: "Hua Rong greets His Majesty, and greets the Empress."

"Stand up," said the emperor.

The Queen looked at Lady Hua, her eyes softened, and she said, "Let's begin."

"Yes."

Madam Hua nodded and then sat down on the chair.

No one in the main hall was talking loudly anymore.

Bei Yuan was seated close to Bei Yao. Seeing that everyone in the main hall was listening to Lady Hua's music, he smiled and said, "Third brother not only invited the Poetry Pavilion to hold a poetry meeting today, but also invited Lady Hua. It seems that Third brother has not been without achievements over the years."

Of the three major forces in the capital, Zhuifengtang is gone, leaving only Yueyuanlou and Shige, and Beiyao has invited all of them.

People who don't know the truth would think that Beiyao was too frivolous to allow actors to visit his home.

But the high-ranking officials in the court must know clearly that Bei Yao is telling everyone in the capital that he is not without anything. On the contrary, he has the most powerful support.

News about Yueyuan Tower and connections in Shige.

All of them are available in Prince Cheng’s Palace.

Hearing Bei Yuan's words, Bei Yao also smiled and said politely: "The owner of the Poetry Pavilion is Shen Yichuan. I have been friends with him for a long time. Everyone in the capital knows it. As for Lady Hua, as long as the price is right, my brother can also invite her to sing at the Prince's Mansion."

Bei Yuan's smile froze for a moment, but it returned to normal after a moment, and he smiled faintly: "Third brother is right, the prince's mansion will hold a banquet someday, and I will definitely invite Madam Hua. Then, please come and show me your favor."

"Brother invites me, I dare not refuse."

The two of them pretended to be polite and exchanged some pleasantries, and then Lady Hua finished playing the pipa.

The emperor was the first to applaud and said, "You play well. You are worthy of being the best female pipa player in the capital. The skills of the palace ladies may not be as good as yours."

Everyone appreciates talent, and the Queen praised Hua Niangzi's pipa performance when she heard her playing the pipa.

After the Emperor and the Empress said so, the other people in the main hall changed their previous contemptuous expressions and began to praise him.

Bei Yao stood up at the right time and said, "Madam Hua, today is the opening banquet of my palace. You played the pipa very well, you deserve a reward. Tell me, what do you want?"

When Lady Hua heard Beiyao's words, she stood up holding her pipa and said, "Hua Rong has lived in Yueyuan Tower all her life. She does not ask for gold, silver, jewelry or rewards. She only asks the emperor to seek justice for the many women who died in Yueyuan Tower!"

After Madam Hua finished speaking, the noisy main hall suddenly became quiet.

Everyone's eyes turned to Wei Chenyi.

Including the emperor.

The emperor frowned and asked, "Imperial Censor Wei, can this case be tried?"

Wei Chenyi stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the murderer in this case has been imprisoned in the Tianlao, and will be sentenced after the new year. This old minister will definitely handle it impartially and show no mercy."

The emperor nodded, and said with satisfaction: "Wei Yushi has always been a model of famous officials in the court."

After saying this, the emperor looked at Hua Rong and asked, "Madam Hua, is this okay?"

There is nothing wrong with the emperor asking questions.

Wei Chenyi knew that Hua Rong had the courage to file a complaint in front of the emperor, but she might not have the courage to demand a thorough investigation.

What's more, Wei Wu is already dead.

Wei Chenyi smiled slightly, with a determined look on his face.

"Your Majesty, what I want is for the culprit of this case to be brought to justice, rather than finding a scapegoat to take the blame."

Hua Rong's voice was clear and firm: "Your Majesty, please seek justice for the forty-two women in Yueyuan Tower!"

"The real murderer has been brought to justice." Wei Chen interrupted Hua Rong with a stern voice.

After saying this, his tone softened a little, and he smiled slightly, his words full of threats.

"Madam Hua, didn't you hear it?"

"Wei Yushi, I also want to ask you, is Wei Wu really the murderer?"

Hua Rong tilted her head and looked at Wei Chenyi with a cold smile on her face: "Among the forty-two women, half of them died more than ten years ago. Wei Yushi, could it be that your young master would kill people just when he was learning to walk?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Chenyi asked calmly, "How do you prove that those women who have been dead for nearly ten years were from your Yueyuan Tower?"

"Then how can Censor Wei prove that those women are not from Yueyuan Tower?" Hua Rong asked back.

"How to prove it is the business of the Dali Temple."

Wei Chenyi still had a smile on his face, and said amiably: "However, you can rest assured that the Dali Temple will definitely give you justice. Today's banquet is to celebrate Prince Cheng, so let's not talk about these trivial matters here."

The corners of Huarong's lips twitched slightly, and for a moment she didn't know how to start.

Bei Yao saw this and knew that it was not a good idea to bring this up again. He laughed and said, "Yes, matters of the court should be handled in the court. If the case is tried at the banquet in the palace, it will inevitably disturb everyone's interest. Madam Hua, can we bring this up another day?"

"Yes." Upon hearing this, Hua Rong bent her knees, held the pipa and retreated to the other side to wait.

Wei Chenyi glanced at Huarong and raised the corners of his lips in disdain.

She is indeed a woman living in a brothel, with shallow knowledge, unable to judge the situation or to please others.

When you get a reward, you feel like you have gotten justice.

What a joke.

Wei Chenyi lifted his robe and sat down, looking at Huarong with pride, then picked up the wine glass and drank with his colleagues around him.

The emperor saw this and stopped asking about Hua Rong. Seeing that there was still an empty seat, he couldn't help but ask, "Yao'er, there is still an empty seat, but someone didn't come?"

All ministers above the third rank in the court received invitations to Beiyao's banquet.

No matter if it was sincere or fake, no one who received the invitation refused.

After all, not giving face to Bei Yao would be like not giving face to the emperor.

Therefore, the emperor also wanted to know who was so bold today to accept the invitation from Prince Cheng's Mansion but not attend the banquet.

Bei Yao heard it, took a look, and asked, "Cheng Xi, who is assigned to that position?"

"Your Highness, it's General Xie." Cheng Xi replied.

When the emperor heard that it was Xie Xiaocheng, he was even more surprised. "Lord Xie left the palace early this morning. How come he hasn't arrived yet?"

"Maybe it was because of the slippery roads due to the snow, which caused the delay."

Bei Yao's words had just fallen.

There were bursts of exclamations coming from outside the door immediately.

A man covered in blood rushed into the main hall.

The ministers at the table were frightened by the sudden appearance of the "blood man".

The eunuchs beside the emperor immediately shouted, "Protect the emperor! Protect the emperor!"

"Your Majesty, do not be afraid. This man is a criminal I rescued from the prison. He said he has grievances to report. At the same time, I have also captured several assassins. Why not try them together?"

Xie Xiao's voice arrived before he even arrived.

Everyone in the main hall breathed a sigh of relief.

When he looked up again, Xie Xiaocheng was wearing a black robe and carrying a person into the hall.

Wei Chenyi looked up, and the moment he saw who it was, he lost his breath and almost fainted.