jdhmnovel Chapter 427 Impeachment
Chapter 427 Impeachment
Granny Qing turned around quickly, skipping around as if she were avoiding a plague.
It felt like being chased by a ghost, and I was running incredibly fast.
As Shen watched Qing Mama's figure disappear, the fawning smile on her face vanished completely.
She turned and went back to her bedroom.
Yunxi sat up from the bed, wiping the bloodstains from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief—it was fake blood made by Old Man Feng.
“Mother, if we hadn’t known beforehand, it would have been really hard to tell if the blood made by Master Feng was real or fake.”
She looked up at Madam Shen, her eyes sparkling with liveliness and cunning, completely unlike her previous sickly appearance.
Seeing her smile, Shen felt a little lighter. She walked to the bedside, sat down, and gently stroked Yunxi's hair.
“Xi’er, although we’ve managed to fool them for now, as Yu Niang said, Li Zhuoyue is cunning and ruthless, and not so easily deceived.”
"I wonder how things are going with Yu Niang..."
"We haven't heard from them for the past few days. Yu Niang just told us to wait patiently, but it's been ten days and there's still no news. How can I not be at ease?"
"Xi'er, although we've managed to fool them for now, Yu Niang also said that Li Zhuoyue isn't so easily fooled. I wonder how things are going with Yu Niang..."
They hadn't heard from Yu Wan and Yun Shang for the past few days. Yu Wan told them to wait patiently for news, but after ten days without any word, Shen Shi couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Xi'er, what exactly is Yu Niang plotting?" Shen's tone was tinged with confusion and unease.
Yunxi gently grasped Shen's hand, pondered for a moment, and then said with a firm tone, "Mother, you don't need to worry too much. My brother is meticulous and considers things thoroughly; my sister-in-law is quick-witted and exceptionally intelligent. Since they say they have a way, they must be making arrangements in secret. We can just stay home and wait patiently."
Li Zhuoyue controlled her household registration, which put her at a disadvantage, and she had no way to fight back against Li Zhuoyue in this respect.
It seems the only option is to comply.
But what if the entire Li family is destroyed? If the Li family is gone, will Li Zhuoyue still have the power to control her?
Yunxi lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought.
It's been about ten days, and my brother and sister-in-law should have some clues by now.
Her prediction was correct; Yu Wan and Yun Shang had indeed been investigating evidence of crimes committed by the Li family to bring them down these past few days.
Yu Wan had read the original novel. Although the novel did not describe Li Zhuoyue's family in much detail, she still found some clues from the small details.
She told Yun Shang about this, and Yun Shang had been secretly investigating for the past few days and had already found out.
Meanwhile, Granny Qing hurriedly ran back to the Li residence and headed straight for Madam Li's room.
She was panting, her face still showing lingering fear, and she vividly described the horrific scene of Yunxi's illness and the blood splattering on the spot, embellishing the story with exaggerated detail and spittle flying everywhere.
Madam Li had always trusted Granny Qing completely, and after hearing her say this, she truly believed that Yunxi was seriously ill.
Her face was full of disgust. She curled her lip and said with relief, "It's a good thing that we didn't let that bad luck into our house. If we had really married her, who knows how much trouble she would have brought to our family."
Granny Qing asked cautiously from the side, "But Madam, the eldest young master said he wants to take her into the manor. If we don't bring that Yun family girl over today, will the eldest young master be angry?"
Madam Li paused for a moment, as if she had thought of something, then waved her hand and said, "Just now, Zhuoyue sent someone back with a message that he will be leaving the capital for a few days. Since he won't be in the capital for the next few days, there's no need to tell him about this."
"As for the Yun family girl, if she recovers before Zhuoyue returns to the capital, send someone to bring her over. If she doesn't recover, explain the reason to Zhuoyue."
Even if Zhuoyue has some affection for the Yun family girl, knowing that she is seriously ill, she probably wouldn't necessarily want her.
Upon hearing this, Granny Qing understood, "Then this servant will send someone to keep an eye on the Yun family's movements."
……
Three more days passed, and everything in Shengjing City seemed calm and peaceful, with nothing particularly unusual happening. However, beneath the calm surface, there seemed to be turbulent undercurrents.
The atmosphere at the recent court assembly was particularly strange.
The powerful officials led by Li Chongyi and the officials from humble backgrounds who followed Xie Shifu were locked in a fierce battle of words, with constant heated arguments and a tense atmosphere in the imperial court.
However, officials from humble backgrounds were no match for those from aristocratic families, and they suffered repeated setbacks.
Even officials from humble backgrounds, with Xie Shifu's support, were repeatedly harassed.
Most of these officials from humble backgrounds were wholeheartedly loyal to the emperor. Because of their actions, which were constantly hampered by powerful families, Emperor Wenjing had been feeling quite frustrated lately.
As an emperor, he needed to weigh the pros and cons and could not simply kill people on a whim.
Everyone knows that most officials from powerful families are not clean, but without solid evidence, one cannot easily kill someone.
The current power struggle among officials in the court, led by the left and right prime ministers, is ostensibly just a matter of differing political views. If people were to kill each other simply because of these differences, it would disrupt the proper order of things, and the Great Zhao court would only become more chaotic.
Murder and confiscation of property must be justified by reasons that are acceptable to the public, whether it be corruption and bribery, failure in governance, or disregard for human life. In any case, solid evidence is required to support it.
The most troublesome thing is that everyone knows that most of the aristocratic families have committed numerous evils, but it is difficult to find concrete evidence.
Some of the evidence has already been cleared away by them, leaving no trace.
Some witnesses were bribed and silenced, and dared not reveal the truth.
Some people, fearing retaliation, choose to remain silent even when they know the truth, daring not to utter a word.
Looking at the officials from the left and right factions arguing endlessly in the court, Emperor Wenjing could no longer suppress his anger.
He abruptly slammed the teacup on the table to the ground.
With a loud "bang," the sound of porcelain shattering suddenly rang out, echoing in the empty hall.
The sudden noise brought the argument inside the hall to an abrupt halt.
Everyone glanced instinctively at the shattered porcelain shards scattered on the floor tiles, startled, and immediately lowered their heads, adopting a respectful and submissive demeanor.
The entire court was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Emperor Wenjing's face darkened, and he gripped the dragon head on the armrest tightly with both hands, angrily saying, "Is my court a marketplace? Are all you gentlemen just gossipy women from the marketplace who only know how to argue and bicker?"
All the civil and military officials knelt down and pleaded guilty in unison.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. We have been disrespectful."
Although they verbally admitted to their indiscretions, most of the court officials did not show any genuine remorse on their faces; they were merely putting on an act out of respect for the emperor's authority.
Looking at these people, Emperor Wenjing's anger intensified.
His anger had not subsided, and his cold gaze swept over the assembled officials.
At this moment, an official suddenly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
The speaker was Imperial Censor Song Bingzhi.
Upon seeing him step forward, the expressions of the court officials subtly changed.
Emperor Wenjing's gaze fell on Song Bingzhi, his expression softened slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Minister Song, please speak freely."
Song Bingzhi took a deep breath, lifted his robe and knelt down, his voice steady but tinged with indignation: "Your Majesty, I impeach Right Chancellor Li Chongyi!"