Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 1513: Legend of the Hidden Sea 33

Zang Hai narrowly escaped death in Zhongzhou, and Zhuang Zhifu, who was recuperating in the capital, could not rest in peace either. Even though those accounts had been settled by Zhuang Luyin when he was the Minister of Works before, some people in the court wanted to use Zhuang Zhifu as a scapegoat by taking advantage of the decline of the Zhuang and Jiang families.

In a rage, Jiang Xiang could not help but go out in full makeup and imperial edict, intending to beat the Wendeng drum to appeal for justice, hoping to fight to the death.

Those who were paying attention to the actions of Zhuang Zhifu's family noticed that Jiang Xiang was dressed in a formal imperial decree when she went out, so they hurried to report to their masters behind them, and finally stopped Jiang Xiang before she arrived at Wendeng Drum.

Jiang Xiang was not smart enough, but she also knew the principle of striking the snake at its most vulnerable part. She was determined to go and beat the Wendeng Drum. After all, the affairs of Zhuang Zhifu and Pingjin Marquis' Mansion had been settled, and according to convention, Zhuang Zhifu should not be implicated again. So she concluded that beating the Wendeng Drum would definitely intimidate others, so from the beginning she did not mean to do it for show in exchange for a chance of negotiation.

Xiao Jinyue was also staring at Jiang Xiang. Seeing Jiang Xiang being intercepted by someone, her men rushed forward to rescue him. However, after they confirmed that Jiang Xiang was determined to beat the Wendeng Drum, they decided to give up taking Jiang Xiang away directly and instead escort him along the way.

When Jiang Xiang struck the Wendeng drum, Xiao Jinyue's men retreated naturally. The others who were watching Jiang Xiang behind the scenes were filled with despair, because Jiang Xiang had Zhuang Zhifu's account book in her hand!

When Xiao Jinyue got Zhuang Zhifu's account book, she couldn't help but sigh: "At first, I wanted to give Zhuang Luyin another choice, but I didn't expect that he would die on the road to the glory of the Zhuang family, paving the way for Zhuang Zhixing."

However, Shen Mudan felt that there was a lot of trouble between the Zhuang family. Not to mention the disputes between the previous generations, the fact that Zhuang Zhifu took the money by taking advantage of others' opportunities but did not enjoy it himself but indulged Zhuang Zhixing's spending was enough to make people speechless.

She could only say, "With the help of the prince, I believe Madam Jiang and Mr. Zhuang will be able to get through this safely."

And the fact is indeed so. It is impossible for Jiang Xiang to submit Zhuang Zhifu's account book in court. This is tantamount to directly naming and killing. Although she wants to fight to the death, she will never adopt such a method of confessing all the filth under the sun, otherwise her family will be seriously implicated.

Therefore, Jiang Xiang only complained to Emperor Zhenshun that their family had filled the gaps in the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, and that Zhuang Zhifu's corruption was forgiven, and she could not put any charges on her son.

Officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works reacted the most. The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of appropriations for the national treasury, while the Ministry of Works was engaged in many projects throughout the year, and there were many ways to take advantage of them.

Seeing that the Ministry of Revenue was arguing, Emperor Zhenshun pushed all the blame onto the former Minister of Revenue, Zhao Bingwen, the second assistant of the court. He could not help but speak in a nice way and asked Jiang Xiang to go back to take care of Zhuang Zhifu, and then turned around and ordered the court to be dismissed.

Zhao Bingwen's original crime was to assassinate the Queen of Winter and Summer, Mingyusuti, and attempt to provoke a war between the two countries. His house was also searched, but not much money or property was found, and no other people were implicated. Therefore, Zhao Bingwen's daughter Zhao Tong'er, also known as the Eighth Young Master, can now use Zhao Bingwen's former connections to find a job as a teacher of fine brushwork painting in the academy.

Emperor Zhenshun certainly knew that Zhao Bingwen died because of his usurpation. Who dared to seize the Gui Seal?

As for the death of Queen Mingyusuti of Winter and Summer, it was really unfair. It was done by Emperor Zhenshun through Zhao Bingwen, and it was also for the Gui Seal.

After the "Gui Seal" was tacitly stolen out of the palace by Emperor Zhenshun, it first fell into the hands of Zhao Bingwen, but was then used by Zhao Bingwen to plot the death of Shi Yiping. Then the "Gui Seal" was passed from Shi Yiping's mansion to the hands of Queen Mingyusuti of Winter and Summer.

Emperor Zhenshun didn't know that the Gui Seal had been replaced the moment it was taken out of Hanzhang Palace, but he was very unhappy to see it fall into the hands of the Dongxia people, so he poisoned Mingyusuti and pinned her death on Zhao Bingwen. It happened that Zanghai finally found Zhao Bingwen to avenge his family's extermination and killed him with his own hands.

So the "Gui Seal" went around outside, and after the three bronze fish were collected, it returned to the hands of Emperor Zhenshun.

Of course, Emperor Zhenshun did have opinions about Jiang Xiang, but compared with his displeasure with court officials, it was nothing. Anyway, Zhuang Zhifu would not have the opportunity to serve as an official again because of his leg injury, and Zhuang Zhifu was sent to the northeastern border to show his kindness. If the Zhuang family wanted to rise again, it would take at least another five to eight years.

After Jiang Xiang returned home, she felt a little exhausted and almost couldn't stand. If it weren't for her filial daughter-in-law who supported her in time, she would probably have fallen to the ground.

Zhuang Zhifu came out with his son who could just walk steadily. He had been in a daze for so many years, but his mind became clearer after his leg became lame. He lowered his voice and suggested, "Why don't we go back to our ancestral home? We still have grandpa and uncles in Beijing to take care of us. I think we can have a few days of peace and quiet."

Jiang Xiang rejected it immediately upon hearing it: "No way!"

"We must not leave the capital to go to the Zhuang family's ancestral home!"

"If Zhuang Zhixing hadn't been here, we would have been fine if we returned to our ancestral home, but with Zhuang Zhixing here, even if your grandfather and uncle in the capital can still intimidate us from time to time, they can't stop Zhuang Zhixing from taking over the military connections!"

Zhuang Zhifu was obedient. After Jiang Xiang explained clearly, he was willing to listen. His wife also explained, "Although life in the capital is somewhat difficult, our Dalang has decided to pursue a career in literature. It would be easier for him to stay in the capital, not to mention taking the imperial examination, or even find an ordinary teacher, than to stay in his hometown."

There were four people in the family, old and young. The two in the middle didn't have any idea either. They just supported each other and walked towards the second door. It was a very harmonious scene, which made people feel a little hopeful.

After Jiang Xiang sat down, he drank several cups of tea in succession, and then he spoke his true feelings: "Today I went to play the Wendeng drum, and it was the people of the Qinghe Palace who protected me for a while. Otherwise, I would have been kidnapped and killed halfway, and the news would not have spread outside!"

"But since someone from the Qinghe Palace has appeared, and the Qinghe King has said that he wants to...your father died a worthy death, so I entrusted the account book to the Qinghe King. Now the Qinghe King should have received the account book, and our whole family will be under the care of the Qinghe King."

Zhuang Zhifu finally put his worries to rest and became happy. He hugged his son and said, "Our son may be able to become a disciple of the King of Qinghe. That will bring honor to our family!"

Jiang Xiang was also very happy to hear this, and said to his daughter-in-law with a smile: "Since our family has received the favor of the King of Qinghe, no matter what the King of Qinghe thinks, we must quickly prepare a generous gift to thank him, so that it will be convenient for our Dalang to establish a relationship with the Qinghe Palace in the future."