[R18] Will drink wine – “About Wine” Chapter 273 [English]

Chapter 261 Enwei

At noon the next day, Marquis Helian went to Mingli Hall to thank him.

Fuman stopped Marquis Helian and advised him, “Hold on, Lord Marquis. The Emperor is taking a nap at the moment and will not be able to summon the Marquis until later.” He turned sideways and said, “If you are not in a hurry, just wait here.”

Marquis Helian made a special trip to show his loyalty today. The rumors in Yongcheng kept him awake at night, for fear that Emperor Li Jianting would be angry and have Fei’s family removed from his family.He then nodded in agreement and waited under the sun.

The scorching sun was scorching at noon, and after half an hour, Marquis Helian was sweating like water.He didn’t dare to ask, his heart sank more and more, and he felt the new emperor’s punishment in the silent gazes of the surrounding eunuchs.

“Master Marquis,” Fuman called softly, “How about you go to the side hall and wait? It’s such a hot day.”

Marquis Helian forced a smile, wiped the sweat with his sleeve, and said, “It doesn’t matter.”

The Yongcheng food relief project was organized by him, and if something like that went wrong, he had nothing to do with it.If Li Jianting suspects that he is colluding with the rebellious party, his head will definitely not be saved. Now let alone let him stand and wait, even let him kneel and wait, as long as he can save his life, he is willing to do it.After an unknown amount of time, Marquis Helian’s back felt like it was pressed against a hot iron plate.He looked pale, his sweat turned into weak sweat, and his eyes felt dizzy. He relied on perseverance to stand.

The bead curtain swayed slightly, and Feng Quan exposed half of his body and said softly: “The emperor is awake, please be more agile. Don’t waste the emperor’s time to deal with government affairs.”

The eunuchs and maids who were waiting under the eaves brought their basins in. Not long after, Marquis Helian heard his name.He picked up his robe and went up the steps to the front of the hall. He was so dizzy that he had to hold Fuman up.

“Ouch,” Fuman said with worry on his face, “Master Marquis, Master Marquis, what’s going on?”

If there is a lump of suffocation in Marquis Helian’s chest, which makes him vomit, he may be suffering from heat stroke.Li Jianting was waiting in the hall. Marquis Helian stood still in a hurry, his legs were shaking a little, and he could only murmur to Fuman: “No…it doesn’t matter…”

“There is an ice basin inside,” Fuman whispered, “You can go in just in time to cool off the heat.”

Marquis Helian stepped into the door, bowed his head and knelt down in front of the imperial case to salute. His voice was weak: “My lord, my Majesty, I wish you all the best to see you.”

Li Jianting held the folding book without looking up.

Marquis Helian crouched down and did not dare to move, his breathing became lighter, and the sweat on his forehead soon wetted his sleeves.

“I read Liang Dishan’s report and said that the Fei family invaded and occupied people’s fields in Tuncheng.” Li Jianting took a sip of herbal tea and said in a gentle voice, “Do you know about this?”

The hot sweat on Marquis Helian’s body turned to cold sweat, and he said: “I know that the Metropolitan Procuratorate impeached the minister, and the cabinet issued a vote asking the Ministry of Punishment to cooperate with officials from the Ministry of Households to go to Tuncheng to inspect the land tax, and also asked Xue Xiuzhuo of Dali Temple to be the inspector.”

“Now the Ministry of Revenue is saying that your Fei family in Tuncheng is colluding with the Pan family in Dancheng and the Han family in Wucheng. They colluded to deceive the court, embezzle land taxes, and severely punish the people in the territory. As a result, hundreds of people from Tuncheng fled the country last year.” Li Jianting said, “Is this true?”

Marquis Helian felt his whole body burning. He held himself up, took a few breaths, and said in a hurry: “I, I don’t dare…”

Li Jianting suddenly threw the book on Marquis Helian and said in a cold voice: “Don’t you dare? Didn’t people starve to death in the winter in Trent City? Not only did you collude with the Pan family, but you also united with Juexi merchants to use the food of the people of Trent City to flatter the rebellious party! Do you think I don’t know, and Yuan Fu doesn’t know? The imperial court has long been eyeing you bunch of gangrenous gangsters!”

Marquis Helian almost collapsed on the ground, he cried with tears: “Your Majesty, Your Majesty! The Xiande Nianhua Party and the Pan Party control the government, and the Queen Mother is there to help. I have no choice but to save the lives of my family!” heHe bowed his head and kowtowed, banging his head on the ground and crying loudly, “The people of Trent City are like the biological sons of the minister. They have been in charge of me, Fei Shi, since Taizu established the world. If I had not been forced to a dead end, how could I have dared to do such a bad thing! As for food, your Majesty, when I saw that the emperor was worried about the food in Yongcheng, I couldn’t help but feel anxious. That’s why I fell into the trap of the Shen family traitor so easily!”

When Marquis Helian was about to die, he became wise and cleared the relationship, keeping silent about Yan Heru.

“Han Cheng acted domineeringly and repeatedly coerced me to help him kill the king and establish himself on his own.” Marquis Helian looked up at Li Jianting with tears on his face, “But I am a courtier of the Li family, and I can’t live with him! At the banquet that night, I fought to the death to protect him… I deserve my crime. I only hope that the emperor can take into account Taizu’s kindness and spare his children…”

Li Jianting seemed to be moved and said: “Taizu showed his kindness and handed over the eight cities to you, but you made a huge mistake for your own selfish interests.”

“I know very well that I deserve the death penalty,” Marquis Helian burst into tears. “…I owe tens of thousands of land taxes…even if there is only one person left in the Fei family, I will work hard to make up for this debt.”

As long as Li Jianting does not kill Helianhou, Helianhou is not only willing to return the farmland, but also willing to pay the land tax.The location of Trent City is more special than that of Dan City. It is close to Dicheng and connected to the waterway. It is inextricably linked to Juexi. It is really possible for him to make up for this money.But Marquis Helian, like the rest of the old tricksters in the family, did not say how long it would take to repay the land tax.

Li Jianting turned around, as if he was deep in thought. After a while, he said: “Your crime is unforgivable. I hope you are willing to solve the problems in Yongcheng and still have a conscience, so I will spare your life.”

Marquis Helian felt relieved and quickly kowtowed: “The Emperor’s Sacred Heart is merciful…”

“But you have formed a clique for personal gain, and have betrayed Taizu’s divine grace. You cannot retain the title of Marquis Helian.” Li Jianting did not give Marquis Helian a chance to breathe. “There is also the matter of invading people’s fields.”

Marquis Helian’s heart was in doubt again.

“Fuman,” Li Jianting said towards the door, “Pull those bastards out.”

Fuman responded, and soon the guards escorted several people to kneel in the open space in front of the hall.Marquis Helian leaned up and looked back. Through the bead curtain, he found that these people were his own officials in the Yamen of Tuncheng.

“Although Taizu delivered the eight cities to you, the eight cities are still surnamed ‘Li’. You can escape the death penalty because of my mercy. These people bully their superiors and ignore their inferiors, violate the law, and run rampant.” Li Jianting stood next to Marquis Helian, stretched out his delicate palm, and patted Marquis Helian on the shoulder, “You deserve to be damned for displacing the people in the territory. Be blessed.”

Fuman raised his voice loudly: “Put down the stick—beat him!”

As soon as Fuman’s voice fell, the iron rod suddenly hit the human body. The sound made Marquis Helian tremble all over.

Several of them had things stuffed in their mouths. They neither pulled them into the door according to the rules of the imperial staff, nor wrapped them in cotton clothes.They had already taken off their official uniforms and were wearing undershirts.The eunuchs holding the sticks were all former members of Dongchang, and they were beaten to death. After a few blows with the sticks, all of them were bruised and bloody.

There was a buzzing in Marquis Helian’s ears, and Mingli Hall was very cold, making him feel cold all over.The sound of beating continued, and one of them raised his head twice, the white cloth wetted with blood from his mouth, and whimpered towards Marquis Helian.The entire Mingli Hall was very quiet, the eunuchs stood in silence with their hands lowered, and there was only the sound of “bang, bang, bang”.

Half an hour later, the pungent smell of blood filled the air.

Li Jianting didn’t look at Helian Hou anymore and just said: “Go down.”

When Marquis Helian stood up, he tripped over himself and fell back to his knees on the cold hard floor.Fuman winked at the little eunuch, and they set up Helian Hou and sent him out.Marquis Helian’s boots were in the blood. He opened his eyes wide and looked at his feet.

The pool of blood reflected the official robe of Marquis Helian.

Marquis Helian staggered a few steps, feeling like the world was spinning and he was frightened to the point of fainting.

Li Jianting was leaning in his chair and could see through the dim window that Fuman was ordering the guards to clean up the bodies on the ground.

Fengquan picked up the memorial that was thrown on the ground and whispered: “This scene is really terrifying.”

“You have never seen Shura Field,” Li Jianting’s eyes were hidden in the dimness. “When the epidemic was rampant in Dan City, refugees crowded to the gate of Qudu, trying to get in through the trenches. In the end, the trenches were filled, and the smell of corpses filled the air… No one was able to save people, and that scene was terrifying.”

Fengquan didn’t bother to look at the imperial case, he just put the memorial back lightly.

“In troubled times, heavy codes are used,” Li Jianting paused for a long time, “Let Marquis Helian live for a while longer. Has Xue Yanqing come to see you recently?”

Fengquan bowed and replied: “He came to ask about the emperor’s daily life.”

“Cen Xunyi is an old man in the court, and he is very far-sighted in fearing Zhongbo. This time I did not obey Xue Yanqing’s wishes,” Li Jianting said, “I should make amends.”

“Mr.

Li Jianting pondered for a moment and said: “Jiang Qingshan has done great work in raising food and treats the people like a son. Let Yuan Fu look at it and draw up a note. I heard that his wife Liu is also very famous, so I rewarded him together.”

Jiang Qingshan is Xue Xiuzhuo’s general in Juexi. Rewarding him is to appease Xue Xiuzhuo. Besides, Jiang Qingshan is also useful to Li Jianting.Donglie King Qi Zhuyin is now unchecked, but the Qidong garrison needs military rations, and Li Jianting puts the key to the granary in Jiang Qingshan’s hands.

Fengquanxi claimed so, being extra careful when retreating.

“Xue Xiuzhuo changed emperors so easily, she had to be on guard. Jiang Qingshan was a feudal official. He was not favored by the Li family in the Xiande and Tianchen years. Now he is about to rise to prominence.” Shen Zechuan put Yu Xiaozai’s letter aside, “I think her method of dealing with Marquis Helian was unexpected.”

“Yes,” Xiao Chiye looked at the opposite side, “she is quite brave.”

Shen Zechuan really didn’t expect Li Jianting’s move of killing corrupt officials with a stick to threaten Marquis Helian. He held the pen and poked the ink and said: “I thought she would find an excuse to kill Marquis Helian, but I didn’t expect that she could hold back her anger.”

“Marquis Helian originally declined because he had no money, but now he is so frightened that he is willing to make up for the shortfall and even abandons the house.” Xiao Chiye raised his head slightly and slouched in his chair. “The empress’s combination of grace and power gives her more leeway than Xue Xiuzhuo, who never gives up. The family has been beaten to this point. Seeing how she treats Marquis Helian, she will definitely make up for the shortfall in order to make up for her fault and gain a chance of survival.”

“It’s amazing,” Shen Zechuan held up his pen and vaguely traced Xiao Chiye’s eyes, “This is a real emperor.”

“I never believed that someone could be born to be an emperor, but she is indeed extremely talented and has lived in the compound for only five years.” Xiao Chiye pinched Shen Zechuan’s wrist across the table, “——Do you want a reward?”

“I have only been in Zhaosu Temple for five years.” Shen Zechuan kicked off his clogs under the table and rubbed them along the side of Xiao Chiye’s legs.He loosened his fingers slightly, and the pen fell on the table, leaving several horizontal afterimages on the paper.Lan Zhou pressed his finger on the bridge of Xiao Chiye’s nose and said, “Give it to me quickly.”