When Gu Zhong learned of this, he held the memorial in his hands and remained in a daze for half a day, but he did not come to persuade him.
The following days were busy.
Lingyan attended court daily according to the appointed time, reporting for duty at the Eastern Palace. She discussed political views and offered advice to Gu Zhong. The two talked about official business as before, but no longer did anything out of line.
It seems like nothing has changed, yet it also seems like everything has changed.
Emperor Gu ordered the Court of Justice to set up a special department to investigate the assassination of the Crown Princess. However, a group of skilled detectives were like headless flies, and the clues were completely cut off. A fire in Beiling destroyed all the clues, leaving only the Zuo family, a glaringly suspicious entity.
After the Zuo family was taken to Xijing, they were placed under house arrest in a temporary residence outside the palace.
Countless people tried to extract information from them, luring them with gold, silver, treasures, or promising futures, but to no avail; no one could explain it clearly.
It's impossible to imprison and torture all those aristocratic families. Even if they have some connection with the previous dynasty or the barbarians, if Emperor Gu dares to do so before obtaining substantial evidence, the scholars of the world will probably rise up against him.
At this point, this assassination case may remain an unsolved mystery.
Putting the assassination case aside for the time being, and taking advantage of Emperor Gu's selection of a husband for him, Gu Zhong found an opportunity to take action against the aristocratic families. Following Ling Yan's plan, he proceeded step by step.
If you thoroughly investigate these families, you'll find that very few are truly clean; their history of seizing land, bullying others, and abusing their power alone fills an entire room.
Using this as a pretext, Gu Zhongke drastically reduced the land quotas for aristocratic families, restricted their ceremonial rites, and stripped some marginalized members of their minor official positions.
Even though the various noble families had some grievances, they were all now focused on climbing up to the royal family and dreaming of the next emperor coming from their own clan. So they turned a blind eye to her little tricks, since they weren't serious matters and were just trying to please the Crown Princess.
Aside from causing trouble for the aristocratic families, Gu Zhong also wanted to ask Emperor Gu to order a restriction on the spread of witchcraft, but Emperor Gu rejected the request, as Gu Zhong always felt that Emperor Gu was wary of something.
Left with no other choice, Gu Zhong could only publicly express his dislike for witchcraft, hoping that the officials below would understand his intention and not create another state within a state.
The religious issues at Beiling remain unresolved, causing the newly appointed prefect a great deal of trouble.
As for choosing a husband, Gu Zhong seemed to have forgotten about it, except for occasionally accepting invitations from scions of noble families to travel together. More than half a year passed, but Emperor Gu did not urge her until the Censor brought it up again.
The aristocratic families couldn't understand it. From any perspective, neither Emperor Gu nor Gu Zhong would actually choose a member of an aristocratic family as their royal husband.
The so-called selection of husbands is nothing more than a carrot dangling in front of aristocratic families, enticing them to give up some seemingly insignificant interests.
"Lord Ling..."
After court that day, Lingyan was stopped by someone, Chen Muxian, who was still wearing his usual gentle and refined mask.
Since the events in the northern border, he was first promoted to Vice Minister of the Imperial Guard, then transferred to the Court of Justice, but was promoted again within six months and is now the Vice Minister of Justice.
This person truly lives up to his reputation as a carefully groomed prince of the previous dynasty; his abilities are indeed superior to many others.
"Chief Justice, what is it?"
Every time he took the initiative to appear in front of Lingyan, she always felt uneasy.
Chen Muxian first bowed, "Lord Ling also heard today that His Highness's marriage has been delayed for a long time without any news. Presumably, none of those noble sons have caught His Highness's eye..."
“That is His Highness’s private matter. How can we, his subjects, interfere?” Lingyan said coldly.
"It's a bit embarrassing to say... but I've long harbored feelings for Your Highness..."
Chen Muxian seemed oblivious to her impatience and continued speaking.
"You should speak this to His Highness..."
Lingyan felt that he was showing off, simply because he could openly express his affection for Gu Zhong, whether it was feigned or genuine.
"You flatter me, sir. It is rare for me to have a few words with His Highness, so I can only come to you for advice."
Lingyan looked at him in surprise. If she understood correctly, he was asking her for advice on how to win the favor of the Crown Princess. Were they very familiar with each other?
This person really dares to think big.
Shocked, Lingyan was speechless for a long time.
"grown ups?"
An idea flashed through Lingyan's mind: divide and conquer!
She spoke slowly.
“Chief Justice, do you know what the punishment is for spying on the Crown Princess? If you can achieve enough in the Court of Justice, you will naturally impress Her Highness. There is no need to do such a despicable thing.”
He left after saying that, leaving Chen Muxian to ponder the situation alone.
With such a substantial achievement within the Court of Justice, what could be more significant than solving an assassination case?
It all depends on how eager Chen Muxian is. He is eager to eliminate dissidents, completely control the entire former dynasty's old guard, and become a candidate for the Crown Princess's husband, paving a smooth path for his restoration cause.
Great achievements always require sacrifice.
As for whether he will be qualified to attract Emperor Gu's attention and become the best candidate for the Crown Princess's husband after he achieves enough political achievements, that remains to be seen; it was a gamble after all.
In the original novel, Chen Muxian's journey to becoming the emperor's consort was not so bumpy. He was outstanding in ability, the top scholar in the imperial examination, and fell in love with the crown princess at first sight.
Given their shared history of overcoming difficulties together in the North, and the impossibility of choosing those from noble families, it was only natural to prioritize him.
Now the chessboard has been shuffled, and everyone is a piece. Only by becoming the player who moves the pieces can one be qualified to play.
Gu Zhong now has no feelings for Chen Muxian. Even though he is a rare talent from a poor family in the court, there are several newly admitted Jinshi this year who are not bad either. What he needs now is a stronger bargaining chip.
It all depends on whether he has the courage and resolve to make a tough decision and whether he dares to gamble on such a tiny possibility.
The answer is beyond doubt. A month later, the Court of Justice announced the results of the assassination of the Crown Princess case.
It is said that thanks to the meticulousness of the Chief Justice, a long-standing case involving the Zuo family was uncovered, which involved the poisoning of officials in Beiling by Zuo Yingyuan's eldest son. The murder of an official of the court was confirmed, and he was to be executed in the autumn.
To save her beloved son, Madam Zuo handed over the secret box that Zuo Yingyuan had entrusted to her before his death, in exchange for the chance to save her good-for-nothing son's life.
She knew it was of great importance and dared not easily reveal it to others, and had never agreed to disclose it before. But with her son's life hanging in the balance, she could no longer heed her husband's instructions.
After the Public Works Department cracked the secret box, they found a stack of letters inside, all of which were correspondence between Zuo Yingyuan and the heads of various families. The letters contained many sordid secrets. If Emperor Gu were to take this seriously, he could skin all these aristocratic families alive.
But the most noteworthy of all is a secret letter requesting Zuo Yingyuan to provide information on the whereabouts of the Crown Princess.
Emperor Gu secretly ordered an investigation, and without alerting anyone, they traced the clues to several Beiling aristocratic families that had connections with the previous dynasty and the barbarians. They even discovered that the avalanche that nearly buried Gu Zhong and opened up a broad road for the barbarians was their doing.
Emperor Gu was furious and sent men to Luyi overnight to arrest the entire clans of those powerful families, escort them to the capital, and imprison them.
Several noble scions, unable to withstand the severe torture, revealed a great deal of information, helping the court to overthrow several strongholds of former rebels hidden in Beiling County, and even capturing a loyal general from the former dynasty.
"I was unaware that you still harbor such deep feelings for the previous dynasty. In that case, why don't you all find another place to serve as officials?"
Emperor Gu was furious when he threw the details of the assassination case presented by the Court of Justice on the ground. The officials below him trembled and knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
If you change the location, isn't it just the underworld?
This case involves a wide range of people. The powerful families are closely connected and have many marriage ties, making it difficult to completely sever ties. For a time, each family was walking on thin ice, fearing that Emperor Gu's wrath would lead to widespread collective punishment.
Fortunately, Emperor Gu still retained his rationality and knew that the fate of the aristocratic families was not yet over. He only ordered the execution of the leading families and the exile of the collateral relatives to the southern frontier.
As for the Zuo family, Zuo Yingyuan is dead, but his head has not yet been found, which arouses suspicion.
In addition to spying on the Crown Princess's whereabouts, even without explicit evidence pointing to his further involvement with the previous dynasty, and even if Lady Zuo's accusation was meritorious, the entire Zuo family was stripped of their status and remained imprisoned in the capital.
The success of solving such a sensational case was primarily attributed to Chen Moxian. The Minister of Justice, implicated by his family, pleaded guilty and requested a demotion. Emperor Gu, however, directly appointed Chen Moxian to temporarily manage the Minister of Justice. His speed of promotion was unparalleled in the court.
If he weren't so young, he would probably have become one of the Nine Ministers.
Leaving aside Chen Muxian's great achievements and meteoric rise, or whether he used this opportunity to form cliques and control his old subordinates.
The benefits gained by the royal family were indeed substantial.
The previous dynasty's years of planning for the Northern Mausoleum were destroyed in one fell swoop, severely damaging its vitality. The Northern Mausoleum returned to the control of the imperial court.
The power of aristocratic families has been repeatedly diminished, and they have already shown signs of decline within a year. Imperial power has become even stronger, and if they want to implement new policies with a view to the future, the resistance will be much smaller.
Chen Muxian's move of selling out his subordinates for personal gain can be described as a win-win situation for everyone involved.
How he explains himself to his former subordinates and how he avoids being attacked in return is his own business.
Everything seemed to be proceeding as smoothly as Ling Yan had envisioned.
When she heard that Emperor Gu had issued an edict choosing Chen Muxian as Gu Chong's husband, she was completely in disbelief.
Gu Zhong... has agreed?
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Author's Note:
Ugh, what a shrewd move to betray your teammates, and they're still suffering in silence. Do you guys understand? 0.0
Chapter 18 The Imperial Tutor and the Crown Princess (Seventeen)
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The thing she least wanted to see finally happened, and even though it was something she had gambled on, Lingyan was unwilling to accept it.
Upon entering the East Palace that day, she went straight to the main hall and immediately began to question him.
"Why did Your Highness choose Chen Muxian?"
"Sir, by what right do you lecture me?"
Gu Zhong frowned, put down the memorial in his hand, and straightened his sleeves.
"It is I who have overstepped my bounds."
Ling Yan felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head. She calmed down and bowed her head to apologize.
"But Your Highness knows Chen Muxian's character; how can he be a close advisor? This year's third-place scholar in the imperial examination..."
"A ruler can employ anyone, sir. This is what you taught me. Have you forgotten?"
Gu Zhong interrupted her, staring at her with a calm face that revealed no emotion, neither joy nor anger.
Lingyan was speechless. Since when had Gu Zhong, who had the heart of a child, slowly transformed into a qualified monarch?
"Besides, he is the most suitable candidate. Don't you think so, sir? I heard that you gave him some pointers before, which led to Chen Muxian's success today..."
"I don't know where Your Highness heard this rumor. I have never met him before, so how can I offer any advice?"
Ling Yan quickly denied it, saying that she had only said a few seemingly suggestive and misleading words, and that what Chen Muxian thought or did was none of her business.
She never intended to push Chen Moxian to Gu Zhong, nor did she expect that, after all the twists and turns, Gu Zhong would still choose Chen Moxian.
At this moment, Lingyan felt a sense of regret, as if she had shot herself in the foot.
"Is that so?" Gu Zhong remained noncommittal.