amaotonovel Chapter 1427
Chapter 1427
"There will be opportunities within them..."
Chen Zhou listened attentively to Zhan Hui's words, muttering thoughtfully. Then, his eyes brightened slightly, and he said, "Your Excellency has foresight!"
"As long as the tasks I ask them to do are not too difficult for them, the officials in the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate who are in charge of handling this case will certainly be happy to help you reduce the severity of your punishment to some extent!"
"if only……"
"If I can quietly reason with them and appeal to their emotions, this matter can be accomplished!"
He's been so anxious and stressed these days that he hasn't been able to think things through clearly. He's worried but there's nothing he can do.
Now, with Zhan Hui's guidance and the breakthrough he provided, he immediately made up his mind.
Zhan Hui's words were clear.
Zhang Yi, Cao Xing, and Zhu Shou also understood: these civil officials, who usually appeared dignified and respectable, secretly began to oppose the young emperor when he actually turned against them.
The only difference between us is... one does it openly, and the other does it covertly.
Thinking of this, Zhang Yi narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly, saying, "Lord Zhan usually talks about loyalty all the time, but now that the knife is at your head, even loyalty to the emperor is gone, and so is patriotism. You've figured out how to subtly resist."
If they operate this way, and the joint trial by the three judicial authorities results in a lenient sentence for Zhan Hui, then they should also be given a lenient sentence—whether Zhan Hui admits it or not, that's the logic. Anyway, Zhan Hui doesn't treat them well, so they don't bother to be polite in their conversations.
Cao Xing immediately chimed in with a sarcastic remark: "You keep saying that we military generals are causing chaos in the court, but in reality, you're not much better than us! What do you scholars call this... oh right, the pot calling the kettle black!"
After they said that...
Chen Zhou felt a surge of shame and anger, and his face flushed red as he tried to maintain his composure, arguing, "How can this be called disrupting the court? You...you three are all uncouth and reckless men, yet you are resorting to sophistry!"
Zhang Yi and his companions were indeed crude and uncouth, and they certainly didn't know how to be tactful or discreet in their speech. They also lacked the tactful, unspoken understanding of scholars like Zhan Hui, and immediately burst into laughter: "Hahahaha! Look how anxious he is! Hahahaha!"
Zhu Shou bluntly stated, "We've heard most of what you've said. We're not stupid! Don't we know that you civil officials are all thinking about secretly reaping benefits while pretending to be loyal on the surface?"
"Why are you still clinging to your so-called saintly principles? You're just greedy! But you're unwilling to admit it, unwilling to let people talk about it! You're so hesitant and indecisive! You're the epitome of a hypocrite, aren't you?"
"Look, we're not afraid to admit it. We just love land, money, gold, silver, jewelry, houses, and property. We just want it, whether it's legitimate or stolen, the more the better!"
"You're the same, but you just won't admit it, ha!"
Their words, though crude, were not without merit. They essentially exposed Zhan Hui and Chen Zhou's true colors, leaving Chen Zhou with no way to refute them...
"You...you..." Chen Zhou blushed and couldn't utter a word for a long time.
It was Zhan Hui, the old fox, who remained calm and composed, looking at Chen Zhou and saying, "Chen Zhou, go ahead. There's no need to bother with such vulgar people."
Chen Zhou then came to his senses and bowed to Zhan Hui, saying, "Yes, sir."
Having said that, she glared at Zhang Yi and the other two with a mixture of shame and anger: "Hmph! Vulgar! Utterly vulgar!!" Then she flicked her sleeves and left.
"This kid has quite the temper! Hahahaha!" Cao Xing teased, pointing at Chen Zhou who had turned and left, before they all burst into laughter.
In the past, whenever they did something that left any loose ends or incriminating evidence, they would be impeached by this group of people in the imperial court every few days.
Now it seems karma has finally come full circle, shouldn't we take revenge?
Seeing that Chen Zhou had walked away, he turned to Zhan Hui and teased, "You, Lord Zhan, are really shameless, pretending that nothing happened!"
Zhan Hui knew that this group of people were scoundrels.
Without even glancing at them, he walked with his hands behind his back into the shadows of the prison, sat cross-legged on a straw mat, and closed his eyes to rest.
……
The following day, at the Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Yunwen had just returned from the morning court session not long ago.
While having breakfast, Zhao Feng hurriedly arrived at the Qianqing Palace to request an audience.
Zhu Yunwen slowly took a bite of the exquisite pastry from the imperial kitchen, raised an eyebrow thoughtfully, and then said, "Let him in to give his reply."
"See Your Majesty!"
Zhao Feng clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "I apologize for disturbing Your Majesty's meal."
Zhu Yunwen was a pragmatic man and naturally didn't care about such formalities. He simply smiled and said, "You have always been steady and reliable. You must have something important to report. There's no need to bother you. I suppose you haven't had breakfast yet. Sit down and we can talk while you eat."
The way to manage subordinates should be a combination of firmness and gentleness. This is especially true for someone like Zhao Feng who holds an important position. It is best to put some effort into making him completely loyal. Zhao Feng's loyalty is evident to him and deserves his occasional favors.
Zhao Feng, naturally flattered, said humbly, "This humble subject dares not! Serving Your Majesty wholeheartedly is merely my duty!"
"Sit down," Zhu Yunwen said succinctly, then picked up a piece of pickled vegetables with his chopsticks and began to eat.