Chapter 588: Enforce the law impartially?

"Sister-in-law?" Murong Qingwu asked curiously:

Murong Hui nodded and said:

"Fifth brother is already 25 years old this year and has reached the age for marriage. If Second Uncle had not been in Liaoyang, I believe you, Qingwu, would have become an aunt by now..."
"So a few days ago, my father decided to let my fifth brother marry He Susu, the granddaughter of He Da, the Duke of Shen. She is also a virtuous, beautiful and intelligent woman. This time, He Susu and some other people from the He family also came to Yijing. Qingwu, you can meet your sister-in-law!"

Born in a powerful family and raised in this environment, Murong Qingwu has a keen political sense. After carefully pondering Murong Hui's words, she seemed to realize something and looked at Murong Hui solemnly and said:

"Has Uncle discussed this with them?"

Seeing that his seventh sister, who had been very perceptive since childhood, immediately understood the hidden meaning of his words, Murong Hui also nodded with a smile and said;
"Yes! Everyone originally thought that the Southern Touring Court could take down Shangguan Hongyuan, but now it seems that everyone has fallen on Lin Shize and Jiang Guang. Now that the Southern Touring Court is on the decline, everyone naturally has to make new bets!"

"Although He Jingyun was the product of a drunken night of romance between Duke Shen and a maid, he is still Duke Shen's biological son after all. There is a bond between men. Although He Jingyun severed ties with the He family out of anger, he has always longed to be recognized by the family in his heart!"

“Now the Fengwu Army dominates two provinces, and has also extended a hand into Yunbing, with the momentum of dominating the north in one fell swoop. And He Jingyun is in a high position and has great power in the Fengwu Army. As the Chief of Staff, he is the second most important person in the Fengwu Army after Ye Mingsheng. So the He family is also preparing to give He Jingyun a way out. This time, not only did they send his mother here, but they also prepared to let him return to his ancestral home..."

At this point, Murong Hui's expression became serious and he continued:
"The family will not let you, Qingwu, fight alone. The move by our Murong family and Duke Shen this time is an important test. Many people are watching the results of this. If Ye Mingsheng can give positive feedback, more resources will come in. Qingwu, you are the root of this series of actions!"

Murong Hui's words were like a heavy mountain, pressing down on Murong Qingwu to the point where she felt a little breathless. Although she had long understood that her marriage with Ye Mingsheng would be a political marriage, as a young girl, Murong Qingwu still had a glimmer of love in her heart. Now her cousin's words were undoubtedly piercing Murong Qingwu's last fantasy, making her recognize the cold reality and the mission she was carrying!
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While the Murong siblings were having a secret meeting in the Murong Mansion, the Gu Mansion three streets away from them was also not idle. In Gu Zhongshi's study, Gu Shouting, who had returned home to visit his relatives, and Zhang Chengzhong, who was a student, also came to Gu Zhongshi.

The three of them were sitting in the study with very solemn expressions, and no one seemed to have the intention of speaking first. The stalemate lasted for about an incense stick of time. The atmosphere in the study became more and more solemn. Seeing the father and son of the Gu family in front of them, they all looked at their noses, then looked at their mouths, and then looked at each other with their eyes. No matter what, they would not speak first.

As an outsider, Zhang Chengzhong could no longer sit still. He took a deep breath, looked at Gu Zhongshi and said in a deep voice:
"Teacher, I'm already here. Please give me some rules on what to do. I, Zhang Chengzhong, have come this far thanks to your support and cultivation. I will do whatever you say!"

Although Zhang Chengzhong spoke with lofty ambitions and an appearance of following Gu Zhongshi's lead, Gu Zhongshi's old face became even more solemn and serious as he listened to Zhang Chengzhong's words. He knew that his student was trying to defeat him!
Closing his eyes, Gu Zhongshi said in a deep voice:
"A country has its own laws, and a family has its own rules. Royal relatives and nobles who break the law are guilty of the same crime as common people. Chengzhong, as the deputy envoy of the Censorate, you should enforce the law impartially and not be partial to or corrupt..."

Zhang Chengzhong's eyes flickered slightly when he heard Gu Zhongshi's answer. This was what he wanted Gu Zhongshi to say, but on the surface he still said very respectfully:

"It is really admirable that the teacher is so understanding, but Shoude is the teacher's own son after all, and the student will definitely do his best to deal with him!"

Listening to his father and Zhang Chengzhong singing the same tune here, Gu Shouting, who was sitting on the side, could not sit still and looked at his father and said:
"Father, Zhao Sheng committed a capital crime and my brother is an accomplice, so he can't escape the blame. If we don't take action, even if my brother is lucky enough to survive, he will most likely be trapped in a cell for the rest of his life. He is your own son!"

Seeing Gu Shouting's anxious look after hearing these words, Gu Zhongshi felt somewhat comforted, and then he sighed helplessly and said:

"Shou Ting, do you think I don't want to save your elder brother? Even though he is an uneducated bastard, he is still my eldest son, Gu Zhongshi. If I can save him, how can I just stand by and watch? But do you think he handed this unfilial son over to Cheng Zhong out of good intentions? He is waiting for us to do this!"

At this point, Gu Zhongshi smiled bitterly, sighed, and said:

“He’s really good at scheming. He’s put me in a dilemma... Now that he has stabilized the situation in Youyan, he wants to insert his hands into the local counties and shake our foundation. He wants us to completely submit to him and let him manipulate us. I must not let this bastard and rebellious son shake the foundation of our Gu family!”

At the end, Gu Zhongshi's tone became more and more decisive, leaving no room for doubt. Seeing his father's determination, but thinking about the relationship between brothers, Gu Shouting still wanted to persuade him. Just as he was considering how to start, Gu Zhongshi saw his thoughts and said in a softened tone:
Shou Ting, don't worry too much! Although our Governor Ye is young and energetic, he is still very sensible in what he does. Moreover, he is still thinking about competing for the world, so naturally he hopes to have a stable rear. I think he will at most use Shou De to warn us, and he will definitely not really put your eldest brother to death!"

"You should work hard in the Fengwu Army! Make more contributions. When the time comes, Governor Ye will most likely release your elder brother because of your contributions!" Patting his youngest son on the shoulder, Gu Zhongshi admonished:
Seeing how Gu Shouting cared about Gu Shoude, Gu Zhongshi, as a father, was very relieved. In his life, he had seen many unfilial sons in aristocratic families who made a lot of trouble in their fight for family property and power, and even killed each other in the end.

Gu Zhongshi certainly didn't want these things to happen in the Gu family, so he had always consciously cultivated the brotherly feelings between his sons. From now on, it seems that his efforts were not in vain...

Listening to his father's advice, Gu Shouting seemed to think it made sense. He nodded slightly and stopped talking. After this question, the room fell into silence again. Just when Zhang Chengzhong was hesitating whether to leave, Gu Zhongshi suddenly said:
"Chengzhong, I heard that your Censorate has a new member joining?" Although Gu Zhongshi's tone was calm and he seemed to be asking casually, when these words fell into Zhang Chengzhong's ears, this good student of Gu Zhongshi secretly calculated in his heart. After a little hesitation, he said:
"Indeed, several new people have arrived. One of them is called Murong Hui and he came from the south. He is said to be the nephew of Murong the governor and the legitimate son of Murong Lun, the Minister of Finance of the Rongcheng court. He once served as a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of War and is now a fifth-rank assistant in our Anchasi!"

Listening to what Zhang Chengzhong said, Gu Zhongshi asked calmly:

"Did the Governor arrange this personally?"

In response to Gu Zhongshi's question, Zhang Chengzhong was still a little unsure of the old man's intentions, but he could only nod and say truthfully:
"Yes! The Governor seems to think highly of Murong Hui and directly arranged for him to be the assistant censor of the Censorate!"

Zhang Chengzhong's words did not change Gu Zhongshi's expression. He took a sip from the teacup before continuing indifferently:
"They have come all the way from Chengdu. As their superior, Chengzhong, you must take good care of them and make them feel at home!"

Zhang Chengzhong's heart sank when he heard this. He didn't know whether the "care" that Gu Zhongshi mentioned was the same as the "care" he thought of, but under Gu Zhongshi's gaze, he could only obey the order and said:

"Teacher, I know what to do!"

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In a house in Yijing

Liang Hao looked at the fallen leaves outside the window, sighed and then put another glass of wine into his mouth. He had been in Yijing for more than a month. At the beginning, he took the initiative to go to Lin Huaiwu's Second Division to find out the next move of the Fengwu Army, but he did not expect to be severely criticized by Lin Huaiwu and sent to Yijing to be dealt with by Ye Mingsheng.

Although this was beyond Liang Hao's expectations, he was still very much looking forward to meeting Ye Mingsheng. After all, as the fastest rising governor of Yan and Liao in the Great Zhou who dominated two provinces in less than three years, Ye Mingsheng was shrouded in mystery in the eyes of many people in the Great Zhou. The powerful people in Luoan were very interested in Ye Mingsheng and wanted to see what kind of person this man with the rumored eagle-eyed and wolf-like gaze was!

As Shangguan Hongyuan's envoy, Liang Hao knew very well that his initial plan to contact Zhao Jianan to resist the Fengwu Army had ended completely the moment Jinzhong City was broken. In order to prove his own worth, Liang Hao also found himself a new mission, which was to find out the strategic intentions of the Fengwu Army and find out whether the Fengwu Army was going to go south to the Central Plains or to enter the pass and take Luoan directly. This was a very important matter for the Luoan court!

If you want to find out the answer to this question, is there any more effective way than to meet Ye Mingsheng directly?
Therefore, Liang Hao was very excited and even eager to meet Ye Mingsheng in the beginning. However, he never expected that when he was anxious to meet Ye Mingsheng, Ye Mingsheng seemed to be unaware of the existence of Shangguan Hongyuan's brother-in-law...

Since entering Yijing, Liang Hao has been arranged to live in this courtyard. Every day, someone brings him meals and other daily necessities on time. No one abuses him, but no one talks to him. The guard is on duty 24 hours a day, watching him all the time.

Liang Hao tried several times to trick the guards into talking, and even tried to bribe them, but in the end, he failed. As time went on, Liang Hao's patience was gradually exhausted, and he lived in a daze every day, wondering what the point was of the Fengwu Army keeping him under house arrest.

The sun was hanging high in the sky, showing its scorching heat to everything in the world. Just then, footsteps were gradually heard at the gate of the yard. Liang Hao still had no reaction to the footsteps. He knew that it was noon and someone would come to bring him lunch at this time every day.

Just as he expected, several guards placed the food one by one on the stone bench in front of Liang Hao. At this moment, something Liang Hao did not expect happened. A tall and handsome young man sat on the stone bench opposite with a smile on his face!

Seeing this person appear, Liang Hao's dead heart was stirred again. He looked the young man up and down and then slowly said:
"May I ask who you are, Excellency?"

Facing Liang Hao's question, the young man smiled and said:
"I am Su Yi, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Department of the Fengwu Army, and I would like to meet Mr. Liang!"

Hearing the name "Su Yi", Liang Hao thought for a while, and then a gleam of brilliance gradually lit up in his eyes. Although he did not hold any official position in the Luoan court, as Shangguan Hongyuan's core staff and main diplomatic envoy, Liang Hao was extremely well-informed...
Before going to Jinzhong to meet Zhao Jianan, Liang Hao had a very detailed understanding of Ye Mingsheng and the Fengwu Army regime he led based on the investigation report of the Supervisory Office. Like the political system of other provinces in the Great Zhou Dynasty, Liaoyang and Youyan were governed by the Fengwu Army, while administrative affairs were handled by the Provincial Administration Office and criminal matters were handled by the Censorate. Ye Mingsheng focused his main energy on military affairs.

However, unlike the political system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Ye Mingsheng established a new department-level unit - the Department of Foreign Affairs - on the basis of the Provincial Administration Department and the Censorate!

Just as the name suggests, the Department of Foreign Affairs is mainly responsible for the diplomatic affairs of the Fengwu Army, and the director of the Department of Foreign Affairs is none other than Ye Mingsheng’s trusted and beloved general Gu Sansi·······················

(End of this chapter)