Chen Xi brought Hu Lian and Wang Lingzhi into the palace from the left gate of Chang'an.

After entering the palace gate, Wang Lingzhi looked around curiously and asked, "Senior Brother, are we already in the palace? There are so many houses here, and there are doors everywhere... Where does the emperor live?"

From the left gate of Chang'an to the Meridian Gate, you have to cross Tianjie, go up to Jinshui Bridge, enter Chengtian Gate, and Duan Gate. Along the way, there are only houses and walls. For those who have entered the palace, there are indeed too many secrets.

Chen Xi did not go to see Wang Lingzhi and said casually: "It's not about entering the inner garden of the palace now. It's best to talk less when you enter here, so as not to be heard and cause troubles... When you come often in the future, you will naturally know everything."

"Hey! I've come in before, but today I feel very different..."

It was Wang Lingzhi's second time entering the palace. He had no time to observe the surrounding environment. Now he was relaxed after following Shen Xi, and he was also relaxed and he was also at ease to pay attention to the situation along the way.

Chen Xi glanced at Wang Lingyi and couldn't help but think of the situation when he visited the Forbidden City in his previous life, which was similar to Wang Ling's mentality.

As for Hu Lian, who was bound by Confucianism, lowered his head after entering the palace and said nothing, seemed much more restrained.

After passing the Meridian Gate, Wang Lingzhi became even happier, and the smile on his face could not be concealed.

Chen Xi was thinking about things, ignoring Wang Lingzhi who was alone and silly.

The group arrived at Wenhua Hall. Before they could enter, Xie Qian came over with the Minister of Justice Wang Jianzhi and the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet Yang Tinghe. They did not see Jiao Fang and Liang Chu.

"Come?"

When Xie Qian saw Chen Xi, he asked with a dark face, and then said hello, "Come to the side and chat!"

When Chen Xi saw Xie Qian's expression, he guessed that perhaps the Prime Minister knew the purpose of Zhu Houzhao's sudden summoning of the minister this time, so he wanted to discuss it with him.

Xie Qian did not ask others to come, and went to the corner of the corridor on the right side of Wenhua Hall with Shen Xi. He looked around and saw no one, and then said, "Do you know why Your Majesty holds a court meeting?"

Chen Xi was stunned and then replied: "It's probably because he's tired of playing with the things in Leopard House and Palace City. His Majesty suddenly remembered to inquire about the affairs of the court?"

"Is that true?" Xie Qian asked with a frown.

Chen Xi shook his head, feeling amused and crying. He originally wanted to inquire about the news with Xie Qian, but who thought the other party was also ignorant. With his understanding of Xie Qian's personality, he guessed that the other party was still suspicious that he knew about the information or not.

Xie Qian sighed lightly: "I'm afraid your Majesty is tired of eating, drinking and having fun, but rather changing the ministers in the court..."

A word made Chen Xi feel inexplicable pressure and immediately asked in surprise: "In the intention of the elder, this court discussion was basically made by Liu Jin, and it might even be Liu Jin's conspiracy?"

"Um."

Xie Qian did not avoid it and nodded, "Before, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Rites changed their ministers. Liu Jin wanted to take control of the two ministers, but fortunately, Shangshu Wang and Shangshu Bai were not moved by their power, so he guaranteed that our Confucian ministers had enough influence on the six ministries. Liu Jin was unwilling to accept that he would launch a counterattack, and the two ministers were the first to be affected."

Chen Xi didn't say anything, he was powerless in this matter.

Liu Jin had too much influence on Emperor Zhengde. If Zhu Houzhao insisted on replacing someone, he would not be qualified to object as a minister. Even if someone came out to give advice, at most Zhu Houzhao would get angry, and things would still be in trouble. Everything was still under Liu Jin's control.

Xie Qian sighed: "I have always hoped to meet the saint earlier to make Your Majesty alert to the chaos in the court and to restrain the power of the eunuch party as soon as possible. Who would have thought that the eunuch party has become a climate now? Your Majesty's joys, anger, sorrows, and happiness are all driven by Liu Jin. I am afraid that this time, I will have a fierce battle with the eunuch party."

Chen Xi asked directly: "What do you want me to do?"

"you?"

Xie Qian glanced at Chen Xi and shook his head, "I don't expect you to do anything. Today you just need to keep your duty. The Ministry of War must not change. As for the matter next to you, it has nothing to do with you... Just take care of yourself!"

...

...

Chen Xi seemed to be disappointed in himself when he heard Xie Qian's tone.

This disappointment is the result of years of savings. He was deeply trusted by Xie Qian before, and even now, Xie Qian still consults him for any matter.

However, Xie Qian simply treated him as a junior. He always pointed at him when encountering things and tried to manipulate everything about him. Later, Chen Xi liked to act on his own when encountering things, and he always achieved good results. Over time, Xie Qian seemed to recognize the current situation... Since he could not instruct Chen Xi, he simply ignored it, as long as he could achieve the goal of cracking down on the eunuch party.

Chen Xi followed Xie Qian back to Wenhua Hall. At this time, all the nobles, civil officials and military generals were invited.

Zhu Houzhao did not set a specific summoning time, so the ministers could only wait.

Liu Jin, Zhang Yuan and others did not show up, and everyone didn't know much about the situation in the palace, so they gathered together and whispered.

As a backbone of the eunuch party, Jiao Fang sat alone on the soft couch, closing her eyes to rest.

As soon as Xie Qian came back, he was immediately surrounded by people. Chen Xi was not interested in joining in the fun. Seeing Hu Lian and Wang Lingzhi sitting aside in a daze, he went over and sat down next to them. Wang Lingzhi was about to ask questions, but Wang Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice came to the three of them with a gloomy expression.

Chen Xi stood up and saluted respectfully, and Hu Lian pulled Wang Lingzhi away with consciousness.

Chen Xi and Wang Jianzhi sat down together, and Wang Jianzhi said: "Zhihou, recently there have been a group of bandits robbing families around the capital. Have you heard of it?"

"Um."

Chen Xi nodded and said, "I heard that the bandits were extremely vicious and openly went to the house to commit crimes, and did a lot of rape and robbery!"

Wang Jianzhi sighed, "It's really a headache... This group of thieves are ridiculous. The two counties in the capital are all out to move, and Shuntian Mansion is also alarmed and they join forces with the five cities to round up the troops and horses. However, the bandits seem to be ahead of their predictions. Every time they commit crimes, they avoid the traps set by the government. They act quickly and come and go like the wind. It seems that there are people from the government responding to it."

Chen Xi looked serious and did not express any opinions.

He had not paid much attention to this matter before, because he was too busy, and the thief was elusive, and no more information was found on Yunliu.

Wang Jianzhi said again: "This matter has been reported to the Three Courts. It is strange that Liu Jin ignored the matter of the Three Courts before, but after this case, he sent people to the Ministry of Justice to inquire about the situation and scolded him many times!"

"oh?"

Chen Xi asked in surprise, "Is this matter related to him?"

Chen Xi said too bluntly, which made Wang Jianzhi not know how to proceed. After a while, he said: "Zhihou, do you think the matter of bandits is related to Liu Jin?"

Chen Xi looked at Wang Jianzhi's unstable face and thought to himself: "After talking for a long time, you don't want to mess with me, right?"

Chen Xidao: "This is just a normal reasoning, otherwise why would he be careful about this matter?"

"Um."

Wang Jianzhi nodded and said, "I had such a guess before, but I thought that he would not do such a shameful thing with the magistrate of the seal... Liu Jin took over the power of the officials and gentry, and the filial piety was very generous. There was no need to plunder the people's wealth in this way. It would be of no benefit to him, right?"

Chen Xi thought to himself: "Isn't it the biggest benefit to get you back from the Minister of Justice?"

Wang Jianzhi said: "However, because Shuntian Prefecture and Wanping and Daxing counties are not effective in investigating the case, Liu Jin will probably find someone to attack this during the court meeting today. I am afraid that someone will be affected by it."

When Chen Xi saw that Wang Jianzhi was putting the blame on Shuntian Prefecture, Wanping and Daxing counties, he knew where the other party’s intention was. If the people below were responsible, the three courts would not have a big problem, and he, the Minister of Justice, would not be implicated. But he was afraid that Liu Jin would take advantage of the issue and insist on making a false accusation, and the matter would be troublesome.

Chen Xi comforted: "Shangshu Wang doesn't have to worry. Local affairs will naturally be borne by the local government... The Ministry of Justice's Office should follow Shuntian Mansion and order them to solve cases regularly. If they are not doing anything well, they only need to punish the relevant persons."

Wang Jianzhi knew his own family affairs and came to Chen Xi and told him that he wanted Chen Xi, the close minister of the emperor, to help him.

Chen Xi was powerless... Even if he knew that Liu Jin was making trouble behind the scenes, he still had to have real evidence, but where could he collect evidence in a short time?

Wang Jianzhi was very helpless: "I'm afraid that someone would arrest him... The Ministry of Justice was responsible for the prison, but he never thought that even the public security around the capital had to be personally inquired about... Shuntian Mansion was unable to investigate the case, so Liu Jin insisted on pushing the responsibility to the Ministry of Justice, which was really a big deal."

Chen Xi was very sympathetic to Wang Jianzhi's situation, but did not make any clear statement to help. Wang Jianzhi was not Xie Qian, and he would not linger Chen Xi with his face. After the two chatted for a while, Wang Jianzhi got up and went to Xie Qian.

Chen Xi closed his eyes again to rest, wondering what Liu Jin wanted to encourage Zhu Houzhao to hold a court meeting.

...

...

As noon approached, Xiao Twist appeared at the gate of Wenhua Palace, holding a whisk in his hand, and saluted the officials present: "My sirs, Your Majesty is already in the Ganqing Palace. Please come with me to meet the saint."

"If you have any trouble, you will be forced to do anything."

Zhang Mao was located closer to the door and saluted Xiao Tiaozi on behalf of the minister.

Then everyone easily left Wenhua Palace and headed towards Ganqing Palace.

Among these people, the people from the Governor's Office of the Five Army were the most relaxed, while Xie Qian, Wang Jianzhi and others had a gloomy face.

Chen Xi thought to himself: "Xie Laoer has always wanted to establish a communication mechanism with the emperor. Now the purpose of meeting the saint has finally been achieved, but it has become a land like this. After that, there was a disagreement in the palace. I wonder how many people beg me to return to the land."

When all the nobles and civil servants and military generals arrived outside the Ganqing Palace, Zhang Yuan was already waiting there, but Liu Jin was not seen.

According to Chen Xi's speculation, Liu Jin is likely to be with Zhu Houzhao now, and to Zhu Houzhao the three judicial departments have been doing nothing in this case of bandits in the capital, and may even propose to replace the Minister of Justice.

As an old man from the East Palace, Zhang Yuan has a great status in the palace, and the ministers present are not unfamiliar with him.

Zhang Yuan replaced Xiao Tuozi and received all the ministers, saying, "Sir, please wait. Your Majesty has not allowed to open the palace gate yet. Wait until the servants come in to report."

"It's a blessing to Eunuch Zhang!"

The person who spoke this time was Xie Qian, after all, he was the first civil servant.

Zhang Yuan entered and came out again soon after, with a look of shock and suspicion. Soon he calmed down and made a "please" gesture, but he didn't say a word.

The hall gate opened, and the ministers lined up in two rows and slowly entered the main hall of the Ganqing Palace.

Chen Xi followed Xie Qian and ranked fourth. When the group entered the hall, the others basically bowed their heads and maintained respect for the emperor. However, Chen Xi looked up slightly and looked ahead. What surprised him was that there was no one on the dragon throne, and Zhu Houzhao was not there. Liu Jinzhi, holding the whisk in his hand, stood arrogantly in front of the dragon table.

When the emperor was not here, he appeared but looked arrogant and domineering.

This made Chen Xi feel that there was a huge conspiracy in it, and he thought to himself: "Liu Jin would not want to use the emperor's majesty to openly bully all officials and repeat the scene of kneeling at the Meridian Gate in previous years? Zhu Houzhao, this kid, was obviously in the palace. Do you want to indulge Liu Jin in order to be evil?"

Xie Qian is not a vegetarian. After standing still, he looked up to see the situation on the jade stairs and found that the emperor was not there. Liu Jin was standing proudly in the middle of the jade stairs and immediately broke out.

"Where is Your Majesty?" Xie Qian said in a questioning tone.

With one sentence, all the ministers raised their heads. When they saw the scene in front of them, everyone was surprised and looked at each other. No one knew what was going on.

Liu Jin seemed to be smiling, looked around Yu Luan and said, "My lords, your Majesty will leave for the time being if you have something to do. Today, our family will preside over the court for Your Majesty."

"ah?"

The people present were in an uproar.

Xie Qian held back his anger and asked, "Eunuch Liu, since ancient times, the emperor has been in charge of the court. When will it be the turn of others to point fingers?"
To be continued...