Chapter 86

Han Qi finally let out a sigh of relief.

Fu Bi returned, and this new emperor, who was clueless every day, rolled his body on a meat board, causing Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu to suffer greatly, to the point of wanting to cry but having no tears.

Han Qi, helpless, had to ask Sima Guang to persuade the emperor, as this man had excellent eloquence and could reason well. Sima Guang then explained to Zhao Shu: First, when Emperor Renzong established you as the prince, Empress Dowager provided significant assistance. Below, it doesn't sound so good, but without Lady Cao, could you have become the heir? Could you have become emperor? It was because of Lady Cao inside and Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu outside that you, the meat board roller, became emperor.

Second, on the night Emperor Renzong passed away, the Empress Dowager tightly closed the palace gates and sealed the news until the next day when you came to ascend the throne. Otherwise, could you have smoothly transferred power? Third, the Empress Dowager ruled behind the curtain, ensuring the stability of the state, waiting for you to recover and take personal charge.

These three great contributions, any one of which would be impossible for your descendants to repay, let alone all three combined?

Sima Guang's intervention was somewhat effective. In reality, what was this? Wang Ju was educating the three oxen.

Zhao Shu was moved, making things easier for Han Qi, who first had Zhao Shu lead the ministers in praying for rain.

Zhao Zhen did well, so the people did not reject the emperor. When they saw the new emperor, the crowds along the way were immense, shouting "Long live the emperor," with great effect, gaining the people's recognition.

However, strangely, three years later when Zhao Shu died, almost no one in the capital cried...

Han Qi then prepared some urgent official documents. The Song Dynasty's system began to resemble that of the later Ming Dynasty, where the earth continued to spin even without the emperor. However, as the emperor, the ministers had to consult him for difficult or major political issues, which required the emperor's decision. This meant the emperor needed the ability to handle state affairs if he wanted to take personal charge.

But these documents were deliberately chosen by Han Qi, being relatively easy to resolve. He then had Zhao Shu review them. After Zhao Shu reviewed them, Han Qi handed them to Empress Dowager Cao, saying, "Your Majesty, what do you think?"

Empress Dowager Cao, unaware of the impending crisis, looked at them and said, "Good, very good."

"Good" meant the emperor could take personal charge, but Empress Dowager Cao did not realize this.

With the people's support and the ability to handle state affairs, why should the old lady still be behind the curtain?

But there was still one more hurdle: Fu Bi!

Thus, three versions of the story emerged. During a certain court session, Han Qi suddenly stepped forward and said, "The Empress Dowager's virtue is great, and she has agreed to return power to the emperor. Here is the imperial edict, please implement it immediately."

Inside the curtain, Empress Dowager Cao was greatly surprised. Before she could react, Han Qi suddenly said, "Remove the curtain!"

It was not that women could not see men, but in the court, the empress had to be separated by a curtain to show male superiority. Thus, Empress Dowager Cao subconsciously moved behind the screen, and the curtain was successfully removed.

Fu Bi had not yet reacted. After the court session, Han Qi smiled and explained, "I did not inform you beforehand, Fu Gong, for fear of disagreement, which might delay the return of power."

This version was accepted by many, but the imperial edict was a problem. The chancellor could write an edict, but it had to be approved by the emperor (or the empress) and stamped with the imperial seal, then reviewed and approved by the two officials, to be considered an edict. Empress Dowager Cao would not be so foolish as to allow the seal to be stolen.

Thus, a second version emerged: Han Qi took advantage of Empress Dowager Cao and Zhao Shu going to pray for rain, stealing the imperial seal. A more polite term for this was "retaining" it, then stamping the edict. However, Empress Dowager Cao would not be so foolish as to let the seal be stolen.

Thus, a third version emerged:

Han Qi met Empress Dowager Cao and said, "I want to leave the capital and serve as an official elsewhere."

Empress Dowager Cao was surprised and casually said, "Prime Minister, why should you retire? I should be the one to retire. I should live in the inner palace, and it is not right for me to be here every day. Please allow me to retire first."

This was a polite statement, not specifying when she would retire. Han Qi, however, took advantage of the situation, praising the empress's virtue, then dancing and praising her, and when he was tired, he danced again. Empress Dowager Cao was confused and could not bear to watch or listen, so she got up and returned to the palace. Han Qi seized the opportunity and immediately ordered the removal of the curtain. This made people doubt whether the old lady was so easily fooled.

Regardless, Han Qi's actions in this matter were not very honorable, of course, and he again bullied the first lady.

If Zhao Shu were a good emperor, it would be fine, but the key was that Zhao Shu... either let Sima Guang write the history, what a great achievement! Then, wouldn't Emperor Yang of Sui's construction of the Grand Canal be an even greater achievement? And wouldn't Li Yu's creation of new poetry be an even greater achievement?

However, there were still many supporters at the moment.

Everyone was afraid of another Wu Zetian. How many people did Wu Zetian kill, especially ministers? Could the ministers not be afraid?

Therefore, everyone supported Zhao Shu taking personal charge.

Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu also felt relieved, securing their wealth and status.

At this moment, he received a case.

The Song Dynasty had a three-tiered legal system: first, the county, but murder cases had to be handed over to the prefecture for judgment; second, the prefecture; third, the capital. Cases from various regions were first submitted to the Criminal Court, where civil cases were handed over to the Ministry of Revenue, and criminal cases to the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court for judgment. After judgment, the cases were returned to the Criminal Court for review. If there were objections, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Justice, and the Supreme Court had to re-examine the case.

If the people had grievances, and the county level was unfair, they could go to the prefecture. If the prefecture was unfair, they could go to the Drum Court, which was under the jurisdiction of the Censorate. In the Southern Song, it was under the jurisdiction of the Remonstrance Bureau. If the Drum Court did not accept the case, they could appeal directly to the Censorate or the emperor, but the latter was rare, unless someone as bold as Zhao Kuangyi would do so. Generally, the Censorate was the final resort.

But this case was clearly unfair in Huayin County, and Prefect Zhou of Huazhou was somewhat confused. Therefore, it was correct for the old lady to come to the capital and hit the drum.

The old lady came.

To save her son's life, the old lady, nearly seventy years old, used a wooden board with many iron nails and hit the drum. When the officials came out, she rolled onto the board with the iron nails.

The officials quickly pulled her up, saying, "Old lady, please don't."

This new emperor had just taken personal charge. You, old lady, causing a scene in the Drum Court, are you trying to get us in trouble?

While ordering the bailiffs to invite a doctor, they also served tea and let her sit down to explain slowly.

The old lady then recounted the events and provided evidence, saying her son, Fu Xiaozhuang, had recently given his wife, Yu Shi, 500 guan, which the old lady found suspicious, but the officials understood part of it.

This Prefect Cai might have a problem, but Prefect Zhou might not, just being somewhat negligent. However, a miscarriage of justice might have occurred.

Therefore, they first took care of the old lady. This mother and daughter-in-law had come to the capital, and there might be a higher authority behind them, so they could not be treated lightly. They then submitted the petition to the Criminal Court. The Criminal Court reviewed it and immediately returned the petition to Shaanxi. It was not handed over to Huazhou for retrial, as Shaanxi had a special situation, being divided into five small regions due to military reasons: Qin-Feng, Huan-Qing, Fu-Yan, and Jing-Yuan in the front, and Yongxing Army in the back. Thus, Huazhou had a superior, the Yongxing Army.

They asked the governor of Yongxing Army, He Tan, to investigate the case again and then submit it to the capital for judgment. Since it was a murder case and not in a remote area, everyone was cautious.

However, another issue arose.

The old lady wanted to save her son, and the Zhu family had also been wronged.

Zhu Qing came again, hitting the drum, and accused Prefect Cai, Prefect Qin, and the young ruffian Lu Jia of colluding to murder and frame the scholar Zhu Jun, then using torture to force a confession, and threatening the Zhu family to hand over a jade salt bond worth 50,000 guan to the Lu family, or Zhu Jun would be executed in the autumn. The Zhu family had no choice but to comply.

In reality, if the technology were fully released two years later, the bond would be worth only 20,000 to 30,000 guan.

But the officials in the capital did not know this. If calculated based on current returns, the Zhu family's claim of 50,000 guan was not excessive.

The Song Dynasty had laws, and the amount for theft and extortion was specified. If it was 50,000 guan, it was a capital offense.

He also accused Prefect Zhou of being cruel and incompetent, hastily sentencing Zhu Jun to execution in the autumn, despite knowing he was a scholar and the case had many doubts. Later, when the real culprit was found, seeing Zhu Jun beaten to a pulp, it was clear he was wronged, but he was still kept in prison for several days before being released.

This delayed the best time for treatment, and the doctor determined it would take four to five years to recover.

Although it might not take four to five years, Zhu Jun would not recover within a year.

Moreover, the benefits of Zhu Jun being a scholar were evident. Though not a jinshi, he was still a semi-official. Therefore, this was not purely a case of a civilian suing an official.

If Zhu Qing's lawsuit could not withstand the storm.

There was more.

Releasing technology might not make everyone happy, but those who were happy were powerful.

Since they released the technology, they had to give something in return.

The specific operations were unknown, but this case soon shocked the capital, with many officials submitting memorials to impeach Prefect Cai, Prefect Qin, and Prefect Zhou.

Finally, even Sima Guang got involved.

With this master involved, Han Qi could not ignore it.

Thus, he sent the eunuch Liu Weijian with ten secret agents from the Imperial Guard and an imperial edict to investigate the case. Among these ten agents was Shi Gan, Wang Ju's older brother. Of course, Han Qi did not know this.

This was the moment when the plot was revealed!

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