It is inferred that everything is the prince’s layout and guidance behind the scenes, which has no practical significance for Li Ling. He is still under house arrest in the Imperial City Department, waiting for the court’s next step to make a decision. At the same time, he is worried that several friends will be more involved, and the only hope is Lu Zhen.

A few days later, when the time came to late October, it finally came out, and the imperial court's will was unleashed all over the world.

Officials from the Ministry of Justice colluded with each other, using their power to seek personal gain and taking human life, but the crime was really unforgivable and should be severely punished. The mastermind Zhang Qiu was sentenced to death and should have been punished. He was considered to have been in court for many years and had little achievements, so he was sentenced to death. Other officials at all levels were implicated, including more than a dozen middle-level officials at the level of the doctor, the Wailang, who were sentenced to death. As for officials at the lower level, all of them were seized and exiled...

It can be said that just one imperial edict convicted all the former officials of the Great Yue prisoners in this yamen, turning from a prefecture to a prisoner, and even their relatives were implicated. What awaited them was the tragic ending of the house being confiscated and exiled.

As for Prince Yong, Sun Lin, at least in the face of the official position, he only said that he was deceived by his subordinate villains. He didn't know that everyone below had concealed him from doing such a thing that was so angry and resentful. However, he still could not escape responsibility. A sin of unknown identification of people still fell on his head. So the emperor gave his decree and demoted him from the prince to the prince, seized all his power, and since then he became a idle prince without power.

When this decree was officially issued, another storm broke out in the court, and everyone knew that this meant that King Yong had been completely kicked out of the throne-fighting team and could no longer pose any threat to the prince. And his fall naturally made many court officials who were dependent on him panic and didn't know how to deal with it.

In the face of such a big event, the handling of Li Ling and others who exposed this ill-information became very inconspicuous. Li Ling, as the main initiator of this matter, was naturally of great contribution to the truth, but for the court, his behavior still broke through the limit of patience, so he decisively dismissed from office to show punishment.

In other words, the position of Yangzhou prefect who worked hard to settle down was completely dismissed because of this. Although he still retained his official position, in theory he was still a court official, but he had no power to send him to him, which was actually no different from ordinary scholars who had fame and fortune.

Fortunately, the punishment for him ended here. He did not continue to put him under house arrest in the Imperial City Division, but let him go. As for what he planned next, it was his own business.

Compared to him, the other people's disposal was much lighter. Xu Cang, because he was involved in the least, was sent back to the Hanlin Academy for his desk work because he was criticized. However, after this, he received a lot of praise. His colleagues and superiors in the Hanlin Academy looked up to him, and he might be promoted at any time.

Xiao Chengzhi was only demoted to the next level by the official and continued to stay in the army to watch the future. As for why he was not severely punished as one of the three main figures who broke into the court, of course, it was because his identity was extraordinary. The Prince of Dingxi Hou was ultimately different from ordinary court officials.

Moreover, his situation was the same as Xu Cang, and he gained the respect of many brothers in the camp for this reason. He believed that he was a real good man, which increased his prestige by a lot.

The strangest thing was Sun Bi, because the court had almost no expression of him. At first, he was just confined, but when the matter was concluded, the punishment was cancelled, and then there was nothing left. He was still a prince, still without any official position, and he was not awarded any title. Not to mention princes and princes, he was not even a prince.

In the eyes of officials in the court, Sun Bi is a transparent person. Even though he was one of the three people who broke into the court, no one mentioned it, without any merit or fault, as if he had never appeared...

Two days after Li Ling officially resumed his freedom, the four of them gathered again. They were still in the restaurant next to Caishikou where they showed up that day. While drinking, they talked about their own experiences in the past few days.

At the end, the other three people's faces became a little gloomy, and Xiao Chengzhi even slapped the table and said, "It's really outrageous. It's them who made the mistake, but we have made contributions to the exposing. But in the end, we were dismissed from office and demoted. Is there any reason for this?"

After drinking two glasses of wine, Xu Cang was a little bolder and complained: "It is really inappropriate for the court to do this. Are they not afraid of the coldness of the hearts of the world? I heard that the court did not intend to pursue the matter. In other words, those who died unjustly died in vain, and those who were free from justice and truly deserved to die did not intend to capture them again. What is this?"

After this complaint, the few people fell into silence again and could only drink with their heads.

In fact, they all knew that why the court did this was just to stabilize the situation in the court and the opposition. This time the court was already embarrassed enough. If it was unwilling to make up for it, it would be like a slap in the mouth. This is something that the nobles could not agree to.

So punish a group of people and make their position clear. What the court next needs to do is to completely suppress the influence of this matter and wait for him to turn big things into small things. As for those who died unjustly, they can only be considered in vain.

Sun Bi and Li Ling were the ones who understood this best, so they didn't say anything, but just sank their faces and drank slowly. One of them was a prince without power and no title, and the other was a scholar without official positions. Even if they had the will, they would not be able to change anything.

So after a silence, Sun Bi offered Li Ling a cup: "Wen Zhong, what are your plans next?"

Li Ling smiled bitterly and drank a glass of wine: "Plan? Since I can't be a good official, I will be my businessman. Anyway, the industries such as Zongheng Bookstore that I have cooperated with have also developed well in the past few years, so I can take this opportunity to expand my business.

"Especially the bookstore in Beijing, I have had many ideas before, and I was worried that they would not be able to implement what I said one by one. Now, I have time to do it one by one. Also, I have to buy a house in Luoyang and then take Qingxiao and the others over. Although Jiangnan is good, since I have been dismissed from office, I should naturally take them all back."

At the end, the smile on Li Ling's face became relaxed.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, this result may not be a bad thing. At the beginning, my plan was to live a good life in this era, do some business, make enough money, let Yue'er marry a good family, and then his wife and son have a warm bed. That was the life he longed for the most before traveling through time. It was only later that he tried to climb upwards with the change of identity, thinking of gaining greater power, doing his best to accomplish something, and changing some unfair or bad things for the world.

However, the result of Wen Ming two years ago made him understand the powerlessness of being a subject, and this time he had completely awakened his dream. It turned out that the ambitions in the past were so unrealistic and ridiculous. In the face of the gradually degenerating trend, he could do too little. If he had to do something, the result would be a bloody head and a good luck to be able to escape without any loss.

"If you are rich, you can help the world; if you are poor, you can only keep it alone. Now I can only do the second half." Li Ling said, and drank the wine in the glass, then looked at the other three with a smile, "But our friendship will not decrease because of this, what do you think?"

"Of course!" Xiao Chengzhi grinned first, and also killed the wine in one sip.

After pondering for a moment, the other two laughed: "For our friendship and friendship, do it!"

The four wine glasses clinked together again, and until the wine dries, they all showed free and easy smiles on their faces. They had a clear conscience. Since this was the result, then accept it.

This gathering may have been a little depressed at the beginning, but at the end, the few people were completely relieved, and the guests and hosts were having fun, and then they each walked out of the restaurant drunk.

Let’s talk about the future.

...

Whether it was Li Ling, a few participants who had been excluded or many other spectators, they thought that everything had been settled and the Ministry of Justice's corruption case was completely over.

But the fact is definitely not the case. Even for the emperor and several ministers, a greater test has just begun.

In the spacious warm cabinet, there were only five monarchs and ministers - Emperor Sun Yong, left prime minister Lu Zhen, right prime minister Wang Han, deputy minister Tang Qianwen, and Privy Councillor Guo Ang.

These five people can be regarded as the five most powerful people in the world. With just one decision, they can change the life and death of hundreds of millions of people in the world and dominate the rise and fall of the entire country. Nothing should make them feel embarrassed.

But today, several people were hesitant and hesitant. After handing over the list of this thirty people to them, the emperor only mentioned: "They have all been very close to King Yong and have received the benefits of millions of taels of silver from him. Tell me, how should this matter be resolved?"

Even the four ministers had experienced great storms, and after hearing this, they still trembled. This matter is too big. To put it seriously, it is not an exaggeration to say that the important officials of the court had privately interacted with the border generals.

Among these thirty people, at least ten people held the military power of tens of thousands of soldiers, which was related to the safety of the border of Great Vietnam. Even if you want to attack them, you have to consider the possible consequences.

"Your Majesty means..." Wang Han was still the same. He first asked about the emperor's ideas, and then followed the situation and made suggestions.
Chapter completed!