ushernet Chapter 368 Five Thunderbolts
Chapter 368 Five Thunderbolts
Chapter 368 Struck by Five Thunderbolts
The case was quite simple. Shen Li put her fingerprint on her statement and was then taken back to the women's prison by two guards, one fat and one thin.
"My lord, you must make the effort. If you need anything to eat or use, just give us your orders, and we will do our best to fulfill them."
The two spoke with great sincerity before sending her to jail.
Shen Li didn't feel wronged. She ate and slept on time in prison, and even had people to talk to. Apart from not being able to see Gu Chang'an, everything was fine.
She was finally able to have some peace and quiet inside, but the incident caused quite a stir outside. Memorials were flying to the emperor like snowflakes, the vast majority of which were impeaching Grand Secretary Wu Yong for failing to properly educate his son.
This wasn't even initiated by Shen Zizai and Gu Chang'an, but by the old-school civil officials in the court. They had been frequently clashing with the faction of Prince Yi, Wu Yong, on the issue of whether to depose the empress, and now that they finally had an outlet for their anger, they naturally wouldn't let it go.
Because of this incident, the controversy surrounding the deposition of the empress was suppressed, and even the King of Chess had no time to deal with it anymore, having to focus on the immediate matter at hand.
The King of Chess initially wanted to strike first and impeach Shen Li, but Shen Zizai defused the situation openly.
Attacking Shen Li now would be of little use; it would be better to focus all efforts on getting Wu Zihao out.
Therefore, Wu Yong went to the Imperial Study to apologize in person, thinking that the emperor would let the matter go lightly out of consideration for the Grand Secretary. Unexpectedly, the emperor did not see him.
Wu Yong stood frozen outside the door of the Imperial Study.
After receiving the news, Yi Wang realized something was wrong. He stopped believing that Wu Zihao was just a gambler and womanizer; he must have gotten involved in something he shouldn't have.
Moreover, Zhao Jing visited the palace today, so it's hard to say this is a coincidence.
“This matter can no longer be addressed,” King Yi said warily.
He was already quite wary of Shen Li, and now it seems that things are likely to develop in a direction unfavorable to him. If he doesn't make a drastic decision, he might inevitably be implicated.
So King Yi signaled his censors to remain silent and observe the situation.
Wu Yong already had few capable men under his command, and this situation left him even more isolated and vulnerable, experiencing a coldness he had never felt before.
Subsequent developments proved that the King of Chess's choice was correct. Wu Zihao was soon found guilty of a series of crimes, including accepting large amounts of bribes from merchants, accepting bribes from local officials, using the Grand Secretary's influence to oppress the people, and intimidating the censors to protect local officials.
Upon hearing this, Wu Yong felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He never imagined that his own son, whom he had personally taught, could be so foolish as to commit such heinous acts.
As a result, not only is Wu Zihao unable to get out, but his tenure as Grand Secretary has also come to an end.
Although the case has not yet been concluded, Shen Li has already been released. The punishment was set by Emperor Cheng: half a month of seclusion to reflect on her mistakes and cultivate her character.
Emperor Cheng did not want to take this opportunity to teach Shen Li a lesson, but he simply could not find a reason to do so. Moreover, given Wu Zihao's depravity, Shen Li's actions were in line with public opinion.
He had no choice but to release them.
Shen Li bid farewell to her sisters in prison, changed into a pink dress, and returned home. To her astonishment, she found Gu Chang'an looking at official documents on the couch in the bedroom.
He was dressed in a white robe, his sleeves flowing, his slender fingers gripping a pen as he wrote on official documents. Sunlight streamed through the window, falling on him, yet it seemed unable to dispel his austere and cold aura, making people hesitant to feel any sense of closeness.
"The sun must have risen in the west! Lord Gu actually has time to go home during the day!" Shen Li floated in like a pink butterfly, teasing him as she pounced on him.
Hearing footsteps, Gu Chang'an put down his pen, opened his arms to catch her, and his once cold eyes were now full of doting and tenderness: "A-Li."
Without saying anything more, his myriad emotions were ultimately reduced to just these two words.