"Returning to the emperor, although I do not have a very close relationship with the ministers in the capital, I did not deliberately speak ill of them."
"As for the above complaint, I consider myself to be a noble person, and relying on the emperor's trust to do unethical things is even more unfounded."
Yang Qing knelt on the ground, tall and straight. "The emperor can send someone to investigate deeply!"
Chu Jinghui's eyes have been falling on Yang Qing.
"Yang Aiqing, I think the rumors are groundless and have their own reasons. Do you really want to insist on this?"
Yang Qing's expression did not change. "Your Majesty, I believe that if you are upright, you are not afraid of slanting shadows. I have made no mistakes. I am worthy of heaven and earth, and worthy of the emperor's favor. I am not afraid of the emperor's investigation."
Chu Jinghui waved his hand and said, "In that case, I will believe you for once. However, death penalty can be avoided, but living crime cannot be escaped. Someone, take Yang Chengming down and give him a beating with a stick."
Punish with a stick?
Eunuch Zhang's eyebrows jumped. He took a step forward and wanted to say a few nice words for Yang Qing, but was stopped by Yang Qing.
Imperial Guards who were waiting outside soon came in and two people came in. They took Yang Qing out, and Eunuch Zhang followed quickly.
"Your Majesty, this slave has requested to be imprisoned."
Chu Jinghui nodded and motioned for Eunuch Zhang to go together.
Walking outside the palace, one of the Imperial Guards soldiers looked at Eunuch Zhang and said, "Eunuch Zhang, the emperor only said that he would be punished with sticks, but did not say the amount. How will this punishment be carried out?"
Eunuch Zhang glanced at him sideways. "Didn't you see that the emperor was giving Lord Yang a small punishment but a big punishment? How many strokes of the stick should be at least?"
The soldier suddenly realized. "That's it. Fortunately, my father-in-law reminded me."
After saying that, he said to Yang Qing, "Lord Yang, I'm offended!"
The two brought Yang Qing to a corner, where there was a bench.
Obviously, this was the place where the sticks were used.
Yang Qing Without saying a word, he lay down on the stool.
After the two soldiers looked at each other, they opened their bows from left to right and hit Yang Qing five times each.
The sound was so loud that it made people moved when they heard it.
However, there was no change at all on Yang Qing's face.
However, when he got off the bench, his steps were already a little staggering.
Under the leadership of Eunuch Zhang, he returned to Hall of Mental Cultivation and saluted Chu Jinghui: "My lord, thank you for your kindness."
Chu Jinghui waved his hand at him. "I hope you will be careful in your words and deeds in the future."
"My lord, please remember this!"
When Yang Qing stood up, he saw a faint red light flashing in the corner of Chu Jinghui's eyes out of the corner of his eye. He felt even more worried.
"Just step back, I'm tired too."
Following his words, Yang Qing stood up and slowly exited Hall of Mental Cultivation.
"Lord Yang..."
Eunuch Zhang followed carefully.
Yang Qing, however, waved his hands secretly and said, "Eunuch Zhang, it's better to go and wait for the emperor to go to bed. I will resign."
Eunuch Zhang could only endure the unspoken words and watched Yang Qing slowly leave Hall of Mental Cultivation, then turned back to Chu Jinghui.
Capital City, Yang Qing mansion
"The emperor summoned you again today to give you a lecture?"
Jiang Zhizhou saw Yang Qing returning home and went to greet him.
"That's right, not only was he lectured, but he was also given ten sticks."
"Why is this? Is it because of the Northern Liang mission?"
Hearing that Yang Qing had been punished, Jiang Zhizhou immediately stood up and helped Yang Qing: "How is your injury? I'll give you medicine."
Yang Qing shook his head. "This injury is not a problem, but now there is a more troublesome thing that needs you and me to solve."
"What could be more important than your injuries?"
But Jiang Zhizhou didn't pay much attention to Yang Qing's words. All his thoughts were still on the injury on Yang Qing's back.
Helpless, Yang Qing had no choice but to take off his outer robe, lie down on the couch and let Jiang Zhizhou apply medicine to his stick wound.
"Tell me, why is the emperor like this?"
After Jiang Zhizhou applied some medicine to the wound on Yang Qing's back, he spoke again.
"Do you still remember the person who cast the poison?"
Yang Qing did not answer Jiang Zhizhou's words, but asked him a side question.
"The person who cast the poison? Remember, the person who cast the poison is still under my control."
"Yes, but that Mother Insect is no longer with him, right?"
Jiang Zhizhou nodded and said, "Yes, and I suspect that Mother Insect is in the hands of Mr. Chancellor Wei. It's just that there is no evidence, everything is just speculation by you and me."
But Yang Qing slowly shook his head. "No, Mother Insect should indeed be in the hands of Chancellor Wei, and I also already know the whereabouts of the other Offspring Insect."
"Where is the other Offspring Insect? Where is it now?"
Jiang Zhizhou I just felt my heart pounding, and there was an answer that was ready to come out.
"At..."
Yang Qing didn't say it clearly, but stretched out a finger and pointed upward.
Jiang Zhizhou was shocked. "Are you serious about this?"
"Absolutely true."
Yang Qing then told Jiang Zhizhou that Jiang Zhizhou knew about Eunuch Zhang's meeting with him, which made Jiang Zhizhou more and more frightened.
"If you are so bold? Then, what are your plans?"
This matter involves the Tian family and is a private matter. Once leaked, it will cause turmoil in the court, which is not a trivial matter.
"Now that I think about it, I can only make dangerous moves."
After a long while, Yang Qing replied.
"You can only take the wrong approach, but you still have a chance of victory."
"How?" Jiang Zhizhou looked at Yang Qing.
"Since the poisonous person is in your hands, this can be the case..."
Yang Qing leaned closer to Jiang Zhizhou and whispered a few words to him.
Jiang Zhizhou nodded frequently while listening. "I will do as you say, but there is no room for sloppiness in this matter. If you are not careful, you will get backlash."
"You have to think about it."
"There is not enough time. Right now, this is the only way to make that man appear in front of people."
There was already some anxiety in Yang Qing's tone. "Besides, you and I don't know when Offspring Insect will fully erupt. Now naturally, we can only treat others in their own way."
"If not, I'm afraid even this opportunity will be lost."
"Okay, I'll do my best."
Yang Qing said, "You must prepare this matter well today. I will go to court tomorrow and have a meeting with that person."
Jiang Zhizhou naturally knew that Yang Qing was planning to openly attack Wei Sizhong in the court, so he immediately said, "Please be careful, I can only guarantee half an hour."
After Jiang Zhizhou finished speaking, he handed the pottery pot containing Gu Insect to Yang Qing.
"If something strange happens to Mother Insect tomorrow, Offspring Insect will also have obvious abnormalities."
After that, he glanced at Yang Qing worriedly again. "But, you are so close to the person Mother Insect is holding. If you want to escape safely, I'm afraid..."
Yang Qing said, "As long as you can guarantee that half an hour, I will take care of the rest."
After that, he took the clay pot from Jiang Zhizhou's hand and put it into his arms.
"Success or failure depends on this."
Jiang Zhizhou glanced at Yang Qing again, and then said, "You rest for a while, I'll go first."
Yang Qing nodded, and when he opened his eyes again, Jiang Zhizhou was no longer in the room.