Chapter 496 Questioning Emperor An!

Prince Zeng raised his head and said solemnly, "Rumors abound throughout the South that those officials who died tragically were punished for their sins. It's said that the spirits of those who died unjustly in the flood that year have returned to seek revenge. It's said that the nearly 10,000 people who were burned alive in Rongjiang have returned to seek revenge..."

"This is pure nonsense!"

Li Wenchang suddenly stood up and shouted, "There are no wronged souls in this world. I think someone is secretly plotting something!"

Not all people from aristocratic families are fools. Among those who can serve as officials in the court, there are few who don’t know how Lu Chongyuan and Emperor An got together back then. Emperor An suddenly emerged from an inconspicuous prince and was able to marry into the Lu family because of the flood twenty years ago.

The reputation of Crown Prince Li was tarnished, and even the fact that the He family was later held accountable was largely due to this incident.

They may not care about the reputation of the Lu family, or what happens to Emperor An. Even if the emperor is disgraced, it will not affect them at all. They can even take the opportunity to push another emperor who is close to the aristocratic family. However, they must never let the matter between the He family and Prince Li be reversed.

The He family was so prominent and the Crown Prince was so powerful back then. Once the incident was exposed and Emperor An's reputation was tarnished, the Crown Prince's treason and the He family's crimes might also be implicated.

If Lu Chongyuan died early and the Lu family was destroyed, they would not lose anything, but none of them who had taken advantage of the He family's misfortune to divide it up had a good ending.

Li Wenchang was most familiar with Feng Qiuli. He glanced at her anxiously. Feng Qiuli sensed his gaze and her face tightened. She said, "What the abhorrent prince said is just a rumor. The events of twenty years ago have long been settled. And the idea of a wronged spirit seeking revenge is sheer nonsense."

"I don't believe in ghosts and gods. The tragic deaths of officials are likely man-made, not accidental. Your Majesty, please conduct a thorough investigation."

Grand Tutor Liang looked at Feng Qiuli who stepped forward to speak under pressure, and he looked up to him even more. Upon hearing this, he said in a deep voice:

"I, an old minister, do not believe in the claims of wronged spirits seeking revenge, let alone the hatred of the Prince. Since you knew about the rumors in the South and the unjust deaths of officials, why didn't you report this to His Majesty sooner, but instead concealed it for so long? Are you trying to uncover the truth, or do you have other motives?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Emperor An:

"Your Majesty, this is a serious matter. If someone truly intends to use rumors to intimidate and disrupt the court, we must not let them off lightly!"

This was the first time Emperor An had found these courtiers from aristocratic families so pleasing to his eyes. He said calmly, "Grand Tutor Liang is right, Xie Pingjia. You knew all about the rumors spreading in the South and the tragic deaths of officials, but you never reported a single word to the court. You are truly unfaithful to your ruler and father. Come, arrest Prince Zan first!"

Prince Zan knew that he would not be able to remain safe after he brought up the old case in the South today, and he had thought of various ways to deal with it, but he did not expect that his father would be so shameless.

Without waiting for Yu Yanfeng and the others to come forward, he said directly:

"It's not that I didn't want to report this to your father, but your father loathes me. Because I cared about your reputation and feared you would be deceived, I exposed the affair between the deposed empress and Prince Cheng. You nearly took my life and even bestowed upon me such a humiliating title."

"I know I have offended you, but I do not hold any grudge against you. However, I also understand that Father dislikes me."

Prince Zang looked at Emperor An with red eyes:

"When I first met Zhao Hui and the other two, how could I have easily believed them? I thought everything they said was just rumors. How could I have dared to tell Father before I had thoroughly investigated the matter?"

"After I sent people south to investigate, I panicked and wanted to enter the palace to see my father. I told him I had something important to discuss, but he simply had me turned away and even ordered the guards to expel me from the palace. He never saw me from beginning to end."

"I also want to inform Father and discuss the affairs of the Southland with him, but how can I start the conversation? Is it possible that I should tell the eunuchs and guards of this important matter and have them spread the word, causing more uproar?"

Emperor An was confused by Prince Hate's questioning, but many people in front of the hall were suddenly enlightened.

They did remember that Prince Zeng had come to the palace two days ago and had lingered in front of the imperial study for a long time before being driven out by Emperor An. When this incident became known, many people laughed at Prince Zeng.

I still remember how embarrassed and frustrated Prince Zeng was when he left the palace that day. Many people saw it clearly, and they all thought that this former Second Prince had really angered the Emperor and was completely hopeless. But who would have thought that he would enter the palace to talk to Emperor An about the affairs of the South?

After this happened, it would be unreasonable for Emperor An and Liang Guangyi to blame Prince Zan for not reporting it.

Prince Zang's eyes were red and his face was filled with grief and indignation. "Your son knows that the emperor dislikes you, but you have never meant to offend him. As for the old case in the Southland, I simply cannot bear to see any mistakes made in the past, and I cannot bear to see those people's souls suffer in vain."

"I originally wanted to wait until after the palace banquet to privately seek out my father, but Minister Cui and the others just kept asking about the Lu family. Grand Tutor Liang even said that the Lu family and the deposed empress's rebellion was instigated by Xiao Yan. I was afraid that someone would really blame others for the Lu family's mistakes, so I had no choice but to bring up the matter of the Southland in public."

"Twenty years ago, the flood relief effort was led by Lu Chongyuan, and the one who led the troops to pacify the South was a relative of the Lu family. If someone really set fire to the Rong River, massacred the city, and even embezzled the relief funds, causing the people of the South to suffer, the Lu family would be the first to bear the brunt of the blame."

"I am not afraid of being hated by my father, but I was fortunate enough to be born into the royal family and be supported by the people of the world. I have an obligation to seek justice for the people of the world!"

The righteousness of Prince Zeng's words, and his courage to not back down even with red eyes in the face of the furious Emperor An, moved everyone, and what he said also made the court officials in the hall feel uneasy.

Fire burning Rongjiang.

Massacre and bloodbath.

He embezzled disaster relief funds and killed the officers and soldiers on board. The riots in the south caused countless deaths and injuries to the people.

Either case is horrifying.

Cao Dejiang said expressionlessly and coldly, "If I remember correctly, twenty years ago, when the South was hit by floods, the late Emperor ordered Crown Prince Li and He Wenzhuo to go to the South to provide disaster relief. After the official ship sank, chaos broke out in the South. Crown Prince Li was forced by the late Emperor to return to the capital, but He Wenzhuo remained in the South."

"After the Crown Prince returned to the capital, the late Emperor ordered the Lu family to travel to the Southern Territory, with Your Majesty accompanying them. At the time, the court was unable to provide a second installment of grain funds. To compensate for the shipwreck, Crown Prince Li and the He family sold their property and raised funds to accompany the Lu family. They also dispatched dozens of imperial physicians to travel through the night to the Southern Territory to combat the epidemic. However, rumors soon spread that He Wenzhuo had embezzled bribes and colluded with Southern officials to embezzle the relief funds, causing civil unrest."

"The imperial physician who went to the South was killed by the enraged mob. He Wenzhuo was also killed by the rioters, and his body was never found. Yet, now they say he was ordered by Crown Prince Li to guard Rongjiang."

Cao Dejiang looked up at Emperor An, his eyes stern:

"If this is the truth, then the fire in Rongjiang not only killed the entire city of Rongjiang, but also the imperial physician who came south to treat the epidemic. Even He Wenzhuo died in Rongjiang City. Then where did all the charges against the He family come from?"