Chapter 52

The joint memorial from the ministers was overwhelming, and the court was filled with cries of killing. However, even after the divination results came out, the emperor was still hesitant about whether to execute Li Shufeng.

The reasons for this were, firstly, that the emperor and Li Shufeng had known each other for many years, and their relationship was deep; secondly, the emperor had always believed that Li Shufeng possessed a secret and extraordinary technique - it was said that this technique could reveal the secrets of heaven and prolong life, and was something the emperor had always dreamed of.

However, Li Shufeng didn't have a God's perspective after all, and he had never read the original book. How could he know that it was difficult for the emperor to kill him because he was always thinking about the so-called secret recipe for immortality in his hands.

At this moment, he was in a dead end, and the fatal reason came from his own mouth.

Xuan Shu also guessed that Song Zheng must know that Li Shufeng had given him money.

But Song Zheng managed to survive.

Even if he shouted "The prince is treacherous" on the streets every day, even if he cried "The crown prince is fickle" in the streets every night.

No one will believe it.

Is the prince short of money?

Even if they are missing, don’t the emperor and empress exist?

How could I, the Great Sui Zhao Zhao Chu Er, ask for money from you, the minister?

This is one of them.

Second, he must never publicize it like this.

Once it is made public, your life will be in danger.

Just like Li Shufeng.

Openly throwing dirty water at the Crown Prince in front of Emperor Yongshou and all the important officials in the court? How is this any different from directly humiliating the emperor? You have to know that the ancients valued the moral integrity of those in power the most.

The ancients often said: "If one's virtue is not in line with his position, he will suffer disaster." If what you said is true, it means that the prince's virtue is lacking, and his position as crown prince has lost its legitimacy.

Throughout dynasties, whether it was treason, the dethronement of an empress, or the abolition of a crown prince, the imperial edict always stated the crime of "immorality." What exactly do you intend to accomplish by saying this now? Have you ever considered how the emperor would feel?

If what you said is untrue, then you are deliberately framing the crown prince, and you should be punished!

So after just a few words, Emperor Yongshou's face darkened. He slammed the table and stood up, shouting, "How dare you! I think you've been bewitched! How dare you attack my crown prince? Do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?"

Li Shufeng wasn't under a spell, but rather lost in the midst of a life-or-death situation. He had offered his entire fortune, only to have the prince break his promise. He simply couldn't accept being tricked! He lost his mind and told the truth!

When he came back to his senses, his heart suddenly trembled, as if he had fallen into an icy cave.

The prince asked him for money? Such an outrageous thing, said without any evidence, is simply seeking death!

Xuan Shu lowered his eyes and said nothing, thinking to himself: It was you who first said that the money transactions had to be kept secret, so that no one could see. Now that this has been done flawlessly, it's all thanks to you.

but……

Even if he had evidence, he would only die faster and more miserably.

Because the emperor wants to protect the prince.

If... Song Zheng complains to the emperor, will the emperor hold the prince accountable?

No, the emperor would only kill people to silence them and cover up for the prince.

Li Shufeng fell to his knees with a thud, and his forehead hit the gold brick heavily, making a dull sound.

"Your Majesty, please spare my life! I am talking nonsense! I just said that Your Highness is known for his kindness. I beg Your Highness... I beg Your Majesty... I beg Your Highness..."

Even the normally composed Li Shufeng could no longer maintain his composure when his life was at stake. His mind was shattered, his whole body trembling like a sieve, his face covered in tears and snot.

Emperor Yongshou was furious after hearing this. His face turned ashen, and veins bulged in his temples. "Someone, take him away!"

Emperor Yongshou's face was filled with regret: "I have long known that Li Shufeng's conduct was not upright, but his Taoism was exquisite, and such talent is truly rare."

"I originally thought that by strictly disciplining him, he wouldn't cause any serious trouble. I never imagined that my painstaking efforts would result in the creation of such an ungrateful and ungrateful creature!"

"How dare you speak nonsense in court today and slander the Crown Prince! Your intentions are sinister and outrageous! The Crown Prince's virtue is witnessed by everyone in the court and the country!"

Zhang Yan said at the right moment: "Your Majesty, please take care of your health. These scoundrels are not worth your anger."

"Since I became the Crown Prince's Junior Secretary, whenever I enter the Eastern Palace to give lectures, His Royal Highness always prepares all the difficult questions and waits for me to explain them in detail."

"I deeply admire his sincerity in learning and his diligence in improving his moral character! During lectures, Your Highness always treats me with the respect of a teacher and humbly seeks instruction. He is truly our wise and virtuous crown prince!"

"The Crown Prince's virtue is as bright as the sun and the moon. How can it be tarnished by a few slanderous words from treacherous villains?"

The emperor's expression eased slightly after hearing this. "What Mr. Zhang said is absolutely true. What you, Mr. Zhang Yan, said is always true."

This is the moment when people with moral integrity are needed to say these kinds of things.

As soon as these words came out.

The ministers did not believe Li Shufeng's "nonsense", which made the public even more excited.

"Our Crown Prince Dasui is a man of undeniable virtue. Li Shufeng's reckless words offend his superiors and he truly deserves death!"

"Your Majesty, please execute this thief!"

At this point, if Li Shufeng remained alive, how could Heaven be comforted? If Li Shufeng remained alive, how could the public anger be appeased? If Li Shufeng were not executed, how could the East Palace be rectified? What reason did the Emperor have to spare his life? So, His Majesty issued an edict: "Give him a bottle of poisoned wine, and exile his entire family!"

When the imperial decree was announced, all the ministers knelt down immediately.

"Your Majesty is wise and enlightened! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long, long live the Emperor!"

…

Outside the palace.

The prime minister and the nine ministers bowed and said goodbye, each returning to their residences.

Prosecutor Su walked towards where Cui Qun was.

This time they worked together and accomplished a great task, so they were naturally happy and pleased.

Cui Qun saw Su Jian's lips move slightly and then close, and followed him to a deserted corner. He knew what he wanted to say and said, "Yuan Zhan, there's no one here, go ahead."

"Li Shufeng is not a dull person," he said, his words suddenly stopping here. A complex emotion flashed in Su Jian's eyes, and he finally said softly, "His last words are really incredible."

If nothing really happened, how could Li Shufeng be so stupid as to blame the Eastern Palace?

In fact, the answer is self-evident.

Cui Qun's expression was calm, neither nodding nor shaking his head. He only sighed meaningfully, "The entire court, both civil and military officials, have tried to persuade you in vain. Just mentioning Your Highness and then taking his life. Yuan Zhan... sometimes, it's better to be a little confused about things in this world."

…

Li Shufeng is dead.

Li Shufeng never mentioned the prince's deception until his death. If he hadn't done so, he might not have even left his body intact.

Xuan Shu stood up as usual.

The only change was that he asked the emperor for an order: allowing Song Qianzhao to enter the palace and accompany him.

"Zhang Xian," Xuan Shu put down the teacup in his hand and looked up at Zhang Xian, "Have there been any changes in the government recently?"

Zhang Xian bowed slightly upon hearing this, and after a moment's silence, he slowly spoke, "The court situation. It's strange to say, before Li Shufeng's death, the court was filled with excitement. But after he was killed, no one in the court was clamoring or saying a word for several days."

"In addition, Jiang He and his men seized an account book from Li Shufeng's mansion. It is said that it contains detailed records of bribes given by officials at all levels, even officials from various departments are implicated. Now the ministers are very concerned about this account book."

oh?

I think he was afraid he'd forget to do his job after accepting the money, so he recorded every single thing in his account. After all, taking money and not doing anything was unethical. Now that I'm old and have so many people to bribe, it's hard to remember every single thing clearly.

"What do you two think of this account book?"

Xuan Shu raised his eyes and glanced at Song Qianzhao and the other person.

Zhang Xian pondered for a moment and said, "The censors have been extremely excited upon hearing this news recently, just waiting to exploit it. They haven't taken any action yet. Firstly, this incident came so suddenly that some people are still unaware of it or don't believe it. Secondly, Li Shufeng has been operating for many years, and his followers are deeply intertwined. He has connections with many important officials in the court, so how can he be moved at will?"

"Someone has to take the initiative. But given the Emperor's temperament, even if the account book is true, I'm afraid he won't want to cause any more trouble."

Song Qianzhao said slowly, "Your Majesty and I share the same attitude. The most important thing is to keep the court stable."

"I am not trying to shield those ministers who took bribes, but I am opposed to using the name of 'Li Shufeng's party' to unite and attack dissidents."

"Currently, some censors are prone to labeling and accusing court officials. If this continues, it will inevitably lead to factional strife and chaos in the government. How can this be a blessing for the country and the people?"

Xuan Shu raised the corner of his mouth slightly, "Song Qing is right."

He stood up and straightened his sleeves. "I'm very interested in looking at the account book. Get ready. I'm going to Chongming Palace."

…

Once Li Shufeng fell, his followers naturally suffered a bad fate. However, there were also some who were forced to make false accusations, or some who were Li's followers but had not done anything evil.

Unfortunately, the censors, eager to maintain their reputations and uphold order, cared little for such matters. Having secured this heaven-sent opportunity, anyone even remotely connected to the Li clique could not escape their impeachment and attack.

As Song Qianzhao and Taixuanshu reached the gate of Chongming Palace, they could hear the faint sound of ministers' discussions coming from inside. The two exchanged a glance, realizing that this was an inopportune time to arrive.

When a young eunuch saw the prince coming, he hurriedly lowered his sleeves and head, and walked forward to greet him.

The Crown Prince looked up at the sky, his brows furrowed slightly, "It's already this hour, and Father is still discussing state affairs with the court officials?"

The eunuch quickly bowed and replied cautiously, "I think there's something important that's unresolved. I'll report it right away."

Xuan Shu raised his hand and stopped the eunuch's movements. He turned his gaze towards the hall and said, "No need to announce it. State affairs are urgent. No need to tell me I'm here."

As they were talking, an elderly eunuch suddenly emerged from Chongming Palace. Upon seeing the Crown Prince, he immediately bowed and saluted, "Your Highness, may you be well. His Majesty has instructed that if you are here, please enter the palace."

"Father knows I'm coming?" Xuan Shu was surprised.

The eunuch smiled and said, "Your Highness usually comes at this time."

Oh, yes, I overlooked that.

In this case, the prince nodded slightly and walked inside with Song Qianzhao.

The so-called court recommendation refers to the selection of important positions in the court, which is decided by important officials such as the six ministries and the nine ministers.

Participants include: the six ministers, the censors of the Censorate, the chief judge of the Supreme Court, the Minister of Public Security and other heads of government offices.

Maybe someone among them gave money to Li Shufeng.

The prince walked in slowly, stopped three steps away from the imperial desk, and bowed respectfully.

The emperor raised his head, his eyes showing a hint of fatigue, but still with a gentle smile, and beckoned: "Prince, come to me."

Upon hearing this, the prince's brows relaxed and he stepped forward quickly: "Yes."

There were not many seats in the hall, so Song Qianzhao had to stand beside the throne with the prince.

From such a close perspective, she caught a glimpse of the emperor clutching a memorial in his hands. The pages were already wrinkled, showing that they had been held for several days. The emperor's brow was furrowed, and his gaze swept across the courtiers in the hall with a sharp gaze. "The Northern Di Khan has been invading the borders year after year. How many memorials have been sent from the three borders of Liaodong in the past six months? After several attempts, the court can't even nominate a governor-general for Liaodong?"

All the ministers in the hall bowed their heads in silence, thinking to themselves: It’s not that we don’t want to recommend, but we have recommended several people, but you didn’t agree.

Song Qianzhao listened attentively and gradually figured out the reason.

First, the Khan of Beidi led his troops to invade the border of Dasui. Although the imperial court sent troops to resist, they were defeated repeatedly, which shocked the capital.

The ministers proposed to re-establish the Governor-General of Liaodong to relieve the problem of the three places fighting each other.

The root cause of this problem was that border troubles became increasingly serious during the Yongshou period: firstly, the Kaizhong Fa was gradually neglected, and the border towns were running out of food and money; secondly, the Northern Di Khan succeeded to the throne at a young age, was talented and strategic, and reorganized his army.

The person mentioned in the palace discussion at this moment was Lu Jian.

Song Qianzhao recalled what was written in the book and knew that this man was indeed a good general with great military achievements.

He made many outstanding achievements during the reign of Taizu, but unfortunately he was rebellious and often relied on his great achievements for the low rewards. He acted ostentatiously and was known for his arrogance.

Moreover, because he had close ties with Jiang Feng, a powerful eunuch during the Taizu period, although he was a Jinshi, he was despised by the Qingliu and had a bad reputation in the court.

After Taizu's death, Jiang Feng fell from power and Lu Jian was also implicated. Even the earldom he had earned through military merit was stripped away.

During the Yongshou Dynasty, Li Shufeng was in favor and powerful, and wanted to cultivate his own party; Lu Jian hoped to be re-employed, and the two hit it off.

Originally, if Li Shufeng were still alive, with Lu Jian's ability and connections, it would not be a problem for him to be reinstated as the governor of the three borders.

But now that Li Shufeng is dead, the situation is very different...

Song Qianzhao was also thinking about this.

The border crisis is serious at the moment. As far as the emperor is concerned, he should just quell the chaos in Liaodong. Why would he care about the matter of joining Li Shufeng's party?

The prince's eyes frequently turned to the memorial in the emperor's hand.

Emperor Yongshou noticed it and immediately unfolded the memorial.

Song Qianzhao was standing close, so he could see it clearly - the memorial was full of accusations against Li Shufeng.

The person who signed the impeachment was an official who had frequent dealings with Li Shufeng.

Song Qianzhao finally understood why the court push could not be carried out.

Was Li Shufeng's death not a deliberate attempt by the ministers to keep quiet? It was simply that His Majesty suppressed the matter, even wrinkling the memorial and keeping it hidden for days without publishing it!

At this time, the court wanted to select a general governor for the three border areas, and someone suggested using Lu Jian.

This is a difficult situation - none of the ministers dare to express their opinions.

Being connected to Lü Jian meant being connected to Li Shufeng. At this critical juncture, who would dare to take the risk?

If you express your support for Lü Jian's reinstatement today,

I’m afraid that someone will ask me tomorrow: Is your name on the account book?

Song Qianzhao thought to himself: It seems that His Majesty really has the intention to appoint someone. If he really has no intention of using him, why would the court delay the recommendation until now?

Alas, this is clear evidence that party strife harms the country—