Chapter 26 Chapter 26 The Crazy Emperor
Raised by his grandfather, Shen Kangning, Shen Ze had been exposed to the intrigues of the capital since childhood. Faced with Han Xiujin's embarrassment, he replied calmly, "I dispatched the troops in compliance with Your Majesty's orders, not on my own initiative."
"As for the matter of appearing before His Majesty in armor," Chen Ze took a half step forward, knelt on one knee, and bowed to Mu Congmo. "Last night, I traveled all the way to escort His Majesty the Prince of Huai to the capital. This morning, upon arriving at the city gates, I received a message from the Shadow Dragon Guards. Since Your Majesty summoned me, I dared not delay. Therefore, I was unable to remove my armor and change clothes. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Chen Ze's explanation was quite interesting. On the one hand, he recounted his own hardships, playing a victim to Mu Congmo and the others. On the other hand, he placed the blame on Mu Congmo. After all, it was Mu Congmo who gave the orders, and Chen Ze was merely following them. If Han Xiujin pressed the issue, he would incur the Emperor's wrath.
Han Xiujing was about to speak when he was interrupted by Mu Congmo, who was sitting above him. "Why? My dear Han, do you want to see with your own eyes the secret decree I gave to General Shen?" Mu Congmo's tone was cold, and he was already displeased.
Since it was a secret decree, ordinary people could not see it. Naturally, Mu Congmo had no idea that Han Xiujing would see the secret decree with his own eyes. He said this just to warn the other party.
Han Xiujin was about to say something more when Fan Zizhuo, who was sitting in front of him, subtly pulled him back, stopping him. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. If Han Xiujin had truly angered the emperor on the throne, they too would be implicated.
Shen Ze's response, measured and measured, left a favorable impression on everyone present. As the saying goes, "A gentleman's kindness is cut off after five generations." No wonder the late emperor risked the Duke of Wei's rebellion by plotting to kill Shen Ze's father. The Shen family commands a significant military force, and their descendants are all exceptionally talented. How could they not be feared by the imperial family?
I don't know what the current emperor's attitude is towards the Shen family. Is he trying to win them over or plot against them? Now that Shen Ze has made great contributions, his majesty will definitely reward him generously. As for whether this reward will be a blessing or a curse for the Shen family, that is not certain.
"I summoned all of you here to discuss how to deal with the Prince of Huai's treason. Now that you have seen the evidence and heard the testimony, isn't it time for you to express your opinions instead of shifting the subject to other things?" Mu Congmo changed the subject back and reprimanded everyone at the same time.
"Master Pang Da leads the Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for the formulation and revision of laws. When it comes to understanding the law, I'm afraid none of us are as knowledgeable as Master Pang Da, so I think we should first listen to Master Pang Da's opinions." Dali Temple Minister Shi Chengji was the first to speak. In such a situation, the more you say, the more mistakes you make. The two of them weren't on the same side, so how could Shi Chengji miss this rare opportunity to kick someone when they're down?
Before Pang Fa could open his mouth to refuse, Mu Congmo on the throne spoke first: "In this case, let Lord Pang tell us how to deal with this matter." Mu Congmo was naturally aware of the mutual calculations between them, but he did not care about it. After all, this was also a way of checks and balances.
Helplessly, Pang Fa could only swallow his loss, mentally noting Shi Chengji's actions. His thoughts raced, as if he were to use all his knowledge to devise an answer that would satisfy the emperor. "Your Majesty, I believe the Duke of Han is colluding with the princes and plotting to seize the throne. According to Daliang law, if convicted by the three judges, his entire clan must be punished."
The Zheng family, a clan of founding heroes dating back to the time of Emperor Taizu, was truly exterminated. If the entire clan were to be exterminated, not only would other powerful families be affected, but Mu Congmo would also likely be known among the people as a tyrant. Pang Fa's clever move was to avoid expressing his own opinion and instead point to precedents in Daliang law. This way, even if Mu Congmo wanted to blame him, he wouldn't be able to do so.
"As for the matter of His Royal Highness Prince Huai, I believe that Prince Cheng, as the head of the imperial clan, should know better than me how to deal with members of the royal family. Your Majesty may wish to listen to the prince's opinion." Since Cheng Ji was able to throw the problem to him, he could naturally divert the blame.
As for whether it would offend him, although he was a member of the royal family, the Zongzheng didn't have much real power. Moreover, although he was your majesty's uncle, your majesty didn't even value the late emperor, his father, much less his uncle.
Mu Zhice was still immersed in the panic at the moment and hadn't recovered. Suddenly, he heard Pang Fa mention his name and immediately stood up and prepared to speak.
He reached out and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. His hands were shaking as he spoke tremblingly, "Your Majesty, although His Royal Highness the Prince of Huai intends to rebel, he is still a member of the royal family, and the late emperor left a will."
Before he could finish his words, Mu Congmo interrupted him, "Since the emperor's uncle mentioned the will left by our father, I wonder if the emperor's uncle still remembers what it said?"
"The late emperor's will is of great importance, and I dare not forget it. The will said: 'The ninth prince Mu Conghao is still young. If he commits ordinary mistakes in the future, he will be forgiven directly.'" Mu Zhice repeated the late emperor's will in a respectful tone.
"My father's will said that ordinary mistakes should be forgiven directly. So in the eyes of my uncle, ordinary mistakes also include treason? Or does my uncle also have such thoughts?" Mu Congmo's tone was cold, like the biting cold wind in winter, and the originally lively atmosphere became cold.
Mu Zhice reacted and quickly knelt down, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have absolutely no such intention. Please understand." The others also knelt down and shouted, "Your Majesty, please calm down."
Mu Congmo frowned slightly, smiled sarcastically, and then said, "I respect all of you. The matter of Prince Huai's rebellion is of great importance, so I thought of discussing it with you. However, I never expected you to be so humble. I wonder if you are dissatisfied with me, or what?"
Before anyone could speak up to defend him, Mu Congmo continued, "Since that's the case, I don't think there's any need to discuss this matter any further. I just hope that you, my dear ministers, will be as cautious in your words and actions in the future as you were today."
After that, he directly issued an order: "Waiting for Chengji, you will preside over this matter in the Dali Temple, assisted by the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate, and Uncle Cheng will be responsible for supervising this matter. Give me an answer in three days. The prince who breaks the law should be punished the same as the common people. His property should be confiscated, he should be beheaded and exiled. Whatever should be done will be done. If I find out that someone is shielding him..." Mu Congmo did not finish his words, but everyone could understand what he meant.
The four people mentioned spoke up quickly: "We obey your orders and will live up to your trust."
Then, Mu Congmo changed the subject, "Where there is punishment, there should be reward. Chen Ze led the Shen family army to rescue the emperor and made great contributions, so he is awarded the rank of Xuanwu General. As for Miss Man, who redressed the injustice for her father, I will have someone announce it to the world, restore your father's innocence, and reward him with one hundred taels of gold and ten pieces of silk." Mu Congmo looked at the two of them with an expressionless face. His tone was not as cold as before, but he still showed no emotion.
Chen Ze and Man Ziling expressed their gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. Long live the Emperor."
Three days later, at the court meeting.
Han Xiujin was the first to step forward, holding an ivory tablet. He bowed to Mu Congmo, who was holding it, and then spoke, "Your Majesty, I would like to report that the Prince of Huai has illegally increased taxes in Jiangnan to support his own army. He has also secretly colluded with the Demon Lord to persecute the people. The people of Jiangnan are suffering terribly."
Suddenly, like a huge rock dropped into a river, it stirred up a thousand waves. The once hushed court was thick with whispers, until someone, unable to contain themselves, spoke up, "Prince Huai and the Demon Lord are strangers. How could they be colluding? Lord Han, please don't tarnish the reputation of His Highness Prince Huai with empty words." Mu Congmo had long known that this person was a pawn left behind by the late emperor, but he held a low position and wasn't very bright, otherwise he wouldn't have openly sided with Prince Huai in such a situation. So, Mu Congmo simply let it go.
Han Xiujin loved to argue, and he valued his reputation above all else, even his own life. How could he tolerate this slander? "The Demon Lord colluded with the Prince of Huai to murder the people, but was defeated by Yue Zun, who arrived after Yunliang Qianchi arrived. Then, Yue Zun's sword attendant personally took Yunliang Qianchi's token, and drank the Demon Lord's broken weapon. Furthermore, the bodies of the scholars bore traces of the Purple Frost Buddha Miasma. The people of Jiangnan witnessed it with their own eyes. How could this be false?"
"If you don't believe me, sir, I have here a blood letter written by the Demon Lord himself. It contains the Demon Lord's free and easy realm power. Would you like to see it with your own eyes?" After saying that, Han Xiujin took out a jade fan from his sleeve. It was the one left by Gu Shiyan.
The man took the jade fan from Han Xiujing and looked at it, but he didn't notice that the emperor on the throne was staring at his hands that were touching the jade fan with a fiery gaze, as if he was suppressing his desire to chop off the other's hands.
"Sir Han, can't the internal energy of this Free and Easy Realm Venerable be fake? According to what you just said, there were two Venerables in Jiangnan at that time. Who knows which one this internal energy belongs to?" The man was still stubborn, but he didn't know that he would bring disaster upon himself because of this.
The veins on Mu Congmo's arms were bulging at this time, and there was a hint of blood in his eyes. How could a cold and aloof person like A Yan do such a thing? In Mu Congmo's eyes, he was already a dead man.
But before he could open his mouth, Han Xiujin spoke first, "Your Excellency is truly a man who won't cry until he sees the coffin. Master Jingkong, the abbot of Huguo Temple, fought against the Demon Lord in his early years and is naturally well aware of his inner strength. How about we send someone to invite Master Jingkong over?"
Seeing Han Xiujin's composure, the man panicked and quickly refused, "Master Jingkong is a venerable Free and Easy Realm cultivator, and his status is precious. How can we trouble him for such a trivial matter?"
Han Xiujin had no intention of letting him off the hook. "Yue Zun is also a Free and Easy Realm master, and comes from a prestigious sect like Yunliang Qianchi. How could he possibly fabricate something? But from what I just heard, you clearly meant to say that the Free and Easy Realm energy remaining on the jade fan was left by Yue Zun."
Han Xiujin then accused him of a serious offense, "I wonder if you, sir, are disrespecting Yue Zun, or are you trying to tarnish Yun Liang Qianchi's centuries-old reputation?"
"This man is disrespectful to the Venerable. Moreover, Yue Zun saved my life. Drag him down and behead him at a later date. Anyone who disrespects Yue Zun again will be disrespecting me." Mu Congmo followed Han Xiujin's words with swift and decisive action, establishing Gu Shiyan's authority within the capital. He looked at Han Xiujin with a touch of admiration, sighing, "This man is quite a skilled swordsman."
At this time, the news from Jizhou had not yet reached the capital, so the people were unaware of Gu Shiyan's death. Instead, they were carefully considering the emperor's intentions. If they had known this news, they would probably have thought Mu Congmo was crazy.
But Mu Congmo was really crazy. He couldn't accept the news of the boy's life or death, and he was still deceiving himself until now.
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