Chapter 27 Chapter 27 The Emperor in the Court had already calculated this...
Han Xiujin continued, "Yesterday, I personally visited Huguo Temple and had Master Jingkong examine the remaining Xiaoyao Realm energy on this jade fan. The master said it was no different from the internal energy of the Demon Lord from years ago. Due to his busy schedule at the Buddhist temple, the master was unable to come in person. If you gentlemen don't believe me, you can examine the jade fan for yourself. Master Yue Zun comes from a prestigious and upright family, so his internal energy must be pure. However, the internal energy on this fan is mixed with demonic energy, which anyone who practices martial arts can sense."
Seeing Han Xiujin about to pass the jade fan around, Mu Congmo stopped him, "Since the Buddha himself said this, I'm sure you all will believe it, right? In that case, there's no need to pass it around. Please continue."
Just now, the man's hand just touched the jade fan, and Mu Congmo wanted to chop off those hands. If he allowed them to pass it around, Mu Congmo was afraid that he would not be able to control his emotions. After all, he was a madman.
"Your Majesty, we have also found out that the Prince of Huai has abducted 121 women in Jiangnan. His crimes are simply too numerous to list. I request Your Majesty to severely punish His Highness the Prince of Huai." Han Xiujing spoke with tears in his eyes. He was an upright man who could not tolerate any injustice and was never afraid of offending others. Therefore, these words were spoken from the bottom of his heart.
At this moment, another man stepped forward. He was dressed in the red official uniform of a third-rank official. His figure was stooped, his hair graying. The uniform seemed to suffocate him, yet no one present dared to look down on him. The Ministry of Personnel was responsible for the appointment, dismissal, assessment, promotion, demotion, and transfer of officials nationwide. Qi Zheng had been in this position for many years, and who knew what chess pieces he had planted there.
Don't be fooled by Qi Zheng's old age. He speaks with full energy, "Your Majesty, I believe that the late emperor left a will that if His Royal Highness Prince Huai has not committed the crime of treason, he should be given a lighter punishment." He was a hidden pawn planted by Mu Shaoqi in the court in his early years. He has been neither fighting nor competing over the years, and has lived in peace with the world, causing many people to ignore his existence.
Over the years, Mu Congmo has used ruthless means to replace most of the ministers in the court with his own people. Most of the people previously left to Mu Conghao by the late emperor have also been eliminated. He was afraid of Mu Congmo's methods and had been hiding his identity for fear of being exposed.
But now, no one except him would speak up to plead for Prince Huai. As long as Mu Conghao's life could be saved, it would not matter if he exposed his identity.
Little did they know that they had already walked into the trap set by Mu Congmo. Only a few people on that day knew about the Prince of Huai's rebellion. They were only investigating the matter secretly under the instruction of Mu Congmo. Therefore, no one knew that the Prince of Huai was no longer in the Palace of the Prince of Jiangnan, but in the prison of the Shadow Dragon Guard.
Furthermore, when Han Xiujin had just impeached Mu Conghao, he had only mentioned his crimes in Jiangnan and had not mentioned his rebellion. This was a plan Mu Conghao had long ago devised, a way to completely remove the thorn left by the late emperor in the court. Sure enough, even a seasoned scoundrel like Qi Zheng fell for it. Han Xiujin and the others now realized the depth of the young emperor's scheming, toying with everyone in his grasp.
But what they didn't know was that even the Prince of Huai's rebellion was also the work of Mu Congmao. Mu Conghao's most trusted uncle Song Ji was secretly replaced by a Shadow Dragon Guard by Mu Congmao. How could such a cunning and unlearned Prince of Huai be his opponent?
Prime Minister Fan Zizhuo, who was sitting at the front, was sighing in his heart that the current emperor was really born to be an emperor. Who could have thought that he would go from being an unfavored prince in the cold palace to an emperor who has held power in his hands only seven years after ascending the throne?
Qi Zheng's appearance was exactly what Pang Fa wanted. Han Xiujin had just been in the spotlight, and now it was his turn. Seeing Pang Fa scurry out, Han Xiujin retreated. This incident was a joint investigation by the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Supreme Court. As a man of integrity, he disdained to take all the credit for himself.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I would like to report Lord Zheng Xiuyuan, Duke of Korea. A few days ago, Lord Zheng ignored the curfew and sent the masters he had at home to knock out all the guards coming out of the city gate. He even opened the city gate wide and wanted to let the rebels into the city. Fortunately, they were discovered and stopped in time by the Shadow Dragon Guards, so no major disaster occurred." Pang Fa did not continue to talk about Mu Conghao, but instead pointed the finger at Zheng Xiuyuan.
Upon hearing this, the courtroom erupted in conversation. Some who had long noticed Zheng Xiuyuan's absence from the morning court for several days now understood the reason. It turned out he had been arrested for attempting to collude with foreign enemies, but Zheng Xiuyuan's usual disguise made them doubt the truth of this matter.
How could a normally peaceful person suddenly collude with the rebels? Furthermore, the Zheng family, a family of wealth and power dating back to the founding of the Daliang Dynasty, possessed a rich and powerful pedigree. Zheng Xiuyuan held a high position, so what could he possibly be plotting against? Some officials from the aristocratic families grew nervous, fearing that the Zheng family's rebellion was the beginning of Mu Congmo's plan to take action against the aristocratic families. Could the young emperor finally be restrained?
Another group sensed that this incident was far from simple. It involved a prince and a duke, and there were bound to be numerous officials implicated, leading to a potential bloodbath at court. They also noticed Pang Fa's mention of "panjun." If a war broke out, it would undoubtedly be a major event, and they would have heard of it.
But now they haven't heard any news at all. Either this matter was just fabricated by Pang Fa, but judging from what happened just now, this possibility is not great. Or they were well prepared and strangled the rebellion in the cradle, resulting in no news leaking out. If it is the former, there is nothing to be afraid of, but if it is the latter, then the emperor's calculations are enough to make them afraid.
Qi Zheng was a little confused and felt a little uneasy, but his years of experience in the court helped him calm down. "I was discussing the punishment of His Highness the Prince of Huai with Lord Han and His Majesty. Why did Lord Pang bring up the Duke of Han for no reason? Doesn't he think I'm serious?"
Although Qi Zheng and Pang Fa were both ministers of six ministries, the former's qualifications far surpassed the latter. If this matter were to get out, those Confucian scholars who attached great importance to qualifications would probably write poems to criticize Pang Fa.
"Lord Qi, you are worrying too much. I have no intention of disrespecting you. It is because Duke Hanguo is closely involved in the case of Prince Huai that I mentioned Duke Hanguo." Pang Fa spoke respectfully, calling him "junior" all the time, giving Qi Zheng enough face.
Before Qi Zheng could even speak, some officials who had received favors from the other party and were unable to grasp the situation spoke up for him, saying, "Lord Pang, you must be joking. Duke Hanguo has lived in the capital and never formed any cliques for personal gain. We were already suspicious of his collusion with the rebels. Now, you are even saying that Lord Zheng is involved with His Royal Highness the Prince of Huai, who is far away in Jiangnan. In my opinion, this is pure nonsense, Your Majesty."
Mu Congmo glanced lazily at the ministers below who had their own thoughts. If it were a normal day, he would definitely watch them fighting to the death for fun, but now he had no such thoughts. He just felt that the people below were stupid and very noisy.
Mu Congmo did not speak, and the atmosphere fell silent for a moment. Shi Chengji, who was below, secretly raised his head to try to see the emotions on the emperor's face. Coincidentally, he met the emperor's cold gaze, and Shi Chengji lost his balance and almost fell down. Fortunately, he managed to adjust his body.
Mu Congmo's gaze was so terrifying that Shi Chengji regretted his actions and warned himself not to secretly observe the emperor again. Fortunately, he had just noticed a slight shift in Mu Congmo's eyes. He understood the emperor's signal and decided to put an end to this farce.
As Shi Chengji stepped out, everyone's attention shifted to him, but they never expected that the words he was about to say would be like a thunderclap, completely igniting the withered weeds, and the fire was so fierce that everyone was caught off guard.
"Lord Qi, what you said is not true. There is solid evidence that His Royal Highness Prince Huai rebelled and that Duke Han of Han Zheng Xiuyuan opened the city gates for him. It is not a fabrication as you said." There was a hint of pride in Shi Chengji's tone. His Majesty had said that this matter would be presided over by his Dali Temple, so naturally, the greatest credit should go to his Dali Temple.
Moreover, this case was the easiest he had handled since taking over the Dali Temple. With Mu Congmo at the helm, the Shadow Dragon Guards were meticulous and had carefully prepared all the evidence. They only needed to verify its authenticity. Furthermore, this case was being investigated covertly, avoiding the attention of others and naturally avoiding the inquiries of the powerful.
Everyone was stunned when these words came out. It was all because Zheng Xiuyuan had disguised himself so well that no one noticed his true intentions. They finally understood what Pang Fa meant by "rebels" and their fear of the Shadow Dragon Guards grew even stronger.
The Prince of Huai's rebellion had no impact, not even a whisper of it, which only showed that the emperor had been prepared. Even the collusion between the other party and Zheng Xiuyuan was anticipated. The Shadow Dragon Guards were truly as rumored, monitoring all officials for the emperor, no matter how big or small.
At this time, Qi Zheng finally reacted and realized that this was a trap set by the other party. He blamed himself for being too impatient. One careless move led to a complete loss. All the disguise and concealment over the years were in vain today.
This time he acted rashly, not only did he fail to save Mu Conghao, but he also got himself into trouble. The current emperor was ruthless and would never let him go after this incident. But now Mu Conghao was in the hands of the other party, and even if he had great abilities, he was powerless to save him.
It's a pity that the late emperor had put in so much effort. At this moment, he was like Wu Hou of Shu Han, who was entrusted by his old master on his deathbed to assist the young master. No matter how hard he tried, he could not resist the other party who was content with his life.
After all, he is a hopeless person. It would be fine if Mu Conghao was a little absurd in his daily life, but he made such a hasty decision to launch a rebellion, and Mu Conghao's people found out about it in advance.
Qi Zheng felt that all the strength in his body had been drained away, and he sat straight on the ground. In a trance, he heard Mu Congmo's voice: "I see that you, my dear Qi, are old, so I will bestow upon you a favor. From tomorrow on, you, my dear Qi, will retire and return home. As for the position of Minister of Personnel, it will be taken by the Right Vice Minister Zou Yun." Then he fainted on the ground.
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