Chapter 80: Evidence of the King of Chu's Crimes!
Morning next day.
Although Xie Yuanhe was still unwell, Xie Xuanyin had not yet returned to the capital, so he had to handle the morning court session himself.
Xie Yuanhe was also troubled by the nagging from these court officials because of Xie Xuansong's matter!
Listening to the ministers below, each saying their own thing, civil and military officials undermining each other, civil officials arguing and belittling each other without any real conflict, and seeing the military officials starting to roll up their sleeves...
"The Prince of Chu is the Emperor's eldest son and a role model for all the princes! Even if he disciplined the Prince of Zhou, that was only right! Why should we say anything more?"
"His Majesty is still here! What right does the Prince of Chu have to lecture the Prince of Zhou?"
"Exactly! Both the King of Chu and the King of Zhou are princes of equal rank, so how can you use the word 'lecture'? Lord Zhang, please be careful with your words!"
"The Crown Prince has been diligent in his duties for many years and is highly regarded and trusted by the Emperor. Why don't you reprimand the other princes? It's clear that His Highness the Crown Prince is of noble character!"
"Yes! His Highness the Crown Prince is the legitimate son! He is the chosen one of Heaven! It is clear that the King of Chu is too arrogant!"
"Your Majesty! The Prince of Chu deserves to be punished!"
As everyone continued arguing, they all turned to look at Xie Yuanhe.
Xie Yuanhe: "..."
Headache!
His head was throbbing so badly it felt like it was going to explode!
If it's a major matter related to the stability of the country, he can figure it out immediately.
But unfortunately, this was also his family matter!
It is said that "even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes."
As the emperor, it was even more difficult for him to determine whether his two sons were right or wrong.
"Your Majesty, the Prince of Chu must be feeling aggrieved having been detained in Fuzhou for so many months! Furthermore, the Prince of Zhou is accustomed to a life of luxury, only knowing how to eat, drink, and be merry; it is indeed inappropriate for him to manage the Ministry of Revenue! It is perfectly reasonable that the Prince of Chu is resentful and has clashed with the Prince of Zhou! Your Majesty is wise!"
“Yes, Your Majesty. Prince Zhou is completely ignorant of state affairs, while since Prince Chu took charge of the Ministry of Revenue, it has been managed in an orderly manner! I believe that the Ministry of Revenue should still be managed by Prince Chu.”
"Lord Liu, you are mistaken! Who doesn't know that since the Prince of Chu took over the Ministry of Revenue, the accounts have been in complete disarray? Even Vice Minister Shen has struggled to sort them out, let alone take the Ministry's account books from the Prince of Chu's residence! Speaking of which..."
The minister snorted coldly and glanced at Xie Xuansong's men. "I am also curious as to why the Ministry of Revenue's account books are stored in the study of the Prince of Chu's residence! As the Vice Minister of Revenue, how come Minister Shen doesn't even have the right to take the account books?"
He stumped Xie Xuansong's men with just one sentence!
Xie Xuansong, who was standing at the front, gradually gained the upper hand after hearing his people speak up for him, and even curled his lips into a smug smile.
Upon hearing the last sentence, he was so frightened that his body stiffened and his face turned pale!
He glanced at the person out of the corner of his eye and silently shook his head.
The ministers who had just been speaking up for him immediately fell silent.
The minister who had just spoken continued, "Furthermore, Lord Liu just said that Prince Zhou is completely ignorant of court affairs? But as far as I know, the account books that Minister Shen took from Prince Chu's residence were a complete mess! It took Prince Zhou and Minister Shen three days and three nights to sort them out."
"I wonder who is less adept at handling state affairs? And to whom should the Ministry of Revenue be handed over?"
"Excellent! I second that!"
A minister immediately followed.
Another minister immediately stepped forward, "Your Majesty, Prince Zhou has been in excellent health all these years, rarely even suffering from minor illnesses. I never imagined he would be injured by Prince Chu yesterday and unable to walk! Your Majesty must avenge Prince Zhou!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, how innocent is Prince Zhou?"
Listening to the ministers echoing "I second that" one after another, Xie Yuanhe sighed silently.
He glanced at Xie Xuansong with disappointment, and was about to speak when he saw Xie Xuansong kneel down on one knee.
"Father!"
Before Xie Xuansong could speak, tears streamed down his face. "It's all my fault! I didn't mean to hurt my second brother. I feel so guilty and restless. I didn't sleep a wink last night, just thinking about how I could make it up to him!"
He wept bitterly, “My second brother is kind and gentle, but he is not good at disciplining the servants in the palace. Even so, I should not have overstepped my bounds and disciplined the servants in his place, thus accidentally injuring him!”
"Your subject is ashamed! I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"
Xie Xuansong's move immediately stunned everyone.
The King of Chu was always arrogant.
They had never seen him weep and repent in public!
Even the ministers who had just impeached him couldn't help but frown at this moment.
After receiving a signal from Xie Xuansong, an old minister stepped forward first, "Your Majesty, one should not believe only one side of the story! We had only heard that the Prince of Chu injured the Prince of Zhou, but now, judging from the Prince of Chu's words, it was the servants of the Prince of Zhou's residence who made the mistake first, and the Prince of Chu punished them afterward!"
"It was because King Zhou couldn't bear to see his servants punished that he took the blame for them, which is why he was implicated and injured. In that case, it's not King Chu's fault!"
"Lord Qin is right!"
Many ministers echoed this sentiment.
“Your Majesty, Prince Zhou has been lax in managing his subordinates and has failed in his discipline. He should learn his lesson.”
Lord Qin continued.
He truly is a cunning old fox.
In just a few words, Xie Xuansong was exonerated, while Xie Xuanyu was labeled as "ineffective in discipline and deserving of punishment."
Seeing Xie Yuanhe's expression change, Xie Xuansong quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"According to you..."
However, before he could finish speaking, Consort De's voice came from outside the door—
"Qin Ruo, you old fox! Do you think that because you're old and everyone who knows your past misdeeds is dead, you can be so unscrupulous and spew filth at whomever you want?!"
The next second, Consort De stormed in!
Xie Yuanhe stood up instinctively.
Lord Qin was also frightened and turned ashen-faced, hurriedly raising his sleeve to cover his face.
"You still have any shame?"
But Consort De showed him no mercy whatsoever.
She stepped forward, grabbed Lord Qin's sleeve, and launched into a tirade, "Have you forgotten how your harem was in such chaos back then, with your wives and concubines jumping into the well together?"
"Back then, Madam Qin was fierce and chased you so hard you climbed onto the roof beam. In the end, it was your mother who saved you. Have you forgotten that?"
"Don't you know what kind of person you are? Now that you're getting old, you're pretending to be a respectable person. I think you need to take a good look at yourself!"
When Consort De scolded someone, she never repeated a single word.
Not to mention Lord Qin, she even dared to scold Xie Yuanhe.
Right now, Lord Qin was being scolded to his face, and apart from being so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged, he didn't dare to utter a sound!
Then, Consort De berated everyone who had just stood up to criticize Xie Xuanyu, and everyone shrank back, no one daring to respond.
Seeing Xie Xuansong still standing there with a frown, Consort De stepped forward and kicked him without saying a word!
Perhaps not expecting that she would not only dare to curse people in the Golden Palace, but also dare to lay a hand on him, Xie Xuansong was stunned and had no reaction for a moment!
Seeing that he didn't move, Consort De gritted her teeth and kicked him again!
This kick, delivered with all its might, struck Xie Xuansong's shin. Even Xie Xuansong couldn't withstand it and collapsed with a low cry!
The ministers present were stunned!
Xie Yuanhe also stared wide-eyed at Consort De, "You..."
Wang Luhai quickly stepped forward, "Your Highness, this is the Golden Palace, you can't act recklessly! Oh dear, Prince Chu, are you alright? Someone, quickly go and fetch the imperial physician!"
"Summon the imperial physician? I think that's unnecessary!"
Consort De waved her hand, "Your Majesty, this Prince Chu is too hateful! In my opinion, we shouldn't have summoned the imperial physician! Instead, we should have directly summoned the Imperial Guards and thrown him into the Heavenly Prison!"
"What did you say?"
Xie Xuansong and Xie Yuanhe were both startled!
Consort De didn't mince words, immediately taking something from her bosom and presenting it to Xie Yuanhe, "Your Majesty, I have evidence that Prince Chu deserves to die! Please take a look!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com