Chapter 579: Confrontation with the Princess
When Wei Qing just entered the palace, the eldest princess received the news.
She was having breakfast and when she heard the news, the bowl in her hand fell to the ground.
Her face looked extremely ugly.
Didn't Wei Qing fall off a cliff after being shot by an arrow, and was in grave danger? How did he appear in the capital without making any noise?
Those bastards! They couldn't even kill one person, let alone keep him under control!
The eldest princess immediately lost her appetite and stood up and went into the study. She took out all the letters exchanged with Wangxian County, then ordered her servants to bring a brazier, and she burned all the letters with her own hands.
Seeing all the letters turned to ashes, the eldest princess breathed a sigh of relief.
Imperial Palace.
Wei Qing looked at the emperor in front of him. His face was pale and his hair was covered with white hair. Although he hadn't seen him for several months, he looked several years older.
Although this man was his biological father, Wei Qing did not feel distressed when he saw how he had changed. There was no ripple in his heart.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." Wei Qing knelt down and saluted.
"Lord Wu, please get up. You've worked hard lately." Emperor Zhou said with a smile, "What did you find out?"
Wei Qing stood up and told everything he had found out.
"The magistrate of Leshui County repeatedly approached the prefecture governor, hoping to lower the taxes, but he refused. Seeing the people's misery and despair, he decided to come to the capital to speak to His Majesty. He was subsequently executed for corruption."
Emperor Zhou's face looked extremely ugly.
Wangxian County was right under his nose, yet it dared to increase taxes.
"Your Majesty, it's not the entire Wangxian County that's seeing the tax increase, but rather some of the more remote areas. The people there are helpless and can only pay their taxes obediently."
"I followed the tax issue and investigated where the increased taxes were used, and discovered a private army within the territory of Wangxian County."
Emperor Zhou's expression changed completely: "Private army?"
The Great Zhou prohibits the maintenance of private armies, but Wangxian County actually has private armies!
Wangxian County is so close to the capital, what exactly does the other party want to do?
"This private army is maintained in the southern part of Wangxian County. It has a total of approximately 30,000 men, equipped with armor and weapons, and 10,000 of them are also equipped with horses," Wei Qing continued. "The specific details are recorded in this document."
Wei Qing handed over the document, and Emperor Zhou took it and began to read it.
"Your Majesty, please turn back to the previous page. This is the tax collection item for Wangxian County."
Emperor Zhou looked at the densely packed list of names and felt dizzy and uncomfortable.
So many reasons, this is going to take the lives of the people!
"When I returned, I was pursued by many assassins and was shot in the chest with an arrow. I almost didn't get to see Your Majesty."
"How ridiculous!" the emperor slammed the table.
Wangxian County even dared to kill the imperial envoy, showing that they did not take the emperor seriously at all!
The emperor's head was aching and he felt like he could not bear it any longer.
"De Shun!" the emperor shouted.
Soon, Eunuch Deshun came in.
"medicine."
Eunuch Deshun quickly presented the medicine. After the emperor took it, his headache was relieved a little and his eyes became clearer.
"Come here, convey my order and let the eldest princess come to see me." said the emperor.
The emperor closed his eyes and rested. Wei Qing stood aside and waited without saying a word.
The air was filled with a sense of anxiety, and the emperor must be feeling very anxious at this moment.
Wei Qing tensed up, thinking about what might happen next and how to deal with it.
Just as everyone was lost in thought, the eldest princess arrived.
The eldest princess came in and first saluted the emperor, then looked at Wei Qing with her usual expression and a smile on her face.
"Who is this gentleman?"
"My dear Lord Wu, this time you are the imperial envoy investigating the death of the magistrate of Leshui County in Wangxian Commandery." said the emperor.
"So it's Lord Wu, young and promising." The princess praised, looking at the emperor with a frown, "Your Majesty, why do you look a little unhappy? Are you feeling unwell?"
The emperor looked at the eldest princess and felt a pang of discomfort in his heart.
She is his biological sister and the person he is closest to and trusts the most.
Those people around him all left him one by one, only my sister was still by his side...
Now, even she...
A lonely man, this is the emperor.
If he wants to be a wise ruler, he has to give up many things.
The emperor handed the document in his hand to the eldest princess with an expressionless face: "Take a look."
When the princess saw the contents of the document, her face changed immediately.
"Your Majesty, I don't know about these things. It must have been done by those people from Wangxian County!"
"I was only in my fiefdom for a short time and soon returned to the capital. Every year, I collected half of Wangxian County's taxes. I never imagined they would go behind my back and create false pretenses to increase taxes, not to mention raising private soldiers!"
"Your Majesty, the laws of the Great Zhou prohibit the maintenance of private soldiers. The person behind this must be found and severely punished!"
The eldest princess first cleared herself of the blame and then began to play the emotional card.
"Your Majesty, we are from the same mother and grew up together. I am happy when Your Majesty is well. How could I have such thoughts?"
"How can I, a mere woman,...? Your Majesty is the only one I can rely on."
The eldest princess ignored Wei Qing's presence and talked incessantly about her childhood.
The emperor's expression also changed from cold to gentle.
Yes, he and his sister have such a deep relationship, how could his sister betray him?
Even with so much evidence, the emperor seemed to be deceived by years of feelings.
Or perhaps, he couldn't accept his sister's betrayal, so he chose to escape, preferring the possibility that his sister hadn't betrayed him...
Wei Qing remained silent, with his eyes lowered, but his gaze became cold.
Family love?
The emperor seems to care about family affection now, but did he have any family affection towards his mother, him, and the empress dowager at all?
How ridiculous!
If the emperor chose to believe the princess, would those innocent people, the Leshui County Magistrate, have died in vain? Would the old man who saved him, Gou Wa, and the countless people have to live in dire straits forever?
He felt a sense of powerlessness.
However, that feeling of powerlessness was soon replaced by burning thoughts and firm will.
No matter what, he must seek justice for the dead! Let those people no longer be oppressed! Clear the Xiao family's grievances! The Xiao family members will not die in vain!
Wei Qing's lowered eyes became firm.
The emperor was indeed shaken.
He hoped that everyone else had done it and that the princess was simply deceived.
"Your Majesty, I think we can search the Princess's mansion to prove her innocence." Wei Qing said.
The emperor nodded.
"Come here." said the emperor.
The emperor summoned the commander of the imperial guard and asked him to take people to search the princess's mansion.
The commander of the guards left.
Wei Qing understood that if the imperial guards found nothing this time, the princess could escape punishment.
All crimes will be borne by the group headed by the prefect of Wangxian County.
And the eldest princess was just deceived...
I hope the guards can find something.
The eldest princess breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, she had already cleaned up the evidence, and the guards would not find any evidence.
…
The Princess's Mansion.
The Imperial Guards quickly surrounded the Princess's Mansion.
"You...what are you going to do? This is the Princess's Mansion!" The doorman tried to stop them.
The Princess's Mansion is such a respected place in the capital, no one dares to be so rude on ordinary days!
The guards simply read out the emperor's oral order, then rushed in and conducted a carpet search of the entire mansion.
This search was so fierce that many people in the mansion were confused and trembling with fear.
The eldest princess is their supporter, and they are all worried that something might happen to her...
Only Young Master Liu Yue looked calm, with a hint of a smile on his face.
People came from the palace, searched the princess's mansion, and began to shake the big tree.
He was walking in the mansion, and everyone was in a panic, and no one paid attention to him.
He came to the eldest princess's study and watched the guards rush into the study. When they came out, they had a few more letters in their hands and handed them to their leader.
A smile appeared on Young Master Liu Yue's lips.
The princess thought she had burned all the letters, but she didn't know that he had secretly hidden a few...
Soon, the guards who searched the eldest princess' bedroom found the dragon robe!
The letters exchanged with the prefect of Wangxian County mentioned the private army. Coupled with this dragon robe, there is solid evidence that the princess wants to rebel!
The Imperial Guards searched the entire Princess's Mansion and then returned to the palace with the evidence to report.
…
The eldest princess was very calm, still drinking tea, thinking about many things in her mind. After this incident, how to deal with the private soldiers, who will come out to take the blame, who will be assigned to go... and how to deal with Wu Yu who caused her so much trouble!
She wants Wu Yu to be deserted by everyone and live a life worse than death!
A hint of cruelty flashed across the eldest princess's eyes, but when she raised them again, they became gentle.
The eldest princess exchanged a few words with the emperor, who responded with a few expressions on his face. The atmosphere between the two was very relaxed.
In this relaxed atmosphere, the Imperial Guards returned and placed all the things they had searched from the Princess's Mansion in front of the Emperor.
Letters, dragon robes...
When the eldest princess saw the evidence, her face changed suddenly.
How is that possible?
Didn’t she burn all the letters?
As for the dragon robe...
How could there be a dragon robe?!
She would never do such a stupid thing!
However, since the items were found in her residence, she had no way to defend herself.
Something had escaped her grasp!
Looking at these evidences, all the strength in her body was drained away. She leaned back in her chair, her face pale.
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