The case in Yizhou is certainly important, but the emperor's envoy will inevitably face various obstacles from the Jiang family when he arrives in Yizhou, making it very difficult to obtain evidence, and there will be no results in a short period of time.
Right now, the most important thing is the case of the prefect's son.
He must see for his beloved father, right under his nose, just how much evil could the son of a city official commit?!
It should also let his father, the emperor, know that even if the emperor is far away, right here in the capital, within his reach, the methods of powerful families are more effective than his imperial edicts!
While the Ministry of Personnel and the Prefectural Governor's Office certainly played a role in this, the common people had reservations about the imperial edict, but the Ji family was able to dispel those reservations. Regardless of the methods used by the Ji family, the emperor needs to seriously reflect on his actions.
The next morning, after his morning run, Ye Jingchen summoned Lin Xun, the commander of the Eastern Palace Guard.
To be honest, although he had dealt with the Eastern Palace Guards quite a bit since he transmigrated into the book, this was the first time he had formally met the commander of the Eastern Palace Guards.
As the main person in charge of protecting the safety of the Eastern Palace, Ye Jingchen should not have ignored him for so long, but what could he do when Lin Xun came from the Duke of Anguo's mansion?
The Duke of Anguo's mansion was the Empress's maternal family.
Dayuan has two dukes, one named Anguo and the other Zhenguo.
The title of Duke Zhenguo was bestowed upon him by the late emperor for his outstanding military achievements, and the title could only be passed down for three generations.
However, the Duke of Anguo's family were meritorious officials during the founding of the Great Yuan Dynasty. They fought alongside the founding emperor and were his sworn brothers.
After establishing Dayuan, Emperor Taizu personally promised that as long as Dayuan existed, the Duke of Anguo's Mansion would always be the Duke of Anguo's Mansion!
Within the imperial city, apart from the royal family, the Duke of Anguo's mansion holds the most extraordinary status.
The emperor was able to secure his throne precisely because of the strong support of the Duke of Anguo's family.
However, after Ye Jingchen was born and made crown prince, Duke Anguo requested to leave the court to avoid suspicion.
In order to reassure the emperor, after he resigned, all the officials in his faction who held important positions resigned one after another, returning power to the current emperor.
On the surface, the Duke of Anguo's mansion has distanced itself from the court and the political center. However, in reality, the Duke of Anguo's voluntary resignation is in the Emperor's heart. As long as the Duke of Anguo's mansion does not commit serious crimes such as treason that would result in the extermination of nine generations of his family, his family can inherit the title for generations and will always be the head of the nobility. So what does it matter whether he is in the court or not?
The emperor's choice of someone from the Duke of Anguo's mansion as the commander of the Eastern Palace Guard was also a way of showing the Duke of Anguo's mansion his attitude and determination.
In the novel, because the original owner was too troublesome, the Duke of Anguo's mansion had to get involved in the court struggle in order to protect him. They fell into the trap set by several other princes, lost the emperor's trust, and were eventually accused of treason and their entire family was executed.
After transmigrating into the book, Ye Jingchen did not plan to make contact with the Duke of Anguo's mansion too early.
While the lack of a maternal clan to rely on is almost equivalent to being cut off from the throne for other princes, it is a significant advantage for the crown prince.
Although he tried his best to maintain his father-son relationship with the emperor, he would not gamble with their trust. History is full of such negative examples, which is a major taboo.
Since Lin Xun came from the Duke of Anguo's mansion, it means he is trustworthy, but he will not allow Lin Xun to be loyal only to him.
Originally, Lin Xun was the link between the emperor and the Duke of Anguo's mansion, so why would he be so clever as to sever this link?
Lin Xun is a young man with a resolute face and a tall stature. He walks with a firm and powerful gait. In modern times, his looks and temperament would make him a perfect candidate for a "handsome man" image.
To be honest, Ye Jingchen also wants to grow up to look like that; it's more dignified.
"I suddenly remembered the incident when I left the palace last time, where the son of the Prefect of Jingzhao forcibly abducted a woman. I promised the storyteller grandfather and grandson that I would punish the spoiled brat according to the law. Take some men to the Jingzhao Prefectural Office and ask how the case is progressing. If there is no progress, urge the Prefect to close the case as soon as possible. Don't let me break my promise to that grandfather and grandson!" Ye Jingchen said to Lin Xun.
"May I ask if Your Highness has any other instructions?" Lin Xun asked specifically after hearing Ye Jingchen's words.
Ye Jingchen knew what he meant by asking that question, but he didn't need Lin Xun to act secretly.
"Push him harder, we must give all the victims justice as soon as possible!" Ye Jingchen said.
"Also, tell him not to forget what I said before: if he misses a single crime, it is the father's fault for not teaching his son properly, and he shall suffer the consequences for his good son!" he added.
Lin Xun accepted the order and withdrew.
Before leaving the palace with his men, he went to Chengqian Palace to meet the emperor and explained in detail what Ye Jingchen had said.
Such a minor case wouldn't normally warrant the Emperor's attention. If Ye Jingchen hadn't specifically requested an imperial edict for it, and if Consort De hadn't pleaded for him repeatedly, he probably wouldn't have even known about it.
But if he didn't know, fine. But now that he does know, and even issued an imperial edict, why hasn't the case been closed after all these days?
The emperor was already dissatisfied with the Prefect of Jingzhao because the lawsuit filed by the people of Yizhou against the Jiang family had caused a great uproar and made the whole city go crazy. Now he felt even more that the man was not up to any great responsibility.
"The Eastern Palace Guard is under the command of the Crown Prince. Since this is the Crown Prince's order, then you should do as he says," the Emperor said to Lin Xun.
He wanted to see why the Prefect of the Capital hadn't closed such a simple case for so long!
Lin Xun accepted the order and left the palace for the Jingzhao Prefecture.
When he arrived, he happened to encounter a victim who came to appeal for justice.
The couple's daughter was humiliated by the prefect's son. To protect her innocence, she committed suicide by running into a pillar.
The Prefect of Jingzhao felt a sudden darkness before his eyes.
He knew his son was spoiled by the family and had been causing trouble outside, but he didn't know that this unfilial son had actually caused so many deaths.
The crimes alleged by the victims who have come to plead their cases in the past few days, when added together, would be too lenient to be sentenced to beheading and public humiliation; they would probably need to be torn to pieces to appease public anger.
What can be done to protect such a rebellious son? And who can protect him?
Even tigers don't eat their cubs, but such a rebellious son will only bring trouble to his family if he lives!
The prefect had already made up his mind, but he had a shrewish wife at home who wouldn't let it go and used his father-in-law and the Empress Dowager De in the palace to pressure him. He was caught in a dilemma and didn't know what to do.
Now, the commander of the Eastern Palace Guard has personally come to the Jingzhao Prefecture to urge him to handle the case and even inquire about its details.
The prefect hesitated for only a moment before taking out all the case files accusing his rebellious son and handing them over to Lin Xun for review.
Now that someone from the Eastern Palace has come, let the Eastern Palace handle this matter. If the wicked woman wants to blame someone, blame the Crown Prince.
From the very beginning, it was the crown prince who wanted to kill the rebellious son!
The Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture felt perfectly justified in shifting the blame.
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