Chapter 495 The Crazy Truth
Cao Dejiang's words were harsh and to the point, and they put Emperor An in a difficult position.
Everyone in the hall was looking at him, even the royal family members had frowns on their faces and mysterious expressions.
In the 20th year, during the disaster relief in the south, Emperor An was ordered by the emperor to take over the mess left by the Crown Prince Li. It was from that time that the Lu family and he began to have a close relationship...
Emperor An's scalp tingled when everyone was staring at him. For the first time, he felt that Cao Dejiang was even more ruthless than Liang Guangyi. He was so ruthless that if he just said he didn't want to, he would be branded guilty, making everyone suspicious and becoming the target of public criticism.
He glared at Xiao Yan fiercely, completely filled with murderous intent. When he looked at Prince Zeng again, there was no trace of the kindness he had just shown to "rescue" him. He only regretted that he had not killed this rebellious son directly that day.
"What Cao Gong said is true. Hate the Prince. Please continue."
Emperor An spoke each word with great emphasis: "This concerns the lives of dozens of officials. Think it over carefully and speak clearly. If you dare to make any mistakes, I will not forgive you!"
Prince Zeng's heart trembled. He understood the threat in Emperor An's words, and he also understood the murderous intent that was not concealed in his tone. However, he knew even more clearly that if he had a way out before he spoke, now that it had come to this, he and Xiao Yan would have been completely tied together.
He had no chance to retreat.
Taking a step back, if Xiao Yan died, he would also die.
The abyss of reckoning will devour him until not even a bone is left. Even if he retreats, his father will not forgive him.
Prince Zan was an ambitious man to begin with, not to mention... He glanced at Xiao Yan, who was standing not far away with an indifferent expression. He panicked for a moment before calming down. When he looked up again, there was no fear on his face.
"I will naturally report this clearly to Father, and let everyone in the world know the truth."
Emperor An's hand trembled, pinching Eunuch Feng so hard that he shivered in pain.
Prince Zang stood in front of the palace and spoke in a deep voice, "When I learned that the tragic deaths of officials were related to the disaster relief efforts twenty years ago, I realized something was amiss. Meanwhile, another rumor has surfaced, further fueling the controversy."
"It is said that after the ship carrying relief grain and money sank, the wife of the coroner who examined the bodies of the over a hundred officers and soldiers aboard the ship, who later sank in the river, became terrified and insane upon learning of the tragic deaths of the officials involved. She cried out daily for revenge."
"The coroner's son, fearing his mother had died of fright, was also terrified, so he took his mother to a Buddhist temple to confess. He confessed before the Buddha himself that all the over a hundred officers and soldiers on the sunken ship had perished before hitting the water, and that his father had been bribed to perjure himself after the autopsy."
"He said that after his father performed an autopsy, he was shocked to discover that the sinking of the official ship was intentional, and that the missing relief grain and money were likely tampered with. He had been playing along, hoping to find a way to report the incident to the Crown Prince and He Wenzhuo, the third master of the He family, who had gone to the south to provide disaster relief. However, before he could find that opportunity, riots broke out in Shezhou."
The voice of the Hate Prince was not too loud, but it sounded like thunder in everyone's ears.
Every word and sentence is frightening.
"The fault for the sinking of the official ship fell on the He family and Crown Prince Li. Rumors spread that the court had no regard for the lives of the people in the south. Furthermore, the death toll from the flood continued to rise, and the court was unable to provide a second batch of disaster relief funds. Crown Prince Li was held accountable by the late emperor and forcibly recalled to the capital."
"Before he left the South, a plague broke out in Rongjiang, Shezhou. Crown Prince Li didn't dare to entrust the matter to anyone else, so he left the Third Master of the He family in the South to watch over Rongjiang. He returned to the capital to raise money and food and dispatch the imperial physician south. But soon after the physician left, Rongjiang was flooded, leaving no one alive in the entire city."
When Emperor An heard the word "Rongjiang", his face became extremely ugly.
Eunuch Feng, who was standing next to him, could clearly feel his breathing becoming heavy.
Below, Grand Tutor Liang clenched his fists tightly, wanting to interrupt Prince Zeng, but he could not find any reason to speak.
Prince Zeng said in a deep voice, "Afterwards, everyone thought that Rongjiang was located at the river's mouth and was flooded because the dike was destroyed after the flood and the dike broke twice. However, the son of the coroner said that his father saw with his own eyes the soldiers coming south to provide disaster relief besieging Rongjiang, saw them throwing torches into the city, and saw the entire Rongjiang River burned down."
"The fire burned the entire Rongjiang night sky red. The screams from the city echoed throughout the surrounding mountains and plains. People kept banging on the city gates, trying to escape, but were blocked by soldiers from outside. Until everything was consumed by the fire, the people in the city screamed and died."
Wow——
The hall was instantly in an uproar, and everyone's face was filled with fear.
Marquis Wenxin slammed the table and shouted angrily, "What did you say? You said someone burned Rongjiang and killed everyone inside?"
"yes!"
Prince Zeng's face was filled with grief. "The coroner witnessed the burning of Rongjiang River with his own eyes. Afterwards, someone opened the dike upstream of the Rongjiang River, causing a massive flood to destroy the entire Rongjiang River, sweeping away the burnt remains and the bodies. The city of Rongjiang was also washed clean by those officers and soldiers, leaving not even a trace."
"After his hasty escape, the coroner dared not mention the incident on the government ship again. Coincidentally, the man who had bribed him to perform the autopsy came with a large sum of money. Frightened, he pretended to be in cahoots with the gang and accepted the money. He then took his wife and children and lived a wealthy life, pretending he knew nothing about it."
"Those people saw that he was greedy for wealth and fame. It just so happened that after the third master of the He family died in Rongjiang, the Crown Prince ordered an investigation. They were afraid of complications, so they didn't kill him. But the coroner was haunted by his conscience. He was haunted by nightmares every day because of what he saw that night. He died of illness in the mansion within five years."
"Before he died, he told his wife and children about this, both out of guilt and fear that they would be unable to protect themselves if someone investigated. The coroner's son kept this in mind and never mentioned it to anyone else until the tragic deaths of officials from three Shezhou prefectures. Among them was Shezhou Sima Lou Yong'an, who was responsible for recovering the bodies and bribing the coroner to falsify the autopsy."
"The coroner's wife was driven mad with fear, and his son was also in constant fear. That's why he confessed his sins before the Buddha."
Prince Zang glanced at the court officials with different expressions, and said in a low voice with anger towards Marquis Wenxin and other generals:
"Buddhist temples are places women like to visit. Furthermore, with the tragic deaths in the three areas of Shezhou and the widespread rumors of ghosts and gods, even more people are going there to pray for peace."
"When the coroner's son was taking his mother to confess, someone overheard him mention the burning of Rongjiang River and the bloodbath in the city. He also revealed that someone had murdered relief workers, sank a government ship, and embezzled millions in grain money."
"Right now, not only Shezhou, Langzhou, and Raozhou, but even other places are full of rumors."
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