Chapter 497 Emperor An pretends to faint
Cao Dejiang's questioning was like thunder, and every word made Emperor An look tense.
Seeing the emperor and his ministers confronting each other in front of the hall, everyone was also nervous. At this moment, someone from the Imperial Medical Bureau stepped out of the crowd, walked to the front of the hall, and knelt on the ground with a "bang".
"Your Majesty, my father was one of the imperial physicians who died during the Nandi riots. If he truly died at the hands of the rioters, loyally serving his country, I have nothing to say. But if he was murdered by someone selfishly, burned alive in Rongjiang City, I cannot turn a blind eye."
"Father was devoted to the imperial court. He knew the dangers of the epidemic in the south but still went ahead without hesitation. He didn't deserve to die in such humiliation."
"I beg Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate this matter and give justice to my father!"
The doctor who spoke was not too old. His face was pale and his eyes were full of anger.
When his father died, everyone said that it was the He family's fault. It was because the third master of the He family was too greedy and angered the people. It was because the Crown Prince Li failed to provide disaster relief that his father was implicated. He hated the Crown Prince Li and the He family so much, but now he told him.
His father died in vain, and He Wenzhuo was not the mastermind. How could he let him go so easily?
Marquis Wenxin also said in a deep voice: "This matter is of great importance. If someone really burns Rongjiang and massacres the city, it is simply inhumane and cannot be forgiven under any circumstances!"
"Marquis Wenxin is right. The government provided disaster relief to protect the people, and the soldiers went south to suppress bandits. Who was the man who led the troops back then? He actually dared to let his men massacre and kill people, burning an entire city to death. It's truly despicable!"
"Your Majesty, even though it's been twenty years, rumors are spreading without reason."
"I second the motion. This matter is truly atrocious. Whether it's the civilians who died unjustly or the imperial physicians and officials who were buried in the south, they must be given justice!"
The Purple Palace was in an uproar. Although the officials in the court had their own thoughts, not all of them were evil. Apart from the upright people who were filled with righteous indignation, the military generals in the court also spoke out one after another, their expressions extremely indignant.
Emperor An looked at the people below, listening to the voices that were getting louder and louder, demanding a thorough investigation of the affairs in the South. He felt a splitting headache as he gasped in his throat.
"His Majesty!"
Eunuch Feng called out, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"
As Eunuch Feng was frantically supporting Emperor An, he lightly pinched his arm.
Emperor An met Eunuch Feng's anxious gaze and wanted to pretend to have a headache and faint. But before he could fall, Xiao Yan suddenly called out from below, "Doctor Ling, Your Majesty seems unwell. Why don't you come forward and take a look at Him?"
Doctor Ling was the young doctor who had spoken angrily just now. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Emperor An falling down. After hearing what Xiao Yan said, he stepped forward without hesitation.
Emperor An, who was about to faint, suddenly froze. He grabbed Eunuch Feng's hand tightly with such force that it seemed as if he had mistaken it for Xiao Yan's neck, and his nails dug into the flesh.
"Your Majesty..." Eunuch Feng shuddered in pain.
Emperor An gritted his teeth and sat up straight. He had finally realized that what happened tonight was far from the work of Cui Lin and Prince Zan. Xiao Yan must have known about it a long time ago. He probably hated Xiao Yan for his repeated suspicions and even his previous murderous intentions towards him. Otherwise, with his usual cleverness, how could he not see through Xiao Yan's thoughts and instead repeatedly sabotaged him?
Having personally raised a wolf cub who always hindered him in every way, Emperor An only hated himself for being blind. He sat firmly in his seat and before Doctor Ling could come forward, he suppressed his anger and said, "No need. I just have a headache, an old problem."
Doctor Ling paused on the steps and subconsciously looked at Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan raised the corner of his mouth slightly, seeming to be respectful: "Let the imperial physician take a look at your majesty. The headache may be serious or minor."
"I said no!"
Emperor An's voice grew colder, and as he looked down at Xiao Yan, murderous intent filled his eyes. "What? You want to make the decision for me?"
"I dare not."
Xiao Yan leaned forward slightly. "I am only concerned about your Majesty's health. However, since your Majesty is unwilling to allow the imperial physician to treat you, then Imperial Physician Ling may withdraw. After all, no one knows your Majesty's health better than you do. It was only in a moment of desperation that I overstepped my bounds."
"Your Majesty, forgive me."
He spoke humbly and respectfully, and there was nothing wrong with his words and actions, but the sarcasm was almost written on his face.
Doctor Ling, who had been worried that something had really happened to Emperor An and was anxious to see him, now had something unclear in his mind. His eyes were filled with resentment and anger, and he was full of confusion and anger.
Emperor An was completely fine. He had clearly wanted to take the opportunity to pretend to be unconscious in order to delay the interrogation of the Nan Di case.
There were also many other shrewd people in the hall, and for a moment, their eyes looking at Emperor An were somewhat complicated and difficult to describe.
Anyone can see that there is something fishy about the incident that happened twenty years ago. Even if the officials in the three places in Shezhou were not murdered by wronged ghosts but were murdered by humans, it is definitely related to the old case from twenty years ago.
Logically speaking, as an emperor, Emperor An should have ordered a thorough investigation and interrogation when such a big incident happened, causing public unrest and discussion all over the world. He would never have sat back and watched. However, he was evasive and refused to conduct a thorough investigation, even pretending to faint in front of so many people.
This is simply...
Tang Ning was almost amused by Emperor An's behavior. Could it be that this emperor was crazy? Was he afraid that others didn't know that he had something to hide?
Doctor Ling knelt back down with a hint of resentment, his face stern and unceremoniously said, "Since Your Majesty is alright, I ask Your Majesty to conduct a thorough investigation into this old case from twenty years ago!"
Marquis Wenxin and his companions were also dissatisfied with Emperor An's actions, feeling that his words and actions were simply treating state affairs as a joke. A military officer stepped over Emperor An and spoke in a deep voice, "Prince Zan, since you said you sent people to the South to investigate, do you have any other evidence besides these rumors?"
Hate the Prince: "Yes."
He restrained his emotions and said to everyone:
"Because the matter was of grave importance, I ordered the coroner's wife and children, as well as the surviving relatives of the officials who died tragically, to be brought back to the capital. I also organized all the evidence gathered from the investigation in Shezhou. I had originally intended to hand it all over to my father, but I didn't expect..."
Prince Zeng glanced at Emperor An, his eyes lowered with mixed disappointment, and he seemed to have calmed down before continuing:
"In addition to these things, I also discovered another matter. It was because of this matter that when Minister Cui and the others were about to convict Xiao Yan, I couldn't help but bring up the matter of the three places in Shezhou in the palace."
Cao Dejiang frowned: "What's the matter?"
Prince Zhe said solemnly, "When my people were investigating an old case from twenty years ago in the South, they unexpectedly discovered that the Cui and Liang families had also sent people to the South, and there was another group of people entrenched in the He'an area. I originally thought that they had heard the news from the South and went to investigate this matter, but later I found that this was not the case."
"That group of unknown individuals has been lingering in He'an City, secretly contacting the Yue family of He'an, trying every possible way to get close to Madam Zhao, who had divorced Zhao Yuanlang. The Cui and Liang families are even more bizarre. They're actually investigating the Xiao family members who were killed long ago after being retaliated by Governor Xiao."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
