Chapter 677 Dare to enter the palace, die
Jinyun led his men to stand in front of the palace gate and said to the court officials:
"These are the confessions left by the ladies and maids who recently entered the palace to tend to the Empress Dowager. They personally witnessed everything that happened in the palace today, and they are fully aware of everything the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty did. Duke Dingguo has had several copies transcribed for your review."
What was written on those papers was different, and the words and sentences did not seem to be written by the same person. Moreover, under each confession was the name and address of the person who wrote it.
When Liang Guangyi saw the "confession" belonging to his daughter-in-law, his face turned pale. The others looked at each other in confusion after seeing what was written on the paper.
"Who knows whether these are true or false?" someone said.
Jinyun glanced at the person who had spoken and said calmly, "The originals of these confessions are in the palace, but the people who wrote them have all returned to their respective residences. If you have any doubts about the contents of these evidences and suspect that they were written under duress by my Duke, you can go and find the ladies and maids who were named in them to verify them."
Seeing him speak so frankly and without any guilt, and hearing that Xiao Yan had already released everyone back home, the court officials knew that what was written on the papers was probably true.
Jinyun said, "It's getting late today, and with the Crown Prince and the Queen Mother having died suddenly, the palace is in turmoil. My Duke said it's inappropriate for you to enter the palace to avoid any trouble. Please return home first. You will be allowed to see His Majesty at the morning court tomorrow."
Liang Guangyi said in a deep voice: "Is it the living Majesty, or the dead Majesty?"
Jinyun was both amused and confused: "What are you talking about, Grand Tutor Liang? My Duke was only forced by the palace to do what he did today, but don't you know how loyal and righteous he is? How could he do such a shameful thing?"
"You gentlemen may return home and personally consult His Majesty about today's events at tomorrow's morning court."
After Jinyun finished speaking, he bowed to the group and turned back to the palace with them.
The vermilion palace gate was locked and heavily guarded. A group of court officials stood there in silence for a long time before someone couldn't help but look at Liang Guangyi.
"Grand Master, this Xiao Yan is acting too arrogantly. He brought people into the palace without permission, captured His Majesty, and even held the court hostage, refusing to allow us to enter. How can he respect the law?"
"That's right, Grand Tutor Liang. Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. Even if he really did make a mistake, it's not his turn as a minister to judge. The old princes from the clan will come forward to help. He forcibly took Your Majesty away like this. Who knows what he's up to? He's clearly a traitor!"
As the man spoke, he turned his head and looked at Prince Ji: "Prince Ji, you can't just sit there and watch!"
Prince Ji's expression was calm: "Master Qin, what do you want me to do?"
The gentleman was stunned for a moment: "Of course, to save His Majesty..."
"Duke Dingguo said that His Majesty is safe and that we will be able to see His Majesty at the morning court tomorrow."
"But what if he's lying..."
"What's wrong with lying? Lord Qin, do you want to break into the palace to prove your loyalty, or do you want to bring your men into the palace to argue with Duke Dingguo about today's incident and get him to release the prisoners?"
Lord Qin was choked by what King Ji said.
Prince Ji said indifferently, "Xiao Yan was able to take over the palace silently, yet he didn't even order anyone to guard the capital. Do you think he's truly incompetent, or do you think he's so foolish as to only care about the affairs of the palace and not be on guard against others outside?"
"Believe it or not, if you dare to break into the palace and argue with him right now, he will simply order you to be hacked to pieces, and then in the end he will have to execute the traitor who committed treason and forcibly broke into the forbidden palace. Now that Your Majesty is in his hands, and you have all seen these confessions clearly, if Xiao Yan really wants to do something, what can you do?"
Prince Ji tossed his sleeves after he finished speaking. "Although I am a royal relative, I also despise Xie Tianyong's evil deeds of plotting against his closest relatives and scheming against court officials. Xiao Yan didn't directly take Your Majesty's life, but he didn't want to be accused of treason. Everything will be clear at tomorrow's morning court."
"If any of you are brave and loyal and wish to break into the palace, you may do so. I will not accompany you."
Prince Ji didn't want to be an enemy of Xiao Yan, and he didn't like Emperor An. The previous incidents made him see Emperor An's true face. After Concubine An returned, she told him everything that happened in the palace. He knew what happened in the palace better than anyone else.
It was true that Xiao Yan's siege of the palace by leading troops was an offense, but what Xie Tianyong did was even more outrageous. Once what he and the Queen Mother did was announced to the world, the entire Xie royal family would be infamous, and it would be uncertain whether they could keep the throne. He did not want to get involved at all, and even more so did not want to suffer the same fate as King Huan.
Prince Ji didn't want to come at all. He was forcibly dragged to the palace gate by the other two old princes. Seeing that those court officials actually encouraged him to come forward, how could he be so stupid as to seek his own death? He directly bowed to the two old princes beside him:
"Uncle Ying, Uncle Hui, I have something else to do in my mansion, so I'll take my leave now."
Prince Ji turned and walked away, ignoring the various looks behind him.
Seeing this, the old princes Ying and Hui were both trembling with fear. If Prince Ji dared to do this on normal days, they would have scolded him. The two of them were of high seniority and were not afraid of anything, but now they were facing those black-armored guards who were eyeing them covetously in front of the palace gate.
The gazes of the ministers around them made the two of them feel uneasy.
Prince Ying said awkwardly, "Since Duke Dingguo said he would let us ask His Majesty in person tomorrow, then we can wait until tomorrow morning to discuss it."
Prince Hui said, "My brother is right. Let's go to the palace tomorrow."
The clan members who were capable of taking charge ran away first, and the remaining court officials looked at each other. No one was brave enough to break into the palace to bet on whether Xiao Yan's methods were "gentle" or not. There were not many people from the Qingliu faction who came, so they left immediately after seeing a few princes leave.
The court officials from the aristocratic families and those who were loyal to Emperor An all looked at Liang Guangyi.
Liang Guangyi's face darkened: "Why are you all looking at me?"
His eyes were sharp, and when he saw those people lowering their heads, he threw his sleeves and said, "Let's go!"
Liang Guangyi also retreated, and the remaining courage of the remaining people also disappeared. A group of people came with great fanfare and left in disgrace. After the crowd in front of the palace gate had dispersed, the people behind the palace gate whispered mockingly: "We thought these people were so loyal and brave, but they ran away faster than anyone else."
Jinyun raised his lips: "But your own life is the most important."
There were wise men in the Wei court, and there were also courtiers who were loyal to the emperor and patriotic at all costs. It was just that many of them had their loyal and patriotic hearts hurt one after another by Emperor An's previous actions. Moreover, it would have been fine if Emperor An had murdered the prince, abandoned the empress dowager's life, and plotted against Xiao Yan, but the fact that he ignored the overall situation and sent people to assassinate Marquis Wenxin and General Yin was really disheartening.
Among truly loyal, wise and brave people, except for those pedantic ones, few would risk their lives for such a tyrant when they know that the situation is hopeless.
Jinyun ordered: "Have someone guard the palace gates and send a message to General Di. Don't let your guard down outside the city either."
"No news is allowed to leave the capital before tomorrow morning's court session."
Those people all looked stern. "Don't worry, sir. The city gate has been sealed. No one will go out after dark due to curfew. As for the rest, your subordinates will keep a close eye on the capital. Don't let a single bird escape!"
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