Chapter 488 The situation is getting bigger and bigger, is Liu Tongen in collusion with others?
Qian Baokun said, "Your Majesty, this person is not from the palace, but he pretended to be a eunuch and used the so-called secrets of the deposed empress to attract the attention of the maidservants around the empress dowager and Madam Xuan. He then deliberately killed someone to provoke Madam Xuan to trespass into the Purple Palace. They must have other intentions."
"Everyone in the court knows the reason behind the Lu family's affairs. How can such nonsense come about? Madam Xuan's words were probably deliberately framed."
Marquis Wenxin also frowned and said, "Minister Qian is right. I noticed before entering the palace that there are imperial guards everywhere outside the Purple Palace. It is absolutely impossible for them to stop a frightened and embarrassed woman."
"First, there was deliberate discussion in the Imperial Garden about the unjust death of the deposed empress, then it involved Your Majesty and Xiao Yan, and now the palace guards have been bribed to let Madam Xuan in."
"Everything here is suspicious. From what I've seen tonight, it's clear someone set up a scheme to harm Governor Xiao and tarnish your Majesty's reputation. Such evil deeds must not be tolerated."
After the two of them spoke, others at the table began to speak, and it was obvious that not everyone was a fool.
Emperor An had already become suspicious when Xiao Yan reminded him of this, and his suspicions intensified when he saw the person brought in by Yu Yanfeng. He looked calmly at the person whose jaw was pinched by Xiao Yan and said directly:
"Yu Yanfeng, take this traitor out for questioning. No matter what method you use, make him speak."
After a pause, he continued:
"He Cheng."
He Cheng, the Minister of Justice, was watching the excitement at the banquet. When his name was suddenly called, he was stunned for a moment. After coming to his senses, he hurriedly stood up and said, "I am here."
Emperor An: "You and Yu Yanfeng go together to interrogate this man."
"I obey the decree."
Seeing He Cheng coming over, Yu Yanfeng's face changed slightly.
His Majesty actually asked He Cheng to come along. He was finally suspicious of him and Xiao Yan.
Yu Yanfeng pursed his lips tightly, hating the person who plotted against him tonight. However, he could do nothing under the current circumstances. He could only step forward and say, "Master Xiao, this person..."
"Commander Yu will take him away."
Xiao Yan did not hesitate and simply let go and handed the person to Yu Yanfeng.
Yu Yanfeng looked at him with gratitude, then grabbed the man's neck and carried him out. He Cheng on the other side hurriedly followed him out holding his official robe.
After they left, Emperor An glanced at Xiao Yan, then turned his head to look at the imperial guards kneeling on the ground.
"The identities of the traitors just now are unknown. If they committed suicide, they would have ended everything. I could not do anything to them. However, those of you who have been able to join the Imperial Guards have your backgrounds and families recorded. Your parents, wives, children, and all your relatives can be found."
"Who instructed you to do this tonight? Who did you collude with to let Madam Xuan in without your permission?"
"Tell the truth and I'll give you a quick death. If you dare to lie, I guarantee that none of your wives, children, or relatives will survive!"
At Emperor An's signal, the people behind him took the food in their mouths. More than ten imperial guards knelt on the ground, but no one dared to commit suicide like the fake eunuch before.
Their faces were all pale, their teeth were clenched and they were shaking.
Eunuch Feng shouted, "Your Majesty is asking, but you still refuse to tell the truth!"
But those people didn't dare to say anything.
Emperor An's expression grew colder upon seeing this. "Since you don't want to talk about it, then forget it. Drag them away and have them beaten to death in front of the palace. Execute all their relatives involved with them as well!"
The armor vibrated, and the imperial guards brought in by Yu Yanfeng stepped forward, grabbed them and walked out. Those who were originally kneeling on the ground were all panicked.
It doesn't matter if they die, but their families will be buried with them...
Someone couldn't bear it anymore and collapsed in an instant. He struggled to break free from the person dragging him, then knelt on the ground and kowtowed.
"I am guilty of accepting bribes and letting Madam Xuan in, but I have absolutely no intention of offending Your Majesty."
"Someone told me that after Your Majesty used Governor Xiao to deal with the Lu family, he was afraid that Governor Xiao knew too much and wanted to kill him, but he was reluctant to act because of the instability in the court."
"He said that if we turned a blind eye and let Madam Xuan into the Purple Palace, and let the matter be accomplished tonight, not only would we gain His Majesty's favor, but he would also give us three thousand taels of silver each afterward."
"I am so greedy that I deserve death. I only ask Your Majesty to spare my family... Please, Your Majesty!"
He kowtowed extremely hard, and his words caused an uproar in the hall.
Someone actually bribed these imperial guards.
Everyone subconsciously looked at Madam Xuan, and Madam Xuan's face turned pale.
“It’s not me!!”
Her face was still stained with blood, and she looked at Emperor An with a panic in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, it really wasn't me. The Xuan family relies on Your Majesty to be where they are today. I'm just a woman. How could I have such incredible courage and ability to bribe the palace guards?"
"Besides, I really heard those things by accident in the Imperial Garden today. It was Tan Xia who called me to come to the Purple Palace before she died, so I came here..."
"I was so panicked at the time that I just wanted to save my life. I came here thinking that asking for an audience with His Majesty might help save Tan Xia. I didn't notice that no one was trying to stop me outside the palace. I really didn't know that someone had bribed them..."
Mrs. Xuan looked at a loss, afraid that Emperor An would not believe her, and trembled in panic.
"I would never dare to deceive Your Majesty, much less collude with the palace guards. If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, I swear on the lives of my late husband and my son. I beg Your Majesty to understand!"
Emperor An didn't care much about whether his husband was dead or not. After all, he had been dead for many years. Madam Xuan might not care much about her adoptive uncle, but the youngest son of the Xuan family was Madam Xuan's life.
When the Xuan family committed a crime and was exiled, the eldest son and daughter of the Xuan family both died on the way to exile. The youngest son she has now was the one she had just conceived at that time.
The child was born with great difficulty, and his adoptive uncle died of illness in exile. The youngest son of the Xuan family accompanied Madam Xuan through all the hardships and depended on her for many years.
After the Xuan family returned to Beijing, Emperor An met the youngest son of the Xuan family. Mrs. Xuan loved him to the core.
Emperor An did not think that Madam Xuan would use the life of her beloved youngest son to fool him. Moreover, with the Xuan family's wealth and Madam Xuan's ability, she would not be able to hide it from Yu Yanfeng and bribe the people in the imperial guards.
So in other words, Madam Xuan might really be unaware of the affairs of the Imperial Guards.
Emperor An looked at the guard who had spoken and asked, "Who bribed you?"
The man said in a trembling voice, "It's Eunuch Kang in front of the emperor."
Eunuch Kang?
Emperor An didn't remember it for a moment, but Eunuch Feng whispered, "Your Majesty, it should be Kang Muhai."
"Yes, that's Eunuch Kang Muhaikang. He serves in the Imperial Court. Although he's not as highly regarded by His Majesty as Eunuch Feng, he also frequently visits the Imperial Study."
The man said hurriedly, "It was Eunuch Kang who told us not to stop anyone from entering the palace. He also said that Governor Xiao knew too much and that Your Majesty had long wanted to punish him. We simply assumed that Your Majesty acquiesced to this."
"Also... Commander Liu had a dispute with Deputy Commander Yu a while ago. He has always been tolerant towards his brothers in the Imperial Guards, but Deputy Commander Yu is very strict and punishes them at the slightest mistake."
"Eunuch Kang said that there have been a series of incidents in the palace, and His Majesty has long been dissatisfied with Deputy Commander Yu. If the Imperial Guards cause any more trouble, Commander Yu will be the first to be punished."
The man was afraid of having his entire clan punished, so he revealed everything.
When Emperor An heard Liu Tong'en's name, his face looked particularly ugly.
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