Chapter 72 Entering the Palace to "Apologize"
Nothing can be kept secret in the capital, let alone such a big thing as the rebellion of the Duke of Song's Mansion. The guests who had attended the banquet at the Prince of City's Mansion had just returned home and had not had time to digest what they saw in the Prince of City's Mansion when they heard that Xiao Yan had brought the Black Armor Guards to "raid" the Song family.
Everyone in the Duke of Song's mansion was taken back to the Criminal Department. Even Song Hong was captured while on duty. The scene frightened many court officials, and the news caused an uproar when it spread.
When Xiao Yan entered the palace to see Emperor An, Emperor An was feeding the fish by the Yuhua Pond. He held a spiral-patterned porcelain jar in his hand, leaned against the railing, grabbed a handful of fish food and threw it into the pond.
The fish food rustled into the water, and the carp in the pond smelled the fishy smell and immediately rushed up.
Scales of various colors were piled up in piles, and the fins and tails stirred up ripples. The fish jumped out of the water and fought desperately for the food floating on the surface. The originally clear pond water became turbid in an instant.
"Your humble servant greets His Majesty."
Xiao Yan knelt down to pay his respects, but Emperor An did not ask him to stand up as he usually did. Instead, he just stared into the pool.
Another handful of fish food was thrown in, and the fish in the water scrambled even more fiercely. After an unknown amount of time, the fish rolled over and sank back to the bottom of the water. Tired of watching, Emperor An turned around and said, "Do you know how much trouble you've caused?"
Xiao Yan lowered his head: "Your Majesty, please forgive me."
"Forgive me? That's easy for you to say!" Emperor An said with a serious look, "You seem to be so happy to arrest people, but have you ever thought about the consequences? The Duke of Song's Mansion is a noble title bestowed by the late emperor. Even if I wanted to touch them, I would have to think twice. But you, on the other hand, didn't even report it to me and directly took the Black Armored Guards to arrest people."
"Do you know how many people have come to the palace in just this one hour to impeach you, Lord Governor Xiao, for being a tyrant and abusing your power? I asked you to lead the Black Armor Guards and the Privy Council, not to allow you, a bastard, to disregard the laws of the court!"
When Emperor An was angry, he grabbed the fish food in his hand and threw it at Xiao Yan.
The crushed, fishy-smelling bait made Xiao Yan turn his head to the side. When he turned back, he lowered his eyes and whispered, "I know Your Majesty will protect me."
Emperor An almost laughed out of anger when he heard this: "It would be better if I chopped off your head."
"Your Majesty won't." Xiao Yan's voice was gentle, as if he didn't notice Emperor An's anger. He just talked about the matter at hand: "If Your Majesty really wants to kill me, why bother saying so much to me? As for those people in the court, they have been dissatisfied with me for a long time. Even if I do nothing, they will still nag me."
Emperor An glared at him: "You know what they're thinking, and you're giving them an excuse?!"
As he spoke, he threw the fish food jar in his hand onto the table. Immediately, a palace servant came with a copper basin filled with water and with a gold-scale pattern for him to wash his hands. Seeing this, Xiao Yan stood up and took the basin. Even though water splashed on his face, he seemed completely unaware of it. He just waited until Emperor An finished washing his hands before turning around and taking a handkerchief for him to dry his hands.
A palace servant brought tea sets over from the outer room. Xiao Yan took them and placed them on the table to make tea for Emperor An. Seeing how familiar and attentive he was in serving him, Emperor An's anger subsided a little. He didn't blame him for getting up without permission. He sat across from Xiao Yan and frowned, asking, "Why did you suddenly attack the Song family?"
Xiao Yan said, "Song Hong is colluding with the Crown Prince's old ministers."
Emperor An glanced at him and said, "Stop playing dirty with me."
The matter at the Duke of Song's Mansion was a serious one. Song Hong disobeyed the order of the previous emperor and replaced the rebels, stealing the people who should have been executed. Such disrespect could be called treason, but the key point was that this happened twenty years ago.
At that time, it was the late emperor who was on the throne, not him, and the incident of the Crown Prince Li had happened so many years ago. Not to mention a rebel daughter who was of no importance, even if the Crown Prince Li was still alive, he would be nothing more than a stray dog. If Song Hong's matter was investigated, it would at most be a romantic debt in his youth.
For this reason, Xiao Yan mobilized the Black Armor Guards to cause trouble in the Duke of Song's Mansion, and was caught by a bunch of people. This was totally not something he would do.
Emperor An said in a deep voice, "Prince Li has long been a nobody. How could you let yourself be criticized for such a small matter?"
Xiao Yan gently stirred the tea on the stove with a teaspoon. "Crown Prince Li may be a nobody, but he's still a traitor whom the late Emperor had decreed severe punishment. Song Hong disobeyed the late Emperor's will and swapped the traitor's daughter. His crime must be punished. Otherwise, everyone will follow suit. Where will Your Majesty's dignity be?"
His face was hidden in the rising smoke, revealing a hint of coldness.
"Besides, this matter is also related to Prince Cheng and the Lu family."
"Prince Cheng has seemed to be at peace these past few years, but he's secretly been interacting with aristocratic families, and is quite close to the Empress and the Fourth Prince. As for the Lu family, they've repeatedly used their status as the head of an aristocratic family to pressure Your Majesty in court. Lu Chongyuan is cunning and treacherous. The Lu family is too cautious about the grain tax, and it's difficult to make any progress for a while. However, if we can report them on Prince Li's past, Your Majesty might punish them accordingly, and the court might relax a little."
Emperor An frowned upon hearing this: "Are you saying that the Lu family is also involved in the Song family's affairs?"
"I don't know if I have a chance, but this is undoubtedly the best opportunity to deal with the Lu family."
Seeing Emperor An squinting at him, Xiao Yan stirred the tea on the stove.
"Back then, the late emperor ordered them to wipe out the lineage of Crown Prince Li and execute all officials in the Eastern Palace. How could Song Hong have swapped out Xu Zhen and openly kept him in the capital without any help?"
"Besides, even if what happened back then was truly just an accident, and Song Hong found another way to exploit the situation, who would believe it if it got out? Especially Prince Cheng. He first let the rebel's daughter escape, married into the Song family, and then coerced local officials into forging documents to cover up for the Song family."
"Those who know the situation say he's worried that Princess Cheng doesn't want to be implicated by the Song family and doesn't want to lose such a prominent relative. But if someone who doesn't know the situation hears what Prince Cheng has been doing recently, who would believe he's innocent? Would Your Majesty believe it?"
Of course not.
Emperor An narrowed his eyes slightly and stroked the Bodhi beads hanging in his hand, but his mind was thinking about what Xiao Yan had just said.
Prince Cheng is a prince of noble status, and the Song family is just a family of ministers. What ability do they have to make Prince Cheng take the risk to help them?
If people who didn't know the inside story suddenly heard what Prince Cheng did, they would think that he must have known that there was something wrong with the Song family, so he helped them conceal it. He might even be related to the case of that year, or even colluded with the Song family to deliberately let the rebel go. So when the Xu family bloodline appeared many years later, he deceived Princess Cheng and others for the Song family, and even did such shameful things as forging books and fabricating Song Xi's past.
The tea soup gradually boiled, and the fragrance of tea filled the entire water pavilion.
Xiao Yan reached out and skimmed off the foam, then said to Emperor An, who seemed lost in thought:
"Whether Song Hong is guilty or not is up to His Majesty to decide. What right does Prince Cheng have to show favor to the Song family? Even if Prince Cheng really did nothing, he is guilty of helping the Song family deceive His Majesty. Moreover, Lu Chongyuan was among those who joined Prince Cheng in suppressing the rebellion in the Eastern Palace."
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