Chapter 509 Xiao Yan: Master Liang, You Are Too Noisy
Liang Guangyi almost fainted from anger.
Why can't he forgive these people?
He had nothing to do with this matter in the first place, so why couldn't he let these people off? What did it matter to him whether these people lived or died?!
Cao Dejiang frowned. "Grand Tutor Liang, I've already said that the case we're hearing right now is from the Southland. What are you thinking of by interrupting us so repeatedly?"
“You…you…”
Liang Guangyi was so angry that he was shaking all over.
Cao Dejiang's brows furrowed even more tightly: "Could it be that you really have selfish motives?"
"I don't have any!"
"So Grand Tutor Liang thinks I'm unqualified to inquire about this case? That's right, you're the Grand Tutor, and I'm just a mere Imperial Censor. How can I ask about this?"
Liang Guangyi: “!!”
He didn’t say that!!
"You're talking nonsense..."
He opened his mouth to scold Cao Dejiang for fabricating charges, but saw Xiao Yan standing quietly, frowning and saying, "Grand Tutor Liang, you scared the witness."
Liang Guangyi: "..."
The words in his mouth stopped abruptly, and his whole face seemed to be dyed, turning red and white.
Xiao Yan: "In front of Your Majesty, Grand Tutor Liang has overstepped the bounds."
puff--
"Cough cough cough!"
Fu Laiqing's saliva got stuck in his throat, and his face turned red from choking. Facing his uncle's deathly gaze, he quickly shrank his neck and hid behind the pillar beside him.
He really didn't mean it. It was just that his uncle and Xiao Yan were too mean.
Tang Ning couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth. Qian Qiyue, who had been held tightly by Madam Qian, also lowered her head and her shoulders moved strangely.
The old man from the Liang family wanted to kick someone when he was down.
Should!
The atmosphere in the hall was strange for a moment. Liang Guangyi stared at Fu Laiqing who was hiding behind a pillar, unable to vent his accumulated anger.
Xiao Yan lowered his eyes and glanced at the woman kneeling on the ground: "Didn't you hear what Cao Gong asked you?"
The woman shuddered suddenly.
"I didn't lie!"
"Although my husband is dead, my brother-in-law is still alive. Moreover, he was not the only bandit leader who entered the officialdom at that time. There are still many in Shezhou. Oh, and there are also some in Langzhou and Raozhou."
As she spoke, she turned her head and pointed at an older woman beside her who was much older than her:
"Madam Xiong, please speak up. Wasn't the uncle of the aunt your nephew married the one who led the rebellion with Zhou Jungui and the others?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" The old woman was startled.
The woman said, "I'm not kidding. I remember that man's name was Lai Chuan. Yes, that Lai Chuan. He lives in Raozhou now. He had his arm chopped off accidentally and couldn't become an official, but he did get a large sum of money."
"I heard from my husband that, in order to appease them, Zhou Jungui and Lord Xiong teamed up under the guise of disaster relief and donated food to get him a plaque that read 'A Family of Good Deeds' and hung it in the mansion. My brother-in-law even laughed at him when he was drunk, saying that countless people had died at his hands. If he were a good man, there would be no evil people in this world..."
The bear-looking old lady's face trembled as she spoke, and when she saw that everyone's eyes were on her, she almost fainted.
The woman from earlier kept insisting, "Speak up! Isn't Lai Chuan very close to your family? When your nephew took a concubine, you even held a banquet and invited us over. I even gave him a gift. Besides, Lord Xiong has several people like Lai Chuan under his command."
"Those people pay tribute to Lord Xiong every year, and you receive silver every year!"
Cao Dejiang looked at the old woman and asked, "Is what she said true?"
“I…I…”
"If it's true, then say yes. If it's not true, then say no. What are you talking about?" A general was furious.
Marquis Wenxin said coldly, "Since you've come here today, you should understand why. If you dare to tell a lie, you won't survive!"
The old woman shuddered with fear, her face pale as she whispered, "Yes, that's what happened, but I didn't know anything about it. It was all done by my nephew and his friends. I... I just accepted a small gift from him. I don't know anything about it, and I don't know anything about officialdom..."
As she spoke, she began to cry, but no one present showed any sympathy.
Madam Fu endured it for a long time, but she couldn't hold it back any longer: "You didn't know? How could you accept so many tributes without knowing? How could you take the wealth brought by your nephew for granted without knowing? You don't know what kind of person your nephew is, and you can even hold a banquet for the concubine sent to the mansion. It's simply..."
"Great-aunt!"
Fu Jinrou was startled and hurriedly grabbed Madam Fu's hand.
Mrs. Fu endured it again and again, and finally did not utter the last curse from her mouth.
The old woman turned pale and dared not say a word.
Xiao Yan glanced at the equally indignant courtiers in the hall, then calmly said to the women kneeling on the ground, "Do you know anything about Rong Jiang's situation?"
Those people all shook their heads.
Someone whispered, "The gentlemen in the palace rarely tell us about official matters, but I did hear about the plague in Shezhou at the time. We in Langzhou were even sealed off for a while, and anyone coming in was strictly checked."
"Everyone was in a panic at the time. My husband even told me not to leave the house with the children, and not to allow outsiders to come in. But a few days later, when he came back, he said everything was fine."
"Yes, I remember that too."
The woman who spoke first also said, "Shezhou was in great turmoil at the time. My husband went out on a trip, claiming to investigate the plague, but he returned quickly and told me it was just a rumor spread outside. No one in the city knew the news, so he just went on with his life as usual."
The young imperial physician said in a deep voice, "Impossible! If there wasn't a plague in the south, why would the Imperial Hospital send my father and his men south? Furthermore, when they left, they took a large amount of plague-fighting herbs with them from the Imperial Hospital. The Imperial Hospital has all the records."
Qian Baokun also said: "Prince Li's reputation was damaged at the time, and his disaster relief efforts had already failed. If an epidemic broke out, his reputation would only be further damaged. He would definitely not lie about such a thing."
There was a moment of silence in the Purple Palace. Prince Ji, who had been hiding in the crowd, suddenly spoke:
"If Crown Prince Li is not lying, and there is indeed a plague in the South, and he left He Wenzhuo in the South to guard the infected people in Rongjiang and sent the imperial physician to treat the plague, then the Rongjiang incident is probably true."
"Your Majesty..."
Princess Ji was speechless, and even Xie Yuyan's eyes widened.
Why is Father helping Xiao Yan?!
Prince Ji did not look at his wife and daughter, nor did he look at the disapproving looks from the surrounding clan members. He just said in a deep voice:
"The plague can be a big deal or a small one. Even people in Raozhou and Langzhou have heard about it. How could Shezhou, a prefecture above Rongjiang, not know about it? Yet they have concluded it is a rumor."
"If Prince Li is not lying, then how did these people know that the plague has subsided and there will be no further spread of the disease? If the Rong River had not been flooded, they would not have been able to do this."
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