Chapter 503: Falling out, Xiao Yan: I won’t go into this prison
The power of Qian Baokun's map cannon was not insufficient. With just one sentence, he scolded those people and made them look embarrassed.
The people he named were so angry that they were gasping for breath. Just as they were about to retort, an old general in the court who had never taken sides slammed the table and stood up with a bang.
“That’s enough!”
He glared at the people in the hall:
"Lord Cao is not exaggerating, and what Minister Qian said is all true."
"Since three months ago, Luoyan Pass has been frequently attacked by Beiling, and fighting has been even more frequent in the northwest. Although these are only small-scale provocations, Beiling has been eyeing the Wei Dynasty for years. Once the new emperor of Beiling has reorganized the court, given the ambition of the Imperial Advisor Xiahou Ling, he will surely lead his troops south. Chaos must not occur in the court at this time."
"Furthermore, since the He family was involved in treason, and Grand Tutor Liang and his men insisted that the events in the South were fabricated and that Xiao Yan was plotting to murder the officials of the South, then Your Majesty, why not investigate this matter thoroughly? As long as the truth is established, naturally no one will dare to meddle."
"Or, what is your Majesty afraid of?"
The old general's surname was Yin, and his name was Yin Bao. He had made outstanding contributions in battles and was personally appointed as a general by Emperor Taizu.
He was too old to go to the battlefield, and had no interest in government affairs and never interfered in the "contest" between Emperor An and his ministers. However, the achievements he accumulated in the battles when he was young and the iron scroll and red book personally bestowed by Emperor Taizu made him of noble status and no one dared to offend him.
When he spoke at this moment, Yin Bao's old tiger eyes were full of majesty, and just one sentence was worth ten thousand words from those people from the aristocratic families.
When he looked at Emperor An with a cold expression, the question of what he was afraid of was like a sharp blade that wanted to cut open Emperor An's face and see into his heart.
Emperor An was forced to take action, and the other people who were arguing in the hall also quieted down and just looked up at Emperor An, as if waiting for his decision.
Emperor An clutched his palms tightly, looking more embarrassed than ever before. He supported himself on Eunuch Feng's arm for a long time before speaking:
"General Yin, you're joking. I'm naturally not afraid."
Emperor An endured the pain in his head and tried his best to summon his former dignity.
"During the flood relief efforts, the failure of Crown Prince Li and the He family led to riots in the south. The late emperor, fearing public instability, ordered Lu Chongyuan to take charge. At the time, I was not valued by the late emperor and was only a deputy general. Although I was responsible for escorting and delivering relief funds, I had never heard of the events in Rongjiang, let alone the cause of He Wenzhuo's death."
"But no matter what, since the news of the massacre and bloodbath has been spread, we must investigate."
"Since Xiao Yan is a son of the He family and suspected of involvement in the Nandi affair, we will first dismiss him from his position as Privy Councilor and imprison him for a thorough investigation later. As for the Prince of Han, we will hand over the witnesses and evidence we have found to the Ministry of Justice. He will be jointly examined by He Cheng and the Supreme Court Minister. After the investigation of the case from twenty years ago is complete, we will then make a final decision."
What Yin Bao wanted was for Emperor An to speak, but he did not become aggressive when he saw that he had given in.
Although the officials from the noble families were uneasy, the most important thing at the moment was to apprehend Xiao Yan. As for the rest, as long as Xiao Yan lost his official position and was thrown into prison, his life or death would be completely up to him!
Qian Baokun was anxious: "Your Majesty, I think Xiao Yan should not be imprisoned..."
"What else do you want? He deceived the emperor and deserves death. I will not bother with him. I will just wait for someone to investigate the Jiangnan incident before dealing with it. Minister Qian, are you still dissatisfied with this?"
"I……"
Qian Baokun wanted to speak, but Emperor An was already looking at him calmly, with murderous intent in his eyes. Madam Qian held his arm tightly, and Madam Qian was pinching Qian Qiyue with her other hand to prevent her from speaking. Qian Baokun had no right to speak, and he knew that if he spoke at this time, he would not be able to force Emperor An to change his mind.
He could only look at Cao Dejiang, wanting him to say a few words, but Cao Dejiang, contrary to his previous strong attitude, seemed to tacitly agree with what Emperor An had just said, keeping his mouth shut and not saying a word.
Emperor An saw that no one objected and then said in a deep voice, "I will send someone to investigate the He family's involvement in the disaster relief efforts of twenty years ago. Yu Yanfeng, take Xiao Yan away."
Yu Yanfeng stood in front of the palace, his mind already confused by what happened tonight. When he saw Emperor An asking him to arrest someone, he looked hesitant.
"Yu Yanfeng?!"
Yu Yanfeng gritted his teeth, walked up to Xiao Yan, and whispered to him in a low voice.
"Master Xiao, I'm sorry..."
Xiao Yan helped him escape tonight and rescued him. He shouldn't have taken Xiao Yan, but everything he had now was due to Emperor An. He would not have a good end if he went against the emperor's will. What's more, Liu Tong'en was watching him covetously. Even if he didn't take action, there were countless guards in the palace, and Emperor An could have someone else come forward to detain Xiao Yan.
If he took action, at least he wouldn't intentionally hurt him.
Xiao Yan could see the apology in Yu Yanfeng's eyes as he turned his back to Emperor An. He dodged Yu Yanfeng's outstretched hand and chuckled softly, "Deputy Commander Yu, please don't do anything yet. I will not enter this prison."
"Xiao Yan, you dare to disobey the order?!" Eunuch Feng shouted immediately.
Xiao Yan laughed. "Eunuch Feng, please don't throw all sorts of accusations at me. I've been with His Majesty for many years and know His Majesty's methods all too well. I just don't want to end up like Lu Chongyuan, imprisoned and then soon after hearing that He Jiazi committed suicide out of fear of punishment."
"Xiao Yan!" Emperor An was furious.
Xiao Yan ignored him, only glancing at the court officials at the banquet. "The hearts of the people in this court are unpredictable. How many of them wish for my death? I'm afraid if I'm jailed today, my body will be collected tomorrow. Just like the He family back then, who were loyal but were accused of treason and their entire family was slaughtered without even a chance to defend themselves."
"Learning from the past, I dare not gamble my life on Your Majesty and the conscience of some people."
Xiao Yan had lost his former humility and respectfulness before the Saint. After shedding all his disguises, his black eyes, as cold and frosty as the mountains and seas through the fog, were filled with fierceness.
Like a long sword drawn from its scabbard or a longbow with a fully strung string, when its sharp edge is exposed, people dare not look directly at it.
"Since Your Majesty is determined to investigate the events of twenty years ago, then investigate now. I also want to know where the He family's so-called bad reputation came from. And why did my father, He Wenzhuo, die during the disaster relief? Was it because the He family was guilty of treason, or was there someone who couldn't tolerate the He family?"
Xiao Yan raised his eyes coldly:
"Since Your Majesty says he has no guilt in his heart, then have Prince Zang bring the person into the palace. This is a good opportunity to examine in front of all the court officials whether the incident in the Southland is a rumor or the truth!"
Emperor An's face was extremely ugly. Liang Guangyi and the others did not expect that Xiao Yan would dare to break up with them at this time.
He was clearly forcing Emperor An, but this was different from Liang Guangyi's previous behavior.
Liang Guangyi used the emperor's reputation, the stability of the court, the reputation that Emperor An cared about, and the confidence that the Liang family would not endanger the throne to threaten Emperor An. But Xiao Yan used the He family to force Emperor An, and used past events that even shook the throne to threaten Emperor An.
Isn’t he afraid that Emperor An will take direct action?
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