Chapter 35 (Revised)
The Dali Temple received orders from the sage and has been concentrating on investigating the cases of Cai Shan, the governor of Weizhou, and the Duke of Ye County.
The evidence presented by Wei Yan and Cheng Zi, particularly the fact that Cai Shan had raised private soldiers and disguised himself as pirates to harass the people, sealed his fate. The Dali Temple then focused on uncovering Cai Shan's other crimes and bringing justice to the people of Weizhou, who had suffered years of oppression.
The most important thing for the Sage was not only to bring Cai Shan to justice, but also to restore Weizhou to the control of the imperial court. Cai Shan's faction must be completely eliminated!
At the small court meeting, the Dali Temple Minister presented a list containing the names of officials involved in the Cai Shan case.
The saint lowered his eyes and his gaze fell on one of the names. A faint smile appeared on the corner of his lips - interesting, there was actually an unexpected surprise.
The sage picked up a red brush, crossed out the name, and handed the list to the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Jiang Hongdao. "Draft an imperial edict. All those listed here will be dismissed from office and imprisoned, awaiting their fate." Then, he picked up another scroll from the desk and handed it to Jiang Hongdao. "This is the list of officials I have selected to replace the Weizhou Jiedufu and Weizhou Yamen."
Jiang Hongdao accepted the order: "Yes."
"How's the investigation going with the Duke of Ye? Is there any involvement of Wei Zhen?"
"There is no evidence whatsoever that the former crown prince was ever involved."
The sage nodded. "The Duke of Ye is guilty of an unforgivable crime. Effective immediately, he will be stripped of his position, his title, and all his property will be confiscated. Also, inform the Imperial Clan Temple to remove the Duke of Ye from the family tree and sentence him to exile three thousand miles. I will depose Crown Prince Wei Zhen, but considering his years of service and filial piety, I will only demote him to a commoner and give him five days to leave the capital. As for Cai Shan, he will be dealt with according to the law, without error."
When the court meeting ended and Prince Yu was about to leave with the others, he saw the saint waving at him.
The sage waved his hand, signaling all the palace attendants to withdraw. Only after the palace door was closed did he summon Prince Yu to his side and whispered, "Keep a close eye on Prince Su. Then quickly pass on any news from the court to Pingzhou."
Prince Yu raised his eyebrows.
The saint raised his lips and said, "The princes' fight for the throne and the instability in the court must be emphasized."
Prince Yu understood what the emperor meant and told the emperor not to worry.
*
The sage's decree for the Duke of Ye and his family had been delivered to the Dali prison. The Duke of Ye and others thanked the sage with tears in their eyes, while Wei Zhen remained calm and calmly thanked the emperor for his grace.
The game in which he is willing to be a pawn has already begun, and the opponent must not be afraid to accept the challenge.
Being able to walk out of Dali Prison alive this time was a real surprise to the Duke of Ye. After such an experience, the Duke of Ye seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. With the support of Wei Xuan, he walked out of the dark cell tremblingly.
The intense sunlight was so blinding that it brought tears to his eyes. Elsewhere, the wife of the Duke of Ye was also brought out by the female jailer, and the family was finally reunited. The three of them embraced each other and cried bitterly, each grateful for having survived.
Wei Zhen just glanced at them and walked around the three of them as if they were a group of strangers.
"Ah Zhen!"
The Duke of Ye was the first to look up and see the son to whom he owed the most. He hurriedly stopped him, as if he had something to say to him.
The wife of the Duke of Ye and Wei Xuan also looked up at Wei Zhen with tears in their eyes.
Wei Zhen turned his back to them and spoke in a cold voice, "From the moment I entered the palace as the heir to the Saint, our fate was severed.
But the sage knows that I care about your kindness and has granted you the title of Duke of Ye County, specifically designating Ye County as my fiefdom, out of my wholehearted desire and to ensure your prosperity. However, your greed knows no bounds, constantly breaking the law to amass wealth, even disregarding human life.
Now, we have nothing left. Your title of Duke, your wealth and splendor, my position as Crown Prince—everything is gone. Fortunately, the Saint remembered our old friendship, and we were able to save our lives.”
Wei Zhen turned around and looked at the three men, his dark eyes gloomy. "I have repaid the favor you two gave me for my life twenty-two years ago. From now on, we owe each other nothing—"
"This is the end of our relationship."
Wei Zhen's voice was clear and every word was powerful, officially severing his parent-child relationship with the Duke of Ye and his wife.
The Duke of Ye was speechless with guilt. Wei Xuan stared blankly at Wei Zhen, not understanding why his elder brother had suddenly severed ties with them. The Duke of Ye's wife, upon realizing what was happening, was filled with astonishment. She screamed like crazy at Wei Zhen's departing figure, "Wei Zhen, you heartless, ungrateful, and unfilial son!"
Wei Zhen still did not look back, and walked out of the gate of the Dali Temple Prison, leaving behind all the unreasonable accusations made by the wife of the Duke of Ye.
At the gate of Dali Prison were two tutors who had been waiting for a long time - Jiang Weiqiu and Xu Zizheng.
"I rushed here as soon as I heard from my father." Jiang Weiqiu grinned. "Want to go fishing?"
Only then did Wei Zhen show a faint smile: "Of course."
*
Although Cai Shan was investigated and Prince Su lost some financial support, fortunately, the Cai Shan incident did not implicate him in the end, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.
Moreover, the Duke of Ye was expelled from the family tree, the Crown Prince was demoted to a commoner, and with the removal of one of the biggest rivals for the throne, Prince Su couldn't be happier. He smiled all day long, even treating his servants with much friendlier attitude, and the court staff were secretly amazed.
The next step is to deal with that idiot King Huai.
In addition to sending people to Ye County to cause trouble for Wei Zhen, Prince Su also sent spies to Prince Huai's fiefdom.
After arriving at his fiefdom, King Huai fell into depression for a long time, indulging in alcohol and women. To curry favor with King Huai, local wealthy families sent their daughters to his palace as concubines, coaxing him around and using his name to annex land and amass wealth.
A fool who had lost his mind due to the tricks of a woman was not a threat to Prince Su. He only needed to wait for the right moment to present all the crimes of Prince Huai to him, and then he could rest easy.
Just as Prince Su was feeling proud, an aide reminded him, "Your Highness, although the line of Duke Ye was removed from the family tree and the Crown Prince was demoted to a commoner, they still managed to survive."
Prince Su's smile faded.
"We were behind their downfall," the staff member suggested. "If they're still alive, they're a hidden danger. It's better to kill them and eliminate the trouble forever."
"That makes sense." Prince Su nodded. "Go find out where they are going and we'll wait for an opportunity to take action."
*
After Cai Shan was imprisoned, relentless interrogation at the Dali Temple finally forced him to confess his crimes, particularly his embezzlement of disaster relief funds and his subsequent accusation against the then-Weizhou governor. Cai Shan also confessed to this.
The saint revealed the truth of the case to the public, cleared Cheng Zi's father's name, and issued an edict to restore Cheng Zi's father's identity and reputation.
Cheng Zi thanked the emperor for his great grace and solemnly took the imperial edict from the eunuch.
He felt the imperial edict in his hand was heavy. It carried the lives of hundreds of people in the prefectural government at that time, and twelve years of injustice and hatred.
In preparation for the day when the truth would be revealed, Cheng Zi practiced martial arts diligently. No matter how hard or difficult it was, even when he was on the verge of death, he never had the thought of giving up.
To clear his father's name and to avenge the hundreds of lives lost in the fire in the mansion, this deep obsession has sustained him through the hardships of the past twelve years.
Now—now, he could finally! Finally, he could comfort his parents' spirits in heaven!
Cheng Zi's hands holding the imperial edict could not stop shaking.
The Prince of Yu and his wife went to see the eunuch off. The chubby Wei Zhi ran up to Cheng Zi and reached out to tug at the hem of Cheng Zi's clothes.
Cheng Zi came back to his senses, sniffed sharply, then looked down at Wei Zhi.
Wei Zhi smiled widely, opened his two short arms, and said in a baby voice, "Brother Azi, give me a hug."
Cheng Zi stared at Wei Zhi for a while, then smiled with relief. He put the imperial edict in his arms, squatted down, picked up Wei Zhi, and let this meat ball sit on his arms.
When Prince Yu and his wife returned, they saw Cheng Zi making Wei Zhi giggle. They exchanged glances, and Princess Yu sighed softly at Cheng Zi.
"Your Highness, Princess." Cheng Zi regained his former energetic and cheerful demeanor. "If you're free today, wait for Ah Lu to return from the academy and we'll go to Guangyun Tower for dinner."
Cheng Zi smiled and said, "It's my treat."
The Prince of Yu and his wife nodded, indicating that they had no objection, and Wei Zhi clapped his hands with joy.
"Is Master in the Lin Mansion?"
"Yes." Princess Yu nodded.
"Then let's ask Master to go with Lord and Madam Lin, okay?"
Princess Yu smiled and said, "Of course you can. I'll send someone to the Lin Mansion to deliver the letter later."
Cheng Zi shook his head: "No need, I can go there myself. Ah Lu will be out of school soon, I will pick her up and go with me."
Prince Yu narrowed his eyes, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Cheng Zi became a little subtle.
Cheng Zi himself was completely unaware of this. He handed Wei Zhi to Princess Yu and left. Prince Yu stared at his departing figure and curled his lips, "Ah-ah-ah, calling her so affectionately."
"?" Princess Yu looked at Prince Yu, "Haven't you been calling me that since you were very young? Why are you only taking notice now?"
"Is it the same now as when you were little?" Prince Yu asked. "Genders are different. How would it look if someone else heard you calling Ah Lu by her maiden name so intimately?"
Princess Yu shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Today is a happy day, don't make trouble. Also, don't interfere in Ah Lu's affairs, she will be unhappy."
"When has she ever been happy?" Prince Yu couldn't help but complain.
Wei Xuan has always had a cold face since she was a child, and you rarely see any happy expression on her face.
Princess Yu paused and turned to look at Prince Yu: "Do you want to talk about this seriously?"
"Uh..." Prince Yu knew he was in the wrong and said he would shut up and not express his opinion anymore.
Princess Yu sighed.
Wei Zhi, who was held in the arms of Princess Yu, blinked his dark eyes and looked at his father while lying on his mother's shoulder.
Prince Yu was almost melted by his son's cuteness, and immediately smiled and wanted to hug his son: "Oh, if we talk about caring, it has to be Ah Zhi, come~ let daddy hug~"
Princess Yu didn't even glance at him and kicked Prince Yu: "Stop talking nonsense."
The noisy Prince Yu and his wife walked around the corner and disappeared behind the clumps of green bamboo.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
