Chapter 341: The City in Turmoil
Old Marquis Chu was so angry that he scolded him, but he had no choice but to keep it a secret from everyone in the mansion. He only told outsiders that the second young master had suddenly fallen ill and needed to stay in bed to recuperate, and he found a servant who was somewhat similar in height and appearance to the young master to pretend to be sick in his room, so he managed to conceal the truth.
After returning from the expedition, the old Marquis Chu punished him according to the family rules. This time, Chu Ming was really beaten and had to rest in bed for more than a month.
However, this time, the old Marquis Chu also told him why he was detaining him and not willing to let him join the military and fight on the battlefield as a general in the future.
"Ming'er, how could your father not know that you are full of passion and want to use all the martial arts and military tactics you have learned to serve the country and defend our Dayu? Our Chu family has been practicing martial arts for generations. Your great-grandfather, like the ancestors of the Qin family, was also a founding hero of Dayu and was later granted the title of Marquis. Your grandfather also died on the battlefield. Our Chu family members should all practice martial arts. Do you know why your father insisted on restraining you and not allowing you to learn martial arts and go to the battlefield?"
Chu Ming shook his head.
Old Marquis Chu sighed and said, "That's because your grandfather left a will that no descendant of the Chu family is allowed to join the army in the future."
"Why? Is this the reason why you, father, have refused to enter the officialdom all your life and only wanted to be an idle marquis? Do you know what other high-ranking officials' families in the capital say about our Chu family behind our backs?" Chu Ming was puzzled.
"presumptuous!"
Chu Ming had never seen his father so angry before, so he kept silent.
The old Marquis Chu continued, "Since ancient times, the emperor's greatest fear has been those whose achievements surpass his own. When the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked. How many founding heroes have had a good ending after the country was stabilized? Our Chu family is already lucky. Your grandfather's will forbade the Chu family from joining the military, simply to protect our Chu family's safety. The current emperor is unlike the previous emperor. He is wary of military commanders and often dislikes the crown prince. Now that you are close to the crown prince, if you still insist on joining the military, wouldn't you put the entire Chu family in danger..."
From that time on, Chu Ming became estranged from Xiao Yunshuo, and even forgot about the swordplay. His temperament also became more serious all of a sudden. He was no longer as impulsive as before, and devoted himself to studying the books of sages at home.
People in the capital said that the second young master of the Chu family had been ill for half a year and had changed his personality. He even started to read like a scholar.
However, Chu Ming ignored all this. Three years ago in the autumn examination, he made a stunning debut and was chosen as the third place in the imperial examination. Later, he was sent to the Dali Temple. From the seventh rank Dali Temple Chief, he was promoted to the sixth rank Dali Temple Shaoqing in three years.
The Chu family was not greatly affected by the crown prince's rebellion and execution because Chu Ming had stopped being on good terms with the crown prince three years ago.
However, few people knew that Chu Ming and Xiao Yunshuo had not severed their relationship. They had only been deliberately estranged on the surface to conceal their connection.
Yuan Xu went outside to guard and let Xiao Yunshuo and Chu Ming talk.
Xiao Yunshuo recounted the entire incident to Chu Ming. Chu Ming gritted his teeth in anger and said, "Xiao Yunqi, you, the Empress and Your Highness, treat him like your own son and brother. Even if the whole world could stab Your Highness in the back, Xiao Yunqi wouldn't have done that! He's really... a piece of shit!"
Seeing him like this, Xiao Yunshuo couldn't help but smile and said, "Alright. Stop feeling sorry for me. Five... Xiao Yunqi probably had no choice..."
Chu Ming understood what he meant. The person he was talking about was probably the current emperor. Thinking about how Xiao Yunshuo was suspected to such an extent by Qingsheng's father, Chu Ming could only sigh.
After a while, he said, "It's just that he may have had no control over what happened to you. But now, over the past month or so, the capital has been experiencing a turbulent undercurrent beneath its tranquility. You can't say he had no control over it, right?"
When Xiao Yunshuo heard Chu Ming mention the matter in the capital, his expression turned serious. He whispered, "I returned to the capital secretly this time just for this matter. I heard that Elder Xie and many court officials are now in the Dali Temple dungeon."
Chu Ming listened, waved his hand, and said, "This matter is simply a mess!"
It turned out that ministers in the court had written petitions requesting a thorough re-investigation of the prince's rebellion, and the one who wanted to stop it the most was naturally the fifth prince Xiao Yunqi.
He secretly conspired with Shen Shi'an to spread negative news about some upright and honest ministers in the capital, such as rumors of corruption and bribery, and frequenting Zhangtai and Chuguan. Then he united his factions in the court to write letters to slander those ministers, or deliberately frame them, in order to threaten the ministers who advocated a thorough investigation of the prince's rebellion to withdraw their memorials. It can be said that the whole city was in an uproar.
"Half a month ago, the Minister of Rites, Lord Zhang, was impeached by the Fifth Prince's followers for embezzling 100,000 taels of silver. Lord Zhang was so angry that he banged his head against a pillar in the main hall. Fortunately, the imperial physician treated him in time and he was lucky enough to survive.
Seven days ago, after the Chief Censor Song submitted a petition, rumors spread on the street the next day that Song's son had raped a woman outside the capital. Song was so angry that he submitted a petition to the emperor on the third day, requesting to resign and return home.
What's even more outrageous is that a prostitute from the Chu House actually went to the residence of the prince's teacher, the prince's tutor, Mr. Xie, and made a scene, saying that Mr. Xie had promised to redeem her and marry her, causing an uproar in the city.
However, Mr. Xie was a man of great integrity throughout his life, and he really didn't take these sneaky plots to heart. The next day, he took off his official uniform and came to my Dali Temple to sit in jail, threatening that he would wait in jail until the emperor found out whether he had really promised to redeem the prostitute, and then order him to be beheaded!
The ministers who support His Highness and other upright and honest ministers in the court have always taken Mr. Xie as their role model. Now they are all following suit. My Dali Temple dungeon is almost full!"
Xiao Yunshuo couldn't help but smile as he listened to Chu Ming's words. He said, "This is indeed what a teacher would do. It's just..."
As Xiao Yunshuo spoke, his expression grew serious again. He whispered, "This method might work for the time being. With you at the Dali Temple, the prison is actually safer than anywhere else. But if this continues for too long, I'm afraid the Emperor will become angry. If that happens, Teacher will be in danger."
Chu Ming was startled when he heard this, frowned, and asked, "Your Highness, do you mean that the Emperor will punish Elder Xie?"
Xiao Yunshuo shook his head, gave a faint, mocking smile, and said, "Given the Emperor's character, I doubt he would. But there are many ways to silence a capable person..."
Chu Ming was startled and asked, "Your Highness, are you saying that someone will secretly harm Mr. Xie?"
Xiao Yunshuo remained silent, saying softly, "I came to you this time to ask you to arrange for me to meet with the teacher and resolve this matter as quickly as possible. I heard that the teacher and a group of court officials have been on a hunger strike in prison for three days. I can't let this matter cause the loyal officials in the court to be suppressed by those who form cliques for personal gain. In the end, it will only harm Dayu's country and people."
Chu Ming frowned. "If Your Highness intends to meet with Elder Xie and persuade him to give up his plea for Your Highness's vindication, I do not agree. Now, being able to clear Your Highness' name through the attention of the court ministers and the entire world is probably the most peaceful and cheapest way. Your Highness must not miss this opportunity out of reluctance!"
How could Xiao Yunshuo not know that what Chu Ming said was the truth?
As long as he is not charged with treason, he will not be able to reveal his true identity.
It's impossible that in the future, he will really lead the army that trusts him and attack the city in the name of "clearing the court" to force the emperor to abdicate and take back everything that belongs to him, right?
Moreover, in the current capital, several powerful princes in the palace, such as the second prince, the fifth prince, and the sixth prince, are wary of each other and secretly scheming against each other in order to compete for the position of crown prince.
Emperor Yucheng had always been wary of the Crown Prince's excessive power. Now that the Crown Prince was dead, his attention shifted to several other powerful princes.
Many ministers in the court were selecting the princes to be suppressed in the future.
Therefore, although the capital seems calm, it is actually turbulent and thrilling in secret.
However, although the trigger was the prince's rebellion, no matter which force it was, their attention was not on the prince at the moment.
Because to them, the prince was already dead.
The dead are not threatening at all.
Therefore, whether the crown prince will be rehabilitated or continue to bear the stigma of treason actually depends on whether the fifth prince can win the battle for the throne.
If the fifth prince wins, he will certainly use the merit of killing the crown prince who intended to rebel as an excuse.
If that were the case, the prince's crime of treason would be impossible to overturn.
However, the fifth prince is weak and his background is only that of Prime Minister Shen Shi'an and his disciples and followers.
In the past, Shen Shi'an had married the eldest daughter of the imperial merchant Gu family. Over the years, he had plundered a lot of the Gu family's property, and it could be said that he was extremely wealthy.
But things are different now. After Shen Fenghe emptied all the belongings in the Prime Minister's Mansion warehouse, the Shen family fell into a slump. In just a few months, many officials who followed the Shen family's lead became dissatisfied with Shen Shi'an.
However, because the emperor is behind the fifth prince and his intentions are unpredictable, the ministers in the court will naturally not be foolish enough to change their minds and give up immediately.
Therefore, the final key still depends on Emperor Yucheng’s attitude.
"Your Highness, I dare to speak out. Even I can see that the Emperor is wary of you. That's why, when the Fifth Prince backstabbed you and slandered you for treason, not only did he not investigate thoroughly, but he lavishly rewarded the Fifth Prince. However, this is a different time. The Emperor believes the Crown Prince is dead, so his fears must have largely subsided. Meanwhile, the Fifth Prince has been even more reckless than before, accusing him of selling official positions and titles over the past six months, along with Prime Minister Shen. He has long been criticized. Now, Elder Xie and the people of the world are pleading for the Crown Prince. It seems the Second and Sixth Princes are also looking to seize this opportunity to overthrow the Fifth Prince. Why not take advantage of this opportunity..."
Chu Ming advised in a low voice.
Xiao Yunshuo looked at Chu Ming for a long time before he smiled and said, "Chu Ming, you are much calmer and smarter than before. You even thought of all this."
Chu Ming raised his head upon hearing this and said in surprise, "Your Highness also agrees with me? Then why...?"
"I only said I was going to see the teacher because I was worried someone might harm him. I never said I was going to stop the teacher. I just said... we need to end this as soon as possible and not delay it any longer."
Chu Ming heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this and said with a smile, "I've always said that the Crown Prince is a meticulous thinker, able to win battles thousands of miles away with his strategic planning. How could he make such a mistake..."
Chu Ming realized he had spoken out of turn halfway through, smiled, and then whispered, "Your Highness, I'm just talking nonsense, just pretend you didn't hear me. I'll arrange for you to see Mr. Xie immediately..."
The prisons of the Dali Temple were no different from those of other government offices. They were all built underground, dark and damp, with no sunlight all year round. Even in broad daylight, oil lamps had to be lit.
However, thanks to Chu Ming's arrangement, the cells where Lord Xie and other officials who pleaded for the prince lived were in a pretty good environment. They were basically single rooms, and the straw used for bedding in the cells was replaced with dry and fresh new straw.
Lord Xie had white hair and beard, and was dressed in cloth. He sat upright on the straw with his eyes closed, resting.
He had been on a hunger strike for three days, drinking only water. His cheeks were noticeably sunken and his face looked pale.
The people in the cells next to him were all court officials who had spoken out as frankly as he did. Seeing him like this, they all said with heartache:
"Mr. Xie, please eat something. If you don't eat now, I'm afraid your body won't be able to bear it!"
"Yes! Thank you, sir. If you were to fall, wouldn't your loved ones be filled with resentment and your enemies would be happy? The Crown Prince's grievances are still waiting for your help to redress them!"
"If anything happens to Lord Xie, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will probably feel guilty about it!"
When Lord Xie heard them mention the prince, he opened his eyes with emotion and looked towards the dim corner of the dungeon.
He was loyal to the emperor and patriotic all his life, but he was not destined to have children. He refused to take concubines, so he only had one wife, who had no children for many years.
Therefore, although speaking it out loud would be a grave crime of deceiving the emperor and exterminating nine generations of his clan, deep down in his heart, he always treated the prince, whom he raised, as his own son.
Now that the prince has been innocently executed and charged with treason, he has long lost the will to live.
This time I went to jail on my own, with the resolution to die to prove my will and to give my advice!
"No need to persuade me any further. If my death can convince the Holy Father to re-investigate the Crown Prince's case and bring him justice, then I will die without regrets!"
As he was speaking, several officers came in, escorting a dozen prisoners. The jailer said, "Put them in these cells separately."
As he said that, he went to open the door of the cell where Lord Xie was.
The ministers in the other cells heard this and shouted, "How dare you! The Prince's tutor, Lord Xie, is in there! How dare you lock these prisoners in here too!"
The jailer, upon hearing this, chuckled with some irony, "Sir, it's strange that you gentlemen refuse to live in our bright and beautiful mansions and insist on crowding into our Dali Temple dungeon. This is a prison, meant to hold prisoners. How can we guarantee that you gentlemen will always have single rooms? We've apprehended a bunch of thieves in the city, and the other cells are all full, so we're going to have to inconvenience you gentlemen."
When the adults heard this, they shouted angrily, "You jailer, how can you be so sarcastic?"
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