"What happened?"
Ye An handed the bowl of fish to Wen Ziran, and Ranmei helped him put the fish away.
I hurried back to Ruixuexuan, and Ranmei was standing in front of me.
Wen Ziran said, "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother asked you to go to the Vermillion Bird Hall to discuss matters. She said that there is something new about the Prince of Yu Luo Kingdom."
It’s finally here. Ye An has been waiting for this day for a long time.
Ye An hurriedly changed into the dragon robe and rode the dragon chariot to the Suzaku Hall. On the way, Shunpin's figure flashed by.
"Your Majesty..." Yelu Han knelt down and begged.
Upon hearing that Tutor Mu and Zhang Qian had entered the palace, Yelu Han guessed that the truth about his brother Yelu Chu was about to come to light. He knew that the emperor would most likely rush to deal with it, so he wanted to go and listen as soon as possible. In case the court judge slandered Yelu Chu, he would be able to defend his brother in time.
Ye An understood what Yelu Han was thinking. In modern times, even when the court was in session, family members were allowed to attend. It was understandable that Yelu Han was eager to know the truth. Ye An said softly, "Follow the chariot. But you cannot enter the Suzaku Hall without permission. Just wait outside. If anything happens, I will have someone call you."
Yelu Han was overjoyed: "Your Majesty, I knew you still miss me!"
"… Stop talking nonsense and keep up."
Ye An didn't want to say much to the brainless little prince. If it were any other concubine today, he would also lend a helping hand, not because of who the other person was. However, except for the Empress Dowager and the Queen of this dynasty, the other concubines were not qualified to enter the Suzaku Hall. Otherwise, they would be stripped of their positions and sent to the cold palace according to palace rules. Even if he wanted to help, he could only let Yelu Han stay outside the hall.
Yelu Han was already satisfied and no longer cared about his status. He bowed down to Ye An.
Ye An nodded at him, Yelu Han stood up and followed Li Yao, rushing to Suzaku Hall along with the dragon chariot.
When Ye An arrived, the Queen Mother had already had a brief discussion with Tutor Mu and the Chief Justice. When they saw the emperor coming, Mu Zheng and Zhang Qian knelt down to pay their respects. The empress dowager did not care why he was late and only ordered people to present the files.
Ye An can now understand memorials and the like. In order to help him understand the truth as quickly as possible, Zhang Qian explains it to him. When it comes to the crucial points, he even orders people to present evidence.
An hour later, Ye An rubbed his sore neck, and Li Yao silently stepped forward to massage him.
Prince Yelu Chu of Yu Luo was indeed mistakenly identified as a notorious bandit and thrown into jail. But this is not a simple case of wrong arrest, but there is something else fishy going on. The Chief Justice handled the case completely according to the regulations. There was a portrait drawn on the arrest warrant. The person in the portrait was very similar to Yelu Chu, but his name was Wang Chu. It turned out that Zhang Qian first received more than a dozen reports from the public about the notorious bandit Wang Chu and sent people to investigate. In ancient times, there were no surveillance equipment, and the case was handled by compiling a portrait based on the testimonies of dozens of eyewitnesses and then arresting the person. However, Wang Chu's whereabouts were unknown and the Supreme Court had limited staff, so they could not find Wang Chu's whereabouts for a while. So they offered a large sum of money, hoping that someone among the people could find Wang Chu and arrest him.
Grand Tutor Mu Zheng had a good personal relationship with Zhang Qian, so he ordered his eldest son Mu Ci to assist him. It was Mu Ci who captured Wang Chu. Mu Ci had been in the army and had many helpers. He quickly found out about Wang Chu based on the portrait and captured Wang Chu on a dark and windy night.
When Mu Ci arrested the man, he verified his identity through a spy and confirmed that it was Wang Chu. He also confronted Wang Chu on the spot, and Wang Chu had no objection.
But when he was put in jail, he changed his confession and said he was framed. Zhang Qian did not take it seriously because he had encountered many similar situations in the Supreme Court. However, the emperor issued an edict soon after, saying that this Wang Chu was most likely Prince Yu Luo, Yelu Chu. Zhang Qian himself was also shocked.
How is that possible?
Yelu Chu is a Yu Luo people, who are characterized by gray hair and blue eyes. If a Yu Luo person was really caught, they would be noticed immediately. However, Wang Chu in prison was no different from ordinary people.
Zhang Qian interrogated Wang Chu, and Wang Chu insisted that he was Prince Yu Luo. Because his mother was from the Wei Dynasty, his hair and eye color were like his mother's. However, Wang Chu could not produce any evidence that he was Prince Yu Luo. It was Mu Zheng who came up with the idea for Zhang Qian to find several court officials who had been on diplomatic missions to Yu Luo to identify the person. A court official had seen Yelu Chu in the Yu Luo palace with his own eyes and confirmed that he was Wang Chu. Only then was Yelu Chu's identity confirmed.
Wang Chu is actually Prince Yu Luo, Yelu Chu, but the portrait of the Chief Justice is not fabricated, so why is it so similar to Yelu Chu? When Mu Ci arrested people, why didn't Yelu Chu speak directly, but instead admitted that he was a notorious bandit?
Yelu Chu later explained the whole story. It turns out that he was framed by another prince of Yu Luo, Yelu Xiong. Yelu Xiong fabricated the identity of Wang Chu and designed to make Yelu Chu come to Wei alone using Wang Chu's identity. When Mu Ci confronted him, Yelu Chu had not yet seen through Yelu Xiong's plan. He mistakenly thought that Mu Ci was the person sent by Yelu Xiong to pick him up, but he did not expect that this would lead to him being thrown into the Tingwei prison.
Yelu Chu has a loyal servant who runs around for his master and is hunted by Yelu Xiong all the way. He risks his life to pass the message to Yelu Han in the palace, hoping to ask the emperor to save Yelu Chu's life through Shunpin.
"In short, it was a fight between the two princes of Yu Luo, and the story of the bandit was fabricated by Yelu Xiong. There is an important letter as evidence."
Zhang Qian ordered someone to present the letter. Ye An recognized at a glance that this was the letter that Mu Ci had stolen with him in the teahouse. He took it and read it quickly. The letter was written in Yelu Xiong's tone, instructing his confidants in the letter to get rid of Yelu Chu in prison as soon as possible in order to avoid complications, creating the illusion that Yelu Chu committed suicide out of fear of punishment.
Zhang Qian said, "Taifu and I have already found out where the Yu Luo people are staying, but since it involves the diplomatic relations between the two countries, it is not easy to arrest them with just a letter, so we did not alert the enemy. Instead, we set up an ambush in the prison according to the letter and waited for the thieves to fall into our trap. However, the thieves were cunning and never showed up until the emperor passed away and the whole country celebrated. I deliberately gave the jailer a holiday, so that the other party mistakenly thought that there was an opportunity and sent assassins to assassinate Yelu Chu. My people captured the assassins in one fell swoop, and then captured Yelu Xiong and his confidants at the Yuelai Inn."
Zhang Qian ordered several Yu Luo people to come up. Ye An took a quick look and saw some faces he had seen in the teahouse. These people were covered in filth and became prisoners. One of the men bravely looked at the emperor and exclaimed, "You... So you are..."
"What do you mean?"
Ye An quickly ordered the eunuch to shut the man's mouth to prevent him from talking nonsense again.
Fortunately, the Queen Mother and others did not notice this little episode.
Zhang Qian finished his statement, cupped his hands and said respectfully: "This is about Prince Yu Luo. I cannot convict him according to the laws of the Great Wei. I would like to ask the emperor to make the decision."
Ye An read the boring files for a long time and summarized it in one sentence: the Yu Luo princes were fighting among themselves and the fight had spread to the Wei Dynasty.
He had some thoughts in his mind, and glanced at the Queen Mother, who encouraged him with her eyes. Ye An then said, "Zhang Qian, do you mean to send the person back to Yu Luo and let the King of Yu Luo deal with him?"
Zhang Qian nodded. Although Yu Luo is now a vassal of the Wei Dynasty, the emperor generally does not directly interfere in Yu Luo's internal affairs. The infighting among the princes actually had nothing to do with the Wei Dynasty.
Mu Zheng said, "Your Majesty, I have a different opinion. Ever since I learned that it was another Prince Yu Luo who did it, I have been somewhat surprised. Why did Yelu Xiong have to bring Yelu Chu to the Great Wei? Why did he choose to attack Yelu Chu in the Great Wei Imperial City?"
"The Grand Tutor's worries are justified." Ye An's mind moved and he hypothesized, "What would happen if Yelu Chu was killed in the Wei prison?"
Zhang Qian: “…”
The Queen Mother understood what Ye An meant and said with a smile, "Then the crime of killing the prince will probably fall on the officials of our Great Wei. The King of Yu Luo will definitely come to the Imperial City in person to ask the Emperor for an explanation. Yelu Xiong successfully eliminated Yelu Chu and can stay out of it."
A drop of cold sweat trickled down Zhang Qian's forehead. He knew that the Wei official the Queen Mother was referring to must be him. If Yelu Chu really died in the Tingwei prison, he would not be able to explain himself even if he had a hundred mouths!
Mu Zheng said, "When I left home and entered the palace, my eldest son Mu Ci handed me a note... Although it was a bit reckless, Your Majesty, please allow me to present the note."
...Is this a note written specifically by Brother Mu?
Ye An's expression changed and he nodded in agreement.
Mu Zheng took out a note from his sleeve and presented it to Ye An. All he saw was a line of words written in a flamboyant style: Yelu Xiong had evil ambitions and was using the court judge to eliminate dissidents and stir up disputes between the two countries. Since the bandit was fictional, why could more than a dozen people who reported the case accurately describe Yelu Chu's appearance?
"...Since the reporter is a commoner in the imperial city, how can Yelu Xiong control him? I am afraid that there are Yelu Xiong's helpers in the territory of Wei. After investigation, it was found that Yelu Xiong was very close to a man named 'Young Master'. The identity of 'Young Master' still needs to be investigated in detail."
The note was signed with the word "Ci". Ye An couldn't help but gently stroke Mu Ci's handwriting, thinking that Brother Mu was really amazing and could tell there was a problem at a glance.
He couldn't waste Mu Ci's kindness in vain. Mu Ci's analysis also gave him confidence. Ye An thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Mu's words make sense. Since more than a dozen people have reported the case, of course we have to solve the case first. Since Yelu Xiong is related to the case, the court judge can act according to the rules."
"As the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since this happened in the territory of Wei, I am certainly qualified to ask about it. Grand Tutor, write a letter for me and tell the King of Yu Luo everything that Yelu Xiong did. I think he will also be interested in who Yelu Xiong's accomplices are. Yelu Chu is innocent, so just release him."
Tutor Mu was loyal and took the risk of angering the emperor by presenting Mu Ci's note. Fortunately, the emperor was furious with Yelu Xiong. Tutor Mu thought that the emperor should be tougher. Yelu Xiong was obviously using the Wei Dynasty as a weapon, and how could the great Wei Dynasty let him succeed?
This time when he met the emperor, Zhang Qian had another mission, which was to investigate Yelu Xiong thoroughly together with the Grand Tutor.
Seeing that both the Queen Mother and Grand Tutor Mu showed their approval, Ye An took the opportunity to say, "Master Mu has always been known for his virtue. This investigation was also made possible thanks to Master Mu's mediation. I think there should be both punishment and reward..."
Master Mu was surprised and said hurriedly, "This is what he should have done. I dare not take credit for it."
The Queen Mother smiled, but her smile was very faint, and asked, "How would the Emperor like to reward me?"
Ye An resisted the urge to reward him with a bunch of chicken legs and said, "Father, I heard that Master Mu has made great military achievements but has not yet been officially granted an official position. Since he has helped Zhang Qian so much, how about appointing him as the Minister of Justice?"
This person is not a high-ranking official, but his job is similar to what Mu Ci does, so I think Mu Ci will be able to handle it with ease. Ye An originally wanted to grant Mu Ci a high position as compensation for refusing Mu Li to enter the palace, but he had to eat one bite at a time. With a rare opportunity right before his eyes, he had to let Mu Ci gain a foothold in the court first. This way, it would be much easier to promote him.
Ye An had another little idea. Since Brother Mu was unwilling to enter the palace, he might as well take this opportunity to keep him by his side first - the court was by his side anyway.
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Thank you to the little angels who cast their votes for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution~
Thanks to the little angels who threw [hand grenades]: Pearl Order, Love You Sauce 1;
Thanks to the little angels who cast [mines]: Wen Yueye, 22214894, did Cai Xukun eat celery today, you look like a younger brother when you smile;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated [nutrient solution]:
1 bottle of Paper is Short, Love is Long;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
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