Boom!!!
Upon hearing Wen Hu's words, it was as if a thunderbolt had struck the minds of everyone in the hall.
Incredulity was written on everyone's face.
Chen Changyun, in particular, thought he was going to die, but he never expected this outcome.
Even Wen Tai, who had previously fought against many opponents, couldn't hold back anymore, his eyes filled with shock.
Yuan Xiu stood on the steps and said, "Wen Hu, are you going to testify against your uncle?"
Wen Hu said solemnly, "Your Majesty, in my heart there is only right and wrong, nothing else."
Yuan Xiu asked, "What is your evidence?"
Wen Hu said, "My uncle originally wanted me to contact Cui Wuming, but I opposed his killing of Minister Chen, so he sent Zhongbo from his household instead. Lord Dong, I sent Zhongbo to the imperial prison before the court session."
"brute!"
Wen Tai got angry and kicked Wen Hu, shouting, "You were raised by Zhong Bo! If you throw him into the imperial prison, how can he survive?!"
Wen Hu took Wen Tai's kick without dodging or avoiding it, and said without changing his expression, "Zhong Bo has ended up in this state because of you."
"You unfilial son!" Wen Tai trembled with anger.
Wen Hu clasped his hands in a fist salute to Dong Xiao and said, "Uncle Zhong has already written his testimony. He will tell you whatever you want to know. Please, Lord Dong, be lenient. He is old and we should not let him suffer any physical pain."
Dong Xiao said, "The punishments in the Imperial Prison are for dealing with those who are not honest. Torture is just a means, not an end. Since they are willing to confess, there is naturally no need to use torture."
As he spoke, Dong Xiao glanced at Wen Tai and asked doubtfully, "But I don't understand why the Left Prime Minister would do this? Cui Wuming is not a member of the Left Prime Minister's office. The Left Prime Minister's office could have easily distanced itself from asking him to kill Chen Ke, so why did they have him imitate the Wuchang Sword?"
"Hmph!" Wen Tai snorted coldly, turned his face away, and said icily, "What do you know!"
Wen Hu said, "Uncle is defaming himself by knowing that you won't find any evidence to convict him. At the same time, he can also sow discord between His Majesty and Xu Qingshan."
Yuan Xiu stepped down the steps, looked at Wen Tai with a sigh, and said, "Left Prime Minister, you have truly gone to great lengths!"
Wen Tai said proudly, "I owe His Majesty nothing, and I have done nothing wrong to the Great Jing."
"Is that so?" Yuan Xiu walked up to Wen Tai, with Dian Chen closely following as his personal bodyguard.
"Look at this evidence of corruption. How much silver have you, the Left Prime Minister, and the officials of the Left Party embezzled in total?"
Where were you when the imperial court was short of money?
"When the military was short of funds for the Night Pill campaign, did you contribute any money?"
"When we were short of money to build the Xishan Dam, did you contribute any funds?"
"When local areas lacked disaster relief funds, did you provide any money?"
"You rely on the power granted to you by the imperial court to embezzle chests of silver into your own homes, profiting entirely from the hard-earned wealth of the people of Dajing, yet you turn a blind eye to the difficulties faced by the imperial court and the common people. How dare you claim to have done nothing wrong for Dajing?"
"Do they think I'm a fool?!"
Faced with Yuan Xiu's repeated questioning, Wen Tai finally couldn't hold on any longer and staggered back a step.
Du Yuhe quickly stepped forward to help Wen Tai up, then knelt down and cried out, "Injustice! The Left Prime Minister and we are all innocent!"
Yuan Xiu pointed at Du Yuhe and shouted, "You're being wronged my ass! You're the least wronged person; you're the biggest corrupt official in this dynasty!"
Du Yuhe said, "Your Majesty, you must provide evidence!"
Wen Hu interjected, "Your Majesty, I have already compiled a book of evidence of corruption by the officials of the Left Party faction, as well as the income and expenditure of the Left Prime Minister's office."
As he spoke, Wen Hu looked at He Yin and continued, "Before the court session, I had already sent the booklet to the Ministry of Justice."
Wen Hu's betrayal left He Yin somewhat bewildered. He nodded blankly to Wen Hu and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Lord Sha."
Du Yuhe plopped down on the ground, knowing that further arguing was useless, and looked utterly desperate.
Yuan Xiu gave the Left Prime Minister a cold look, then turned and walked towards the steps.
"Dong Xiao! He Yin!"
"exist!!"
"Use the information in Sha County Earl's register to arrest people, and imprison all those involved in the case. Do not let a single one escape!"
"yes!!"
"As for the Left Prime Minister, dismiss him from his post and send him to the Ministry of Justice!"
"Haha, hahaha..." Wen Tai suddenly burst into laughter, and everyone looked at him.
"I've lived a life of great achievements, but I never imagined I'd fall victim to my own people. What an ingrate I raised!"
Wen Tai sighed, flicked his sleeves, and swaggered out of the hall.
When a guard tried to escort him away, he shouted angrily, "I know the way to the Ministry of Justice prison!"
Wen Hu knelt down facing Wen Tai's back and kowtowed heavily.
"Lu Zhao!"
"All agree!"
"Officials Zhang..."
Dong Xiao called out names and arranged for the guards to take away the Left Party officials in the hall one by one.
Seeing that many people were missing from the hall, the officials sighed with regret. They had not expected the Left Chancellor to fall so quickly, nor had they expected that today's turmoil would end in this way.
Everyone's eyes fell on Wen Hu, who was still kneeling facing the palace gate, his expression resolute.
"Wenhu," Yuan Xiu called out from his dragon throne.
"Your subject is here!" Wen Hu immediately stood up, took a few steps towards the steps, and knelt down again.
"You have put righteousness before family and rendered meritorious service to the country. I will reward you handsomely."
Wen Hu clasped his hands and said, "I do these things not for wealth and honor, but because I am an official of the Great Jing, and I must do things that are beneficial to the Great Jing!"
"You may refuse, but I cannot refuse to bestow this favor." Yuan Xiu thought for a moment, tapped his fingers on the armrest, and said, "Imperial decree: effective immediately, Wen Hu is promoted to Marquis of Sha County and appointed to the Central Secretariat with a sword!"
Wen Hu immediately knelt down: "Your Majesty, I accept the decree and thank you for your great favor!"
Upon hearing this, the officials all secretly cast strange glances at Yuan Xiu and Wen Hu.
Wen Hu was Wen Tai's nephew and the purest member of the Left Party. Even if he betrayed Wen Tai, the emperor should still be wary of him. Even if his past crimes are not investigated, he should not be given such a reward.
They actually granted him the title of Marquis!
Moreover, although the title of "Walking with a Sword in the Central Secretariat" was given casually by the emperor and sounded like a guard, it actually meant that one had entered the core of the Central Secretariat and was second only to the four ministers of the Central Secretariat.
Gradually, the officials began to understand what was going on.
This Wen Hu has probably already sided with the emperor; he is the emperor's spy planted in the Left Prime Minister's residence!
From now on, the court will be without Wen Tai, but with Wen Hu.
They will inevitably become the new elites of Dajing.
What the officials could think of, Yuan Li could also think of.
Looking up at his elder brother, who was sitting on the dragon throne, Yuan Li felt uneasy, thinking to himself that he was still less cunning than his brother.
He didn't know how close his brother and Wen Hu were, nor did he know what secrets his brother knew.
A feeling of unease, like a thorn in my side, arose spontaneously.
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