Chapter 99 Chapter 99 The New Emperor’s Crime of Killing His Father and Killing His King is Exposed…
A few days after the carriage left Huaizhao County on its way north, news arrived from Shengjing City.
Just as the letter said, the Su family and Xuan Wensheng arrived in Shengjing City on the day they left Huaizhao County and returned to Duke Su's Mansion. Xuan Wensheng also returned to Minister Xuan's Mansion.
But that's not the point.
The letters from Su Sheng and Xuan Zhao both said the same thing:
The new emperor's crime of patricide and regicide was exposed.
Everything is going as planned.
Su Guanzhang touched the white falcon flapping its wings against his arm and pushed a plate of raw meat toward it. "Thank you for your hard work."
It is a ferocious bird in the mountains and forests, and it is the freest.
For nearly a year, he had diligently carried messages and supplies back and forth for them from the cliffs outside the mountain. Now, he had even crossed half of Dasheng to carry messages for them.
The white falcon happily grabbed the plate and flew out of the carriage.
After a while, Lan Jie'er's cheerful screams and the unfluent "bai, bai" were heard from the rear carriage, as if she was playing with Bai Falcon.
Su Guanzhang's expression softened and he opened the envelope.
"Father said that on the day of the Ghost Festival, evidence of Sheng Yu's regicide and patricide appeared on the altar in full view of the public."
"The person who obtained the evidence was Shanzhang Qin Wenyuan, who directly handed it to the Dali Temple."
Qin Wenyuan was the principal of Lanshan Academy, the most prestigious academy in Shengjing City. He was formerly a trusted confidant of the late Crown Prince and served as the Imperial College's chief academic officer. His profound knowledge, integrity, and selflessness earned him the emperor's trust and the respect of his fellow students.
However, he resigned from his post in anger because the former crown prince was falsely accused of treason and committed suicide without waiting for the trial by the three courts. He then opened an academy in Shengjing City, named "Lanshan", and became the principal of Lanshan Academy.
Over the past twenty years, he has made Lanshan Academy more famous than the Imperial College and an institution of higher learning that students all over the world aspire to attend.
Su Guanzhang took out a brazier and lit the letter.
"The Dali Temple originally wouldn't have dared to accept evidence that incriminated a reigning monarch," Su Guanzhang noticed Xuan Jinyu's distress and pulled her into his arms. "But that day, the words 'Shengyu patricide and monarch slaying' appeared on the river lanterns, and the people saw it."
No matter how fair and selfless the Dali Temple is, it is ultimately constrained by the power of the emperor. If no one takes the lead in trying the emperor, how could they dare to take on such a task?
But the people of the whole city saw the words formed by the river lanterns, and they knew that the highly respected Chief Qin Shan had handed over the evidence he had obtained on the altar to the Dali Temple.
If the Dali Temple doesn't respond at all, the spit of the people in the city alone will be enough to drown them.
Qin Wenyuan, a former official, understood their predicament and didn't embarrass them. He simply wrote down the evidence he had memorized. The next day, the evidence written by the students of Lanshan Academy spread throughout Shengjing City.
Each of the ministers who attended the morning court that day received a copy - they were sent by Qin Wenyuan himself. He stood on the road that the ministers had to take to go to court, and distributed the copies to the ministers as soon as he saw them.
Such a shocking move shocked all the court officials, and after seeing the evidence, they were even more shocked.
By the time they wanted to catch the man and interrogate him thoroughly, it was almost time for the morning court session. They could not delay any longer and had to leave in fear.
"How dare Principal Qin do this?" Xuan Jinyu let Su Guanzhang hold her and leaned her head in his arms, feeling very puzzled.
"Is there no one who dares to come out and stop him?"
Spreading the emperor's crimes in public is a capital crime.
It would have been fine if the ministers hadn't reacted in shock, but did neither the Imperial Guards nor the dog emperor Shengyu in the palace react?
Su Guanzhang chuckled, "Headmaster Tan has a golden belt bestowed by the late emperor, and he also has an imperial whip bestowed by the Zhengming Emperor. He can punish tyrants and corrupt officials. Who dares to arrest him?"
Isn’t Qin Wenyuan exercising the rights granted to him by Emperor Zhengming?
Emperor Zhengming was the late emperor and the late crown prince's father, and Sheng Yu's grandfather. Sheng Yu certainly didn't dare disobey his orders.
Even though he hated it to death, he had to endure it secretly and only ordered people to find out the source of the evidence as soon as possible; he grabbed the evidence and read it page by page, breathing rapidly and his eyes were bloodshot.
He clearly buried the evidence back then, in a place where no one dared to approach. Who on earth knew all this?
He had been on the throne for over four years, and his position was already secure. What was his intention in exposing these matters now? Could it still shake his position? Who dared?
After figuring this out, Sheng Yu's breathing slowly calmed down. He spread out the torn papers one by one and sneered.
Among the princes of the previous emperor, he was the only one who was alive, while the others were either dead or disabled. Even if this proves that he killed his father and the emperor, what does it matter?
There is no one in the royal family who can become emperor anymore.
So, at the court the next morning, when the Dali Temple Minister came out and presented the evidence handwritten by Tan Wenyuan and asked Sheng Yu to give an explanation, Sheng Yu was very calm.
"My dear minister, you are the Minister of Justice. It is your duty to distinguish right from wrong and to investigate cases thoroughly. Now, having received such incriminating evidence against the emperor, instead of seeking out the culprit who caused the chaos at court, you are actually questioning me."
"The court pays you salaries, and this is how you support a bunch of idiots? Get out."
The usually impartial and selfless Dali Temple Minister was scolded and humiliated. The other officials looked at each other and thought about it. Although they had some thoughts in their hearts, they were reluctant to speak out.
What should I say? Your Majesty, please allow me and your ministers to verify your innocence. They are not people like Qin Wenyuan, who are favored and courted by both Emperor Zhengming and the previous emperor.
Unless you want to die, you should drag your family members or the whole clan with you to die.
In the carriage, the letter paper burned quietly in the brazier, and the fierce flames were reflected in their eyes.
After hearing Sheng Yu's shameless words, Xuan Jinyu was so angry that her body was shaking, thinking that her kung fu was not good enough.
She took a deep breath, "How did the courtiers react?"
Su Guanzhang concealed the coldness in his eyes, stroking her back and soothing her breathing as he spoke softly, "The reaction of the court officials is still unclear. On the surface, most of them are skeptical."
"Openly?"
"Yes, but many people have secretly contacted my father and father-in-law, so I think they believe it." Su Guanzhang replied, "But it was Prince Lingcheng, a member of the clan, who rushed to the palace as soon as he heard the news."
"Sheng Yu blocked the news from the palace. No one in the palace knew what the two of them talked about in the main hall. We only know that Prince Cheng looked quite calm when he left the palace."
Xuan Jinyu frowned, "Did he convince Prince Cheng?"
"It seems so." Su Guanzhang said, stroking her cheek worriedly. "It doesn't matter. After all, we have other evidence. Third Brother and the others will take action after watching."
The evidence released now is only the most insignificant part.
Xuan Jinyu nodded and fell silent.
By the time the carriage passed through Huaizhao County and left the continuous peaks, the weather had become very cool.
It was already August, and Lan Jie'er was ten and a half months old. She had already grown three small teeth: two in the middle of the bottom and one on the top.
"You all have big teeth?" Xuan Jinyu pinched her daughter's chubby little chin. The child thought her mother was playing with her and giggled.
When she grinned, her saliva couldn't stop flowing. Su Guanzhang wiped her saliva with the bib hanging around her neck.
"Hold me, hold me." Sister Lan stretched out her hands to her father.
Su Guanzhang smiled and picked her up from the floor of the carriage. "Weren't you lying on the ground and refusing to get up just now?" He teased his daughter.
Sister Lan didn't understand what her father was saying and danced happily in his arms.
Xuan Jinyu watched with a smile and touched her daughter's head.
Su Guanzhang tilted his head to look at her. Xuan Jinyu understood and reached out to touch his head.
Lan Jie'er stopped moving and stared at her mother for a long time before looking back at her father. Then, she stepped on Su Guanzhang's legs to stand up and reached out her little hand to touch his head.
Su Guanzhang: “…”
Xuan Jinyu: “Puff.”
When Lan Jie'er saw her mother smile, she felt that she had done the right thing. She clapped her hands happily and shouted "Daddy, Daddy, Mommy, Mommy".
She called out, and Su Guanzhang and Xuan Jinyu responded without showing any impatience on their faces.
Just when the family of three was warm and happy.
"Did Your Majesty really poison the late emperor to death?" An unstoppable cry of surprise came from outside the carriage.
Then there was a loud "pop" and a "hiss".
"Are you crazy? Why are you shouting so loudly?" It was another person's voice.
Xuan Jinyu and Su Guanzhang looked at each other.
Su Guanzhang picked up Lan Jie'er, who was acting wildly on his legs.
Lan Jie'er didn't understand why, but she didn't know if she was affected by her parents' mood, she stopped making a fuss and talking; she just nestled quietly in her father's arms, grabbing his clothes on the chest and playing with the embroidery.
Su Guanzhang followed her and listened quietly to the conversation outside the car.
The man who had originally exclaimed sounded unconvinced, "Isn't this something known to the entire world? What are you afraid of?"
"People are being arrested in Shengjing City, but the county government doesn't dare to arrest anyone."
Another person had a headache. "Hey, hey, little ancestor, I know you have a good family background, but could you please not be so loud? Everyone is looking at you."
"Hey, it's better if everyone hears it! If he can catch one person, how can he catch everyone in the world?"
…
The carriage kept moving at the same speed, rumbling along, and soon went away.
"Everything that happened in Shengjing City has spread here." Su Guanzhang kissed his obedient daughter on the forehead and said to Xuan Jinyu.
They were still far away from Shengjing City, about 2,300 miles away, and they had heard many similar conversations along the way.
The king of a country ascended the throne by killing his father and the king, and the people were talking about it.
Although whoever sits on the throne does not affect the lives of ordinary people, it is not reassuring if the ruler of a country has flaws in his character.
He can even kill his king and his own father. If one day he no longer takes the world into consideration, won't he be able to kill anyone he wants?
In the evening, when the carriage stopped in front of the restaurant to rest, I heard people in the next room whispering about the Su family.
"I felt it was inappropriate when the Su family was exiled without any guilt, and it really is true." A low male voice sighed, "Nowadays, there are such disloyal and unfilial people. The world is in danger!"
A male voice, seemingly slightly younger, rang out, "Dasheng governs with filial piety. A monarch like this is nothing short of disloyal! I will not be participating in this year's provincial examination."
Then came a series of voices, some dissuading, some approving.
"Hey, hey, hey, you've studied hard for ten years, don't give up easily."
"That's right. 'Learn the arts of civil and martial arts, and serve the emperor.' If the emperor is like this, isn't it worth fighting for him?"
"No, no, we've studied so hard for ten years, isn't it just to one day become an official? To bring honor to our family, or to speak for the people. How can we give up the exam now because of something so uncertain?"
…
The restaurant was so poorly soundproof that Xuan Jinyu and Su Guanzhang looked at each other in bewilderment.
Don't listen to inappropriate things. It's not that they don't want to avoid it, but Lan Jie'er, who has failed to quit breastfeeding, is now craving milk and is pestering Xuan Jinyu for milk.
Sister Lan didn't understand anything. When she saw her father and mother suddenly become quiet, she looked up at them in surprise.
Xuan Jinyu patted her head and said, "Focus."
Sister Lan seemed to understand, and soon continued to swallow slowly in small sips.
"She doesn't look like she wants to drink milk, she's just greedy." Su Guanzhang leaned behind Xuan Jinyu, holding her daughter for her, feeling a little helpless.
It was clear that she didn't want to drink milk in the past few days, so he thought it would be better to wean her off, so that Jinyu wouldn't feel uncomfortable because of the swollen breasts every day.
But who would have thought that Sister Lan didn't want to eat the porridge today, and insisted on grabbing her mother's clothes to drink milk.
Madam Su and Xu Yu Niang asked the restaurant to keep some dishes for them and let them come up first.
"The charges of regicide and patricide haven't been cleared yet, and yet they're arresting people in the capital. What's the difference between this and that foolish tyrant?"
There was a loud noise, followed by the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground with a bang; and the noise of people trying to help the object up, which then fell down, and then helped up again, mixed with a few words of persuasion.
"Don't hold me back, I want to get it straight today."
Then came all sorts of chaotic noises: "clang", "ping pong", "crack", etc. It seemed as if a group of people had thrown everything on the table to the ground.
The people next door were obviously drunk, a bunch of drunks. They were a little restrained just now, but now they are acting without any rules at all.
Su Guanzhang was about to speak up to warn her, but Lan Jie'er seemed startled by the series of noises and opened her mouth. Her fluffy little head went straight into Xuan Jinyu's arms, her small hands clinging tightly to her loose clothes.
Without caring about the people next door, he hurriedly hugged his wife.
Xuan Jinyu didn't care about herself and hurriedly picked up her daughter. "Dear sister Lan, don't be afraid. Mommy and daddy are here."
Su Guanzhang reached out from behind, "Let me hold you."
From her mother's arms to her father's arms, Lan Jie'er didn't make a fuss. Her little face was pressed against Su Guanzhang's shoulder, and her little hands were around his neck.
"Ahhh!" Feeling safe, she raised her head and shouted fiercely at the wall next to her.
As if someone was strangling the neck, the sound from the next room suddenly disappeared, and the surroundings became extremely quiet.
Xuan Jinyu was gathering her clothes, and was relieved to see that her daughter didn't look frightened. Then she couldn't help laughing when she saw her fierce and self-righteous look.
It looks like he won't drink milk anymore.
Xuan Jinyu put on her undergarment and let Su Guanzhang put on her tunic with one hand. He tapped his daughter's nose and said, "Fortunately, you are a brave one."
Sister Lan blinked her eyes and smiled, no longer showing her "fierce" look.
She looks very much like Xuan Jinyu, but everyone who sees her always thinks she looks like Su Guanzhang at first glance.
But when she smiled, her eyes curved, and she wasn't as cold as her father, but rather sweet. When she smiled, her eyebrows and eyes softened, and she looked exactly like Xuan Jinyu, which delighted everyone around her.
Xu Yu Niang often held her little granddaughter in her arms and kissed her, praising Xuan Jinyu for her ability to give birth.
Xuan Jinyu put on her clothes with the help of Su Guanzhang, tilted her head and kissed Lan Jie'er on the cheek, saying softly, "Can I take you downstairs? You haven't finished your porridge yet."
Lan Jie'er couldn't say "yes" yet, only "no". Seeing her mother speaking to her gently, she took her little hand off her father's neck and patted it, "Ah, no, no."
As she was talking, she started to laugh and spat out a mouthful of saliva with a "pu" sound.
Fortunately, Xuan Jinyu turned her head quickly, otherwise her saliva would have been all over my face.
Sister Lan was shouting "Ah, Pu" and "Mom, Mom" randomly, clapping her little hands and about to throw herself into Xuan Jinyu's arms.
Xuan Jinyu silently hid behind Su Guanzhang.
Even if it was her own daughter, she would not like to be spitted at. If anyone was going to be spitted at, it should be spitted at her father.
Su Guanzhang watched the interaction between the mother and daughter with amusement, and quickly lifted up Lan Jie'er's bib to block her saliva attack.
"Okay, dear Sister Lan, let's stop playing and go downstairs." He said gently.
The phrase "Good girl Lan Jie'er" had an inexplicable magic on Lan Jie'er. She really calmed down, tilting her little face up to let her daddy wipe her face and mouth.
To go downstairs, you have to pass through the next room.
When the family of three walked by, the door of the next room was closed and it seemed as if no one was inside and it was very quiet.
Su Guanzhang nodded to Su Shisan who was guarding the door. Su Shisan understood and knocked on the door of the next room after all the masters and ladies had gone downstairs.
The next day, before the carriage set off, Su Shisan came over with a jar of wine in his hand, looking helpless. "Master, this is a thank-you gift from the shopkeeper in the next room yesterday. I said I don't want it, but the shopkeeper said he couldn't make the decision."
The room next door was quiet last night. Su Shisan said that after she knocked on the door and said, "Be careful what you say and do," and "Don't worry, they won't spread what they heard," those people left the restaurant overnight.
Unexpectedly, they left a thank-you gift before leaving.
Su Guanzhang glanced at the jar of wine and said, "Just keep it." Then he got on the carriage and hugged Lan Jie'er who rushed towards him.
"What thank you gift?" Xuan Jinyu released her hands from her daughter's armpits and asked curiously.
Just now, Sister Lan was teasing her, so she didn't get to hear the whole story.
Su Guanzhang gently nudged Sister Lan, making her giggle uncontrollably. She replied, "The people in the next room got drunk yesterday and were talking nonsense. I asked Su Shisan to warn them. Before they left, they asked the restaurant owner to leave a jar of wine for us as a thank you."
Xuan Jinyu was speechless. "A jar of wine."
These people violated their dietary restrictions yesterday because of drinking alcohol. They were timid and ran away in a hurry when they knew they were heard. They even thought of sending wine as a thank you gift.
She didn't know what to say.
Su Guanzhang chuckled, "Not only is he timid, he's also easily gullible."
Su Shisan said he would not tell anyone, but these people actually believed him. They were so stupid. No wonder they dared to gather together to drink and speak freely.
I don’t know what kind of family raised this naive young man.
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