Chapter 1145 Out of Control 4
The whole hall was silent.
"...We were terrified and furious, but there was nothing we could do. He had tens of thousands of private soldiers, and he had the final say in Yizhou, Suizhou, and even the entire Jiannan Road. We dared not even show any dissatisfaction, let alone complain."
Xiang Chao said, "The people who were killed were pushed into the river and swept away with the flood. No one knows where they went. The Jianwei Weir burst and killed tens of thousands. Later, due to lack of food, thousands died of starvation and disease. People even exchanged their own children for food. Who would care about a village that suddenly changed its owner?"
"After the flood, countless fertile fields turned to wasteland. Before the refugees could even return home, their homes were occupied and their fields redistributed. Upon returning, they found themselves penniless and forced to continue their wandering," Xiang Chao said. "And with the King of Yizhou sitting at the top, the local officials, whether intentional or not, were powerless. My cousin says it's impossible to avenge the situation through the imperial court."
His eyes were red as he looked at the King of Yizhou with hatred. He moved closer to him, his bloodthirsty hatred almost bursting out. "So we started to gather some disaster victims, just so that we could kill the King of Yizhou one day. Unfortunately, we failed twice, and my cousin was even captured."
Xiang Chao suddenly turned to look at the emperor and said excitedly, "Your Majesty, everything I said is true. If you don't believe me, go and search the Prince of Yizhou's palace in Beijing. My cousin must still be imprisoned in the dungeon."
A flash of light flashed through Wei Zhi's mind, and he instantly figured it out. He immediately stepped out of the group and knelt, "Your Majesty, I am willing to make this trip."
The hesitant emperor paused, glanced at Wei Zhi and said, "Then Wei Qing, please go on this trip."
The King of Yizhou's eyebrows trembled violently. He bowed his head and kowtowed to the ground, saying, "Your Majesty, I am innocent. This is all just malicious speculation on their part, without any real evidence. Are you going to convict me based on just three people's confessions?"
He looked up and said, "I have indeed encountered assassination attempts. One was during the Dragon Boat Festival last year, and the other was when I entered the capital this year. I narrowly escaped death. I am also confused as to who and where they had offended me to have such an immediate execution."
The emperor hesitated.
Wei Zhi knew the emperor cared about his reputation and was afraid he would regret it, so he immediately said, "Since your conscience is clear, even if there's someone imprisoned in the dungeon, what is there to fear? Once the court investigates the truth, we will clear your name. If you continue to cover it up, it will only make you look like a guilty thief."
The King of Yizhou tilted his head slightly and snorted coldly, "Innocent? I'm afraid that after this investigation, I will no longer be innocent."
The emperor's face was as gloomy as water. He asked, "Why, are you hinting at me, Fifth Brother?"
The King of Yizhou replied coldly, "I dare not, but Your Majesty, today is Mother's birthday. Is there anything that cannot be discussed after today?"
He looked up at the emperor, tears in his eyes, and said, "It's been so many years since my mother has been so happy to hold a big birthday party."
The emperor fell silent.
Wei Zhi said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, state affairs are of paramount importance!"
Old Lord Tang also stepped out and knelt. "Your Majesty, if the King of Yizhou really has tens of thousands of private soldiers in Suizhou, if they rebel, Suizhou, Yizhou, Zizhou, Mianzhou, and Longzhou will all fall immediately. Jiannan Road has only just recovered from the flood, and the people cannot withstand another upheaval."
The Crown Prince, who had been silent the entire time, also stood up and knelt beside the King of Yizhou. He said, "I second your proposal. If Your Majesty is worried about Your Majesty, why not let me handle it while Your Majesty comforts Your Majesty?"
The ministers thought: "The prince's words are really nice. I'm afraid that if the emperor goes, the empress dowager will only be more angry." However, it is indeed a good way to divert anger.
The emperor glanced at him and did not agree to his proposal, but waved his hand to Wei Zhi and sighed, "Wei Qing, go ahead and take the imperial guards with you."
Wei Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, responded, and stood up to leave.
Such a major event as a confiscation would not be completed in a short time, and with so many people in the palace, it was certainly impossible for them to wait forever. So the emperor sighed again and had the King of Yizhou taken away and temporarily detained in the palace.
As for Bai Shan and the others, they will be temporarily housed in the Sky Prison. Once it is confirmed that it is not a false accusation, they will be released naturally.
Bai Shan looked up at the emperor, supported himself on the ground and climbed up, reaching out to support Manbao who was also staggering.
The two looked at each other, both feeling like they had survived a disaster.
But whether he can really survive the disaster will only be known after he is released from the Heavenly Prison.
The Tianlao is the Tianlao of the Ministry of Justice, and Minister Feng took them there personally.
Looking at the young boy and girl, and then at the dying young man lying on the wooden board, Minister Feng sighed softly. He had always felt that there was something strange about Zhou Man's overnight fame in the capital, and had been puzzled by the emperor's intervention in the matter. Now he had a vague understanding.
However, Minister Feng frowned and asked Zhou Man, "Since you have someone helping you behind the scenes, allowing you to quietly infiltrate the capital, why didn't you go there earlier to file your complaint? And then you could also create a reputation for Bai Shan as a genius. Wouldn't that be safer? It's better than going through Zhou Man and filing a complaint in the palace? And you chose such a bad time."
With the emperor as his backer, he has more room to maneuver. Why would he be so desperate to choose today to reveal the matter in this way?
Bai Shan and Zhou Man looked up at him together and snorted silently in their hearts. What infiltration? This was their first time in the capital. Grandmother Liu had been running the business for many years, but she only had a house and a shop in the capital.
It was clearly your Emperor who made you famous in the capital.
Minister Feng certainly knew this, but he was still wondering how many helpers Bai Shan and Zhou Man had in the capital.
The emperor was also pondering this question at the moment, and he wasn't alone. He brought along Old Master Tang. He placed the two pieces of evidence presented by Gu Zhong on the desk, flipped through them, and asked, "Tell me, how many bargaining chips do they still have?"
Old Master Tang bowed and said, "I don't know."
The emperor snorted and said, "You don't know, and Zhihe doesn't know either?"
Old Master Tang bent deeply and said nothing.
"Dongxi Manor..." The emperor shook his head and said, "I thought only a few of us knew about this place. I didn't expect that they not only knew about it, but also were able to find its former owner. If there was no one to help connect them, how did the two sides get in touch?"
Old Master Tang remained silent.
"They're right under my nose, busy every day, seeing the doctor, studying, seemingly too busy, but I wonder if they're doing so much behind the scenes?" The emperor raised his eyelids and looked at Old Master Tang. "On one side is Madam Liu, who has been dormant for twelve years and is always cautious. On the other side are the Xiang family, who are on the run and are extremely wary. How could they have formed an alliance so quickly without a trustworthy person to act as a matchmaker? And when something happened in the palace, they immediately sounded the drum to report it."
What could Old Master Tang do? He could only kneel down and continue, "I don't know."
He really doesn't know!
The emperor snorted coldly and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, I'm not blaming you. Now it depends on where Yin Li is."
Old Master Tang slowly let out a breath and cursed the little bastard in his heart.
See you tomorrow. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. I will try to finish the update before dark. Let's watch the Spring Festival Gala together.
(End of this chapter)
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