Xie Jingyan really wanted to see if the Left Chancellor, having been careless and fallen into the Empress Dowager's trap, could extricate himself without involving Prince Cheng.
Three days later, the Left Prime Minister was released from prison.
After feeding the koi in the garden, Shen Wan went to the study to find Xie Jingyan. Just as she reached the door of the study, she heard a guard's voice from inside reporting, "Your Highness, the Left Prime Minister's case has been decided."
"The Emperor demoted the Left Chancellor by three ranks for accepting bribes."
Being demoted three ranks is not a light punishment.
However, embezzling tribute was a capital offense.
Compared to the death penalty, this punishment is as lenient as it gets.
Shen Wan went inside and asked Xie Jingyan, "The Ministry of Justice only charged the Left Chancellor with accepting bribes?"
Xie Jingyan nodded, "The Left Prime Minister insists that he only accepted bribes and did not know they were tributes. The items were received by the steward of the Left Prime Minister's residence, and when they were delivered to his study, it was late at night, and he was preparing to go back to bed, so he did not even glance at them before having the steward deliver them to the secret room in his study. The Left Prime Minister is convinced that his own steward colluded with outsiders to frame his master..."
"The Minister of Justice interrogated the steward, whose testimony matched that of the Left Chancellor. The people the Empress Dowager had given to the Ministry of Justice also recanted their testimonies, saying that seeing the Crown Prince and Prince Jin vying for the position of heir apparent with no result in sight, the steward, in order to curry favor, deliberately sent the porcelain that the Empress Dowager wanted to the Left Chancellor's residence, thus implicating the Left Chancellor..."
Shen Wan laughed. Others participated in the struggle for the throne to gain merit and wealth, but did the person who recanted his testimony want to die?
Shen Wan said, "The Ministry of Justice actually believed such a clumsy explanation?"
Xie Jingyan said, "After recanting his confession, the man committed suicide. Although the Minister of Justice did not believe it, the Ministry of Justice did not have enough evidence to convict the Left Prime Minister of embezzling tribute. However, the Left Prime Minister could not deny accepting bribes."
Even though he knew that wasn't the case, he had no evidence and couldn't do anything about the Left Prime Minister.
Furthermore, the Minister of Justice also knew that the Left Prime Minister had been framed this time. Although he was not entirely innocent, the Ministry of Justice should not be used as a tool in the struggle for the crown prince. Moreover, he was on Xie Jingyan's side. If the Left Prime Minister were really convicted of embezzling tribute, even if the Emperor spared his life, he would inevitably face confiscation of his property and exile.
With the Left Chancellor gone and the Prince of Jin out of power, there is no one to check and balance the eldest prince. Under pressure from the Empress Dowager, it is hard to guarantee that the Emperor will not actually make the eldest prince the crown prince.
Before Consort Chen's case is overturned, to ensure that the Emperor will not appoint an heir, the Prince of Jin and the First Prince must continue their struggle.
If the snipe and the clam don't fight, how can the fisherman profit?
Xie Jingyan said, "Although we failed to completely bring down the Left Prime Minister, we dealt him a heavy blow and can still keep the First Prince in check. For us, this is not a bad thing, but—"
He stopped there.
Shen Wan looked at him. "Just what?"
Xie Jingyan's eyes darkened. "Prince Cheng is being far too kind to Prince Jin."
The fact that the Left Chancellor was able to be released from prison so quickly is clearly because Prince Cheng was helping him. Without Prince Cheng's people recanting their confessions, the Left Chancellor's case would not have been closed simply on the grounds of accepting bribes.
Previously, Prince Cheng secretly supported Prince Jin, which could be explained by his lack of confidence in the eldest prince's ability to seize the throne. However, now that the eldest prince's succession is in sight, Prince Cheng has chosen to help Prince Jin. He is so devoted to Prince Jin, even disregarding the Empress Dowager's wrath. What exactly does Prince Cheng want to do?
If it were said that Prince Cheng wanted the Crown Prince and Prince Jin to fight amongst themselves and weaken the court so that he could raise an army to rebel, then in Shen Wan's dream, after Xie Jingyin ascended the throne, Prince Cheng took the initiative to tell Xie Jingyin about the iron mine in Wangzhou, and Xie Jingyin trusted him greatly.
There are too many things that are puzzling.
Shou Kang Palace.
The Empress Dowager sat on the phoenix throne, her anger stemming from the fact that she was taking in more air than exhaling.
After the Left Prime Minister was arrested and imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice, the Empress Dowager sent people to keep an eye on him, but she didn't dare to keep too close an eye on him, since she had deliberately set a trap for the Left Prime Minister.
If this matter comes to light, even as the Empress Dowager, she won't be able to explain it to the Emperor.
But the Empress Dowager did not expect that Prince Cheng would help the Left Prime Minister even though he knew that she was the one who plotted against him.
He's such a good son!
Even Granny Zhao was worried that the Empress Dowager would get sick from anger, so she advised, "Empress Dowager, please don't get sick from anger..."
How could the Empress Dowager not be angry?!
Knowing full well that she was wholeheartedly supporting the eldest prince, he still insisted on opposing her. Before, he did it secretly, but now he's doing it openly.
As Prince Cheng walked in, the Empress Dowager's eyes blazed with fury. "I'll only ask you once: did you help the Left Chancellor?!"
King Cheng admitted it, but that angered the Empress Dowager even more than if he had refused to admit it.
King Cheng said, "I am not helping the Left Chancellor, I am helping myself and the Empress Dowager."
The Empress Dowager had heard Prince Cheng say something similar before, but at the time she didn't know he was secretly helping Prince Jin, and she actually believed it.
Now, hearing this again, the Empress Dowager was only angry: "These tributes were sent to the Left Prime Minister's residence under your guise, and the Left Prime Minister accepted them without the slightest suspicion."
"Zuo Xiang truly trusts you implicitly!"
"You've lived up to the Left Chancellor's trust in you, sparing no effort to exonerate him. Why don't you just hand me over as Empress Dowager and let the Left Chancellor escape unscathed?!"
The Empress Dowager's voice grew increasingly sharp with each word.
Previously, Prince Cheng had no interest in the Crown Prince's struggle for the throne. She thought it was because the Crown Prince was ill and Prince Cheng only wanted to cure the Crown Prince's illness and did not want to participate in the struggle for the throne. After all, no matter how powerful Prince Cheng's mansion was, it would be all for naught if the Crown Prince died. The Empress Dowager did not force him. But it turned out that he was not uninterested in participating in the struggle for the throne. He just did not want to help the Crown Prince!
He's secretly supporting her tonight, trying to sabotage her, the Empress Dowager!
The Empress Dowager was furious. "What did Prince Jin promise you? Something the First Prince couldn't give you, that makes you so devoted to him?!"
King Cheng remained silent.
The Empress Dowager seemed to realize something and said, "Do you have something on the Left Chancellor and the Empress?"
But the Empress Dowager thought it was impossible.
King Cheng was a piece of her own flesh and blood. If she used his weakness to threaten him, King Cheng would not only not help King Jin, but would only make King Jin die a more miserable death.
The Empress Dowager couldn't figure out what the Prince of Jin had done to get his son to help him seize the throne.
King Cheng remained silent.
Even her mother, the Empress Dowager, was unwilling to tell her, which only fueled the Empress Dowager's anger. "This is the last time. If I find out again that you are helping the Prince of Jin, you will be sent to my fiefdom!"
Phoenix Palace.
When Empress Song heard that the Left Chancellor had been demoted three ranks, she breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Empress Song knew how difficult it was to find tributes in the secret room of the Left Prime Minister's study and still manage to escape.
But when she thought that this situation was orchestrated by the Empress Dowager using Prince Cheng, Empress Song's eyes turned cold.
The Empress Dowager already knows that Prince Cheng is helping her son. The tribute is just the beginning, and the Empress Dowager will definitely stop Prince Cheng from helping them any further.
The Left Chancellor was demoted three ranks, and his power in the court was bound to be greatly diminished. He had barely managed to compete with the Crown Prince for the position of heir apparent before, and it would be even more difficult for him in the future.
Empress Song still felt lingering fear when she thought about the past few days of anxiety.
The Empress Dowager's methods were chilling.
If the Empress Dowager is willing to use any means necessary to support the eldest prince, then don't blame her for being ruthless as well.
A murderous glint flashed in Empress Song's eyes.
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