Chapter 150 Sinister
The Queen Mother's face turned pale.
The emperor was just wondering what to say when a eunuch came in hurriedly.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, the Minister of Revenue, Lord Cao, the Vice Minister of War, Lord Zuo, the Doctor of Works, Lord Jin, and the Envoy of Revenue, Lord Pei, have important matters to discuss with Your Majesty."
The emperor was surprised: "Huh? Why are they here together?"
The Empress Dowager's face changed slightly, and she said anxiously: "I came here because I have something urgent to discuss with the Emperor, so let them go back first."
The emperor looked at his mother strangely.
Madam Mu: "What the Queen Mother wants to say is the same thing as what the four adults want to say. This is also the reason why the Queen Mother ordered the palace guards to surround our Duke of Yong's mansion, smash the door, beat people, and even arrest my daughter-in-law."
"You are talking nonsense. When did I issue such an imperial decree?"
"That would be a false imperial decree. We should invite the adults to come in and explain it to you face to face."
"These are two completely different things!"
"Because the guards in front of the palace want to arrest these four adults."
The emperor was confused: "The guards in front of the palace want to arrest them? How dare they!"
Madam Mu said calmly, "But they dared to do it, so we need to summon the four adults to the palace to explain it clearly."
The Queen Mother was anxious: "Your Majesty..."
The emperor glanced at his mother and his heart was beating fast, not knowing what was going on.
But the Jiang family must be involved.
Gu Huan saw that the emperor was hesitating. If he really didn't let the four adults in, they would not be able to explain the matter immediately, and if they left the palace again, their lives would be in danger.
Gu Huan summoned up her courage and said loudly, "Your Majesty, please allow me to report this. The four gentlemen have come here to report this because they have discovered that someone has deceived the emperor, exchanged military supplies for southern Xinjiang, and attempted to embezzle one million taels from the national treasury, putting the emperor in an unjust situation. We are risking our lives to come and report this."
The emperor's face darkened: "You should be careful with your words."
Gu Huan said calmly, "Duke Yong said before he went to war that this batch of winter clothes totaled 300,000 sets. It concerns the safety of the soldiers at the front, so of course I have to care about it. 300,000 sets of winter clothes are worth 800,000 taels. Silver is a small matter. If the soldiers in Southern Xinjiang don't have winter clothes to keep warm, how can they fight? Will they think that the emperor and the court didn't issue winter clothes? The people who stole the clothes want to divert the blame so that they can benefit and let Your Majesty take the blame."
The emperor was furious when he heard this, and waved his arm: "Announce."
The Empress Dowager stared at Gu Huan with resentful eyes.
Madam Mu: "Your Majesty, should I ask my daughter-in-law to stand up and answer?"
The emperor glanced at Gu Huan and nodded: "Get up."
Gu Huan thanked her and stood up, walked behind the old lady and stood obediently.
After a while, four officials, with tattered clothes and covered with wounds, came in, supporting each other.
The emperor was startled and hurried down to take a closer look at them.
"My dear ministers, what happened? How did you get hurt? Why are you in such a mess?"
The four of them bowed and shouted for His Majesty to forgive them.
"Please excuse me, please take a seat, please sit down." The emperor said to the eunuch, "Send the imperial physician quickly."
His eyes met his mother's. He paused and said softly, "Mother, you are tired too. Why don't we..."
The Queen Mother was angry: "I am listening right here! Let's see who dares to slander the Jiang family!"
The emperor frowned.
Old Lady Mu smiled and said, "The four gentlemen haven't said anything yet, and the Queen Mother knows that they are slandering the Jiang family? I guess the Queen Mother knows what the four gentlemen are talking about?"
The Queen Mother was so angry: "How could I know?"
Madam Mu continued to anger her: "The harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs. Has the Empress Dowager forgotten her ancestors' teachings?"
"you!"
The Queen Mother slammed the table and said, "My son hasn't spoken yet, how can it be your turn to speak?"
Old Madam Mu slowly raised the dragon head cane and stomped it heavily on the ground.
"The qualification for me to speak was given by the late emperor."
"you!"
The emperor quickly advised: "Mother, old lady, since the matter is related to the Mu family and the Jiang family, sit down and listen together."
The four who wanted to sit down looked at each other and did not dare to sit down when they saw the two elders arguing like that.
The emperor looked at the four people and said, "What's wrong with you? Tell me."
Cao Liyu, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, had red eyes and said, "Your Majesty, I have failed in my duty. All the 300,000 sets of winter clothing that were to be sent to southern Xinjiang were replaced!"
The emperor couldn't believe his ears: "What? Switching? Who is so bold!"
Jin Guyong, a doctor in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice, told the emperor the whole story, and the emperor was furious.
"How dare you set fire to the warehouse and kill an official appointed by the imperial court?"
The Queen Mother said anxiously, "This is simply nonsense! There must be some misunderstanding. Your Majesty cannot listen to one side of the story. Why not summon Jiang Jingchuan and Yuan Zhongying to confront them face to face!"
Zuo Fengtian was furious and shouted at the top of his voice: "Empress Dowager, the four of us were almost burned to death. Fortunately, the Silver Spear and the Dragon-riding Zhuzhi arrived and saved us. They rescued the 300,000 winter clothes that were burned, and we were chased after escaping the military camp. If it weren't for the wife of the Duke of Yong who happened to pass by and saved us, we would have died long ago! Does the Empress Dowager think that we risked our lives to frame them?"
The Queen Mother was speechless.
The emperor looked serious.
If Jiang Jingchuan and Yuan Zhongying were really summoned for the confrontation, the situation would be irreversible.
Gu Huan suddenly stepped forward and bowed, "Your Majesty, 300,000 winter clothes have been found, and a batch has been sent to the Yuan family military camp in the northern border. The transporter is the guard of Prince Ping'an's palace."
The emperor looked at the four people.
Cao Liyu, Zuo Fengtian and Jin Guyong nodded in unison.
Jin Guyong said, "The winter clothes for Yuan's army were arranged by Crown Prince Jiang. They were supposed to be put into storage and signed for, but Crown Prince Jiang said that the northern border was suddenly cold and couldn't wait, so they needed to be shipped immediately. Therefore, I have never seen that batch of winter clothes."
"Misunderstanding, it must be a misunderstanding." The Queen Mother turned pale.
The eunuch came running in and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Ping'an has tied up Crown Prince Jiang and is asking for an audience outside the palace."
The people in the hall were startled for a moment.
When the Empress Dowager saw that the Emperor did not speak, she became anxious and said, "Your Majesty, please call them in quickly."
Emperor: "Announce."
Prince Ping An is the Queen Mother's elder brother.
He brought in Prince Jiang, who was shirtless and tied with whips.
Prince Jiang knelt on the ground and cried, "Your Majesty, I am guilty."
The emperor pressed his brows.
Prince Ping'an glanced coldly at the four people, and his gaze finally fell on Old Madam Mu and Gu Huan.
"Your Majesty, Queen Mother, my son was deceived and I was responsible for failing to supervise him. I have tied him up and brought him to the palace. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
The emperor also understood what had happened.
The matter is too big. If we follow the rules, neither the Jiang family nor the Yuan family can escape.
This was the first time Gu Huan faced such a thing. She never expected that there would be such a shameless person.
Just as the old lady said when she came, the Jiang family and the Yuan family might come up with a scapegoat, and the matter would be over.
However, the three adults and Pei Yi were present, as well as other officials. How dare they cover up the facts in front of them?
Soon, Gu Huan realized that she had underestimated the dangers of the officialdom.
The emperor looked at King Ping An and asked, "Who deceived you?"
"Yuan Zhongying stole the goods from his employer, deceived the emperor, deceived my son and all the other officials, and set fire to the warehouse with the intention of killing people and silencing them."
Gu Huan’s eyes widened.
For such a big case, Yuan Zhongying was left to take the blame alone?
The emperor was furious: "Damn it! He deserves death!"
Gu Huan was still a little dazed until she got into the carriage.
"Mother, are we just going to let this go? You won't even try me? I embezzled nearly a million taels of silver!"
Just killing one Yuan Zhongying?
Madam Mu patted her hands and said, "I won't let you off if you dare to plot against my Mu family army, but we can't be impatient. Yuan Zhongying is the second son of the Yuan family, so he is the most suitable one to take the blame."
Gu Huan was still young, and she could not understand the bloodiness and cruelty of the power struggle in the court.
Gu Huan frowned.
Although she didn't expect the matter to be so serious, she was filled with anger and unwillingness after seeing what happened today.
"Huan'er, Mu An and Gu Wanru were involved in this matter, right?"
Gu Huan came back to her senses and nodded.
"Yes."
Gu Huan told the story of Mu An and Prince Jiang's conspiracy to murder the Pei family.
Madam Mu said gloomily, "It's hard to guard against thieves in the house."
"Mother, I don't quite understand why Ziyuan is so protective of Mu An. He has a very bad character and is insatiable. If he continues like this, something bad will happen, and it will definitely affect the Duke's Mansion."
Madam Mu nodded: "Of course I know. But there are some things that Ziyuan needs to decide for himself. He said that he wanted to set up a new business for Mu An and restore the An family. When he returns triumphantly, let him do it."
"Set up a new company?"
"Mu An's father's surname is An. Ziyuan has always wanted to revive the An family so that the An family will have descendants."
"I see."
Gu Huan's face was full of surprise.
But Mu'an might be involved with the spies in southern Xinjiang.
She didn't know whether she should tell the old lady.
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