Chapter 166 I Issue an Edict of Confession
When General Wei heard the news, he pretended to go to pay his respects, and when he got home he drank a few glasses of wine. His daughter could finally rest in peace, and her beloved Xie Yunzheng went down to accompany her.
While he was drinking, a servant brought him a letter.
He opened it carefully, and after reading it word by word, his blood ran cold.
What an emperor who understands the art of checks and balances!
On the second day, apart from Li Wan'er and the Xie family members, the Duke's wife and Princess Yongjia were still nowhere to be seen in the entire mourning hall.
There was a funeral in the family. A day has passed, why haven’t they returned yet?
Li Wan'er sent someone to pick up Anan but there was no news. For some reason, Minister Li had a bad feeling and went to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
When the prime minister heard this, he also found it strange. What could have tripped him up?
The two of them discussed it and asked someone to prepare a carriage so that they could go to the farm where the Duke's wife lived.
The two of them never came back after they left.
…
At this moment, the sound of clinking glasses was heard from a tent in the wild.
"Brother, I knew you were going to make such a big deal and you would definitely take me with you. Fortunately, I finally caught up."
"Of course I miss you. You and your wife have helped me and the princess a lot, especially Yang Qian. With her around, the princess feels a lot more relaxed."
"Hehe, it's an honor for us to be useful."
"This time when I come back, I'll spend more time with the children."
"good."
Lu Ziqian was wandering in his tent. Rebellion was not the right way to go. No, he should persuade Xie Yunzhao again.
"Mr. Lu San." When they arrived in front of Xie Yunzhao's tent, Qingying saluted him.
"Yeah." Lu Ziqian heard the conversation and stopped.
"The merit of following the dragon?"
"Yes, how great can the merit of suppressing the rebellion be? How can it be greater than the merit of following the dragon? Lu San doesn't understand. He has been persuading me all the way, so I told you that we must cherish this opportunity."
"Okay, big brother, I'll listen to you."
Lu Ziqian shook his head at Qingying, as if he did not support Xie Yunzhao's remarks, and turned to walk back to his own tent: "Don't tell him I was here."
"Qingying is a man of few words." Qingying bowed.
I will be going to Beijing tomorrow, and Gu Kaizhi is coming back at this time...
Lu Ziqian didn't sleep well that night. He kept thinking about those four words: The merit of following the dragon!
On the second day of the morning court session, the prime minister and Minister Li were late and did not ask for leave in advance, so Li Chen sent someone to inquire about them.
There was the latest battle report outside the door, and he couldn't wait to announce it in.
The battle reports these days are almost the same. The Third Prince is still challenging the enemy outside the city, and Xie Yunzhao is defending the city. Once the follow-up troops of Duke Lu arrive, they can defeat the Third Prince in one fell swoop.
All battle reports were written by the military supervisor. The position of the military supervisor was very important and he was someone who must not be betrayed under any circumstances. The military supervisor sent this time was Li Chen’s brother-in-law.
Not knowing what today's battle report was, Li Chen asked someone to read it out immediately.
"Good news! General Xie has captured the Third Prince alive and is taking him to the palace."
What?
The whole court was in an uproar. How come he was captured alive when the fighting hadn't even started yet?
Marquis Dingyuan and General Wei lowered their heads and did not join in their exclamation.
The commander of the imperial guards glanced at General Wei and also lowered his head.
Almost no one pays attention to them, and even if there is, they will only think that they are jealous of Xie Jiajun's meritorious service.
"Bring it here for me to see." Li Chen was so excited that he wanted to see it with his own eyes.
His good third brother is just a clown, haha!
The chief steward handed it over with both hands and Li Chen opened it carefully.
It really was his brother-in-law’s handwriting: “Hahaha, that’s great. I’m going to have a banquet to celebrate.”
"Okay!" A man shouted loudly outside the hall.
Um? ? ?
Everyone in the hall was puzzled. Could it be an illusion? How could they hear Xie Yunzhao's voice?
They all turned their heads to look, and saw the tall figure of the unruly man slowly appearing.
Li Chen stood up from the dragon chair in shock: "Xie Yunzhao! Why are you here?"
Xie Yunzhao raised his eyebrows, his tone nonchalant, lazy and casual: "I have lived up to everyone's expectations and escorted the Third Prince back to the capital. Your Majesty just mentioned that he would hold a banquet, so I guess it was for me."
He walked in, and behind him gradually appeared Lu Ziqian, the military supervisor, Gu Kaizhi, Qingzhu and Qingying escorting the Third Prince into the hall, and some people carrying boxes.
"What's going on?" Li Chen looked around at the ministers.
Everyone looked at each other. They were as confused as His Majesty. Yesterday, the military report showed that the situation was at a stalemate outside the northern city. How come they had entered the palace today?
"Military Supervisor Ren, you come and give me an explanation!" Li Chen glared at his brother-in-law behind Xie Yunzhao.
He just stared at Li Chen angrily without saying a word.
Xie Yunzhao walked to the front of the hall, drew his sword, and pointed it at Li Chen: "Alright, no one can explain it to you, you explain it to us first, what exactly did you ask my eldest brother Xie Yunzheng to sell by sea?"
Li Chen was so frightened that he fell back onto the dragon throne, looking panicked.
"Xie Yunzhao, you are so outrageous! How dare you draw your sword in front of the palace and ask about His Majesty's private affairs in public?" Grand Tutor Gao glared at him with his round eyes.
"Someone, tie up Master Gao and take him away!"
Four people came in soon, tied up Master Gao without saying a word and left.
"What are you doing? Let me go!" The man was carried out of the hall.
"The current emperor seized my wife and drank the blood of children. After being discovered, he refused to repent. Not only that, he also wanted to sell most of the treasures in the royal private treasury. My lords, please look, what are in these boxes? ! ! "
Xie Yunzhao pointed his sword at the box: "Open the box!"
Li Chen helped the chief steward to stand up, took a few trembling steps forward and stared at it. The moment it opened, the whole hall was filled with gasps.
"Your Majesty, in order to build Dengxian Pavilion, you actually sold the royal treasures?" General Wei shouted.
There was an expression of disbelief on everyone's face, followed by a heart full of anger. The emperor they knelt before every day was such a despicable person. How could such a person be worthy of the throne?
Calling him a tyrant is considered a compliment, which is disgusting.
Li Chen saw the disappointment on the minister's face and waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, this is not the goods I asked Xie Yun to sell. The goods have been stolen by pirates. You are framing me!"
"Who can frame you, Your Majesty? You are the only one who has the keys. The princess sent the navy to negotiate with the pirates and begged them to exchange them for other treasures. Because of you, the treasury suffered a great loss!"
"You are a tyrant, you are disloyal, unfilial, unkind and unjust. My elder brother did so much for you, yet you still harmed him."
"I didn't, you are slandering me!"
"Now that the evidence is before your eyes, do you still dare to deny it? Someone like you is not worthy of being a king!"
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this matter cannot be resolved by a confession of guilt." The Censor-in-Chief spoke up. If he was not forced harder this time, the Censorate would no longer need to exist.
Li Chen scanned everyone's faces. There seemed to be fire in their eyes, and they all said that he was guilty of a heinous crime. He was really scared this time.
The calmness and composure that he had maintained in a high position for many years disappeared at this moment. His mouth was slightly open and his whole body was shaking.
"I am issuing an edict of apology. I will issue it immediately, right now."
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