142 Chapter 142
◎ Prime Minister. ◎
Although the question was being asked by the Crown Prince, Zhang Tang still looked at the Emperor and waited for his nod before answering, "Your Highness, I haven't investigated the matter in detail yet. I only know that there is irrefutable evidence that something illegal has occurred in the Prime Minister's family."
After hearing this, Liu Ju said to his father, "Aunt, if this happened in the past two or three months, the Prime Minister must have been too busy to handle it. Perhaps it's because he didn't manage the household well enough."
The prime minister is the prime minister after all. Even if the emperor of this dynasty tries his best to reduce the prime minister's power and influence, he is still the head of all officials.
During these three months, while the Emperor was recuperating, the Prime Minister was very busy and probably had little time to commit crimes.
Liu Che nodded and said, "The Crown Prince's words make sense. Chief Justice, please send someone to investigate further."
Zhang Tang bowed and accepted the order: "I obey your command."
At this time, Liu Ju winked at his father. Liu Che frowned, but Liu Ju insisted.
His Majesty the Emperor added, "The Crown Prince will preside over this case."
Zhang Tang was surprised, but he said nothing more, "I obey your command."
But he was thinking in his heart, I have never heard that the prince and the prime minister have a personal relationship, so why is he protecting him?
Zhang Tang didn't understand.
What Zhang Tang didn't know was that after he left, the Emperor asked, "Ju'er, do you want to save Li Cai?"
Liu Ju said, "It's not that we have to protect him, old man. Although Li Cai is indeed a good person, whether we can protect him or not cannot just depend on my opinion."
Liu Che said, "As for this person Li Cai... Let's first see who committed this crime. Whether it can go as you planned is still unknown."
Liu Ju smiled and said, "Ah Weng, do you know what I want to do?"
Liu Che smiled and said, "Prince, I taught you."
Liu Ju tilted his head and said with a smile, "Aunt, you are the only one who can see my sister and Han'er. I have to go and get busy first."
Liu Che waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."
After Liu Ju came out of the Xuanshi Hall, he went to the front to look for Zhang Tang. Since the Emperor said that the Crown Prince would be in charge, Zhang Tang could only wait without the Crown Prince's order.
"Zhang Tingwei, thank you for waiting for so long." Liu Ju said politely as soon as they met.
Zhang Tang bowed and said, "I dare not. I have collected the evidence here. Your Highness, would you like to see it?"
Seeing that he got straight to the point, Liu Ju stopped being polite and said, "Okay, I'll take a look."
After reviewing the evidence Zhang Tang had compiled, Liu Jufang asked, "Zhang Tingwei, how do you plan to handle this?"
Zhang Tang lowered his eyes and said, "Your Majesty's holy words are under the jurisdiction of Your Highness. I will obey Your Highness's orders."
"Your Majesty is still in charge of all matters under heaven. Do we have to consult His Majesty for even the most trivial matters?" Liu Ju said in a gentle and measured tone, then softened his tone. "Although my father-in-law wants me to take charge, I am not as experienced as the Chief Justice. Naturally, I must ask for your opinion first before I can show off my skills."
The Chief Justice was one of the Nine Ministers, so Zhang Tang had certainly seen the Crown Prince many times. Although they had never worked together, he still understood the Crown Prince's temperament.
Although the prince is young, he is not a weak person who can be bullied. Just based on his performance when the emperor was seriously ill and the prince remained calm, Zhang Tang deserves to take a new look at him.
But despite his admiration, Zhang Tang was very persistent in some matters. He had anticipated the Emperor's reaction to the Prime Minister's occupation of the imperial mausoleum land. Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince intervened, and the development of the matter was beyond his expectations. He was a little anxious.
Zhang Tang was no young boy after all. Although he was anxious, he would not do anything to the prince. There was no sarcasm in his words, but rather humility. However, the prince could see what Zhang Tang meant, and this refreshed his understanding of the prince.
The prince is not just a tough guy.
However, the fact that the crown prince was difficult to deal with was not necessarily a bad thing. Zhang Tang thought that the Han Dynasty had a successor, which was naturally a great thing that everyone should celebrate.
His mind was in turmoil, but Zhang Tang's expression remained unchanged. He continued respectfully, "Your Highness, in my opinion, this case should be handed over to the law enforcement officials for investigation, and the Prime Minister should be summoned to the Supreme Court for questioning."
Liu Ju said, "Zhang Tingwei, yes, but he has not been convicted yet. Prime Minister Li is still the Prime Minister."
Zhang Tang then said, "I would like to send someone to invite the Prime Minister. May I ask what your Highness intends?"
Liu Ju touched his chin and said, "I want to go to his house and ask him."
Zhang Tang's expression finally changed. He was a little incredulous. "Your Highness, do you mean to go to the Prime Minister's residence and ask Li... Prime Minister?"
Liu Ju nodded and asked casually, "Will the Minister of Justice accompany me?"
Zhang Tang hesitated for a moment, then advised, "If Your Highness wishes to ask the Prime Minister in person, I will ask him to come over. There is no need for Your Highness to move."
"The Prime Minister's Residence isn't far from here, we can just walk there." Liu Ju waved his hand and said, "Zhang Tingwei, don't sit all the time. It's not good for your health. Why don't you walk with me?"
Zhang Tang: “…”
Is that what he meant? The prince actually really loves to advise people to take care of their health. Zhang Tang had always believed that the rumor was false, but today he personally proved it was true.
Then, Liu Ju enthusiastically shared some methods of maintaining health with Zhang Tang.
On the way to the Prime Minister's Mansion with the Crown Prince, Zhang Tang was still a little dazed. No, weren't they going to investigate the Prime Minister's occupation of the previous emperor's mausoleum? How did it get involved with health issues?
Liu Ju had his own plans. It was not that he wanted to take such a serious incident of land occupation lightly. In the Western Han Dynasty, it was very common for the powerful and wealthy to do such things. However, such things would only be brought to the surface when they infringed upon the interests of the royal family or some important figures. No one would stand up for the ordinary people.
Even though Liu Ju was the crown prince, he could not make decisions for all the people. He could only take care of them as much as possible. If he could find a reason to bring up and magnify the matter, Liu Ju would be able to expand the scope of his control as much as possible.
Now he is on his way to find this excuse.
When he went to the Prime Minister's Mansion to ask, it turned out that Li Cai was indeed unaware of his occupation of the previous emperor's gardens and tombs. Liu Ju did not suspect that he was lying. In fact, it was very common for a superior official or a head of a family to be deceived by his subordinates.
It was just like in his previous life, when that bastard Gongsun Jingsheng actually dared to embezzle military pay. If it hadn't been exposed by someone, Liu Ju would have had no idea about it.
Cheating superiors and deceiving subordinates is too common.
In front of Zhang Tang, Liu Ju asked Li Cai to summon his family members for questioning immediately and to find out who had done such a lawless and treasonous thing!
After hearing the prince's words, Li Cai did not dare to delay and went to do it immediately.
Compared with Zhang Tang, Li Cai had more dealings with the prince and was more aware of the meaning of his actions and words.
The prince came in person and said these words, which gave Li Cai enough face. Li Cai was not worried about what would happen to him. He was mainly unsure who in his family was so bold as to do such a thing as occupying the former emperor's mausoleum!
Li Cai hoped that the person he was dealing with was insignificant, but the result obviously disappointed him. The person who did this was his son.
The prince was right behind the screen. Li Cai wanted to cover for him but it was too late. He could only wave his hand tiredly and said, "Go back."
After sending his son away, Li Cai went to the inner chamber to see the crown prince. He did not hesitate and immediately knelt and bowed deeply: "I have failed to discipline my children properly. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Liu Ju nodded and said, "Of course I must punish my son for not raising him properly. However, Prime Minister, it is not my job to punish him. You must go and apologize to His Majesty."
Li Cai said, "As you command, I will go and see Your Majesty right away."
"No, Prime Minister, you cannot go alone," Liu Ju said. "You must take the culprit with you to apologize to His Majesty."
Li Cai was horrified: "Your Highness, my son is still young. This is all my fault. I wish..."
"How old is he?" Liu Ju asked, "How old is your son?"
Li Cai could only reply, "My son is eighteen years old."
"Is he married?" Liu Ju asked again.
Li Cai fell to the ground and whispered, "He...he..."
Liu Ju then asked Zhang Tang, "Zhang Tingwei, do you know whether Prime Minister Li's son is married?"
Zhang Tang replied, "Your Highness, Prime Minister Li's son is already married and has a son and a daughter."
"What a child he is." Liu Ju sneered.
Li Cai was filled with shame: "I...I am guilty, Your Highness, I..."
Liu Ju shook his head and said, "Every wrong has its perpetrator. Prime Minister Li, now that we know who the culprit is, I will not cover up for you in front of His Majesty."
Li Cai naturally knew the result. His Majesty the Emperor did not want his life, but he would want the life of the culprit. But the culprit was his son!
Li Cai has more than one son, but none of them is redundant. After all, they are his own children. How could he bear it?
Li Cai said sadly, "I will go and apologize to Your Majesty right now. Your Highness, this is all my fault for not raising my son properly. I will ask Your Majesty to sentence me to death!"
Liu Ju sighed and asked softly, "Prime Minister Li, is this your only son? Is this your only grandson and granddaughter?"
Li Cai's body stiffened at the gentle voice. He knew he had no choice. The prince came here in person just to paralyze him!
Li Cai had no choice but to take his son to the Emperor to apologize. He didn't know what the Emperor and the Crown Prince intended to do, but it was obvious that he and his son had been framed and they had to obey their wishes in order to allow this most honorable father and son of the royal family to achieve their goals.
Looking at Li Cai with a deathly pale face taking his son to apologize to the Emperor, Liu Ju stood in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion and shook his head.
It was clearly they who broke the law first, but it seems like someone has wronged them.
Liu Ju suddenly asked, "Zhang Tingwei, do you think Li Cai will continue to be the prime minister?"
Zhang Tang's eyes flickered, and he bowed his head and replied, "Your Majesty will make the final decision. I dare not speak rashly."
Liu Ju said, "He will, at least for the time being. Zhang Tingwei, you..."
Although Zhang Tang could be called an honest official, he was definitely not a good official. During the years he served as the Chief Justice, as the Emperor's sword, there were many innocent souls killed by him.
But no matter what, he is a person trusted and employed by Your Majesty, so when there is a change in the position of Prime Minister, it is understandable that Zhang Tang would be tempted.
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