Chapter 69 is utterly stupid, like a pig.
That afternoon, Du Cong, representing the Censorate, submitted the impeachment memorial to the Emperor's desk.
The memorial was earnest, lamenting that Grand Tutor Liu had lived an upright life but suffered a tragic fate, and also implying that the matter might involve factional strife. Every word and sentence pointed to "deliberate murder under the struggle for the throne," which made the emperor on the throne turn ashen-faced.
The case involved the murder of a court official, and the Grand Tutor was known for his integrity and uprightness, so the Emperor valued him highly.
Now that a high-ranking official and his entire family have been brutally murdered, and suspicions of "arson" have arisen, the Emperor is indeed furious.
Just then, the Dali Temple submitted witness testimonies and physical evidence from the previous night, each and every one pointing directly to the Second Prince.
The Emperor was furious and immediately dispatched the Imperial Guards to arrest the Second Prince and bring him back to the palace.
Li Yuanyou was having a cockfight with a group of young masters. He clapped and cheered as his "Overlord" cock was about to peck out the opponent's eyes.
At that moment, a group of Imperial Guards clad in silver armor broke through the crowd and strode toward him, directly pinning his arms behind his back.
"Your Highness, please come with me," the leading officer of the Imperial Guards said expressionlessly.
Li Yuanyou had never been treated like this before, and immediately shouted angrily, "How dare you! I am a prince, how dare you treat me like this!"
Li Yuanyou stopped talking only after hearing the words "the Emperor's decree".
The people around looked at each other, completely bewildered.
Inside the Yan Ying Hall, the three prime ministers and the six ministers all arrived upon hearing the news. They knelt down before the emperor in unison and pleaded, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger and take care of your health!"
When Li Yuanyou was brought in by the Imperial Guards, he was startled by what he saw.
He usually only gets a few words of reprimand from his father when he gets into trouble, he has never seen such a big scene before.
Moreover, he felt that he had been behaving himself lately, neither sneaking out of the palace to drink or visit brothels, nor indulging his servants in causing trouble, so he really couldn't think of any mistake he had made.
But his years of experience being reprimanded made him react subconsciously.
As soon as he entered the hall, he knelt down with a thud and cried out, "Father, I know I was wrong, please forgive me."
Upon hearing this, Cui Xiang, who was kneeling in the front row, almost fainted.
Just now he was arguing with the Emperor, saying that Prince Cheng was always kind and could never be involved in the death of Grand Tutor Liu. But this silly boy confessed his guilt before he even stood up straight!
Does he know what crime he is admitting to?
Even if he is a prince, he will not escape severe punishment according to the law for plotting against an official of the court. If he is not careful, he will be deposed and imprisoned!
The emperor on the throne was already furious, and seeing Li Yuanyou's "self-confession" appearance made him even tremble with rage.
He grabbed the memorial impeaching Prince Cheng from the table and hurled it at Li Yuanyou, yelling, "Forgive me? You dare ask me for forgiveness! What deep-seated hatred do you have for Liu Jinzhang, the Grand Tutor, that you would want to kill him and implicate his entire family in their deaths?!"
Li Yuanyou was hit by the memorial, and a large bump instantly swelled up on his head. He was feeling wronged, but upon hearing his father's words, he was so frightened that he could no longer kneel.
What? Liu Jinzhang is dead? Or did I kill him?
This has absolutely no connection to anything!
He thought his father had found out about the cockfighting and gambling incident, but he never imagined it was such a big deal.
He scrambled to his knees and knelt down, scrambling to his feet. "Father! This matter has nothing to do with me! Grand Tutor Liu is my elder sister's teacher, and I respect him greatly. How could I possibly harm him?"
"None of your business?" The Emperor slammed his hand on the imperial desk, pointing at his nose and angrily rebuking him, "The Court of Judicial Review has obtained witnesses and physical evidence! The servant of the Liu family testified that you sent the eunuch to deliver the pears to the Liu residence, and the pears were found to contain sleeping pills! You still dare to deny it?"
"Eunuch? Pears?" Li Yuanyou was completely dumbfounded. "Your subject... Your subject did send someone to deliver things, but they were just ordinary fresh fruits and tonics. I absolutely did not have anyone add any sleeping pills to them!"
The Emperor asked, even more puzzled, "Why did you send something to his residence out of the blue?"
Li Yuanyou noticed that his elder sister seemed to be in a bad mood lately, so he inquired with the servants in her residence and learned that she had apparently had a dispute with the Grand Tutor.
He couldn't bear to see his elder sister looking so worried all the time, so he asked the servants around him what to do.
The servant said that sending some gifts over might help ease the tension...
Thinking he could help his elder sister, he casually agreed and was told to do it. He never intended to harm anyone.
Li Yuanyou hurriedly explained, "I just heard that the two of them had a fight, and I wanted to help my elder sister..."
"Help?" The Emperor interrupted him sharply, "Do you know that with the death of Grand Tutor Liu, your elder sister has fallen ill from grief and anxiety! Is this what you call helping her?"
Li Yuanyou was stunned, and all the color drained from his face.
My elder sister is ill? Because of the death of Grand Tutor Liu? Does she also believe that I was responsible?
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but found that his throat felt blocked, and he couldn't explain himself no matter what.
He murmured, "Father, you are wise. Your son has never done such a thing."
Cui Lianxiang quickly chimed in, “Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Prince Cheng is young and has always been kind and virtuous. He would never have such malicious intentions! He must have been manipulated by treacherous people! The matter of sending pears may have indeed happened, but such a serious crime as plotting to murder the Grand Tutor could never have been committed by him!”
He paused, his tone growing increasingly earnest: "Furthermore, if Prince Cheng truly intended to harm someone, how could he be so foolish as to send his own trusted confidant to deliver pears, thus giving others ammunition for his crimes? And afterwards, instead of silencing the eunuch, he allowed him to remain as a witness? This is illogical! I implore Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly, to find the true culprit behind this, and to clear Prince Cheng's name!"
These words were well-organized and each sentence hit the nail on the head, and the emperor's expression indeed softened slightly.
How could he not know this son?
He is simple-minded and not cunning. Although he is not particularly intelligent, he is by no means a vicious person.
To say that he deliberately plotted to harm Liu Jinzhang is indeed a bit of a stretch.
But at this moment, he was more angry at his own incompetence. A prince, how could he have gotten himself into such a terrible mess? He was as stupid as a pig!
The Emperor closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his anger had subsided considerably, leaving only a deep weariness: "What Prime Minister Cui said makes sense; this matter is indeed strange."
He looked at Li Yuanyou, who was trembling below the steps, and said in a cold voice, "But until the matter is investigated, you cannot escape blame. From this day forward, you will be confined to the palace to reflect on your mistakes. Without my decree, you are not to step out even half a step!"
"Father!" Li Yuanyou wanted to argue, but was silenced by the emperor's cold gaze.
"Take him away." The Emperor waved his hand.
The Imperial Guards stepped forward, helped the distraught Li Yuanyou, and carried him outside.
His steps faltered, and as he passed by Prime Minister Cui, his eyes were filled with confusion and pleading, but he only received a cryptic look from Prime Minister Cui—"Take it easy."
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