Chapter 49 049 Back in jail again.
The censors who dared to impeach powerful ministers and high-ranking officials in the imperial court were never cowards; they were all righteous and confident.
When Xiao Yu first stepped forward to object to the Crown Prince's punishment, his voice was clear and calm. Now, he bluntly stated that the Crown Prince should be deposed. Those words were like a thunderclap on a summer night, deafening and resounding throughout the hall.
The Crown Prince's hands and feet were ice-cold, and he was burning with rage. Who gave Xiao Yu such audacity!
King Qi's heart pounded wildly. He quickly glanced at the Crown Prince, then quickly looked away, afraid that the Crown Prince, his father, or someone else might notice.
The Prince of Shun's entire body trembled, Xiao Yu's astonishing words echoing in his mind, and he dared not look anywhere.
Prince Fu frowned and lowered his gaze, remaining firmly still.
The ministers fell silent, some peeking at the emperor and crown prince, others glancing back at Xiao Yu, and still others exchanging glances with their close colleagues. Only Xiao Rong, his legs trembling and his face deathly pale, knelt down as if he had lost his parents, his hands outstretched and his forehead touching the ground, motionless. This was unlike when his own son had just impeached the crown prince at the beginning of the month, when he would at least use his eyes to tell the emperor that the matter had nothing to do with him, or even have the mind to turn around and glare angrily at his troublemaking son.
At this moment, Xiao Rong's heart was as still as water, devoid of any vitality.
That's the Crown Prince, the heir apparent of the country. The Emperor's lenient punishment of the Crown Prince is to protect him. Yet his son dares to shout that the Emperor should depose the Crown Prince. This wretched child! He hasn't had enough of being the Emperor's father at home, and now he's here in the palace to be the Emperor's father, trying to teach the Emperor how to discipline his son!
The nearby dukes and earls, seeing Xiao Rong kneeling there trembling, lost all interest in watching him and anxiously awaited the emperor's response.
Emperor Yongcheng took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. He shifted from his seated posture to leaning back on the dragon throne, his gaze sweeping over Xiao Yu's young and fearless face before landing on the carved beams and painted rafters of the main hall. Then, as if he had heard something absurd, he smiled and said casually, "Cruel and inhumane, cruel and inhumane, what a grave charge! Crown Prince, do you acknowledge it?"
The Crown Prince raised his head high and said angrily, "Your subject does not admit it! Xiao Yu is framing your subject! I beg Your Majesty to clear your name!"
Emperor Yongcheng then asked Xiao Yu, "Tell me and all the officials how cruel and inhumane the Crown Prince is?"
Xiao Yu: "The Yellow River breached its banks, and the people of the four prefectures lost their fields and homes, their families were destroyed, and they were displaced. The Crown Prince was ordered by the Emperor to go to the disaster relief efforts. He spent three whole months there, but he only spent twelve days inspecting the disaster situation and verifying the effectiveness of the relief efforts in the four prefectures. The rest of the time, he stayed in his high palace and never went out. There was often some decadent music coming out. This shows that he knows the suffering of the people but enjoys his own comfort. This is inhumane."
The Crown Prince turned his head and solemnly defended himself: "Do you think disaster relief means spending all day on inspections without doing anything practical? Hundreds of thousands of taels of disaster relief silver and millions of shi of disaster relief grain, every single item has to be accounted for. You think I'm enjoying myself in the high court, but in fact I'm busy checking accounts and summoning officials every day. The so-called decadent music is just the disaster victims' anger at corrupt officials, which they are taking out their frustrations on me!"
Xiao Yu: "Since the Crown Prince is so diligent in investigating the accounts, why were so many officials still allowed to embezzle as much as 400,000 taels?"
The Crown Prince said, "...That's because they falsified the accounts, which deceived me!"
Xiao Yu: "I believe that if the Crown Prince were to go out more often to inspect the details of the disaster relief efforts and see with his own eyes that the disaster victims only have one meal of rotten rice a day, he would not be deceived by a few false accounts."
The Crown Prince wanted to say more, but Emperor Yongcheng looked at him coldly and said, "Indeed foolish. The disaster victims of the four prefectures suffered because of your oversight. It is not unjust to call you heartless."
The crown prince dared not contradict his father and said with remorse, "Your subject knows he was wrong. From now on, I will personally attend to all matters when I am on duty and will never again be fooled by corrupt officials."
Emperor Yongcheng then looked at Xiao Yu: "Your accusation that the Crown Prince is unkind has some merit, but where does his cruelty come from?"
Xiao Yu: "A good ruler governs his people like a parent loves their child, grieving for their hunger and cold, and feeling sorrow for their toil. As the heir apparent, the Crown Prince should treat the people like a second father. The four prefectures suffered floods, and the court's disaster relief efforts were inadequate. Many of the elderly and weak starved to death, and the young and strong, desperate for survival, were tragically abducted amidst the chaos. The Crown Prince, in this way, obtained seven women, knowing full well that each had close relatives searching for them, yet he ignored them, indulging only in his lust. It's like a daughter pleading for justice to her second father, only to be imprisoned and humiliated by him! Your Majesty, you are wise. Because of the Crown Prince's atrocities, seven women wept and lost their virginity; because of his cruelty in failing to thoroughly investigate, tens of thousands of disaster victims survived the floods only to perish from hunger and cold. Therefore, I believe that the Crown Prince's cruelty and wickedness towards the people surpasses even the natural disaster of the floods. His removal from office is essential to ensuring peace for all the people!"
Xiao Yu delivered the long speech in one breath, each word like an arrow piercing the Crown Prince's face and chest.
The Crown Prince trembled with fear, but could only insist on defending himself: "Nonsense! Those seven women knew of my noble status and deliberately tried to curry favor with me. When I asked them about their backgrounds, they all said they were orphans. It was only when the three judicial authorities jointly interrogated them that they became afraid of being framed and cleared themselves of any wrongdoing. Father, I really had no idea beforehand. Please investigate thoroughly, Father!"
Xiao Yu: "I only used the seven women to testify against the Crown Prince's cruelty because I had no other choice. The Crown Prince should know best what he did in the four prefectures and who instructed Song Liangxue, the Prefect of the Capital!"
Emperor Yongcheng rose angrily: "Xiao Yu is insolent!"
The emperor was furious, and all the officials knelt down. Xiao Yu raised his head and stared at Emperor Yongcheng for a moment before kneeling down, his back straight.
Xiao Rong, who had been kneeling down long ago, closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face and gathering in his brows and eye sockets.
Emperor Yongcheng looked at Fan Yan and the other two: "In the joint trial by the three judicial authorities, can the testimony of the seven women alone prove that the Crown Prince knew about the injustice suffered by the disaster victims in the four prefectures beforehand?"
Fan Yan, Zou Dong, and Lin Bangzhen all said they could not continue the interrogation. They insisted on either torturing the seven poor female refugees or torturing the noble prince. They could not bear the former and dared not torture the latter. Moreover, torturing either side would be considered a way to extract a confession through torture.
Emperor Yongcheng then asked Fan Yan privately, "Xiao Yu, as an imperial censor, falsely accused the crown prince of cruelty without any evidence, intending to have me depose him. What crime should he be punished for?"
Fan Yan's fingers trembled. Emperor Yongcheng urged him again before he reluctantly replied, "Xiao Yu falsely accused the Crown Prince and made false claims about deposing him. He should be beheaded. However, Xiao Yu personally visited the four prefectures and witnessed the suffering of the disaster victims. He felt sorry for the people and hated the corrupt officials. He was young and impetuous and took his anger out on the Crown Prince. He did not intend to cause chaos in the court. I implore Your Majesty to consider his merit in exposing the chaos in the four prefectures and spare Xiao Yu's life."
Minister of Justice Zou Dong then said, "I second that suggestion."
Lin Bangzhen, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, glanced at the two men and said in a slightly trembling voice, "I also second that opinion."
Duke Li Gong sighed and looked up at the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, Xiao Yu falsely accused the Crown Prince of wrongdoing, but his heart is good for the people. Please spare his life for the sake of his youthful impulsiveness."
Left Chancellor Yang Sheng said coldly, "In my many years of service, I have never heard of any precedent in the Three Judicial Offices for exonerating a criminal because of his youthful impulsiveness. No matter the reason, Xiao Yu's false accusation against the Crown Prince is a capital offense. Your Majesty must not let him off lightly. Otherwise, if everyone falsely accuses the Crown Prince in the future, where will the heir apparent be?"
As several senior officials spoke up, other officials began to whisper among themselves. Some supported Xiao Yu's death sentence, while others believed that Xiao Yu could indeed offset his crimes with his merits and be spared the death penalty.
Emperor Yongcheng sat back on his dragon throne and asked the Crown Prince, "Xiao Yu falsely accused you of being cruel and inhumane. What crime does the Crown Prince think Xiao Yu should be punished for?"
Having served as crown prince for over twenty years, the crown prince was adept at discerning his father's thoughts. After quickly considering his father's words, the crown prince sighed and said, "Your subject believes that both Doctor Fan and the Left Chancellor have valid points. Considering that Xiao Yu is wholeheartedly devoted to the people, your subject will not hold it against him. I humbly request Your Majesty to spare his life, but to be lenient with him. Your subject is also afraid that he will be subjected to false accusations from others at every court assembly in the future."
Even though Xiao Yu had advised his father to depose him, he was still magnanimous and didn't hold it against Xiao Yu. What else could this be but "benevolence"?
Very well, Xiao Yu called him heartless, but he proved his benevolence with his own actions.
The prince's tense heart finally relaxed after a long while.
Emperor Yongcheng pondered for a moment and then summoned the Imperial Guards who were standing guard outside: "Put Xiao Yu in jail first. This is the last court session of the year, and I am very busy. I will decide how to punish him after the New Year."
Xiao Yu kowtowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing my life."
Emperor Yongcheng waved his hand, as if he didn't want to see him again. After the Imperial Guards took away Xiao Yu and the Crown Prince who had been confined to his quarters for a year, Emperor Yongcheng glanced at Xiao Rong, who was still kneeling there, and said with disdain, "Get up. Xiao Yu's crime is his business and has nothing to do with you, Xiao Rong. I'm not senile enough to resort to the practice of implicating others."
Xiao Rong, who had been silent for what seemed like half a day, suddenly choked up and kowtowed repeatedly to express his gratitude. When he stood up, his face was covered in tears and snot, showing no resemblance to his father, Xiao Yu, who had calmly gone to prison.
Emperor Yongcheng: "..."
.
After the court session, Xiao Rong deliberately stood still and waited until all the officials who had been looking at him with various complicated expressions had left before he stumbled out of the palace along the long palace road and rode back to his residence.
Knowing that the Emperor was very likely to announce the punishment of a group of corrupt officials, including the Crown Prince, at the court meeting today, and knowing that her father-in-law, whose job was relatively easy, would definitely come back to report the news first, Luo Fu and her two sisters-in-law all came to Wanhetang after breakfast to wait with their mother-in-law.
Despite the long wait, the court session ended at just past 7 a.m.
Madam Deng twirled the Buddhist prayer beads on her wrist, which she had just brought back from the temple in April of this year and had been blessed by a master. She said with some relief, "No matter what, there really is a group of corrupt officials causing trouble in the four prefectures. It's a good thing that the third brother didn't make a mistake in impeaching them this time and made a contribution. I don't care if he didn't. I'm content as long as he didn't come back with a crime on his head."
As for whether the Crown Prince will retaliate against his family after ascending the throne, that's a matter for the future. At worst, once the storm has passed, he can have all the father and sons resign from their official posts and go back home to farm. The future new emperor, the Crown Prince, can't possibly exterminate a few commoners, can he? Hmm, everyone says that emperors value their reputation most and like to be praised as wise rulers, so they probably won't be that ruthless.
Yang Yanzhen and Li Huaiyun nodded in agreement, unaware that their mother-in-law was planning to take them back to their hometown to farm.
Luo Fu shared a similar idea with her mother-in-law: once the crown prince ascended the throne, couldn't they at least avoid him since they couldn't afford to offend him?
But for some reason, I still felt inexplicably uneasy. I probably won't feel at ease until I hear Xiao Yu explain the court assembly in detail tonight.
As they waited and waited, Xiao Rong's distraught figure appeared on the west veranda of Wanhetang.
Madam Deng knew her husband best, and her heart sank when she saw his expression. How could the third son be convicted of impeaching the crown prince when the case had been investigated and cleared up?
Xiao Rong shooed away the maids in annoyance, sat down next to his wife, glanced at his two daughters-in-law from high-ranking families and then at his unfortunate youngest daughter-in-law who had married into the family hoping for a better life, and with drooping eyelids, briefly recounted the good deed his third son had done: "...He's in again. Let's wait and see how the Emperor sentences him after the New Year. Anyway, his life should be spared."
He understood everything; the Emperor had specifically reminded the Crown Prince not to pursue the death penalty for the third prince.
Mrs. Deng silently shed tears. During the Lunar New Year, her youngest son would be spending the holiday alone in the prison cell, and he certainly wouldn't have a good ending after the New Year.
Yang Yanzhen and Li Huaiyun looked at their third brother and sister-in-law with concern. They still remembered how their third brother and sister-in-law had been in a state of panic and growing increasingly haggard after their third brother was imprisoned for the imperial examination.
Xiao Rong was also secretly observing his youngest daughter-in-law. He was afraid that she would cry to him because she felt sorry for his third son, but he was also afraid that she didn't care about his third son and was only thinking about divorce so that she wouldn't be dragged down by that debt collector for the rest of her life.
Luo Fu neither cried nor made a fuss. She didn't even feel the shock and fear she felt when she first heard that Xiao Yu had been imprisoned. After all, Xiao Yu's criticism of Emperor Yongcheng had emboldened her, and she had also been prepared before Xiao Yu impeached the Crown Prince. It was just that Xiao Yu entered the prison about twenty days later than she had expected.
Seeing her mother-in-law crying so sadly, Luo Fu tried to comfort her: "Mother, don't cry. He himself is not afraid. He has become an imperial censor and has even neglected his family. Why should we feel sorry for him?"
Deng Shi and Xiao Rong: "..."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Don't worry, Imperial Censor Xiao will take good care of you in prison. [doge emoji]
100 little red envelopes, see you at midnight tonight~
P.S.: "A good ruler governs his people as a parent would love his child..." This was said by Jiang Ziya!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com