Wang Youzhi: "His Highness the Crown Prince has recently become obsessed with sensual pleasures and neglected his studies and state affairs, causing the affairs of the court to pile up like mountains, while the suffering of the people goes unnoticed."
What's worse, Your Highness also indulges your cronies in oppressing the people, extorting and plundering them, causing widespread resentment. Is such behavior befitting a crown prince? I fear that if this continues, the nation will cease to exist, and the people will suffer greatly!
As Wang Youzhi continued his presentation, the atmosphere in the court grew increasingly tense.
At this moment, the censor stepped forward and knelt on the ground. "Your Majesty, I received five account books yesterday, which record all the expenses and material details incurred by His Highness the Crown Prince during his last disaster relief trip."
However, after careful examination, I found many inaccuracies in the accounts, the reported expenditures far exceeded the actual needs, and a large amount of silver and materials were missing, suspected to have fallen into the hands of a few corrupt officials and the Crown Prince's confidants.
Such actions not only represent a tremendous waste of national resources but also a profound injustice to the people in the disaster area, severely damaging the credibility of the imperial court and the reputation of the crown prince.
After speaking, the censor presented the account book with both hands.
"Where is the Crown Prince?" The Emperor's voice was deep and powerful, penetrating the entire hall and instantly silencing the once noisy court.
Before long, the crown prince was hastily summoned.
Faced with his father's questioning and the gazes of the entire court, he seemed somewhat at a loss, his eyes flickering uncertainly.
Seeing this, the emperor already understood somewhat, but still asked in a deep voice, "What do you have to say about these account books?"
The Crown Prince lowered his head and stammered after a long while, "Your subject... Your subject was indeed negligent and failed to supervise strictly, which led to this incident. But please, Your Majesty, understand that your subject had no intention of embezzling. It was only because I was deceived by a villain that I hope Your Majesty will give me a chance to repent and start anew."
Upon hearing this, the emperor sighed deeply, his eyes filled with both disappointment and heartache.
"All members of the Censorate, I entrust this matter to you to thoroughly investigate and give the people an explanation. As for the Crown Prince, from this day forward, you must remain secluded and reflect on your actions. Without my permission, you are not to step out of the Eastern Palace even once."
The Prince of Liang, sitting to the left, secretly lamented: "Even now, the Crown Prince hasn't been deposed. Father Emperor is too biased!"
Prince An, however, turned a blind eye to all of this. He knew that the Crown Prince would not be deposed easily, after all, he was appointed by his father, the Emperor.
The emperor's gaze swept across the court, seemingly searching for answers on the faces of every minister.
But her gaze ultimately settled on the Crown Prince, her eyes filled with complex and profound emotions. "Crown Prince, do you know that this empire cannot be protected by the efforts of one person alone, nor can it be accomplished overnight?"
As the crown prince, you bear the weight of the people's well-being and the nation's future on your shoulders. Today's events, though seemingly minor, are enough to reveal the flaws in governance and the wickedness of people's hearts.
I am giving you time to reflect, not only to correct your mistakes, but also in the hope that you can learn from them, learn how to distinguish right from wrong, and how to wield power without being wielded by it.
During your period of seclusion and reflection, you must study classical texts and history, deeply understand the principles of governance, and at the same time reflect on your own mistakes and show compassion for the people.
After speaking, the emperor turned his gaze to Prince Liang and Prince An, as well as all the civil and military officials. "You should all take this as a warning, strengthen your self-discipline, work diligently in your duties, and jointly maintain the stability of the court and the peace of the people. The Censorate must enforce the law impartially and thoroughly investigate whoever is involved, without any leniency."
Although the King of Liang was unwilling, he dared not show it on his face.
The emperor, exhausted after court, summoned Li Xi and said, "Go and investigate who the Censors and Supervising Censors have been in contact with these past two days!"
"Yes." Li Xi accepted the order and left.
Emperor Wenyuan let out a deep breath when he saw that no one was around.
In truth, he was well aware of the Crown Prince's character, but he couldn't depose him yet.
Beset by internal and external troubles, the removal of the crown prince will likely provoke various factions to act rashly.
He walked slowly toward the Imperial Study, each step seeming exceptionally heavy.
After leaving the palace, Li Xi headed straight for the location of the Hidden Gate.
Chen Quan was organizing secret reports when he saw her come in. He handed her a scroll and said, "Hey, this is what you asked me to investigate."
"What is this?" She recalled sending a letter back to the capital a few days ago, asking Chen Quan to investigate Liu, the postmaster of Yunjin City.
"Thank you." She took the scroll and returned to her study.
This politeness made Chen Quan a little uncomfortable. And had the young master forgotten something?
She used to reward herself with silver, so why is she acting so strangely today?
Chen Quan muttered to himself, but dared not ask any more questions. He simply followed Li Xi's departing figure with a hint of doubt and curiosity.
Inside the study, Li Xi unrolled a scroll.
In any case, I still have to do my job well.
Liu Qisheng, son of Liu Yicheng, is a constable in the northern part of the Five Cities Garrison Command of the capital. He is twenty-three years old and unmarried.
He had served in the military in his early years, and later, by chance, he was transferred to the North City of the Five Cities Military Command in Kyoto as a constable.
On weekdays, they are responsible for patrolling the northern part of Kyoto to maintain peace and tranquility in the streets and alleys and to capture thieves and villains.
Liu Qisheng's former cavalry battalion was commanded by the renowned general Zhang Zhenyue, a veteran of countless battles and whose fame spread far and wide.
General Qin was not only exceptionally skilled in martial arts, but also possessed great strategic acumen. He was strict in managing his troops yet also compassionate, earning him the deep respect and love of his soldiers.
But now that he's reached sixty, he's about to retire and return to his hometown.
His grandson, Zhang Yang, has also distinguished himself in the army, inheriting his father's bravery.
Zhang Yang's wife was a cousin of the Prince of Liang and a niece of Consort Jing's maternal family. The relationships between these prominent families in the capital were complex and intertwined.
But what does the assassination of the scout have to do with the King of Liang? On the surface, it doesn't benefit the King of Liang at all.
Her adoptive father said that she was ambushed and fell off the cliff when she rescued the scout.
He said he received news that someone wanted to take her life, so he rushed to save her, but he was too late.
If it was indeed the King of Liang who did it, what was his intention?
Could it be that the scout's battle report contained information detrimental to him?
However, the scout has now returned safely, and there seems to be no trouble for King Liang.
Thinking about this, Li Xi felt as if she had been caught in a tangled mess, unable to make sense of the connections between them.
According to the scout, he suddenly had an upset stomach shortly after setting off from Yunjin City that day.
He had no choice but to find a grove of trees to relieve himself, but he never expected to encounter a group of masked men who wanted to snatch the battle report from his hands.
Thus began a desperate struggle. To prevent the intelligence from being stolen, he had no choice but to jump off the cliff in search of a chance to survive.
Could it be that her godfather lied to her?
Thinking about this, she began to have a splitting headache, and her subconscious told her to trust her godfather, that he was family.
So she decided to put this matter aside for the time being and focus on completing the tasks assigned by the emperor.
After instructing Chen Quan to arrange for someone to investigate the affairs of those two officials, she hurriedly left.
He rode his horse aimlessly through the streets of the capital.
Sunlight filtered through the sparse clouds, casting dappled patterns on her armor and softening the cold, hard metal.
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