Except for Liu Yu's name, almost all the civil and military officials in the court were listed on the memorial. Even the name of a minor official of the seventh rank in the capital could be found on it, and the names of all these people were followed by the gifts they had received.
Shen Jinchun was surprised. He did receive a few fine paintings by famous artists, but those paintings were given to him by a subordinate official. He was so excited that he spent money to buy them. They were not bought by Zhu Yu...
He glanced at the ministers in the hall. Many of them were confused. It seemed that they were just like him and had no idea that the gifts they received were from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
But Zhu Yu was able to write down the names of all the gifts word for word, which clearly meant to leave them speechless.
He glanced at Liu Yu and whispered, "Master..."
Liu Yu frowned slightly and almost immediately saw through Zhu Chui's intention. No one knew the true value of these items. Whether they were worth tens of millions of taels of silver was entirely up to Zhu Chui's words and could not be verified at all. However, the officials who had received these things had no way of arguing.
Shen Tian also thought that this move was quite powerful, and he wondered who was directing Zhu Yu behind the scenes.
Emperor Ming Zheng has been using the technique of checks and balances in recent years, allowing the Qingliu faction headed by Liu Yu, the Prince's Party, and the Shen Party to stand in a three-way balance of power. This time, Yu Qizhe's emergence to try the salt and silver case is a good opportunity to suppress the Prince's Party, and the Shen Party will be the one to benefit the most. Shen Tian certainly does not want to give up.
He gave Wu Yi a look, and Wu Yi stepped forward, "Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance and must not be tolerated! The amount of salt and silver embezzled in Jiangnan is as much as tens of millions, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince embezzled and stole the money, which is unworthy of being the crown prince of a country!"
A minister echoed: "Lord Wu is right. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not a naughty boy. He embezzled such a large sum of money just to please the court officials. This is simply ridiculous! If we had known that these 'things' were sent by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince with great effort, we would never have dared to accept them. It is the duty of a minister to be loyal to the country and the people. Why should His Royal Highness the Crown Prince flatter us? This case should be handled impartially, otherwise how can we give an explanation to the people of the world?"
These words did not give Zhu Xun the slightest bit of face. They were almost like pointing at his nose and scolding him for being a coward and for trying to please his ministers as the crown prince.
Song Ling, the Minister of Rites, stood up and said, "As far as I know, Zhai Huaiying relied on the power of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to do whatever he wanted in Huai'an. His crimes are heinous and have angered the heavens and the people. I ask Your Majesty to give justice to the people of Huai'an!"
No matter how much Zhu Yu gritted his teeth when he heard this, he did not show it on his face. He just put on a cowardly look as if he was regretting his actions and sincerely admitting his mistake.
Although Feng Dang was also dissatisfied with Zhu Chu's behavior, he had no choice but to speak up to help Zhu Chu.
There was a lot of noise in the Yangxin Palace. Emperor Mingzheng looked gloomy. After a long while, he said tiredly, "Everyone go down first."
Several ministers from Shen's party were unwilling to give in and wanted to say something else so that Emperor Mingzheng would punish Zhu Yu. However, after looking at Shen Tian, they followed Shen Tian out of the Yangxin Palace in silence.
After all the ministers had left, Zhu Yu did not dare to stand up. He only cried in a trembling voice, "Father, I really know I was wrong! I have been so scared these years. Mother is always a vegetarian and never cares about me. Father has been reluctant to let me take over government affairs. I have dreamed that you dislike me and want to abolish my position as the crown prince. I have been unable to sleep or eat, always wondering if Father is dissatisfied with me. But I am stupid and not a smart person. Sometimes I always think, if I had not been born in this heavenly family, it would have been better..."
Zhu Yu was originally acting, but as he spoke, he became more and more sobbing, and he knelt forward and hugged Emperor Mingzheng's legs: "I still remember that when I was a child, your father also held me in his arms and taught me to read. Every time your father visited me, I would be happy for several days. Later, your father made me the crown prince, and I thought that your father valued me and liked me the most among the princes. I was happy for a long time. It was you who disappointed your father. If your father wants to abolish my position as crown prince, I will not complain at all."
Emperor Mingzheng lowered his eyes and looked at him. These words moved Emperor Mingzheng a little sympathy. He placed his hand on Zhu Yu's head and said, "Since you know that I value you, why do you do such a stupid thing that others can find a handle on you? There are many people eyeing your position as crown prince!"
Zhu Xun cried and shouted that he was wrong, his face full of snot and tears, showing no dignity at all.
Emperor Mingzheng pinched his neck, "You are my son who I have high hopes for." His voice changed and became sharp, "Unfortunately, you are too stupid. I am not dead yet, and this world is my world! What I give you is yours, and what I don't give you, you can't snatch it, and you shouldn't plot against me behind my back!"
Zhu Yu's neck was pinched and felt cold, and his hands and feet were icy cold. He did not dare to look at Emperor Mingzheng, and only shivered and said, "Your son knows, and I will keep it in mind in the future."
Emperor Mingzheng released his hand and said, "Go down."
When Zhu Yu walked out of the hall, he felt relieved. Although he felt a little embarrassed, the matter was finally over. The emperor should not pursue the matter any further, right?
Seeing Yu Qizhe standing outside the palace and not leaving yet, Zhu Yu smoothed the wrinkles on his collar, looked at him coldly, and almost squeezed out a voice from between his teeth: "Master Yu, I will remember you. Don't let me take control of you in the future."
Yu Qizhe remained calm and gave Zhu Yu a look with an ambiguous tone: "Thank you, Your Highness, for thinking highly of me. In this case, I would like to give you a word of advice. You must cherish this title of Your Highness."
Zhu Yu's face was gloomy: "What do you mean?"
Guo Changsheng, the chief eunuch of the Yangxin Palace, came out and said to Yu Qizhe, "Master Yu, the emperor is calling you in!"
Zhu Yu could only watch Yu Qizhe enter the Yangxin Palace again. Thinking about what Yu Qizhe had just said, Zhu Yu felt uneasy again. He couldn't help wondering if Yu Qizhe wanted to make trouble in front of his father. But even if Yu Qizhe was valued by his father, it didn't matter. After all, he was just an outsider. His father would still remember the father-son relationship. Otherwise, how could he be soft-hearted when he heard him talk about his childhood?
Inside the palace, Yu Qizhe glanced at Emperor Mingzheng's expression and asked tentatively, "This case has been delayed for a long time. How about I close the case tomorrow? Zhai Huaiying committed suicide in prison out of fear of punishment. The account is nonsense. It is just perjury made by Zhai Huaiying to escape punishment."
Emperor Mingzheng's face was not looking good. After hearing what Yu Qizhe said, he said indifferently: "You are quite smart!"
"The Crown Prince is the heir to the throne after all. For the sake of your Highness's reputation, this case cannot be investigated any further." Yu Qizhe stood in front of your Highness and said respectfully.
Emperor Mingzheng sneered, "I really gave birth to a good son, but he is stupid and greedy. When I wanted to use the silver, the Ministry of Revenue refused, but he was generous and dared to pocket tens of millions of silver. Does he think that as the crown prince, the country is already in his pocket?"
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