Chapter 17 King Rong can’t hold back anymore?
The Emperor of Great Chu returned to Yu's study and asked Meng Quande to summon Yu Shitai's people.
"Check the disaster relief funds allocated during this year's drought to see if anyone has embezzled any of them." The Great Chu Emperor said it simply, but there was no hesitation in his tone.
Lord Rong and his men naturally understood that the Emperor of Great Chu had raised this matter at this time because it must be related to Prime Minister Cui, so they immediately investigated in this direction.
The direction was clear, and Yu Shitai was always quick and decisive. Within half a day, a memorial was placed on the emperor's desk.
Of the 100,000 taels of disaster relief funds, Cui Wen alone embezzled 50,000 taels.
Not to mention that after it is distributed layer by layer, how much will actually reach the hands of the people?
The Great Chu Emperor no longer hesitated: "Meng Quande, go and call Wei Cheng."
He immediately ordered the army of Yu Lin and the people of Yu Shitai to go to Cui's mansion to confiscate the property. All the people were temporarily detained in the Dali Temple. Some were sent to the army as slaves, and some were exiled.
For a time, the news of Prime Minister Cui's downfall spread like wildfire in the capital.
"I heard that all the relief funds were embezzled by Prime Minister Cui, and not a single cent reached the victims. How despicable."
"I heard that they found dozens of boxes of cash alone, not to mention other valuables."
"When I first met Prime Minister Cui, I thought he was a good official. He is really a good pretender."
"Your Majesty is the wisest. I heard that he also dealt with Concubine De. She actually wanted to assassinate Concubine Chen Gui!"
......
For the sake of the third prince's reputation, he avoided the matter of Prime Minister Cui and Concubine De's attempt to seize the throne.
Because Prime Minister Cui was arrested, everyone in the court who had any connection with Prime Minister Cui was terrified for several days, and some officials even took sick leave.
However, after a few days, he saw that the Emperor of Great Chu had no intention of punishing him, so he felt relieved and went to court with peace of mind.
Didn't the Emperor of Great Chu hate these cliques and those who pursued personal interests? However, as an emperor, he knew that if the water was too clear, there would be no fish. As long as they did not bring harm to the country and the people, he would just give them a warning.
In order to stabilize the situation, the Emperor of Great Chu selected two girls from among the daughters of officials to enter the palace.
One was Shen Ning, the daughter of the Dali Temple Minister who had always been in competition with Prime Minister Cui, and was named Ningpin; and the other was Yuan Jingle, the daughter of Yushi Zhongcheng who made great efforts in the investigation and punishment of Prime Minister Cui, and was named Le Guiren.
The matter was considered settled at this point, but unexpectedly the situation was turbulent and Prince Rong became restless.
On this day, Marquis Dingguo finally found out about Prince Rong's movements. After much deliberation, he wrote a memorial and headed to Yu's study.
"Recently, I received a report from my subordinates saying that the Yuefeng Kingdom was ready to make a move on my border. The war has just ended. I felt that there was something fishy about this matter, so I paid attention to it and looked into it." After saying this, Duke Dingguo just looked at the Emperor of Great Chu and said no more.
The memorial contained only a few simple words: "Prince Rong may have rebellious intentions."
This was originally a royal family affair, and it would be best for a minister like him not to get involved. However, for the stability of the Great Chu State, Marquis Dingguo still submitted such a memorial. If the emperor really blamed him, he would admit it.
Unexpectedly, the Emperor of Chu seemed very calm.
"Marquis Dingguo has worked hard. I am aware of this matter, and we still need to consider it carefully." The Emperor of Great Chu sighed in his heart.
That evening, the Emperor of Great Chu came to Qingyun Palace to have dinner with Concubine Chen Gui.
"The envoy from Yuefeng Nation will arrive the day after tomorrow. I'm afraid I won't be able to dine peacefully with you and Wanwan again."
Concubine Chen Guifei comforted him gently, "Your Majesty, of course, puts state affairs first."
Lu Xingwan went online at the right time.
[Is the envoy from Yuefeng Kingdom about to arrive? Prince Rong is about to finalize the details of the rebellion with the envoy. Father, please wake up. Please wake up. Your brother is not a good person! ]
[Wuwuwu, why am I so miserable! I was killed by that noble lady when I was just born, and I was killed by Concubine De when I was three months old. I was killed by Prince Rong before I was even one year old? ]
Concubine Chen Guifei naturally knew that her father had been to Yu's study today. Although Wanwan's words were frightening, with her father's reminder, His Majesty would surely be alert and would not really fall into Prince Rong's trap.
The Great Chu Emperor pretended to be calm, but absentmindedly patted Concubine Chen's hand: "You have always been sensible."
[Humph, sensible children don’t get any candy. ]
[However, my father is also very kind to my mother and always comes to accompany her. ]
[I suddenly remembered what other important things King Rong had done, but I can’t remember...]
The Emperor of Great Chu became anxious after listening to this. What had Prince Rong done to make him worry? It seemed that he should take Wanwan to see Prince Rong more often in the future so that she would remember it.
"Today is a good day. You should take Wanwan for a walk in front more often and come to my study to accompany me more often every day, so that I don't have to come to you often." The Emperor of Great Chu laughed when he thought of this.
"I think that the study is where His Majesty discusses government affairs, so I should go there less often..."
"It's okay."
After leaving Qingyun Palace, the Emperor of Great Chu thought about it again and again, and finally ordered to go to Rongle Palace instead.
When they arrived at Rongle Palace, the empress dowager was packing up and getting ready for bed, but she heard the palace maid report that the emperor had arrived. Thinking that he must have important business coming so late, she stopped packing and only let the Emperor of Great Chu enter the inner room.
"It's so late, I'm sorry to bother you, mother."
"The Emperor came so late, there must be something important."
The Emperor of Great Chu sat down in front of the Queen Mother's bed, lowered his head and said nothing.
After a while, she raised her head, dismissed all the maids and nannies, and then spoke solemnly: "Does the Queen Mother still remember my childhood?"
The Empress Dowager was puzzled as to why the Emperor suddenly mentioned this matter.
"I still remember when I was little, my brother and I often played in my mother's harem. Those were the days when we were free and unfettered. Later, when I entered politics, there were more things to do, more conspiracies and tricks, and we gradually became more distant."
The Queen Mother thought that the Great Chu Emperor was sad because Prince Rong was no longer close to him, so she comforted him, "You are the Emperor now, and your brother is a lazy prince. He likes to play a lot, so naturally he rarely shows up."
"But mother," the Great Chu Emperor raised his head again, his eyes full of determination, "Prince Rong now has the intention of rebellion."
"What?" The Queen Mother was startled by this and sat up.
"We have confirmed that Prince Rong has colluded with Yuefeng State and is planning to kill his son to seize power. I'm afraid he has even prepared his dragon robe."
The Queen Mother suddenly lay back down, her face full of disgrace.
"I used to think he was mean, and since he wasn't going to be an emperor anyway, it didn't matter if I got used to him," the Queen Mother muttered.
The Great Chu Emperor said: "I thought so too, but I didn't expect that my brother wanted to kill me."
The mother and son chatted for a long time.
The Queen Mother finally spoke: "For the sake of the long-term prosperity of the Chu State, you must put the overall situation first, but..."
The Queen Mother looked at the Emperor of Great Chu in embarrassment and did not finish her words.
"Mother, I know that I will not harm his life."
The Queen Mother nodded and said nothing more.