Chapter 360 Evidence
As soon as the late emperor's edict was issued, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.
Chief Minister Pang and the others stared in shock and suspicion at the imperial edict in Princess Pingyuan's hand, which was clearly quite old, wondering what was written on it that gave her such confidence.
Seeing the various reactions of the crowd, Princess Pingyuan was very pleased. Her gaze fell on Emperor Jinghe's face as she raised the imperial edict and walked down from her high position step by step.
Seeing that Emperor Jinghe did not react, her eyelids twitched, and she put away her smugness and became wary.
Princess Pingyuan withdrew her gaze and looked at the bewildered Chief Minister Pang: "This is the imperial edict that my father specially left for me. If you don't believe me, you can find the imperial edicts issued by my father and compare the handwriting."
Chief Minister Pang glanced at Emperor Jinghe, and seeing that he had no objection, he eagerly stretched out his hand: "We must personally verify the handwriting to distinguish its authenticity."
Princess Pingyuan did not hesitate and handed him the imperial edict.
Chief Minister Pang hurriedly unfolded the document, and several other senior officials also gathered around.
Upon reading the contents of the imperial edict, the faces of Chief Minister Pang and the others changed drastically, as if they had seen a ghost and could not believe what they were seeing.
The ministers looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
Judging from the handwriting on the imperial edict, it was indeed written by the most trusted eunuch during the reign of the late emperor, and the seal at the end is also correct.
They could also discern from the details that the imperial edict was issued more than twenty years ago, and was not a forgery in recent years.
But why would the late emperor leave such a decree on his deathbed?
Or was it that the late emperor left this edict to protect his most beloved daughter, so that His Majesty would have something to consider and treat Princess Pingyuan well?
Seeing that Chief Minister Pang and others remained silent, Emperor Jinghe personally took the imperial edict and quickly glanced through it under the watchful gaze of Princess Pingyuan. Suddenly, he felt a sense of relief.
So there really was such a will!
Princess Pingyuan snatched the imperial edict, carefully rolled it up and put it away, then coldly glared at Chief Minister Pang and the others with an air of superiority:
"Zhao Chengzhuo has failed the late emperor's trust and is unworthy to be emperor. Today, I, in accordance with the late emperor's last will, depose him and strip him of his throne. I will choose a day to ascend the throne as the next ruler of the country!"
The faces of Chief Minister Pang and others were extremely grim. They wished they could grow eight legs and rush to the imperial mausoleum to ask the late emperor if he thought the lifespan of the Great Wei Dynasty was too long, since he had been dead for twenty or thirty years and was still doing such absurd things.
Now they can neither say the will is fake, nor dare they admit it is real.
Just as the ministers were caught in a dilemma and Princess Pingyuan was pressing them aggressively, a clear voice came from outside: "The late emperor's edict is fake!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the hall looked over.
The next moment, a tall and upright figure walked slowly into the hall against the light, and respectfully bowed to Emperor Jinghe: "Greetings, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"
Emperor Jinghe was clearly not expected to see him. After a moment of stunned silence, he smiled and said, "Minister Xu, you may rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Xu Jinnian stood up, but before he could speak again, his arm was suddenly gripped tightly.
"Lord Xu, do you have any evidence to prove that the late emperor's edict is fake?"
Prime Minister Pang asked Xu Jinnian excitedly, his gaze shining brightly as he looked at him.
"Xu Jinnian, how dare you question the late emperor's legacy! Your intentions are despicable! Guards, drag this scoundrel away and beat him to death!"
The situation, which was about to be reversed, was suddenly disrupted. Princess Pingyuan was both anxious and angry. In front of Emperor Jinghe, she ordered the guards present to take action against Xu Jinnian.
Xu Jinnian didn't even frown, nor did he glance at Princess Pingyuan. He cupped his hands to Emperor Jinghe and said:
"Your Majesty, I dare not speak presumptuously. I have found witnesses and evidence to prove that the late Emperor's edict was forged. I request Your Majesty to summon the witnesses to the palace so that they may confront Princess Pingyuan in front of all the civil and military officials."
Emperor Jinghe gave Xu Jinnian a deep look, and nodded before Princess Pingyuan could speak, saying, "Granted."
Soon, two guards led in two hunched-over, white-faced, and beardless old men.
Just by looking at their gait and faces, everyone, including Emperor Jinghe, knew their identities.
These are two old eunuchs, but they look unfamiliar, so they must have left the palace to retire long ago.
Stared at by so many eyes, the two old eunuchs trembled and knelt down with a thud, bowing to Emperor Jinghe: "This servant...this servant greets Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty!"
Emperor Jinghe said gently, "Get up."
After the two old eunuchs thanked the emperor with trepidation, they slowly got up from the ground.
Xu Jinnian said, "Your Majesty, these two are Tianfu and Tianxi, the adopted sons of Wu Sheng, the eunuch who served as the scribe during the reign of the late emperor."
Upon hearing the name Wu Sheng, Princess Pingyuan's expression changed drastically, and boundless terror surged in her eyes.
The so-called imperial edict held in her hand was written by the eunuch Wu Sheng.
Upon hearing Xu Jinnian's introduction, Emperor Jinghe gave him a deep look.
This Xu Aiqing, he's a man of few words but amazing talent, he actually found these two people.
Chief Minister Pang and his entourage perked up, and one of them asked urgently, "Do they have evidence that Wu Sheng forged the late emperor's edict?"
Xu Jinnian nodded slightly and looked at Tianfu and Tianxi: "In front of His Majesty and the ministers, you recounted the process by which Wu Sheng forged the late emperor's edict."
Tianfu and Tianxi dared not lie, and spilled everything they knew like beans from a bamboo tube.
"When the late emperor was seriously ill, he only allowed the late empress and my adoptive father to be by his side on his deathbed. According to the rules, my adoptive father was to be buried alive with the late emperor. However, my adoptive father missed his hometown and wanted to leave the palace to return to his hometown to live out his old age. That's when Princess Pingyuan found my adoptive father..."
Princess Pingyuan offered Wu Sheng permission to leave the palace to live out his retirement, but on the condition that he forge an imperial edict from the late emperor, she threatened that he would not only be forced to be buried alive with the late emperor, but also that all six of his adopted sons be killed, and that someone be sent to kill the only bloodline of the Wu family.
Faced with this threat, Wu Sheng had no choice but to obey Princess Pingyuan's orders, secretly forging the late emperor's edict and stealing the imperial seal to stamp it.
Later, when the emperor passed away, a group of eunuchs and palace maids who served him were forced to commit suicide, but Wu Sheng escaped the fate of being buried alive with the emperor and quietly left the palace with his savings of many years.
Before leaving, he specifically instructed his adopted sons to find a way to escape as soon as possible.
Following their adoptive father's advice, Tianfu and Tianxi used most of their savings to make arrangements and successfully left the palace to reunite with Wu Sheng, planning to return to Wu Sheng's hometown to retire.
As soon as they left the capital, they were assassinated.
Wu Sheng guessed who the culprit was, and then told them about how Princess Pingyuan had tried to blackmail him into forging the late emperor's edict.
In the end, Wu Sheng died at the hands of the assassin, while Tian Fu and Tian Xi escaped but dared not go to Wu Sheng's hometown.
After the two of them buried Wu Sheng together, they felt that the most dangerous place was the safest, so they secretly returned to the capital and hid there.
By chance, they met Xu Jinnian, who then took them to the palace to expose the truth about Princess Pingyuan's forgery of the late emperor's edict.
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