Chapter 913 On the Road to Exile 41
In fact, the ministers were also trembling with fear. Wasn't it better to have a peaceful transition of power, with everyone getting along well and continuing to contribute to the country?
Do several people have to die?
Therefore, 99% of people hope that the crown prince will ascend to the throne as soon as possible.
After all, the emperor only has three children, two of whom are sons. Both sons were born to the empress, and the two have a very good relationship. The crown prince has already been chosen, so why bother with any more trouble? He doesn't seek merit in supporting the emperor's rise to power, but only seeks to avoid any major mistakes.
On that day, the Crown Prince ascended the throne before the coffin; everything else would be discussed after the Emperor's funeral was completed.
After learning the cause of her eldest son's death, the old Duchess was so angry that she wanted to kill Wei Shuqing. The Empress tried to persuade her, but to no avail.
Two days later, Wei Shuqing was "committed suicide," orchestrated by the old Duchess.
The Empress pretended not to know anything and cried her heart out in front of the mourning hall, "Your Majesty, do you love her that much? You even want to take her with you to your death? We were young lovers, if anyone should be taken, it should be me..."
The empress cried and started to bang her head against the coffin, but luckily a quick-thinking palace maid stopped her.
The old Duchess was in a terrible mood: ...and some even wanted to be buried alive with him.
I had some doubts at first, but seeing my daughter-in-law's reaction, I realized she was overthinking it.
If that palace maid had reacted even a fraction slower, the Empress would have been seriously injured by the impact, her head bleeding profusely, her life hanging in the balance, but she would certainly have been half-dead!
Twenty-seven days later, the late emperor was buried, and Chu Yu officially ascended the throne, making Ning Yan empress and his eldest son Chu Chengtian crown prince.
A month after Chu Yu ascended the throne, two more regions simultaneously presented two high-yield crops. Now, without any guidance, the people of the world all believed that the emperor and empress were indeed ordained by heaven, and the people of the country would no longer fear starvation.
...
Six months later.
Today, someone reported in the Golden Palace that General Tie, the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor, was hoarding official silver.
Chu Yu remained unfazed and let the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage testify for himself.
General Tie's heart skipped a beat. "Your Majesty, I am innocent. This is absolutely not true. Lord Liu is slandering me."
"Yes, Marquis Zhongyong, there's no need to worry. I believe you are innocent."
"Lord Liu, are you aware that slandering a superior is a crime? Besides this memorial, do you have any other evidence?"
Lord Liu said, "I have the answer. As long as Your Majesty sends someone to investigate the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence, we will definitely find that batch of silver. If we cannot find it, I am willing to die ten thousand times!"
"Whoa!" The hall erupted in an uproar. Cold sweat poured down the Marquis of Zhongyong's forehead. There was only one possibility that Imperial Censor Liu dared to say such a thing: that he really had an extra batch of government silver in his home.
In fact, even without this batch of government silver, he would have been finished if the emperor had really searched and confiscated his property.
"To serve as an official for a thousand miles is only for wealth! To serve as an official for a thousand miles is only for wealth!"
Without money, how could he support his army? Without money, how could his daughter live in the palace? Without money, how could the Tie family socialize with others?
"Your Majesty, isn't Lord Liu still making a false accusation? He still has no evidence."
Chu Yu remained silent, and Imperial Censor Liu immediately jumped out, pointing at General Tie and cursing, "So you're saying you don't dare let the Emperor send someone to investigate your home? So you're feeling guilty! My home isn't afraid of being investigated. I swear on my life that every copper coin in my home is clean and comes from my normal income."
In this grand hall, a fourth-rank censor could only refer to himself as "your humble servant."
Marquis Zhongyong dared not reply. He felt that today's events must have been a setup, but who could possibly have such a deep-seated hatred for him, wanting to use the former dynasty's official silver to put him to death?
"Minister Tie, I do not believe that the case of the missing silver from the national treasury is related to you."
"Because when the national treasury was robbed, you were with the late emperor resisting the Western Tombs!"
Marquis Zhongyong knelt in the hall, tears streaming down his face, and kowtowed to the Emperor. “Your Majesty, you can trust this old minister. This old minister can die without regrets.”
The officials nodded in agreement. The emperor was not confused. This was a good thing. Now they wouldn't have to worry about being wronged.
"However, since Imperial Censor Liu is so certain that your household has silver that was lost in the previous dynasty, we still need to find it. Once we find it, we can then investigate how this batch of silver ended up in your household. Of course, it would be best if it didn't exist. What do you all think?"
What could they do? Of course, it was because "the Emperor is wise."
So, the Imperial Guards, carrying the imperial edict, along with the Minister of Revenue, the Minister of Personnel, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, and Prince Ming (Chu Laosan), went to the residence of the Marquis of Zhongyong.
However, the Marquis of Zhongyong still had a bad feeling. Even though the Emperor said he trusted him so much, he didn't feel safe and felt that something was bound to happen today.
Within half an hour, someone came to report: "The officials found the official silver mentioned by Imperial Censor Liu at the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence. The officials have confirmed that it is the treasury silver that was lost in the previous dynasty."
With a "whoosh," the Golden Palace became lively again.
When the national treasury lost silver, there were more than 30 million taels of silver and more than 5 million taels of gold. How big would the Marquis of Zhongyong's secret chamber be to hold all that gold and silver?
Marquis Zhongyong had also thought of this problem. He kept wiping away his sweat, silently praying that he wouldn't be defeated here today, especially since it was his family's money...
About an hour later, cartloads of silver were brought into the palace, counted, and then placed into the national treasury.
Several officials who had been ordered to "search" the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence returned to report: "Your Majesty, we found a total of eight million taels of silver and two million taels of gold from the previous dynasty in the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence."
In addition, a guard accidentally knocked down a wall of the Marquis of Zhongyong's house, only to later discover that it was the Marquis of Zhongyong's storeroom.
They were afraid of incurring the wrath of the Marquis of Zhongyong, so they thought of cleaning up the storeroom and rebuilding the walls. However, the Marquis of Zhongyong's storeroom contained far too much stuff; it took so many soldiers a long time to count it all. In Lord Tie's household alone, there were nearly two million taels of silver in cash, and over twenty chests of gold and jewels. This is the list copied down by the guards.
General Tie, who was already extremely worried, collapsed.
Damn it, he had no idea when his house acquired a secret room that could hold eight million taels of silver and two million taels of gold.
The worst part wasn't that, but that his private property was inventoried by the Emperor today!
Everyone knows that war can bring wealth, but it has to be done in secret. If you bring it up in front of the emperor, you're doomed.
"What's wrong with Marquis Zhongyong? Get up quickly, someone, bring him a seat."
Prime Minister Wei secretly glanced at the Emperor. He really didn't expect that this kid was more experienced than his father. He wasn't worried at all about such a big matter. His emotions were as calm as if he had no emotions at all. Who could believe that the Emperor was only nineteen years old this year!
What was he doing when he was nineteen?
He was still studying and preparing to take the imperial examination.
Marquis Zhongyong was helped to sit in a chair, and Chu Yu began to discuss with him, "Minister Tie, please don't blame the guards for being clumsy."
"Your Majesty, this old minister dares not."
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