Chapter 265: Stand Alone
The court officials hurried into the hall, but did not see Emperor Sheng as expected.
Standing in the hall before him was the young Imperial Grandson, with Eunuch Fushun standing beside him.
On the left, Shen Zhengsheng and Lu Yongzhu, who were escorted into the palace by the Imperial Guards during the day, were present.
Then came Censor Zhang Xian and Minister of the Honglu Temple Jia Shaobo.
Prince Rong took in the scene in the palace. His eyes paused on the empty dragon throne behind the imperial desk, then fell on Zhao Yuanye and spoke first:
"Yer, where is your royal grandfather? What on earth is going on?"
Zhao Yuanye stepped forward and said sternly, "Uncle Rong, my lords, something unexpected happened today. I summoned you all to see me late at night because I have something important to discuss with you."
When he spoke, everyone present was shocked.
After all, His Royal Highness the Grandson is still young and has never spoken in front of them before.
Even if His Majesty is inconvenienced today, it should be Prince Rui who stands in front of them.
But now they realized that the young prince had such courage and eloquence.
As a result, the court officials who had been impatient just now secretly restrained their expressions.
After all, Prince Rui has not appeared for a long time, which may be amiss. You must know that after Prince Rui, Prince Xiang has been imprisoned, and now... only His Royal Highness the Imperial Grandson is left.
Seeing that no one interrupted him, Zhao Yuanye breathed a sigh of relief.
The teacher had told him that if he showed fear in any situation, people would look down on him, so today, he would not show any fear at all!
"The first thing—"
"Some time ago, the Imperial Master received an imperial order to set up a trap to expose Cui Daoyuan's conspiracy and selfishness. Now, Cui Daoyuan has confessed all his crimes."
"Imperial Censor Zhang."
Zhao Yuanye said this and turned to look at Zhang Xian.
Zhang Xian immediately stepped forward and handed Cui Daoyuan's confession to Prince Rong who was standing at the front, and said respectfully:
"I am here on royal orders to investigate a case of forming a clique for personal gain. Cui Daoyuan has confessed to the Ministry of Personnel and signed a confession. Please review it with Prince Rong and the others."
Just as Prince Rong and other important ministers were filled with shock and were passing the confession document around, Eunuch Fushun suddenly widened his eyes and looked at Zhao Yuanye standing beside him.
He serves the emperor personally, and he knows the truth about the imperial tutor's clique and selfishness.
This wasn't a trap set up by the Emperor and the Imperial Preceptor; it was clearly the Emperor being set up by the Imperial Preceptor!
After His Royal Highness the Grandson said this, the Emperor was now speechless. In this way, the Imperial Teacher was not only innocent, but also meritorious.
Your Highness, this is against the will of His Majesty, this...
Eunuch Fushun felt something was wrong, but before he could think about it, he heard Zhao Yuanye's voice again:
"The Imperial Master is willing to tarnish his reputation to help Grandpa Huang. Eunuch Fushun knows the whole story best."
Fu Shun lowered his eyes when he heard this, and saw that His Royal Highness the Grandson was staring at him, and his heart began to beat fast.
No, he... he couldn't disobey His Majesty...
"Today's incident was also thanks to Eunuch Fushun's carefulness, who informed the Imperial Master in time. Otherwise, the Imperial Master might not have known about it, and I could have retired after completing my mission."
Zhao Yuanye spoke with a smile, his eyes curved, but Fu Shun's heart skipped a beat and his face turned pale.
He thought that the Emperor's teacher's life or death was uncertain, and no one knew that he had tipped off the emperor.
But he had good intentions. He just wanted to relieve the emperor's worries, so he passed the message to the imperial teacher.
Who would have thought... who would have thought that this unnecessary action of his would become the last straw that broke the camel's back!
Others will not care whether he is sincere or not. As long as the actions of the Imperial Teacher are exposed, he will undoubtedly be an accomplice in the murder of the Emperor!
His Highness' words reminded him to be "careful with his words and actions" and to think before speaking...
Fushun was suddenly filled with sadness. He looked up and saw that everyone was looking at him. He hesitated for a moment and had to grit his teeth and say:
"......yes."
"That day when His Majesty was discussing with the Imperial Master, I was serving tea beside them..."
Eunuch Fushun said this and lowered his head.
At this moment, he had vaguely understood what was going on.
His Royal Highness the Imperial Grandson must protect the Imperial Preceptor, and everything the Imperial Preceptor does is for His Royal Highness the Imperial Grandson.
Among them, the one who connects His Highness and the Imperial Teacher is Lord Jiang.
Today, Your Highness has become the final winner. If there is anything that is not satisfactory, it is that Lord Jiang’s life or death is uncertain.
As someone who serves the emperor, he knows best how much the emperor fears Lord Jiang.
But now the emperor is lying stiffly on the bed, unable to speak, so Lord Jiang has escaped the disaster.
When his thoughts reached this point, Eunuch Fushun suddenly froze, and a vague guess came to his mind so incredibly.
etc......
In the mind of His Royal Highness the Grandson, who is more important, Lord Jiang or the Emperor?
Will His Royal Highness, the Grandson, be willing to bet on His Majesty in order to protect Lord Jiang?
No, no, it's impossible!
Fushun shook his head repeatedly in his heart, but couldn't help but think of the deceased Crown Prince.
The emperor thought he had kept his feelings well hidden back then, but he might not have been able to hide it from the Crown Prince's bedmate - the Crown Princess.
And just now...just now he did leave His Majesty, His Highness and the Crown Princess alone in a room!
Fushun's legs suddenly felt weak. He had just clearly heard the imperial doctors whispering:
Your Majesty was in good health in the past, so how come his condition became so serious after being stimulated twice?
Could it be that just as he left——
By the way, he was about to come back just now, but His Highness took him away again...
Thinking of this, Fushun felt his scalp tingling and his back chilled. He was deep in thought when he suddenly heard Zhao Yuanye calling him:
"Eunuch Fushun, bring the letter that Uncle Rui presented today."
Fushun shuddered suddenly, and saw Zhao Yuanye looking up at him.
Those clean and clear eyes clearly had no other meaning, but they made Fushun feel even more frightened.
He hurriedly turned around, took the letters that had been sorted out on the table, and handed them respectfully to Prince Rong. When he stepped back, he lowered his head even lower.
He has no evidence.
Just now, the Crown Princess made a temporary decision to let His Royal Highness the Grandson take charge of the situation, while she herself retreated to a side hall to wait.
Even if there was any "physical evidence", it would have been completely destroyed by now.
His words are not enough. Once His Highness and the Crown Princess die because of "slandering", he will not be able to feel at ease no matter who serves the Emperor!
Besides, it's not just his life that's at stake now, even the safety of His Majesty is at stake...
Fu Shun's mind wandered for a while, but he couldn't find any way out of the impasse. His face turned pale and he closed his eyes in despair.
Zhao Yuanye noticed Fushun's expression, then slowly withdrew his gaze and spoke to the people who were passing the letter around:
"The Shen and Lu families were surrounded today because Uncle Rui reported these letters to Grandfather the Emperor, saying that Generals Shen and Lu were colluding with the enemy and committing treason."
"And the truth behind the letter is related to an old incident..."
"General Shen, you go ahead and tell me."
Zhao Yuanye turned and looked at Shen Zhengsheng.
Shen Zhengsheng immediately recounted the battle in which he broke his arm and the grudges with Gu Changshen. Jia Shaobo also stepped forward to verify the authenticity of the letter.
Prince Rong and the others were startled when they heard this, but not because of what happened in the past, but because they could already imagine how thrilling and dangerous the argument between Shen Zhengsheng and Prince Rui would be today.
At this time, someone couldn't wait to ask:
"Your Highness, if that's the case, may I ask where the emperor is now? And what happened to Prince Rui?"
Zhao Yuanye looked sad when he heard this, and only then did he look like a child again. He said in a trembling voice:
"The case of the Minister of Personnel forming a clique for personal gain involves a wide range of people. Prince Rui's uncle was also foolish and wanted to save Cui Daoyuan, so he took an extreme approach and tried to frame a loyal and honest person to confuse the public."
"After this matter was exposed, Grandfather Emperor was furious and had an argument with Uncle Prince Rui in the palace."
"Uncle Rui kept contradicting me, and Grandfather Emperor got so angry that he kicked him, causing Uncle Rui to... suffer heart damage."
"And the Emperor himself...was so angry that he fainted and suffered a stroke."
"What!!!!"
There was a sudden cry of surprise in the hall.
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