Chapter 80 Overturning
The emperor raised his hand to signal, and the eunuch immediately brought out a box containing the letter from behind the curtain and placed it on the imperial desk.
"These are the letters found in the secret room. Most of them are messages between court officials and the Grand Princess. Princess Changyi intended to destroy them before she fled, but fortunately we snatched them away in time."
Some people were whispering to each other in the hall, and some people's expressions changed slightly. They were obviously thinking of the letters they had exchanged with Princess Gao. Although they pretended to be calm on the surface, they were actually trembling in private.
Anyone who sneaked into the palace was well-versed in human affairs. When they saw that the emperor brought up the matter of Princess Gaoguo, it was obvious that he was going to settle accounts with her.
The emperor raised his hand and pulled out a gold-embossed peony envelope from the box. He examined it and displayed it before the crowd. "I am very familiar with the Grand Princess's handwriting. This is undoubtedly her handwriting."
Everyone looked at the four words "Dedicated Letter from My Beloved Daughter" and had no doubts.
The emperor handed the letter to the eunuch and said, "This is the letter that Princess Gao left for the Princess of Changyi. It was burned and incomplete, but the main structure is still there. Please read it to the nobles for me."
The eunuch who announced the decree in the palace read out the contents of the letter in a high-pitched voice. Although the letter was burnt, the contents were still clear:
"...Yuwuer:
"The day I opened this letter, Mother... said goodbye forever.
"The court... is at the brink of collapse... My only option now is to die... so I can successfully ascend to the Eastern Palace... My mother chose Qujiang Pond as her final resting place... The people of the Changhua Palace have all gathered... This crime can be dealt with in Lingling County... If things change, I can implicate her as a potential husband. You should respond accordingly..."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall was in an uproar.
First, no one expected that Princess Gaoguo actually committed suicide, and second, no one expected that she would still want to get involved with the Changhua Palace when she was dying.
The prince's eyes dimmed as he looked at the thousands of lights behind the curtain.
Her figure was vaguely visible through the gauze curtain. She looked slimmer and thinner than usual, but her back was straight and her thin shoulders did not show any sign of dejection.
The eunuch continued to read:
"I have a prayer to stay with the nun... You can use this to plead with the prince... If you marry with fervent filial piety, your mother will rest in peace."
The ministers looked at the Crown Prince sitting before His Majesty Dan, and seeing the sadness and helplessness on his face, a sense of sympathy welled up in their hearts.
Princess Gaoguo's move was certainly scheming, but it was nothing compared to the ruthlessness of Princess Changyi, who used her mother's corpse to stage a drama in which she died with her eyes open, making it impossible for the prince to refuse.
Even the eunuch who was reading the letter had a cold sweat on his back, and he continued to read with gritted teeth:
"...Control your temper and stop being so willful and arrogant...disobey the Queen...back then, the Crown Prince...was in danger of death because of your mother's help to Zhao Liangdi...Lingling County...the blueprints presented must be evidence from that time...The Queen...immediately switched sides..."
All the ministers in the palace were shocked. They did not expect that Princess Gao had actually plotted to murder the crown prince and shake the foundation of the country.
The queen, who was sitting behind the curtain, snorted coldly, lowered her eyes and sipped her tea, waiting for the eunuch to read out the rest of the text.
"The crystal jar... was once... Agashne. Fish eggs... can be dropped into the Queen's drinking water... they will naturally attach to the epiglottis..."
When the eunuch reached this point, the emperor interrupted him and said, "It is best to skip this kind of witchcraft and sorcery."
The eunuch hurriedly responded, skipping the instructions for using Agashine in the middle, and then continued reading:
"...the fish eggs are hatching...the queen is going crazy...the mother and daughter's greatest worry is over, and their future is secure...when the crown prince ascends the throne...mother's honor and favor will finally return...the whole palace depends on you...you should stand tall in the court and harem, and live up to the prestige of our princess's palace...
"Mother will never..."
At this point, a long letter was completed, and you could hear a pin drop in the hall.
Everyone looked at the emperor who was sitting in front of the desk, and then at the empress who was motionless behind the curtain. No one dared to speak.
Especially those who had a close relationship with Princess Gao, looked at the remaining letters in the box, racked their brains to recall the contents of the letters they had written to Princess Gao, trembling with fear and sweating profusely.
After a long while, the emperor finally spoke: "Did you hear that, my lords?"
Amidst the silence in the hall, Minister Cui stepped forward and reported, "The Grand Princess of Gao and the Princess of Changyi have framed the descendants of loyal and righteous people and the Uighur prince, affecting diplomatic relations between the two countries. This is already an unforgivable crime. Furthermore, they previously plotted to murder the head of state and put the Crown Prince in danger. Now, they are attempting to use witchcraft to harm Her Majesty the Empress. This is truly an unforgivable crime, and even a member of the royal family must not be forgiven. I request that Your Majesty issue an immediate decree to arrest the Princess of Changyi and bring her to the court for a thorough interrogation and conviction, so that the law of the land can be upheld!"
The emperor nodded, ordered the three judicial officials to search for him, then raised his hand and patted the box full of letters.
The dull sound made the hearts of many people in the hall rise to their throats.
The emperor's gaze swept across the crowd below, finally landing on His Majesty Dan's Crown Prince. "What do you think, Crown Prince, should be done with these things?"
The Crown Prince stood up, bowed to the Emperor, and said, "In my opinion, the Grand Princess has been in the court for many years, so she must have had some good friends. Now that she is gone, these letters are mostly old, so it is better not to read them."
"In that case, I will obey the Crown Prince." The Emperor dropped the box onto the blue brick floor and gestured for the small red fish in the crystal jar to be presented. "Build a bonfire outside the palace. Burn this letter and the small red fish in front of the palace today."
There was a roar of applause in the hall, "Long live the emperor, long live the prince."
Qiandeng, standing behind the curtain, also breathed a sigh of relief.
Princess Gao is dead, and now her evil deeds are known. The Emperor and Empress must have reviewed the names of the courtiers on the envelope and have a clear understanding of the situation. Rather than go to great lengths to eliminate the entrenched influence she left within the court, it would be better to use her as a benevolent act for the Crown Prince and stabilize public sentiment.
Princess Gaoguo was stripped of her title of Grand Princess, her house was confiscated, and her eunuchs and maids were sent to serve in various mountain palaces.
Overnight, the Princess Gao's mansion vanished from the world, and the two successive consorts and their families were stripped of their official titles. Both families quickly hired someone to carve new tombstones, erasing the glory that had once been brought to the princess, while at the same time being thankful that the consort had died early and their families had not been implicated.
As for those in the court who had close relations with Princess Gao, although they were not investigated, those who had had previous contact with her were also implicated - especially the princess's lovers in recent years, all of whom were reported and exiled.
As an insider in the Princess's Mansion, Yan Penglai, the Minister of the Imperial Astronomy Office, was naturally also among those to be punished. However, because he had made meritorious service by reporting the incident, he was given a lighter sentence and was removed from his post and exiled from the capital.
Only in Shangluo, the princess's mansion was too big, with many secret rooms and chambers. The old man in the mansion was still searching, but no trace of him was found.
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