Chapter 125 Lifting from Confinement and Restoring the Title of Imperial Concubine
Before entering the palace, Yan Cang sent someone to inform Yan Yang, asking him to come to Chonghua Palace to meet the emperor as soon as possible.
At this moment, Chonghua Palace was completely quiet.
A box was placed on the emperor's desk.
The box was opened, revealing a stack of account books and letters, as well as a jade pendant representing the Prince of Jin's status.
"The letters in the box are proof of Pei Yi'an's correspondence with the Crown Prince of Nan Zhao, as well as the reply from the Prince of Jin to Pei Yi'an. The reason they weren't burned in time is that a general in the Southern Border Army noticed Pei Yi'an's treacherous behavior, secretly copied the contents of the letters, and secretly switched the original letters. The ones Pei Yi'an burned were all forgeries." Yan Cang's tone was cold. "Two of the letters between the Prince of Jin and Pei Yi'an were intercepted halfway and kept as evidence for later. His schemes are clearly written in the letters."
Emperor Zhaode opened one of the letters and read it word by word, his face turning terrifyingly cold.
This is a vicious and terrifying letter.
The letter, though brief, contained a scheme to sow discord between the Prince of Yan and his wife, exploiting Chu Yunjin's dislike for Yan Cang, and framing the Consort at the birthday banquet in order to completely break Yan Cang's heart and make him agree to a divorce.
Once Yan Cang is determined to divorce and goes before the emperor to request a divorce agreement, he will surely anger the emperor and bring punishment upon himself.
The palace has already arranged for someone to carry out the deed; as long as the emperor issues an order, there will be an opportunity to cripple Yan Cang.
The Prince of Jin also solemnly assured Pei Yi'an.
With Yan Cang dead, no one could protect Yan Jinyue anymore. Even if he brought Xue Beixuan back from the border as his concubine, Yan Jinyue had no choice but to accept it.
This is the handwriting of the Prince of Jin.
Based on what happened during those days, the authenticity is almost 99%, leaving no room for doubt.
Apart from that, the other letters were all exchanges and schemes between Pei Yi'an and the Crown Prince of Nan Zhao, nothing more than deliberately creating war, one for the purpose of amassing wealth, and the other for the purpose of military merit.
Emperor Zhaode's expression was cold and somber as he looked at the boxes filled with evidence of crimes. After a long while, he finally asked, "What does the Prince of Huaibei have to say?"
“Your subject sat down and talked with him. Although he holds military power, he has always been a proponent of peace.” Yan Cang said in a calm tone, “He believes that Nanzhao should strive for peace and develop people’s livelihood, but the ministers of the Crown Prince’s faction have always opposed him in court and have repeatedly ridiculed him in public, saying that the Prince of Huaibei is a spineless coward.”
"Emperor Nanzhao is in poor health and struggling to manage state affairs. The empress is the head of the harem, while the crown prince acts as regent, wielding immense power—virtually absolute. The Prince of Huaibei is the biggest obstacle to their power grab, so they are resorting to any means necessary to keep him confined to the border, waiting for the emperor's death so the crown prince can smoothly inherit the throne and then deal with the Prince of Huaibei."
Yan Cang said in a calm tone: "After I spoke with him, he thanked my second brother for saving his daughter and hopes to come to Yongchao next month to discuss the ceasefire and peace talks, and then take his daughter back."
Emperor Zhaode nodded.
The Grand Eunuch entered: "Your Majesty, His Highness Prince Ming requests an audience."
Emperor Zhaode said, "Let him in."
"yes."
Yan Yang, dressed in the robes of a commander of the town government, entered the main hall, first bowed to the emperor, and then looked at the travel-worn Yan Cang: "Is everything settled?"
Yan Cang hummed in agreement: "How are the interrogations going, Second Brother?"
“Interrogation is just an excuse to justify torturing them,” Yan Yang said calmly. “Pei Yi’an’s guilt has long been established; his confession is the least valuable evidence.”
Emperor Zhaode looked at Yan Yang and said expressionlessly, "How is that Princess Nanzhao doing lately? I heard you took her out of the city for horseback riding?"
Yan Yang nodded casually: "The little girl looks delicate and frail, but her riding skills are good, and she's quite brave."
Emperor Zhaode frowned: "You even took her to the imperial prison."
Why take such a young girl to a place like that?
Yan Yang did not deny it.
"She's a good rider and quite courageous," Emperor Zhaode said meaningfully. "It seems you also have a good impression of her."
Yan Yang was taken aback, then immediately understood his meaning, and couldn't help but frown: "Your subject has a good impression of many people, but you can't just marry whoever you have a good impression of."
He's already twenty-five, and his father still hasn't given up on arranging a marriage for him? Besides, Xue Ziying isn't a woman from the Yong Dynasty, so he has no right to arrange a marriage for her.
"Why don't you tell me who else you have a good impression of?" Emperor Zhaode said displeasedly. "If you can name one, I will immediately grant you a marriage."
Yan Yang blurted out, "Your subject has a good impression of the Prince of Yan."
The air suddenly became quiet.
Before Yan Cang could react, Emperor Zhaode grabbed a teacup from the table and threw it at Yan Yang, yelling, "You worthless wretch!"
Yan Yang tilted his head, and the teacup flew past his ear, crashing to the ground and shattering into pieces.
Yan Cang remained indifferent, ignoring Yan Yangtuo's unrestrained remarks, and bowed to Emperor Zhaode: "Tomorrow morning, I wish to take Yun Jin to pay my respects to my mother and tell her the good news that Yun Jin is pregnant. I ask for your permission, Father."
Emperor Zhaode frowned.
Should I go pay my respects to his mother first thing tomorrow morning?
Is this a test of his attitude, or is it to force him to release the imperial concubine?
"Yan Yang," Emperor Zhaode said irritably, "take this letter and verify its authenticity. If it is genuine, then the Consort has been framed."
Yan Yang took the letter and glanced at it: "No need to verify, this is the handwriting of the Prince of Jin. In addition, I would like to add that the imperial bodyguard mentioned in the letter is Zhao Changze, the illegitimate son of the Earl of Xiping, who is also the nephew of Wen Yishu's mistress. The Earl of Xiping's family has been demoted to commoners and the whole family has been driven out of the capital."
Emperor Zhaode's face darkened: "You knew about this all along?"
Yan Yang paused for a moment: "Your subject only knows that Zhao Changze is the Prince of Jin's man. As for the Prince of Jin's schemes, your subject has no way of knowing them."
Emperor Zhaode's tone was chilling: "Bring Zhao Changze back and have him beaten to death!"
How could such a vicious person be let go?
This is utterly absurd.
Yan Yang respectfully agreed, but he still looked at Emperor Zhaode with curiosity: "Your subject wants to know, if after the Consort is framed, and Fourth Brother really agrees to divorce the Princess Consort as Prince Jin predicted, and asks Father Emperor for a divorce agreement, will Father Emperor issue an edict to punish him?"
Emperor Zhaode frowned and did not answer the question immediately.
He thought about it in silence for a moment, and realized that if he were in a state of extreme anger, he might actually issue an imperial decree. After all, it was Yan Cang who asked to marry Chu Yunjin in the first place, and now he wanted a divorce—no matter the reason, it was unforgivable.
Yan Cang was an extremely stubborn person.
Well, Emperor Zhaode had to admit that his sons were all incredibly stubborn, each one more difficult to manage than the last.
In a fit of rage, it is entirely possible that the caning would be carried out.
This created an opportunity for criminals.
Emperor Zhaode felt increasingly frightened as he thought about it. Fortunately, Chu Yunjin changed her attitude at the crucial moment, which prevented a tragedy from happening.
Yan Yang said calmly, "It seems that Father already has the answer in his heart."
Emperor Zhaode looked at him coldly: "What answer do you have? Anything is possible, but possibility is not absolute. Do you think I am a cold-blooded tyrant?"
Yan Yang immediately shut his mouth.
While one may be fearless, provoking a monarch is not something a wise person should do.
He obediently pleaded guilty: "Your subject dares not."
Emperor Zhaode spoke in a deep voice: "Xu Baozhong."
"Your servant is here."
"Immediately issue an imperial edict: Consort Gu was falsely accused at her birthday banquet, not for any improper conduct. Effective immediately, she shall be released from confinement, reinstated as Consort, and given back control of the harem."
"yes."
Yan Cang thanked him for his kindness and took his leave.
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