Chapter 149: The water is not evenly distributed
The rumors about the deposed crown prince were getting more and more intense, the emperor's attitude was unclear, and Yun Qian's actions seemed to have stopped. The people who were arrested had not been released yet, but no more arrests were made.
Everyone knows that although Yun Qian is the empress dowager's brother, he is the emperor's man. To put it bluntly, it is not an exaggeration to call him the emperor's lackey. Over the years, all the difficult issues have finally fallen into the hands of this Lord Yun.
No matter what result Yun Qian comes up with, no matter what the truth is, it will definitely be what the emperor wants most in the end.
For this reason, the Fourth Prince's descendants had to put pressure on the Dali Temple to prevent Yun Qian from erasing the Crown Prince's traces.
It’s a pity that Dali Temple is Yun Qian’s territory. Their jumping around not only failed to make Yun Qian give in, but also exposed the people who had been buried there for all these years, which was a heavy loss.
On March 15th, exactly two months after the Yunxiao tragedy, the spring breeze in the capital brought a touch of warmth, and Lord Yun Qianyun finally reported the result in the court.
"Your Majesty, the Lantern Festival case has been thoroughly investigated. It was Chi Liangjun, Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, who bore a grudge against Xu Jiachun because of his dissatisfaction with the banquet three years ago."
"Three years later, Chi Liangjun colluded with scoundrels and assassinated the Xu family's heir in the street to avenge his vengeance."
"In this matter, the officials who colluded with Chi Liangjun are as follows: Wu from the Ministry of Revenue..."
As the names came out one by one, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's face turned pale, simply because most of them were his followers, the real Crown Prince's party. Does his father really want to depose the Crown Prince?
The Fourth Prince's face was filled with uncontrollable excitement and joy. If he hadn't been in the court, he would have laughed out loud.
Unexpectedly, Yun Qian changed his tone the next moment and continued, "There is also the Minister of Revenue, Meng Fang, who has long been dissatisfied with the Xu family and fanned the flames in this matter, leading to the murder. He even intended to assassinate Princess Hejing and frame the Xu family."
The smile on the Fourth Prince's face froze completely. The Ministry of Revenue was where his uncle Xu Siyuan was located. Because of the Emperor's great favor for Concubine Xu, the Ministry of Revenue had become like the Xu family over the years.
Meng Fang, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, is Xu Siyuan's right-hand man. They have common interests, so how could they possibly deal with the Xu family secretly?
The Fourth Prince suddenly looked up at Yun Qian, and the next moment his face turned pale. He didn't even dare to look up at the emperor above him.
Yun Qian continued speaking. If those who were dealt with in the beginning were all the prince's men, then those who appeared afterwards were all from the fourth prince's lineage. After all this involvement, it was hard to tell which lineage had suffered the most severe losses.
When Yun Qian finished speaking, the court was silent, and the adults lowered their heads with unfathomable expressions.
When Yun Qian mentioned it, they vaguely remembered that three years ago, on Xu Siyuan's fiftieth birthday, Chi Liangjun, as a member of the prince's lineage, seemed to have really had a conflict with him.
There seemed to be a quarrel at that time, but in the end it was the emperor who stepped in to ease the relationship between the two sides.
But they didn't expect that many years later, this would become Chi Liangjun's death warrant! None of the adults present thought that Chi Liangjun was the mastermind behind the incident, let alone that he would kill someone for such a small matter, or even that he had the ability to do so!
But this is the result Yun Qian came up with, and the certified physical evidence is all there, and even Chi Liangjun himself has pleaded guilty!
The emperor, high and mighty, glanced at the people present and said, "Several officials of the imperial court have held grudges for years over a simple quarrel, even resorting to murder. They knowingly and willfully violate the laws of the Great Zhou, and they should be severely punished!"
"Chi Liangjun has disregarded human life. He has been stripped of his recent position and his former official title has been removed. He will be executed in the autumn to set things right, so that his followers will know what to do and what to do."
"Meng Fang is fanning the flames, spreading evil words and causing chaos among the people. This is unacceptable. He should be demoted to a prefecture to encourage good morals. He should obey the punishment lightly and never Don't forget to reform himself."
"The rest of the gang members are all complicit in the crime and will be exiled to remote areas to receive the proper punishment."
"Father!" His Royal Highness the Crown Prince cried out in shock.
Since the current emperor came to power, there have been very few cases of officials being executed. Firstly, this emperor loves mercy, and secondly, he is very tolerant of old ministers. The most he would do is exile.
But now, the emperor did not leave any room for maneuver and wanted to execute Chi Liangjun directly.
You must know that Chi Liangjun is not only a Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, an old man who has served in office for many years, but also the biological father of the favorite concubine in the prince's palace. If Chi Liangjun is executed, it would be like a slap in the face of the prince.
The emperor just looked at the prince coldly: "Why, Prince, do you have something to say?"
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince knew something was wrong, so he gritted his teeth and let go of this loyal minister who had followed him for many years. He lowered his head and said, "Father is wise."
An inexplicable thought flashed across the emperor's eyes, and he added, "This man is a ruthless and cruel person, and is extremely skilled at spreading lies and misleading the people. The Crown Prince should be more discerning in identifying talent."
The prince's legs softened and he fell to his knees. "I will obey the Holy Order. I am not wise enough to judge people, but I will definitely correct it."
"That's great."
The emperor nodded and looked at the Fourth Prince: "Fourth Prince, can you ask for mercy?"
How could the Fourth Prince dare to plead for mercy? When Meng Fang was dragged out, he was already trembling with fear. The Emperor had been so merciful for so many years that his two sons had forgotten that this one was the most cold-blooded and ruthless person. "Your son obeys your command."
The emperor glanced around the court and asked in a cold voice, "Is there anyone else who wants to come forward and plead for mercy?"
The court became increasingly quiet, and every official who was swept away wanted to hide himself so as not to be remembered by the emperor.
"Since there's nothing else to do, let's adjourn the court." The emperor said this and then said, "Crown Prince, Fourth Prince, follow me."
The Emperor left with the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince, but Grand Tutor Zhang quickly stopped Yun Qian and asked in a low voice, "Master Yun, isn't this an appropriate way to handle this matter?"
No one knows the truth of the matter, but everyone knows that Chi Liangjun must be the one who was pushed out.
Yun Qian coughed and asked, "The physical evidence is all here. Master Zhang, do you have other instructions?"
Grand Tutor Zhang's expression changed, but he didn't dare to say anything more.
On the other side, the emperor returned to the palace with a cold expression and looked back at his two sons who lowered their heads and looked obedient.
Upon seeing this, he suddenly felt that he had not looked at his two sons seriously for a long time. One was the eldest son who was named the crown prince since childhood and he had high hopes for him. The other was the son born to his favorite concubine and he had always loved him.
In terms of emotion and reason, the emperor felt that he had done his utmost to be kind to his two sons and had given them the greatest love and support as an emperor and a father.
But now, when the emperor saw the memorial sent by Yun Qian, he felt a surge of blood in his heart and almost fainted. Were the harmony between the two brothers all pretended over the years?
As the crown prince, he is intolerant and suppresses his younger brothers in every way. As his younger brothers, he is disrespectful to his elder brothers frequently. And in the court, there are so many people forming cliques. What do they want to do?
If the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince knew what the Emperor was thinking, they would probably laugh out loud. When have they ever been in harmony?
"Kneel down!" the emperor shouted sternly!
The Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince knelt down at the same time.
The emperor asked coldly, "Do you realize your mistake?"
The Fourth Prince shouted before the Crown Prince could, "Father, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have been so close to Meng Fang in private. But Father, please believe me, I really didn't instruct him to do it this time."
The Fourth Prince didn't know what went wrong. He had clearly just asked his uncle to add fuel to the fire, but who knew that this time Meng Fang would be directly implicated. If he had known this would happen, he would have rather not taken action.
After hearing this, the emperor's face became even gloomier. Looking at his son who kept admitting his mistakes but had no remorse in his heart, his eyes were full of coldness.
"Okay, get out of here first." The emperor said coldly. The fourth prince wanted to say something, but had to leave under the pressure of the emperor's majesty.
As soon as he left, the prince no longer had any scruples and immediately cried out for justice.
The prince gritted his teeth and shouted, "Father, this is unjust. This was definitely not done by me. You know who Chi Liangjun is. Where did he get the manpower and courage? This time, it must be my fourth brother who framed me..."
With a "bang", the emperor grabbed the inkstone in his hand and smashed it over. The prince couldn't dodge in time and got a scratch on his forehead, which immediately started bleeding. Eunuch Li beside him was so frightened that he knelt down in a hurry.
The Crown Prince still felt aggrieved and cried, "Father, you are partial and only favor Fourth Brother. This is truly not what I did. They were clearly the ones who took human life and framed me, so why are you punishing Chi Liangjun instead?"
"Idiot!" the emperor cursed.
The prince's face turned pale. He didn't expect the emperor to insult him like this.
The emperor felt a pity for him when he saw him so distraught. After all, he was the crown prince he had appointed. He finally suppressed his annoyance and said, "If you did it, such a womanly and childish method is really ridiculous. If not, you, the crown prince of a country, were framed to such an extent. Do you think all those witnesses and evidence were fabricated by Yun Qian?"
The prince finally realized something and said quickly, "Chi Liangjun..."
"Don't mention him in front of me," the emperor said angrily. "Prince, you are the crown prince of a country. How should you judge and employ people? Do you still need me to teach you? Have you been living like a dog all these years?"
"Go back to the East Palace and reflect on your mistakes. If you can't figure it out, don't come out!"
The prince left in a state of disarray, and the emperor, who had already had an outburst, felt even worse. He even suddenly said, "Was it a mistake for me to appoint a prince so early?"
Eunuch Li looked at his nose and his heart, not daring to say anything.
The emperor didn't need his answer and continued to mutter to himself: "Rebellious son, all rebellious sons!"
If the prince was just cruel and ruthless, the emperor would not think it was a big deal. After all, it is not a good thing for a crown prince to be too weak. But the bad thing is that he has a bad heart and courage, but not the brains!
As the crown prince, he was actually played around by some ministers and unknowingly fell into their trap. This was what the emperor could not tolerate the most. In comparison, he felt that the fourth prince was brave and resourceful, but just too cruel.
Just then, there was a commotion outside. Eunuch Li went out for a while, but when he returned, he was all smiles and announced in a clear voice, "Your Majesty, Xiuhua Palace has reported that Concubine Yu has been feeling unwell. The imperial physician has diagnosed her with a month's pregnancy."
The emperor's expression changed slightly, but finally settled into a smile. "Oh, this is a very happy occasion. Eunuch Li, go to the inner treasury yourself and take out the seven-colored phoenix jade crown and give it to the Jade Concubine."
Eunuch Li was slightly surprised. You know, that jade crown was extremely luxurious and was a tribute from another country. Concubine Xu had asked for it several times but failed.
Now the emperor gave it to Jade Concubine. Eunuch Li knew that the emperor felt guilty towards Jade Concubine because of the previous ghost marriage and wanted to make amends. He nodded in agreement, but secretly thought that Jade Concubine would surely become more favored.
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