Chapter 45: King Rui’s Contributions
On the other side, the worried Minister of Justice Huang Tijiang had just finished reading the letter from King Rui, sorted out the files about Xiao He submitted by his subordinates, wrote a report, and went to the palace.
Emperor Rong put down the memorial and said, "I already know what happened. This He Xuan is actually a relative of Prince Jing."
Huang Tijiang: "Your Majesty, it's a bit far-fetched to say they are relatives by marriage. The relationship between He Xuan and the Second Prince's wife can be described as a distant cousin. I guess Xiao He did this on purpose to arouse the competitive spirit of His Royal Highness Prince Duan."
Emperor Rong groaned, "How do you plan to deal with Xiao Hui?"
Huang Tijiang: "This Xiao Hui was originally a person rescued by Wen Renbiao on the battlefield, and later he joined His Royal Highness Prince Duan. But when I investigated Xiao Hui's past, I found that this person was not called Xiao Hui before, but He Hui, and he was a distant relative of His Royal Highness Prince Jing."
"According to the law, the person who disrupted the imperial court and deliberately provoked the princes to fight should be exiled three thousand miles away."
Emperor Rong said, "Let's do this. However, the efficiency of the Ministry of Justice in investigating Wen Renbiao's bribery of officials in the Ministry of Justice and deliberately raising the price of the criminal detention is higher than before. It only took two days to compile the list of relevant personnel."
Huang Tijiang's eyes flickered for a moment, then he returned to his original calmness, "Your Majesty, I still can't hide it from you. This time, it was Prince Rui who helped. The clues and list of collusion between General Wen Renbiao and officials of the Ministry of Justice were also provided by His Royal Highness Prince Rui. I am ashamed to have only been a messenger."
Emperor Rong's expression remained unchanged. "It's hard for him. He should be relaxing but he's still worried about government affairs. Although he says he wants to live a life of drunkenness and dreams, he still wants to do what he can."
"Since King Rui does not want to attract attention, this matter will be credited to your Ministry of Justice."
Huang Tijiang: "I thank your majesty."
The incident involving His Royal Highness Prince Duan has caused panic among the people. People from the six ministries discovered that several officials from the Ministry of Justice were absent from the court this morning. Although they were not high-ranking officials, this still aroused suspicion.
After the Emperor listened to the reports from all officials and issued various orders as usual, Huang Tijiang stepped forward to report the murder caused by the debt collection.
After listening to all the twists and turns, all the officials finally figured out what happened.
Emperor Rong also issued the final order:
"Prince Duan Rongbo was rewarded with 100 taels of silver for his meritorious service in investigating the national debt. However, he was misled by a villain during the investigation, which resulted in the death of a sixth-rank official of the Ministry of Justice. He also used criminal law privately and detained officials of the Ministry of Justice without authorization. He was fined one year's salary, stripped of his title, and imprisoned for three months as a warning to others."
"Officials in the Ministry of Justice colluded with General Wen Renbiao to accept bribes privately, and all officials involved were dismissed from their posts."
"The general heard that Ren Biao bribed court officials and privately used the Ministry of Justice's equipment to enrich himself, so he was stripped of his title. Considering that he fought for the country, he was given a chance to make up for his mistakes and guard the border for the country; the Ministry of Revenue will check the silver he earned and turn it all over to the public."
"Xiao Hui, a subordinate of Prince Duan Rongbo, was exiled to the northwest border, three thousand miles away, for stirring up the struggle among the princes."
"Xu Yu, the head of the Ministry of Justice, died unjustly. He was specially granted a royal funeral. His family, wife and children were raised by the government, and his son was exempted from the provincial examination."
The grand event of Prince Duan's debt collection has finally come to an end. The officials who originally thought that His Royal Highness Prince Duan would be favored now inevitably set their sights on His Royal Highness Prince Jing, the only hope now.
The gates of Prince Duan's mansion have been sealed since the eunuch summoned him. Although everything remains the same, the only place that can be moved around is this small sky.
Wen Renyuan is now seven months pregnant. She originally thought that Prince Duan, as the eldest prince and with the support of his father, should have a sure win, but now he has been stripped of his title and placed under house arrest.
"Since you took on this matter, my father, mother, and I have repeatedly warned you not to be too greedy and reckless. Don't investigate the officials of the Ministry of Justice. If you had listened to them, how could we have ended up like this now?"
Rong Bo said, "Although I was wrong, the one who was really wrong was my good father-in-law. If he had informed me of the Ministry of Justice earlier, how could we have ended up like this?"
Wen Renyuan frowned and said, "You didn't do your job well and were instigated by others, but now you blame my father. Then He Taiwei is clean? Why didn't King Jing ever get involved in his father-in-law's affairs? People know that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish. Moreover, now is the critical moment for the succession. My father wanted you to infiltrate the Ministry of Justice, but you still didn't take the pressure."
After saying that, she didn't even look at Rong Bo and went to Fengyi Palace with her big belly.
Because the Second Prince's wife was pregnant, the Emperor granted Wen Renyuan special permission to come and go freely without being implicated by her father and husband.
The former queen was also disturbed by this sudden incident for several days. When she saw Wen Renyuan, she didn't say anything, but only reminded him, "Don't quarrel. It's not that there is no turning point. It's not that easy for the royal family to fight for the throne. It's not always the west wind that overwhelms the east wind, and the east wind overwhelms the west wind. The current situation is not too bad. Although Bo'er has been stripped of his title, he will ask for a job in three months. If he makes contributions to the country, he will get his title back one day."
"I will not judge your father's case. I will just wait for him to make amends for his crime and make plans for you and your wife. I am still the queen, and I have a princess. As long as I am not defeated, how can you be defeated? The most important thing is to make Bo'er sincerely admit his mistakes, write a letter of apology, and carefully analyze his own stubbornness and recklessness. When you give birth to the first grandson, I will plead for you and let you go."
"You still have to cheer up. Even if you can't stand Bo'er, he is your husband after all. He is the one you will spend your whole life with. You can only rely on him to analyze the whole thing. When your child is born, things will turn around."
Wen Renyuan put away her original anger and worry and said, "Yes."
When they returned to the mansion, it was already evening. Rong Bozheng sent someone to bring the stewed tonic to Wen Renyuan.
Wen Renyuan still considered his face in front of the servants. She took the bird's nest and ate it while relaying the former queen's words to him.
Rong Bo, "It's my fault for not judging people well and causing trouble for you. What the Queen Mother said is right. It's not easy to get that position. We just failed once. Why are we at our wits' end again? I understand your worries. I will write a letter of repentance to my father tomorrow. I will also calm down and reflect on myself during this period of time."
Wen Renyuan didn't expect that he really reflected on it, and she felt relieved. "Since you can say this, I don't regret marrying you. I just hope you can really let go of your previous recklessness and be humble. We still have a child, and the opportunity will come. What's more, His Royal Highness Prince Jing may not be the crown prince, there is still a lot of time, so why worry."
Rong Bo's originally depressed heart was also inspired at this moment. He held Wen Renyuan's hand and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely change my ways from now on. As you said, the time is still long, and King Jing has just started. As long as the third brother can't stand up, the position can only be chosen between me and him. Who will be the winner in the end depends on the means used."
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