Chapter 211 Overturning the Case
"The morning court begins. All ministers are here to see the emperor——!"
The new chief eunuch stood in front of the throne room, holding a whip several meters long in his hand. He swung it three times in mid-air, and the sound was like thunder, which could be heard from several miles away.
The ministers, who were originally a little sleepy, couldn't help but perk up when they heard the noise, and hurriedly walked into the hall, fearing that they would fall behind others and become the first to stand out today. Only Grand Tutor Yan Liu, holding a thin and unknown object in his arms, slowly fell to the back of the crowd, with a solemn expression on his old face.
The Yan family has been noble for generations, and have always been accompanied by poetry and books. Yan Liu is an erudite scholar, and is well-known among students all over the world. Since the death of the previous emperor, he has held a nominal position in the court. He usually stays in his hometown in Huzhou, studying poetry and books, and never goes out. It is not surprising that he went to court today.
Huo Lang was now in power, so he had to give Yan Liu some face and bowed to him: "Master Yan, what a coincidence."
Huo Lang's reputation among the scholars was already notorious. Yan Liu was upright and honest, so he naturally disliked his power overshadowing his master. The coldness in his tone was obvious: "I am not worthy of being the regent king."
It's just a cold eye, it doesn't matter.
Huo Lang's expression remained unchanged, and he made a gesture of invitation: "Master Yan is the Purple Gold Beam of our dynasty. Today, all the ministers have a backbone. I just don't know if this Golden Whip can really fall on the emperor."
Yan Liu heard Huo Lang's hidden meaning, paused, and sneered: "This Golden Whip can hit the tyrant emperor and the treacherous ministers. I don't know if it can land on your Majesty, but the Regent Prince should be careful."
Yu Qi ignored Huo Lang and walked into the hall coldly.
The sun was rising, and the eaves of the Golden Throne Hall were rising. The five ridges and six beasts standing on it looked more majestic. On ordinary days, there were at most a hundred people in the morning court. Today, all the officials from various departments were present, and the number of people had increased several times. The huge hall was inevitably crowded and noisy. Huo Lang stood at the head of the military officials, and Yan Liu stood at the head of the civil officials. Only these two stood still.
With a shout of "yes", His Majesty, who was rumored to be under house arrest by the Regent, finally came out to accept the kneeling worship of the crowd. The tassels of his crown swayed in front of his eyes, shining brightly, making it difficult to see his expression, but he did not seem to have any signs of suffering.
All the ministers kowtowed and knelt, shouting "Long live the emperor" three times, and then they stood up. Even Huo Lang, who was always a troublemaker, performed the full ceremony.
Lu Yan sat at the top and asked about last year's harvest and disasters in various places as if nothing had happened. It was very much like the annual summary report of later generations. The ministers being questioned did not want to cause trouble, so they closed their eyes and boasted nonsense, saying that the sea was peaceful and the rivers were prosperous, the monarch was virtuous and the ministers were wise, and that it was all thanks to Your Majesty's wisdom and bravery that Beishu could have its current prosperity.
Before he could finish his words, Grand Tutor Yan suddenly turned around and spat on the man's face, pointing at his nose and angrily scolding him, "Peace and tranquility? A wise ruler and wise ministers?! Last year, the snowstorm froze the ground five feet deep, and dozens of counties within the Great Wall suffered. The people were starving and cold, and some people even resorted to cannibalism. Later, Xiling invaded the border, and the grain and grass were delayed. Two out of three male members of the Wei family died, and tens of thousands of soldiers died outside Yanguan. The nobles and powerful families in the capital took human lives lightly, kept concubines privately, and had their servants torture and kill them. This is against the will of heaven and human ethics, and you are here to flatter them, and with a few words, you falsely cover up the faults of the world. You are truly a treacherous minister who has misled the country. Why do you still live in this world?!"
No one would have thought that the first person to raise an attack in the court today was not the Regent Prince Huo Lang, but the Grand Tutor Yan Liu. He had worked hard and made great contributions, and had a respected status. Even when the previous emperor was in power, he had to follow the etiquette of a disciple. He had been away from the capital and stayed in his hometown in Huzhou all these years. Except for occasionally visiting a few friends in poetry and literature, he never asked about the affairs of the court. Unexpectedly, he knew everything that had happened recently.
The minister dared not utter a word even after he was spat on. He just accepted the scolding obediently and retreated with his face covered.
"Master Yan, please calm down. This is my fault."
Lu Yan, who was sitting at the top, finally spoke to ease the situation. His voice was calm, as if he had not heard the blame behind Yan Liu's words. He leaned forward slightly, and the pearl curtain in front of him swayed slightly: "However, since Master Yan mentioned the incident of the Lin'an County Prince instructing his servants to torture and kill his concubine, I remembered a young hero. He was not afraid of rumors and carried the female corpse all the way to the capital to file a complaint. He is really upright. I intend to give him an official position. What do you think, Master Yan?"
Yan Liu looked terrified and uncertain: "Who is this young man?"
Lu Yan: "Gongsun Mo."
Gongsun Mo, who was standing next to the Panlong Pillar, stepped out and said, "I'm here!"
Only then did everyone realize that there was a young man in plain clothes standing in the hall. Yan Liu looked Gongsun Mo up and down, his eyes fell on the fan he was holding, with a bit of venomousness that had experienced the ups and downs of life: "Could it be that you are a descendant of the Gongsun family of Luzhou?"
Gongsun Mo smiled and said, "You have good eyesight, old man. My father and you are old friends. Before he died, he specifically told me that if I ever visit the capital, I must come and visit you."
Yan Liu's expression eased a little: "So you are the son of Lord Mao. Young people are formidable. You are extremely smart and have solved strange cases. You are quite like your father. Such talents should not be missed. It is only natural that Your Majesty should give you an official position."
The next sentence was addressed to Lu Yan.
Lu Yan smiled faintly: "I intend to give him an official position, but Gongsun Mo has only solved one case, which may not be enough to convince the public. It is better to let him stay in Shenjing for a few more days, and wait for him to make more contributions, and then reward him."
Gongsun Mo suddenly interrupted and said, "Your Majesty, since I have little merit and virtue and am not worthy of the people, I still have two unjust cases to redress, involving royal relatives and officials. I wonder if Your Majesty is interested in listening to them?"
Once these words were spoken, it was like throwing a stone into the water, causing countless ripples. All the civil and military officials were more or less panicked. The Gongsun family was famous for their ruthlessness in committing crimes. His ancestors had even brought down several princes in the early years. Now they kept saying that there were two more unjust cases. Who knew if they would be implicated in them?
"It involves the emperor's relatives and officials, I'm afraid this matter is serious!"
"This boy is stirring up trouble, he must not be allowed to stay!"
"My life is over!"
Lu Yan waved his sleeves and ordered all officials to be quiet: "Gong Sun Mo, if there is any injustice, please tell me. Master Yan is here today, and I will definitely not bend the law for personal gain."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Gongsun Mo thanked him with a smile, and then opened the folding fan in his hand with a bang. Today was the day when his Gongsun family would become famous again:
"The first case of injustice I want to talk about is called 'Stealing the Sky and Substituting the Day'. It is still kept in the high pavilion of my grandson's family. It is classified as confidential. The children of the family are too idle to read it. I am not talented enough to take a quick look at it. I will tell you the story now."
"It is said that there is a wealthy family in the north, with great wealth and illustriousness for generations. The head of the family is surnamed Huang, who is very old and has only one daughter, which makes his brothers covet the family business."
"Mr. Huang was worried day and night. He finally had a baby boy when he was old, but he was weak and sickly. He went to look for famous doctors everywhere and finally found a miracle doctor in Ruzhou."
At this point in the story, some people had already noticed that something was wrong, but they could only force themselves to hold back and continue listening.
"This miracle doctor's surname is Lu. He has superb medical skills and has saved countless lives. When he saw that Mr. Huang's youngest son was seriously ill, he used all his life's knowledge to extend the child's life by ten years. Do you think he is a miracle?"
The officials who didn't understand what was going on nodded one after another: "You are worthy of the name of a miracle doctor for extending the years with the power of a mortal."
Gongsun Mo suddenly closed his fan, making a crisp sound, and said with great emotion: "There is another thing that is even more coincidental. This Divine Doctor Lu has a young son who is only a few years older than Mr. Huang's son, but they look exactly like him. They are really cut from the same mold."
"Mr. Huang felt that they were destined to be together, so he stayed at the Lu family for a long time, until he had to leave due to family affairs. Before leaving, he saw that the miracle doctor Lu had good skills, so he offered a large sum of money to recruit him. However, he did not expect that the other party was indifferent to fame and fortune, so he politely declined the offer, and he had to leave in disappointment."
"Although the genius doctor Lu has extended the life of the young master of the Huang family for ten years, he is only in his twenties and will die. On his way home, Mr. Huang felt disheartened. Was he going to give away his huge family business? At this moment, he suddenly remembered the young man of the Lu family who looked exactly like his son, and came up with a vicious plan!"
Gongsun Moyu stopped and clapped his folding fan, making a loud bang that startled everyone who had been listening intently. Yan Liu was dissatisfied with his playing tricks, and frowned and asked, "What is this evil plan?"
Gongsun Mo looked around, taking in everyone's gaze, and then said, "That old man Huang actually ordered his servants to kill all the members of the Lu family, stole the young master of the Lu family, and slaughtered all the people in the county by the way, and burned them all to ashes! One thousand three hundred and sixty-two lives were innocently lost to Yanluo Palace!"
"Later, Master Huang took Young Master Lu home and taught him poetry and literature. He then announced to the public that his son had recovered from his illness. No one in the Manchu clan noticed this."
Everyone was horrified when they heard this. All those who could hold the office in the court were shrewd people without exception. They could not guess that Mr. Huang had stolen the young master in order to change his fate and protect his own family business, but killing more than a thousand people in one breath was a murder case that was shocking enough to shock the world no matter where it happened.
"Ridiculous!"
Master Yan was so angry that his beard fluttered without a breeze. He waved his sleeves and angrily shouted, "You ignorant boy, you are talking nonsense. The reputation of the Gongsun family has been ruined because of you! Even if there is a death row prisoner in each county, it must be reported to the higher authorities for your majesty to judge. In the past, the Princess of Anyang whipped a horse slave to death and caused a commotion in the court, let alone a total of 1,362 lives!"
"I want to ask which noble family in the north has such ability to massacre all the people in a county overnight without causing any alarm to the government? Which noble family has such means to recruit so many experts? If you don't tell me the reason today, I will definitely not let you off!"
The officials were whispering to each other, secretly guessing the origins of the Huang family:
"The noble families in the north are only the Chen, Wang, Xie, and Jun families. When did the Huang family come? Is this a fabrication?"
"Sir Huang, I heard that you are from the north. Could it be that..."
The adult who was named stepped back in shock: "I'm not! Stop talking nonsense!"
"Maybe this Gongsun kid is just talking nonsense. Don't trust him."
Master Yan ignored the discussions around him and stared at Gongsun Mo with his old eyes: "What? Are you going to tell me or not?!"
Gongsun Mo closed his eyes and gently waved his folding fan:
"In Qingfeng County in Ruzhou City, a single peach tree blooms alone.
"I was originally a hand in the apricot forest, why did I save the wolf from Zhongshan?"
When he finished speaking, he suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes sparkled, he put away his folding fan, and pointed at the emperor on the high throne:
"The north is different; the yellow is the emperor!"
"The mastermind behind this unjust case is the late Emperor Beishu!"
With a loud bang, everyone's heart was filled with shock. The loud words echoed above the Golden Throne Hall, as if they had reached outside the vermilion palace walls. Even the towering imperial city could not suppress the many wronged souls of that year.
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