"The Eighth Prince is dissatisfied with me. After silencing me, he can slander me and pin many crimes on me, each and every one of which is a capital offense." The Duke of Wan is turning black into white.
The Emperor sternly questioned, "Do you have any evidence for what you said later?"
Sheng Zixi only has evidence regarding the appointment by the Ministry of Personnel. Other matters were only just asked about and have not been verified, so where would the evidence come from?
When pressed by the emperor, he could only shake his head with difficulty and say, "No."
This denial made the Duke of Wan cry even more miserably, like a floodgate being opened, and he couldn't stop.
Sheng Jingyu whispered a reminder: "Don't be too greedy. Isn't there solid evidence?"
Sheng Jingyu was aware of the other questions the guard had given him, but he also knew that the evidence had been cleared up and could not be found out at all.
Even if Sheng Zixi were given enough time, it wouldn't make a difference.
The only thing Sheng Zixi could find out was the small matter he had mentioned at the beginning.
He doesn't talk about those with evidence, but insists on focusing on those without. Isn't that just making trouble for himself?
Sheng Zixi shouted angrily, "What about all that before? I have evidence, and I've arrested some people. Do you want them to come and confront you?"
The Duke of Wan had long realized that this matter was not easily fooled, which is why he cried and shouted in various ways, trying to confuse the emperor's judgment.
Seeing that he couldn't fool them and couldn't deny it, he had no choice but to admit it.
The emperor also summoned the other officials involved.
None of them denied it; they were just passing the buck and trying to minimize their own guilt.
The Duke of Wan Guo sincerely admitted his mistake and emphasized how he was forced into this situation. He also said that his intervention had no impact whatsoever.
However, the Ministry of Personnel disagreed, saying that his interference had a significant impact.
This incident happened many years ago, and the officials involved had all been working their way up in the government for many years. They knew how to get away with it, how to plead for leniency, and how to read people's expressions.
All of them were very familiar with this, and it was a matter of who had the most experience.
In addition, the Emperor's anger had been greatly reduced by the Duke of Wan's earlier crying and fussing; otherwise, they would not have been given a chance to argue.
The emperor was very impatient, but that was a good thing, as it affected his thinking and allowed things to end faster.
When they were arguing, Sheng Zixi felt something was wrong.
It was clearly the Duke of Wanguo who was at fault and committed a capital offense, but as the story unfolded, the charges became less and less serious.
It's almost becoming an unintentional act on his part!
Sheng Zixi wanted to chime in, but he was no match for these people.
The final result was that some officials in the Ministry of Personnel were demoted or exiled from the capital to serve as officials in other provinces, and their salaries were also reduced.
The Duke of Wanguo was of poor character and disregarded the law. He was stripped of his title and demoted from a first-class duke to the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, a third-rank official.
He was originally the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, but after the Crown Prince was deposed, he took up the position of Censor of the Censorate. Now he has been demoted.
Sheng Zixi was utterly perplexed; things weren't going quite right.
Before he arrived, he knew that even if the evidence was irrefutable, the Emperor would not let the Duke of Wan die, since he still held a title and at most would be demoted and have his salary reduced.
Anyone else would have certainly died.
Later, the Duke of Wan kept making excuses, and Sheng Zixi felt that it would only be a fine of salary, and there would be nothing else, after all, he almost portrayed himself as a victim.
But in the end, the hereditary titles were gone?
Eh...
Looking at it this way, isn't the Emperor's punishment a bit too harsh?
Could it be that his initial prediction was wrong? Was the crime really that serious?
Sheng Zixi was completely baffled, while the Duke of Wan, after his initial shock, quickly expressed his gratitude and left.
He was guilty to begin with, so he couldn't very well shamelessly beg the emperor for leniency.
After dealing with them, the Emperor also scolded Sheng Zixi for not being able to protect even one witness.
If they can protect him and find out more, can he be punished even more severely?
Sheng Zixi had no way to express her bitterness and could only swallow this injustice.
"Can Jingyu attend the morning court tomorrow?" The Emperor's voice was cold, showing no concern for his health whatsoever.
Sheng Jingyu replied without any emotion, "Yes!"
"That's good. Otherwise, there will always be people concerned about your health. Let them see you when you go to court tomorrow, and they'll be at ease." The Emperor seemed to have a somewhat sarcastic tone.
Even Sheng Zixi could tell.
Sheng Jingyu pretended not to understand and nodded in response.
After the two came out, Sheng Zixi had something she wanted to ask, but she was too embarrassed to ask.
Sheng Jingyu spoke first, asking, "Is there anything you don't understand?"
Since he had already asked, Sheng Zixi didn't hold back and asked in confusion, "Interfering with the appointment of officials, not important officials, just some minor officials, how could they take back hereditary titles?"
Sheng Jingyu pointed to a pavilion in front of them and said, "Let's talk somewhere else."
After the two sat down, Sheng Jingyu didn't hold back his advice: "Nearly a hundred assassins, do you think they were arranged by the Duke of Wan?"
“…Yes.” Sheng Zixi hesitated for only a moment before nodding to confirm the answer.
Then he added, "But there's no evidence. It's not that I don't want to investigate."
He wasn't trying to favor the Duke of Wan; he genuinely couldn't find out.
Sheng Jingyu laughed and said, "Then tell me, why does the Duke of Wanguo keep assassins? Is it just to kill me?"
Sheng Zixi said disdainfully, "Of course not. Although I don't know what conflicts you had later, the reason you started raising assassins was definitely not to kill you."
"Then what else could it be for?" Sheng Jingyu didn't say it explicitly, feeling that he should understand now that she had been given this hint.
Sheng Zixi muttered to herself, "Those people have never shown up, and the Duke of Wanguo hasn't used them either. They must be saving them for an important moment..."
Sheng Yuanhe? Those people are there to help Sheng Yuanhe!
If Sheng Yuanhe is not the crown prince, help him rebel and force the emperor to abdicate; if Sheng Yuanhe is the crown prince, help him assassinate the emperor so that he can ascend the throne sooner.
The emperor ascended the throne late. If it weren't for the late emperor's preference for Sheng Jingyu, he wouldn't have been able to hold onto the position of crown prince during the years the emperor was waiting to ascend the throne.
To prevent any unforeseen complications, if the emperor lives a long life and Sheng Yuanhe remains the crown prince, the purpose of these hundred assassins would be to kill the emperor.
“Father guessed it, he was angry, that’s why he punished him so severely.” Sheng Zixi had figured it out, and turned around angrily: “Then why did you poison the only survivor? Otherwise, wouldn’t I have been able to find out more?”
Sheng Jingyu looked at him as if he were mentally challenged, and retorted, "If we could find out, would it be your turn? He was locked up in the Prince Chen's mansion for half a month. Do you think I just took care of him?"
Sheng Zixi lowered her head weakly, no longer arguing. Her words were harsh, but the reasoning was sound.
"But you can't betray me like that. The person died in my hands." Sheng Zixi's tone was weak.
Sheng Jingyu sighed. In truth, he was better suited to hiding behind others than to standing in front and fighting with them; his methods were inadequate.
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