Chapter 72 The Difficulty of the Shu Road (Part 6) "Shi Xi is dead, and the Crown Prince has a mouth..."
Before the Crown Prince could interrogate Shen Wei, another incident occurred in the court. Deng Xun, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, submitted a memorial impeaching the Shuntian Prefecture for dereliction of duty, and at the same time impeaching the Eastern Depot for its rampant lawlessness and obstruction of official business.
The incident stemmed from the Suiyun Tower case that had occurred in the capital some time ago. Two lives were lost overnight, and the Shuntian Prefecture, which was in charge of criminal cases in the capital region, investigated the case in just three days, concluding that the deaths were accidental. Later, when the Dali Temple reviewed the case, it found that the entire case record was extremely simple and hasty, and upon closer inspection, it was full of suspicious points.
Therefore, the Court of Judicial Review issued a document to the Shuntian Prefecture requesting a retrial, noting the suspicious points. Unexpectedly, the Shuntian Prefect not only failed to begin the retrial but also privately met with Gao Mo, the Minister of Judicial Review, and revealed his unspeakable secret: the deceased, Ma Chu, was a palace eunuch, and the Eastern Depot had already taken over the case, only informing the Shuntian Prefecture of the final outcome. The Shuntian Prefecture had no choice but to close the case.
Gao Mo was furious and berated the Shuntian Prefecture, but he knew he was powerless to do anything about it. However, when he returned to discuss the matter with the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Gao Mo hesitated. The Eastern Depot had interfered in the affairs of the previous dynasty before, and this time their reason was barely acceptable.
Deng Xunyi was not one to swallow his anger. He immediately submitted a memorial without changing his expression, directly impeaching the Eastern Depot. Fearing that the Imperial Archives or other departments might suppress the matter out of fear of the Eastern Depot, he also submitted a memorial to the Crown Prince at the same time.
The Crown Prince naturally needed to make a statement, and ordered the Shuntian Prefecture to retry the case, with the Dali Temple supervising the investigation.
As for the Eastern Depot, Lan Huaien calmly admitted his mistake in front of the Crown Prince and Deng Xunyi, and stated that he would no longer obstruct the government's investigation. However, regarding Ma Chu's death, he still insisted that the Eastern Depot had indeed done its best in its investigation.
Deng Xunyi found his words very strange and feared that he would turn his back on him once he left the Eastern Palace, so he simply took advantage of the Crown Prince's presence and said directly: "Your Highness, this case has been delayed until now because of the Eastern Depot's involvement, and Ma Chu is a person of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs. The Director of the Eastern Depot is inevitably suspected of protecting him. Now that the case is to be retried, I believe that the Director has an obligation to cooperate with the investigation."
Lan Huaien narrowed his eyes and questioned, "Minister Deng, you want to investigate the Eastern Depot without any evidence?"
"Alright," Yan Chao finally interrupted, looking at the two men who were on the verge of conflict, and said solemnly, "This case will be reopened, and the Eastern Depot must not interfere again. Minister Deng, if it is found that the Eastern Depot has indeed committed any illegal acts, I will certainly report to His Majesty and punish them severely. What do you say?"
Deng Xunyi agreed.
Lan Huaien replied, "Your Highness is wise."
Deng Xun suppressed his grievances, knowing that this was the only way for the time being. He finally took his leave in a huff. As he walked out of the study and onto the corridor, he suddenly remembered Lan Huaien's despicable face, stopped in his tracks, flicked his sleeve, gave a light snort, and strode away.
Yan Chao found him annoying and said, "Shut up."
Lan Huaien pouted, turned around sheepishly, and obediently lowered his head. After a while, when he didn't hear Yan Chao ask anything, he took it upon himself to speak: "This time, I messed things up and failed Your Highness's trust. Please punish me, Your Highness."
Yan Chao neatly arranged the official documents on the table before slowly glancing at him and clicking her tongue lightly: "What did I entrust to you? Punishment? Aren't you good at bullying others? How dare I punish you?"
"I don't like hearing that. Put away that fawning attitude in front of me." Yan Chao lifted her eyelids, and seeing that he immediately became obedient, she tapped her hand on the table and said in a low voice, "The Court of Judicial Review is investigating a case. You are not allowed to obstruct it or make things difficult for the officials. After all, you are in the wrong in this matter. If you really can't explain yourself later, I can't protect you if I accuse you of harboring a criminal or something else, which will disgrace His Majesty's reputation."
"Yes, Your Highness understands." Lan Huaien became serious. His sense of smell was very keen. He tentatively asked, "Does Your Highness already have a plan in mind?"
"The matter of Suiyun Tower will be exposed sooner or later." Yan Chao gestured to the chair next to him to sit down, took a sip of tea, and then said softly, "It has been found out in Yazhou that the Mengding Ganlu was secretly manipulated by the Cheng family, and there is ample evidence and witnesses. Moreover, the Cheng family was also involved in the case of the missing tribute from the barbarian tribes, and they cannot escape heavy responsibility. With these things connected, the Li family cannot escape involvement."
Yan Chao's gaze immediately sharpened like a sword.
Lan Huaien waved his hands repeatedly: "Of course, without your orders, I would not dare to act rashly."
The next day, Deng Xunyi requested an audience with the Crown Prince again. This time, his feelings were more complicated. When he explained the situation and said he wanted to take away one of the Crown Prince's eunuchs, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.
The crown prince looked extremely shocked, but quickly calmed down and sent someone to bring Shi Xi to the front hall.
Young and naturally boastful, Xiao Jiu angrily kicked Shi Xi and cursed, "You ungrateful wretch! His Highness values you so much, and not long ago he even promoted you to a position in the Imperial Kitchen, yet you betray your own side and collude with people outside the palace, bringing shame to the Eastern Palace!"
Shi Xi had assumed that his promotion to Director of the Imperial Kitchen and the recent peaceful events meant the matter was over, but this sudden and unexpected blow caught him completely off guard. He could only tremble and kowtow, crying out his innocence: "Your Highness, please understand! I'm innocent! Outside the palace, I was merely indulging in wine and women; I didn't conspire with anyone..."
Yan Chao frowned and told Xiao Jiu to gag him. He turned to Deng Xun and said, "The Crown Prince's control over the palace servants is inadequate, I apologize for that, Vice Minister Deng. Since you are related to this case, you need not hold back, just handle official business as it is."
Deng Xunyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and bowed, replying, "Yes."
.
News of the Crown Prince's involvement in the Suiyun Tower case spread like wildfire. The court officials watched in secret, some believing that the Crown Prince was harboring corruption, others seeing it as a power struggle between the two palaces, but they only dared to discuss it privately, fearing that they might be implicated.
Little did they know that Prince Xin's side was not as scheming or plotting as they had imagined. Prince Xin had been depressed and grieving over his mother's serious illness these days, and had left the matter of dealing with the Crown Prince to his uncle Li family and his subordinates. Now that Shi Xi had reappeared, he was in a state of utter confusion.
His personal attendant, Jin Qiu, comforted him, saying, "Your Highness, do not worry. The fact that Shi Xi has been taken to the yamen for questioning at least shows that he has not yet surrendered to the Crown Prince. Moreover, he has only been taken in for questioning; there is no evidence to convict him!"
Prince Xin felt overwhelmed with a thousand worries, and shook his head, saying, "We still don't know what exactly happened that night, and now the Eastern Depot has infiltrated our ranks. The news has already spread, making it even more difficult to eliminate Shi Xi. The situation is so unclear; it's truly worrying..."
Jin Qiu said, "In my opinion, now is the perfect time to get rid of Shi Xi. Your Highness, think about it. Most people suspect that the Crown Prince is to blame. If Shi Xi dies at this critical juncture, the Crown Prince will be unable to explain himself, and you will have one less worry."
Prince Xin was filled with anxiety and couldn't make up his mind. On the one hand, he wasn't confident that he could kill Shi Xi without leaving a trace and then frame the Crown Prince without anyone noticing. He was even worried that the Crown Prince might have already set a trap for him. On the other hand, he was afraid that Shi Xi might actually confess something.
"Uncle must already know, why don't we invite him over to discuss this?" he muttered to himself. Jin Qiu responded and was about to go and invite him when Prince Xin stopped him.
Prince Xin frowned: "What's the difference between my uncle and me? Am I really going to break ties with the Li family for a lowly slave?"
"Your Highness, why not sever his connection to us?"
Prince Xin was already extremely agitated, and upon hearing Jin Qiu's terrible idea, he flew into a rage, smacked him on the head, and cursed, "You brainless idiot! Hu Zuoming is a man of the Emperor's court, who will go and execute him? You will!"
.
A light rain fell overnight, and the branches were fresh with dew at dawn. A rare cool day arrived; a gentle breeze rustled through the leaves, silently dissipating into the red walls and green tiles of the palace. The cicadas' chirping grew louder and clearer. The palace, as always, was solemn and somber, unlike the West Garden, with its flowers, birds, ponds, and terraces, where leisure and elegance reigned.
The emperor was in a good mood today, and ordered a simple fishing platform to be built by Taiye Pond, where he leisurely began fishing. Perhaps finding it boring, he then summoned the crown prince and Prince Xin to accompany him.
After fishing for half an hour, the emperor finally emerged victorious, catching more than a dozen fish, mostly carp, all of considerable size. The crown prince and Prince Xin couldn't help but offer their heartfelt praise, and the assembled attendants nearby were also full of exclamations of amazement.
The emperor was overjoyed and with a wave of his hand, everyone present was rewarded. He then instructed Lan Huaien, "Send the largest one to Zhaoyang Palace and give it to Prince Chang Le. Fei'er loves to eat fish the most."
Before he could finish speaking, Yan Chao bowed deeply and loudly expressed his gratitude: "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for the reward on behalf of Lady Xu!"
Her voice came out of nowhere, and her tone was urgent. The emperor paused for a moment, then burst into laughter: "You're even more anxious than I am!"
Prince Xin laughed, "Sixth Brother is just shy. If you're going to be anxious, you'd better be anxious in the right place!"
Yan Chao felt a dense, itchy sensation all over his body. He chuckled a few times and kept bowing his head, repeatedly apologizing.
He caught his tongue, unable to finish his sentence. He'd received a sharp glare from Yan Chao. But even without finishing, everyone knew what was coming next; the abrupt stop only made it seem more comical. The crowd roared with laughter, while Lan Huai'en suppressed a laugh and subtly shrugged at Yan Chao.
After a while, the emperor ordered Lan Huaien to deliver fish.
Lan Huaien smiled broadly and respectfully replied, "Yes."
The emperor ordered his men to put away the fishing gear and then went to rest in a nearby pavilion. Yan Chao and Prince Xin followed him and took their seats.
The emperor gazed at Qionghua Island in the middle of the lake, sighed, and first asked Prince Xin, "How is your mother doing lately?"
The emperor looked lost in thought and remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Take good care of her. Tell her that I have restored her to her former rank and that she should focus on recovering. I will visit her when she is feeling better."
"yes."
The emperor remained silent, reaching out to pick a few grapes and eat them. A few bird calls drifted from the lake in the distance, their cries like the hooting of owls. The emperor looked in the direction of the sound, but saw nothing. He turned his head and met Yan Chao's gaze, who also seemed to be looking out. He asked, "Is the Crown Prince still busy with matters in southern Sichuan?"
Yan Chao answered yes.
The emperor casually asked, "I remember I asked you to interrogate that Shen Wei, how did it go?"
Yan Chao rose and apologized: "Father, please forgive me. I have already ordered an investigation, but due to other urgent matters in court these past two days, there has been some delay, so I have not yet personally conducted the trial..."
The emperor did not utter a word of reproach, his expression remaining calm as he softly asked, "Is it the murder case in the capital? I heard from Lan Huai'en that it involves an eunuch from the Eastern Palace?"
Yan Chao said yes, then lowered his head and added, "I really didn't know anything about this matter. I just sent the eunuch to the yamen to await trial. Who would have thought that the Dali Temple would report this morning that he had committed suicide out of fear of punishment?"
The emperor raised an eyebrow: "In that case, what does the crown prince say?"
Yan Chao glanced at Prince Xin seemingly casually, and said respectfully, "The results have not yet been determined, so I dare not say more. However, it seems that the Court of Judicial Review has made a mistake; the eunuch is being held in the Ministry of Justice."
Suddenly, there was a crisp "crack" sound.
The Emperor was startled and frowned. Both men looked at Prince Xin, who was awkwardly covering his mouth, his voice trembling slightly: "Father, the imperial kitchen was lazy; this watermelon seed was solid, as hard as a rock..."
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