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The peace of mind he felt at that moment told him that he had chosen the right path.
Princes who broke the law were subject to the same punishment as common people. This, of course, only existed in the books of sages. No matter which dynasty the royal family broke the law, the final decision was basically made by the emperor. Emperors would often grant exemptions or amnesty to the royal family. If there was no exemption or amnesty, it was either because the royal family had committed an unforgivable crime or because the royal family was not favored by the emperor of the current dynasty.
Emperor Xingwu considered himself a wise ruler, but he never thought of severely punishing his eldest daughter and the crown prince according to the law. He would show favor to those founding heroes or newly promoted capable officials. For example, he once gave Yuan Zhaoxiong a chance to reform himself, and he did not kill Fu Daonian who deceived the emperor and collaborated with the enemy.
In such a situation, the Imperial Censor Nie Ao would not petition the emperor to act according to the law, as long as the emperor's final punishment could convince the people.
Fang Ji, a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue, had no previous merits and was not a member of the royal family, so Emperor Xingwu directly ordered the imperial guards to send him to the Dali Temple for a detailed investigation.
Yongkang was greedy and accepted bribes, so Emperor Xingwu ordered her to surrender the 10,000 taels of silver bribe Francis had given her and pay a fine five times that amount, or 50,000 taels. According to the laws of this dynasty, officials who accepted bribes in the least serious cases were dismissed from office, demoted, and fined. More serious cases were punishable by imprisonment, exile, or death.
As a princess, Yongkang had no official rank to be demoted, and her crime was not serious enough to make her a commoner. Therefore, Emperor Xingwu reduced his daughter's annual salary to half of its original amount. It was originally 5,000 taels, but now it is only 2,500 taels. Just looking at Yongkang's angry and unwilling expression, you can tell that Emperor Xingwu's punishment was not light.
In addition, Emperor Xingwu punished Yongkang by making him reflect on his mistakes in seclusion for a year and not allowing him to leave the palace without imperial decree.
Yongkang lowered her head, feeling sad about the 60,000 taels of silver she was about to hand over and the half-lost title and salary, while also hoping that since her father had punished her severely, he would not punish her brother as well.
Emperor Xingwu temporarily ignored the Crown Prince and said to Yang Zhimin, "Zhongwen, Zhongwen, long before I started the rebellion, I treated you as my younger brother. Prince Yong is my biological brother, but he is a rough man who doesn't like to study. I like you more than him. I praise you every day in front of Prince Yong and Deng Chong, and they even want to beat you up..."
Yang Zhimin, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly burst into tears and fell to the ground, choking with sobs, "Your Majesty, this is all my fault. You can punish me however you want. Please take care of yourself and don't be sad because of me, otherwise I will be punished with death!"
All the civil and military officials heard the emperor crying and quickly knelt down to beg him to take care of his health.
Emperor Xingwu turned around, wiped his face with his sleeve, and turned sideways to the crowd, continuing to speak to Yang Zhimin: "How can I not know your ability to select and recommend people? I scold you for being foolish, but I know you are not foolish at all. You are not afraid that the prince will hate you if you don't help him. I know it all. You treat the prince as your own junior, you treat him like a child, and you are afraid of the shame of rejecting him, so you would rather make an exception for him."
"If you're really confused about other things, I won't blame you. Who can guarantee that they won't make mistakes in their entire life? I'm disappointed that you clearly treat the Crown Prince as your junior, and you clearly know that the Crown Prince has embarked on a wrong path, but you still don't pull him back..."
"No, Father, it's all my fault!" Qin Hong couldn't bear it any longer. He raised his head and cried to clarify for Yang Zhimin, "Lord Yang reminded me at the time that you hate corrupt and incompetent officials the most. I was ashamed to admit my mistakes and pretended to be confused. I knew I shouldn't have done it, but I still insisted on my own way and failed to live up to your teachings. Father, Lord Yang was implicated by me. You can punish me if you want!"
If Yang Zhimin was only guilty of his father, Qin Hong's heart was burdened with two equally heavy burdens of guilt, one was guilty of his father, the other was guilty of Yang Zhimin, because Yang Zhimin was a founding hero with a clean reputation, and it was he who relied on his status as the crown prince to throw a bucket of dirty water on Yang Zhimin!
Yang Zhimin said anxiously, "Your Highness, there is no need to say any more. I was wrong for not being able to dissuade you in time, and I am willing to accept the punishment!"
Qin Hong wanted to say something more, but was suppressed by Yongkang and Qin Ren at the same time, one in front and one on the left.
Emperor Xingwu was interrupted by his son once. He was too lazy to say what he was about to say. He said directly: "Considering Yang Zhimin's meritorious service in recommending talents for decades, this time you are only dismissed from your post but retained in office. If you do not make any mistakes within three years, you can be reinstated. If you make another mistake, you can go home and retire."
Yang Zhimin cried and thanked the emperor for his grace.
Only the crown prince remained unpunished. Emperor Xingwu leaned back on the dragon throne with his eyes closed and said wearily, "I have a headache. Left Prime Minister, please tell me how I should punish the crown prince."
Qin Hong was about to resign from the position of crown prince again when Qin Ren, who was always on guard against him, covered his mouth with his hand again.
Yan Xizheng saw this and shouted sternly: "Prince, the emperor is already so angry that he has a headache. Do you want to continue talking nonsense to make the emperor angry?"
Resign, resign, you just know to resign. Resigning at this time is like a child who was beaten by his parents and deliberately said harsh words. Who would dare to take it seriously?
Qin Hong lowered his head after being scolded by him.
Yan Xizheng was no less furious than the emperor. Seeing that the crown prince had calmed down, Yan Xizheng took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and advised, "Your Majesty, the crown prince has always been magnanimous. It is understandable that he could not bear to refuse Princess Yongkang's unreasonable request out of consideration for their brotherly love. However, as the crown prince, he has abused his power for personal gain and perverted the law. Without punishment, it will not be enough to rectify the government. I think the crown prince should be punished by reading a confession in court as a warning."
The imperial edict of repentance was issued by the emperor to the entire nation, letting everyone know their mistakes. The crown prince was only the heir apparent, so simply expressing his position in front of the entire court was sufficient. This punishment was already severe enough for the crown prince. If the crown prince had not been so disappointing and unworthy of further use, and if Yan Xizheng had not seen the emperor's determination to change the crown prince, he would not have proposed this measure.
The voices of discussion among civil and military officials were heard in the hall. Those who spoke up all felt that the punishment was too severe. Those who thought the punishment was good would certainly not be stupid enough to speak out.
Emperor Xingwu pinched his forehead and asked Dai Lun, Nie Ao and Lu Zan what they thought.
Nie Ao was about to speak when he saw Dai Lun looking towards the military officer. He then followed his gaze and looked towards Duke Cheng, Lü Zan, the prince's father-in-law.
Lu Zan was a military general. When he was conquering the world, all the important matters were decided by the emperor, Yang Zhimin and other smart people. At worst, there was his father Lu Guangzu. He was just a follower. He was good at putting in some effort and killing people on the battlefield, but he really couldn't figure out the twists and turns in officialdom.
But the emperor was so angry that he cried because of the crown prince and Yang Zhimin. It was all the crown prince's fault. He would have beaten a son like him. Now he was just punishing the crown prince to write a letter of apology and read it in public. Isn't that right?
That was Yan Xizheng's idea. Yan Xizheng understood the emperor's thoughts best, and the more he was the prince's father-in-law, the more he could not plead for the prince at this critical juncture.
Thinking of this, Lü Zan stepped out and said, "I think it's a good idea."
Dai Lun and Nie Ao also thought it was acceptable.
These important officials all agreed, and the subsequent discussions died down.
Emperor Xingwu stood up and said, "Then let's do as the Left Prime Minister says. I'm tired, and I dismiss the court."
.
Yongkang was directly asked to leave the palace by the imperial guards. Qin Hong certainly didn't look like he had the energy to work in the Secretariat, so Qin Ren personally helped his elder brother walk to the East Palace.
Qin Hong's tears were almost flowing out in the hall. Seeing his distraught appearance, Qin Ren felt distressed and uncomfortable. He walked and cried: "Big sister accepted bribes, and I really shouldn't have helped you. But doesn't the emperor know what kind of person you are? He would have scolded you at most. Why did you say that to the Crown Prince? Aren't you deliberately trying to frighten me? I don't care what you think, anyway, I have never had such thoughts..."
Qin Hong looked at his third brother, whose eyes were red from crying, and his nose was almost running. He smiled bitterly and said, "Don't think too much, third brother. I don't mean to doubt you. It's just that you have seen that I am really not a good prince..."
"No, I won't let you say that, big brother!"
Qin Ren went straight to his elder brother and knelt down, holding Qin Hong's legs tightly and refusing to let go: "In my heart, elder brother is the best prince, and the only prince. If elder brother says something like that again, I will never step out of the palace again. Whoever wants to be the prince can be the prince. I don't want to interfere at all, and I don't want to worry about it!"
The palace was filled with guards and palace maids. Qin Hong hurriedly pulled his third brother up and said with a headache, "Alright, go do your thing. I'll go back by myself."
After driving away his third brother who only caused him trouble, Qin Hong returned to Chongyuan Palace by himself.
He came back with a lot of worries: his elder sister being punished, Yang Zhimin being dismissed but still in office, his father's sad tears, and his resignation being unsuccessful.
These could no longer be concealed, so Qin Hong told the Crown Princess Lu Wenrong the truth.
Lu Wenrong sat down on the chair weakly.
The prince had never mentioned to her that the eldest princess helped to connect with officials. Lu Wenrong only knew that in the first few years after she got married, the eldest princess often came to the palace to talk to the prince alone. Every time the eldest princess left, the prince would be worried for a while. It was not until the prince had a headache that the eldest princess stopped insisting on going to the study with the prince alone.
But it’s not important to dwell on the past. What’s important is…
"Your Highness, are you really going to resign?" Lü Wenrong asked, her heart in turmoil. She wasn't greedy for the dignity of the Crown Princess, but after the Crown Prince was deposed, what would life be like? Could Zheng Ge'er bear it?
Qin Hong looked at his wife and actually smiled. "To be honest, I've had this thought for a long time. I didn't dare to say it before, but today I finally said it, and I feel a sense of relief. If I were to continue being the crown prince, just thinking about it would be like two more mountains weighing down my shoulders, and my heart would continue to be anxious and uneasy..."
"Then let's not do it!" Lv Wenrong cried and threw herself into her husband's arms. She hugged his body, which had gone from strong to extremely thin, and hugged him tightly. "Then let's not do it. I like you. If you become the crown prince, I will be your crown princess. If you become an ordinary person, I will be your ordinary wife. I don't ask for wealth and honor, I just ask that you be well and stay with me until we grow old."
The prince she liked was the one whose smile was as gentle as jade when he was young, and the one who would chat with her about family matters.
But over the years, she watched helplessly as the prince became more and more haggard day by day, as the smile on his face became less and less, as she watched him suffer pain when he had a headache. Lu Wenrong became haggard, worried, and tormented along with him. She no longer wanted such a life.
Qin Hong lowered his head and buried his face in his wife's thick hair.
The peace in his heart at this moment told him that he had chosen the right path.
Since he has made the right choice, he should stick to it, not only for his own liberation, but also to be responsible to his father and Da Qi.
【Author’s words】
Here they come, 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow!
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