Chapter 838 The Truth - Rehabilitation
Yun Yichen did not fly into a rage as before because he was being stared at by everyone. He just stood there quietly, without saying a word or showing any expression.
"It seems my ministers have all figured it out. That's right, as you can see, Lord Yun is the son of the former Crown Prince Bai Xu of Wei and the Eldest Princess. Back then, in order to gain the support of Wei, my father married Princess Bai Yun of Wei, who is also my mother. Later, in order to control Crown Prince Bai Xu and make him assist him, he forcibly separated the Eldest Princess and Crown Prince Bai Xu, and had his follower marry the Eldest Princess and bring her back to the palace."
"On the surface, the eldest princess is the wife of the Duke of Anguo's mansion, but in reality, because the eldest princess and the Duke of Anguo have no marital relationship, after the eldest princess gave birth to her only son, the emperor even named this child as the heir apparent."
"It is said that the best way to kill someone is not to do it yourself, but to use someone else to do it. In order to make the Duke of Anguo’s mansion deal with the young prince, Father Emperor, under the guise of being the young prince’s uncle, gave him more care than his own son. In the end, Lord Yun, as the young prince, became the target of everyone’s hatred. Not only that, Father Emperor also killed Crown Prince Bai Xu with his own hands, indirectly causing the death of Aunt Princess."
At this point, Gu Renjie paused, his face full of guilt.
"As children, we should not speak ill of our parents, but what Father Emperor did back then was truly outrageous. If we, as children, cannot point out our parents' mistakes and correct them, how can we face the departed souls?"
Gu Renjie was very familiar with the formalities and style of the Senate. He knew very well what the Senate would say and how they would criticize him for his words.
So he first admitted his mistake, and then, in another way, tightly sealed their mouths shut.
After hearing Gu Renjie's accusations against the late emperor, some people were eager to try their luck, but now everyone could only stand below and pretend to be weak.
After Gu Renjie finished speaking, he paused for a moment before turning to look at Xu Yunzhi. "Most of you here are probably familiar with him!"
"That's right, he is the former crown prince of Jin who came to pay homage before, and he is also the new emperor of Jin. Aren't you all curious about what I've been doing all this time? Now I'll tell you what I've been doing these days."
As Gu Renjie spoke, he beckoned to the eunuch waiting in the outer room, who immediately came forward carrying several items.
"Open everything up!"
As soon as Gu Renjie finished speaking, a scroll was displayed before the assembled ministers.
Some of the people in the painting are people I know, and some I don't, but comparatively speaking, there are more people I know.
Who is this?
A younger official asked the question, and another official standing next to him looked at him and his face instantly showed surprise.
After the crowd below began to murmur amongst themselves, Gu Renjie spoke up: "Some of you ministers may not recognize the people in the painting, but the Grand Secretaries should know very well. Back then, during the struggle for the throne among the nine princes, I surely don't need to tell you who the strongest contender for the throne was, do I?"
Upon hearing Gu Renjie's words, the elders immediately sensed something was amiss.
Gu Renjie had also served in the cabinet for a period of time, and because of his diligence and eagerness to learn, all the senior ministers liked him very much. Because of this, they understood Gu Renjie's personality and way of speaking.
"Your Majesty, let's not bring up those old, trivial matters from decades ago!"
One of the senior officials tried to stop him, but once Gu Renjie made a decision, it was not something they could stop with a few words.
"I know what you gentlemen are worried about, but some things, even after more than twenty years, cannot change the fact."
Gu Renjie looked at everyone as he spoke, “The person in this painting, as you all think, is none other than His Highness the Seventh Prince from back then. And the one standing in front of you, the Emperor of Jin, whom you see as a Jin citizen, is none other than the son of my Seventh Prince of the Great Zhou, and my brother.”
"What? The Emperor of Jin is the Seventh Prince's son?"
The news came as a shock, leaving everyone stunned and speechless.
What is all this nonsense? The State of Jin just recently started a war, but now they're telling them that the emperor of Jin is a member of their Great Zhou.
At Gu Renjie's prompting, Xu Yunzhi slowly turned around and faced the court officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty without the slightest fear.
"To be honest, I haven't known about this matter for very long. When I first heard about it, my first reaction was disbelief, but faced with the evidence, I had no choice but to evade it."
As he spoke, Xu Yunzhi picked up a piece of cloth from the eunuch's tray. "This is the cloth that the guard used when he took me away. It has the Seventh Prince's name engraved on it."
After passing the cloth around for everyone to see, Xu Yunzhi picked up a jade pendant and said, “This is the jade pendant that my grandfather gave to my father to prove his identity. All of my grandfather’s sons have one. If you don’t believe me, you can call the Prince Xian here and see if he has one just like it.”
As Xu Yunzhi was about to hand over the jade pendant, he heard a questioning voice from the crowd, "Even if these things belong to the Seventh Prince, who can be sure that you are the Seventh Prince's orphan?"
Yes, these things alone cannot prove his identity. The most important point is, if he is the orphan of the seventh prince, why did he become the crown prince of Jin?
There were too many inconsistencies in all of this, and the ministers looked at Xu Yunzhi with suspicion.
Fortunately, they had expected this outcome. Gu Renjie glanced at the whispering crowd and raised his hand to pat them on the shoulder.
Suddenly, a eunuch slowly pushed a person with mobility issues into the outer room. After recognizing the man in the wheelchair, the voices gradually subsided.
"I know that you all have doubts, so I have brought the personal guard who was with my seventh uncle back then, so that he can tell you personally whether the King of Jin in front of you is a descendant of the royal family of my Great Zhou."
As Gu Renjie spoke, he gestured to Uncle Rong to invite him to join him. Uncle Rong looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar people in front of him and suddenly began to shed tears.
Twenty years, twenty years have passed. He stood in this place once again, but his master was no longer there.
"Back then, my master was imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison by the new emperor. The new emperor tried every means to make my master bring out the things left behind by the late emperor. My master refused, so he was whipped and tortured by the new emperor every day."
"Later, I gathered all the guards in the manor and secretly bribed the guards in the imperial prison to rescue my master. But by then, my master was already dying. In order to protect the young master, my master told me about his wife's identity and address, and..."
Uncle Rong's voice began to choke as he spoke, but when he looked up again, he had calmed down a bit. "I swear on my master's name, the man in front of me is indeed my master's son."
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