Chapter 332 How to Treat You
Emperor Chengde got up at three quarters past three in the morning, and the palace maids came in one after another and helped him dress and wash.
"Your Majesty." Hu Qian waited for him to finish dressing before he bowed and said, "Lord Cui came in the middle of the night and has been kneeling at the door until now."
Emperor Chengde glanced at Hu Qian and asked, "What's the matter?"
Hu Qian had already found out what happened from Cui Ye, so when Emperor Chengde asked, he simply told him the story.
The chopsticks that Emperor Chengde had just raised suddenly fell onto the table with a "bang".
"He actually let someone take advantage of such a loophole. Is this how he manages the Ministry of Justice?"
Hu Qian lowered his head and thought to himself, I am just a eunuch, I cannot answer your question.
However, it would be wrong for him to remain silent when the emperor was angry.
So Hu Qian asked, "Your Majesty, would you like to invite Lord Cui in?"
"Tell him to kneel outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony." Emperor Chengde said angrily.
"As you wish." Hu Qian did not plead for Cui Ye and went out.
The emperor looked at the table full of breakfast and suddenly lost his appetite.
Cui Ye's legs were numb from kneeling outside. When he saw Hu Qian coming out, he asked hurriedly, "Eunuch Hu, did the emperor summon me?"
Hu Qian reached out his hand and helped Cui Ye up first, then said with an embarrassed look, "Sir Cui, the emperor was furious when he heard about this, and he asked you to kneel outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony."
Cui Ye's face turned slightly pale.
Let him kneel down, he can accept it.
But kneeling in the Hall of Supreme Harmony...
The court session is about to begin, so won't he be a spectacle for all the civil and military officials to watch?
After all, he is the Minister of Justice. Doesn't he have any face?
Especially when his mortal enemy saw him kneeling outside the palace, he could laugh for the rest of his life.
Cui Ye was extremely resistant in his heart, but he did not have the courage to disobey the emperor's order, so under Hu Qian's sympathetic gaze, he held on to the wall and staggered towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Before the hour of Chen, officials began to enter the palace one after another and stood at the gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
When they saw Cui Ye kneeling at the door, everyone was shocked. Those who were more informed quickly understood why Cui Ye was kneeling there, while those who were less informed asked their colleagues, and after hearing what they heard, they looked at Cui Ye in even greater shock.
In just this one morning, Cui Ye became more famous than in the previous decades combined.
But he doesn't want to be in the spotlight like this!
Cui Ye's face turned pale, then red, and he felt uneasy. The emperor didn't care about his face, which made him feel uneasy.
When Liu Xiang passed by Cui Ye, he gave him a reassuring look.
Of the six ministries, five are in the hands of him and the Second Prince. This is the bargaining chip for the Second Prince to sit on the throne of the Crown Prince. Prime Minister Liu will not allow any mistake.
At the hour of Chen, whip sounds were heard, and officials stood in several rows and then walked into the Hall of Supreme Harmony one by one.
Emperor Chengde sat on the high dragon throne with a grim expression on his face.
Hu Qian swung his whisk and said loudly, "My fellow ministers, I have something to report."
All the officials standing before His Highness looked at each other, and for the first time ever no one stood up.
Are you kidding? Such a big thing happened in the Ministry of Justice and Lord Cui is still kneeling outside the door. The Emperor has made it clear that he will deal with this matter in the morning court. Anyone who dares to bring up other things at this time might become cannon fodder.
Anyway, the weather has been good recently, and there have been no major disasters or other urgent reports of crisis to the people. They have plenty of time to wait for the emperor to deal with Lord Cui before reporting their own affairs.
The hall was so quiet that only the sound of shallow breathing could be heard.
Emperor Chengde raised his eyelids lazily and summoned Cui Ye into the palace.
Cui Ye's face wrinkled into a bitter gourd. He walked into the hall and knelt down to pay his respects: "Your humble servant pays respect to the emperor. Long live the emperor."
"Lord Cui, you really have lived up to my expectations of you."
When Cui Ye heard the sarcastic tone of Emperor Chengde, he was so frightened that he trembled all over: "I am guilty."
"Well, then tell me, how should I punish you for committing such a serious crime?"
Cui Ye was dumbfounded when he heard this: "..."
Your Majesty, this is not right.
Shouldn't we first ask about the cause of the incident and then analyze the case?
He admitted his guilt out of humility, but he was not begging the emperor to punish him.
At this time, Prime Minister Liu stepped out from where he was standing, bowed to the emperor, and said, "Your Majesty, although Minister Cui was wrong, this matter was done by someone with malicious intent, and Minister Cui was also undeservedly punished. I beg Your Majesty to spare Minister Cui and severely punish the person behind the scenes."
As soon as Prime Minister Liu spoke, several ministers echoed him.
They are members of Liu's party, so naturally they have to support Prime Minister Liu.
"Your Majesty, among the hundreds of prisoners in the Ministry of Justice, only the people in Ningxiang Tower were poisoned. This shows that this was a targeted murder. Although Lord Cui failed to supervise the situation well, it is understandable." said a minister.
Then another person said, "Your Majesty, we can tell who did this at a glance. It is abominable that Zheng Gongma relied on his status as a consort to treat human life so lightly. Please investigate it clearly."
Someone spoke up for Prince Consort Zheng: "Prince Consort Zheng is angry at them because he lost his son. Plus, the princess is crazy because of this. Prince Consort Zheng might be insane..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Liu Xiang in a harsh voice.
"Can poisoning dozens of lives be erased simply by being insane? Doesn't Lord Zhu know that three people died last night from poisoning?"
If no one died, it would be easier to deal with.
But three people died. Even though they were civilians, their death in the Ministry of Justice means it is the Ministry’s responsibility.
If Zheng Kuan was not pulled to the front at this time, the candidate for the position of Shangshu that he had cultivated with great difficulty would be wasted.
How could Prime Minister Liu allow this situation to happen?
Lord Zhu was angrily rebuked by Prime Minister Liu and immediately shrank his neck and stopped talking.
"Marquis Wu'an, what do you think?" Emperor Chengde suddenly asked He Yu.
He Yu was upset when his name was mentioned. He said, "Your Majesty, I think we should ask Prince Consort Zheng to come over and question him. Since he bribed the jailer to poison, who was bribed? We will know the answer after arresting him and torturing him."
Emperor Chengde gave Hu Qian a look.
Hu Qian hurriedly bent over and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Consort Zheng is on the way and will be here soon."
Although the emperor said it clearly, as a personal eunuch, he could always understand the emperor's meaning from the emperor's words, so before going to court, he ordered someone to invite Prince Consort Zheng.
Emperor Chengde looked at Cui Ye again and asked, "Lord Cui, have you found the person who poisoned you?"
Cui Ye's forehead was covered with sweat, and he trembled as he replied, "Your Majesty, not yet... not yet."
Although he went to the palace as soon as the incident happened, news from the Ministry of Justice would reach his ears from time to time, including the search for the person who poisoned him.
He ran away.
After interrogation, it was found that he was a prison guard named Wang Hu.
It was he who came to deliver a message to him. Now that Cui Ye thought about it, he probably ran away right after delivering the message.
At that time, the Ministry of Justice prison was in chaos. When they took the prison under control for investigation, Wang Hu was nowhere to be found.
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