Chapter 548 The Ji Family is Guilty
The news of Chu Pan'er's plot to murder the Queen spread out of the palace like a gust of wind, and all the civil and military officials heard about it before they went to court.
So when the court started, the entire Golden Palace was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Pingliang Hou stood in the front with a pale face. If it weren't for his faith supporting him, he would have fainted by now.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
Following the eunuch's loud shout, the ministers knelt down and shouted, "Long live the emperor."
Everyone knelt with their heads bowed. They could not see Emperor Chengde's expression, but could hear the rubbing sound of his clothes.
Amidst the trembling of the crowd, Emperor Chengde said, "My dear ministers, please stand up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Everyone thanked him and stood up on both sides.
Only then did someone quietly look at Emperor Chengde's face. The handsome emperor sat high on the dragon throne, with an awe-inspiring presence. His black eyes swept over casually with no joy or anger, and it was like a bolt of lightning that brought shocking horror to people's hearts.
"Marquis Pingliang, you really raised a good daughter." Emperor Chengde stared at Marquis Pingliang coldly, but his calm voice was like a huge rock pressing down on him.
Pingliang Hou's breath was choked, and his legs weakened as he fell to his knees: "This humble minister deserves death, Your Majesty, please calm down."
"You really deserve to die. You raised a vicious daughter and taught my two children to be mean and vicious as well."
Pingliang Hou prostrated himself on the ground, trembling with fear, unable to utter a word.
Even with such a serious crime, the Ji family still had a chance to survive. Marquis Pingliang wanted to protest his injustice, but after thinking about what the Ninth Princess had done, he felt too embarrassed to do so.
If the Ninth Princess commits a crime, then Concubine Xian is committing a crime.
And since Concubine Xian is the daughter of the Ji family, the Ji family is guilty.
Pingliang Hou was shocked and frightened, as if a knife was hanging over his head.
Some people couldn't help but try to figure out what Emperor Chengde meant by his words.
They knew that the Ninth Princess had committed a crime, but the Emperor said that the guilty concubine Ji had taught her two children to be mean and vicious?
Is the Emperor taking his anger out on the Fifth Prince because of this?
But the Fifth Prince is far away at the border. Could he possibly send a letter back from thousands of miles away to teach the Ninth Princess to harm the Queen?
Just when they were puzzled, suddenly a pile of things fell from above. They were letters and memorials, hitting Pingliang Hou on the head.
Pingliang Hou's face was pressed to the ground, not daring to move.
Liu Xiang hesitated for a moment, then was the first to step forward and pick up one of the papers.
Then, the ministers standing in the front, including the Duke of Anguo, also picked up the manuscript and read it. With every line they read, their faces grew darker.
The things were slowly passed to the hands of the ministers at the back, and everyone who had seen them knelt down at the end. Looking around, one after another, they fell down like head over heels.
Everyone was shocked and finally understood why the emperor even scolded the fifth prince.
Long before the Eighth Prince returned to Beijing, the Fifth Prince had sent people to assassinate him many times. Here are the confessions of the captured secret guards, the signed evidence of the crime by Lu Shiming, the Lieutenant General of Quzhou, and the confessions of other people who were involved.
Now not only was Marquis Pingliang trembling with fear, but many ministers in the court also became uneasy.
The fifth prince assassinated the eighth prince, which involves the struggles of the previous dynasty. If the ninth princess poisoned the queen and caused the Pingliang Marquis's Mansion to be skinned, and now this one is added, it is simply a calamity. What good end will there be for the Pingliang Marquis's disciples and the ministers who followed the fifth prince?
"Marquis Pingliang, do you know your crime?" Emperor Chengde asked in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty is wise. I didn't know. I didn't do that." Pingliang Hou no longer cared about his image and cried loudly.
Emperor Chengde looked at him coldly.
Don’t know?
Haha, Marquis Pingliang might not dare to instigate Old Five to attack Old Eight, but he definitely knows about this.
He had originally suppressed the matter, intending to deal with it after the army returned to Beijing. The war had just been won, and the fifth brother followed the three armies into the war. The imperial edict could not be explained in a few words, which would easily lead to trouble. The previous confinement of Ji was also to wait for the fifth brother to come back and punish him together.
But no one expected that his daughter would dare to poison the queen.
The Ji family is really a good family, one thing after another.
Emperor Chengde was so angry that veins popped out on his forehead. He gritted his teeth and said:
"Issue an order to revoke the title of Marquis of Pingliang, dismiss all the officials in the mansion, and detain them in the Dali Temple. They will be tried one by one and then punished according to the law."
"The sinful Ji Shi failed to educate her children properly. She allowed the Ninth Princess to poison the Queen and instigated the Fifth Prince to assassinate the Eighth Prince. She was deposed from her position as a concubine and demoted to a commoner. She was sentenced to death."
"The Ninth Princess disrespected her mother and was malicious. She was deposed from her princess status and demoted to a commoner and imprisoned in the clan residence."
"The fifth prince murdered his brothers and formed a clique for personal gain. He was immediately arrested and brought back to the capital, demoted to a commoner and imprisoned in the clan residence."
"Minister of Justice, Minister of Dali Temple..."
The two people whose names were called hurriedly ran to the front and knelt down: "I am here."
"I order you to conduct a thorough investigation. Find out who is involved and what crimes they have committed. I will punish them one by one according to the law."
Emperor Chengde's edicts one after another made everyone tremble with fear.
Zuo Shiwen responded to Wu'an Hou: "I obey your order."
It was not until the court was dismissed and Emperor Chengde left that everyone came to their senses from their shock and walked out of the palace with weak legs.
Ji Benchang, Marquis of Yuanpingliang, had been taken away by the Imperial Guards as early as when the emperor issued the decree.
Several officials followed Prime Minister Liu. They looked at each other, with a lot to say but not knowing where to start. It was not until they walked out of the palace that Prime Minister Liu spoke calmly, "No need to say more. Today's matter has nothing to do with us. Let's all go back."
After hearing what Liu Xiang said, everyone immediately understood and said goodbye to each other and left.
They were not afraid, they just wanted to know whether Liu Xiang would take this opportunity to do something so that they could prepare in advance.
Leaving aside the matter of the Ninth Princess, the matter of the Fifth Prince was obviously evidence of guilt brought out by the Eighth Prince. No matter who wins or loses in their fight, the Second Prince will benefit from it as he will have one less competitor.
The emperor was kind to his children and did not take their lives, but the Ji family was doomed to fall and it would probably take decades for them to recover.
The imperial guards quickly went to Ji's house to arrest people. There was crying and wailing at the gate of Ji's house. Everyone from the master to the servants were taken away.
The same thing happened at the princess's mansion. The plaque was taken down, and the people from the third branch of the Ji family who lived there were all taken away. The third wife, Mrs. He, cried and cursed, but was slapped in the face in return.
The long street in front of the door was filled with people, who were vying to exchange the news they had heard and accusing and cursing the people in the Ji Mansion.
Among the wealthy and powerful families, there were a few that were truly clean. Emperor Chengde ordered an investigation and was targeting the Ji family.
He couldn't bear to kill his son, so could he not bear to kill Ji's family?
No matter how chaotic the situation was outside, Lu Xiang was safely sent back to the Lu family by Shaohua.
Even though the old lady didn't react last night, she understood this morning when she heard about Chu Pan'er's plot to murder the queen that her granddaughter stayed in the palace yesterday not because the queen was staying overnight, but because something happened and she couldn't get out.
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