Chapter 104: Palace Trial
It was the tenth day of the second month of the eighteenth year of the Tongxu reign. This was the first palace trial since the first year of the Tongxu reign.
The sun had just risen when all the civil and military officials reported for court.
Xie Tingzhou stood in the hall and looked back.
The former Minister of Revenue, Ge Liangji, was taken to the Xuanhui Palace. The days in prison had tortured him beyond recognition. He was shackled, but when he entered the palace, he broke free from the warden who was holding him, and walked in by himself with his back straight.
This was the last time Ge Liangji entered the Xuanhui Hall in his life, and he was well aware of this.
The trial began, and all the officials in the palace were horrified by the charges filed by the Dali Temple Minister.
"Former Minister of Revenue Ge Liangji colluded with the treacherous Liang Jianfang to murder loyal officials, leading to the defeat at Yanliang Pass. Do you admit it or not?"
Ge Liangji bowed his head and nodded, "I admit it."
"On the tenth day of the ninth month in the seventeenth year of Tongxu, General Shen Zhongan of the Cavalry and General Shen Zhao of the Cloud Banner led their troops to attack Yanliang Pass. You bribed Liang Jianfang to make sure he would be defeated in this battle, and then you colluded with Xijue and leaked our military reports and battle array. Is this true?"
No one in the hall responded, and everyone looked towards Ge Liangji.
"Is this true?!" The voice of the Dali Temple Minister echoed in the hall.
Ge Liangji slowly raised his head, slightly opened his chapped lips, and said firmly: "No."
The whole hall was in uproar. Even the Dali Temple Minister Yu Hongyi was shocked. He did not expect that Ge Liangji would dare to change his testimony in court. He turned his head and wanted to look at the throne above the hall.
He held back and just tilted his head slightly and looked at Ge Liangji again.
Everyone's eyes were on Ge Liangji who changed his confession in court. No one noticed his action except Xie Tingzhou.
Xie Tingzhou looked at Emperor Tongxu who was sitting on the throne.
The elderly Emperor Tongxu pursed his lips. He glared at Ge Liangji who was kneeling below, and his eyes released invisible pressure, just like the other people in the hall.
Xie Tingzhou lowered his eyes, hiding the emotions in his eyes.
Ge Liangji raised his head and looked towards the throne, and suddenly said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, the sinner Ge Liangji has left a letter of apology, I hope Your Majesty will allow me to confess myself."
Emperor Tongxu said, "Yes."
Ge Liangji said: "On the tenth day of the ninth month in the seventeenth year of Tongxu, General Shen Zhongan of the Cavalry and General Shen Zhao of the Cloud Banner led their troops to the battle.
Yanliang Pass, I have been enemies with Shen Zhongan and his son for many years, and I think this is a good opportunity to get rid of him, so I joined forces with Liang Jianfang and devised a plan. "
Yu Hongyi asked: "What is the grudge between you and General Shen?"
Ge Liangji said: "The hatred I have made has been detailed in the confession letter, so I will not waste your majesty and the others' time in the palace. However, I did not collude with the Western Jue people. I just asked Liang Jianfang to poison the grain and grass. Unexpectedly, there was a problem on the way to the grain and grass, and it was delayed, which led to the failure of this plan. So Liang Jianfang took the initiative to collude with the Western Jue people, but this plan was also discovered and finally had to close the door."
"Originally, if we lost this battle, we could just put the blame on the Xijue people. Liang Jianfang only needed to say that he closed the city gates to protect the people inside the pass. This plan would have been foolproof. But who knew that the Prince of Beilin would arrive with the Qingyun Guards."
"I was worried that the matter would be exposed, so I set up an ambush on the way to the capital. I thought I had silenced Liang Jianfang, but who knew that Liang Jianfang had already been sent to the capital by the prince from another route."
This statement was closely linked to the incident and had no loopholes. In addition, Liang Jianfang was dead, and it seemed that there was no one who could refute him.
Yu Hongyi, the Minister of the Dali Temple, asked solemnly, "Do you have any other accomplices?"
Ge Liangji was silent for a moment. In just this moment, one could hear a pin drop in the hall, and even his breathing became lighter.
"No, this case was a conspiracy between me and Liang Jianfang, and there were no other accomplices."
Xie Tingzhou seemed to hear the sound of someone exhaling in the hall.
At some point, it started raining outside the palace.
The towering buildings blocked the rain, but Xie Tingzhou seemed to see the filth in the hall seeping into the ground, soaking the beams and pillars of Xuanhui Pavilion into a rotten color.
The base of this building is rotten. Is it going to collapse? Why is it still standing tall and lingering?
The spring rain gradually turned into heavy rain, and the palace trial was coming to an end.
The officials' attendants were not allowed to come in. After the court was dismissed, many officials were escorted out of Chengtian Gate by the eunuchs. Some officials were not in a hurry and stood outside the Xuanhui Palace watching the sudden rain.
Jiang Lianzhi helped Jiang Yuanqing get on the carriage, "Grandfather, you go back first."
Jiang Yuanqing seemed to have something to say, but he just sighed, and melted all the unfinished words into that breath.
There was no need for the grandfather and grandson to say much, as they both understood the meaning.
Jiang Lianzhi looked back at the palace gate and high walls
, in the pouring rain, a man was seen walking out of Chengtian Gate, followed by a guard holding an umbrella.
The man was wearing a dark blue uniform, and there was an indescribable coldness in his eyes when he looked at me through the rain curtain.
Xie Tingzhou is the Crown Prince of Beilin, and the regulations are different, so attendants can follow him into the palace.
Seeing Jiang Lianzhi, Xie Tingzhou paused slightly, and then walked straight to Jiang Lianzhi.
"Lord Jiang seems to be quite troubled."
Jiang Lianzhi turned his head and looked at the palace gate, and said politely: "It's just a trivial matter. Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."
Xie Tingzhou looked at him and said, "It seems that Lord Jiang is dissatisfied today."
"How dare I." Jiang Lianzhi looked at him, "Your Majesty's holy judgment, how dare a subject be dissatisfied?"
Xie Tingzhou smiled and walked forward a few steps. When he passed by him, he said leisurely, "What I mean is, Master Jiang, don't you have any dissatisfaction with me for being a step late when I arrived at Yanliang Pass?"
Jiang Lianzhi's pupils shrank drastically, and he looked back suddenly. Xie Tingzhou had already left with a smile, leaving only his casual and vague figure in the rain curtain.
Jiang Lianzhi was in a state of anxiety. He stared at Xie Tingzhou's back and said in a deep voice, "He knew that the letter sent to Beilin was from me."
Gao Jin said: "I wonder if he just found out about it, or if he has known about it for a long time and just said it now?"
Jiang Lianzhi's eyes darkened, "He should have known it a long time ago, but he kept it secret. Today, he saw it."
Today's verdict is favorable to Jiang Lianzhi. Once the former Minister of Revenue falls, he is the only one left in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. However, there is no joy on his face, and his eyes are filled with worry.
So maybe Xie Tingzhou was just testing him, because he couldn't figure out what the purpose of Jiang Lianzhi's letter was.
Gao Jin helped Jiang Lianzhi get into the carriage and said, "Sir, let me say one more thing. Since you wanted to write that letter to remind me, why didn't you just state it directly or present it to the emperor?"
Jiang Lianzhi did not answer, and the curtain of the car dropped.
He leaned against the shaking wall of the car and wondered, why?
Because, because he was too greedy. He wanted Ayu to marry him smoothly like in his previous life, but he was also afraid that she would be too sad and that he would feel guilty.
So this is the result after struggling. He has tried his best, Jiang Lianzhi told himself.
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