Chapter 9 Wind, Cloud and Rain
As soon as Zhu Yuhuan left, the capital city underwent earth-shaking changes, but these changes only affected the officials.
The reason was simple: someone sued Yang Shiqi's son Yang Ji for occupying people's land, seizing women, and even having several murder cases on his hands.
When this case came out, officials were silent and no one dared to say anything.
This case happened as early as the first year of Zhengtong, but it was only exposed now. How could people not understand the reason?
The most obvious thing is naturally Yang Shiqi's identity as the Prime Minister. From the 22nd year of Yongle to now, Yang Shiqi has been the Prime Minister for 18 years. Not to mention that the victimized people will be frightened, even the officials sitting in the government office, after learning who Yang Ji's father is, have long lost the desire to deal with such matters.
But if you think about it more deeply, the fact that ordinary people dared to sue the son of the Prime Minister must have someone behind the scenes, and it is possible that someone in the court wanted to oppose Yang Shiqi and was deliberately fanning the flames. But in the final analysis, "If you don't do anything wrong, you don't have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door." If Yang Shiqi really did nothing wrong, then even if others wanted to use his faults, they would have nowhere to do it.
Even the officials in the court only thought of this level at most, but some people thought more.
If the emperor had been more intentional, this matter would never have turned out like this. The fact that Yang Shiqi and his son were in such an embarrassing situation was simply because the emperor tacitly approved it.
But this matter was not so simple when it came to Xue Xuan. After passing the military examination, he served as the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple and naturally had to handle the trial of the case.
Yang Shiqi and Yang Pu both took good care of him, so Xue Xuan naturally could not ignore their thoughts at all.
If Princess Shunde was still in the capital, he could go there to test the waters. However, now that the princess had gone south to Yunnan, Xue Xuan really couldn't think of who to consult with.
Just when he was feeling depressed, his wife came back with her grandson and a food box in her hand.
"Where did you go today?"
"The master has been worried about court affairs these past two days, so we didn't want to disturb him, so we went out to find something lively. Chancellor Zeng's wife happened to be there, so we went to the Taiping Teahouse to listen to an opera." The lady said with a smile, "The Taiping Teahouse has just added chrysanthemum tea, so we can enjoy the autumn scenery without going on an autumn outing. We can go there for tea and listen to an opera, and then go to a cloth shop to look at some satin. It won't interfere with the master's business."
Hearing his wife mention Zeng Heling's wife, Xue Xuan sighed, stood up and said, "I actually forgot about him." Then he asked the servants in the house to help him change his clothes.
Although both of them were Jinshi in the 19th year of Yongle, Zeng Heling ranked first. Although he was not highly valued, he had a smooth career and almost never left the capital. Therefore, Xue Xuan, who had been an official in other places, was not familiar with him.
But after all, they served in the same dynasty and graduated as Jinshi in the same year, so it wouldn't be that they were strangers.
Thinking carefully, now that things have become so serious, Yang Shiqi will definitely not be able to stay in the cabinet any longer. When the cabinet calls for someone else to join, Zeng Heling, who had previously contributed to the military examination, is likely to be in the cabinet...
Xue Xuan, who was changing his clothes, suddenly slowed down, and felt something was wrong. He turned back to his wife and asked, "How come I didn't know that you knew Minister Zeng's wife?"
Madam Song couldn't help laughing when she heard this. She said, "Of course, you gentlemen don't know what goes on between ladies. Princess Yongqing's paintings are on display at the Taiping Teahouse in East City, along with the belongings of the Grand Princesses. Quite a few ladies go there to socialize. Besides, women often go out on the streets these days, so we don't exchange invitations like we used to."
If you post something yourself, you have to consider personal connections and familiarity. It is more convenient to go directly through Taiping Teahouse.
Xue Xuan thought that the atmosphere in the capital was much more open now than before, and realized that what his wife said was right. He said, "Did Minister Zeng's wife say anything to you?"
"Nothing much, just that as soon as the princess left, the wind in the capital immediately picked up and blew harder than a winter wind." Madam Song handed her grandson to the nanny, took a sip of the tea brought by the maid, and said, "Your Majesty may be young, but he's as clear-headed as a mirror. The fact that this matter has become so big doesn't it just prove his intentions? Even when we deal with servants, we're just shooting at the bull from a distance. What's the saying... No matter how big the chicken is, it's all to scare the monkey hiding in the dark."
How could Xue Xuan not understand this? He just thought that he had indeed received favors from Yang Shiqi and Yang Pu along the way, and that these two people had done more good than bad for the court. Based on the facts, it was naturally impossible to punish Yang Shiqi, but to say that Yang Shiqi had nothing to do with this matter was completely impossible.
Xue Xuan was known as "upright and incorruptible" in the Dali Temple, but he couldn't help but hesitate when faced with this incident.
Madam Song looked at her husband and warned him, "Madam Shangshu told me that you came back from abroad because of the grace of His Majesty and the royal family. Now that you are in charge of this matter, it may also be His Majesty's intention..."
Having said this, Xue Xuan no longer understood what was going on and could only sigh.
Having been married for thirty years, Mrs. Song knew her husband's feelings. Seeing him like this, Mrs. Song said, "Why are you sighing? You are the Minister of the Supreme Court. It is your duty to handle cases impartially. Even if others have opinions, just keep your conscience clear."
Xue Xuan was a little surprised and said, "This..."
His wife usually advised him not to be too straightforward, lest he offend the emperor and the eunuchs above him, or even his colleagues, but he insisted on doing things his own way. Xue Xuan never expected that today, his wife would be the one advising him to be impartial, while he himself hesitated.
"There's a painting of bamboo hanging in the lobby of Taiping Teahouse, inscribed with a poem." Madam Song recited, "A thousand blows, yet it remains strong, regardless of the winds. This is the proper principle of life. We are all educated, so how could we not understand it? His Highness recommended you to return to the capital for this very reason. Do you intend to disappoint His Highness, and yourself?"
Xue Xuan was stunned when he heard this. After a long silence, he said, "I handled the case to give everyone an explanation. The Prime Minister's son violated the law and discipline and should be dealt with impartially."
Even if it wasn't because the emperor had no intention of making it public, as the Minister of Dali Temple, Xue Xuan should have given the people an explanation instead of fooling around with specious explanations.
Mrs. Song understood his dilemma and just nodded slightly.
Xue Xuan made up his mind and handled the case very quickly. After that, many censors wrote letters to accuse Yang Ji of illegal behavior. The evidence was extremely sufficient, and the letters were soon delivered to Zhu Qizhen's desk.
Yang Ji killed dozens of people, occupied people's land, raped women, supported scoundrels, and dug up other people's ancestral graves. He had committed so many crimes that he had already violated the law and should be executed according to the law.
As soon as Yang Shiqi heard that the officials of the Censorate were attacking his son, he knew that his son was doomed. Therefore, he fell ill and is not fully recovered yet. He is recuperating at home. All cabinet affairs are temporarily under the charge of the deputy minister Yang Pu.
Perhaps the only thing he should be thankful for was that because of his status as a regent, these matters did not directly involve Yang Shiqi. Zhu Qizhen even asked the eunuchs in the palace to visit Yang Shiqi on his behalf, and said very tolerantly that this matter had nothing to do with Yang Shiqi, an old minister who had worked diligently for many years. By the way, he also gave Yang Shiqi a summary of Yang Ji's crimes, and asked him, the current chief minister of the cabinet, to "deal with it on his own."
Not to mention that Yang Shiqi was seriously ill, even a strong man would not be able to bear seeing such a thing.
Yang Shiqi understood very well that in the eyes of the emperor, he, as the chief minister of the cabinet, should have returned home to retire long ago. If he insisted on staying in the cabinet and was unwilling to do things completely according to the emperor's wishes, he would not have a good ending. Not to mention that there was solid evidence that Yang Ji had violated the law.
So now he, as the prime minister, must make the judgment himself and execute his son according to the law.
If he had listened to the princess's advice and "stopped in time" at the Taiping Teahouse, perhaps the outcome wouldn't have been like this...
However, Yang Shiqi did want to compete with Wang Zhen at that time, and threw the warning to the back of his mind. However, the emperor was behind Wang Zhen, so how could he, even as the chief minister of the cabinet, go against the emperor?
At this point, it's too late.
The court seemed to have not executed Yang Ji for the sake of Yang Shiqi, the Prime Minister. Even though the final trial result had been reached, there was still no news of Yang Ji's execution in the autumn.
In October, Yang Shiqi, the Grand Chancellor, submitted a petition requesting retirement to his hometown to recuperate. The emperor initially declined, as was customary, but only after Yang Shiqi submitted a second petition did he formally agree. The emperor then issued a special decree allowing Yang Shiqi to recuperate in his residence in Beijing without returning home. He also dispatched a physician from the Imperial Hospital to see Yang Shiqi, a gesture of respect and affection for this veteran minister who had accepted his father's instructions to manage state affairs and mentor the emperor.
Yang Shiqi, on the other hand, was forcing himself to hold on, trying to stay alive. This pair of king and minister seemed to be secretly competing with each other, both holding their breath, waiting for the final outcome.
On the tenth day of the second month of the eighth year of the Zhengtong reign, Yang Shiqi finally collapsed and died of illness at his home in the capital. The emperor issued an edict to bestow upon him the title of Shao Shi and posthumously named him Wenzhen to show his respect for this former teacher.
Of the five ministers who had received Xuande's will, only three are left. Just looking at Yang Shiqi's end, even though they knew that the Yang family was not innocent, the three of them couldn't help but feel terrified.
Needless to say, Hu Yi, who has never been involved in important affairs, Zhang Fu also acts in a low-key manner. As for Yang Pu, who has now become the chief minister, he tries to reduce his presence as much as possible.
The emperor now has no scruples, and with the example of Yang Shiqi, everyone is in danger, and everyone in the court and the country is silent.
The court, which had been vigorous and resolute, suddenly became silent at this moment. The emperor seemed to have completely forgotten about Yang Ji who was imprisoned in the imperial prison, and was only concentrating on selecting the court officials who should enter the cabinet next.
It seemed as if this matter was destined to end in silence, but soon another voice emerged from the silence.
On February 16, Li Chu, who had been released from prison for some time, distributed scraps of paper everywhere on the street. The people who picked them up could only understand a few words, such as "kill", "people", "sky", etc. Those who could understand the words changed their expressions after reading them.
When the soldiers from the Military Affairs Department arrived and tried to stop him, Li Chu had already committed suicide by banging his head against the wall, leaving only pieces of paper scattered on the ground.
These hundreds or even thousands of pieces of paper were all written by the same person. The handwriting was crooked but exactly the same, which showed that they were all written by Li Chu himself.
Although the military and imperial guards collected these papers in time, many people had read their contents, and once they started to spread, it was difficult to contain them.
For a time, the words on the piece of paper were circulated everywhere in the capital, and everyone was waiting for the reaction of the emperor and the court.
"This Li Chu is simply ungrateful!"
Wang Zhen slammed the note on the table, his chest heaving rapidly and his face flushed red.
Seeing Wang Zhen's rage, the eunuch beside him tried to comfort him, "Master, why bother getting angry over a lowly person? Master, you were kind enough to spare his life, but he chose to die. You can't blame anyone else..."
Wang Zhen sneered and said unhappily, "Is that what I'm scolding? Isn't Yang Shiqi's fate enough? He chose to stir up trouble at this critical moment. Isn't that ungrateful? He could have died, but he's causing trouble for the Emperor..." He huffed and puffed a few times, pointing at the piece of paper and said, "Read it yourself. What's written on it?"
The eunuch took a look at the words and was shocked. He could only stammer, "If Yang... Yang Ji is not killed, how... how can the people be convinced... The common people are suffering, who... can eliminate it..."
Wang Zhen, furious, laughed instead, saying, "How dare you! How dare you! Subjugate the people? Subjugate which people? Under the Emperor's rule, where does the suffering of the common people come from? Who else is there to eliminate them? Eliminate, eliminate, eliminate these lackeys! This isn't just insubordination; this is courting death!"
If Li Chu was not the victim and Wang Zhen asked Ma Shun to take him out of the imperial prison, even his corpse should be chopped up and fed to the dogs.
The young eunuch hesitantly said, "There's no one left at Li Chu's house. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have the courage..."
Li Chu was the only one in his family. The Embroidered Uniform Guard had checked the place where pens, ink, paper and inkstone were sold. With so many people coming in and out every day, how did the shop know who Li Chu was and what he was going to do with the pens, ink, paper and inkstone?
In the end, this matter came to nothing.
Wang Zhen glared at him fiercely, and finally couldn't help but raise his hand and slap him. Seeing the eunuch crying and kowtowing for mercy, Wang Zhen angrily scolded: "So what if his whole family is dead? That day was the seventh day after Yang Shiqi's death, and yet such a thing happened. Now the emperor is on the fire. It's not right to kill Yang Ji, and it's not right not to kill him. Who can't see that Yang Shiqi is in trouble..."
The emperor forced Yang Shiqi to death with a knife while smiling gently. The knife did not seem to belong to the emperor, but the person who wielded the knife was the emperor. This matter was supervised by Wang Zhen. If the emperor's reputation was ruined, how would he explain to Zhu Qizhen?
Yang Shiqi was no longer around, so what was the point of using this useless Yang Ji? In other words, wouldn't it be enough to use Yang Shiqi's official position and life to avenge Li Chu's family?
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