The Gilded Cage

Proceedings – Who Wants To See Me? (1)

The East Palace rebellion case caused a sensation in the government and the public, and the third division did not dare to neglect it. It continued to investigate non-stop for half a month, collecting and corresponding witnesses and physical evidence one by one.

Because it was involved in matters far away in Bozhou, and Zhao Lun had the crime of having an affair with Nanzhao, it took a lot of effort to investigate and investigate. Fortunately, Zhao Lun’s case has been investigated for a long time, and it only needs to be verified immediately.

The siblings of the Zhao family were not from the East Palace, but they had to form an alliance temporarily due to the situation. Seeing that the general situation was over, they made a quick confession in order to protect themselves. In particular, Zhao Yue was unwilling to be dragged down by Xiao Yu, and even pushed all the responsibility for the mastermind onto Xiao Yu alone.

Countless pairs of eyes in the court were watching the progress of the case. Seeing such a situation, even though it was clear that Second Lady Zhao’s words were somewhat exaggerated, the prince’s rebellion was indeed voluntary.

More importantly, when the prince conspired with the Zhao family, he clearly knew that they had secretly colluded with Nanzhao, embezzled military pay, and disregarded the safety of the people for many years.

Not only that, when the Criminal Ministry interrogated the subordinates of the East Palace, it was discovered that not long ago, the East Palace had sent people to the north to contact the Beirong people in private.

Such behavior was far from the generosity and character that a crown prince should have, and it was not even comparable to ordinary honest and honest court officials.

More than a dozen courtiers in the court who had concerns and dissatisfaction with Xiao Kezhi’s succession were all ashamed. They made an appointment to stay together after the court meeting was over and knelt outside the Taiji Hall to kowtow to Xiao Kezhi to plead guilty.

“I don’t know about the East Palace, and I have repeatedly vouched for the East Palace before. I have failed His Majesty’s painstaking efforts and trust. I feel extremely ashamed. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!”

Under the scorching July sun, a group of elderly people bowed their heads and kowtowed on the hot stone pavement, attracting the attention of officials and servants on the side.

When Xiao Kezhi saw such a situation, he knew that the most stubborn courtiers in the court had completely surrendered, and they would never have second thoughts from now on.

“Okay, the weather is hot, and all the ministers are the ministers of Great Liang, get up quickly.” He waved his hand to let the servants help them up, and led them to sit down one by one, with a warm smile on his stern face, “The past is over, as long as the monarchs and ministers work together to seek the well-being of the people of Great Liang, it will be a beautiful thing.”

Seeing that he really didn’t have any intention of pursuing the matter, several people felt more and more ashamed, and they all bowed their heads and sincerely replied “Understood.”

“The ministers have been officials in the court for decades, and their lifelong long-cherished wish was to benefit the country and the people. Only if His Majesty did not give up could there be room for display. In the future, they will definitely live up to His Majesty’s trust.”

Xiao Kezhi nodded and asked Liu Kang to present them with herbal tea to cool off the summer heat, and to serve them meals. After a while, he seemed to be casual and said, “The ministers’ behavior reminds me of the time when the Grand Chancellor Chu was still there, when our court was praised by the people. At that time, I was still young, but I also thought that the future of Great Liang should be like that day so that the country can be strong and the people can be safe.”

Everyone was stunned when they heard the words “Grand Chancellor Chu”, and then remembered the case of poisoning and treason that shocked the government and the public three years ago.

At that time, almost everyone thought that Chu Qianyu was clearly innocent, but he was inexplicably involved. It must be a trap set up by the Qi family to seek the position of Grand Chancellor. Only the prince understood the righteousness and insisted on marrying the daughter of the Chu family.

But thinking about it now, no one knew exactly what the prince did in it.

“Your Majesty, there are still a lot of doubts about the case of Grand Chancellor Chu. I think the East Palace is also involved in it. I think you might as well take this opportunity to investigate thoroughly again.” One of them thought for a moment, got up from his seat, and respectfully bowed down.

Xiao Kezhi was waiting for this moment, nodded immediately, and responded smoothly, “Yes, since you mentioned it, I will immediately order someone to bring this case up again. If there is really something hidden, I hope to find out as soon as possible.”

After all, he immediately ordered someone to go to the Hanlin Academy to draft an order, and sent it to the Third Division, ordering them to call out the case file and start a new trial.

…

At night, when Chu Ning heard that Chu Qianyu’s old case had been put on the agenda again, she couldn’t help feeling mixed feelings.

She had waited for so long. Xiao Yu, who had promised to return her father’s innocence, failed to keep his promise and instead lied to her. Fortunately, she found out in time, and fortunately, Xiao Ke was there, so this day finally came.

“People from the third department have gone all over to find the people involved in the case, from the officials who tried the case file, to the people from the Qi family, to the people from the East Palace, and even the old family members of your family. As long as they are related, they will try their best to find them.” Xiao Kezhi personally supervised the matter, and told her everything clearly, “They handled it cleanly at the time, and they have been messing with each other for the past two years. It is not easy to find out. I will find a way to get them to confess their guilt voluntarily.”

Chuning listened carefully and understood how difficult it is to find out the facts. Uncle Fang who told her the truth has passed away, and most of the others who knew the inside story were eliminated by Xiao Yu and Xu Rong. She only had a letter from Uncle Fang in her hand. If she looked carefully, it would be difficult to prove the authenticity.

“Thank you for Your Majesty’s arrangement.” She thought for a while and said, “Your Majesty, I want to meet him and ask him personally, okay?”

Xiao Kezhi pondered for a moment but did not respond immediately.

It wasn’t that he was unwilling, but he was worried that if she went to see Xiao Yu at this time. If the trouble was too embarrassing and touched her past, it would make her sad.

However, this was an unavoidable fact in the end. It was also a good thing for her to solve it herself and get rid of the stone in her heart.