mtl008 Chapter 869 Are there still witnesses?
Chapter 869 Are there still witnesses?
The ministers submitted numerous remonstrances.
The emperor remained silent for a moment.
Duke Xiao knelt on the ground, unsure of the emperor's attitude, and had no choice but to brace himself and cry out for justice.
"Your Majesty, I know nothing! I truly had no knowledge of this! This is merely Changshan's side of the story. He was even able to fake his death; who knows when he was bribed to specifically slander me! I swear to Heaven, I absolutely did not collude with the Yan army!"
The emperor lowered his eyes to look at Duke Xiao, then at the court officials standing on the ground.
"It has been confirmed that the Jinzhou army was impersonating the Yan army. I will definitely order people to investigate this matter thoroughly."
Then he looked at Changshan: "Changshan, do you have any evidence that Duke Xiao colluded with the Yan army?"
Changshan hung his head, somewhat dejected. "This humble subject... has no evidence. The brothers who served Duke Xiao alongside me back then are all gone."
He was an educated youth from Changshan, but he couldn't produce any evidence.
He was working for Duke Xiao. These people, to put it nicely, were his personal guards; to put it bluntly, they were death squads.
Someone who is always ready to shield their master from harm naturally never considered a fight to the death, let alone leaving any evidence.
For so many years, he hid among the caravans, just to survive.
With such a worthless life, let alone overthrowing Duke Xiao, he wouldn't even admit who he was, let alone identify Duke Xiao, unless he had no other way to survive.
Ultimately, he was just a coward who clung to life.
Thirty thousand Jinzhou soldiers went missing, but their bodies were found in Chenzhou, and they were wearing Yan army uniforms.
It is almost a certainty that Duke Xiao colluded with Northern Yan.
However, without evidence that Duke Xiao directly contacted Northern Yan, while Duke Xiao would certainly bear responsibility in this matter, there was no way to directly convict him of treason.
The courtiers looked at each other, unable to come up with a rebuttal.
Seeing this, the emperor said, "In that case, first imprison Duke Xiao in the Heavenly Prison, and wait for the Dali Temple to find out the truth before making a decision."
Duke Xiao received a plea for help from Chenzhou but refused to provide assistance. He also abandoned his post while stationed there, and 30,000 Jinzhou soldiers, dressed in Yan army uniforms, were killed by the Yan army. As the commander-in-chief, he was undeniably guilty. These crimes alone were enough to ruin Duke Xiao's reputation. However, this was not enough.
He will pay the price, and he will pay the price for the real crimes he committed; there will be no room for leniency.
“Who says there’s no evidence?” Zong Que, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up again. “Please provide witnesses.”
The courtiers were shocked: "There are even witnesses?"
"But what use are witnesses if we can't produce any evidence? Are we supposed to have the Left Wise King himself testify?"
"But the Left Wise King of Northern Yan is said to have suffered a hidden injury years ago, and I heard that he died a few years ago. How can this be proven?"
Everyone was very curious; at this critical juncture, what evidence could Zong Que possibly produce?
The emperor's brows already showed signs of fatigue, and he paused for a moment.
"Do as the Crown Prince says."
The courtiers were once again shocked by the emperor's words.
From the moment Zong Que entered the gates of the Taiji Hall, one could sense that the emperor's attitude was ambiguous, seemingly indicating a desire to reinstate the crown prince. However, at the beginning, the emperor did not explicitly express such thoughts.
When the coroner examined the body earlier, he referred to Lady Lu as the Crown Princess. At the time, everyone was too shocked by the Jinzhou army to think that His Majesty had just made a slip of the tongue.
But at this moment, His Majesty directly uttered the words "Crown Prince," which undoubtedly tells everyone that he is prepared and determined to reinstate the Crown Prince!
Otherwise, he would never have made such a slip of the tongue!
The court officials were immediately filled with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow. When the Crown Prince was still healthy, almost no one had ever thought about deposing him. Later, when the Crown Prince injured both legs, the court was inevitably in turmoil. Now that the Crown Prince has returned safely, most officials still subconsciously hope that he can be reinstated.
But once the crown prince is reinstated, it also means that the struggles of the other princes over the past few years have been nothing more than a formality. Those who secretly rely on him and form cliques may be purged at any time.
After all, this Crown Prince may seem very easy to get along with, but in reality he is extremely ruthless and will not leave any room for anyone to cross the line!
While the court officials were pondering the emperor's plan to reinstate the crown prince, a new witness entered the Taiji Hall.
Everyone was quite surprised to see the person who walked into the Taiji Hall!
Isn't this... the eldest daughter of the Cheng family, now the wife of the heir of the Duke of Xiao's mansion?
"Cheng Ruoxue greets Your Majesty." Cheng Ruoxue knelt on the ground and bowed respectfully.
Duke Xiao, still kneeling in front, felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing the voice, and a mouthful of blood welled up in his throat.
Not only were the court officials surprised, but even Lu Yangyang and Rong Xin were quite astonished.
The two of them almost instinctively turned to look at Zong Que, completely bewildered by Cheng Ruoxue's actions.
Lu Yangyang knew that Cheng Ruoxue's mother, Song, was a cousin of Rong Che's wife. Therefore, when Sheng Yunjiao inquired about the Rong family, Cheng Ruoxue helped a lot. They found many of the Rong family members who had been implicated and rescued them as much as possible.
Especially after the general amnesty, they took the opportunity to properly settle the Rong clan members who had been implicated.
Whether they win this battle or not, at least they can save their relatives from further disaster.
Cheng Ruoxue deserves much credit for these achievements.
But... why would she come to identify Duke Xiao? Wasn't she married to Duke Xiao's heir?
If Duke Xiao is convicted, she will inevitably be implicated as well. Although she had previously mentioned to His Majesty that the charge of joint punishment be lifted, it is simply impossible to achieve this in the short term.
Could it be that Cheng Ruoxue discovered evidence of the Duke of Xiao's collusion with Northern Yan in the Xiao family, and thus put aside her own family for the greater good?
Neither of them could figure out what was going on, and Zong Que only gave them a reassuring look.
Lu Yangyang turned her head with relief to look at Cheng Ruoxue kneeling on the ground.
Cheng Ruoxue held up the box she was holding in her arms. "This is what I found in the Xiao family's study. It contains letters between Duke Xiao and Northern Yan. Not only are there letters from many years ago to the Left Wise King Helian Rui, but there are also several letters to Empress Dowager Dugu of Northern Yan. In the letters, Empress Dowager Dugu ordered Duke Xiao to help her find a child in Dazhao. There is no specific information about the child, but these are enough to prove the collusion between Duke Xiao and Northern Yan."
"When the news of the Rong family army's northern expedition came, Duke Xiao mentioned in a letter to Helian Rui that it was the Empress Dowager's order. Empress Dowager Dugu of Northern Yan had controlled the Northern Yan government for many years. Before the death of the Left Wise King, he was also the de facto regent of Northern Yan. Duke Xiao had close ties with her, which shows that the defeat in Chenzhou was premeditated."
"The 130,000 soldiers of the Rong family army and the people of Chenzhou all perished at the hands of the treacherous villains."
"Your Majesty, please give me a clear warning."