mtl008 Chapter 76 He can finally have a vacation! He's going to go to the estate with Lu Yuxi for some
Chapter 76 He can finally have a vacation! He's going to go to the estate with Lu Yuxi for some
Everyone was speechless at Liang Juhong's shirking of responsibility and cowardice.
Although Lin Shihe wanted to avenge his brother, the charges he brought up were not unfounded; they were based on real wrongdoings committed by Liang Juhong, so he was not entirely wronged.
Unexpectedly, in order to protect himself and shirk responsibility, this person actually pushed his niece, who was an imperial concubine, out to take the blow.
His own status as a fifth-rank official in the capital and the prosperity of the Liang family over the years—all of this was thanks to Consort Liang giving birth to a prince.
Ungrateful and ungrateful; discarding someone after they've served their purpose.
No wonder the Liang family, despite having a prince, has remained at the bottom of the power structure in the capital for so many years. Just by looking at the character of this family, you can tell they are incapable of achieving anything great.
Prince An was naturally so angry that he lost his mind.
This was a mess that Liang Juhong had brought upon himself, and now he was going to use his mother's life to settle it!
He knew that even if he had made a serious mistake, it wouldn't have reached the level of the Third Prince, and wouldn't have implicated his mother too much. Now, things are really messed up; Liang Juhong's "speaking frankly" not only failed to save him, but also dragged his mother down with him!
However, Prince Qi didn't care who would bear the blame. He only cared that Lin Shihe couldn't be allowed to execute the prince in court.
“Your Majesty, Liang Juhong has already admitted that it was Consort Liang’s fault, not a rebellion. Therefore, it cannot be said that His Highness Prince An intended to take her place.”
Emperor Longyun, standing above, quietly shook his hand, which was a little numb from holding his chin for too long, and then passed the buck to Lin Shihe.
"Minister Lin, what do you think?" What kind of outcome do you want?
Lin Shihe chuckled lightly, but did not put down the knife in his hand.
"Innocence is presumed. Therefore, I cannot convict Prince An. Since he is unrelated to treason, the decision of who to punish and what charges to use is not within my power." It is indeed a pity I cannot kill Prince An, but I am determined to kill one of them today. You decide what to do!
"Tsk tsk tsk!" Emperor Longyun chuckled. "Look at how law-abiding Minister Lin is!"
Prince Qi bowed, "Your Majesty, regarding this matter—"
Ultimately, Consort Liang was innocent in this matter and couldn't be killed outright. However, Emperor Longyun hadn't forgotten how she and her son had flattered the Empress Dowager and provoked the Empress back then!
"Consort Liang has overstepped her bounds, disregarded etiquette and the law, and shown no respect for the Empress, even coveting the position of Empress. She should have been given a white silk ribbon, but considering her many years of service and the fact that she has borne a prince, I hereby depose her and reduce her to a commoner, and banish her to the Cold Palace."
Today's small goal has been achieved!
Emperor Longyun was secretly delighted. Not only had he successfully banished the person he had disliked for many years to the Cold Palace, but he had also saved money on raising concubines. He had really made a huge profit!
Prince Qi breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his seat. Emperor Longyun had thus accepted this explanation and would not cause any further trouble by killing a prince.
"Liang Juhong has uttered arrogant words and disregarded etiquette; he is hereby sentenced to death." Liang Juhong is currently the only official in the Liang family, leaving Emperor Longyun with no other recourse but to target him.
Liang Juhong was stunned on the spot.
"His Majesty--"
"Take him away first. After the court session, we'll leave it to Minister Lin to handle!"
Lin Shihe smiled and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."
It's unclear where Liang Juhong got the confidence to think he could avoid death by shifting the blame onto Liang Zhaoyi. He was the one who said it outside, and he can't escape punishment no matter what.
This is terrible; we've lost both our wife and our army.
From then on, even in the inner palace, there would be no one left who could speak up for Prince An.
Having successfully avenged his younger brother, Lin Shihe returned to his seat with satisfaction.
Only Prince An remained kneeling alone in the hall, tears streaming down his face. Only then did everyone realize that they seemed to have been discussing Prince An's affairs.
erm...
This feeling seems familiar. When did it happen before?
But they didn't have time to reminisce, because Lin Shiming, who had been moved by admiration for so long, finally broke free from Lu Yuxi's shackles and ran away.
"Father, I haven't finished reporting on Prince An yet! Why don't you issue an edict at the same time?"
Prince An, no longer caring about his mother, began to kowtow and beg again.
"Father! Your son has been framed. Your son has never done those things!"
"Ha, you think you can just say whether you did it or not based on your words alone? I have evidence!" Lin Shiming said smugly. "Before the spring hunt, Du Duan, the former governor of the Southern Region, had already confessed that he only kept 30% of the tax revenue he embezzled for himself, and the remaining 70% went into the Prince An's mansion to be used as capital for the Prince An to form cliques and engage in private activities."
"Do not..."
"I guess you want to say that Du Duan framed you. But unfortunately, the middleman you sent to silence him is actually not dead at all, and is now in the Ministry of Justice's prison with evidence."
That's not certain. Since he already knew that Prince An wanted to silence him, how could he not have made preparations in advance?
"Oh, and those officials in the Ministry of Justice who are still loyal to you have been arrested on the spot for trying to pass on information to you in advance! This is all evidence of your forming cliques for personal gain. I have arranged single cells for them and will take good care of them."
These were the people he had categorized as dangerous and sent to copy the account books. They were trying to gather information, but Lin Shiming, who was already on guard, had them caught red-handed!
Prince An collapsed to the ground in a panic, drenched in cold sweat.
Seeing that no one would object or obstruct him anymore, Lin Shiming smiled brightly, "I request that Father Emperor issue an order to search the Prince An's residence."
He didn't want to wait even a day longer after it had been so long.
Emperor Longyun was no exception.
"Prince An, since you claim innocence, but the Ministry of Justice has irrefutable evidence, I cannot ignore it. How about this: you go and stay at the Imperial Clan Court for a few days. I will..."
Emperor Longyun paused.
He didn't want Lin Shiming to get involved in this matter any longer. If Lin Shiming continued to handle it, rumors would circulate among the common people that Lin Shiming had dealt with the other princes in less than two months after marrying into the royal family.
Even if his actions are entirely in accordance with the law and justice, there will always be people who make wild guesses.
Besides, although he did indeed intend to get Lin Shiming to help clean up the court, this was his good brother's child, and he couldn't let him ruin his reputation any further.
Regardless of whether Lin Shiming will grow old with the Crown Prince in the future, he cannot allow Lin Shiming's reputation to become so tarnished; Lin Shiming must have some merits to his name.
"Then let the Dali Temple investigate thoroughly."
Lin Shiming looked up in surprise and met Emperor Longyun's unusually kind gaze.
"Your Highness has worked hard, but I have more important matters to entrust to you. I will leave this matter to the Dali Temple to handle for now."
Emperor Longyun gently stroked the imperial desk with both hands. "Issue an imperial decree: the case of Prince An shall be handed over to the Court of Judicial Review and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs for a thorough investigation. The Imperial Guards shall be ordered to seal off Prince An's residence and conduct a thorough search of the mansion to find the embezzled funds. Prince An shall be allowed to enter but not leave. Prince An shall be immediately confined to the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs."
Prince An felt a chill in his heart and fainted immediately.
Emperor Longyun waved his hand, and the imperial guards on the side hurriedly stepped forward and dragged Prince An away.
"The Crown Princess has done a good job at the Ministry of Justice recently, but the Ministry has been in chaos for a long time and it is time to sort it out. Since the Crown Princess is here, I will entrust this matter to you. I will also issue an edict today."
"Our dynasty's laws have been passed down for nearly two hundred years, and there are many omissions and outdated provisions. The Crown Princess is hereby appointed to take charge of the Ministry of Justice, investigate old cases, and reorganize the laws to uphold the authority of our dynasty's judiciary. All matters shall be decided solely by the Crown Princess, who is granted special permission to act expediently. If necessary, all other departments of the court shall fully cooperate."
It's possible that Lin Shiming's arrival at the Ministry of Justice already signified that the Ministry would eventually fall into the hands of the Crown Prince's faction. In addition, they were unwilling for this reckless individual to "stir up trouble" in other departments, and were eager to protect themselves under Lin Shiming's command. Therefore, no one in the court objected to this.
But Lin Shiming has it.
"Father, the Ministry of Justice recently conducted a thorough investigation and is severely understaffed. Your son..."
Emperor Longyun raised his hand, “That’s easy. The results of the provincial examination have just been released, right? You can take a break these days and familiarize yourself with the laws. After the palace examination, you can go directly to the newly appointed officials to choose.”
Lin Shiming was overjoyed. He could finally have a vacation! He was going to spend some time alone with Lu Yuxi at the estate!
"My son, thank you very much, Father!"