freenovelworld Chapter 638 The Emperor's Heart Is Unfathomable?
Chapter 638 The Emperor's Heart Is Unfathomable?
The Crown Prince's men had just returned from the Xie residence when news came from the Ministry of Justice prison that several suspects had committed suicide in prison before being convicted.
Suicide?
Such a claim is naturally impossible to make sense.
Before the Crown Prince could make any move, all the coroners from the Ministry of Justice had arrived.
Upon seeing this, Wang Ziyu knew that the matter could no longer be concealed, so he immediately returned to his residence and told his father what had happened. At the end, he did not forget to describe in detail the Crown Prince's current anxiety.
"Father, what do you think we should do now?"
Duke Lu was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "What else can we do? They're all the Emperor's sons, all my nephews. The Crown Princess really brought this upon herself!"
"You mean, the Crown Princess?"
"Let's see how things go. No one wants to watch their wife die unless absolutely necessary. But if things do turn out to be the worst, the Xie family will have to find a scapegoat. The Crown Princess and the Crown Prince are one, and it's unlikely they'll easily push her out."
Wang Ziyu understood her father's meaning: the most urgent task was to quickly find a scapegoat from below.
“Father, I heard that two suspects are still alive. They were rescued in time, but they are just temporarily exhausted.”
"Hmm. Suicide? Who would believe that? Besides, are the coroners in the Ministry of Justice prison just sitting around doing nothing? Things have already escalated to this point, the people from the Court of Judicial Review will definitely get involved, and the Emperor won't tolerate any cover-ups."
"Father, do you think this incident might implicate my cousin, the Crown Prince?"
"It's hard to say! In the past year or two, the Xie family's behavior has become quite unbearable. The Emperor gave them a warning once before, and things improved slightly, but after only a few days, they've started acting up again. This time, I'm afraid the Emperor will bring the Xie family to its knees."
"As long as it doesn't endanger my cousin, the Crown Prince, everything else is negotiable."
It wasn't that Prince Yu was selfish; it was simply that the struggle for imperial power had always been like this.
Sacrificing some small fry is naturally the best option.
If it is inevitable that the higher-ups will be affected, then the Crown Prince absolutely cannot be harmed; otherwise, wouldn't all those who depend on the Crown Prince suffer?
At that time, who will the emperor value more?
A wise king?
His temperament is somewhat sinister; is such a person truly suited to be emperor?
For some reason, Wang Ziyu suddenly thought of her fourth cousin, Duanmu Chuze.
Compared to the princes mentioned above, Prince Yu felt that Duanmu Chuze was more suitable to become an emperor.
He was not only wise, but also skilled in both literature and martial arts, and enjoyed a high reputation among the people. With the help of a virtuous wife, he managed Yanzhou very well. Although he had never been to Chang Le Fang, he had heard many people mention its bustling atmosphere.
Suddenly, Wang Ziyu's face turned ugly.
He now understood why his fourth cousin was unwilling to reveal this information directly to the Crown Prince.
Even he thought his fourth cousin was the best candidate to become emperor in the future, let alone anyone else.
The Emperor has observed these princes for many years; how could he not know the temperament and character of each of them?
If the Crown Prince were to learn that all this information was leaked to him by his fourth cousin, then his cousin would likely have one more person to be wary of.
Or perhaps, the crown prince had always been wary of him, but he hadn't made it obvious.
However, Duanmu Chuze still sensed it, which is why he sent the message to him indirectly.
Once she understood this, Wang Ziyu not only felt no fear or panic, but also felt even more admiration for Duanmu Chuze.
Wang Ziyu's eyes even sparkled with a hint of excitement.
The Duke of Lu, who was standing nearby, noticed that something was wrong with him. "Ziyu, what's wrong?"
Wang Ziyu was taken aback, but quickly adjusted his mindset. "Father, if this matter escalates, what would be the worst possible outcome?"
Duke Lu shook his head. "It's hard to say. The most crucial thing is not how much turmoil is happening outside, but the unpredictability of the Emperor's mind."
Is the emperor's heart unfathomable?
One sentence reminded Wang Ziyu, "You mean that the Emperor's summoning of Prince Ming back to the capital this time is probably not just because of this trivial matter?"
"Two hundred thousand taels of grain, it's not a huge amount, but it's not a small amount either. This is the largest amount of grain that has been robbed since the founding of our Great Yong Dynasty, but it shouldn't have angered the Emperor so much. Didn't you notice that the Emperor only said that he summoned Prince Ming to the capital to see him, but he didn't say that he would be brought to the capital or locked up in the capital?"
Wang Ziyu understood.
The Emperor probably never believed those testimonies from the very beginning.
The reason for summoning the Ming king to the capital was twofold: firstly, to see how they would proceed, and secondly, to put on a show for others.
More importantly, with the Emperor summoning Prince Ming to the capital, Xingzhou was essentially leaderless.
If anything happens, even if the King of Light wants to go back and salvage the situation, it will be too late.
Could it be that the Emperor is siding with the Crown Prince?
But the Emperor knew that this incident was probably related to the Xie family, yet he still did this. That meant he was deliberately using this incident to strike a heavy blow against the Xie family.
Sure enough, a few days later, the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice held a joint trial and concluded that, first of all, those confessions were false and were fabricated by someone who had bribed them.
Secondly, all those prisoners who claimed to have committed suicide were actually murdered.
The probability of being murdered in the Ministry of Justice prison is naturally extremely low.
The first person to be suspected was naturally the prison warden.
Following this trail, the Xie family was soon implicated.
The third young master of the Xie family and the third master of the Xie family are both involved. There is ample evidence and witness testimony, leaving no room for denial.
After returning to the capital, the Ming King did almost nothing and directly cleared himself of suspicion.
On the contrary, life in the Crown Prince's palace has become quite difficult.
Two members of the Xie family's direct line were immediately implicated, and both of them were influential figures in the Xie family's affairs.
This time, it's clear to everyone that the Emperor is about to take action against the Xie family.
Soon, the imperial edict was issued.
The third master and third son of the Xie family actually dared to bribe and frame the Ming Prince. Such a serious crime of framing a member of the royal family should have resulted in the extermination of nine generations of their family. However, considering the Xie family's loyalty to the country, they were only granted a complete corpse.
The families of these two men were all exiled three thousand li away. For three generations, they were forbidden from returning to the capital; the men were forbidden from holding official positions in the court, and the women were forbidden from marrying into official families.
As a result, the Emperor's punishment of the Xie family made everyone understand that in the Emperor's eyes, the Xie family was becoming less and less powerful.