sjar Chapter 269 Above the Court
Chapter 269 Above the Court
"Sister, I've actually wanted to tell you this for a long time. In order not to bother you, I actually wanted to divorce the Crown Prince. But I know my father's temper better than anyone else. I was afraid that my father would blame the Crown Prince for this, so I delayed until now. I know that you all have a lot of opinions about my father, but I think that my father will help the Crown Prince for my sake. If there is anything you need from him, you must tell me as soon as possible."
Zhu Fangfei's righteousness made Lan Zhi feel very gratified.
She nodded and chuckled.
"Okay, I'll definitely come to you if I need your father's help. By the way, what about you and Sun Wei lately..."
"Don't mention him to me."
Zhu Fangfei waved her hand angrily.
"You be the judge. Yesterday, I kindly pointed out that his clothes had a hole, but he said I was being nosy and glared at me. Don't you think he's crazy?"
"Then how come I heard that you scolded someone for being ungrateful and almost got into a fight?"
"Well... he glared at me first, so I started yelling at him."
Lan Zhi smiled rather helplessly.
"I see now, you and Sun Wei are a perfect pair of bickering lovers. Sun Wei is a good person in every way, except he's very concerned about his image. If you tell him to his face that his clothes are torn, he'll definitely feel embarrassed!"
Zhu Fangfei looked at her with considerable confusion.
"If I don't remind him, he won't even know his clothes are torn!"
"He must know, but as a grown man, he certainly can't sew it himself, and there's no one to mend it for him. Let Xiangxiu mend it for him later!"
"No, no need."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Fangfei waved her hand eagerly.
"I can fix it too, I'll fix it for him."
She found Sun Wei very interesting, and she wanted to play with him; she couldn't let other women have the chance to get close to him.
Lan Zhi seemed to realize something, and smiled with her lips pursed.
"Okay, if you need money for needles, go to Xiangxiu and get it. She has a lot of needles and thread."
Zhu Fangfei's eyes darted around, then she turned around and spoke as she walked.
"I'll go borrow it from her now, I'm off!"
Watching her carefree figure as she walked away, Lan Zhi suddenly felt a little envious.
She is passionate and decisive, and she dares to take responsibility for her actions.
Such people don't think too much, so they naturally don't feel tired.
In the afternoon, Yuan Tianxiong and Nie Yuan returned to the Crown Prince's residence. Lan Zhi talked with them in the study all afternoon, but no one knows exactly what they talked about.
The next morning at the imperial court, Lin Xingliang indeed prepared a memorial impeaching Wei Jianning.
Although the emperor had not attended court for a long time, his face showed signs of fatigue.
Lately, the Emperor seems to have lost all interest in state affairs, and even seems a little impatient with attending the morning court session, a daily routine.
Fortunately, Wei Jianning was in charge of handling state affairs during this period; otherwise, the court would have been in chaos long ago.
After Linglan Hua suffered a miscarriage, she dared not let the Emperor stay overnight at Zhenlan Garden every day. The Emperor still did not go to the other concubines' quarters, but instead favored a new young lady in Yangxin Hall.
It is said that this young lady was recently sent to the palace, but no one knows who sent her.
"If you have something to report, do so now; otherwise, the court may adjourn."
This is probably the emperor's favorite saying, and it also reveals his perfunctory attitude.
Lin Xingliang stepped forward from the crowd, holding a memorial to the throne, and solemnly said:
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."
The Emperor frowned slightly and raised his hand, saying:
"Say it!"
"Your Majesty, the entire Wu family of thirty-eight people was beheaded yesterday at Caishikou in the capital. Is Your Majesty aware of this matter?"
These words surprised the emperor.
"What did you say? Thirty-eight people were beheaded? How come I didn't know about something this big?"
He then looked at Wei Jianxun.
"Xun'er, what's going on?"
Wei Jianxun quickly clasped his hands in a fist and solemnly replied:
"Father, this execution decree was issued by the Crown Prince before his departure. Someone had submitted a memorial to the Crown Prince, saying that Wu Tiancheng had been corresponding with the Empress of Yuanhe Kingdom. The Crown Prince suspected him of treason and ordered a search of Wu Tiancheng's house. They found an unopened secret letter. After opening it, the Crown Prince discovered that the letter mentioned that Wu Tiancheng should form factions in the Northern Wei court to prepare for a future attack by Yuanhe Kingdom. The Crown Prince was furious, but Wu Tiancheng vehemently denied it. The Crown Prince immediately dismissed Wu Tiancheng from his post and ordered him to be executed after the facts were verified..."
The Emperor listened carefully, pondered for a moment, and then nodded.
“The Crown Prince handled it well. Treason is no small matter and must not be tolerated.”
Lin Xingliang then stepped forward and loudly reported:
"Your Majesty, I believe the Wu family has been wronged. My investigations over the past two days have revealed that Wu Tiancheng's sister married into the Yuanhe Kingdom thirty years ago, and during that time, she maintained correspondence with Wu Tiancheng. This was normal family correspondence. As for that secret letter, Wu Tiancheng never opened it and doesn't know its authenticity. Yet, the Crown Prince used this to conclude that Wu Tiancheng was plotting a rebellion, and ordered the execution of the entire Wu family of thirty-eight members. The people are outraged and have gathered at the palace gates and government offices to protest, demanding the removal of the Crown Prince and petitioning for the Wu family's safety. I also believe the Crown Prince's handling of this matter was too hasty. I request Your Majesty to compare the correspondence between the Wu family and the Yuanhe Kingdom with that secret letter, so as to determine the authenticity of the secret letter..."
The Emperor frowned and looked at Wei Jianxun.
Where is that secret letter?
Wei Jianxun hesitated for a moment and then shook his head.
"The Crown Prince has put it away; I do not know where it is."
"Let's wait until Ning'er comes back before we talk about it!"
"emperor……"
Another minister stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, we don't know when the Crown Prince will return, but the people outside the palace can't wait any longer. They are standing at the palace gates, demanding justice for the Wu family!"
Another minister also stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, I believe the only way to quell public anger is to first depose the Crown Prince..."
"I also believe that the Crown Prince handled this matter too rashly. If the Crown Prince is not deposed, it will be difficult to quell public anger!"
"..."
Wei Jianxun stepped forward and said:
“Father, I am also at fault in this matter. I have read the correspondence between the Wu family and the Yuanhe Kingdom. The content is not excessive, just some trivial family matters. As for that secret letter, the Crown Prince did not show it to me. However, when the Crown Prince issued this imperial edict, I tried to persuade him, but he said that it is better to kill a thousand innocent people than to let one guilty person go free. It is all my fault for not thinking things through at the time and not forcibly stopping him, otherwise... I would not have made such a big mistake.”
The Emperor frowned and asked in a deep voice:
"Why didn't he inform me of this beforehand? Those were thirty-eight lives, and he just killed them like that? And the evidence was so convincing. How can I possibly appease the public outcry for him?"
Hearing the Emperor's tone filled with dissatisfaction towards Wei Jianning, Wei Jianxun pressed his advantage, adding:
"Father, now that things have happened and the Wu family is dead, the people have a lot of grievances against the court. It won't be easy to silence them!"