Phi-Fic Chapter 619 The case officially begins
Chapter 619 The case officially begins
When he heard Pei Zhaozhi's name, Emperor Xiao's frown instinctively deepened.
Pei Zhaozhi’s request to preside over the case was rejected by him. He originally thought that the other party had given up, but now it seems that they can no longer hold back.
"Let him in." Emperor Xiao's voice was tense, with a hint of displeasure.
When Pei Zhaozhi walked in, he saw Shen Yanxi standing in the imperial study. He was stunned for a moment, then he retracted his gaze and saluted Emperor Xiao.
"Your humble servant greets His Majesty. Long live the Emperor."
"No courtesy, get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Pei Zhaozhi stood up and glanced sideways at Shen Yanxi again.
This was naturally seen by Emperor Xiao, who did not say much, but simply asked, "What brought you here, Lord Pei?"
"Your Majesty, I did not expect Prime Minister Shen to be here. The case I entered the palace today was the assassination of Prime Minister Shen two days ago."
"Assassinated?" Emperor Xiao was startled. "What happened?"
How come he had never heard of Shen Yanxi's assassination?
Pei Zhaozhi bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, the former Prime Minister's son Li Zheng, his mother Qian, and his eldest brother Li Maoer set up a trap together, kidnapped Grand Tutor Lu's granddaughter Lu Yan, lured Lady Jiang and Prime Minister Shen to go there, intending to take the opportunity to assassinate Prime Minister Shen. In the end, Lady Jiang was injured, and their plan failed, and they were arrested and taken to the Ministry of Justice. After the trial, the cause and effect of the whole case and the person behind it have been explained, but because the person behind it has a special identity, I entered the palace to report to the emperor first."
Emperor Xiao frowned, "Who is the one who ordered this?"
Pei Zhaozhi was silent for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, it is the Fourth Prince."
Although Emperor Xiao had some guesses in his mind, when he heard that it was Xiao Yi, the expression on his face couldn't help but become even uglier.
Looking at Pei Zhaozhi, Emperor Xiao asked, "Is there any evidence?"
"Your Majesty, there is no physical evidence yet, but the mother and son of the Li family have all confessed. In addition, Li Mao was captured to threaten Li Zheng and Qian, and the people guarding him have also been caught. It has been confirmed that they are the secret guards secretly cultivated by the Fourth Prince. Under interrogation, the secret guards also confessed all the inside information they knew. I have brought their confessions with me."
Pei Zhaozhi took out several confessions from his sleeve and presented them to him with a bow.
Eunuch Fuguang glanced at Emperor Xiao, and after receiving the signal, he stepped forward, took the confession, and presented it to Emperor Xiao.
Emperor Xiao only glanced at the confessions of Li Zheng and his mother, but he read the confession about the Fourth Prince secretly cultivating secret guards carefully from beginning to end.
In addition to the guards, it is not surprising that the prince's mansion secretly trains some other personnel. Although it will not be exposed openly, it is tacitly accepted in private.
However, when he saw the confession that Xiao Yi had secretly cultivated a large number of people as early as five years ago, Emperor Xiao felt a chill in his heart.
He really didn't understand this son.
Although he was still young, he was able to act cautiously. Not only did he embezzle disaster relief funds, but he also framed others and made everything he did flawless.
After the truth was revealed, he pushed his brother to death and killed him to silence him without any regard for the brotherhood.
Now he still has so many secret guards in his hands...
He's really awesome. He's so capable. If he really wanted to plot against me, he might succeed.
Emperor Xiao closed his eyes, and the headache that had often occurred in the past few days came again.
Leaning back on the chair, he suddenly asked, "Do you think the Fourth Prince has the intention of rebellion?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Eunuch Fu Guang standing by was so frightened that he held his breath and dared not even breathe.
Pei Zhaozhi did not expect Emperor Xiao to ask this suddenly. His expression was tense and he also did not speak.
In contrast, Shen Yanxi was relatively calm. He looked at Emperor Xiao and asked, "Your Majesty, are you asking about before or now?"
Emperor Xiao suddenly opened his eyes and met Shen Yanxi's gaze.
Shen Yanxi did not evade or evade, and continued to speak: "Forgive me for being so bold, but the emperor should know very well that the current situation is different from before. Before, the Fourth Prince was cautious in his actions, perhaps he just wanted to plot the position of the crown prince, and he did not have any rebellious intentions. But after the falling out in the Ministry of Justice that day, I dare not say what the Fourth Prince is thinking now."
"You really dare to say that." Emperor Xiao's face was as cold as ice.
Shen Yanxi cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty asks me questions, and I dare not fail to speak frankly."
"To be frank..." Emperor Xiao repeated these two words, finding them very harsh, but at the same time he knew very well in his heart that Shen Yanxi was indeed telling the truth.
The father-son relationship between them was probably almost gone when he put the man in prison.
Unless he could pretend that nothing had happened before, release the man from the Heavenly Prison again, and even enthrone Yier as the Crown Prince again, the rift between them would have already occurred, and it would be absolutely impossible for them to reconcile as before.
His eyes once again fell on the confession of the secret guards and the piles of memorials. Emperor Xiao suddenly felt that his hesitation was actually meaningless. Although he was an emperor and held the power of life and death, he might not have other choices in many matters.
Taking a deep breath, Emperor Xiao looked at Pei Zhaozhi, "Lord Pei."
Pei Zhaozhi's heart trembled, and he immediately said, "I am here."
"I order you to preside over the trial of the Fourth Prince, but before the case is fully investigated, you must not leak the news. After everything is investigated, you must not announce the results privately. Report everything to me first."
"Yes, Wei Chen obeys your order."
Although the news is still suppressed, compared with the stalemate in the past few days, being able to officially start the investigation is already a good sign.
After leaving the imperial study and walking on the palace road, Pei Zhaozhi made sure that there was no one around before speaking to Shen Yanxi in a low voice.
"You are right. After the emperor saw the news from the secret guards, he really allowed the investigation."
"Although the emperor cares about the royal family's reputation, it is impossible for him not to be on guard when he sees the people that the fourth prince has cultivated in private. After all, compared to a prince who does something wrong and harms the people and kills his brothers, if it is a father and son killing each other, that would be the biggest scandal in the royal family."
Once one embarks on the path of becoming an emperor, all the love between father and son and between husband and wife have to take a back seat.
For some emperors, the stability of their throne may sometimes even be more important than the stability of their country.
Although Emperor Xiao might not be like this, he definitely cared about and protected his imperial status.
“But most of the contents of the secret guards’ confessions were not confessions. If the emperor sends someone to check privately…” Pei Zhaozhi’s tone revealed worry.
"You can rest assured that everything above is true. Even if the emperor sends someone to check, they won't find any problems."
During this period, his men were not idle. Some of them had been secretly trying to figure out Xiao Yi's background. Although it was difficult to guarantee complete knowledge, they had at least found out most of it.
Everything in the confession is true, otherwise he would not have taken the risk of bringing it before Emperor Xiao.
"That's good!" Pei Zhaozhi heaved a sigh of relief. "Speaking of which, if the Fourth Prince knew that the scheme he set up not only failed, but was used by you to force the Emperor to make up his mind, he would probably be furious."
Shen Yanxi stopped and looked at Pei Zhaozhi, a smile appearing on his originally indifferent expression.
"Then let's go to the Heavenly Prison now to let the Fourth Prince know."