Zhong Niangzi Wanfu

Chapter 51 Dethroning the Prince
一
As soon as Wen Shu and Zhong Yan stepped out of the mansion gate, they saw Shen Yan and Wen Yi waiting outside the mansion gate.

The four of them got into the carriage without saying anything.

"The Governor and His Royal Highness Prince Li have already handed over the memorial. The people from the palace should be on their way." Shen Feng said to the two of them.

"The files, documents, confessions, and certifications are all irrefutable evidence. He cannot deny it. Now it depends on what the emperor will do with the Crown Prince today." Wen Yi's eyes were burning, and the depression and injustice accumulated over the past three years were finally relieved.

"How did you get in touch with His Royal Highness Prince Li?" Zhong Lan asked.

"Brother Zhang has been in contact with King Li all these years. When King Li returned from his mission to Dongchang, Princess Li told King Li about the matter of sealing the cloth, and King Li secretly ordered people to investigate." Wen Wen Yi explained.

"During these days, King Li also helped us sort out the evidence and submit the memorial to Tian Ting."

Zhong Lan nodded silently, lowering his head and thinking about something.

Seeing this, Shen Feng comforted Zhong Lan softly and said: "I understand what you are worried about. The King of Li and the Crown Prince have long had a grudge. We are alone and are enemies of the Crown Prince, so we must find the King of Li as a backer. But we and the Crown Prince have a backing." There is always the governor between the king and the king of Li. Lord Zhang can see clearly that he is the clear stream in the court. If he does not take sides, the future party struggle between the court and the center will have nothing to do with us."

"What's more, we are only the people of a small border county. Party struggle is a matter for important officials in the court. We are far from qualified." Wen Yi's mouth slightly raised.

Zhong Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking back to Shen Feng's words, he couldn't help but ask: "The prince and Prince Li have long had a grudge?"

"We heard Brother Zhang talk about the secrets of the royal family. It seems that the prince first fell in love with the daughter of the Xu family, but Prince Li preemptively proposed marriage in front of the emperor and hired her. Since then, we have had a grudge." Wen Yi recalled murmuring. road.

"Later, the Baoguan mine was supposed to be under the control of King Le. At that time, the mining ban was not tight, and the control of the official mine was not clear. It was a good job that could be used to enrich one's own pockets. But the prince snatched it away."

"So, does the party dispute between the Crown Prince and Prince Li begin early in the morning?" Wen Shu asked cautiously.

The four people in the car looked at each other.

"Don't dare to talk nonsense about this matter. Even the governor didn't make it clear."

Zhonglan pondered for a while and said seriously in a low voice: "The prince is in charge of the mines and is amassing money. Even if there are no major mistakes, he has probably gone to heaven to listen and has lost his sacred heart. Over the years, the general has worked hard and received foreign guests. , the envoy to Dongchang was handed over to King Li, including the deliberate marriage and the change of decree, just to make Longzi fight."

"If the King of Li has no intention of seizing the legitimate son, then he will make peace with the prince in order to seek peace in the future. Now that they are forced to fight, I am afraid that His Highness the Prince of Li has already had the intention of seizing the legitimate son."

"You have made great contributions this time. If you are rewarded and appointed to the court, I am afraid that if you don't want to fight with the party, you will have to turn into a sword in the hands of the superior to fight for it."

The atmosphere in the car was suppressed, and the four of them remained silent.

"The Governor will make a pilgrimage to the palace tomorrow. We will all know what happens by then." Shen Jie said calmly, "No matter what the order is tomorrow or today, the two of us will think twice before anything happens. Don't worry."

Shen Feng had his own persistence. Even though Zhong Lan was worried, he nodded and told him and Wen Yi to be careful in everything.

two

Qi Kong wore a deep purple python robe and a black jade crown on his head. After receiving the edict, he hurried outside the gate of Zihe Palace, only to see Qi Cheng and Xu Songqing also there.

The two of them were dressed in royal attire and were waiting on their knees. When they saw the prince approaching, they stood up and saluted.

"My brother pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince and asks His Highness Jin An."

"My wife pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince and asks His Highness Jin An."

Qi Kong sneered: "Brother Wang is really good at playing such a big game of chess. Zhang Yan, Zhang Xu, Shen Feng, and Wen Yi are all yours, right? Even the Wen's firm is also your chess piece. You Weaving a big net, I was caught in it step by step, forcing me to submit!"

Qi Cheng's expression remained unchanged and he was extremely respectful: "My brother, I don't dare."

"Don't you dare? I'm afraid there is no one in the world who is more daring than you! After Zhang Yan took care of Qin Lin's affairs, I ordered Yu Shi Zhongcheng to come forward and beat him. From then on, he had a grudge against me. Later, the Wen family In fact, he colluded with you to target me."

"Later Wen Yi disappeared, and you used Zhang Zhuo to establish a line with the Wen family, and by the way, you contacted Shen Feng. Otherwise, how could they, a few common people, do such a big thing?"

Qi Cheng did not respond to Qi Kong, only lowered his eyes and bowed to Qi Kong respectfully.

Xu Songqing took a step forward and retorted: "Then His Highness the Crown Prince always sits high in the bright hall, untouched by the wind and snow? In the previous scrap iron case, Your Highness contacted Xi Liang, and then the current official mine case came into being, if it weren't for the Crown Prince His Highness wanted to take the Wen family into his pocket to prepare for private smuggling of official mines in the future, and he also killed Wen Yi and others time and time again, so how did it lead to the current situation?"

Qi Kong's eyes widened: "What do you know? If it weren't for Shen Feng and the others, everything would be under my control. I could use the money from official mines to fill the national treasury and benefit the country and the people without any harm."

"Filling the national treasury? Isn't it your own treasury that your Highness really wants to fill?" Xu Songqing asked rhetorically. "Kuang Xiliang and Beizhao are now at war with each other. His Highness the Crown Prince's dealings with Xi Liang are like drinking poison to quench his thirst. His Highness is greedy for huge profits, so there is no need to speak in a high-sounding way."

"I know right from wrong and I will explain to you clearly. You are not allowed to interrupt." Qi Kong waved his sleeves and prepared to go up the stairs.

"My brother and His Highness the Crown Prince have different holy thoughts." Qi Cheng, who had been silent until now, spoke, and a voice came from behind Qi Kong, stopping Qi Kong in his tracks.

"If Shen Feng and others had not embraced Pu Hanzhen with an innocent heart, and still held candles to explore the way in the chaotic officialdom of Beizhao, pursuing their own path, how many Gao family, Jiang family, and historians would have been in Beizhao? Will an innocent family become a scapegoat and a ghost in the exchange of power?"

"Even though His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has scheming intentions, I have no choice but to argue against the foolish policy of treating the low-level people like worthless people and killing them indiscriminately."

Qi Kong turned around, pointed at Qi Cheng and Xu Songqing at the bottom of the steps and cursed: "Women's kindness!"

"My brother is not a woman's benevolent. To build a country, one must be ruthless, and to govern it must be benevolent. Now Beizhao has been passed down for hundreds of years, and His Highness the Crown Prince's fierce and cold temperament is no longer suitable for Beizhao's policy of resuscitating the people. I kneel down and beg you. Your Highness, think twice!" Qi Cheng bowed again to Qi Kong.

"You talk so much about benevolence and righteousness, isn't it just for the sake of my position as the crown prince? If I guessed correctly, you would have thought of taking my place instead!" Qi Kong stepped forward angrily, raising his foot to ask Qi Cheng Kick away.

"His Royal Highness, think twice." Xu Songqing got up first and stood in front of Qi Cheng to salute, "We are in the Zihe Palace today, not His Highness's East Palace. If His Highness does anything in a moment of anger that touches Tianyan, we and all of us will I can’t bear it.”

Qi Kong's foot stopped just outside Xu Songqing's punch, and even though he was furious, he still stomped to the ground: "You two are so smart! Are you using this to scare me? Are you looking at me to trick me? You only hate me. Without the help of Yue family like Xu family, Feng family, and Dongchang, otherwise you will die without a burial place!"

"Who does Your Highness want to die without a burial place?" Zhang Yan, dressed in official robes, strolled out of Zihe Palace, followed by a woman. It was Zhong Lan and Wen Shu who broke into the Wu Mansion at night in Yuzhou , the graceful woman who conveyed messages for Qi Kong.

Zhang Yan stepped forward and bowed to Qi Cheng: "Minister Zhang Yan, pay homage to His Royal Highness, and ask His Highness Jin An."

Qi Kong didn't reply, he just stared blankly at the woman behind Zhang Yan: "You, you!"

"On the first lunar month of Dongfang Mansion, I pay homage to His Highness the Crown Prince and ask about His Highness Jin An." The woman calmly bowed to Qi Kong.

"A traitor? She is, she is your traitor?" Qi Kong panicked, pointing at Dongfang Chuyue and looking at Qi Cheng, "She has been with me for ten years!"

"Compared with the hatred of killing my father and my mother, ten years is nothing." Dongfang Chuyue said leisurely.

Qi Kong was furious: "Someone wants to harm me! I want to see your majesty, I want to see your majesty!"

"Your Majesty has an edict." Min Duo, the eunuch of Zihe Palace, came out and read out the edict in front of everyone.

Everyone knelt down at the foot of the steps.

"The emperor is destined to be blessed by heaven, the edict says. The crown prince Kong, who is the eldest son of the emperor, is in the Ming Dynasty. However, he has evil intentions and tolerates adultery. He colluded with foreign countries to transport scrap iron, and later used his official position to seek personal benefits and distribute official mines. He treated the people with contempt and killed them. Heavy, the people have been suffering for a long time, and it is difficult to rise from the illness. How can I flatter the ancestral temple and inherit the inheritance of the ancestors? Now I am heartbroken and deprived of the crown prince of Confucius. I deposed him as Lord Pingping and moved to the abandoned palace. No one can come out without my order. East Palace [-] All the staff have been demoted, and the matter of conviction has been handed over to Zongzheng Temple with full authority to investigate. I appreciate this."

Qi Cheng and others all kowtowed and accepted the order.

Only Qi Kong looked at Min Duo in disbelief: "Superintendent Min, is this true?"

Min Duo frowned and nodded, then stepped forward and handed the imperial decree into Qi Kong's hands.

Qi Kong read it over and over again, his hands trembling slightly: "This is impossible, this is impossible! I want to see Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty has handed over the mine matters to King Li. Now the envoy from Dongchang will come to the court to inquire about the mine list. Your Majesty should not have time to see His Highness." Min Duo lowered his head slightly and persuaded. A Yulin guard lifted Qi Kong up and sent him away.

Qi Kong suddenly threw away Yu Linwei's hand, looked at the dark red plaque of Zihe Palace, and smiled sadly at Qi Cheng and others: "A rabbit will die and a dog will cook, you really think that this palace is responsible for all this." What did you do?"

"Your Highness, please go back to your residence. Don't offend Tianyan again." Min Duo frowned and stepped forward to persuade.

"It's a check and balance. You are the chess piece to check and balance me. Do you know?" Qi Kong was being held up by others, and he kept shouting at Qi Cheng, "It is difficult to be the emperor, and it is even more difficult to be the prince! Today, I will It’s your tomorrow!”

"My brother understands. My brother understands better than the emperor from the beginning." Qi Cheng took a deep look at the arch where Qi Kong disappeared and bowed deeply.

"His Royal Highness King Li, Your Majesty has summoned you." Seeing Qi Kong leave, Min Duo stepped forward and saluted Qi Cheng.

Qi Cheng politely followed Min Duo into the main hall of Zihe Palace.

Xu Songqing looked at Shen Feng's shadowy figure under the shade of the tree and sighed deeply.

(End of this chapter)