Chapter 175: People are excited and weaving a snare
The fifth prince was left in the palace, and the emperor originally planned to question him carefully after the court meeting the next morning.
Who would have thought that at court that morning, half of the civil and military officials would report this matter.
In less than a day, the story of the refugees from Longxi suing the prince had already spread to everyone.
The emperor couldn't help but snorted coldly: "It's true that good things don't go out, and bad things spread thousands of miles!"
Officials from the Ministry of Rites reported: "Early this morning, hundreds of imperial students stopped the officials on their way to the court and wrote petitions.
I sincerely ask the court to make a fair decision and make decisions for the people."
"These imperial students are petitioning at every turn! The matter has not even started to be tried yet, and they are petitioning. Are they sure that my son is bullying the people?" The emperor was obviously unhappy.
He didn't like people making noises, but these students were so stinky and tough that they had repeatedly written letters to the emperor because he was unable to practice Taoism.
Although the emperor is filled with hatred, the rules handed down from Taizu are that students are responsible for writing letters. Moreover, although these guys do not hold official positions, their status in the eyes of the world is unusually high.
Can't move easily.
"Your Majesty, these imperial students are just asking for justice. I also believe that the fifth prince is innocent, but the matter must be made clear to reassure the people and prevent Youyou from talking about it."
"What? Do you all agree with him?" the emperor asked everyone.
The people below almost said in unison: "Your Majesty is wise!"
"Then how do you think we should confess our confession? Call the fifth prince to the palace?" the emperor asked in a deep voice.
There was silence down there again.
"It seems that it won't work?" The emperor sneered, "Then what do you think we should do?"
All the ministers looked at Yao Tai and Ma Zhong, and finally Yao Tai stood up and said: "Since those refugees have sued Dali Temple, why not leave this matter to Dali Temple for decision!"
But An Guogong stood up and said: "The fifth prince was accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs when he went to provide disaster relief. Why not call the accompanying officials to ask questions first."
Obviously he does not advocate sending the fifth prince to Dali Temple.
"That's fine," the emperor nodded after hearing this, "I originally gave them all a holiday, so I will announce it to them and listen to what they have to say."
He also did not want to hand over his son.
"What An Guogong said is reasonable." Yao Tai immediately changed his mind, "At that time, the Ministry of Revenue followed two officials, Wang Cheng and Wu Wantuan.
Such a person is responsible for sorting out the relevant account books, and he will naturally know about money and food."
The emperor immediately ordered people to bring these two people.
Who would have thought that I would only bring one person with me in the end?
"Your Majesty, Wang Cheng committed suicide last night, and a funeral is being held at home." The people who went to declare Wang Cheng came back to report.
When everyone present heard the news, their expressions changed.
Why do good people commit suicide? And at this time.
The other Wu Wantuan was kneeling there. No matter what he was asked, he only said: "I deserve death for my crime!"
The emperor was so angry that he wanted to torture him, but was persuaded to stop him.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. One of the two accompanying officials is already dead. If he is beaten to death again, nothing can be done at all."
"If you don't open your mouth, you still have account books," another official added, "This is an important proof."
But checking the account books cannot be done in a short time.
The emperor did not agree to hand over the fifth prince to Dali Temple and ordered someone to check the accounts first.
Wu Wantuan also took a look first, and then ordered people from the Ministry of Punishment to go to Wang Cheng's home to conduct an autopsy, saying that no burial was allowed for the time being.
The emperor also called all the relevant people who went to Longxi with the fifth prince and questioned them one by one.
I just asked the fifth prince about his diet and daily life, where he had been, what he had said, and who he had met.
There was nothing wrong with what the others said. Only one cook said: "The fifth prince is very hard-working and often doesn't have time to eat.
Half a month before returning to Beijing and on the way back to Beijing, I only ate fish with every meal, as long as I put some salt in the water."
After hearing this, the emperor's face immediately became ugly.
He sent everyone out and locked himself in the imperial study room.
At this time, Concubine Fu also heard the news in the harem and asked Xue Hengzhao what to do.
"What happened was naturally premeditated. We can't escape the Ma family and the Yao family. They suffered losses a while ago, so they naturally have to make up for it.
And from what I can see, the Queen must have contributed to the situation.
Nowadays, there is an uproar in the capital, and the people’s blood letters and petitions by the imperial students are the public outrage;
One of the accompanying officials committed suicide and another was banned from speaking. This is official grudge;
The cook seems to be the most soft-spoken, but his words are the most powerful.
If the previous events were all about laying a trail, this cook’s words are just like the spark that lit the fuse.”
Concubine Fu was puzzled after hearing this: "I agree with the first two points, but I can't understand what the cook meant after that. Why did the emperor's face change so much after hearing this?"
"The empress should be able to see that the emperor initially did not believe that the fifth prince would do something that would cause outrage and anger among the people," Xue Hengzhao said, "whether it was based on blood ties or trust in the fifth prince's character."
"That's true, otherwise the emperor wouldn't have sent him to provide disaster relief, and everyone would praise him after he came back."
"Then those who devised this scheme naturally knew this, and they knew that it was not easy for the emperor to believe that the fifth prince really did such a thing.
But it’s not that difficult. The story of three people becoming a tiger has been around since ancient times.” Xue Hengzhao said, “The first two things are to start from the big picture, incite public sentiment, and influence judgment.
Putting this matter before the eyes of the public, the fifth prince, seemed fair and square, but in fact it left the emperor with no way out.
And the last thing is to start from the small side. The fifth prince’s diet is trivial, not to mention that at first glance, it sounds like the cook is also talking to the fifth prince.
But here's the problem. Most people wouldn't think of digging a hole here. But the more casual and small the place, the more suspicious it is.
The fifth prince worked hard and became thin, so the emperor specially gave him several royal meals.
But now the cook said that the fifth prince only ate boiled fish during the last half month on the way back together.
Even ordinary soldiers have food and meat to eat, so how can the fifth prince only eat fish to satisfy his hunger?
This incident itself is abnormal, and I remember that the fifth prince does not like to eat fish."
"When he was a child, he ate yellow croaker and got stuck by a thorn. From then on, he didn't like eating it." Concubine Fu also understood, "After hearing this, Your Majesty will think that Guo'er deliberately starved himself to lose weight.
It shows how hard you have worked hard."
"That's right, because eating fish alone will make you lose weight. Compared with eating nothing, not only will you lose weight faster, but you will not starve.
As a result, the emperor's long-term belief that the fifth prince's character is reliable becomes untenable."
"The thoughts of these people are really vicious and treacherous," Concubine Fu felt terrified. "No matter who they are, they will definitely believe what they see with their own eyes and what they hear with their own ears.
People's opinions make gold, but accumulation destroys bones. This is a truth that remains unchanged for thousands of years!"
