The cold wind and rain had stopped at night, and the glazed tile roof of the palace became even more dazzling after being washed away by the rain.
Today, there are only two people who can enter the palace late at night to see the emperor. One is Tai Shihong, the general who governs the country, and the other is Xiahou Yuanzhen, the prime minister.
When the Prime Minister enters the palace, it is the time of Haishi. When there is still half a stick of incense, it is the time when the saint goes to bed.
The saint pays attention to health preservation. Unless there are special circumstances, he will rest strictly according to the set hours.
In the royal study, the Prime Minister looked solemn and waited with his hands lowered. Only when the eldest grandson Meier appeared accompanied by the saint did the Prime Minister step forward and kneel to the ground.
"May the Prime Minister of the country be brought to justice." After the saint sat down, he told his eldest grandson, Mei'er, "Meier, give the Prime Minister a seat."
Just as Changsun Meier was about to go over, Xiahou Yuanzhen already said solemnly: "I don't dare to sit down."
The saint frowned slightly.
For the Prime Minister, even as a saint of the empire, the saint has always been very caring towards him. This is not only because the prime minister is the elder brother of the saint, but also because Xiahou Yuanzhen was the first official to support the saint.
, without the existence of the Xiahou State, the saint may not have been able to ascend the throne even if he had the late emperor's succession letter.
Therefore, when the minister of state enters the palace, the saint will give him a seat.
The Prime Minister was over sixty years old and was not in very good health. When offered a seat by a saint, he rarely declined. Even if he occasionally declined, he would be polite and eventually sit down.
But at this moment, the Prime Minister looked solemn and spoke firmly, as if he really did not dare to accept the offer of a seat.
"Why did the Prime Minister come late at night?" The saint thought for a moment and finally said, "Because of the Ministry of War case?"
"The officer in charge of the Third Division was taken to Dali Temple, but he was poisoned and died in Dali Temple last night." The Prime Minister said slowly: "Su Yu reported the matter, and the veteran has also prepared a summary of the whole matter and submitted it to the palace.
"
The saint nodded slightly: "I have already read it and issued an edict to order Dali Temple to thoroughly investigate the culprit of the poisoning." The application was quite unhappy and said lightly: "It seems that I still overestimated the capabilities of Dali Temple.
The matter should have been handed over to the Ministry of Criminal Justice from the beginning."
The Prime Minister did not even get up, but still knelt on the ground and said solemnly: "Sage, I have found out the real culprit of the poisoning."
"Oh?" The saint's eyes tightened and he asked, "Who is so bold?"
The Prime Minister said: "The veteran not only found out the real culprit who poisoned the three chief officers, but also found the culprit behind the case of the Ministry of War." After a pause, he continued: "The three chief officers were poisoned, and the purpose
It was to kill people and silence them. These three people were indeed involved in the Ministry of War ordnance case. Two years ago, someone secretly colluded with the chief officers of the three departments to pass off inferior goods and embezzled military funds. Dozens of officials were involved in the case.
But it is these three chief officials who know the details of this matter."
The saint was still calm and asked: "The Prime Minister is saying that after the Dong Chuang incident, the culprit behind the embezzlement of military funds was worried that the three officials in charge would expose him, so he killed and silenced him?"
"Yes." said the Prime Minister: "The culprit had secret contacts with Sinongfeng, the young minister of Dali Temple. After the three officials were taken away by Dali Temple, the culprit was panicked and sent someone to deliver a secret letter to Sinongfeng, asking Si Nongfeng to
Nongfeng killed people and silenced them, but Si Nongfeng poisoned the wine. The three officers in charge died immediately after drinking."
The saint said slowly: "Has the culprit been captured?"
"The old minister had the courage to bring him to the palace and beg the saint to punish him." The Prime Minister stood up, walked outside the imperial study, and shouted: "Bring him in!"
Soon, two Dragon Scale Guards carried a stretcher into the imperial study room. There was a person lying on the stretcher. The clothes on his buttocks were in tatters and bloody. The man was also weak and dying. The Dragon Scale Guards placed the stretcher on it.
On the ground, he retreated.
"Huai...Huaiyang Marquis!" Changsun Meier, who was standing next to the saint with her hands down, looked at him and her face turned pale.
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The saint also frowned slightly, looked at the Prime Minister Xiahou Yuanzhen, and asked: "The culprit mentioned by the Prime Minister is the Marquis of Huaiyang?"
"I deserve death for raising such a lawless beast." The old minister sighed: "Until today, I didn't know that he had done this scandal behind my back, and I wanted to kill him with a stick.
, but if the stick kills him, it is actually protecting him, so he takes him to the palace overnight and begs the saint to punish him."
The saint stood up, put one hand behind his back, and walked slowly to the stretcher. Huaiyang Hou reluctantly raised his head and looked at the saint. His face was pale and his voice was weak: "Aunt...aunt, father...father.
If you want to kill me, you...save the child...!"
The saint looked down at the Marquis of Huaiyang with sharp eyes and said calmly: "Is this really what you did?"
"My child... my child was confused for a moment." Huaiyang Hou said in a tearful tone: "From now on... I will never dare to do it again."
The old prime minister raised his hands and said seriously: "The saint embezzled military expenditures and murdered imperial officials. Either of these two serious crimes is a death penalty. I beg the saint to issue an edict and grant him the death penalty. Only in this way can we give an explanation to the civil and military officials of the dynasty and the people of the world.
"
The saint cast a sidelong glance at the old Prime Minister and asked, "Mei'er, should the Marquis of Huaiyang be killed?"
Changsun Meier said softly: "Reporting to the saint, according to the national law, it should be handed over to the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple will jointly try it, and then they will convict. If these two cases are indeed committed by the Marquis of Huaiyang
, it must be severely punished.”
"What Changsun Sheguan said is absolutely true." Lao Guoxiang said with hatred: "It is not a pity for such a rebellious son to die."
"It's just... if this matter is really revealed to the world, it may not be a good thing for the court." Changsun Meier bowed slightly and said respectfully: "The Marquis of Huaiyang is the beloved son of the Prime Minister and a relative of the emperor.
, if the world knows that the son of the Prime Minister manipulates officials to embezzle military funds, and even murders the chief officials of the third department in order to silence them, it will definitely damage the reputation of the Prime Minister, and even slander the holy name of the saint." After a pause, he
He continued cautiously: "The Prime Minister is the head of all officials. If his prestige is damaged, the prestige of the imperial court will also be damaged."
The old countryman cupped his hands to his eldest grandson Meier and said: "My eldest grandson has given up his official position. A prince who breaks the law is as guilty as the people. What's more, Xiahou Jie is not a prince. If he is not punished according to law, what is the use of the imperial decree? Embezzling military funds and poisoning court officials is a heinous crime. Xiahou Jie
Although Jie is the son of an old minister, he cannot abolish public service for personal reasons."
"I am very relieved that the Prime Minister can kill relatives with justice." The sage said calmly: "The words of the Prime Minister are justified. All the people in the world are my subjects. If Xiahou Jie committed such a heinous crime, I would be surprised if it was because he was born in the Xiahou family.
, then you show favoritism to others, how can you face the people of the world?"
The Prime Minister knelt on the ground and said solemnly: "I will immediately hand over Xia Houjie to the Ministry of Punishment. The Ministry of Punishment will work with Dali Temple for trial. All the officials involved will be arrested and brought to justice. We will never condone anyone."
"I have reminded the Prime Minister that the Xiahou family has a great position and enjoys the emperor's favor." The saint said coldly: "The more flowers bloom, the more careful you must be. You are the head of hundreds of officials and the most important person in the world.
Naturally, all eyes are on the Xiahou family. Others may still have room for maneuver if they make some mistakes, but as long as the Xiahou family makes the slightest mistake, it will be exaggerated by the world."
"The old minister's crime is unforgivable." The Prime Minister blamed himself: "The old minister also begged the saint to punish him. Since the Xiahou family has such a rebellious son, the old minister is also ashamed of the saint and the people of the world. He has no shame to continue to stay in the court. I beg the saint to come down."
Purpose, let the old minister return home." He looked up at the saint, but his eyes were full of tears, and he sighed and said: "Thanks to the saint's grace, the Xiahou family has enjoyed all the glory and wealth in these years, and the veteran is also a highly respected minister, so he deserves the blessing.
I have enjoyed everything. Now that I am old, I would like to return to my hometown to protect my ancestral temple, but I hope that the saints will fulfill my wish."
Huaiyang Hou Xia Houjie said feebly: "Aunt... Aunt, my child is really wrong. From now on... I really don't dare anymore... Please forgive my child for this...
This time...!”
"Beast, how dare you speak?" The Prime Minister raised his sleeves to wipe away his tears, looked at Xia Houjie and said angrily: "You deserve what you have deserved and will never be forgiven."
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The saint turned around and sat down behind the imperial desk, and asked calmly: "The Prime Minister of the State, the Marquis of Huaiyang, and the head of the three departments in tandem, how many people know about this matter?"
"Xia Houjie has never come forward about this matter." The Prime Minister replied: "For more than two years, the chiefs of the three divisions have been secretly colluding with each other. Those three people also have cronies under them, and they all got their money from the corrupt military expenditures.
Good thing, but the people in charge of the Third Division didn’t know that Xia Houjie was behind the scenes, and the only ones who directly took orders from Xia Houjie were the officers in charge of the Third Division.”
The saint pondered for a moment and then asked: "Except for those three people, no one else knows that Xia Houjie is behind it?"
"Some people may have suspicions, but there is no evidence in hand." the Prime Minister replied.
The sage asked: "What is the relationship between Sinongfeng, the young minister of Dali Temple, and Xia Houjie?"
"The veteran found out that Sinong Feng has served as a young minister in Dali Temple for many years, but the power of Dali Temple is weak. Sinong Feng has always wanted to be transferred to other yamen, and once wanted to follow the path of the veteran." The Prime Minister did not hide it: "But this
The talent was mediocre, and the old minister felt that this person was difficult to hold a big position, so he ignored him. Sinongfeng then secretly approached Xia Houjie, hoping to use Xia Houjie to help him get through to the old minister. The two had known each other for more than a year, and before that, they had not committed any crimes.
This time, Xia Houjie sent someone to deliver a secret letter to Sinong Feng, asking him to kill people and silence him. Instead of reporting it, Sinong Feng listened to Xia Houjie's words and actually poisoned the three officials.
This person is also the most unforgivable."
"So Si Nongfeng has evidence that Xia Houjie murdered three officers in charge?" The saint said indifferently: "If he were not a pig, of course he could have guessed that since Xia Houjie wanted to kill people and silence them, he was naturally the mastermind behind the Ministry of War arms case.
make."
The Prime Minister nodded and said: "Yes."
"Xia Houjie deserves it, he deserves to die." The saint glanced at Huaiyang Hou who was lying on the stretcher, and said coldly: "But what Mei'er said is not unreasonable. If this matter becomes known to the whole world, the Prime Minister and the court will
His prestige has been damaged, which is not a good thing." He pondered for a moment, and finally said: "Send him to the army."
The Prime Minister raised his head and said, "The saint wants Xia Houjie to go...to Pei Xiaogong's side?"
The saint shook his head and said: "Go to the north and ask Xia Houjie to go to the northern border and hand him over to Taishi Cunxu for training. He will not be allowed to return to Kyoto within ten years."
"Aunt, I...I won't go to the north. It's extremely cold there. I...I'll go to Pei Xiaogong's place...!" Xia Houjie hurriedly heard that he was going to the north.
Said: "The relationship between the Taishi family and our Xiahou family... is not on good terms. If... if... the child is given to Taishi Cunxu, he...!"
"Shut up!" the Prime Minister shouted sternly.
Xia Houjie shivered and did not dare to say anything more.
"Come here, carry him down." The saint ordered, and Dragon Scale Guards immediately came in and carried Xia Houjie down, and then said calmly: "There is no need to let the news that Xia Houjie ordered the chief officer of the Third Division to commit the crime spread.
, how to deal with the aftermath, the Prime Minister will think of his own ideas. Let Xia Houjie rush to the border in the near future and hand him over to Taishi Cunxu."
"Old minister, I obey the decree." The Prime Minister prostrated on the ground: "Old minister, I thank the saint for his forgiveness."
The saint sneered and said: "The Prime Minister thinks that I am deliberately protecting Xiahou Jie? I just don't want the court's prestige to be damaged. If Xiahoujie goes to the border, you will treat this son as dead and will not allow him to return to Kyoto within ten years. In addition, if
If he hasn't made any achievements after ten years of experience, let him grow old in the frontier fortress." Thinking of something, he frowned slightly and said: "The Prime Minister of Dali Temple, Nong Feng, also tried to find a way to deal with it. He had Xia Houjie murdering the head of the third division.
The evidence provided by the officer, don’t cause any trouble in the future because of him.”
"Old minister accepts the decree." The Prime Minister said: "It's just that besides Si Nongfeng, there is another person who has ironclad evidence of Xia Houjie's crime."
The saint asked doubtfully: "Improved proof?"
"Xia Houjie was coerced and wrote an indictment, clearly stating the crime and the officials involved." The Prime Minister said: "The indictment is now in Qin Xiao's hands."