Just after daybreak, while Emperor Yu was still resting in Concubine Xian's bedroom, Eunuch Shuangxi hurried into the palace to report:
Pei Xinyin, the minister of Annan Kingdom, suddenly appeared at the door of the Royal Guards Department, claiming that he had an urgent report to request an interview with the Holy Spirit! Ruan Lang, who was on duty at the Royal Guards Department, after confirming his identity, personally sent him into the palace to wait for an interview with the Holy Spirit!
After hearing this urgent report, Emperor Yu was not in a hurry to respond. After a long time, he got up and washed himself up. It was not until the time to go to court that he steadily marched towards Long Live under the attention of all the civil and military officials.
temple.
The hall was quiet and solemn, with green smoke lingering. The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty stood on both sides. The first assistant of the cabinet, Xia Yunqing, and the second assistant, Wang Su, also stood at the front of the queue.
Emperor Yu slowly sat on the throne and stared at the man lying on the straw mat in the middle of the palace: his face was quite neat and clean, but the clothes on his body were not only wrinkled but also stained with blood. His legs were obviously injured.
The stab wound was only treated briefly and did not receive better treatment.
Emperor Yu looked at him and asked lazily: "You said you are Pei Xinyin, Prime Minister of Annan?"
Pei Xinyin struggled to sit up, bowed his hands, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Pei Xinyin, long live my emperor!"
Emperor Yu glanced at Yu Shou Si aside and asked, "Who confirmed his identity?"
The tallest figure in the crowd strode forward, holding a jade seal in both hands, and respectfully replied: "Your Majesty, he has the private seal of Prime Minister Annan on his body."
Emperor Yu took the jade seal and took a look at it, then said: "Since you are the Prime Minister of Annan, how can you come to see me in such a mess!" There was a hint of displeasure in his tone.
Pei Xinyin burst into tears and said heartbrokenly: "Your Majesty, civil strife has broken out in Annan! I risked my life to escape. Please save Annan!"
After saying that, he reluctantly stood up and kowtowed to Emperor Yu.
Emperor Yu only glanced at him and said to Ruan Lang beside him: "Kick this liar eighty times and drive him out of the city. Whoever dares to send such a lunatic in in the future will be beaten with him!"
"
"Yes!" Ruan Lang handed over his hand, and without any explanation, he led several officials from the Royal Guards Department and walked over to pick up Pei Xinyin's arm and drag him out.
Pei Xinyin looked at Emperor Yu in horror and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, I am not just talking nonsense! I am really Pei Xinyin, Prime Minister of Annan! Didn't you see the private seal?"
Emperor Yu snorted coldly: "Dare to engrave the prime minister's private seal privately is an even greater crime. If someone comes, he will be beheaded directly!"
"Your Majesty, spare your life!" Pei Xinyin shouted: "I sent people to find the coral tree that Annan paid tribute to last year! The emerald screen that the emperor rewarded in return is placed in my residence for guests to visit every day.
Woolen cloth!"
"Wait!" Emperor Yu suddenly raised his hand and stopped Ruan Lang and others. He took a closer look at the man in front of him again and said: "This is not a secret. Do you have other evidence to prove your identity?
"
Pei Xinyin rolled his eyes and said excitedly: "By the way, Concubine Xian! She was presented to you by the king. She has met the old minister! Your Majesty can let Concubine Xian identify the authenticity!"
Emperor Yu pondered for a moment and winked at Eunuch Shuangxi. Eunuch Shuangxi agreed and immediately bowed and exited. After a while, there was a sound of jingling rings. A virtuous, elegant and good-looking concubine walked into the palace gracefully.
Come and pay homage to Emperor Yu.
Emperor Yu pointed to the people on the mat and said, "My dear concubine, do you recognize the people on the mat?"
Concubine Xian turned her head slightly, glanced at the man on the mat, then gracefully said, "Your Majesty, this man looks very similar to Annan Prime Minister Pei Xinyin."
Emperor Yu waved his hand and said: "You should take a closer look and make sure to confirm carefully."
Concubine Xian moved lightly in front of Pei Xinyin. Although Pei Xinyin raised his head, he lowered his eyes and did not dare to look directly at the emperor's concubine. Concubine Xian looked at it carefully, turned around and nodded lightly to Emperor Yu. Emperor Yu understood.
After waving to her again, Concubine Xian slowly left the palace.
Emperor Yu looked at Pei Xinyin and asked again: "Pei Xinyin, you traveled thousands of miles to Beiyu, didn't you just bring a private seal with you to prove your identity?"
Pei Xinyin hurriedly took out a few letters from his baggage.
He presented it with both hands: "Your Majesty, I have been sleeping in the open all the way and was hunted down here. I only took with me these letters of credence between Annan and Beiyu. If your Majesty cannot believe these, then God will destroy me Annan!"
"
Eunuch Shuangxi forwarded those letters of credence to Emperor Yu. Emperor Yu took them and looked through them for a while before he completely cleared up the doubts in his heart, and then asked again: "Pei Xinyin, if Annan is really as you said, what happened like this
Why didn’t Lord Annan report this big matter to me truthfully?”
Pei Xinyin shed tears and said angrily: "Your Majesty, this was planned by the new king of Annan. Now he has purged all the officials in Annan and replaced them with his own people. Anyone who knows the inside story will die.
It’s all gone, how could anyone come to report this!”
Emperor Yu frowned and said in a deep voice: "I remember that this year, Annan's envoy came to the palace to submit his credentials and asked for the canonization of the new king. I saw that Annan's surname was changed from Hu to Jiang, so I asked about it specifically. At that time, your envoy had
It is said that because the old king died violently and had no heirs to succeed him, you elected a new king. Is this true?"
When Pei Xinyin heard this, he frowned angrily and cursed: "That's nonsense! That messenger is a close associate of the new king, so he naturally speaks to the new king!"
Emperor Yu looked at him in surprise and said: "At that time, I also thought this matter was quite strange, so I sent the Minister of Rites to Annan to investigate the matter. Minister of Rites, please come out and talk about it!"
Liu Bingwen was shocked when he heard this. He immediately came out with a wat tablet in his hand and said, "Your Majesty, I sent officials from the Ministry of Rites to investigate. The results are the same as what was stated in the certificate: the old monarch was indeed killed violently, and the new monarch was killed."
There is no doubt about the recommendation!"
Emperor Yu waved his hand to make him retreat, looked at Pei Xinyin, and said coldly: "I have decreed and canonized the new king of Annan, but you said that there was civil strife in Annan and that the new king was plotting to usurp the throne! It is hard for me to believe such a matter of right and wrong.
!」
Pei Xinyin immediately prostrated himself on the ground and told the story of Annan:
The newly succeeded Lord of Annan was once the son of Marquis Taiping of Annan. Marquis Taiping was the father of the late Queen Annan. He had always been deeply respected by the old Lord of Annan. Although the father and son of Lord Taiping often did evil things, the old Lord felt grateful for the late Queen.
After being together for many years, they always turned a blind eye to what the father and son did.
However, Taipinghou and his son did not appreciate the old monarch's love. They only thought that he was weak and easy to bully. So, relying on their status, they began to make arrangements in the court while eradicating those who firmly supported the old monarch.
After years of careful planning, they took advantage of the old king's serious illness and suddenly launched an attack. They invaded the palace with troops, killed the old king and all his heirs, and also exterminated the ministers who opposed him in the palace! Immediately, Taiping Hou
He incited his supporters in the court to support his son on the throne, and also designed to deceive Emperor Yu to obtain the legal title.
At the end of the story, Pei Xin lay on the ground and cried bitterly, and everyone who heard it was shocked. Emperor Yu propped up his cheek and fell into deep thought, with a dark and unpredictable look in his eyes. After listening to this, all the officials in the palace were
The story reminds me of Pingyang Hou and his son.
"Liu Shangshu, how did your people investigate? Do you know that deceiving me is a capital crime?" Emperor Yu finally began to attack Liu Guozhan.
Liu Bingwen knelt on the ground with a bang, and said with sincerity and fear: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites, under the leadership of the veteran minister, has always performed its duties faithfully, without any mistakes! I hope your Majesty will learn from it!"
Before Emperor Yu could speak, the first assistant Xia Yunqing came out first and argued: "What a perfect mistake! According to Liu Shangshu, Prime Minister Pei is lying! I would like to know that as the prime minister, he framed the king of the country.
What's the benefit? Is he so stupid that he doesn't know if he can find out everything by just sending someone to investigate?"
Liu Bingwen knew that he could not defeat him, so he ignored his objections and said to Emperor Yu: "Your Majesty, I sent the Minister of Rites to check this matter. Maybe the Minister of Rites was deceived and something went wrong! I hope your Majesty.
Forgive me!"
"Hmph, I guess you were not deceived, but bribed!" Xia Yunqing sneered, stroking her long beard.
"Xia Yunqing, don't stop spewing blood!" Liu Bingwen finally couldn't hold it in anymore and turned to glare at him angrily, as if fire was about to burst out of his eyes.
"Your Majesty!" Xia Yunqing faced Emperor Yu and said righteously: "I heard that
After the Minister of Rites came back from Annan, he built luxury mansions in several prosperous areas of the capital. Let me ask, if he had not accepted bribes in Annan, how could he have become rich overnight?"
As he spoke, he changed the subject, glared at Liu Bingwen and asked, "Liu Shangshu speaks for him like this, does it mean you are one of those mansions?"
"Your Majesty, you have a clear warning!" Liu Bingwen shouted loudly: "I definitely did not accept the mansion from him. Your Majesty will know as soon as you check!"
"Ha ha ha!"
Liu Bingwen was shocked and realized that he had been tricked by Xia Yunqing. He didn't care much and immediately stood up with his robe in hand, pointed at him and stamped his feet and cursed: "You crazy Xia dog, how dare you play dirty tricks with me!"
The key to swearing in court is to use the most civilized words and the most unpleasant words. Liu Bingwen was so full of foul language that everyone frowned, and even Emperor Yu couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Xia Yunqing smiled nonchalantly and said: "Liu Guozhan, I advise you not to be harsh! This matter is not a trivial matter. As long as the emperor sends people to investigate again, the truth will soon be revealed, and Liu Guozhan will be doomed by then!"
"
Hearing this, Liu Bingwen did not dare to speak anymore, but he was so angry that he puffed out his cheeks like a catfish, and in his heart he scolded Xia Yunqing's eighteen generations of ancestors.