Looking at the old eunuch kneeling in front of him, the emperor's chest was filled with indescribable emotions, including the anger of being fooled and the irritability of being thrown into chaos.
One by one, why are they so careless! First it was Yu Chong, then Duan Wang, and now it is Zhang Huaide.
Zhang Huaide had served him for many years, so the emperor naturally trusted him more. However, the emperor was suspicious by nature and was involved in the most taboo matters, so he couldn't help but think too much about it.
"You said you wanted to sue Zhang Huaide?" the emperor asked patiently.
"Yes." Lao Yu leaned down, his whole body trembling.
After so many years, he finally waited for this opportunity! Thank you Miss Xu San, thank you Princess Changning. As long as he can pull Zhang Huai off his horse, he will be willing to die without a burial place even if he is shattered to pieces!
"The slave's original name was Yu Zhixian. In the 11th year of Jingchu period, she was promoted to a civil servant. Later, she entered Taichang Temple to record affairs. In the 16th year, she was dismissed from her post and imprisoned for corruption and lack of sacrificial vessels. Her whole family was in trouble and she was sentenced to the palace."
The emperor had long forgotten about such a small case. Every year, there were a large number of cases in the three divisions. Only those involving major treason would be brought to the imperial court, and the palace officials who made mistakes could not come before him.
"What do you want to sue him for?" the emperor asked.
Lao Yu showed grief and anger, suppressing his emotions with all his strength so as not to show it: "The slave did not steal the sacrificial vessels, but when registering, she found that a large number of sacrificial vessels had been stolen, so she reported the matter. Unexpectedly,
The superiors didn't pay much attention to it, and even called colleagues to hint that they had nothing to do with the matter. At that time, the servant was straightforward and unwilling to join the others, and finally angered the superior..."
This was the first time the emperor heard about this. The sacrificial vessels were used for royal ceremonies, and if they were stolen, the money would be taken out of his pocket. This made him very unhappy, so it is said that the court has been raising a group of moths? However, the most important thing now
That's not it.
"What does this have to do with Zhang Huaide?"
"Because the mastermind of stealing the sacrificial vessels was Zhang Huaide!" Lao Yu said with hatred. "The servant realized that something was wrong, so he investigated carefully and found out that the entire Taichang Temple was an accomplice! They replaced the pure gold sacrificial vessels with imitation gilt copper.
, and then tampered with the account books, and then divided the stolen money afterwards... No one above would dare to do such a thing, so my servant secretly investigated for a long time, and finally found clues, and it turned out that the largest amount of stolen money was sent to Zhang Huaide!"
The emperor said in a deep tone: "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Lao Yu nodded heavily, "Zhang Huaide's nephew and his family live in Lu'er Lane. They have a courtyard of five square meters. Their splendor is not inferior to that of the royal palace, and is even comparable to the imperial palace!"
The emperor's brows twitched, thinking that he wanted to build a garden the year before last, but he never had enough money...
"There is a saying that has been circulating in Beijing that it is better to have a high school yellow list than to have a name in Lu'erxiang. This means that if you want to get a good official, it is not enough to get a Jinshi, so it is more important to go to Luerxiang to give gifts. Every year during the official examination,
Those who are waiting for the election of officials do not need to go to the official department, but they must go to Lu'er Lane. You have never seen such a grand scene. Officials from Shangshutang to city gate officials are sitting in rows in Lu'er Lane.
Waiting to be summoned by the eunuch’s nephew who doesn’t know a lot of Chinese characters!”
The emperor imagined that scene, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.
The official of Shangshutang had to wait for the summons, and he was even more arrogant than the emperor. But the other party was just a vulgar and ignorant commoner, just because he had an uncle who was a eunuch!
"Isn't it time to wait? No problem, go to Lu'er Lane to give gifts. If you have committed a crime, you need to be punished? No problem, go to Lu'er Lane to give gifts. Whatever the court's regulations and the majesty of the law, it won't matter there." Lao Yu's voice sounded out.
A hint of ridicule, "Even the royal dignity is not a problem. After all, even the sacrificial vessels enshrined in the past emperors can be secretly exchanged."
The emperor's face was ashen and he slapped the case hard: "What do they need so much money for? Can they spend it all?!"
"Of course we can't spend it all." Lao Yu became calmer as he spoke, raising his head and saying, "On the surface, the money went into Lu'er Lane, but in fact it went into Prince Duan's Mansion."
The emperor suddenly opened his eyes wide and stared at him: "What did you say?"
"The slave said that Zhang Huaide was collecting money for King Duan!" Lao Yu said, "All the money collected by the Zhang family was deposited into Jinde Bank. The owner of this bank is a relative of Brother Duan! King Duan has been here for many years.
Under your nose, it has become lawless to bribe officials and secretly cultivate power in the name of the Poetry Society! It is inevitable that he will kill General Yu, because as long as General Yu is around, he will not be able to get involved in the Forbidden Army. General Yu will die
Only then can he promote his own people to the top!"
With a "click", the cup in the emperor's hand fell to the ground and shattered. He was breathing heavily and had a slight sweat on his forehead.
Compared with what Lao Yu said, yesterday's report from the palace to Prince Duan's Mansion is nothing to mention. If this matter is true, it is no longer an affair with the prince, but a conspiracy!
After a while, the emperor finally came to his senses and asked, "Do you have any evidence?"
Lao Yu finally waited until he said this. He took out a pile of crumpled tissue paper that he had been covering for many years and presented it to him.
"Here is a list of the stolen sacrificial vessels from Taichang Temple. After searching for a long time, the slave finally found the way they sold the stolen goods. If you follow this clue, you will definitely find the sold sacrificial vessels. There is also a list of the sacrificial vessels that Taichang Temple sent to Lu'er Lane.
From the gift list, it can be seen that all the money went into Zhang Huaide's pocket. In addition, the key figures in Luerxiang's collusion with King Duan, as well as the relationship between them, are all listed on it. I beg your Majesty to take a closer look!"
When the emperor received the evidence presented by his chamberlain, his hands shook.
It was so detailed that he had already believed most of it. The mansion in Lu'er Lane and the bank that King Duan had set up secretly could not be lied about. All he had to do was send someone to investigate!
Zhang Huaide, Duan Wang...
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" When Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrived, Zhang Huaide's shout came from outside. Then he broke in and knelt down in front of the emperor, "Your Majesty! This slave is unjustly accused! This is a conspiracy, a conspiracy!"
The emperor glared fiercely at the shrinking guards. Even if they were his personal servants, it was rude to barge in like this. They didn't dare to stop them. What did this mean? Zhang Huaide's power in the palace was much greater than he imagined.
The emperor looked at Zhang Huaide who was kneeling in front of him. He had never taken this old slave seriously. He was a eunuch and a servant. He could step him into the mud with just a look from him.
But now the emperor discovered that this was not the case. This old slave was humble and humble in front of him, but in front of others he was a nobleman with the power of life and death. Even his nephew, a farmer with no meritorious status and whose feet were still stained with yellow mud,
They can all give orders to the officials of Shangshutang, select officials and sell titles!
This was the emperor's authority, but it had unknowingly passed into the hands of a peasant.
The emperor looked at Zhang Huaide, who was crying with snot and tears, and felt surprisingly calm.
"Pass on my oral instructions to summon the chief officers of the third division!"