The fifth prince was left in the palace, and the emperor originally planned to question him carefully 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!"
An official from the Ministry of Rites reported: "Early this morning, hundreds of imperial students blocked the way to the imperial court and wrote petitions.
We sincerely request 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 begun to be heard 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 and not go to court.
Although the emperor was filled with hatred, the rules handed down from Taizu stipulated that the students of the Taizu had the responsibility to submit a letter. Moreover, although these guys do not hold official positions, their status in the eyes of the world is extremely 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? Call the fifth prince to the palace?" the emperor asked in a deep voice.
There was silence 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. 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 is accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Revenue when he goes to provide disaster relief. It is better to call the accompanying officials and ask him first."
Obviously he did 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. In this case, 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 Mr. An Guo said makes sense." 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 naturally knows about money and food. "
The emperor immediately ordered people to bring these two people.
Who would have thought that only one person would be brought here 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 it's 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 stopped again.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. One of the two accompanying officials is already dead. If he is beaten to death again, nothing will be revealed at all."
"If a person doesn't open his mouth, there will still be an account book," 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 Punishment Department to go to Wang Cheng's house 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 asked them one by one.
He just asked about the fifth prince's diet and daily life, where he had been, what he had said, and who he had met.
No one else heard anything wrong, only one cook said: "The fifth prince is very hard-working and often doesn't care about eating.
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. "
The emperor's face immediately became ugly after hearing this.
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.
"It was naturally premeditated to make things like this happen. They can't escape the Ma family and the Yao family. They suffered a loss a while ago, so they naturally have to make up for it.
And according to the slave girl, the queen must have contributed to it.
Nowadays, there is an uproar in the capital. The blood letters of tens of thousands of people and the petitions of imperial students are the public outrage;
One of the accompanying officials committed suicide and another was silenced. This is official grudge;
The cook seems to be the most quiet person, but his words are the most powerful.
If the previous events were all about laying the groundwork, this cook's words would be 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," 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 he would have praised him highly after he came back."
"Then those who devised this plan naturally knew this, and they knew that it would be difficult 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, to incite public sentiment and influence judgment.
Putting this matter and the fifth prince in the public eye may seem fair and just, but in fact it leaves the emperor with no way out.
The last thing is to start from the small side. The fifth prince’s diet is a trivial matter, not to mention that at first glance, it sounds like the cook is also speaking for the fifth prince.
But here’s the problem, most people wouldn’t think of digging a hole here. But the more inadvertent and small the place, the more it arouses suspicion.
The fifth prince worked hard and became thin, so the emperor specially gave him several royal meals for this purpose.
But now the cook said that the fifth prince only ate boiled fish in the last half month and on the way back.
Even ordinary soldiers had food and meat to eat, so how could the fifth prince only eat fish to satisfy his hunger?
This incident itself is abnormal, and the slave remembers 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. To show that 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 belief that the fifth prince was reliable became 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! "
