It was still dark, and the soldiers had already escorted Cui Yi to the Ministry of Punishment. Seeing Ming Huiguang asleep in the prison room, they hurriedly woke him up and told him what happened in Cunzhao's house, and asked him to take everyone into the palace. Go to the audience and report to the emperor.
Minghui listened in confusion and couldn't figure out what had happened for a long time. However, seeing how aggressive they were, he had no choice but to prevaricate: "It's already late at night. There is a shortage of people in the court. Only a few chief officials and I are on duty at night, so we can't convene." The court is debating that the emperor is sleeping again and he will be disturbed. Please keep the suspect here until early tomorrow morning, and then I will go with you."
Seeing that he didn't know what to do, Cui Yi thought anxiously: "If we delay for one night and let Cun Zhao know about this, he will take away the documents and burn them, ruining the plan." He, the young master, doesn't know the inside story, so he might be able to use something to solve the crisis. '
After thinking about it, he glanced sideways at Cun Zhao's son and sneered: "It seems that you can only show off your power for one day. Wait until tomorrow to see if your trick can succeed!"
The young master was hesitating, but Cui Yi's words provoked him. He suddenly became angry and asked the soldiers to tie him tighter. He turned around and said to Ming Huiguang: "Sir Ming, the suspect is so arrogant. If he is not eliminated quickly, there will be endless troubles! Please leave immediately!"
"Are you threatening me?" Ming Huiguang couldn't stand his bossy attitude and asked coldly.
"Threat?" The young master waved his hand, "I advise you to enforce the law impartially. If you deal with a small thief, is it a threat? Could it be that you are also a member of the Ye Party?"
Ming Huiguang was about to argue again, but suddenly he heard the third watch call outside, so he stopped and calmed down instantly. Cui Yi looked at it and breathed a sigh of relief.
"I don't care about this with you," Ming Huiguang rolled his eyes coldly, "If you want to leave, let's leave. Remember, your father will respect me even when he comes."
After the quarrel ended, Ming Huiguang was surrounded by soldiers and left the official office. He asked the imperial guards to open the door and immediately arrived at the inner garden. The young master still had a grudge against him, and was even more afraid that he would enter the palace to defend Cui Yi, so he asked him to wait in front of the palace and led his people in.
Cui Yi then came to the main hall and looked around. Seeing that the lights around him were not on and the emperor had not come out of the bedroom, he took the opportunity to persuade the young master: "Can you give me the document and wait for a while?" I will personally confess to the emperor."
The young master sneered and said, "Are you going to destroy the evidence? Or are you going to defend yourself? Anyway, it's not a good thing."
Cui Yi lowered his head and sighed: "How dare I destroy the evidence in front of everyone... Now that the deadlock has been settled and no one can argue, it is better to settle the matter in front of the emperor, so as not to harm the family and have no one to visit the graves of our ancestors..."
Everyone was a soldier of the Ministry of Punishment. They burst into tears when he heard what he said. They all felt compassion and tried to persuade him: "When a person is about to die, his words are also kind. After all, Cui Yi is a descendant of Cui Longhuai. Please allow his selfishness." Well, it can also be regarded as accumulating virtue for the preservation of the ban."
The young master did not take it seriously and reluctantly agreed. He loosened Cui Yi's rope so that he could kneel in front of the steps with the document in hand.
"Your Majesty is here!"
Everyone's hearts tightened, looking at the few rays of red light faintly appearing in the distance, they hurriedly chanted and kowtowed:
"Long live my emperor!"
"What is your urgent business when you come here late at night?" The emperor sat on the dragon chair behind him and asked calmly through the curtain.
Cun Zhao's son looked at Cui Yi and saw the latter slowly replying: "Cui Yi, the head of the punishment department, made a huge mistake and was found out by Cun Sijin's family. I came here to ask your Majesty to punish me."
"You are Cui Longhuai's son, right? Tell me, grandnephew, what's going on?" The emperor turned to ask the young master.
The young master reported: "Your Majesty, this person sent troops to search my house without asking for orders. He wanted to frame me. He is extremely abominable. As a result, evidence of his own crime was found. He has nothing to say, so he came to accept the crime."
"What incriminating evidence was found?"
Cui Yi raised the letter high above his head and said: "While I was in Dingyou, I broke the etiquette and went out of the city privately. I wrote it on this letter. The words are in black and white and it is difficult to distinguish. I ask the court to punish my crime immediately. I will die without complaint." It's just..." At this point, Cui Yi suddenly paused and stopped talking.
The emperor suddenly became suspicious. He was silent for a while, and then asked with a smile: "What did you want to say just now? If you continue, I will give you a lighter sentence."
"It's just that I took advantage of the night for my trip and was careful on my way. What about the writer..."
The more the young man listened, the more something was wrong. He thought about it in his mind and suddenly realized it. He stared straight in his eyes and shouted with all his strength: "Your Majesty! This guy is deliberately framed by my father and speaks nonsense!"
"Presumptuous!" The emperor's tone suddenly turned angry, "You can't stop him, I want to hear what he has to say!"
Cui Yi felt completely at ease now, so he spoke loudly without any scruples: "I don't know how the writer knew about it! Moreover, this document was found in Cun Si Jin's Mansion, and he planned to send it to Lan Yuan secretly...I'm afraid The two of them want to monitor the court officials and control the government!"
Cui Yi's words were loud and loud, like several piercing thunderbolts, which shocked everyone present and turned their faces pale.
"Your Majesty, please read this letter in person and understand the situation clearly!" After saying this, he held up the hem of his clothes, walked two steps on his knees, approached a eunuch standing on the steps, and presented the document to him.
"Take it."
Now that the emperor had passed down the message, the eunuch had no choice but to take the document, put his hand into the curtain, and put it on the long desk.
The emperor read the document carefully, and no one dared to make a sound during this period; then, he raised his head and ordered: "Come here, cut off the rope around Cui Yi and let him stand up and answer."
Although the soldiers were stunned, they had no choice but to follow the instructions, drew their swords, and cut the hemp rope in several strokes. The young master Cun Zhao next to him was still kneeling, his head pressed closer to the ground.
"Let me ask you, how did you know that there was this thing in Cunzhao's house?"
"Back to your Majesty, I saw that Lan Shidu had returned home and repeatedly colluded with Cun Zhao's family, so I became suspicious." Cui Yigong replied cautiously.
"He, he's talking nonsense!" Cun Zhao's young master quickly raised his head and retorted anxiously.
"When did Lan Shidu leave the East Palace?" The emperor ignored his grandnephew's explanation and keenly grasped the doubts in Cui Yi's words, "Why have I never heard from the prince!"
Cui Yi said: "I am also surprised, but I saw it at Duke Lan's residence..."
"As an attendant, Lan Yuan did not do his duty and instead interacted with the imperial governor. This is not a clique!" The emperor suddenly burst into anger and interrupted Cui Yi's words, "I must get to the bottom of it. No. I know how many things they are hiding from me! Immediately pass the order, and Shi Xiu Shen will send troops to arrest Lan Yuan, Cun Zhao and others. Ye Yongjia, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and Guo Xiang, the Minister of Dali Temple, will jointly try the case! I just want to Look, how many rebellious minions they have raised to have such a clear grasp of all the trends in the capital!"
