After King Yi led his ministers to pay homage to the emperor, they sat down one by one in order of priority. For a while, a group of dancing girls gathered around each other and started playing music. On the table, they drank and drank, and there was endless laughter.
After three rounds of drinking, Chen Tongpao looked slightly tipsy. As soon as he put down his wine glass, he saw a man walking quietly from the darkness. He leaned over slightly and said to his ear, "I got it."
Tongpao Chen tilted his head: "Have the people who went to search the military department come back?"
"They are all waiting outside the palace."
"Okay. Send the order immediately to capture the leader of the thief now!"
Shi Xiushen was pouring wine for the emperor when he caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but be surprised. After pouring the wine, he wanted to get out quickly and find out. But before he could take a few steps, he suddenly heard a loud noise, the palace door opened, and five or six teams of forbidden soldiers rushed up with knives in hand, shouting: "According to your Majesty's order, we are here to capture the traitor Ye Yongjia!" Wu Wu! The music stopped immediately, everyone was silent and their faces were pale.
"Your Majesty," Shi Xiushen was the first to react. He quickly turned around and kowtowed, "As a forbidden official, I cannot personally take orders. Instead, I am excluded from the outside world. I cannot express your Majesty's will and am not worthy of appointment." Also, I beg your Majesty to punish me!"
"I am just afraid of inconvenience to you and want to avoid suspicion for you. I hope Shi Sijin will not blame himself," the emperor said slowly. "Not only will I not punish your crime, but I will also give you an equal reward. Stand down first and let them deal with it first." Errand."
Shi Xiu Shen didn't feel a little bit lucky. Instead, he felt even more horrified. He took a breath of cold air and hurriedly returned to the table.
The leading officer then took out the Huanghuang edict in his arms, unfolded it and read: "Ye Yongjia, the Minister of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment, has formed a clique to rebel. He wants to seize the East Palace and steal the military talismans. He has an evil plot and the rebellion is almost completed. Fortunately, I made a decisive decision. , that is to say, capture this thief and establish the rule of the country. Ye Yongjia will be stripped of all his official positions and thrown into Dali Temple for questioning. His accomplices Cai Xianqing, Cui Yi and others will not be exempted from this. I admire this!"
The officer put away the edict, and with a wave of his hand, the soldier next to him kicked Ye Yongjia's desk away, dragged him out alive, and took off his official uniform. But Ye Yongjia just let it go without saying a word.
"Wait a minute!" King Yi suddenly waved his sleeves and stood up, frightening the soldiers. "Father, Ye Yongjia has been trusted by you for many years and has never been suspected. I wonder what crime he has committed now that is so urgent to arrest him? Maybe there is something treacherous. The villain has made slanderous remarks, so he must look down and see clearly."
The emperor smiled softly: "If you don't believe it, there is evidence here. Come, call the witnesses to the temple."
King Yi looked around and saw that he was from Dali Temple. He was from Guoxiang. He was holding a square lacquer box in his hand. He came closer and said: "Your Majesty, the tiger sign is in here. I found it under a locust tree in the Yamen of the Ministry of Justice." .”
King Yi was stunned. He glanced at Ye Yongjia first, then curled his lips and said, "This...maybe it was a plot by a traitor, done deliberately. How can this be relied upon?"
"His Royal Highness King Yi!" Guo Xiang stared straight ahead without moving an inch, "Do you know who buried the Tiger Pai? It was Cun Zhao! He and Lan Yuan were forcibly taken to the Ministry of Punishment by Ye Yongjia. No one can release him except Ye Yongjia himself! Also, the Imperial Guards found a note from the prison, promising to release Cun Zhao from prison. According to many people in the Ministry of War, it was Cui Yi's handwriting."
"So, this matter has become extremely clear," the emperor took over. "My son must learn more about people in the future and not be deceived by such treacherous ministers."
Looking at these sufficient evidences, King Yi was finally speechless. He turned from shock to anger, and with a trembling voice he petitioned: "Your Majesty, please kill this Ye Yongjia and barbarize the other three tribes! Otherwise, we will not be able to warn the world."
King Yi's words completely made Ye Yongjia despair. He shook his head and sighed with a smile on his face. He didn't know what emotions to feel at this moment. He seemed to be in the boundless wilderness, feeling fear and desolation, but also emptiness and relief.
"My son, don't be anxious, I will deal with this person," the emperor said immediately, "but the investigation is not complete yet, especially the Cunzhi incident, which has made many doubts about Lan Yuan's case. If the prince's illness is cured as a result, I can let go of government affairs and continue my leisure time."
Then he ordered Ye Yongjia to be thrown into imperial prison, and the whole trial was handed over to Chen Tongpao. The banquet was stopped and all the delicacies were removed. Prime Minister Su Zongshan was quite disappointed and had to disperse with all the officials.
Zeng Liang also experienced this turmoil. Thinking about it, he was still shocked and became more and more uneasy. So he did not hesitate to go to see the Hunan people in the morning and presented him with the letter from Cai Xianqing: "Zeng was greedy at a certain time and suffered the consequences." I have been seduced by the Ye Party and want to devour hundreds of acres of fertile farmland. Now I don’t want that farmland anymore. I hope Lianghou will open his eyes and help me burn it. Don’t publicize this matter."
Guo Xiangren browsed through it and was surprised and happy. He almost jumped up and thought to himself: "God is really helping me!" With this letter, the Leaf Party will be doomed! ' Immediately he said to Zeng Liang: "Since you are willing to reveal your true feelings to Guo, Guo is also willing to treat you as one of his own. Don't burn it while I read the letter. You can keep it for now. I will get it when it is useful. How? ?”
Zeng Liang frowned and said: "Ye Yongjia has committed a serious crime of treason, which is worthy of death. Do you still need to use it as evidence? Not only will it not help the matter, but if others find out, it will also implicate us Qingliu."
The Xiang man smiled and said: "You only know one, but not the other. Ye Yongjia can't escape anymore. I am making plans for those party members."
Zeng Liang was still worried, but in view of the current situation, the only way to survive was to rely on Chen Dang, so he stopped arguing, put the letter back in his arms, and said goodbye. The people passing by Hunan turned around and looked at the chiming bell, and saw that the exact moment had passed. Thinking that the confession should be heard earlier, they straightened their clothes and walked quickly into the imperial prison.
On the last floor of the prison, the light is the dimmest, and the thin air is mixed with the smell of moisture and blood, making every breath a person takes feel like he is being tortured. Ye Yongjia, wearing only a pair of handcuffs and disheveled hair, stumbled out of the cell and came to Guoxiang. Fortunately, he had not been tortured much, there was no blood stain on his body, and his clothes were neatly dressed.
"Master Ye, I didn't expect you and I to meet like this..." Guoxiangren smiled sinisterly, "Please kneel down."
Ye Yongjia glanced around and pretended not to hear. The Xiang people were furious and walked up to him in person and kicked him hard on the knee. Ye Yongjia fell down without making a sound.
"You are an official of the Ministry of Punishment, you should know what it's like to be in this prison," Xiangren kept walking beside him, "It's okay not to kneel, but if you don't explain, your death will be more painful than Ling Chi's! Get a pen and paper !”
The jailer sent the paper to Ye Yongjia and was about to give stern instructions when he saw him snatch the paper and tear it into pieces with all his strength.
"Sooner or later I will be sentenced to death. The sooner it is the best." Ye Yongjia pinched the shredded paper and said calmly.
