Dong Huai took several important ministers into the imperial city and met Zhao Yun in the meeting hall of Yanhe Hall.
"What's going on outside?" Zhao Yun looked a little haggard, having had a lot of troubles in the past few days.
Dong Huai leaned over and said slowly after careful consideration, "Dali Temple received a murder case. Since the defendant was His Royal Highness, Prince Zhong, he had no right to file a case for interrogation. However, Yuan Ze, the young minister of Dali, has always been strong in his uprightness and could not bear to complain. Since there was no way to sue, I took it upon myself to bring the case to the court, praying for His Majesty's mercy and being able to oversee the case."
"A murder!? How could Prince Zhong be involved in a murder?" Zhao Yun frowned.
"That's what happened. The mistress Cai Li is the wife of Cai An, the former 54th commander of the Forbidden Army Vigo. She claimed that more than a month ago, when King Zhong went to Prince Rong's Mansion to celebrate his birthday, something happened when he entered the city. Due to a small misunderstanding, Cai An killed him without waiting for an explanation, hung his head at the city gate, and did not allow his family to collect the body."
Dong Huai said and submitted the complaint.
Zhao Yun opened the complaint and was very shocked, "A blood letter?"
"Not only was the petition written in blood, but the two young girls of the victim also had the words 'Weeping blood to complain, loyal king to kill indiscriminately' written in blood on their backs, and they were naked to gain attention and sympathy." Cheng Yuanfeng said in a somewhat disdainful tone.
"Oh, this woman is so scheming!" Zhao Yun couldn't help feeling disgusted.
Having seen too many evil spirits and intrigues in the court, he would naturally not be fond of such extreme methods.
Ding Daquan had a loyal look on his face, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid this is also an act of helplessness on her part. With no way to appeal, in order to redress her grievances, she inevitably behaves a bit erratically. Alas... she's just a poor person..."
Zhao Yun glanced at him, feeling a little strange, but said nothing and continued to read the complaint.
After reading it, he put it on the case and tapped his finger, "Prince Zhong mentioned this matter to me. Cai An was disobedient and disobedient, so he killed him in anger, thinking that the police would be sent to him later, even though it was inconsistent. It’s a court rule, but it’s not a big mistake, let alone a crime, so why make a fuss out of a molehill?”
From the emperor's point of view, there was nothing wrong with Zhao Mengqi killing people to establish his authority in order to maintain the dignity of the imperial power. That is, he was too young and ignored procedural issues.
"This..." Dong Huai was speechless.
His understanding of this case only came from Yuan Ze's narration and the contents of the complaint. To be honest, when he first met, although he felt there was something fishy in it, but with his preconceptions, his heart was inevitably tilted towards the victim and towards the loyal king. Disgust.
Seeing that Dong Huai was silent, Cheng Yuanfeng spoke, "In my opinion, the loyal king is the crown prince. For the sake of the stability of the country, even if he acts carelessly and makes mistakes, he should not make it public, let alone use it as a blackmail. The imperial court, as Yuan Ze is an official of the imperial court, it is impossible that he does not understand this truth. I suggest that he be dismissed immediately and handed over to the Yushitai for review, and at the same time disperse the people gathered outside the imperial city!"
"Cheng Shangshu's remarks are biased!" Ding Daquan raised his head, as if he was upholding justice, "Yuan Ze has been loyal to his duties, fair and honest for so many years in Dali Temple, and the people called him 'Qingtian', precisely because he has a With an innocent heart, I always keep the people in my heart. I think I had no choice today because I couldn't bear the injustice of the people."
Cheng Yuanfeng didn't believe this argument, "Haha! Even if he really wanted to redress the grievances of the people, there was no other way. He could file a memorial or transfer it to the Yushitai, but he chose the method that would hurt the court the most. This is clearly done with ulterior motives, just buying names!"
Ding Daquan wanted to refute again, but was stopped by Ma Guangzu, "What we want to discuss now is not Yuan Ze, but how to properly handle this matter!"
"Father Hua, do you have any good ideas?" Dong Huai looked at Ma Guangzu and asked.
"What can I do at this time?" Ma Guangzu shrugged and said calmly, "I only know that the dispersal mentioned by Shen Fu is absolutely impossible. Rumors have been spreading in Lin'an City recently, causing the people to criticize King Zhong a lot. After the emergence of sleeping sickness, the people complained even more, and they pointed the finger at King Zhong. If the court took tough measures at this juncture, it would only add fuel to the fire and probably trigger a popular uprising. What's more, there are hundreds of third parties. The students are here."
"These students don't study hard and always try to make a splash. I think they should be reprimanded and punished so that they can set a warning for future generations and correct their study style!" Cheng Yuanfeng said dissatisfied.
Dong Huai had no choice but to face Cheng Manzi's impatience, "Shen Fu, let's talk about these things later. Let's get over this issue first."
"I think this matter has become such a big deal, and the decision made by just a few of us may not be able to convince the public. It is better to hold a court meeting and let the officials decide the decision through public consultation." Ding Daquan gave a suggestion.
Cheng Yuanfeng disagreed, "Ding Shiyu, what bad idea did you come up with? The more people there are about this kind of thing, the more mixed the opinions will be, and the more discussions will become more chaotic!"
"Stop arguing now! Let's ask His Majesty to judge." Dong Huai had a headache from their quarrel.
Zhao Yun was originally waiting for these ministers to discuss a solution, but he didn't expect that the ball would be kicked to him in the end.
He pinched his forehead irritably, feeling quite embarrassed. Once the court meeting started, there would probably be endless quarrels, but if it didn't happen, he couldn't come up with a proper solution at the moment.
At this moment, Dong Songchen tiptoed outside the hall and winked at Zhao Yun.
"Please wait a moment, gentlemen, I will go and pay my respects."
Making a random excuse, Zhao Yun left the ministers and left the meeting hall.
When he came to the ear room, he asked directly, "What's the matter?"
Dong Songchen replied cautiously, "The official family, it was the imperial concubine who sent the message."
"What's wrong with Madam Yan?" Zhao Yun immediately became nervous.
"The imperial concubine almost fainted just now. Fortunately, Master Zhang Xian rescued her in time and she was not seriously injured. Master Zhang said that there was too much violent energy gathered outside the He Ning Gate, which impacted the dragon energy in the imperial city, so the evil energy of the evil dragon took advantage of it. …”
"Then I will immediately issue an order for the Imperial Army to disperse!"
"Officials, this is absolutely not allowed. Master Zhang Xian said that it is best to use gentle means to solve the problem, otherwise it will only intensify the hostility, and by then he will be unable to resist with his Taoism!"
"Huh... okay, I get it."
After all, Zhao Yun did not dare to risk Concubine Yan and the fetus in her belly. When she returned to the council hall, she made a decision, "Let's call a meeting of the imperial court."
The ministers had different expressions and silently accepted this, which was not the best, but was the safest method.
And Ding Daquan was even more ecstatic. The show was finally about to begin. It was worth the hard work and arrangement for so long!
At this moment, a high-ranking eunuch came outside the meeting hall, holding a memorial in his hand and shouting, "Official, His Royal Highness Prince Zhong has something important to report!"
Zhao Yun saw that the person calling was Huang Gou, so he called him in, "Where is King Zhong?"
"Guan family, His Highness has left the palace..." Huang Gou was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.
Zhao Yun was furious, "What! This is so urgent and you still run away from the palace. Is this bastard crazy!?"
Huang Gou was so frightened that he trembled, but he still held on. He hurriedly handed over the memorial and explained, "Please calm down the officials. Your Highness did not run away, but went to Heningmen. He also asked the little reporter to report to the officials. Home, he will be there to give an explanation to the world!"
