There is always nothing that can be hidden from anyone in the capital, let alone such a big thing as the Song Dynasty Duke's rebellion. The guests who had attended the banquet at the City Prince's Palace had just returned to their respective houses. Before they had time to digest the scene they saw in the City Prince's Palace, they heard about it one after another. Xiao Yan led the black-armored guards to "ransom" the Song family.
Everyone in the Duke of Song's palace was taken back to the Criminal Division, and even Song Hong was captured while on duty. The battle frightened many courtiers, and everyone was in an uproar when the news came out.
When Xiao Yan went into the palace to see Emperor An, Emperor An was feeding the fish by the Yuhua Pond. He was holding a spiral porcelain jar in his hand, leaning against the railing, grabbed a handful of fish food and threw it into the pond.
The fish food rustled into the water, and the carp in the pond immediately stirred and rushed up after smelling the fishy smell.
There were piles of scales of various colors, and the tails of the fins stirred up waves. The fish jumped out of the water and desperately fought for the floating food above, and the originally clear water became turbid for a moment.
"I am here to pay my respects to Your Majesty."
Xiao Yan knelt down to say hello, but Emperor An didn't ask him to get up as before. Instead, he just stared at the pool.
Another handful of fish food was thrown in, and the fish in the water grabbed it even more fiercely. After waiting for an unknown amount of time, the fish rolled and sank to the bottom of the water again. An Di, who was tired of looking at it, turned around and said, "Do you know? How much trouble did it cause?"
Xiao Yan lowered his head: "Your Majesty, please forgive me."
"Excuse me? You said it lightly!" Emperor An said calmly: "It's a pleasure for you to arrest people, but have you ever thought about the consequences? The Duke of Song Dynasty is a lord given by the late emperor. Even if I want to touch them, I have to think twice, but you Okay, I didn’t even reply and just led the black-armored guards to arrest the person.”
"Do you know how many people came into the palace in just this hour to accuse you, Governor Xiao, Jackal Guanying, of running amok? I asked you to command the Black Armored Guards to take charge of the Privy Council. I didn't ask you, a bastard, to ignore the laws of the court. Nothing!”
When Emperor An was angry, he grabbed the fish food in his hand and threw it at Xiao Yan.
The crushed bait full of fishy smell made Xiao Yan sideways. When he turned around, he lowered his eyes and whispered: "Wei Chen knows that Your Majesty will protect Wei Chen."
Emperor An almost laughed angrily when he heard this: "It's better if I chop off your head."
"Your Majesty will not do it." Xiao Yan's voice was gentle, as if he did not see Emperor An's anger, and just discussed the matter: "If your Majesty really wants to kill the minister, why bother to tell him so much? As for those in the court, they will not accept me. I have been a minister for a long time, and even if the minor ministers do nothing, they will still nag.”
An Di glared at him: "Since you know their thoughts, you still give them an excuse?!"
As he spoke, he threw the fish food jar in his hand on the table. Immediately, a palace attendant brought a gold-scaled copper basin filled with water for him to clean his hands. Upon seeing this, Xiao Yan stood up and took the basin, even if there was Water splashed on his face, and he seemed completely unaware of it. After Andi washed his hands, he turned around and took a handkerchief to dry his hands.
Someone from the palace brought a tea set. After Xiao Yan took it, he put it on the table to make tea for Emperor An. Seeing him serving him so well, Emperor An felt less angry and didn't blame him for getting up without permission. Sitting opposite Xiao Yan, he frowned and said, "Why did you suddenly touch the Song family?"
Xiao Yan said: "Song Hong colluded with the old ministers of Prince Ru."
Emperor An looked at him and said, "Don't play tricks on me."
The matter in the Duke of Song Dynasty is a big deal. Song Hong disobeyed the late emperor's will and exchanged the rebels, exchanging people who should have been executed. It is not an exaggeration to say that such disrespect is treason, but the key point is that this is twenty Things happened years ago.
It was the late emperor who was in power at that time, not him, and so many years had passed since the incident with Prince Ru. Not to mention a rebellious daughter who was unwilling to take matters into account. Even if Prince Ru was still alive, he would be nothing more than a bereaved dog. What happened to Song Hong? If pursued, it would at best be a romantic debt from his youth.
For this reason, Xiao Yan used black-armored guards to cause trouble in Song Dynasty's palace, and was caught by a bunch of people. This was not something he would do at all.
Emperor An said in a deep voice: "The violent prince has long been out of control. How can you be blamed for this matter?"
Xiao Yan took a teaspoon and gently fiddled with the tea soup on the stove: "The violent prince is unworthy, but after all, he was a traitor who the late emperor had ordered to punish severely. Song Hong violated the emperor's holy will and exchanged the traitor's daughter. His crime We must not go unpunished, otherwise everyone will follow suit in the future, and where will your Majesty’s majesty be?”
His face was hidden in the rising smoke, showing a bit of indifference.
"Besides, this matter is also related to King Cheng and the Lu family."
"Prince Cheng seems to be content in these years, but he has been secretly communicating with the aristocratic family. He is also very close to the Queen and the fourth prince. As for the Lu family, they have relied on the head of the aristocratic family to repeatedly pressure His Majesty in court. Lu Chongyuan is cunning and cunning. The matter of sending grain. The Lu family is too cautious, and it is difficult to make any progress for a while, but if they can get a copy of King Ru's old affairs, Your Majesty can also punish him, and the court will be able to relax a little."
Emperor An frowned when he heard this: "You mean, the Lu family is also involved in the Song family's matter?"
"I don't know if I am a minor minister, but now is undoubtedly the best opportunity to deal with the Lu family."
Seeing Emperor An looking at him with narrowed eyes, Xiao Yan stirred the tea soup on the stove.
"Back then, the late emperor ordered them to wipe out the line of violent princes and execute all the officials in the Eastern Palace. Song Hong was able to replace Xu Zhen and raise him in the capital in a dignified manner. How could it be possible if no one among them helped?"
"Besides, even if what happened back then was really just an accident, and Song Hong found other ways to take advantage of the loophole, who would believe this if he heard about it? Especially King Cheng, who first let go of the rebel daughter, and then The Song family got married, and later coerced local officials to forge books to cover up the Song family."
"Those who know the truth say that he is concerned that Princess Cheng does not want to be implicated by the Song family, and does not want to lose such a prominent in-law of the Song family. But if one unknowingly hears what Prince Cheng has done during this period, who will believe that he is innocent, Your Majesty? Do you believe it?"
Of course I don't believe it.
Emperor An narrowed his eyes and caressed the Bodhi beads hanging in his hand, but his mind was thinking about Xiao Yan's words just now.
Prince Cheng is a dignified prince with a distinguished status. The Song family is just a house of ministers. What ability does Prince Cheng have to take risks to help them?
If they didn't know the inside story and suddenly heard about what King Cheng did, everyone would think that he must have known about the Song family's problems, so he helped them hide it. He might even be related to the case back then, or even colluded with the Song family. He deliberately let the rebels go, so when the Xu family bloodline appeared after many years, he deceived Princess Cheng and the others for the Song family, and even forged books and made up shameful things about Song Xi's past.
The tea soup gradually boils, and the fragrance of tea permeates the entire waterside pavilion.
Xiao Yan stretched out his hand to skim off the foam and said to the thoughtful An Di:
"Whether Song Hong is guilty or not can only be decided by Your Majesty. What qualifications does King Cheng have to show favor to the Song family? Even if King Cheng really did nothing, it would be a crime for him to help the Song family deceive His Majesty. What's more, back then, Together with King Cheng to eliminate the rebellious people in the East Palace, there is also Lu Chongyuan."
