Chapter 571 Distinguished the Bloodline in the Court!
“Your Majesty, the Ministry of Justice hasn’t come up with a solution to the a.s.sa.s.sination in the Yuhui Nunnery for a long time. It’s obvious that they are incompetent and useless!” An imperial censor stepped forward and reported.
“Your Majesty, the Ministry of Justice has wasted much manpower and money, but it ended up getting nothing. The a.s.sa.s.sination of several princes before and the incident in the Yuhui Nunnery this time are proving its incompetence. Your Majesty, please punish the Ministry of Justice!” Another imperial censor came out from Censorate and impeached Ministry of Justice, after making a bow to the emperor, who was sitting high up in the chair.
“Your Majesty, the incident in the Yuhui Nunnery has much to do with the a.s.sa.s.sination of several princes before, so it’s different from what every official thinks. It is even related to the leftover evils of the previous dynasty. We are trying hard to investigate and dare not relax.” Qiu Qian, the a.s.sistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, stood up and replied to Emperor calmly.
“Since they are the leftover evils of the previous dynasty, you should act faster. If you continue to delay, it will only make people doubt the ability of the Ministry of Justice. Moreover, it will affect the safety of Your Majesty. Since these leftover evils of the previous dynasty have done such a big thing in the Yuhui Nunnery, they may do something to other princes next time!”
Another imperial censor from the Censorate said as he stood up. It was obvious that he wanted to support the previous two censors, but he quietly changed the topic.
Chu Liuchen slightly closed his eyes. Sitting in the wheelchair, he looked very handsome, but he was also very weak. His pale face and pale lips showed that he was not in good condition.
Originally, he did not have to come here to attend the court. What could he do with his body? It was good enough for him to take good care of himself.
In the past, he had never gone to court, and Prince Yue and Prince Zhou had also had no work before. However, all the officials had suggested inviting several princes to come to the court and deal with affairs. Since Prince Yue and Prince Zhou were going to court, he, Prince Chen, who was very eye-catching, naturally had to be a.s.signed.
Whether his health condition was good enough to support was another matter. At least, Emperor treated him equally. People felt that only Prince Xin, the youngest one, could wait to go to court later.
Prince Xin was not only still young, but also not quite steady. Emperor also said that Prince Xin would come to the court to observe politics when he grew older.
Chu Liuchen had never been to the court before, because it was said that he had been sick in bed all the time. Today he suddenly came to the court, which surprised many people. However, when they saw the prince sitting in a wheelchair weakly with his eyes closed and resting, they still pretended not to see him even though his behavior was a little improper.
They had no need to argue with such a sick person who might not live through the night. Besides, this prince was still doted on. If they accidentally caused trouble on him, no one could afford to take the responsibility.
Moreover, all the officials knew that it was most justifiable for this man to come. If he wanted to come to the imperial court but someone stopped him, he might be cursed for thousands of years in history.
Therefore, even the strict official who paid great attention to his reputation would not ask for trouble in terms of Chu Liuchen.
He could do as he wanted. Although only Emperor and Crown Prince could have places to sit in the imperial court, Chu Liuchen’s poor health made him in this state.
It was good enough that he could still support his body with his eyes closed. What else could they ask for from Prince Chen?
“Your Majesty, the leftover evils of the previous dynasty are fierce and vicious. We must clear all these people so as to prevent the world from being plunged into misery again.” Another official stepped forward and said loudly.
“Yes, Your Majesty, please investigate this matter again. Don’t let the enemy extend its power and sweep through several cities like last time. Many people had lost their families and lives. Even my elder brother also…” Duke Xing stood out from the steps. His round and adorable smile was flushed, and his eyes were red. Speaking of this, he choked with sobs and said nothing.
His words aroused lots of sympathies.
Many of the people who had died in that war were closely related to the high officials in the court. The people of the previous dynasty were ruthless when they had caught those closely related to high officials, and only a few could survive.
Hearing this, many other officials immediately shared the same hatred of the enemy and also stood out.
Chu Liuchen raised his eyes, and his long eyelashes fluttered twice. He looked blankly at the angry officials in the main hall, and then looked at Chu Liuyue and Chu Liuzhou, who were standing in front of them. Then he slowly lowered his beautiful eyes, held his head with his hands, and leaned against the chair to rest with his eyes closed.
Of course, that was obviously not the point they should pay attention to this time.
Everyone knew that the leftover evils of the former dynasty needed clearing, but now this could not be realized immediately. A figure of the person from the former dynasty flashed across in the Yuhui Nunnery, but after investigating, they found that the man in black was dead despite the fact that he was from the former dynasty. No matter how hard they investigated, they could not find anything.
As for the biggest secret in the Yuhui Nunnery, it was not about the previous dynasty, but the former emperor’s imperial concubines. What they were going to discuss today was not actually about the previous dynasty, but these officials were best at beating around the bush.
They calmly led the topic of this discussion. Actually, he didn’t come here on his own accord today. It was his uncle Emperor who asked him to come out from today on and listen to political affairs to practice more if he was well. Maybe he could get better and come to the court like normal people.
The intention of the drunkard lies not on the wine but on other purposes, but he did the same.
If one took the initiative to enter the imperial court with a sick and weak body, others would become suspicious. However, since he was forcefully invited here by Uncle Emperor, he would not be reproached even if there were any improper actions.
All the officials were proposing and the Emperor, who was sitting on the top in the palace, finally spoke, “We should do our best to clean up the affairs of the previous dynasty. We will never let the leftover evils have a chance to take action. The Ministry of Justice, the mayor of the capital, and all the guards of the capital must pay attention to this matter. No one can be careless. If something really happens, I will definitely interrogate them seriously.”
“Yes, of course we’ll do our best!” The officials at the bottom of the stairs immediately expressed their loyalty together.
“Your Majesty, I think that the former emperor’s imperial concubines seem to be in a mess too. If they are still in an indiscretion, there can be a way to bury them with the former emperor as a sacrifice.” Another official came out and reported, “I think that the matter of the Yuhui Nunnery is related to the previous dynasty to some degree, but the former emperor’s imperial concubines in the Yuhui Nunnery are also very restless. If something bad is spread, it will destroy the innocence of the royal family!”
His words immediately attracted several imperial censors to nod repeatedly.
“Your Majesty, I second that the former emperor’s imperial concubines who live in the Yuhui Nunnery are the root cause of the trouble. What’s more, I don’t believe the son of the former emperor who has been suddenly exposed!”
“I can’t believe it either!”
“It’s really hard to convince!” Someone secretly glanced at Chu Liuchen whose eyes were slightly closed, and lowered his voice, because Chu Liuchen was also the son of the former emperor. Although the one in this matter was not him, people always inexplicably wanted to look at him.
In fact, the reason why they wanted to look at Chu Liuchen was that they saw that Emperor had turned to look at him. Many people had come to this conclusion in their hearts that Emperor was paying attention to Prince Chen, and this matter was also related to Prince Chen.
“Your Majesty, I don’t think it’s appropriate to do so. Because of Your Majesty’s kindness, the former emperor’s imperial concubines have not been asked to be buried as a sacrifice. There was such sacrifice in the previous dynasty, but the previous dynasty was violent and had lost the people’s support. Your Majesty, you can’t do the same.” Another official objected.
“Your Majesty, your kindness can’t be used by others. The Yuhui Nunnery is in such a mess. It’s impossible that these previous emperors’ imperial concubines have nothing to do with this at all. If the child was really born in the Yuhui Nunnery before, how can it have nothing to do with them? Others don’t know, but how can they not know that there is another child in the Yuhui Nunnery? I think they deceived Your Majesty together!”
Another official stepped out. But as soon as he finished speaking, he was refuted by another official. The atmosphere of the discussion in the court was very hot, but the members of the royal family were very calm.
Prince Yue and Prince Zhou stood on the top of the stairs without saying a word. The emperor seemed to be listening to the officials, but he looked at his nephew from time to time. His nephew Prince Chen, who had been sick and weak since childhood, was forced to come to court today. It seemed that he had nothing to do with it and only needed to take a good rest. He closed his eyes, which made it even harder for others to see his emotions.
When it came to the previous emperor’s sons, how could he be so at ease?
Chu Liuchen was very at ease, as if he knew everything. But everyone knew that he didn’t know anything. This matter had been secretly carried out before, but no one had thought that the matter of a rich playboy would cause such a big event.
Who could think that it would involve the former emperor and his posthumous child! In fact, the posthumous child was younger than Chu Liuchen. It was said that the imperial concubine had been pregnant not long after entering the palace, but she had not said this because the former emperor had been ill at that time. Later, the former emperor had died of illness. Afraid of trouble, she had been locked in the Yuhui Nunnery with the former emperor’s imperial concubines and had secretly given birth to a son there!
This child had left the Yuhui Nunnery by chance!
The former emperor had another son, which should have a great impact on Prince Chen!
Prime Minister Zhang, who had been listening to the quarrel, suddenly stood up, bowed to Emperor and said loudly, “Your Majesty, whether he is the descendant of the former emperor or not can be discussed later, I think. Let’s not talk about the matter in the Yuhui Nunnery first. The person himself is still suspicious!”
His words made the people who had still been arguing just now stop for a moment.
“I second that!” The Prime Minister Wen also stood out calmly.
They were the two Prime Ministers of the imperial court, representing two different sides, and it was rare for them to unite. So their words immediately suppressed all the disputes just now and the imperial court quieted down.
Chu Liuchen opened his eyes slightly and glanced at the imperial court coldly. Then he closed his eyes again, as if he was not very interested.
“Your Majesty, if you want to distinguish the true from the false, you can directly ask that person to come here in front of all the officials!” Prime Minister Zhang suggested.
“Your Majesty, I also think it’s better to clarify his ident.i.ty directly. If he is not, then he should be killed, because the royal blood cannot be confused. If he is, he can be enfeoffed and awarded so as to prevent the former emperor’s descendant from being lost!” The Prime Minister Wen slowly expressed his agreement.
Since the two Prime Ministers expressed the same ideas, a large number of officials immediately seconded the proposal.
“Come on, send that man in!” The Emperor waved his hands to both sides, and the officials immediately stopped discussing and looked at the gate of the palace. Many people had seen someone being escorted at the side door when they came in…