Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Li Jian Cheng was momentarily taken aback, only then recalling that his grandmother must have just learned about the matter. He hurriedly offered her comfort.
The Old Matriarch, in poor health, cried for a while before becoming exhausted. She could only squint her eyes and say, "When I was young, I did bully her a bit, but when they fell into hard times, I helped her quite a lot. Yet now that they have become Emperor and Empress, this is how they treat my descendants."
Li Jian Cheng consoled her for quite some time, and when she was about to fall asleep, he exited with his parents. He carefully instructed the maidservants to take good care of her and arranged for the Midwife to stay in a nearby room.
Li Yan had a reunion dinner with his children. Although he had lost his official position and might face public reprimand from the Emperor at tomorrow's court meeting, he still felt quite happy looking at his wife and children.
After all, being a low-ranking Prefect in a remote province was not as good as waiting for opportunities in the capital.
The father and son took advantage of the early evening light to practice archery at Jueping Hall. It could only be said that experience mattered; when it came to archery skills, few in the entire capital could match Li Yan's prowess—he was truly a master archer.
This skill could be considered a family tradition of the Li Family; both the old Duke and the previous Duke were renowned for their mounted archery in their time.
Meanwhile, inside Jin Wangfu, Yang Guang addressed everyone: "The Eastern Palace has made mistakes, and the Sovereign is already aware. A secret edict has been issued; there will certainly be changes in succession. Gao Shan will also be dismissed. If you can accuse him and bring him to justice, great wealth and honor await you!"
The crowd below eagerly accepted the order. Many immediately sought out paper and ink to begin writing down the crimes of the Crown Prince and Gao Shan.
While Gao Shan may not have committed any obvious wrongs, his former students and associates were not necessarily innocent. The crowd quickly identified their targets: Duke of Yiyang, Grand Minister Wang Shiji.
This man was tall and robust, with a commanding presence that suggested he was exceptional.
He had once served as Governor of Liangzhou and was a trusted confidant of Gao Shan. He had led troops into battle several times alongside him. In his youth, a fortune teller had claimed he was destined for greatness akin to that of a Sovereign. During his time in Liangzhou, he had once drunkenly discussed with friends that with the elite soldiers of Hexi at hand, great ambitions could be realized.
The next day at court, as soon as the impeachment memorial was presented, Wang Shiji was taken down. Once revered by both court and commoners alike, Dugu Gong lost the Emperor's trust and appeared utterly disheveled; even his Protectorate could no longer support him.
Although many officials pleaded on his behalf, facing an increasingly irate Emperor, they dared not confront him directly. Thus, Wang Shiji was imprisoned; after two or three days of torture, he confessed to all charges against him.
He admitted harboring resentment towards His Majesty and conspiring with Duke of Qi and Gao Shan to imprison the Emperor and install the Crown Prince.
In a fit of rage, the Emperor ordered Wang Shiji's execution. As for Gao Shan, he was spared death due to the protection of Grand Minister He Ruobi, Wu Province Governor Yuwen Bi, Minister of Justice Xue Zhou, Minister of Civil Affairs Huli Xiaoqing, Minister of War Liu Shu, Minister of Personnel Niu Hong, Left Guard General Yuan Min among others; he was merely demoted to commoner status and placed under house arrest at his residence.
The Emperor had never intended to kill Gao Shan, but the sheer number of people supporting him and their high ranks still shocked the Emperor, especially since Gao Shan had lost the protection of the Queen.
In other words, although Gao Shan had lost his official position, he was still alive and his reputation remained intact. Even without the power of the Left Minister, he could still influence the court.
After a while, Yang Su sent someone to thoroughly undermine Gao Shan. Gao Shan's confidant from Qi State, Gao Huan, came to court to plead for forgiveness, saying, "Gao Shan's son, who is also the son-in-law of the Crown Prince, Gao Biaoren, told Gao Shan that Sima Zhongda initially fell ill and did not attend court, which led to his rise. Now that you are in this situation, how can it not be a blessing?"
Another person reported, "Recently, Gao Shan has frequently met with Monastic Daoism practitioners to seek divination. They received ominous prophecies indicating that next year there will be great mourning in the country!"
Combined, these two pieces of information suggested that Gao Shan was waiting for the Emperor to pass away next year so he could follow Sima Yi's example and seize power.
Yang Jian did not fly into a rage this time; he merely spoke calmly, saying, "How can an emperor be so eager? Even Confucius, with his great wisdom, could not attain power. You compare yourself to the Jin Emperor; what is your intent?"
Neither civil nor military officials dared to speak. Yang Jian continued, "As for Gao Shan, I care for him more than I do for my own son. Even if I do not see him often, I often feel as if he is here. Once he is removed from my sight, I will forget him entirely as if he never existed."
"My lords, ministers cannot seek personal gain at the expense of their sovereign."
"I do not kill Gao Shan because I want him to see clearly that I am not Cao Mengde and he is not Sima Zhongda. From now on, no one is allowed to mention this person again; treat him as if he is dead!"
...
Li Yan had been living quite well these days; the Emperor had no interest in him. Thus, the Duke of Tang spent his days hosting banquets with friends, training hawks and dogs, and hunting on horseback—living a carefree life.
Only after Gao Shan was completely brought down did he sigh with his son: "Back in court, Yang Su was careless, Suwei timid; Yuan Zhao and Yuan Min were like duck ears—easily discarded. Only Gao Shan remained steadfast. Now that there is no Gao Shan left, who can Your Majesty rely on? Is it those Monastic Daoism practitioners?"
Li Jian Cheng couldn't help but lament how easy it was for an old man to ruin a lifetime of reputation.
However, the most pressing issue now was the Crown Prince who had lost all protection.
Sure enough, soon after, the Emperor pointed out numerous grave offenses committed by the Crown Prince during court sessions. For instance: "He boldly claimed that all servants of the Queen were his possessions.
When his wife first passed away, I suspected she had been poisoned. When I confronted him about it, he angrily retorted that it would lead to harm against Yuan Xiaojun and that it was merely a way to shift blame onto me.
He had an illicit relationship with Yun Dingxing's daughter outside; considering this origin, why must it be from his own lineage? In ancient times, when the Jin Crown Prince took a butcher's daughter as his wife, their child became fond of slaughtering animals. If this is not similar now, it will surely disrupt our ancestral line."
Then he concluded, "Though I am De Chanyao and Shun, I will never allow the people to suffer because of an unworthy son! I constantly fear his harm, as if facing a great enemy; now I wish to depose him for the peace of the realm!"
The Left Guard General, Yuan Min, spoke up, "Deposing and appointing is a major affair. If the edict is issued, there will be no turning back. Slander knows no bounds; Your Majesty must be cautious."
Many officials agreed, believing that the foundation of the state should not be shaken over such trivial matters.
Yang Su's faction immediately countered, but the Crown Prince had held his position in the Eastern Palace for many years, which naturally garnered him a group of officials who sought to protect him.
This matter did not unfold as the Emperor and Yang Guang had anticipated; without Gao Shan, it was not so easy to depose the Crown Prince.
After a night at Jin Wangfu and a round of consultations, they concluded that only by inciting the Crown Prince to rebel could they achieve universal acceptance in court and among the people. Such a heinous act of treason would ensure compliance.
While genuine rebellion was difficult, framing someone was much easier. After devising a plan, this task fell to Li Jian Cheng and Yang Jishan.
After discussing it, they instructed Ji Wei, a eunuch already bribed by Yang Guang and close to the Crown Prince, to approach him. He claimed that during the night patrols, there weren't enough torches and requested more locust tree sticks and mugwort for backup.
At that moment, the Crown Prince was too preoccupied to care about such matters and absentmindedly nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Li Jian Cheng and Yang Jishan moved thousands of locust tree sticks and a large quantity of mugwort; it was enough not just for night patrols but could nearly illuminate the entire palace.
At this time, Yang Su had also reached the Emperor's presence, claiming that the Crown Prince had begun secretly preparing for rebellion.
Comment 0 Comment Count