The Jintai had a different opinion. No officials from the imperial court were summoned to the palace for the interrogation in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Only a few ministers from the cabinet and the chief officials of the three ministries were present. There was no curtain behind the throne in the hall. The empress dowager sat on the right side of Yi Lang in her casual clothes. The empress looked haggard. Although she was dressed up, she could not hide the sick look on her face. She kept her head down and did not speak until she heard the sound of shackles dragging outside the hall, and then she slowly raised her eyes.
He Yixian and others were escorted into the hall and prostrated themselves under the dragon-head incense burner.
He Yixian couldn't get up from his knees, so the Jinyiwei had to prop up his upper body. He had lost several teeth due to torture, his forehead was bruised and swollen, his prison clothes were tattered, and his arms drooped limply in the Jinyiwei's hands.
Seeing that the empress dowager just smiled bitterly and coughed a few times, she said nothing. Instead, Hu Xiang behind him knelt forward a few steps, fell beside He Yixian, and cried out miserably, "Old Madam..." After that, he lowered his head and sobbed while holding the shackles.
"Okay, what does it look like?"
The Queen Mother rebuked him lightly, raised her hand, signaled the Jinyiwei to withdraw, shook her head and sighed, and said to Bai Yuyang: "Are these slaves unwilling to confess? You tortured them."
Bai Yuyang replied: "Yes, we have interrogated him according to the law."
"Have they confessed their guilt?"
Bai Yuyang said: "Hu Xiang and others have already confessed their crimes, and He Yixian has changed his confession several times. His words are no longer credible."
The Queen Mother glanced at Deng Ying and asked, "Where is this person?"
"Deng Ying..."
Bai Yuyang paused, "This man was tried three times in court, but he refused to change his confession. The judges of the three courts believed that his confession was credible, so they did not torture him."
The Queen Mother frowned. "They have committed a serious crime. It's nothing for you to deal with them according to the law. But..."
The Queen Mother pointed at He Yixian and said, "Some of them served the late emperor. The late emperor's soul is still alive. Even if it is a capital crime, you should not embarrass them before sentencing them."
Bai Yuyang and Yang Lun looked at each other and didn't respond.
During the reign of Emperor Zhenning, even if the censors impeached the eunuchs in local positions, they would not be tried by the local judicial system. Most of them would be escorted to the capital by the Jinyiwei and handed over to the Zhenfusi for questioning. This was the so-called "royal family affairs". On the day of the Jintai Grand Meeting, all the officials in the capital were present. Under pressure from the ministers, the empress dowager had to agree to the court caning. But that was also the treatment of slaves by the masters of the inner court, which was different from the torture of the Ministry of Justice.
Yang Wan's question about "whether the boundary between criminal cases and palace secrets is clear" hits the key point here.
At this time, all the officials were speechless.
Yang Lun saw Yi Lang looking at him, so he nodded slightly to him.
Yi Lang immediately stood up and turned to the Queen Mother and said, "Grandmother, they have committed a serious crime that has harmed the foundation of the country. Their merits do not outweigh their crimes, so we cannot seek leniency."
After hearing this, the Queen Mother did not refute Yi Lang's words, nor did she allow Bai Yuyang to reply. She leaned forward and said, "Since this is the case, I will not say more. Let the Emperor ask."
As soon as the Queen Mother finished speaking, He Yixian suddenly started coughing hard, and the officials present all looked at him. He coughed so hard that his eyes were bloodshot and his whole body was shaking. If he hadn't been held up by someone, he would have fallen to the ground.
The Royal Guards lifted his chin and finally stopped his coughing. He opened and closed his mouth for a long time before he raised his head and uttered hoarsely.
"Old lady, please ask me... Please ask me what I can say. I am old and I am afraid of being hit by a stick. I have to say something when someone asks me to say something. You are an old Bodhisattva. If you sit in front of me, I am not that afraid..."
The Queen Mother did not reject his request and said calmly:
"Go ahead. I and the Emperor are listening."
He Yixian struggled to kneel forward and took a few steps, looking up and saying, "Empress Dowager, I am the servant you personally chose as your master. I have served the late emperor for decades. Your heart is more important than my life. How could I forge a will and disobey you..."
He said as he looked at Yang Lun and the others, "The one who actually forged the will was the cabinet!"
"shut up!"
Bai Yuyang scolded: "You have already pleaded guilty in the trial of the Three Officials, how dare you be cunning in the palace!"
He Yixian smiled bitterly, "How did I confess my guilt..."
He stretched out his hand towards Bai Yuyang tremblingly, "The assistant minister wants to break both of my hands. I fainted several times in the hall. How can I not confess? Queen Mother..."
As he spoke, he swallowed the blood foam in his mouth and turned to look at the Queen Mother. "The master has not yet been buried. The master can still see everything he does in the court... His will cannot be passed on, and he is disobeyed... Disobeyed..."
At this point, he burst into tears, trembling all over, and cried with his head raised, "Master, I deserve to die. I watched your reputation being slandered. You are such a wise man, but you were forced by them to confess your sins in your will... Master... I am really heartbroken..."
After hearing these words, everyone in the Imperial Household Department began to sob. For a moment, the hall was filled with cries, and gradually, voices of people crying out for justice were heard.
"You are crying out for injustice, are you trying to punish me on behalf of my father and king? Where do you get the courage?"
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone fell silent.
Yi Lang stood up and looked down at Deng Ying, "The factory official can defend himself."
Deng Ying placed her hands on the ground, knelt down and kowtowed, then straightened her back and said, "I have already said what I should say in the Sansi Hall, and there is no way for me to defend myself."
Yi Lang said: "Then I have a question."
"yes."
"Why would the factory official confess to this crime when he knew it was punishable by death?"
Deng Ying lowered her eyes. "I am the son of a criminal. I was saved by the grace of the late emperor. I cannot betray the late emperor's kindness. The second son of the emperor is young and weak. If he ascends to the throne, the throne will be entrusted to the hands of the Imperial Household Department. If the cabinet and the Imperial Household Department are of one mind, the world can be stable. However, I have been the eunuch in charge of the East Factory for three years, and I have done many things to persecute cabinet ministers. In the case of the salt field collusion with the Japanese, I imprisoned the cabinet minister Bai, which caused thousands of people to point fingers at me and caused complaints. It hurt the reputation of the late emperor. I can't atone for my sins even if I die a thousand times. Empress Dowager..."
He raised his head and said, "If I am alive, how can the ministers be at peace? If the ministers are not at peace, how can they assist the young emperor and bring peace to the Ming Dynasty? I am already a sinner, and I dare not cry to disturb the spirit of the late emperor, but I am also extremely heartbroken, and I feel guilty for hurting the friendship between the late emperor and the ministers for my own selfish interests."
His words pointed out the relationship between the emperor, the cabinet, and the Imperial Household Department in front of the empress dowager. Although he considered himself a member of the Imperial Household Department, his words were from the heart. The sentence "If I am alive, how can the cabinet ministers be at peace? If the cabinet ministers are not at peace, how can they assist the young emperor and stabilize the Ming Dynasty?" directly hit the sore spot of the Imperial Household Department.
After hearing these words, He Yixian swallowed in despair.
"That's why the factory officials asked for death."
Deng Ying shook her head, "I am not seeking death, I deserve to die."
No one in the hall spoke, and Yang Lun stepped forward at the right time and said, "Empress Dowager, this case concerns the succession of the new emperor, and also concerns the cabinet. During the interrogation today, the eunuch changed his confession in the hall and accused the three departments of torture and coercion. I think that the three departments should re-appoint the judge and send this case back."
Bai Yuyang looked at Yang Lun in disbelief after hearing this. "Minister Yang, what are you talking about? How can a case that has already been concluded be sent back for retrial?"
Yi Lang turned around and said to the Queen Mother: "Grandmother, I think the case should be sent back for retrial."
The Queen Mother asked, "Is the Emperor questioning himself?"
Yi Lang did not answer.
The Queen Mother sighed and said, "Take them out. I have something to say to the ministers."
The Jinyiwei obeyed the order and stepped forward, taking out all the people from the Imperial Household Department and Deng Ying.
Only Yang Lun, Bai Yuyang and a few other cabinet ministers were left in the hall.
The Queen Mother stood up, took Yi Lang's hand, and walked down from behind the throne. All the ministers hurriedly performed the ceremony again.
The Queen Mother glanced at Yi Lang, and Yi Lang immediately understood and said "No."
The Queen Mother let go of Yi Lang's hand and said to Yang Lun, "What Deng Ying said is right. If the cabinet and the Imperial Household Department are of one mind, the world can be at peace. I know that He Yixian has been causing trouble for the court for many years. You hate him. He does deserve to die, but the people in the Imperial Household Department cannot be killed. Otherwise, who will hold the seal and who will pass the bills? My grandson is still young. You can't take the emperor to your cabinet duty room to listen to the matter."
The ministers hurriedly said, "We dare not."
The Queen Mother waved her hand to signal the ministers to stand up, and then said: "Since the will has been issued, the princes of various places have already known about it. There is really no need to revise it. I have also read the articles you wrote on behalf of the late emperor. Some of them are indeed the faults of the late emperor himself. As ministers, it is understandable for you to point them out, but I am a mother, and I will tell you from the bottom of my heart. In my eyes, the country is the first, and the reputation of the royal family is second. I can only tolerate you this time. As for my grandson, you have raised him. He has just succeeded to the throne and cannot be stained with a trace of filth. If the case of forging the will is known to the princes of the vassal states and they take advantage of it to make trouble, how can he clean himself? I listened to your wishes before and let the three officials try this case. You did try it out, but you didn't care about the situation of the royal family at all. You are the internal officials who assist in the administration. In addition to being ministers, you are also the internal teachers of the emperor. You can't just focus on your hatred with the Silijian and push the emperor into an unjust place."
After hearing these words, all the ministers knelt down.
Yang Lun kowtowed and said, "I am ashamed to face this. Please enlighten me, Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother said, "Although I don't know as much as you do, I have lived for so many years. You let me speak, and I will go over and say something. It's up to you whether you listen or not."
All the ministers said in unison: "Please give us some advice, Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother held Yi Lang in front of her and said, "According to the rules, when the late emperor died suddenly, the cabinet would draft a will on his behalf. Since you have already drafted it, the late emperor did not leave a will. From now on, the case of forging a will will not be tried, and the Ministry of Justice should not keep the case file."
Bai Yuyang couldn't help but say, "Your Highness's case is... a cover-up."
"Yes. Clear the case."
The Queen Mother took Yi Lang's hand and walked back to the throne, and continued: "As for how to kill He Yixian, it will be decided by the Pacification Office. The same goes for the rest of the people in the Ministry of Ceremonies. They cannot stay in the Ministry of Justice. They will all be escorted to the Imperial Prison and tried by the Pacification Office. Those who should be killed will be killed, those who should be imprisoned will be imprisoned, and those who should be released will be released."