The second prince, Prince Zhao Xiao Changmin, knew that he might be a pawn, but he could not refuse because the evidence brought by Xiao Changgeng could prove his innocence. He did not know Xiao Changgeng's purpose and did not need to ask, because even if he asked, Xiao Changgeng would not tell him.
He waited until Tang Juan's memorial was presented to His Majesty, and when he was furious at the court meeting, he presented the evidence in front of all the civil and military officials in the court. The evidence was all some money of unknown origin that had been deposited into the account of Governor Yu over the years.
There is a trace of the money, not a single trace of it went into his pocket, or into the pockets of anyone related to him. As for whose pocket it went into, there is no clue, and no one except the person who got the money would know.
"I was shocked to hear about the governor's affairs and felt deeply saddened. I immediately started a thorough investigation. His crimes are so numerous that I am ashamed to face Your Majesty. I ask Your Majesty to punish me." Xiao Changmin bowed deeply in submission.
Emperor Youning looked through the evidence and his expression eased slightly. At least it proved that this incident was definitely not done by Xiao Changmin. "I will pass it on to you all for your perusal."
Liu Sanzhi held the evidence and first handed it to Cui Zheng, Xue Heng and Wang Zheng who had just returned to look at it, and then passed it down one by one. After everyone had looked at it, they had a clear idea of what was going on.
Xue Heng stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. I believe that Yu Zao, a mere provincial governor, would never dare to be so bold. Moreover, the thieves captured by Princess Zhaoning were all deserters. How could Yu Zao, on his own, help so many people to escape undercover?"
"Mr. Xue is right," Cui Zheng agreed. "The deserters were exiled to a place where they were buried hastily. This shows that someone has replaced the original with the original. How did these deserters fake their deaths? Why did they believe that someone would arrange for them after faking their deaths?"
"What Lord Xue and Lord Cui said makes sense. We need to investigate the many doubts." Wang Zheng followed up, "The priority right now is to appease the people's grievances. I heard that many people in many places committed suicide out of anger. We also need to discuss how to appease the people whose tombs were robbed."
It was rare that the three of them did not quarrel and worked together. The officials below were relieved. Every time the three of them fought, they had to choose sides and try to figure out the emperor's intentions. It was a hundred times more tiring than being on duty in the yamen.
"Your Majesty." Cui Jinbai suddenly stood up and said, "I think what Mr. Xue said makes sense. Yu Zao is not the mastermind. Since the evidence of his crime is solid and he has amassed such a huge amount of money, he must be closely related to the mastermind. I am afraid that only he knows who the mastermind is.
But Yu Zao is quite a hot-blooded person. It would be better if His Royal Highness Prince Zhao went to Henan Prefecture and appealed to his emotions and reason, so that Yu Zao could confess the mastermind, give justice to the people, and give an explanation to the world."
Cui Jinbai's words were reasonable. The most important thing was that other ministers did not want to get involved in this matter. If King Zhao could not prove his innocence, he would definitely be asked to avoid suspicion. Now that King Zhao was not the person behind Yu Zao, it was most appropriate for him to go.
They also want to find out the mastermind behind the scenes. Otherwise, who doesn't have some wealth? Who doesn't have a few cemeteries with rich burial objects? If the root cause is not removed, it will come back again, and they may be the next to suffer.
Cui Jinbai suggested that King Zhao go instead. Xiao Changmin didn't want to go, but Xiao Changgeng insisted that he go before he would give him the evidence. He could only take the initiative and say, "I am willing to go to Henan Prefecture to preside over the trial of Yu Zao's tomb robbery case."