It is true that news spreads fast in the palace. Just as the Emperor was speaking in the imperial study, the Crown Prince received the confirmation. Just when he was feeling angry, Chang Hehui's letter arrived.
The prince had a gloomy face and cursed Chang Hehui inwardly for being useless. He was in the Hanlin Academy but failed to notice the movement of the third place winner. When he opened the envelope, his face immediately turned livid.
"How dare you!" The prince was enraged, his emotions in turmoil, and he smashed porcelain all over the floor.
"Prince, please calm down." The people around him immediately knelt down, fearing that they would be angered by others if they were not careful.
"Who gave him the courage?" The prince looked at the letter fiercely, his brows full of hostility. If what was in the letter was true, he would have been charged with a crime in vain, while the benefits went to others. Which of his brothers was the one who did this
"Prince, please calm down, but what's wrong with the runner-up?" Others couldn't guess what the prince was thinking, so they could only avoid the topic and bring the topic back to Chang Hehui.
The prince laughed grimly and threw the letter aside: "You can read it for yourselves?"
Pu Zhengyang read the letter quickly, his face changed drastically with anger: "This is too much, this is too much, Wang Hongwei is really a good dog."
Wu Sicheng had a different opinion, and frowned, "Could the runner-up have made a mistake?"
Pu Zhengyang retorted: "How can such a thing be wrong? It is better to believe it than not to believe it. He doesn't have the guts to spread lies."
The prince waved his hand and asked the unimportant people to leave. Only a few confidants were left in the room. He said coldly: "Master Pu is right. It is better to believe it."
Pu Zhengyang took the letter, turned it over and over, and hesitated, "Have you really decided to confess your guilt?"
The prince smiled coldly: "What crime have I committed?"
Pu Zhengyang's mind changed, and he immediately laughed: "Yes, Your Highness is right. What does Lord Wang's affairs have to do with the East Palace?"
Wu Sicheng then said: "The matter has not been verified yet. If..."
Pu Zhengyang said unsatisfiedly: "Master Wu is just overthinking. What does it matter if this matter is verified? What does it matter if it is not verified?"
Wu Sicheng was confused. He had always been cautious. Regardless of the fact that the third place winner was related to the Marquis of Jingyang's mansion, there was no evidence to prove the second place winner. There was only a letter. How could he believe its authenticity
Liao Junyou tried to smooth things over: "Since the Shandong incident has broken out, the emperor will definitely conduct a thorough investigation. The most urgent task now is to remove His Highness."
The prince nodded and said, "I'll leave this matter to you. Make sure you don't leave any evidence behind. For the time being, you don't have to worry about the Shandong prefect."
Liao Junyou accepted the order respectfully, but he felt a chill in his heart. From what the prince meant, no matter whether Wang Hongwei was innocent or not, he had to take responsibility for this matter.
Pu Zhengyang remained silent. Since they had chosen the prince, they had no way back and could only go all the way. Fortunately, the emperor favored the prince. As long as the prince ascended the throne, they would have the advantage of following him. He felt that wealth and honor were sought in danger, and it was worth it for the future!
"I will go to see my father right away." The prince straightened his clothes, and the three adults took their leave one by one. The prince went out of the room and looked at him. He was a gentleman as precious as jade, noble from head to toe, with a handsome face. There was no trace of gloom on his face.
Different from the tension among all parties, Li Yaonan, the fire starter, was quite relaxed at this moment. He was speechless about the attitude of his colleagues. They avoided him like the plague, but they didn't want to make it too obvious.
Lord Wang woke up from his coma and learned that Li Yaonan had actually sued his elder brother. He was so exhausted that he fainted again.
Yang Minghua was so angry that he just stared blankly, with fire in his eyes.
Li Yaonan turned a blind eye to this. He was not that kind. He still felt sympathy after others plotted against him. Lord Wang might be pitiful because he suffered for a trivial matter, but what about the ordinary people in Shandong? Aren't they pitiful? The Wang family was not innocent from the beginning to the end.
About an hour later, the eunuch beside the emperor passed on the message: "Summon Li Yaonan to the imperial study for an audience."
"I obey your command." Li Yaonan kowtowed respectfully and followed closely behind his eunuch.
Eunuch Wang nodded and said, "The emperor is in a bad mood. The third place winner has to be careful with his words when he sees you."
"Thank you for your advice, eunuch." Li Yaonan was surprised. Eunuch Wang was a popular figure around the emperor, but he didn't expect him to remind him. In fact, he didn't know that it was all thanks to the ancient romance. The emperor liked to read a few chapters when he was free. Eunuch Wang was naturally familiar with Li Yaonan and would help him if he could. After all, it was a favor.
So, everyone in the palace is a shrewd person.
Li Yaonan thought about it and decided not to give Eunuch Wang a gift after all. The people serving the emperor would not be short of worldly things. He just smiled and chatted with Eunuch Wang, treating him with a normal heart.
Eunuch Wang was cautious at first, but later on they started talking and laughing. The two of them came to the imperial study, where Eunuch Wang obviously praised him highly. Li Yaonan knew that his goal had been achieved, so after thanking him, he stood quietly outside waiting.
Not long after Wang Gonggong went in, he came out again with a serious face and a businesslike attitude: "The emperor summons Lord Li to come in."
"Yes!" Li Yaonan responded, feeling a little nervous, as this was his first time in the imperial study.
Eunuch Wang's expression eased slightly, he nodded at him soothingly, lowered his head and walked behind the emperor.
Li Yaonan looked solemn and knelt down respectfully, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
The emperor did not shout, but looked at him calmly. The inexplicable pressure made his heart tighten.
Li Yaonan looked straight ahead and continued to kneel respectfully, with only a bit of young man's stubbornness showing on his face.
The emperor frowned and sighed in his heart. The third place winner was too young after all. However, the doubt in his eyes dissipated a little: "Get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Yaonan only then realized that in addition to Lord Bian and Lord Ye, the Crown Prince and the Censor of the Censorate were also in the imperial study.
"I heard that the governor of Shandong embezzled disaster relief funds. How did you know this, Mr. Tanhua?" The emperor spoke slowly and in a long tone, without any emotion in his calm voice.
Li Yaonan knew in his heart that the emperor was suspicious and testing him. The emperor would never allow anything to get out of control. His position was too low and the matters involved were too big. It was natural for the emperor to have doubts. Any excuse at this time would be a cover-up. The emperor would wonder in his heart who he belonged to. This was a common problem among those in high positions.
Li Yaonan was stunned: "The emperor doesn't know?"
The emperor's eyes darkened, and his indifferent voice revealed an indescribable majesty: "What do you mean, Li Aiqing?"
The prince also looked at him meaningfully, trying to find out something from Li Yaonan's expression, but unfortunately he got nothing.
Lord Bian frowned. When he was in the Hanlin Academy, Li Yaonan was very brave, but now he was like a mouse seeing a cat.
Li Yaonan hesitated and said innocently, "Everyone in the local area knows about this."
The emperor's face darkened, and everyone noticed clearly that this was a sign of his anger.
"Explain it to me clearly."
"Your Majesty, I am from Yangzhou. On my way to take the exam, I passed through Shandong. The local refugees were complaining. This is no longer a secret. You can just send someone to find out."
"Bang!" The emperor slammed the table with his palm. He was not angry about the corruption of the Shandong prefect, but that he, as the emperor, was kept in the dark about such a big thing. How bold were the Shandong officials? Did they think they could cover up the sky with one hand
"Your Majesty, please calm down." The minister knelt down and kowtowed hurriedly.
"Father, please calm down." The prince also knelt down, gritting his teeth in hatred. He knew that there were disaster victims in Shandong and that officials were corrupt, but he had not received any information at all. Yet, everyone knew about this matter. If it was found out that the truth was related to him, and the evidence was conclusive, it would be difficult to stop the people of the world from talking. How could his father keep him as the crown prince
The prince had a conspiracy theory in his mind and made up a series of things in his mind. He would not suspect Li Yaonan of anything. Such a big lie would only make him lose his head.
Li Yaonan easily freed himself. As a lowly official, he had no ability to speak at the moment. He only needed to set the fire, and the emperor would take care of the rest.
"Your Majesty, the Second Prince, the Fourth Prince, and the Sixth Prince request to see you."
The prince's face darkened. He didn't expect his brothers to come so quickly.
"Announce." The emperor is the emperor after all. He never shows his emotions and soon returns to his expressionless face.
Li Yaonan kept his eyes on the nose and his nose on the heart, trying to reduce his presence as much as possible. He knew that this action had caused a big trouble, but he felt it was worth it. Before the matter was clarified, at least he was safe. After the matter was clarified, as long as the prince was safe, he would also be safe, and maybe he could even get some protection. Apart from the emperor, the palace was the prince's territory.
"Your son pays respect to His Majesty, Father."
"Stand up." The emperor looked at the children with a slightly more relaxed expression. "You should also come and listen to what we should do. Submit a policy paper tomorrow."
"Yes!" Several princes responded respectfully.
Li Yaonan was very sensitive and discovered that the Sixth Prince seemed to be hostile to him. Thinking of Jingyang Marquis Mansion, Li Yaonan understood in his heart and a sneer appeared on his lips. If he remembered correctly, his husband seemed to have said that Wang Hongwei was the Sixth Prince's hidden line. He didn't know how the Sixth Prince planned to make peace.
Li Yaonan repeated the story respectfully, in an objective tone without any personal feelings.
The emperor was very satisfied with his narration, and the other princes could not find any reason to refute it. It was obviously without any basis, but it was impeccable. Li Yaonan's words and deeds were too open and aboveboard, laying everything out in the open, so bold that anyone could check it out at will. Such words could outweigh countless evidences.
In what happened next, Li Yaonan was a nobody. It was not his turn to discuss major events, and as for minor matters, how could there be any minor matters in the emperor's place? While the emperor, princes, and ministers were discussing fiercely, he stood quietly aside as a background board.
By the time the emperor remembered him, it was already dark.
The prince looked at him in surprise: "Why is Lord Li still here?"
Li Yaonan was speechless. How could he dare to leave without the emperor's order
The emperor kindly waved his hand and rewarded him with a royal banquet.
In fact, it was not the emperor's fault for being careless, but Li Yaonan's presence was too small and he hid himself too well. They were discussing business and forgot that there were other people around them.
The matter has come to an end for the time being. How the officials investigate, how the prince arranges, and how the sixth prince operates, none of this has anything to do with Li Yaonan. He just needs to wait for the results.
However, none of them expected that this result would not only shock the emperor, but also the prince. It caused a huge uproar in the court. No one would have thought that a prefectural governor's corruption case would snowball and involve such a wide range of people.
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