The current emperor has only two younger brothers, one is the eighth prince Yu Wenxuan who is only nine years old, and the other is the prince Yu Wenxi. The tall and mighty person in front of him couldn't possibly be only nine years old, so he could only be Prince Xi.
When Yu Wenjie mentioned him before, his tone was not very friendly. Two days ago, He Changan also mentioned him. Hua Chun was quite curious about this person. So when he was talking, she turned her head and looked secretly.
He was about the same height as Yu Wenjie, but his appearance was not as good-looking as the emperor's. His brows were too tough, showing a kind of vigor. His voice was a little deep, without any youthful air at all, as if he was in his thirties or forties.
"I went out of the palace the day before, and saw that the people in the outskirts of Yanjing were starving to eat and not covered with clothes, so they were asked why. Someone replied: The harvest was all eaten by the bureaucrats, and the people had no rice to eat, let alone meat. The minister felt deeply distressed, so he asked people to investigate the corruption of Beijing officials."
As soon as these words came out, the faces of all the officials in the court changed.
Hua Chun raised her eyebrows, thinking that Prince Xi is also a hot-blooded idiot? Cha Jing officials are corrupt, and no one in the court can escape except her. According to the principle of being outnumbered, this person will definitely be suppressed and retaliated, just like her.
Where did he get the courage
Sure enough, as soon as he said this, the Grand Master Tang next to him said: "The prince is the king of the fief, not the official of the capital. If he intervenes in the inspection, can he inform the majesty in advance?"
Obviously not, otherwise Yu Wenjie above would not be displeased.
"The emperor has always loved the people, but what happened suddenly, my brother did not intend to offend and seize power, so I ask the emperor to forgive me." Yu Wenxi said.
The emperor looked at him deeply, propped his chin with his hands, and said indifferently: "Let's talk about the results of the investigation."
"Yes." Prince Xi cupped his hands: "Many parts of the accounts of the household department are not clear, and a large amount of disaster relief money must still be stranded in the capital. I have a brochure here, please the emperor have a look."
Taishi Tang's face was slightly pale, and he subconsciously looked at Li Zhongtang. The latter looked calm, as if not nervous at all.
Prince Xi has been silent in the palace, who would have thought that such an event would happen today? Prince Xi has always been backed by the Empress Dowager, and the fief also has its own military and financial resources, which cannot be impeached by courtiers.
Many people's faces turned pale, and Grand Master Tang regretted it even more. If I knew it earlier, I would have listened to the prime minister and followed the prime minister's method to provide disaster relief, so I wouldn't be forced to... hey!
No one knew what was written in that booklet, and everyone was secretly looking at the emperor's expression, trying to see some clues.
However, the emperor has facial paralysis, Hua Chun knew that no matter whose name was on the booklet, he would not have any special reaction, so why not just stare at Prince Xi.
However, I don't know if her gaze was too hot, but Lord Xi turned his head to look at her, and even smiled at her.
Hua Chun froze for a moment, couldn't help shivering, and looked at him puzzled.
Let's laugh, it's not friendly, and it has nothing to do with kindness. Hua Jinghua probably knew Prince Xi early in the morning, so this smile is a greeting
Just as he was thinking about it, Yu Wenjie closed the paper and said, "We will discuss this matter after we retire from the court. Let's discuss other matters first."
"Yes." Prince Xi nodded and retreated to the queue next to him.
There was silence in the court hall, someone was going to give a performance, but when Prince Xi handed it the booklet, they lost their mood and fell silent.
Seeing this, Eunuch Qin had no choice but to shout: "Retire without incident!"
Everyone knelt down to salute, Yu Wenjie got up but didn't leave, looked down and said: "Tang Taishi, Hubu Ding Shangshu, General Li... and Prime Minister Hua, please stay."
The hearts of those who were called were heavy, but Hua Chun was very puzzled, why did they call her? This tone of voice obviously has something to do with Prince Xi's brochure, but she is not corrupt, she has nothing to worry about!
Standing upright and not afraid of the shadow being crooked, Hua Chun responded frankly, and then stood there watching the people who were not named fly away from the court hall.
Grand Master Tang was sweating all over his face, and finally came to Hua Chun's side, and called tremblingly, "Prime Minister Hua."
"Huh?" Hua Chun looked at him, "Teacher."
"Old man... I regret it." Grand Master Tang whispered.
What? Hua Chun looked at him inexplicably, he hadn't talked to her for half a month, and suddenly he said regret, who knows what he regrets
"Third Emperor Brother." The emperor above said: "Is everything written in this booklet true?"
"It's absolutely true." Prince Xi said: "The emperor can send people to search for it now, the things must be in your mansions, and they can't escape."
There were more than a dozen ministers standing below, all of them turned pale when they heard the words. Looking at their reactions, Yu Wenjie also knew that Yu Wenxi had not wronged anyone.
However, Hua Jinghua under the right hand had a normal expression on his face, and even looked at him a little blankly.
"Prime Minister Hua." The emperor couldn't help asking him one more question: "Aren't you always upright? Did Prince Xi wrong you this time?"
Hua Chun frowned, raised his head and asked, "Is there a minister's name on the brochure?"
Yu Wenjie nodded.
"Why?" Hua Chun was puzzled, and looked at Prince Xi: "Since I became an official, I have never accepted a gift from anyone, let alone a bribe. What did the minister embezzle?"
"Thirty thousand taels of silver." Yu Wenxi said, "It's the money for disaster relief this time. This king checked the whereabouts. It's true that it went to Huafu."
Thirty thousand taels! Hua Jinghua's monthly salary is only thirty taels. If she really took such a large sum of money, what else would she do to serve the emperor with her head up
Seriously rolled his eyes, Hua Chun said: "Your Majesty, I pledge my life to guarantee that I don't know about this matter."
"Catch thieves and take stolen goods." Lord Xi said: "My lords, don't rush to quibble, just stay in this Xuanzheng Palace for a day, let the emperor send people to search the house, and wait until you find out the amount of losses in the accounts and the difference." The money that belongs to everyone, let’s talk about other things before it’s too late.”
Corruption is too common. Although the criminal law of Daliang has severe punishment for the crime of corruption, which requires demotion and exile, under the umbrella of "the law does not blame the public", basically all officials in the court are corrupt. Greed for less, and the difference between obvious and non-obvious greed.
If another person brought this matter up in front of the emperor, the emperor would most likely suppress it. After all, killing so many officials at once would hurt the court's vitality and cause chaos in many things.
But it was Prince Xi who played the role, the Prince Xi who was affectionate with the emperor on the surface, but secretly rivaled in reality. If Yu Wenjie was not severely punished this time, the words of "the emperor supports official corruption" will inevitably spread across Daliang, and the hearts of the people will be broken, which is more terrible than losing officials.
So even though many of them were veterans and important ministers, Yu Wenjie could only order Huo Zichong to take people out of the palace and search all the mansions according to the list in the brochure.
"The third brother comes with me," Yu Wenjie said.
Prince Xi nodded, and followed the emperor to leave the Xuanzheng Hall. Afterwards, some palace servants came in with chairs and told everyone to sit down. Afterwards, heavy soldiers surrounded the outside, and no flies could fly out.
These veterans in their 30s, 40s, 40s and 50s sat shivering on their chairs, looking like chickens about to be slaughtered. Sitting for an hour, there was no movement outside.
Grand Master Tang sat and thought for a long time. From the panic at the beginning, it has become calm and confused now.
"Prime Minister." He said, "I suddenly feel something is wrong."
"Huh?" Hua Chun sat bored and yawned.
"If the old man's name is on that booklet, Li Zhongtang will definitely not be able to escape." Grand Master Tang frowned: "However, there are only me and Ding Shangshu, without Li Zhongtang and General Meng."
Hua Chun raised his eyebrows and remembered. These veterans have always belonged to one party, they were together when they supported her, and they were also together when they rejected her, so why are only Tang Taishi and Ding Shangshu now favored by Prince Xi
Could it be internal strife
Taishi Tang's eyes were moving all the time, and his expression became more and more nervous. He reached out and grabbed Hua Chun's sleeve and said, "No matter what happens in the future, the prime minister will remember to be careful with Li Zhongtang and the others."
Hearing this, people's backs felt chills, Hua Chun shrank his shoulders. Li Zhongtang and the others also had trouble with her in the matter of disaster relief, but the rest of the time seemed to be pretty good, and they helped carry her out of the palace before, didn't they? Why did Grand Master Tang say that
But, it is necessary to be defensive, this sentence applies everywhere. Hua Chun nodded obediently.
Then Taishi Tang didn't say much, and was silent thinking about things.
At noon, the palace staff came in with lunch, many people took the opportunity to inquire about the situation outside, but the palace staff didn't know anything, they only said that the emperor and the prince went out of the palace together and hadn't come back yet.
Dark clouds pressed over the Xuanzheng Hall and never dispersed. This group of people may have experienced the most difficult moment in their lives. Many people have already collapsed and want to surrender themselves.
"The big deal is exile, there's no need to torture people like this!" A slightly smaller official from the Sixth Ministry held his hair and said, "I want to get out!"
The atmosphere here is too psychologically stressful, Yu Wenjie is really ruthless, Hua Chun shook her head, fortunately she didn't do anything wrong.
In the evening, the emperor and Prince Xi finally came back.
"Let's draw up the decree." Yu Wenjie entered the Xuanzheng Hall, without looking at the group of people kneeling in front of him, he directly walked up to the dragon seat and said, "Whatever should be done should be done according to the law."
"Yes!" Prince Xi replied with a smile, and turned his head to glance at the kneeling person below.
Hua Chun raised his head by himself, looked at the emperor curiously and asked, "What did the emperor find out in Huafu?"
Yu Wenjie lowered his head and looked at him deeply: "Thirty thousand taels of silver, some gold, silver and jewelry, and some antiques, all of which are priceless."
"Is it a congratulatory gift?" Hua Chun laughed: "I just got married, and I haven't had time to clean up the congratulatory gifts sent by the adults. I didn't expect there to be so many things - are they all corrupted by the humble minister?"