Chapter 68 Find the Poisonous Spider King to deal with Chu Li
Amid the condemnation of his colleagues, Lu Dongchen took off the black hat on his head with trembling hands and placed it aside respectfully.
"I am not worthy of being an official. The Crown Prince is very observant and has found out the truth step by step. I apologize to His Royal Highness and resign from my post. I will leave it to Your Majesty to deal with me!"
Emperor Qingyuan felt mixed emotions as he read the letter in which Madam Guoyue threatened Lu Dongchen.
Madam Guoyue's words clearly show her relationship with him. It seems that Lu Dongchen has always known about his affair with Madam Guoyue.
The hateful Madam Guoyue actually did such a thing in his name!
The little bit of love that Emperor Qingyuan had left for his old lover disappeared completely.
His brows were grim, and he said sternly: "Put Zhang Sheng to death by slow slicing. Madam Guoyue was unfaithful to her husband. Her corpse shall be whipped 100 times, and her property shall be confiscated and put into the national treasury!"
The ministers were silent. Chu Yue lowered his eyes. His father was so cruel that he even wanted to whip the corpse of his old lover.
Emperor Qingyuan's eyes fell on Lu Dongchen. "Give Lu Dongchen fifty strokes of the cane and exile him to Lingnan. Never return to Beijing for the rest of your life!"
Lu Dongchen's eyes were red and he leaned over to thank him.
Emperor Qingyuan sighed, "Liu Chuang has suffered a lot of injustice in prison for ten years. I order the crown prince to release him from prison and clear his name. In addition, I will give him 10,000 taels of silver from the national treasury to compensate him."
Chu Li raised his eyes and met the approving gaze of Emperor Qingyuan.
Emperor Qingyuan's tone softened. "The Crown Prince has solved the case like a god this time and cleared Liu Chuang's name. I am very pleased. From today on, the Crown Prince will take charge of the Dali Temple. The Grand Tutor will personally assist him and teach him how to govern the country!"
He wanted to observe who was more suitable to be the Chief Justice of Dali Temple, and let Chu Li take charge first, also to test Chu Li's ability again!
Chu Li nodded and said, "I obey your command!"
Ye Hanting nodded gently, "I obey your order."
The looks that the civil and military officials gave Chu Li changed again.
Those tough guys in the Censorate began to have a little respect for Chu Li.
The prince solved a ten-year-long injustice in just a few days.
In addition to winning the autumn hunt and handling the flood, Chu Li's performance was impressive.
Prime Minister Jiang's eyes fell lightly on a few people, and they withdrew their gazes one by one. It was not possible to be sure of the prince's ability so quickly.
The crown prince might make trouble and become a laughing stock in the future, so they are more optimistic about the eldest prince who is steady and cautious.
Emperor Qingyuan also noticed the changes in the eyes of his courtiers. As an emperor, he did not want to see the crown prince being supported by too many people.
After all, there were many princes in all dynasties who killed their fathers in order to ascend the throne.
He originally favored Zhang Zhilong to be the Minister of Dali Temple.
However, he didn't want Zhang Zhilong to think that it was Chu Li who helped him get the position of Chief Justice of the Dali Temple.
It would be better if next time Zhang Zhilong made a contribution, he would take the opportunity to give him this favor.
However, it would not be appropriate not to reward Zhang Zhilong this time, so he said emotionally:
"Zhang Zhilong argued for the Liu Chuang case. Great Chu needs an official like Lord Zhang who is observant and dares to give advice. I remember that you have been in Beijing for many years and still live in the old house of your father-in-law, right?
Zhang Zhilong nodded and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Emperor Qingyuan waved his hand and said, "Then I will reward you with a mansion."
Zhang Zhilong has been really poor in recent years. This time, because Chu Li overturned the case, he received a mansion personally awarded by the emperor, which made some officials jealous.
This is the emperor's imperial skill. He knew that some people were spreading rumors about him and Madam Guoyue.
Maybe some people would blame him, the emperor, for being greedy for beauty and indulging Madam Guoyue because of the Liu Chuang case.
However, he has already transferred the conflict to Zhang Zhilong.
Most people are not worried about scarcity but inequality. Since Zhang Zhilong was rewarded, others will naturally be jealous of him.
Emperor Qingyuan turned the conflict toward the court officials, and no one cared whether he, as the emperor, had really favored Madam Guoyue and caused trouble.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Zhilong knelt down and refused Emperor Qingyuan, "I thank you, Your Majesty, but I live very well now. If Your Majesty wants to reward me, please reward His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince moved from Xiaomei Manor to solve the flood problem for the people, and he also overturned Liu Chuang's case these days. I have seen clearly that he has not had a good sleep for a single day. It is a blessing for the people to have such a crown prince!"
Chu Li suddenly felt devastated.
Okay, okay, Zhang Zhilong, you're being too outspoken and accidentally flattering me. My scumbag dad will be very unhappy.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Qingyuan burst into laughter and said, "Zhang Zhilong, it's been a long time since I've seen you speak up for someone. Okay, I'll reward the prince with 5,000 taels of gold."
Chu Li suddenly felt that the gold was a bit heavy and difficult to carry.
Zhang Zhilong is an upright official, but he does not understand the rules of the workplace.
Zhang Zhilong praised her in front of Emperor Qingyuan. The scumbag father smiled on the surface but criticized her in his heart.
From now on, either she or Zhang Zhilong will be made difficult by it.
Emperor Qingyuan restrained his smile and looked at Ye Hanting, who had remained silent from beginning to end.
"Lord Ye, can you handle the Wucheng case?"
Ye Hanting nodded and said, "Wu Cheng embezzled 500,000 taels, of which 400,000 taels were all given to the Fourth Prince. He framed five merchants, who lost all their wealth and were wrongfully imprisoned. In addition, the Fourth Prince deliberately instigated the Mei Renpin family in Xiaomeizhuang to deliberately target the Crown Prince and destroy his reputation."
"What!" The anger of Emperor Qingyuan caused by Madam Guoyue's matter had just been extinguished, but now it was rekindled!
He knew that Ye Hanting would not slander the Fourth Prince without any evidence. He looked at Pei Ye and said, "Commander Pei, bring the Fourth Prince here, search his property, check his warehouse, and find out where all the money came from!"
Pei Ye nodded, "Yes."
Chu Li looked at Ye Hanting, who was standing there with a handsome appearance and a stable mood.
Since Ye Hanting dared to speak of this matter in front of His Majesty, it seems that his people have secretly surrounded the Fourth Prince's Mansion.
......
The Fourth Prince's Mansion.
The Fourth Prince was sitting in a wheelchair and shooting arrows when suddenly his subordinate came to report, panting.
"My Lord, something bad has happened. Madam Guoyue is dead!"
The arrow in the fourth prince's hand suddenly missed the target, startling a flock of birds.
"What did you say!" He threw away his bow and arrow and grabbed the man by the collar.
The man knelt down and told the Fourth Prince everything that had happened in the morning court session.
The Fourth Prince's face turned pale and he sat in a wheelchair, at a loss.
His aunt raised him since he was a child. It is impossible to say that she has no feelings for him at all.
However, what made him most sad was that after Madam Guoyue's death, he really no longer had any support.
Concubine Rong adopted him because she had no children, but she was just using him.
In the past, Madam Guoyue had an affair with my father, and they had committed adultery.
The emperor doted on Madam Guoyue, so even if he did something wrong, the emperor would be lenient with him for Madam Guoyue's sake.
However, Madam Guoyue actually secretly kept a man behind the emperor's back, and had been doing so for twelve years. How could the emperor not be angry!
From now on, whenever my father sees him, he will probably think of his fickle aunt.
This is definitely not a good thing for him who is already in solitary confinement.
He narrowed his eyes, looked at the attendant, and whispered: "Chu Li has been going out frequently recently, go find the Poison Hand Spider King and find a way to make him never wake up again!"