spend time

Chapter 611: Winning Over (Part )

As soon as this statement came out, all the ministers were shocked.

Prime Minister Wang was recovering from his injuries, as was Duke Anguo. Minister Li was dead. The remaining important officials, such as Minister Dai, were too old to take the lead, and Minister Zhou had less experience. As the Minister of Personnel, Minister Zhang felt that he should support the Prime Minister's party and took the lead: "Grand Empress Dowager, please calm down."

"The father and son of the Prince of Dongping have committed the serious crime of treason and must be put to death. However, according to the laws of the country, they must be interrogated, convicted and sentenced. It is easy to kill them at this time, but it is not in accordance with the laws of the court..."

"How dare you!" Empress Dowager Zheng was furious. She pointed her finger at Minister Zhang's nose and cursed: "I lost my eldest grandson. The Emperor of Daliang died at the hands of the Prince of Dongping and his son. I wish I could cut them into pieces. Even if I cut them once, it would be a relief for them."

"What do you mean by stopping me? Do you want to plead for them? What is the connection between you and the Prince of Dongping and his son?!"

Zhang Shangshu was horrified and immediately defended himself: "I am loyal to the emperor, and I will never have any connection with the traitor. I just think that the execution should not be carried out privately, but the crime should be tried and convicted openly..."

Empress Dowager Zheng said with a spit, "I will kill them openly and squarely! If you continue to talk nonsense, I will immediately kick you out of the mourning hall!"

Minister Zhang had often seen Prime Minister Wang and Empress Dowager Zheng argue with each other and even suppress her. Now that it was his turn to step forward, he realized how difficult it was.

Zhang Shangshu subconsciously glanced at Dai Shangshu, who remained motionless. He then glanced at Zhou Shangshu, who had his head lowered and had not raised it.

With the fall of Prime Minister Wang, the Prime Minister's party was demoralized and was on the verge of falling apart.

The Empress Dowager Zheng took a tough stance at this time, and used the opportunity to attack the Prince of Dongping and his son to suppress the officials of the Prime Minister's Party. From then on, the court was dominated by the Empress Dowager's Party.

What should he do? What can he do?
Zhang Shangshu looked unhappy and shut up angrily.

The Prince of Dongping and his son knew they could not escape death, and since they were bachelors, they simply pretended to be ready to be slaughtered... Both of their mouths were blocked by a ball of smelly cotton cloth, so they could not open their mouths even if they wanted to quibble.

Empress Dowager Zheng waved her hand majestically, and Eunuch Zhao immediately gave orders, and several tall imperial guards stepped forward and held back Prince Dongping and his son.

"Wait a minute."

No one expected that the person who would speak at this time would be Jiang Shaohua.

Empress Dowager Zheng was very surprised and looked over unhappily: "You are going to stop me too!"

Jiang Shaohua took two steps forward under the strange gazes of the crowd and said slowly: "There are witnesses and physical evidences for the rebellion of Prince Dongping and his son. They deserve to be cut into pieces. However, how did they connect with Jiang Yi? Are there any accomplices? These must be clarified. Put them in the Tianlao for the time being and try them thoroughly later. In this way, no good people will be killed, and no fish will slip through the net. This is the way to avenge the emperor and give an explanation to the ministers and people."

When Empress Dowager Zheng heard the word "accomplice", her momentum was not as strong as before.

No one knows how many accomplices the father and son of Prince Dongping have, but Zheng Chen is definitely one of them. As long as Zheng Chen is identified, the Zheng family will be implicated.

Empress Dowager Zheng seemed to have been caught in a weak spot, and her momentum was instantly lost.

Jiang Shaohua still looked sincere and caring: "Besides, the palace is in turmoil, many people have died in and outside the Zhaohe Palace, and the emperor is lying in the coffin. I'm afraid he will be disturbed by the blood and can't rest in peace. No matter what happens, it's not as important as the emperor's burial."

"Let's wait until the funeral is over before we discuss this matter."

"Don't worry, Empress Dowager. No one who deserves to die will be able to escape."

The last sentence exudes solemnity and chill.

Empress Dowager Zheng felt a chill in her heart and subconsciously gave in: "Well, I'll do as you say."

After saying this, he felt that his momentum was too weak, so he quickly put on a stern face and gave a loud order: "Come here, lock up the father and son of the Prince of Dongping in the prison. No one is allowed to visit them. Anyone who dares to approach will be treated as an accomplice."

The father and son of the Prince of Dongping were dragged out like dead dogs. Jiang Shaohua stepped forward to support the Queen Mother Zheng and said softly: "It's late at night, your Majesty, go to rest. I will stay here."

Empress Dowager Zheng patted Jiang Shaohua's hand and said, "Thank you for your hard work these days."

Jiang Shaohua responded softly: "This is what I should do."

Supporting the overall situation and stabilizing people's hearts, these eight words are easy to say, but difficult to do. The tremendous pressure that Jiang Shaohua has been under in the past few days is beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

However, this is the price you have to pay for doing big things.

There is no such thing as taking advantage without doing any work. As the old saying goes, if you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight first.

Empress Dowager Zheng was very pleased with Jiang Shaohua's statement and patted the back of Jiang Shaohua's hand. In front of everyone, some things are inconvenient to say and cannot be said. Only the two of them know the deep meaning behind them.

……

Wow!

Bang!

The iron chain rattled for a while, the heavy iron door was pushed open, and two embarrassed figures were pushed into the cell.

Oh oh oh!
The Prince of Dongping tried his best to scream, but could only make a humming sound.

The royal guards guarding the prison ignored him.

Both the father and the son were of noble status, well-dressed and well-fed, but they had suffered a lot these days. One of them was lying on the ground, and the other was leaning against the wall, starving.

When it was dawn, the expressionless royal guards came in and untied the father and son.

With a bang, a bowl of cold water was placed on the ground, along with two hard cold steamed buns.

In the past, even the dog raised by the King of Dongping would not eat this. But now things are different. The hungry King of Dongping hurriedly pulled the rag in his mouth and stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth like a hungry tiger.

The Prince of Dongping was a little slower, but he also ate voraciously.

After being hungry for a whole day and night, I just ate a cold steamed bun, which was not enough to satisfy my hunger.

The Prince of Dongping drank some cold water and then shouted, "Bring two more steamed buns."

Still no one paid any attention.

Prince Dongping drank the remaining cold water, barely suppressed the rumbling in his stomach, and sighed, "Stop yelling. Take this opportunity to rest your hands and feet and save some energy to talk."

Only during mealtimes every day would the father and son whisper to each other.

"All efforts were in vain!" The Prince of Dongping was unwilling to accept this and whispered through gritted teeth: "Jiang Song died quickly, but Jiang Yi was really useless. He couldn't hold on in such a good situation and was stabbed to death by Jiang Shaohua."

The turmoil and changes in the palace happened a few days ago. On the way from the capital to the palace, Prince Dongping and his son heard a lot of stories.

It is really regrettable that such a great ambition was destroyed by a woman.

Prince Dongping was about to speak when his expression suddenly changed.