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Chapter 652: Going to Die (I)

At the small court meeting the next day, all the ministers gave their advice and comforted the princess who looked very sad.

Jiang Shaohua had not shown any ruthless tactics recently, nor had he promoted his own people. He had been very gentle to the court officials. The atmosphere at the court meeting was visibly becoming more relaxed day by day.

Although they knew that this was a move by the princess to win over the hearts of the people, the ministers felt relieved. At least, the princess was willing to use them. In front of the new monarch, they had to behave well. In the past month, government affairs have been running very smoothly and efficiently.

The sudden death of the princess's son-in-law's father due to an acute illness was not a big deal for the court officials. After all, Lu Xuan had never been to the capital. Why were the officials so sad about the death of a stranger who had no weight in the officialdom?
If it weren't for the princess, such a small matter wouldn't be worth mentioning at the court meeting.

Jiang Shaohua managed to cheer up under the consolation of the ministers and expressed his gratitude to them. As for the court meetings, they would naturally proceed as usual.

National affairs are important and the sky is not falling, so we should do what we should do.

After the court meeting, all the ministers went back to their offices. Only Minister Yang stayed in the palace.

The father and son of the Prince of Dongping, the father and son of the Prince of Huaiyang, and the father and son of the Prince of Wu'an were all imprisoned in the palace's sky prison. Minister Yang had been interrogating the case and searching for evidence for the past month.

The case has been almost closed. It has been delayed until the princess ascends the throne and issues an order to punish the princes as the new emperor.

As a subordinate of the princess, Yang Zheng also participated in the interrogation and investigation of the treason case. Today, he went to the Tianlao again with Yang Shilang.

"Uncle," Yang Zheng whispered, "There is irrefutable evidence that Prince Dongping and his son are plotting treason. They will definitely have their property confiscated and their entire clan exterminated. How should we deal with the Prince Wu'an and the Prince Huaiyang?"

The confession of the traitors Wu Wei and Si Wu was as follows: they were the assassins planted by Prince Wu'an to be by the side of Prince Huaiyang, and they were instructed by Prince Wu'an to assassinate Prince Ping and frame Prince Huaiyang.

According to this confession, Prince Huaiyang is innocent and Prince Wu'an should be punished.

However, there is no other evidence except the confessions of these two people. Therefore, how to deal with this case is quite "debatable".

Minister Yang glanced at him calmly and said, "I will examine the case thoroughly and then present the case file to the princess. As for how to deal with the princes, that will be a matter for the princess to take the throne."

Yang Zheng understood and nodded slightly.

Kill them all, eradicate the roots once and for all. This is the most cruel and safest way, but it is also easy to be criticized. There is no doubt that the father and son of the Prince of Dongping will die, but how to deal with the Prince of Wu'an and the Prince of Huaiyang will require careful consideration and weighing of the pros and cons.

This matter concerns the lives of hundreds of people in the three princely palaces, and a mere assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice cannot make the decision. It must be Jiang Shaohua who can make the decision.

The princess's mind is deep and unfathomable, and Minister Yang and Yang Zheng are unsure what the princess will choose.

As usual, Minister Yang first interrogated the Prince of Dongping and his son.

The Prince of Dongping has completely given up waiting for death day after day, and he won't say a word no matter what is asked.

In contrast, the Prince of Dongping was much calmer, answering all questions and cooperating very well. He also repeatedly confirmed: "The official coronation ceremony will be held the day after tomorrow?"

Minister Yang nodded slightly: "That's right."

Prince Dongping actually laughed happily: "Good! Good! Jiang Song is dead, Jiang Yi is dead too, Prince Ping is useless, and we are all in jail. It is Jiang Shaohua who should sit on the throne!"

"It's a pity that I will die in a few days, and I won't be able to watch Jiang Shaohua rule the country with my own eyes."

There was a genuine regret in his words. Minister Yang couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Yang Zheng couldn't help but said, "Prince Dongping, you have committed a heinous crime by plotting to murder the emperor. How can you laugh?"

The Prince of Dongping was tied up, sitting on a chair in an awkward and embarrassed posture, but he still had the arrogant and majestic demeanor of a vassal king: "Jiang Song was weak in character, credulous, and mediocre in his methods. He was easily murdered. It was because of his incompetence. The throne should be occupied by the capable. I just lacked some luck."

"What a heinous crime! The winner is the king and the loser is the enemy! If Jiang Shaohua hadn't rushed into the palace in time that day, Jiang Yi would have killed all the eyesores and troublemakers. The throne would be between him and me."

Yang Zheng sneered, "There are no ifs in the world. Our princess arrived in time, killed the traitors and restored order, and won the support of all the ministers. The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager both supported our princess to ascend the throne."

The King of Dongping laughed loudly: "I am also convinced. Even if I close my eyes right now, I will have no regrets."

Even in a desperate situation, he can still maintain such a mentality. King Dongping is indeed a true hero.

Minister Yang also felt a little admiration in his heart. He waved his hand and ordered someone to send the Prince of Dongping and his son back to prison.

The interrogation of Prince Huaiyang and Prince Wu'an was a completely different story.

The Prince of Huaiyang had lost a lot of weight, and his eye sockets were sunken. He kept begging Minister Yang: "I am innocent and have never done anything to plot rebellion. Please, Minister Yang, say a few good words for me in front of the new emperor."

After being imprisoned for a month, the Prince of Wu'an lost a lot of weight, but his temper became more and more violent, and he started to utter a series of dirty and vulgar words. He first cursed the Empress Dowager Zheng, then the Empress Dowager Li, and then cursed the Prince of Dongping and the deceased Prince of Gaoliang for being too ambitious, and then cursed the Prince of Huaiyang.

After cursing for a long time, he didn't dare to curse Jiang Shaohua even a single word.

In fact, he had scolded him at the beginning. Yang Zheng was angry when he heard this, so he did some tricks during the interrogation, so that there were no visible injuries. The Prince of Wu'an suffered enough and became much more honest.

After a busy afternoon, Minister Yang presented three stacks of files.

Jiang Shaohua was not in a hurry to read the file, and said in a gentle voice: "Thank you for your hard work these days, Minister Yang."

Minister Yang responded respectfully: "As the Minister of Justice, I should share the princess's worries."

Jiang Shaohua praised Minister Yang for his intelligence and ability, and Minister Yang said goodbye after some modesty.

After Yang Shilang left, Jiang Shaohua called Yang Zheng over and asked, "What did the three princes say during the interrogation today?"

Yang Zheng had a very good memory and learned it almost word for word. At the end, he added a few words indignantly: "There is nothing to say about the father and son of the Prince of Dongping. They must be executed. In my opinion, the Prince of Huaiyang and the Prince of Wu'an should not be spared either."

"Prince Wu'an is narrow-minded and holds grudges. If we let him go back to his fiefdom, he will most likely rebel."

"We must not release the Prince of Huaiyang. He has been in prison for such a long time, and he has never said a bad word about the Empress Dowager, nor has he ever expressed any hatred or resentment towards the princess. The more he does this, the more we must be on our guard."

Yang Shilang, the old fox in the officialdom, would never say such a thing.

As an official of the Nanyang Palace, Yang Zheng claimed to be the princess's confidant and expressed his views passionately.

Jiang Shaohua did not comment: "You can leave first! This princess wants to take a closer look at the file."