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Chapter 666: Choice (I)

The next morning, Cui Du went to Jingyang Palace to pay his respects, and also went to play with King Ping like a good brother-in-law.

Jiang Shaohua held a small court meeting in the Golden Palace.

Dai Shangshu was the first to bow and say: "The case of treason by the Gaoliang Palace and the Dongping Palace has been tried clearly. Please let the emperor order the punishment."

The funeral of Emperor Taihe was over, and the new emperor officially ascended the throne. Now, it was time to free up our hands to deal with this major case of treason.

The mastermind, Gaoliang Prince Jiang Yi, was stabbed to death by Jiang Shaohua that day. The father and son of Dongping Prince committed suicide by taking poison in prison a few nights ago. No matter where the poison came from, the masterminds were basically all dead.

The only one who was not even able to speak was the King of Gaoliang, who was still locked up in the palace. The women, children and the elderly in the other two palaces were also implicated, and their property was confiscated as a matter of course.

There is nothing much to say about this. Jiang Shaohua quickly issued an imperial decree, ordering the Ministry of Justice to select a date for execution, and all the people in the Gaoliang Palace and Dongping Palace were beheaded for public display. Then he sent the imperial guards to search the house.

What is really worth discussing is how to deal with Prince Huaiyang and Prince Wu'an.

Minister Yang stepped out and presented the self-defense memorials of Prince Huaiyang and Prince Wu'an.

Jiang Shaohua ordered Wang Zhongshu to read the two memorials in public. Wang Jin took the order and took two steps forward to read the two memorials in public.

In his memorial, the Prince of Huaiyang wept and said that he had mistakenly trusted the treacherous and favored the villain, and was framed by his confidants. He had no intention of rebellion and firmly supported the Empress's ascension to the throne. Now he was willing to be demoted to a commoner and give all the property of the Prince of Huaiyang's mansion to the court to enrich the national treasury.

The memorial from the Prince of Wu'an had a similar meaning. However, there was still resentment between the lines, and it was far less literary than the memorial from the Prince of Huaiyang. The memorial was dry and made people feel uncomfortable.

After listening to it, Jiang Shaohua did not comment, but asked the ministers first: "What do you think of these two memorials? Why don't you all tell me?"

Minister Dong took the lead and immediately said, "On that day, there were only a hundred rebels in the imperial mausoleum, and they have all been killed. Wu Wei and Si Wu's statements in prison were inconsistent. First they said they were instructed by the Prince of Huaiyang, and then they said they were instructed by the Prince of Wu'an. I think their words are not credible enough to serve as evidence."

"However, both the Prince of Huaiyang and the Prince of Wu'an are suspected of treason. They can be spared the death penalty, but they cannot escape the punishment of life. For the sake of the stability of the country, please ask the emperor to issue an imperial decree to deprive the titles of the Prince of Huaiyang and the Prince of Wu'an."

Minister Zhang was used to saying something different, so he stood up immediately and said, "Minister Dong is wrong. The emperor has just ascended the throne, so he cannot act according to his own likes and dislikes, but should act according to the laws of the court. Since Wu Weisiwu's words are not credible, the rebellion of Prince Huaiyang and Prince Wu'an is not established. How can we punish the two princes for a false charge? This matter cannot set a precedent, otherwise, there will be comments that are unfavorable to the emperor in the court and the public!"

This sounds reasonable at first glance.

In fact, the purpose was to save Prince Huaiyang and, incidentally, Prince Wu'an, to make things difficult for the new emperor, and perhaps there would be a chance to turn things around in the future.

Minister Yang immediately retorted in a deep voice: "Whether those more than one hundred assassins came from the Huaiyang Prince's Mansion or the Wu'an County Prince's Mansion has never been determined. However, it is ridiculous to say that the two princes are innocent. Minister Zhang and the Huaiyang Prince are relatives, and he wants to exonerate the Huaiyang Prince. With such selfish intentions, aren't you afraid of being ridiculed by everyone?"

Minister Yang was very angry and he hit Minister Zhang's sore spot right away.

Minister Zhang was furious and glared at him: "I am a public-spirited person, how can I be selfish? Minister Yang, please stop slandering me!"

Minister Yang countered coldly: "The vassal kings are powerful and are the root of the trouble for the country. The rebellion of the Gaoliang prince and the father and son of the Dongping prince's mansion are the best precedents. Now is also the best opportunity to curb the vassal kings."

Most of the officials who were originally from the Prime Minister's party remained silent.

Most of the officials that Zhang Shangshu secretly won over were middle and low-ranking officials, and only one or two of them were qualified to attend the small court meeting. On the other hand, Dong Shangshu and Yang Shilang were both members of the emperor's party. There was also Ding Shilang, who was acting as the minister of war, and the former followers of the Empress Dowager, who now also regarded themselves as members of the emperor's party.

Zhang Shangshu immediately looked embarrassed because of the lack of support. Dai Shangshu coughed and tried to smooth things over: "We are now discussing how to deal with the two princes. Since everyone has different opinions, please let the emperor make the decision."

Ultimately, it all depends on the emperor's decision.

If Jiang Shaohua didn't want to let them go, he could have let them die quietly in prison. Just like the father and son of the Prince of Dongping, whether they drank poison or died of a sudden illness, they were dead, so what else could the ministers say?
Now that the matter has been brought up for discussion at the court, at least the lives of the two princes can be saved.

All the ministers looked at Her Majesty the Empress sitting on the dragon throne.

Jiang Shaohua finally spoke: "The Prince of Huaiyang and the Prince of Wu'an were suspected of treason, but because there is no definite physical evidence, only witnesses, and each of them has their own story, the truth is unclear, so they will be given a lighter sentence."

"From now on, the titles of Prince of Huaiyang and Prince of Wu'an will be taken away, and you will be demoted to a commoner and exiled from the capital."

"Eighty percent of the property of the Huaiyang Palace and the Wu'an County Prince will be confiscated, and 20 percent will be left for the people in the palace to live on."

……

This imperial edict was quickly transmitted to Jingyang Palace.

Empress Dowager Zheng snorted coldly: "Such soft-heartedness will surely bring disaster in the future."

Eunuch Zhao carefully continued the conversation: "The emperor is kind and generous, and it is a good thing after all."

Empress Dowager Zheng snorted again, but didn't say anything else.

After being released from the prison, Prince Huaiyang and Prince Wu'an finally saw the bright sun. Standing in the sun, Prince Huaiyang sighed and his eyes turned red.

The title was gone, and 80% of the family property would be confiscated. From now on, he could only shrink and live in poverty. The Prince of Wu'an was filled with resentment and anger, and wanted to curse, but when he thought of the cold corpses of the Prince of Dongping and his son, he swallowed the words back.

Behind them both are their respective sons.

Prince Wu'an only has a crown prince, while Prince Huaiyang has five sons.

Wu'an County Prince mocked: "I don't have many descendants, and I can barely make a living with my 20% family fortune. If you have many descendants, I'm afraid you won't even have meat to eat in the future."

Prince Huaiyang took a deep breath of fresh air and said, "It's better than losing your head."

This one sentence choked Prince Wu'an.

According to the rules, the two of them had to go to the Showa Hall to express their gratitude before leaving the palace. As for whether or not to meet them, it all depended on the mood of the Empress.

The two princes arrived outside the Showa Hall under the heavy gaze of the imperial guards.

After a while, Chen Sheren came out and said, "The emperor has to review memorials and is busy. You can kneel outside the palace to thank God for His grace, and then you can leave."

The Prince of Wu'an kowtowed three times without saying a word and left without looking back.

The Prince of Huaiyang knelt down and could not get up. He said, "Please ask Chen Sheren to pass on the message for me. I am waiting here for the Emperor to summon me."