Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 159: Killing the chicken to scare the monkey, forcing someone to marry their daughter (Part )
The emperor's voice sounded faintly from above: "Prince, what do you think of my decision?"

Li Chengqian was stunned for a moment.

The person was killed immediately.

But he quickly reacted, turned around, bowed, and said seriously, "Your Majesty's handling of the matter is extremely appropriate. I have no objection. However, I feel that the thief's crime is so serious that execution is not enough. His descendants, if they hold official positions, will be dismissed, and those without official positions will be banned from officialdom for three generations."

Li Shimin raised his eyebrows slightly, then nodded calmly and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say, Prince."

Only at this time did the ministers standing in the hall breathe a sigh of relief.

The atmosphere in the hall just now was really suffocating.

The emperor killed someone and then turned his attention to the prince.

In today's scene, although Wang An was impeaching the prince, in fact, it was the prince who was plotting to trap those who were targeting him.

Who in the entire court dares to target the prince?

King of Wei, only King of Wei.

If today's events eventually lead to the crown prince being deposed, then the only one who can succeed him is the King of Wei.

Therefore, the one who hid behind Wang An and impeached the prince must be the King of Wei.

As long as we continue to trace the clues of Wang An, we will eventually find the King of Wei.

Therefore, the emperor decisively killed people and cut off all clues that might implicate King Wei.

The prince was also very decisive. When the emperor asked for his opinion, he did not continue to pursue the King of Wei. Instead, he took another path and intensified the punishment on Wang An to make an example of him.

Moreover, he had just learned these methods from the emperor.

For three generations, he was not allowed to enter the officialdom.

As for Wang An, he was charged with spreading false information and was beheaded in public. His son would be immediately dismissed from his position as an official, but his grandson would not be greatly affected.

Because he was born into the Wang family of Taiyuan.

The descendants of the Wang family in Taiyuan are enough to ensure that his grandson will not be implicated by his grandfather.

Even if Li Chengqian ascends the throne in the future, the worst that can happen is that he will be assigned to a remote place to serve, not hanging around in front of the emperor, or even not letting the emperor know that he is already an official.

The power of the Taiyuan Wang family is enough to do this quietly.

But now, the prince has added this sentence, prohibiting any of his family from holding official positions within three generations, and then his entire family will be put on the blacklist of the Ministry of Personnel.

Even after three generations, once they took the imperial examination, their qualifications would be directly denied based on their past experience.

If five generations of a family cannot serve as an official, they will completely become commoners, even worse than the poor.

For aristocratic families and official families, this is the cruelest punishment.

It is more cruel than directly beheading three generations.

The prince said a word, and the emperor nodded. Wang An's descendants would be completely destroyed.

This is the fate of the prince.

This is the warning from the prince.

But to whom is this warning directed?

King of Wei.

All the officials in the hall glanced gently at Chai Lingwu and Su Xu.

Su Xu was the Sima of King Wei, and Chai Lingwu was the military officer of King Wei. The prince's warning was naturally directed at them.

Chai Lingwu lowered his head slightly, his expression trying to remain calm.

He knew that this warning was not only directed at him, but also at all officials serving in the Prince of Wei's Palace.

This is the outcome of following the King of Wei in targeting the Crown Prince.

Likewise, there are those behind Chai Lingwu...

Li Chengqian stood on the third step of the Danbi, lowering his head calmly.

Li Shimin's eyes swept over Li Chengqian, then looked at the ministers and said lightly: "Dismiss the court!"

……

East Palace, Ganlu Gate.

Princess Nanchang looked to the side calmly, while the household steward beside her took back the badge from the guard at the door.

"Your Highness, please!" Gao, the secretary of the Eastern Palace, dressed in a light crimson palace skirt, bowed to Princess Nanchang.

Princess Nanchang nodded calmly, then stepped into the backyard of the East Palace.

Gao immediately led the way. She was the head female official in the Eastern Palace and served beside the Crown Princess. She had a very high status in the Eastern Palace, and even Princess Nanchang did not dare to look down on her.

Because Gao was a distant cousin of Empress Changsun, she was naturally also a distant cousin of Duke Zhao Changsun Wuji, and also the niece of Duke Shen Gao Shilian.

Of course, her status was not bad, but it was still far inferior to that of Princess Nanchang.

While walking, Princess Nanchang's mind was a little wandering.

The turmoil in the court today had spread throughout the entire Chang'an City after the court was adjourned.

The Prince of Wei's Palace ordered the Censor Wang An to impeach the Crown Prince, but unexpectedly he fell into a trap set by the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince found out that the Censor Wang An had an affair with Xueyantuo, and the Crown Prince wanted to continue the investigation.

In the end, Wang An was beheaded outside Hanguang Gate for spreading false information and misleading the people.

Although the emperor did not investigate further, the prince's punishment of prohibiting the Wang family from holding official positions for three generations was carried out.

If three generations cannot serve as officials, this family will be completely ruined.

Princess Nanchang couldn't help but worry whether this matter would implicate her husband Su Xu.

The Crown Prince's methods are ruthless, and the King of Wei is not favored by the Emperor. If this continues...

"Pa pa pa..." The sound of heavy beatings came from the east side of Ganlu Palace. Princess Nanchang subconsciously looked up and saw three East Palace eunuchs lying on the ground, being hit hard by the boards. "What's going on?" Princess Nanchang subconsciously stopped.

Gao took a look, then bowed to Princess Nanchang and said, "Princess, these men were originally responsible for guarding Cheng'en Hall, but several secret documents hidden there were secretly read. Now that they have been discovered, the Crown Prince has ordered that each of them be beaten with thirty boards. Those who cannot withstand it will be beaten to death."

"So that's how it is." Princess Nanchang nodded calmly, then continued to walk towards Yichun Palace.

She now understood a little that the reason why the people in Prince Wei's Mansion impeached the Crown Prince was probably because of the news spread by these people from the Eastern Palace.

It is even possible that the Crown Prince deliberately let them spread the news from the Eastern Palace in order to lure the King of Wei into the trap.

Unconsciously, Princess Nanchang had already seen through some of the clues.

Yichun Palace is half a mile east of Cheng'en Palace. Outside the palace, more than a dozen eunuchs stand with their heads bowed.

Princess Nanchang walked up the stairs calmly and finally entered the Yichun Palace.

……

"Greetings, Crown Princess!" Princess Nanchang was the first to bow.

"You're welcome, aunt." Su Shu smiled as she stepped forward, helped Princess Nanchang up, and asked her to sit to one side. "I asked you to come here today to discuss something. Everyone's attention in Chang'an and beyond has shifted to the Censor Wang An. In a few days, people will no longer pay attention to Yiniang's affairs. After a few days, Yiniang will be allowed to return home."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Princess Nanchang breathed a sigh of relief. This was the only good news she had received today.

"Someone, come and pour some water." Su Shu waved to the palace maid on the side. The palace maid immediately picked up the kettle on the side and poured a cup of water into the cup in front of Princess Nanchang.

"This is the honey water I just brewed today. Please, aunt." Su Shu smiled gently, then looked at the maid who had poured her a glass of honey water, nodded and said, "You can go down."

"Yes!" The maid bowed and then walked out of the hall backwards.

For a moment, only Su Shu and Princess Nanchang were left in the hall.

Looking at Princess Nanchang, Su Shu sighed softly and said, "My aunt must have known about what happened in the court today."

Princess Nanchang's hand paused slightly, and her expression became serious.

"The Eastern Palace has always been quiet, but there are always people who don't want my niece and the prince to feel at ease." Su Shu gently stroked the water cup with her right hand.

"Royal affairs have always been like this." Princess Nanchang comforted Su Shu softly, but she was thinking in her heart, this is nothing, the Xuanwu Gate incident was much more tragic than this.

"Yeah!" Su Shu nodded gratefully and said, "It was better back then when we were in martial arts. The brothers were harmonious and the sisters were friendly. A few days ago, my cousin, Erlang and Sanlang came to visit my niece together. I didn't expect so many things to happen in the blink of an eye. Back then, my cousin was calm and steady, Sanlang was naive, but Erlang, Erlang was a little more lively..."

"Lively?" Princess Nanchang looked at Su Shu in surprise and asked, "Why do you say that, Your Highness?"

Su Shu smiled and said softly, "That day in Cheng'en Palace, Erlang really enjoyed reading some of the East Palace's books. He even couldn't help but read some memorials."

Princess Nanchang's expression gradually hardened.

What does it mean that “he couldn’t help but flip through some memorials”? Are the memorials from the Eastern Palace so easy to flip through?
Suddenly, the scene of several eunuchs being beaten with a stick outside Cheng'en Palace suddenly rushed out from the depths of Princess Nanchang's memory and filled her eyes.

Princess Nanchang's thoughts instantly jumped to the widely circulated news in Chang'an City today about the censor Wang An impeaching the crown prince for privately transferring death row prisoners and cultivating evil methods, but in the end he himself was beheaded for spreading false information and misleading the public.

There is no doubt that the Prince of Wei's Mansion, which stood behind Wang An, fell into the trap of the Eastern Palace.

However, no one could explain clearly how they were plotted against by the Eastern Palace.

Even in Prince Wei's Palace, many people didn't know what was going on.

Now, the Crown Princess' words revealed everything.

The reason why the Prince of Wei's Mansion was plotted against was because Su Gan read a memorial in the East Palace that he shouldn't have read, and then passed the contents to the Prince of Wei's Mansion. After that, the Prince of Wei's Mansion contacted the Censor Wang An and impeached the Prince in court.

If it succeeds, the crown prince will naturally be deposed and the King of Wei will take the throne, but if it fails, this will be the current outcome.

Wang An was beheaded for spreading false information and his descendants were not allowed to hold official positions within three generations.

For a noble family, this is the most cruel punishment.

However, Princess Nanchang never imagined that the reason for all this was Su Gan.

It was Su Gan who did things he shouldn't have done in the East Palace, which led to all the subsequent consequences.

……

After a long while, Princess Nanchang raised her head with some difficulty: "Your Highness, did the Eastern Palace know about what Erlang did from the beginning?"

"Aunt, I want to ask if the Crown Prince had been plotting against Erlang from the beginning." Su Shu shook her head and said, "The Crown Prince didn't know it was Erlang who was behind this. The Crown Prince originally thought it was a servant of the Su family, because on the night of the first day of the first lunar month, the Imperial Consort Chai Lingwu quietly went to your aunt's residence, and the next day was the second day of the first lunar month."

The second day of the first lunar month is the day to return home.

The prince accompanied the emperor to offer sacrifices in the southern and northern suburbs, and then went to Taiyi Qinghua Temple.

So people from the Zheng family and the Su family went to the East Palace to visit.

The people from the Su family were originally supposed to be only Su Shu's mother and brother, but Princess Nanchang and Su Xu's four children also went to the Eastern Palace.

"Originally, the East Palace thought that it was Prince Consort Chai who found my uncle, and my uncle ordered the servants in the house to act. Unexpectedly, it was Prince Consort Chai who found Erlang and acted alone, so it was Erlang who finally fell into the East Palace's sight." Su Shu shook her head slightly, revealing everything completely.

This time Princess Nanchang completely understood that it was Chai Lingwu who secretly contacted her second son and instructed him to secretly investigate the Eastern Palace.

However, Chai Lingwu did not expect that all his actions were under the watchful eyes of the Eastern Palace.

After that, it was this situation.

After a long silence, Princess Nanchang finally couldn't help but ask in a stiff tone, "What exactly is the Crown Prince going to do?"

Wang An was convicted of spreading false information to confuse the public, but the prince impeached him for treason by having secret dealings with the Xueyantuo.

Su Gan is now implicated. Once the prince gets hold of him, Su Gan will be in trouble immediately.

Of course, the prince's target was not Su Gan, but Princess Nanchang's husband Su Xu.

It needs to be made clear whether Su Xu knew about this matter, how much he knew, and how much he was related to Xueyantuo.

If he fails to explain clearly, Su Xu will be charged with treason.

Once Su Xu falls, although it is not known whether the entire Princess Nanchang will fall, their family will have no future.

"Aunt, Shu'er and Uncle are family after all." Su Shu turned around, picked up a pen and paper from the side, handed it to Princess Nanchang, and said, "Aunt, what is Yiniang's birth date?"

Princess Nanchang suddenly looked up, her pupils dilated, and looked at Su Shu in disbelief.

(End of this chapter)