The prince is more stable

Chapter 310: Admitting Mistakes and Oversight
A conspiracy against Su Shi was declared a complete failure due to Zhao Xiaoqian's intervention.

Zhang Dun was in a complicated mood at the moment. He was both angry and wary of Zhao Xiaoqian.

Today's events once again proved Zhao Xiaoqian's weight in the court. His power was actually not that great, but he had the status and favor of an official relative and brothers, as well as the mysterious and powerful Imperial City Bureau.

The combined value of these two things is enough to compete with that of Prime Minister Zhang Dun.

What Zhang Dun regrets most now is that when Zhao Xiaoqian pleaded for Su Shi, he should have taken the opportunity to back down and agree to Zhao Xiaoqian's plea.

In this way, he could not only gain a favor from Zhao Xiaoqian, but also further enhance his relationship with Zhao Xiaoqian.

A person like Zhao Xiaoqian would be too powerful as an enemy, and could even influence the prime minister's decision-making and the balance of the court.

If they become friends, they will become his most solid allies, helping each other and supporting each other in the court.

At this moment, Zhang Dun realized that he had indeed taken a wrong step.

He cared too much about the personal grudge between him and Su Shi, and his reason was blinded by hatred. Now, not only did he fail to resolve the grudge, but he made an even more powerful enemy.

This does not bode well for the Prime Minister.

According to Zhang Dun's observation, Zhao Xiaoqian's political stance was actually very vague. If the hatred with Zhao Xiaoqian became deeper and deeper, he might simply turn around and join the arms of the old party. Given Zhao Xiaoqian's importance, Zhang Dun would face many obstacles in implementing the new policy in the future.

Don't talk about the general trend, the general trend is also created by people. The current new policy does have many drawbacks, and there are many praises and criticisms from both the government and the public. It is not impossible for Zhao Xiaoqian to use the trust of the government to lobby the government to abolish the new law.

Thinking of this, Zhang Dun's eyes became increasingly dim. He stood in the court with his head down, completely ignoring the turmoil outside. His eyes flickered, and it was unknown what he was thinking about.

At this time in the Daqing Hall, Zhao Xiaoqian's words had left all the civil and military officials speechless.

Especially Xing Shu, whose face turned pale and blue after being criticized by Zhao Xiaoqian.

What they produced was real evidence of guilt, which could prove that the Imperial City Division had not arrested the wrong people. Huang Lu and the other two should have been arrested. What did Zhao Xiaoqian do wrong?

In this way, Xing Shu and others' criticism of Zhao Xiaoqian actually made them look like they were aiding and abetting the evil. A group of people were helping Huang Lu to speak out for justice. What's your stance? Are you good people or bad people?
What's going on now?
It doesn’t matter whether Su Shi was arrested or not, and no one even dares to mention it.

Although Zhao Xiaoqian never argued for Su Shi's innocence from beginning to end, the magical thing is that Su Shi's image inexplicably became tall and majestic.

The image of a loyal minister who was framed and harmed by treacherous officials but remained unyielding emerged.

Mr. Su, this is really unfair.

At this point, Xing Shu, who was standing in the hall, was the most embarrassed. He quickly glanced at Zhang Dun and saw that Zhang Dun had a blank expression and was silent with his head down. Xing Shu knew that he could not count on him.

But the fact that he jumped out to accuse Zhao Xiaoqian earlier cannot be ignored. Adults have to pay for their words and actions.

Xing Shu's mind raced, he gritted his teeth, and bowed decisively to Zhao Xu.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was misled by rumors and misunderstood the Duke of Zhao and the Imperial City Commissioner. I trusted the instigation of treacherous officials and nearly framed and murdered loyal officials. I was guilty of negligence and partiality. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't help but look at him deeply.

This NPC is not stupid. He knows how to decisively admit his mistake and turn the gun around at this critical moment. He is indeed a talent.

To be honest, if Xing Shu continues to be so stubborn, Zhao Xiaoqian really wants to ask the Imperial City Bureau to investigate him.

As everyone knows, officials cannot withstand investigation. Officials who are truly flawless and incorruptible are rare from ancient times to the present. If Xing Shu is really on the blacklist of the Imperial City Bureau, his good days will not last long.

However, Xing Shu was smart. When the situation was unfavorable, he swallowed his pride in front of the emperor and his ministers, and decisively admitted his mistake and punished himself.

After this operation, Zhao Xiaoqian felt embarrassed to attack him.

Sure enough, after Xing Shu admitted his mistake in front of all the civil and military officials in the hall, Zhao Xu smiled with relief.

"No one is perfect, and it's inevitable that we might make mistakes and listen to one side of the story. It's still possible to correct mistakes once we realize them. Minister Xing, don't blame yourself. Since this is a misunderstanding, let's just clear it up. I won't blame you."

Xing Shu was filled with gratitude and returned to the court in embarrassment.

Zhao Xu looked around at the ministers. No one in the hall spoke anymore.

Everyone has selectively forgotten about Su Shi. Now that Prime Minister Zhang has died, is there any point in us impeaching Su Shi?

How serious a crime had he committed? He had merely gathered with a few old acquaintances, discussed current affairs, and perhaps complained a few words about the government. How serious a crime had he committed? Had he violated the laws of heaven? The ministers remained silent, and Zhao Xu, satisfied, could not help but glance at Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zi'an did a great job on this!

It not only saved Su Shi, the golden signboard of the Song Dynasty, but also struck a blow to the arrogance of Zhang Dun and the New Party.

"Now that the truth is out, let's follow the rules." Zhao Xu's face turned cold as he spoke slowly, "Huang Lu, Lai Zhishao, and Lin Xi have been found guilty of illegal activities and have personal confessions. The law is unforgiving and they deserve severe punishment."

"Order the Imperial City Division to transfer this case and the criminal to the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple for strict and swift handling."

After saying this, Zhao Xu looked around at the ministers and asked, "Do you have any objections?"

No one dared to object, and the ministers hung their heads in silence.

Zhao Xu glanced coldly at Zhang Dun and added, "The Censorate is responsible for supervising all officials, but the Chief Censor is a treacherous and corrupt official. The Council of State should also reflect on why such a treacherous person was allowed to hold office for so many years without anyone noticing."

The words were a bit harsh, and Zhao Xu's attitude had changed more than before. When he was in power, Zhao Xu appointed Zhang Dun as prime minister, and everything relied on the New Party and excluded the Old Party.

Today, Zhao Xu's tone showed a lot of dissatisfaction with the New Party.

Obviously, Zhao Xu has now realized that the court cannot have only one party or only one voice. For the emperor, the coexistence of two forces is most in line with the interests of imperial power.

After pointing the finger at Zhang Dun, Zhang Dun had no choice but to stand up and bow, saying: "I am also guilty of negligence."

Zhao Xu nodded, stood up and left.

Only after Zhao Xu had left did the silent ministers turn around and leave the hall in twos and threes.

Zhao Xiaoqian also walked out with the ministers, but the ministers were intimidated by Zhao Xiaoqian's aura just now, and no one dared to approach Zhao Xiaoqian within a radius of ten feet.

Only when Zhang Dun stepped out of the palace gate did his eyes meet Zhao Xiaoqian's.

The two looked at each other in silence, then looked away in an instant, each heading in a different direction.

…………

Leave the palace and return to the palace.

Zhao Hao was sitting in Yin'an Hall waiting for him.

Seeing Zhao Xiaoqian coming back, Zhao Hao went to greet him with a worried look on his face.

"My son was summoned to the palace today. Has anything happened?"

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed and said, "You should ask Zhang Dun and Xing Shu about this. They are the ones who fell into trouble today."

Zhao Hao immediately felt relieved. Hearing this meant that Zhao Xiaoqian had won a great victory at the court meeting today. Not only did he completely suppress the Su Shi case, but he also gave Zhang Dun and others a profound lesson.

More importantly, the Su Shi case prompted Zhao Xu to change his mentality.

From now on, Zhang Dun's new party would not be able to suppress the old party as much as it wanted. Zhao Xu had already had the idea of ​​checks and balances, and he would definitely leave some room for the old party in the court.

Then the fierce internal struggle between the old and new parties will gradually ease, and eventually form a balanced situation from struggle to confrontation.

Without being modest, all of this was contributed by Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zhao Hao doesn't care about the infighting in the court, he only cares about whether his son is safe.

Since Zhao Xiaoqian was safe and sound, Zhao Hao was happy.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian likes to make trouble.

"Father, why don't we send invitations to all the powerful and influential relatives in Bian Jing in the name of the Chu Palace, saying that my child's birthday is in three days, and the palace will hold a birthday banquet and welcome guests from all over the world." Zhao Xiaoqian said suddenly.

Zhao Hao was stunned: "Birthday...birthday? You...are celebrating your birthday? Nineteen years old..."

Zhao Xiaoqian blinked. "Isn't that possible? Nineteen is a perfect age to celebrate a birthday!"

(End of this chapter)