The prince is more stable

Chapter 815 The situation is over
Zhang Dun spoke the truth.

At this moment, the Empress Dowager held the highest position in the main hall.

Lu Changshen requested the presentation of witnesses and evidence, but Zhang Dun was not qualified to express his opinion; that would be considered overstepping his bounds and an act of disloyalty.

Throughout history, the unchanging rule has been that the power of the prime minister is merely a tool of imperial power; no matter how great it may be, it is not imperial power itself.

After Zhang Dun uttered these words, everyone's eyes, including Zhao Ji's, turned to Empress Dowager Xiang.

Empress Dowager Xiang felt a sudden chill run down her spine, a look of fear flashing across her face. She instinctively glanced at the spot where Zhao Hao had just been standing.

However, Zhao Hao had just escaped by defecating, and the spot where he was standing was empty.

Empress Dowager Xiang grew increasingly apprehensive. Originally strong and independent, she had somehow become psychologically dependent on Zhao Hao after their inappropriate relationship.

With Zhao Hao not in the main hall, the Empress Dowager felt as if she had lost her pillar of support and didn't know what to do.

With a quick glance, Empress Dowager Xiang spotted Zhao Xiaoqian, who remained expressionless in the crowd.

At that moment, Zhao Xiaoqian's gaze met hers. The corners of his lips turned up slightly, and a meaningful light flashed in his eyes.

Empress Dowager Xiang stiffened; she understood the look in Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes.

That was an implication, and also a threat.

You are now deeply bound together; if one of you suffers, all of you suffer, and there is no turning back.

Even if this old case cannot be overturned today, the 100,000-strong Yan-Yun army outside Bianjing City has already besieged the city.

At this moment, the fact that Zhao Xiaoqian could still stand in the main hall and let Zhao Ji and Lu Changshen reason with him was merely his last act of self-restraint as a prince of the Song Dynasty.

Empress Dowager Xiang knew very well that Zhao Xiaoqian's composure was a blessing he could not take for granted. He could tear off his disguise at any time, revealing his sharp fangs and tearing those who defied him to pieces, and she was no exception.

“Prince Duan, since everyone has doubts, if you do not clarify things today, you will not be able to explain yourself. I believe you are innocent. You would not do such a heinous thing, would you?”

The Empress Dowager's beautiful eyes darted around, ignoring Zhao Ji's increasingly unpleasant expression, and she slowly said, "Lu Changshen, I will allow you to present witnesses and evidence. Remember, if Prince Duan proves his innocence, your crime of disrupting the enthronement ceremony today is heinous and will result in the extermination of your entire clan."

Lu Changshen remained dignified and fearless, bowing deeply and saying, "Your subject is willing to bear all the consequences!"

"Very well! Bring forth the witnesses and evidence!" The Empress Dowager finally revealed her powerful side, standing up and solemnly shouting.

Emperor Huizong trembled as he watched helplessly as palace servants left the hall to bring back witnesses and evidence.

A strong sense of foreboding washed over him.

He felt himself getting closer and closer to an abyss.

Today was supposed to be his joyous day of ascension to the throne, a dream that had been on the verge of coming true for many years. However, less than a moment after he sat on the throne of the supreme ruler of the world, he was overthrown.

The feeling I had when I sat on the throne just now was like a scholar's dream of wealth and glory. When I woke up and looked around, I found myself in hell.

An eerie silence continued to fall over the palace, with all the officials looking outside, waiting for the palace servants to bring in witnesses and evidence.

The same thought popped into everyone's mind.

If the fact that Zhao Ji murdered the young prince is confirmed in the main hall today, then things will get really interesting.

Not to mention that Zhao Ji will be infamous in history books for eternity, his fate today will surely plummet from the heights to the depths of despair.

The courtiers who thought further ahead sighed heavily.

If Zhao Ji were deposed, the throne of the Song Dynasty would remain vacant. Who would be the truly suitable successor to the throne?
Another fierce battle is about to erupt in the imperial court.

The problem is, the next heir can't afford to have another family fall apart!

Otherwise, the Song Dynasty's royal family and court would become a laughing stock, and the royal family's dignity would be trampled into the mud.

At this moment, although Zhao Ji's crimes have not yet been confirmed, many court officials have already mentally rejected him.

While the courtiers inside the hall were preoccupied with their own thoughts, a palace attendant led several raggedly dressed people into the hall.

The ministers' expressions brightened. Here they come!

The group of people, both men and women, were dressed in tattered clothes. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that everyone recognized several of them.

Upon entering the hall, a middle-aged man with a pale face and no beard knelt down first, trembling uncontrollably. The other men and women followed suit, appearing fearful and cowering.

Upon seeing the appearance of these people, many courtiers who recognized them immediately showed even greater interest.

These men are all familiar faces; many court officials have had dealings with them.

When Zhao Ji saw the people kneeling in the hall, his expression became increasingly desperate, and his face turned even paler than that of a dead man.

Only one thought crossed his mind: He's finished!
Lu Changshen stepped forward, stared at the pale-faced, beardless middle-aged man at the head of the group, and said, "Who are you? What position have you held? Tell me yourself."

The middle-aged man trembled slightly and lowered his head, saying, "This servant... I am named Huang Chenxiang. I was once the Junior Supervisor of the Palace Secretariat, in charge of miscellaneous affairs in the palace, including the food and clothing of the officials and nobles in the palace, as well as... medicine."

The hall erupted in another uproar. Judging from the matters under Huang Chenxiang's jurisdiction, "medicine" was the key word, and many people had already shown thoughtful expressions.

After Huang Chenxiang finished speaking, Lu Changshen ignored him and looked behind him, pointing to a woman in her early twenties with a rather voluptuous figure, and asked, "And you?"

The woman lowered her head and said in a trembling voice, "This servant is Liu Shi. I have no official position and was once... the wet nurse of the young prince." Immediately afterward, several people behind her introduced themselves.

There was a personal maidservant who brewed medicine for the young prince for Consort Liu, an eunuch from the Palace Secretariat who dispensed medicine, and an imperial physician.

Many of the court officials in the palace had experience in handling cases. Judging from their official positions and duties, the process of murdering the young prince was enough to form a complete chain.

From prescribing the medicine to dispensing it and decocting it, bypassing the process of testing for poison, the medicine was finally fed perfectly into the little prince's mouth.

If there's nothing wrong with the herbal medicine, then none of this will happen.

The truth is that the young prince died, and Lu Changshen claimed that he was murdered by Zhao Ji. In this case, the complete chain of events could actually be used to establish witness testimony.

Lu Changshen questioned Zhao Ji one by one unhurriedly, occasionally turning his head to glance at Zhao Ji, who was trembling in front of the dragon throne, and let out a cold laugh before continuing the interrogation.

After all the witnesses had been questioned in front of the court officials, everyone had basically cleared up the facts and the truth, and their gazes toward Zhao Ji became increasingly cold.

Before the dragon throne, Zhao Ji stomped his foot heavily, pointed at Lu Changshen, and roared, "Framed! Slandered! They were bribed by you to deliberately frame me! I did nothing!"

Lu Changshen sneered: "Why is Prince Duan so angry? I haven't even asked who ordered them yet, but you've already jumped out on your own initiative. Isn't that an admission of guilt?"

Emperor Huizong was speechless, but many courtiers in the hall had already chuckled.

Lu Changshen bowed to the Empress Dowager and said, "Your Majesty, I request permission to present the physical evidence."

By this time, the Empress Dowager had already seen the situation clearly. After years of palace intrigue, how could she not see that Zhao Ji's power was now waning?

The Empress Dowager's tone turned colder, and she said indifferently, "Granted."

Lu Changshen waved his hand, and the palace servants came out of the hall again, soon returning with a lacquered wooden tray.

There were several items on the tray, mostly papers covered with writing.

A palace servant presented the tray to the Empress Dowager, who picked it up, glanced at it indifferently, then tossed the papers back onto the tray. Her gaze toward Zhao Ji was now cold and indifferent.

“They were presented to Mr. Zihou for his review, and then circulated to the officials of the State Affairs Hall, the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs.”

The tray containing the evidence was passed down, first to Zhang Dun who picked it up and examined it, then to the ministers of the Council of State Affairs, the Vice Ministers of State Affairs, and so on, followed by the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice...

When the document was passed to Zhao Zongsheng, the former head of the Imperial Clan Court, he glanced at it briefly, then stomped his foot angrily and suddenly pointed at Zhao Ji, cursing him.

"You wicked child! You wicked child! Zhao Ji, how dare you murder the crown prince! Who gave you the audacity! It is hateful that the late emperor had only one son in his life, who was still in his swaddling clothes when you killed him. How could you bear to do such a small child! Zhao Ji, your crimes are heinous, how can you be worthy of being a ruler!"

"Ancestors above! This old minister is unworthy and has failed to notice that such a heinous villain has emerged from our imperial family! This old minister is guilty!" Zhao Zongsheng wept bitterly, knelt down in the hall, wailed and beat his chest, filled with grief and indignation.

The officials from the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review, including the ministers and high-ranking officials, had all examined the physical evidence. The high-ranking officials exchanged glances and nodded in silence.

As officials handling criminal cases, they were experienced and knowledgeable. The evidence on the tray included a secret letter from Emperor Huizong to Prime Minister Huang Chen, a sample of poison containing lead oxide, a prescription from the imperial physician, and confessions from Prime Minister Huang Chen, the wet nurse, and the eunuchs and maids in Consort Liu's palace who conspired to poison the young prince, among other things.

The testimonies all say that it was Zhao Ji who ordered it, and each person's testimonies correspond to each other.

With witness testimonies and physical evidence, the chain of evidence in this case is almost locked. Judging from the current situation, this is an ironclad case that cannot be overturned.

The consensus reached by the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review, along with Zhao Zongsheng's grief-stricken wailing, had laid the answer before the assembled officials.

Alright, it's confirmed. Zhao Ji was indeed the mastermind behind the murder of the young prince.

In order to seize the throne for himself, he did not hesitate to poison the only son of the late emperor. How could the Song Dynasty court tolerate such a depraved person!
As Zhao Ji looked at the increasingly cold gazes of his ministers, he suddenly felt his hands and feet turn icy cold, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably as if he had fallen ill.

Looking around in a panic, Zhao Ji rushed to the Empress Dowager, knelt down with a thud, and cried out in tears, "Empress Dowager! Empress Dowager! It has nothing to do with me! Please believe me! This is a frame-up by Zhang Dun and his men! They...they are openly plotting a rebellion! It is a rebellion!"

The Empress Dowager's gaze was complex, and she sighed sadly, "Prince Duan, you... have disappointed me so much! Now that things have come to this, what's the point of denying it? It's all my fault for being blind and unable to judge people properly. It's also because your usual filial and gentle demeanor was too convincing that I misjudged you..."

"Empress Dowager! You must believe me! It was a frame-up on their part. Zhang Dun opposed my ascension to the throne, and he used any means necessary to bribe these witnesses in order to overthrow me today. They are plotting a rebellion!"

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes, a hint of sorrow flashing across her face, but she hardened her heart and coldly demanded, "Where is Zhang Yi, the Minister of Rites?"

Zhang Yi stepped out of the court and bowed, saying, "Your subject is here."

"The coronation ceremony is hereby adjourned. Prince Duan... is morally deficient and his crimes are inescapable. He is unfit to be a ruler and should be deposed."

The Empress Dowager paused, ignoring Zhao Ji's despairing gaze, and continued, "Let the Chancellors Zhang Dun and others from the Council of State Affairs, as well as the officials from the Privy Council, the Censorate, and the Six Ministries, hold a court assembly to discuss the selection of a new emperor."

As she spoke, the Empress Dowager stood up, looked coldly at Zhao Ji kneeling before her, and slowly said, "Prince Duan, you... take care of yourself."

Just as the Empress Dowager was about to order Zhao Ji's imprisonment, a palace servant rushed into the hall and shouted in a panic, "Your Majesty, a large army has arrived outside Bianjing City. It is the Yan Yun army, numbering about 100,000. The commander-in-chief is Zhong Jianzhong. The 100,000 Yan Yun troops have surrounded Bianjing on the east, south, and west sides."

The Empress Dowager showed no surprise, only glancing quickly at Zhao Xiaoqian.

The courtiers inside the hall were shocked and in uproar, and a sense of panic quickly spread.

A moment later, everyone's eyes turned to Zhao Xiaoqian.

The Yan Yun army was once Zhao Xiaoqian's old troops. On this important day, the Yan Yun army of 100,000 men appeared outside Bianjing City like a divine army descending from the sky. Who would believe that it had nothing to do with Zhao Xiaoqian?
Countless people wore expressions of surprise and doubt. What was Zhao Xiaoqian up to? A hundred thousand troops suddenly besieged the city—was he going to…?

As a sense of panic spread like a plague throughout the hall, Zhang Dun stepped forward and shouted, "Gentlemen, please be quiet! The troops of Yanyun were secretly dispatched to the capital after discussions among several senior officials of the Council of State and the Privy Council, and with the Empress Dowager's approval. There is no need for you to panic!"

(End of this chapter)