The Prodigal Son

The next day, the court meeting.

Today's court assembly was exceptionally lively.

Previously, due to Zhao Luan's stubbornness, nearly 40% of the officials in the court had claimed illness and taken leave.

However, today, almost all the ministers who had claimed illness and requested leave have arrived.

Seeing these ministers appear one after another, the court officials all knew that something big was going to happen at today's court meeting!

Today may be the day when the entire court puts pressure on Zhao Luan!

Just as everyone was warmly greeting the ministers who had returned to court after claiming illness, Qin Yu suddenly appeared outside the Zichen Hall.

As Qin Yu appeared, several sharp gazes shot towards him like arrows.

"Look! That treacherous Qin Yu is here!"

"It really is him!"

"Why is this treacherous villain suddenly attending the court assembly?"

"Is there even a question? This traitor openly defied the imperial decree and dared to arrest the Prince of Chengyang and Lü Si, among others, and imprison them in the Imperial Mirror Bureau. His Majesty will certainly punish this traitor in court!"

"Yes, that should be it..."

The crowd was buzzing with discussion, and many were secretly pleased.

It should be noted that since being punished by being confined to his room to reflect on his mistakes, Qin Yu has never attended a court assembly again.

As a result, yesterday he disregarded His Majesty's decree that he should be confined to his quarters to reflect on his mistakes, and arrested Zhao Yan and others and brought them to the Baojing Division.

This is an even more serious offense!

His Majesty must have summoned him to the court assembly, and it must be related to yesterday's events!

However, some looked puzzled.

Right now, Zhao Luan's priority is not to deal with Qin Yu, but to release Zhao Yan and the others from the Baojing Division!

As of now, no one has heard any news of Zhao Yan and the others being released.

Moreover, if Zhao Luan really wanted to deal with Qin Yu, she could have done so last night, why wait until today's court assembly?

But if Zhao Luan wasn't trying to deal with Qin Yu, why did he allow Qin Yu to attend the court assembly?

What should we do about Zhao Yan and the others?

Do you really want to force the Prince of Chengyang to rebel for the sake of Qin Yu, putting the country and its people in danger?

At this moment, even those who considered themselves clever had no idea what Zhao Luan was really up to.

Only a few people, including Song Zhuo, who knew the truth, remained calm on the surface, but were actually very excited inside.

The last nail in Daning has been removed!

With no worries about the rear, the imperial court can now fully prepare for the war to destroy Yan!

"The court meeting begins! Hundreds of officials enter the palace!"

As the eunuchs in front of the palace shouted, the officials entered the Zichen Palace one after another.

Inside the main hall, Zhao Luan sat upright on the dragon throne, his face revealing neither joy nor anger, but a powerful pressure emanated from him.

After the officials had finished paying their respects, Zhao Luan's cold gaze fell directly on Qin Yu. "Qin Yu, do you know your crime?"

Upon hearing Zhao Luan's question, a group of ministers, led by Fei Zhong and Lu Cheng, immediately became excited.

It seems they were right!

Zhao Luan intends to punish Qin Yu in court, to give an explanation to the entire court and the Prince of Chengyang, and also to the Empress Dowager!

Faced with Zhao Luan's questioning, Qin Yu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I know no guilt!"

"How dare you!"

A cold glint flashed in Zhao Luan's eyes. "I punished you by confining you to your quarters to reflect on your mistakes, yet you dared to openly defy my decree and even arbitrarily arrested the Prince of Chengyang and others, bringing them to the Baojing Division. Do you dare to say you are innocent?"

"I am indeed innocent!"

Qin Yu straightened his posture. "May I ask Your Majesty, as a senior official in the Ministry of Justice, if I discover someone with malicious intent, is it permissible to arrest them?"

"Intentional misconduct?"

Zhao Luan's face fell. "You mean, the Prince of Chengyang's heir intends to do something wicked?"

"yes!"

Qin Yu nodded. "According to my secret investigation with the people of the Baojing Bureau, the Crown Prince of Chengyang secretly planted witchcraft items in the Lü family to frame Lü Chunqiu, the Minister of Justice. At the same time, he colluded with Lu Yong and others to spread rumors that were detrimental to the court and His Majesty, and secretly sowed discord between the Empress Dowager and His Majesty, plotting treason!"

"I know that Zhao Yan has skilled men around him, and I fear that the soldiers of the Ministry of Justice are no match for them. Therefore, I requested the assistance of the Imperial Mirror Bureau to arrest him and bring him to the Bureau in accordance with the laws of the court!"

Hearing Qin Yu's words, all the civil and military officials were stunned.

Are you crazy?

Qin Yu actually wanted to pin all the blame on Zhao Yan?

Qin Yu is not only vicious, but also incredibly arrogant!

He thought that this would put Zhao Yan to death.

Did he think the Prince of Chengyang and the Empress Dowager were dead?

"Nonsense!"

Imperial Censor Cui Xu immediately stepped forward and angrily retorted, "This is clearly slander!"

"Lord Cui, since I dared to arrest Zhao Yan and bring him to the Baojing Division, I naturally have evidence!"

Qin Yu smiled and glanced at Cui Xu, then took out a piece of paper covered in writing from his sleeve and respectfully presented it: "This is the confession I obtained. Please take a look, Your Majesty!"

Shangguan Youyi quickly walked over and took the confession from Qin Yu's hands.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, this confession doesn't need to be seen at all!"

Lu Cheng quickly stepped forward, "This confession was definitely obtained by Qin Yu in collusion with Xu Wan of the Baojing Division through torture!"

Can you really frame someone just by taking a random statement?

Dream on!

Today, Qin Yu's head must roll!

"Yes, it must have been the Ministry of Justice forcing a confession!"

"Most of those arrested along with the Prince of Chengyang were young scholars. These people certainly couldn't withstand the torture inflicted by the Baojing Division and were forced to confess falsely!"

"Qin Yu wreaked havoc on the court and even attempted to frame the heir apparent of the Prince of Chengyang; his intentions are despicable!"

"We humbly beseech Your Majesty to execute the treacherous Qin Yu, to rectify the court and pacify the hearts of the people!"

"I second that opinion..."

In an instant, a group of ministers, led by Fei Zhong, the Minister of Works, stepped forward.

Everyone stared at Qin Yu with eyes blazing with fury, looking as if they wished they could devour him alive.

Qin Yu smiled dismissively, then turned his gaze to Lu Cheng. "Lord Lu, His Majesty hasn't even read the confession yet, and you're already jumping out. Do you have something to hide? I remember that after I answered the imperial edict, it was you who strongly urged His Majesty to kill me, wasn't it? Could it be that you're one of the Prince of Chengyang's men, trying to muddy the waters of the court so you can fish in troubled waters?"

"fart!"

Lu Cheng, both anxious and furious, roared with eyes blazing with anger, "You, Qin Yu, not only do you want to slander the Prince of Chengyang's heir, but you also want to slander me!"

"You are slandering me!"

Qin Yu suddenly raised his voice, his gaze turning cold as he looked at Lu Cheng: "When did I say that this confession was provided by Lu Yong and others?"

"To tell you the truth, these confessions were provided by those people Zhao Yan sent out to do shady things! Those people have all been arrested and taken to the Baojing Division!"

"Furthermore, the people interrogating those individuals weren't me or Xu Wan, but others!"

Qin Yu's words were resounding.

But neither Lu Cheng nor the ministers who stood up believed Qin Yu's words.

"Qin Yu, do you think your little tricks can fool His Majesty and the entire court?"

Lu Cheng sneered: "If I'm not mistaken, those so-called people sent out by the heir apparent were all people you arranged, weren't they? You still dare to say this isn't a frame-up?"

Qin Yu's lips curled into a smile. "Then you'll have to ask the people who interrogated those individuals!"

"Is that so?"

Lu Cheng scoffed, "If you're so capable, bring those who were arrested and their interrogators to the imperial court and let them confront you before His Majesty!"

"No need for anyone to guide me, I'm here!"

A majestic voice suddenly rang out from outside the hall…