Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 294
On the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, the sky was bright and majestic.

Today, the case of King Zhennan framing Prince Min's son, which has attracted much attention from the ruling and opposition parties, officially started the trial.

On the main hall of Dali Temple, a lot of people sat in red and purple python robes.

In the main hall is the presiding officer, the current head of the clan mansion, Ningyang Hou Chen Mao, beside him are the newly appointed Minister of Dali Temple, Xue Xuan, and the left deputy imperial envoy of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Luo Tong.

Counting down, there is a person sitting at the bottom wearing an eunuch robe, and it is Shu Liang, the admiral and eunuch of the East Factory who came to supervise and interrogate on behalf of the emperor.

The two sides of the hall were supposed to be the place where the three classes of government servants were supposed to stand, but now they are filled with seats, and princes in python robes sit upright and whisper to each other.

Basically, except for a few princes who returned to the fief early, and Prince Min who was still ill, all other princes in Beijing were present today.

Seeing that it was almost time, Marquis of Ningyang Chen Mao got up, bowed his hands to the clan princes on both sides, and said.

"My lords, today, this Marquis is enjoined to represent the clan's mansion, together with Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, to preside over King Guangtong and King Yangzong in Fengtian Palace on Zhengdan Day, and report to Zhennan King for murdering his elder brother Zhu, the eldest son of King Min's mansion. The case of Huifan."

"Before the trial, the Marquis has a word of advice. You are all here today to hear the trial, not to supervise the trial, let alone to assist the trial. Therefore, after the trial, please do not interfere with the trial without authorization."

Regarding his warning, the kings below said nothing, as if they hadn't heard it. For a while, the scene couldn't help but feel a little awkward.

In the end, it was the king of Zhou who coughed lightly twice, and the kings gave face and calmed down reluctantly.

Finally, the order was maintained, Master Chen took his seat again, and with the sound of the gavel, the trial of this case officially kicked off.

The plaintiffs, King Guangtong and King Yangzong, and the defendant, King Zhennan, had already been waiting outside for a long time.

Following Chen Mao's order, several people were brought into the hall at the same time.

Several of them are noble county kings, so it is impossible for them to get off their horses first like a normal interrogation.

On the contrary, it is necessary to move chairs for several county princes to sit down.

Not seeing each other for more than half a month, the three brothers not only did not become calm, but even more disgusted with each other.

Needless to say, King Guangtong and King Yangzong have always been against Zhennan King. As soon as they entered the lobby, they stared at each other viciously, as if they were going to eat him.

As for the king of Zhennan, he has reached this point, and he no longer has to maintain his usual image of caring for his younger brothers. There is no smile on his fat face, he snorted coldly, and turned his head away from looking at them.

Because of the general situation, the two kings of Guangtong had already explained it in front of the hall, so there was no need to repeat it, so Chen Mao turned directly to King Zhennan.

He first took out a stack of memorials from his side, sent it to King Zhennan, and asked.

"King of Zhennan, these memorials are the first year of Hongxi, the second year of Xuande, and the fourth year of Xuande, the congratulatory forms and invitations sent by Min Wangfu and Zhennan Wangfu to the court. Please check whether it is written by the prince himself. written?"

King Zhennan opened it and took a look, then nodded and said: "It is indeed written by this king himself."

The scribe took back the memorial, then took out another envelope, spread out the letter paper, and placed it in front of King Zhennan.

Chen Mao continued to ask: "This poem has been appraised by the Ministry of Punishment. It can be inferred from its paper and ink quality that it was written in the early years of Xuande."

"After the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and Hanlin Academy's scribes who are good at handwriting jointly appraised it, it was determined that this poem and the memorabilia that Cai Benhou showed to the prince just now were written by the same person."

With that said, Chen Mao took out an official document, unfolded it, and said to the clan prince below.

"My lords, please take a look. This is an appraisal document jointly issued by the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and Imperial Academy. The entire appraisal process was supervised by the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Dongchang, and there was absolutely no violation of regulations."

As he said that, he turned his eyes to Luo Tong and Shu Liang who were on the side. When they saw this, they both nodded slightly, indicating that what Chen Mao said was true.

Seeing this situation, the clan kings below all frowned unanimously, and couldn't help discussing in a low voice.

Chen Mao's gavel sounded again, and the hall became quiet. He turned to King Zhennan again and asked.

"Since the lord admits that the memorabilia just displayed was written by the lord himself, then according to this identification document, the poems and the memorandum were written by the same person, which is enough to prove that the poems that slander the Temple of Ren are It was written by the prince himself in the early years of Xuande, may I ask you, what is your excuse?"

Facing Chen Mao's questioning, the fat Zhennan King didn't panic like he was in Fengtian Palace at that time. Instead, he flicked his sleeves and said coldly.

"This king has already said that this is a slander. I don't know where this poem came from. This king has never written such a rebellious poem."

"As for why it is similar to my king's handwriting, this is something that your clan's residence and Dali Temple should investigate, and it has nothing to do with this king."

Chen Mao was a little surprised by Zhennan Wang's confident appearance.

He thought that King Zhennan would at least be a little nervous, but he didn't expect that, in the face of such irrefutable evidence, he still dared to deny it so confidently.

If the case was tried in an ordinary county government office, with this kind of evidence, it would almost be time for a criminal interrogation.

But now he is facing the nobles of Tianhuang, so naturally he can't be like this.

Fortunately, Chen Mao was not unprepared, he put down the appraisal documents in his hand, and pondered.

"Since the prince denies it, dare to ask the prince, where is the prince on the Lantern Festival in the second year of Xuande?"

Hearing this, King Zhennan's calm expression finally became a little nervous, and he said, "How can I remember such a long time ago? Since it is the Shangyuan Festival, I probably celebrated with my father." Yes."

"Celebrate together?"

Chen Mao shook his head with a sneer and said.

"Since the prince doesn't remember, it's better to listen to the investigation results of the Marquis."

As he said that, Chen Mao also took out a few more documents, and after showing them in the hall, they sent them to King Zhennan, and said.

"My lord, you can take a look. This is the second year of Xuande. The criminal case file submitted by the prefect of Wugang at that time records a curfew brawl case, which happened in the middle of the night on the Lantern Festival. It is to go to the local restaurant to participate in the banquet held by the prince."

"Also, this is the account book of a restaurant in Wugang City. It is written on it that the second son of Prince Min's Mansion had a banquet in the restaurant during the Shangyuan Festival in the second year of Xuande."

For more than half a month, although the case has not been tried, Chen Mao is obviously not idle. Through the memories of Guangtong Wang and others, he tried his best to collect a lot of evidence.

Zhennan Wang's complexion was a bit ugly, his eyes were a little flustered, and he said vaguely: "It's been so many years, how can this king remember these things clearly, maybe, he went to a banquet?"

Seeing this situation, Chen Mao's eyes lit up with color, and he chased after the victory: "It's not a possibility, but a certainty. The prince was having a banquet in the restaurant at that time, and this poem was written by the prince himself at that time!"

Zhennan Wang's face turned pale, but he still held on, said.

"Even if I really went to a banquet that day, how can I prove that this poem was written by me at that time? Is there any necessary connection between the two?"

Chen Mao shook his head, sighed, and said, "It seems that the prince really doesn't hit the south wall and doesn't look back. If that's the case, bring witnesses!"

After all, there was a handyman from Dali Temple at the bottom, bringing a short old man in his 60s and [-]s with gray hair to the lobby.

Chen Mao patted the gavel and said, "Who is in the hall?"

Faced with such a battle, the man was obviously very nervous, and stammered a little: "The villain is a buddy of Fulinmen Restaurant."

Chen Mao pointed to King Zhennan and continued to ask: "Do you know this person? In the second year of Xuande, did this person ever have a banquet in a restaurant?"

The old man tremblingly looked at King Zhennan, lowered his head immediately, and replied: "Yes, this is the second son of King Min's mansion. During the Shangyuan Festival in the second year of Xuande, he once booked a restaurant and invited friends to a banquet. The villain was in charge at that time. serve."

Zhennan Wang's face was cloudy and uncertain, his brows were deeply frowned, but he didn't speak.

Chen Mao asked: "during the banquet, did you see and hear anything?"

The old man thought for a while, and said: "We dare not inquire about the nobleman's affairs, but when the villain was serving the dishes, I saw them composing poems, and then the eldest son of the Min Palace broke in and argued with the second son. , The villain doesn't know what happened next."

Ordering someone to take the old man down again, Chen Mao said to Zhennan King.

"What else does the prince have to say? The eldest son of the Min Palace he mentioned is exactly your elder brother, Zhu Huijuan, the eldest son of the Min Palace. Soon after, Zhu Huijuan wrote a letter to the court, saying that the prince slandered the Temple of Ren. Completely match, does the prince want to say that this is all a coincidence?"

The matter has come to this point, and the chain of evidence has been basically completed. No matter how difficult it is for King Zhennan to maintain his composure, he couldn't help but stand up and said repeatedly.

"Fake, you are slandering. That poem was definitely not written by this king. This king has never written any poems. I want to see Your Majesty!"

Seeing that King Zhennan was so panic-stricken, all the clans present were disappointed and shook their heads secretly.

They thought that King Zhennan had some way to turn things around, but they never thought that they would be manipulated to death.

It seemed that he couldn't escape this time!
Chen Mao breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Xue Xuan and Luo Tong at the side, and then said.

"The matter has come to this point, and the facts of the case have become very clear. The king of Zhennan slandered Renmiao first, and falsely accused his son later. He was unfaithful as a minister, disfrauded as a younger brother, and unfilial as a son. This Marquis will definitely judge the case today." , Report the truth to His Majesty, come, take Zhennan King down, and temporarily imprison him!"

Immediately, two handymen stepped forward, supported King Zhennan and took him down.

As far as the case is concerned, even if the trial is over, it is a religious matter after all, and they only have the power to try, but not to judge.

What they can do is to report everything to the sage, and let the old man make his own decisions.

But things have come to this point, but it is no longer possible to recover.

Chen Mao glanced at Shu Liang, who was very calm from the beginning to the end, and suddenly a strange feeling rose in his heart, as if everything was going too smoothly...

(End of this chapter)