My wife has a secret

Chapter 80 Rebellion
When Liao Yue saw Kang Yuwen, who was listening to the trial, speak up, he asked the old man's name.

Kang Yuwen sat quietly, restrained the smile on his face, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

Xu Qing could clearly feel that this middle-aged man in the python robe had great malice towards him.

"A month ago, former Grand Tutor Xiao Zhong was invited to go south to attend the poetry gathering held by Marquis Jingdong in Suzhou. His original intention was to meet with students from Jiangnan and see if there were any outstanding talents."

Kang Yuwen said seriously: "But what he didn't expect was that the playful Princess Danyang also became interested in Suzhou and specially invited the young lady of the Heluo Liu family to accompany her to appreciate the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan together."

All officials in the capital had long heard of Princess Danyang's rude and willful behavior.

Anything that a young lady from an official family would not dare to do became a common occurrence for this princess.

But this time, Princess Danyang secretly traveled south for fun, and there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.

The Imperial Censor, who had remained silent, asked, "Prince Kang, who is the old man's identity related to?"

Seeing that he had whetted everyone's appetite, Kang Yuwen answered, "He is a retainer in the Princess's mansion, a close friend of Xiao Zhong, Master Yanhua."

Like Xu Qing's confused expression, the three judges in the hall were also puzzled and had never heard of such a person.

It was not until Kang Yuwen continued to tell the story that the true identity of Master Yanhua was understood.

"Master Yanhua is a hermit on Mount Wolong, a self-proclaimed name. You should remember that when the previous dynasty fell, a group of remnants fled to Xuzhou and disappeared... This hermit on Mount Wolong is related to them."

Kang Yuwen said something shocking, and continued, "Strictly speaking, Master Yanhua should be the 34th generation grandson of the previous emperor Taizu, and has the bloodline of the previous royal family."

"what?"

Not only the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple and the Chief Censor exclaimed in surprise, even Liao Yue, who had the calmest character, frowned and thought about the seriousness of this clue.

Since Kang Yuwen has revealed the identity of Master Yanhua, it means that he has already investigated the situation in Wolong Mountain in detail.

Meeting privately with the royal family of the previous dynasty is indeed an issue that cannot be underestimated, but there are also great doubts here.

"Prince Kang, how could such a person become a guest in the Princess's mansion?"

"I have been investigating Master Yanhua's identity for quite some time, so it is understandable that the princess was deceived."

Prince Kang said slowly, "Besides, he has always behaved well in the Princess's residence. He just attended the Princess's banquet as a hermit. There is not much suspicion."

Liao Yue continued to ask: "Prince Kang, from what you said, it seems that you even know about the conspiracy between Xu Qing and this Master Yanhua?"

"That's natural."

Prince Kang said, "Do you remember the third branch of the Xu family, Lu? Lu's biological father was the former governor of Suzhou, and his sworn brother was the then-prefectural magistrate of Suzhou. Do you think the marriage between these two families is that simple?"

The case of the White Lotus Sect in Suzhou was no small matter; it also involved the theft of military equipment and the former prefect's failure to supervise properly.

The officials in charge of the three major judicial institutions had heard of this case. Now that Prince Kang had brought it to their attention, they all thought of the key.

The Dali Temple Minister asked anxiously, "Prince Kang is saying that the Xu family has long been planning to rebel? Their marriage is a preparation for this?

"That's right! The White Lotus Sect is just a cover-up for the Xu family. They originally wanted to hide their weapons and join forces with the remnants of the previous dynasty to rebel!"

Kang Yuwen confirmed the Dali Temple Minister's statement, then clasped his fists and saluted to the three officials, saying: "The three gentlemen, please call out the next witness to prove that what I said is true."

Liao Yue looked at him doubtfully, lowered his head and read: "By witness Jiao Tingjing."

When Xu Qing, who had been silent all this time, heard the name of Jiao Tingjing, he reacted.

He tilted his head to look at the door and saw a scarred man in the uniform of a constable step over the threshold into the hall and kneel on the ground.

Captain Jiao never looked at Xu Qing from beginning to end, but his arms that were supporting the ground were shaking slightly, as if expressing his uneasiness.

"I am Jiao Tingjing, the head of the Suzhou Prefecture."

Liao Yue asked in a deep voice: "Jiao Tingjing, I heard that you have key evidence of the Xu family's rebellion?"

"Yes."

Chief Jiao presented the cloth bag he was carrying, and the person in charge next to him took it and served it to the judge. The three presiding judges looked through it one after another.

"These are the official documents and account books of the former governor of Suzhou. They have the official seal on them. They are not fake."

Xu Qing now finally understood why this so-called Prince Kang was so confident that he could prove his guilt.

Although both things were slandering him, Jiao Tingzhang's rebellion caught him off guard and was a variable he had never thought of.

The testimonies of the two people, together with the evidence found by Chief Jiao during his search of the White Lotus Sect, could all serve as false evidence to slander him.

"The young master of the Xu family once secretly withheld an official document, but I realized that the matter was not that simple, so I asked the subordinates of Suzhou Prefecture to suppress the document and came to the capital to find someone to take charge."

Without waiting for Liao Yue to express his opinion, the Dali Temple official slammed the gavel and asked, "Xu Qing, what other excuses do you have?"

Xu Qing realized at this moment that these people really wanted to push him into a dead end.

He felt a slight chill in his heart and began to look for loopholes in the testimony and evidence in his mind.

"Wait...sir!"

Seeing that Marquis Jingdong suddenly spoke, the Dali Temple official frowned and asked, "Oh? Marquis Jingdong has something else to say?"

"cough."

Feng Tuo glanced at Prince Kang, and when he saw that the other party was staring at him and coughed lightly, he became silent and did not dare to say another word.

He originally wanted to defend Lu Wanhe and exonerate him from the death penalty, but he could not disobey Prince Kang's wishes.

On the other side, Xu Qing also completely understood his current situation.

Under Prince Kang's careful planning, he no longer had any room for defense; the other party's false accusations were about to come true, and his chances of turning the tables were slim.

The only thing we can count on is Shen's actions outside the prison.

"Minister Liao, can we convict him?"

Facing the question from the Dali Temple, Liao Yue was silent for a while, then said slowly: "The Xu family's affairs involve a wide range of people, and we cannot hastily close the case... We must send someone to Suzhou Prefecture to investigate the case and confirm that the testimony is correct."

The Dali Temple official snorted coldly and asked, "The capital is far away from Suzhou. It takes a whole month to go back and forth. Is the Shangshu protecting the Xu family and deliberately delaying time?"

There was no anger on Liao Yue's fat face, and he said calmly: "Master Zhang, this is too serious."

"Humph."

The Dali Temple Minister was very dissatisfied with Liao Yue's hesitation and turned his head away without saying anything.

The leader of the three-court trial was the Minister of Justice, but this time the three-court trial was different from others, as there was a higher-ranking person sitting in the back hall to listen.

Any movement in the front hall can be transmitted to the back hall through the thin wall behind the lobby.

Prince Kang stood up and bowed towards the three people.

"Since the three of you have different opinions, why don't we send the prisoner back to the cell and wait for His Majesty's decision...how do you think?"

The Chief Censor stepped forward to ease the atmosphere and nodded, saying, "Well, this is the safest approach."

Finally, the Minister of Justice Liao Yue made the final decision and said, "Take them away first." After Xu Qing and the two witnesses were taken away from the lobby, the four of them straightened their appearance and walked into the back hall together.

Here, dozens of important officials of the court sat quietly.

In the middle, the little emperor in dragon robe was still hidden by the jade bead curtain, behind a gauze screen.

"Long live my emperor."

"Thank you for your hard work, my four beloved ministers."

The little emperor asked in a childish voice: "You, my dear ministers, have heard what happened in the hall... How should we deal with the Xu family?"

"I think..."

General Ji stepped out from the group, knelt down and said, "He deserves to be killed!"

"The Xu family is guilty of treason, and all nine generations of the family should be executed, Queen Mother..."

Ji Taiwei looked determined, bowed, kowtowed to the ground and said: "He deserves to be killed!"

At the same time, the ministers sitting on both sides also stood up from their cushions, and half of them stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I also think that the Xu family should be killed to deter the court and the public."

"The evidence is complete. I beg the emperor to order the Xu family to be labeled as traitors."

Shen Nianyan, who was standing on the left side of the screen, sighed helplessly when he saw that the wind direction in the court was leaning towards Prince Kang's forces.

Although he wanted to stop Prince Kang's actions, if he stepped forward at this moment, he would undoubtedly become the target of public criticism.

What's more, he was promoted to the position of prime minister by the empress dowager, so he would also be affected.

"Since all the ministers have made up their minds, I will return to the palace and draft an edict... First send the Dali Temple Minister to Suzhou to confirm the situation, and then severely punish the Xu family."

Prince Kang interrupted the young emperor and warned him, "Your Majesty, there are still some remnants of the Queen Mother in the court, especially the direction of the commander of the imperial guards is unclear. A decree alone is not enough to change the situation in the capital."

The young emperor was somewhat dissatisfied with Prince Kang for interrupting him, but he could only patiently ask, "What does the Prince of Dongwan mean?"

"I have summoned the Yinshan Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and ordered them to rush from the suburbs of Jingshan to the capital. They will be able to enter the city tonight."

"Prince Kang!"

The Imperial Censor, who had been respectful to Kang Yuwen in the lobby before, shouted angrily: "The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are the emperor's personal guards and can only be dispatched by the emperor himself. How can you command them!"

After the reminder from the Chief Censor, all the important officials in the hall realized the seriousness of the matter.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were the elite troops in the army and obeyed the emperor's personal written and oral orders.

Prince Kang is the Prince of Dongwan County. How can he command areas outside Dongwan County?

Prince Kang's phoenix eyes were shining with a hint of determination, "This prince is to protect the bloodline of the Li Qi royal family. You should understand my good intentions... The chaos in the capital is actually caused by the Queen Mother's arbitrary rule. Now that we have sufficient reason to attack the Xu family, why not bring these evil villains to justice?"

Liao Yue hurriedly said, "But the emperor has already decided to draft an edict to punish the Xu family."

"Your Majesty is still young. If you hesitate too much, you will only miss the best time."

Prince Kang glanced at everyone in the back hall and raised a finger.

"Today's matter concerns the fate of our Great Qi. Before the Xu family is eliminated... whoever dares to step out of this room, don't blame me for being merciless and ignoring the friendship we have had over the years."

After saying this, Prince Kang no longer paid attention to the people in the hall and strode out of the back hall.

As he walked towards the door of the Ministry of Justice, two teams of executioners rushed past him and quickly surrounded the room.

At the same time, another man dressed simply in cloth came up and followed Prince Kang.

This person was none other than Prince Kang’s aide, and his surname was Jiang.

He bowed and said respectfully, "Your Majesty."

Prince Kang asked as he walked: "What is the situation in the north?"

"It's not very stable. Two governors have reported to the Military Affairs Office that they saw scouts from Huangling Pass around the city... The uniforms of the soldiers from Huangling Pass are very unique and easy to identify. They should all be real."

Upon hearing this, Prince Kang felt somewhat relieved for his bold decision.

He originally wanted to convict the Xu family today and bring them down by putting pressure on them through the ministers in the palace.

But what he didn't expect was that the Yang family army in the north had made some moves.

He did not bring many helpers from Dongwan County. Although the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, which he controlled by false imperial decree, were elite troops, there were only 1,800 of them.

How can this be compared with the Yang family army that marched south?

If the Yang family army helped the Xu family out of siege and rescued the empress dowager from the cold palace, the situation in the capital would be reversed in an instant.

"The people at Huangling Pass are really crazy. They actually dispatched border troops just for 3,000 dan of grain, forcing me to act ahead of time."

"Your Majesty, this may be a good thing... After all, the palace guards are unwilling to take sides, which is always a hidden danger."

Prince Kang nodded, thinking that what his aide said made sense.

"Your Highness, the Ministry of Justice is now under our control. Why don't we capture Xu Qing, the male of the Xu family, first? I heard that Queen Mother Xu loves this nephew the most, and we can use this as leverage to threaten the other party."

"Okay, I'll leave this matter to you."

Prince Kang did not take his staff's idea seriously.

In his opinion, people who achieve great things do not care about trivial matters, and the life of a mere nephew may not be that important to the empress dowager.

Now they had to wait for the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to enter the city before they could attack the imperial palace where the imperial guards were stationed and behead the empress dowager.

……

When Xu Qing returned to prison, he still felt that what happened today was like a dream.

He actually went from being a playboy of the Xu family to a traitor charged with treason.

But what made him feel aggrieved was that he clearly did nothing, so why did someone put such a false accusation on Xu Qing's head?

"Master Xu."

Xu Qing was awakened from his thoughts, only to find that the Chunsheng envoy who had been curled up in the corner had sat up. His white hair was down to his waist, and he looked calm and composed.

But what made Xu Qing feel uncomfortable was that the other party kept staring at him, and the desire in his eyes was frightening.

"Your expression today is like that of a death row inmate."

Xu Qing replied coldly: "Are you mocking me?"

"No, no, no, I just think you need help."

Envoy Chunsheng smiled faintly, with the corners of his mouth covered with scars slightly raised, "Please sit down. Since you are here as Envoy Chunsheng, you should calm down and have a long talk with me, Yeyu, on the bed."

(End of this chapter)