blogombal Chapter 170 Public resentment boils over
Chapter 170 Public resentment boils over
Father Shen also arrived, followed by several people. In terms of size, his group was much smaller than Prime Minister Pei's, but in terms of imposing presence, they were in no way inferior.
Pei Xiang's camp was not surprised that Shen's father would come. The person they were targeting today was Shen Shixi. Shouldn't they allow the other party to know a little bit about it?
Besides, the news that the Emperor left with men outside the brothel last night couldn't be kept secret. It's a major holiday, and nothing else has happened outside, so this is the biggest incident.
After the emperor ascended the throne, the ministers were clearly divided into two camps. After the grand ceremony, before Pei Xiang's side could even speak, Shen's father took the lead and attacked.
"I have something to report!"
"Granted!"
"emperor……"
Tang Zong, the vanguard of Pei Xiang's camp, was eager to speak, but he was intimidated by Shen's glare. The scene of Shen's father dragging Cui Xuanwei by the beard and slamming him against a pillar last time was too terrifying. He was afraid that Shen's father would do the same thing to him.
He wasn't as tall as Cui Xuanwei, and couldn't withstand even a little bit of Shen's father's strength.
"Let Minister Shen speak first!" The emperor naturally favored his father-in-law.
Although Prime Minister Pei is the legitimate one, the emperor can pretend not to know that Tang Zong is acting as a vanguard for the Pei family.
Prime Minister Pei shouldn't be so petty as to stoop to the level of an old scoundrel like Shen's father, who actually attacked his ministers in court. Only someone like Shen's father, who raised a woman like Shen, who has no virtue, would do such a thing.
Shen's father was, after all, a scholar, and used to be the kind of person who cared a lot about his reputation. But as it turns out, if he cared too much about his reputation, he couldn't even win a fight with his daughter. Gradually, his threshold for caring about his reputation slowly decreased, without him even realizing it.
"Your Majesty, I impeach the Princess Consort of Jin for her viciousness and inhumanity, disregard for the law and cruelty to human life. Over a period of ten years, she has poisoned and tortured more than ten of the Prince's concubines, causing widespread public resentment and anger. I implore Your Majesty to issue an edict to thoroughly investigate this matter and restore justice to the people!"
This trivial matter has somehow drawn public outrage and resentment; it's simply outrageous.
"You're talking nonsense!" Prime Minister Pei, no longer caring about his breach of etiquette before the emperor, roared in a fit of rage.
The emperor frowned, and immediately an imperial censor from Shen's side said, "Prime Minister Pei, this is before the emperor! How dare you roar in the court?"
Unlike Shen's father, Pei Xiang lacked the courage to risk his life for his daughter, so he could only plead guilty, "Your Majesty, please punish me! Your Majesty, the Princess Consort of Jin has never done such a thing. Minister Shen's actions are slanderous. I beg Your Majesty to see the truth!"
Father Shen sneered, "Prime Minister Pei, as the prime minister, do you not understand the law? In this situation, do you want the Emperor to ignore this case and let his imperial power cover up the Princess Consort of Jin's crimes?"
He bowed to the Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty is the Emperor of all the people, not just the Emperor of the Pei family. You are first and foremost a monarch, and only secondly the son-in-law of Prime Minister Pei!"
That's absolutely a scathing remark.
Prime Minister Pei was so angry that his beard trembled. "When did Vice Minister Shen become so eloquent? When did I ever say such a thing? Does Vice Minister Shen dare to frame someone and spread rumors to mislead the emperor in front of me?"
Father Shen sneered, "Every word I've said is true!"
He turned to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, three days ago, the village head of Weizhao Village came to me and said that the livestock and some crops in their village had been poisoned. They secretly investigated and found that there was a barren area upstream."
They secretly dug up the land and found it filled with skeletal remains. The bodily fluids from the corpses were poisonous; they seeped into the running water, flowing through the village and collecting in the ponds, thus contaminating the water in those ponds.
The place where the poisoned livestock drank water was precisely the source of the poisoned water entering the pond. The poison was not diluted, which led to the livestock's death.
Father Shen presented his memorial and evidence, pleading, "Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly!"
Prime Minister Pei swayed precariously, unable to believe it. "Based on this alone, you dare to accuse the Princess of Jin of poisoning and torturing her?"
Father Shen said slowly, "Prime Minister Pei, I haven't finished yet! After I investigated the area, I reported it to Shuntian Prefecture. The place was dug up, and there were thirteen female corpses inside, all under the age of twenty."
The coroner determined that the ten female corpses had been poisoned; their bones were all blackened. Two of the corpses had fractured spines, ribs, and femurs. This place was the burial site of concubines from the Prince of Jin's residence.
"That's impossible!" Pei Xiang blurted out.
It was common for the mistress to control the concubines in the inner quarters, and it was inevitable that a few would die. This was not a big deal for the man, and even a favorite concubine could not surpass the mistress.
Otherwise, it would be a case of favoring a concubine over one's wife.
The death of a concubine in the Prince of Jin's backyard was a fact that Prime Minister Pei believed. When he said it was impossible, he meant that he couldn't believe that his eldest daughter, whom he had carefully raised, would handle the death of a person in the backyard so carelessly.
"Nothing is impossible!" Father Shen said confidently. "Your Majesty, the Shuntian Prefecture has already investigated the identities of these twelve women. They were all from respectable families and were forcibly bought into the Prince Jin's household by the Princess Consort. They died tragically in the prime of their lives."
This matter has now blown up. If it is not severely punished, the deceased's spirit in heaven will likely find no peace, and how can the public's opinion be silenced?
Prime Minister Pei was indeed caught off guard.
It wasn't that no one reminded him of this, nor was it that he was unaware of it. Before the Lunar New Year, the second young master of the Shen family had mentioned it briefly in a teahouse, and it was precisely because of that mention that he hadn't taken it to heart.
Who will reveal their next move?
But Shen Shixi dared to do it!
Li Qiao was also the vanguard arranged by Prime Minister Pei this time. After Cui Xuanwei and Fan Liu suffered a crushing defeat last time, he didn't have many capable censors left.
Seeing that his own side was powerless to fight back, Li Qiao stepped forward in a desperate attempt, "Your Majesty, I believe we cannot rely solely on Lord Shen's one-sided account!"
But the emperor was already furious. "One-sided story? Are we just having a war of words? There are witnesses and physical evidence. This is an ironclad case. Where does this one-sided story come from?"
"You are an imperial censor, do you not even know the principle that impeachment must be based on facts and evidence? When did I ever say that one could submit a report based on hearsay?"
Li Qiao was so frightened that he knelt down with a thud. He feared that he might accidentally follow in the footsteps of Cui Xuanwei and his accomplice. "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I was unaware that Lord Shen had obtained witnesses and evidence. I spoke recklessly, and I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"
"Since you don't even understand how to respond to the emperor, you are no longer welcome to court from today onwards!" The emperor was clearly taking his anger out on the emperor.
Li Qiao's heart skipped a beat, and his face turned ashen. After thanking the emperor, he slunk away.
Losing the right to attend court meant he was losing his official position. The emperor didn't punish him, but he forced him to resign, saving him some face.
At this moment, Prime Minister Pei could no longer care about Li Qiao. "Your Majesty, whether this case is irrefutable or not, I believe it still needs to be carefully investigated. Twelve lives are no small matter. I do not believe that we can convict Princess Jin based on just a few words from Vice Minister Shen!"
At this moment, Cen Yin requested an audience.
"Your Majesty, the gate of Prince Jin's residence has been blocked!" Cen Yin had obviously rushed over in a hurry. "There has been a murder case at Prince Jin's residence. This morning, someone carried twelve coffins through the west gate, parading them through the city, and finally arrived at Prince Jin's residence, where they blocked the gate with the coffins."
It is said that these corpses were once concubines of the Prince of Jin, all of whom died suddenly and violently. Their families, the entire city's populace, and scholars have gathered in front of the Prince of Jin's residence, demanding an explanation. Public resentment is boiling over. We implore Your Majesty to issue an edict!
The entire hall erupted in uproar!
Pei Xiang's vision went black, and he almost fell over.