allonlinenovel Chapter 128 Execution of the Entire Family, Promotion
Chapter 128 Execution of the Entire Family, Promotion
After dinner, Zhao Yi instructed Jiang Mu to fetch some ice and place it in the inner room so that it would be cooler when they went to bed.
Shen Qingtan was worried that Zhao Yi would catch a cold, so she instructed Liu Yue to change into a slightly thicker brocade quilt.
After the lights were turned off, the couple lay in bed, one thinking about the Guanzhou case, and the other thinking about Gu Zongci's purpose the next day.
Meanwhile, deep within the palace, Emperor Jing'an secretly summoned the Censor-in-Chief, the Minister of Justice, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, and Lin Zhenxing. To avoid any unforeseen complications, he wanted to expedite the investigation into the corruption case in Guanzhou and had them conduct a joint trial overnight.
In addition to Lin Zhenxing, the officials who went to Guanzhou for inspection this time also included the Left and Right Vice Ministers of the Court of Judicial Review, who secretly visited and investigated to collect evidence.
After receiving the imperial edict, the officials began to hear the case in Guanzhou.
The Guanzhou granary was managed by the Provincial Administration Commissioner, and this disaster relief effort was also overseen by the Provincial Administration Commissioner, Minister Cao. Meanwhile, the Assistant Surveillance Commissioner and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue were responsible for supervising Minister Cao.
They were all involved in this case.
After being arrested, Yongyi Bo committed suicide in the dungeon out of fear of punishment.
Lin Zhenxing arranged for someone to supervise the Earl of Yongyi to infiltrate Lord Cao's network of informants, and then used the opportunity of a shift change to murder the man.
He traced the matter back to Lord Cao, and when he arrived there, Lord Cao had left behind a confession and committed suicide.
They suspected that Lord Cao had someone backing him, and that his killing to silence witnesses and then his own suicide was simply to protect that person.
As for the person behind Lord Cao, they suspected it was Marquis Chengen, who was being used by Earl Yongyi, but unfortunately there was no evidence.
After a night of interrogation and several rounds of torture, everyone's confessions pointed to Councilor Cao.
Several officials brought the final judgment and case file to the Jing'an Emperor before the morning court session.
Emperor Jing'an's face darkened as he read the dossier.
He received a secret report from Lin Zhenxing in Guanzhou, saying that the official in charge of the grain route had confessed that the person who embezzled the grain was Yongyi Bo. Yongyi Bo had already been arrested and imprisoned. They were just waiting to recover the embezzled grain and then dig out the officials who colluded with Yongyi Bo.
He immediately ordered guards to be sent to the Yongyi Earl's residence, but the men sent returned to report that the Yongyi Earl's wife had committed suicide out of fear of punishment.
Before committing suicide, Lady Yongyi had received news that her husband, Yongyi, had been arrested, and then went to the residence of Marquis Chengen.
Emperor Jing'an guessed that the purpose of the Lady of Yongyi's visit to the Marquis of Chengen's residence was either to ask the Marquis of Chengen for help, or that the Marquis of Chengen was the mastermind behind the Guanzhou case.
As for the Earl of Yongyi, she became the scapegoat. She went there to seek justice for the Earl of Yongyi, but was tragically silenced.
As for why suspicion fell on Marquis Chengen, it was because Marquis Chengen had been promoting Earl Yongyi both openly and secretly over the years, and the two families had become very close.
The deaths of the Earl of Yongyi and his wife were too suspicious.
"It would be one thing if the masterminds of the Guanzhou case were Councilor Cao and the Earl of Yongyi, but if it were someone else..." Emperor Jing'an said in a deep voice, "Councilor Cao's crimes are enough to warrant the execution of his entire family. If it were someone else, they could still persuade Councilor Cao to commit suicide out of fear of punishment, which shows his cunning and methods. Having such an official under my nose truly makes me unable to eat or sleep at night."
The adults dared not respond, for given their status, even if they had doubts, they had to rely on facts and evidence.
Emperor Jing'an waved his hand: "Alright, you may all leave."
The officials took their leave.
Before going to the morning court, Emperor Jing'an had an imperial edict and an appointment document drafted.
After that, he went to the Golden Palace to attend the morning court session.
Emperor Jing'an sat on his throne and looked at the kneeling officials: "My beloved ministers, rise."
Eunuch Cao, holding his whisk, said, "If you have something to report, then speak; if not, leave the court."
The Minister of Justice stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, how should the case of the official in charge of grain transport in Guanzhou be judged?"
Emperor Jing'an's gaze darkened, and he said in a cold voice, "They dared to embezzle government grain for disaster relief, collude with unscrupulous merchants, and disregard the common people. Their entire families shall be executed!"
The officials remained silent, trembling with fear.
In particular, the Marquis of Chengen lowered his head even further. Regarding his embezzlement of grain from Guanzhou, he only had dealings with Lord Cao and the grain official.
When Prince Yu took a liking to the Guanzhou granary, he sent several concubines to each of the two men, who bore them children and secretly raised them outside the palace.
When the Guanzhou official grain case was exposed, Lord Cao knew he could not escape the fate of having his entire family executed. For the sake of his adopted son, he was willing to risk murdering the Earl of Yongyi, and then confessed his crime and committed suicide.
Because Lord Cao would weigh the pros and cons, if he were exposed, he would definitely not allow him to leave behind even a trace of his bloodline.
The grain chief was the same, so he endured severe torture and never implicated him.
As for the others, they were all dealing with Lord Cao and the grain manager, unaware that he was the one behind it all.
He was just afraid that even with all his careful planning, there might still be oversights, so he couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
"As officials appointed by the court, you must live up to your official robes and the expectations of the common people. I hope you will take this as a warning," Emperor Jing'an said sternly. "Those who embezzle and pervert the law, I will kill them all on sight!"
All the officials knelt down.
Emperor Jing'an looked at Marquis Cheng'en and asked, "Minister Shen, the Earl of Yongyi has been embezzling funds under your name. What do you have to say about this?"
Marquis Chengen's expression changed, and he knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty, this matter was due to my oversight. I failed to notice in time that Marquis Yongyi was using my name to seek personal gain. I am truly to blame and am willing to accept Your Majesty's punishment."
Emperor Jing'an looked at the Marquis Chengen kneeling on the ground, a dark glint flashing in his eyes, but he did not punish him for the time being.
Marquis Chengen trembled uncontrollably, and large drops of cold sweat fell from his body.
They were afraid that Emperor Jing'an had a big plan up his sleeve and would take the opportunity to deal with him.
Just when Marquis Chengen was about to collapse, Emperor Jing'an changed the subject: "Minister Shen, have the refugees in Guanzhou been properly settled?"
Marquis Chengen was on edge, and upon hearing Emperor Jing'an's words, he was momentarily speechless.
It took him a long while to come to his senses, his hands and feet still weak: "Your Majesty, everything has been arranged properly."
Emperor Jing'an then said, "The Guanzhou case was entirely caused by villains. You were innocently implicated, but you cannot escape blame. Now that you have done a good job in governing the displaced people, your merits and demerits will offset each other."
Marquis Chengen was taken aback, never expecting Emperor Jing'an to pick it up so heavily and then put it down so gently.
"In addition, the heir of the Marquis of Chengen sold his deceased mother's dowry and bought grain to donate to Guanzhou to relieve disaster victims, which is a great deed. According to the laws of the time, those who donate more than 800 shi of grain can become tribute students and go to the Imperial Academy to study."
Emperor Jing'an praised Shen Shaoheng's achievements and said to Marquis Cheng'en, "The Crown Prince donated 100,000 shi of grain, and it is truly unfair to only give him the title of tribute student. Minister Shen is of the same lineage as the Crown Prince, so I hereby appoint you as the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Canal Transport."
He was promoted from a third-rank Vice Minister of the Ministry of War to a second-rank Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Canal, a leap of two ranks!
But the Marquis of Chengen felt no joy whatsoever; instead, he was filled with fear and trepidation.
Because Emperor Jing'an suspected him, but unfortunately had no evidence to take action against him, he promoted him to a higher position, specifically in charge of transporting and distributing grain via the Grand Canal.
The corruption problem here is extremely widespread and serious. Once he takes office, even if he doesn't embezzle, he will still be accused of negligence if his subordinates are caught.
The Emperor has made it clear that he intends to take action against him. Even if it is just a mistake, he will not be let off easily and will be dealt with in due course.