allonlinenovel Chapter 448: Diverting trouble to the east
Chapter 448: Diverting trouble to the east
Today's imperial court.
The wind is surging.
Even if the emperor falls ill and is unable to attend court.
The morning assembly proceeded smoothly as usual.
Anyway, the emperor has been feigning illness and not attending court for quite some time now.
Whether he is there or not seems to have little impact.
There was only one thing: the memorial impeaching the deposed empress was suppressed by Cui Yan.
Who would dare overstep their bounds and depose the empress?
Yan Xiang's faction was furious.
It was clearly agreed that the Emperor would hold court today.
Damn fire.
It actually frightened the emperor so much that he fell ill.
What's most infuriating is that the Censorate somehow got wind of this and obtained the evidence from who-knows-where.
A number of people were impeached.
They specifically target those who embezzle and accept bribes, and they have a well-founded and compelling argument.
There were more than a dozen people, of all ages.
Prime Minister Cui ordered their arrest on the spot, resulting in their dismissal, imprisonment, and confiscation of their property...
A large amount of gold and silver jewelry was confiscated, along with some letters.
The search covered a wide area, including under the fishpond, on the roof beams, inside the walls, inside the chimney, and in the tunnels...
Cui Yan specifically instructed him to do so.
They dug almost three feet into the ground, leaving no stone unturned.
His daughter mentioned it to him once, saying she had seen it in some book.
When a corrupt official's house was raided, it appeared to be completely bare from the outside. However, it turned out that the walls were made of gold bricks and the roof beams were filled with gold bars. The walls of the house were all hollow, filled with gold and silver.
Even the bottom of the fishpond was lined with gold bars.
Upon hearing this, the minister whose property had been confiscated was completely petrified.
That damned Cui Yan, how does he know everything? They were hiding so well.
The one who was most furious was the Left Chancellor Yan Fu, who was so angry that his beard bristled and his mouth twisted in disbelief.
That damned Cui Yan actually cut off his source of income.
While feeling frustrated, he also realized a very serious problem.
Could it be that Cui Yan is helping the Empress?
Otherwise, how could such a coincidence happen?
The worst part is that the emperor believed Cui Yan and even gave him immense power.
The Emperor's current situation is unclear, and he wants to file a complaint against Cui Yan, but he has nowhere to turn.
"Cui Yan, the power the Emperor gave you is not meant for you to wield absolute power. You've dismissed so many officials at once; let's see how you explain this to the Emperor." Prime Minister Yan glared angrily, wishing he could tear pieces of Cui Yan's flesh off.
"What are you saying, Prime Minister? Isn't it our duty to clean up the court and eliminate corrupt officials and treacherous ministers? How can this be called covering up the sky? Are you going to protect them or do you have some kind of connection with them?" Cui Yan looked at him, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Such a smile on a usually stern face seems to carry a hint of sarcasm.
"Nonsense... Cui Yan, how can you make such baseless accusations?" Yan Xiang immediately became furious when his thoughts were exposed.
He was so angry that his face turned red, his beard bristled and his eyes widened, and he felt a mouthful of blood stuck in his chest, unable to utter a single curse word.
Cui Yan is a man who leaves no room for error in his daily work, yet we can't find any fault with him.
What's most hateful is that mouth; I wish I could tear it to shreds.
Cui Yan smiled and said, "Left Prime Minister, don't be angry. I was just joking. Why take it so seriously? If you were a usurper, you would be the one being taken away right now, not them."
As Cui Yan spoke, he calmly fiddled with the paper in his hand.
Before I knew it, it drifted down to the ground.
It landed right in front of the Left Prime Minister, and the names on the list were immediately clear.
"Cui Yan, you..." Yan Xiang's gaze was drawn to the list on the ground halfway through his sentence.
The names on the list came into his view one by one.
Extremely glaring.
His lips twitched, and he unconsciously took a few steps back.
This is not a list of ministers who have pledged allegiance to Prince Chen.
The dozen or so people who were just taken away were among them.
How did this end up in Cui Yan's hands? Could there be a spy among these officials?
How did this end up in Cui Yan's hands?
He turned his head and glanced at the crowd behind him, trying to find some clues on their faces.
But then they heard Cui Yan's sneer.
He picked up the list from the ground, folded it up again, and said leisurely, "Speaking of which, we were able to catch these parasites today thanks to Minister Jiang. If he hadn't taken Young Master Yan to the Prajna Temple, Yan Cheng'an would not have seen the spectacular sight of officials forming factions, and he would not have known that there was actually a small court outside the imperial court. It has truly broadened my horizons."
Yan Xiang's lips twitched, his back teeth were clenched tightly, and his fists were clenched tightly in his sleeves.
If he had a knife in his hand at that moment, he would definitely plunge it into Cui Yan's chest.
But no matter how much he hated Cui Yan in his heart, he didn't show it on his face.
He then put on an expression as if watching a clown: "Prime Minister Cui is really joking. If such a thing were true, how could a child know about it? Besides, that Yan family brat has absolutely no connection with Minister Jiang. Why would he take him to the Prajna Temple?"
"You'd have to ask Minister Jiang. Doesn't Prime Minister Yan know that Minister Jiang's daughter, who was recently made a princess, often plays with the young master of the Yan family? A while ago, those two children even stayed at the Jiang family's house for several days. How can you say they're completely unrelated?"
Speaking of his daughter, Cui Yan has indeed neglected her recently due to his busy official duties.
If Yan-ge'er hadn't received the news and come looking for him, he wouldn't have known that the little girl had taken it upon herself to stay at the Jiang family's house for several days.
They even lied to her maternal grandparents, saying she had gone to the palace.
His actions are exactly like Yuqing's.
Now she's sneaked into the palace to find her mother again, but her daughter is quite clever; she even made up this list for her.
This time it came in handy.
That bastard Jiang Yunze, he even tried to steal his daughter, he's practically asking for death.
Then he added insult to injury: "Although Lu San Niang and Minister Jiang have divorced, the child is still Minister Jiang's flesh and blood. The Lu family and the Mu family have always been on good terms, so Minister Jiang should have to side with his own child, shouldn't he?"
Yan Xiang's lips twitched.
The fake smile from before was long gone; his face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and he looked extremely ugly.
He turned back to stare at Jiang Yunze, his gaze sinister and icy.
In his eyes, Jiang Yunze had always been a clown.
It was only because the Emperor had previously valued him that when his concubine's daughter disobeyed the imperial decree, the Emperor did not punish her, but only fined her salary.
He also had some inexplicable connection with Prince Chen.
He received orders from the Prince of Chen to take care of him.
I never expected this kid to be a spy.
Jiang Yunze felt a burning sensation all over his body. When he looked up, he met the sharp and cold gaze of the Left Prime Minister.
It looks like it's going to eat people.
It made him shudder.
Despite the upcoming happy occasion, my eyelids have been twitching uncontrollably for the past few days.
I have a feeling something is going to happen.
His heart pounded, especially when he saw his colleagues being dragged away.
These people are none other than the colleagues who appeared at the tea party at Prajna Temple that day; without exception, they are all subjects of Prince Chen.
The matter of deposing the empress was also forced to be shelved.
Could it be that someone leaked the information?
But why was the Left Prime Minister looking at him like that?
Jiang Yunze looked around and realized that the Prime Minister was indeed looking at him.
Does it mean they suspect him?
how come?
Jiang Yunze recalled everything that happened that day, and the only suspicious things were that rebellious daughter and Yan Cheng'an.
However, the library was guarded, and the two little brats also ordered someone to watch over it.
How could they possibly know what was going on up there? How could they possibly know who went there?
Those colleagues all left one after another.
He really couldn't figure it out.
Besides, they're just two kids who haven't even grown up yet, what do they know about national affairs?
There must be someone else behind this spy.
……