Chapter 166 Favoring the Concubine
Xie Lingxiao seemed not to notice and waited quietly for the emperor to come back to his senses after deep thought.
When the emperor saw Xie Lingxiao remained silent, he glanced at Eunuch Deng.
Eunuch Deng shouted loudly: "Call the witnesses to the palace..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ling Feng led a group of more than ten people to stand in the center of the imperial study.
After they had paid their respects, Xie Lingxiao said, "Tell the emperor who ordered you to poison."
Everyone in the group looked at each other nervously, but no one dared to speak.
Ling Feng stepped forward: "If you don't speak, return to the barracks and be punished according to military regulations."
Military regulations? They had been under military regulations for several days. If they returned to the barracks, they would have no way to survive.
Wang Ning gritted his teeth and said, "It was He Jun who gave us the money to do this."
"He said it wasn't poisonous and wouldn't kill us brothers, so he asked us to promise to help him."
At that time, He Jun also assured them that nothing would happen and they would not be traced back to them.
But what they didn't expect was that they were caught just one day later, and not a single one was left out.
Another person said, "Your Majesty, Prince, it's really not me who wants to poison you."
"That bastard He Jun used my parents as a threat. If I didn't do it, he would arrest my parents."
The emperor had a bad feeling. He thought he could just bribe these people with money, but he didn't expect He Jun to force them to do things.
Another person spoke up: "Your Majesty, I didn't agree at first, but He Jun had people beat me up and said he would go back to the village, capture my wife, and give her to the soldiers for their enjoyment. I was forced to do this."
After he finished speaking, he burst into tears in the hall, and several people who were also being persecuted started crying along with him.
For a moment, the palace was in chaos, and the sound of crying filled the entire imperial study.
When the emperor heard what they said, he was so angry that his forehead was throbbing.
Eunuch Deng noticed that the emperor was suppressing his anger and said, "Be quiet, and do not make any noise in the imperial study."
Xie Lingxiao remained silent, waiting quietly for the emperor to deal with the matter.
He wanted to see how the emperor would protect the Marquis of Anguo's Mansion in front of so many people.
Even if he could make a small matter today, everyone in the court would know about it at tomorrow's morning court session. But he didn't know what the emperor would do then.
The emperor sat at the top, looking at the people below without saying a word, but in his heart he cursed Marquis Anguo.
He has been in power for many years, so how could he not know the importance of this matter?
If he handles it with care, the consequences will be unimaginable.
The emperor gritted his teeth and said, "Send it to Marquis Anguo and He Jun."
Xie Lingxiao looked at the emperor gritting his teeth with disdain. Why didn't he grit his teeth when someone poisoned him? If he had any conscience, he would not do such a thing.
An hour later, Marquis Anguo and He Jun arrived late and saluted the emperor and Xie Ling.
The emperor glared at the two of them and said, "Do you know your crime?"
Xie Lingxiao glanced at the emperor and remained silent.
The witness clearly did not mention anything related to Marquis Anguo. The emperor's move was nothing more than to remind Marquis Anguo and tell him the reason why he was summoned.
The Marquis of Anguo pretended not to know: "Your Majesty, I don't know what crime I have committed."
As soon as the emperor said this, he knew it was about the military camp.
Although he knew it well, he also knew that the emperor was reminding him intentionally to think of a countermeasure.
The emperor continued, "Your son He Jun bribed the soldiers in the military camp and poisoned hundreds of thousands of people, and you pretended not to know?"
"Marquis Anguo, you are so bold that you actually set your sights on the soldiers."
"Your Majesty, I did not do that." He Jun kowtowed.
Xie Lingxiao didn't want to delay any longer: "With the witnesses and evidence, how can you get away with it?"
Marquis Anguo wanted to refute, but when he looked up, he saw Xie Lingxiao's gloomy face and gave up the idea of arguing.
He knew that without hard evidence, Xie Lingxiao would not make a scene before the emperor.
He Jun retorted: "I didn't do anything, you can't wrongly accuse me."
He would certainly not admit it. With his father and the emperor around, Xie Lingxiao would have no way to deal with him as long as he didn't admit it.
Xie Lingxiao sneered: "Look at the person kneeling next to you, is he talking, or am I asking someone to present other evidence."
"Instigation, coercion, or whatever you did before, I have evidence. Which one do you want?"
He just wanted to see the emperor's attitude. Since the emperor wanted to protect his confidants, he would not agree and insisted on tearing a piece of flesh from them.
He Jun panicked for a moment. He was usually arrogant and domineering in his actions. Not to mention that Xie Lingxiao could produce evidence, anyone who knew him knew some of the things he had done, but the emperor didn't know.
If the emperor knew that he had taken advantage of the emperor's favor and done those things, not only him but also his father would be implicated.
Without waiting for him to think clearly, Xie Lingxiao told him one by one: "Strongly seizing women, oppressing the people with official power, taking human lives lightly, and colluding with officials."
"He Jun, which evidence do you want to see? Marquis Anguo, I also have evidence of what you did. Which one do you want to see?"
The emperor looked at Xie Lingxiao in shock: "Are you serious, my brother?"
It is true that Marquis Anguo is his confidant, but he usually acts prudently and does not take advantage of his favor to become arrogant and do anything that goes beyond the rules.
But he never expected that his son would do so many evil things.
"Your Majesty, everything I said is true. If you don't believe me, you can confront Marquis Anguo face to face."
Confrontation? How does he confront?
Marquis Anguo was his man, and sometimes in order to do things for him, he would inevitably use extreme measures, which he agreed to.
As for He Jun, although he did bad things, he was the son of Marquis Anguo after all.
In order to make Marquis Anguo devote all his efforts, he had to spare his son's life.
Xie Lingxiao taunted, "If the emperor wants to see the evidence, I will have someone send it to the palace later?"
"By the way, there are also Marquis Anguo's, which are no less than He Jun's. Would Your Majesty like to see them together?"
Listening to Xie Lingxiao's sarcasm, the emperor guessed that he did have evidence.
But now the witness only testified against He Jun. If the evidence is brought, Marquis Anguo will be dealt with as well, and he will lose more than he gains.
The emperor hesitated and said, "Forget it. Since the evidence is against He Jun, then I will remove He Jun from his post and put him in jail to await his fate."
After the emperor finished speaking, everyone present had their own thoughts.
Although He Jun was dismissed from his post and investigated, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least the Marquis' Mansion was not implicated and he was not directly punished, so there was still a chance.
Marquis Anguo also breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the emperor was still protecting him. If the evidence came out, the entire marquisate would be in danger.
Xie Lingxiao's face was full of sarcasm. Is this the result of the punishment?
Fearing that he would produce evidence and both of them would be in danger, the emperor made a hasty conviction.
But He Jun was just thrown into jail. I think Marquis Anguo is very useful.
But the emperor was wrong, he was just talking, and although he had some evidence in his hands, it was not complete.
The result was out, and the emperor ordered He Jun and the witnesses to be taken to jail, and asked Marquis Anguo to leave, leaving only Xie Lingxiao.
Xie Lingxiao looked at the emperor in confusion, not understanding why he was not allowed to leave the palace when the matter had been resolved.