Chapter 308: The Innocent Need Not Prove Themselves
Prime Minister Lu had passed out, and finally, the long-overdue imperial physician arrived.
He was covered in blood.
Looking at him, even if he survived, he would not be able to keep his position.
A group of officials who had woven themselves into Prime Minister Lu’s network were already thinking of other paths.
If Prime Minister Lu was not around,
then Vice Minister Jiang, whom Prime Minister Lu wanted to target, naturally could not be targeted.
Moreover, Vice Minister Jiang was Princess Huiyun’s own son, the Emperor’s own nephew.
The Emperor had previously treated Heir Han so well that everyone suspected Heir Han was the Emperor’s biological son, as Heir Han lived much more comfortably than the princes.
Now, was it a case of the real or fake Heir Han?
The Emperor scolded Princess Huiyun loudly in front of the court officials.
A clever official immediately used the contents of the official regulations and statutes to plead for Princess Huiyun.
“The official regulations do not explicitly state that a princess cannot beat a Prime Minister…”
The other officials turned their faces away.
Shameful, truly shameful.
Today you defend the Princess.
Another day, when the Princess’s sword stabs you, no one will defend you.
The Emperor ultimately fined Princess Huiyun ten years of her salary.
In his heart, he thought that after the court session, he would let his imperial sister go to the national treasury to pick out gifts to compensate her.
As for Vice Minister Jiang’s case.
Prime Minister Lu had been carried away.
Who was under Prime Minister Lu again?
The Emperor scratched his head.
He felt that Prime Minister Lu was quite efficient at his work.
With him suddenly carried away, he didn’t know who to find to do the work.
He turned his head and saw Censor He, then quickly looked away.
Forget it, forget it. He was worried that if he really called Censor He to handle it, Censor He would actually find charges and demand the execution of Vice Minister Jiang’s nine generations of kin, and his nine generations would include himself.
Yet, he didn’t expect Censor He to actually step forward voluntarily.
The Emperor closed his eyes. Did he have to be so sensitive? He had only glanced at him.
That was why the Emperor usually stared blankly ahead during morning court.
He feared sudden eye contact the most, where a certain official would suddenly have strange ideas.
“Your humble servant is willing to thoroughly investigate this matter. Your humble servant has been upright his entire life, yet I have been slandered based on rumors that I have an improper relationship with Vice Minister Jiang. Although your humble servant is the teacher of Vice Minister Jiang’s youngest daughter, I am willing to set aside the need to avoid suspicion and thoroughly investigate who is framing him. Vice Minister Jiang worked conscientiously in Jingzhou. When he left Jingzhou, thousands of people saw him off, reluctant to part, following him for a thousand miles. Such a good official—how could he be framed with so many charges just days after arriving in the capital? This must be an organized and premeditated act…”
Princess Huiyun turned to look at Censor He.
She seemed to remember this person—he was a top scholar from some year. She had watched the top scholar parade in the streets; he had aged quite quickly. He used to have a square face, but now it had become a pointed face.
He was quite eloquent. Since he could speak well, he should speak more.
The officials:…
Censor He, this old geezer, was actually the teacher of the little Princess??
This relationship was too advanced.
Minister Dong looked up at the roof of the Imperial Court; the beams on the roof were quite nice.
He was pinching his fingers inside his large sleeves.
At the very beginning, he just wanted to find a suitable person for his daughter to marry.
To avoid gossip.
To avoid the Liu Family coming over from time to time with their snide remarks, as if his daughter wouldn’t be able to get married if she didn’t marry their son.
He had clearly been the one wronged, yet he couldn’t take action against Vice Minister Liu, always worrying about his daughter’s reputation.
He could only endure it.
He hadn’t expected that just as he found a satisfactory candidate, upon arriving at the Imperial Court, his in-law was impeached.
One of the impeachment charges even involved him, claiming they were colluding with each other. This was utterly ridiculous; in the capital, who wasn’t related by marriage to someone else?
No wonder that Liu fellow was so emboldened yesterday.
Minister Dong broke into a cold sweat.
In a place like the Imperial Court, there was no such thing as the innocent needing no proof.
Everything fought over was about power and relationships.
If your power was inferior to others, you deserved to die.
As an in-law, Minister Dong did not think about avoiding suspicion immediately.
Firstly, he was also a mature politician; avoiding suspicion at this time was useless—if they wanted to target you, they would drag you into it.
Secondly, he was also a man of integrity, a scholar who disdained avoiding suspicion now.
Even in the most corrupt Imperial Court, there were still a group of people with persistence and faith.
It was just that he hadn’t had time to think of a countermeasure.
The matter had taken a turn.
It had reversed several times.
At first, the Jiang Feng they found was a commoner with no rank.
When he came to propose marriage, he had become a sixth-rank imperial guard.
Only a day later, he had become Princess Huiyun’s own grandson, a genuine imperial relative, a member of the imperial clan.
So, thinking about it now, there was a reason for those extravagant, over-the-top betrothal gifts.
Furthermore, it showed that the Jiang Family knew their own identity but did not go back on their word; instead, they sincerely sought the marriage. Even normal imperial clansmen didn’t have those treasures.
The reputation of the imperial clan in the capital was not good; with Heir Han as a representative, they were almost all like that.
This circle seemed to resist knowledge and was full of all sorts of absurdity.
But the Jiang Family was different. They had the noble status of the imperial clan but were outsiders who had just been recognized, so they didn’t have those messy habits of the imperial clan.
His son-in-law was also very learned.
Minister Dong could only look up at the roof beams; he was worried that if he didn’t look at the beams, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from laughing out loud.
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