eurekapd Chapter 202 A good son is like a father
Chapter 202 A good son is like a father
In the Qinzheng Hall, Emperor Song Zhen looked at the memorial in his hand for a long time without saying a word, with a hint of speculation in his deep eyes.
He slowly closed the memorial, looked at the four people in the hall and said in a deep voice: "Minister Qi! Is this your intention from the Ministry of Justice?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Xuan, the Minister of Justice, took a step forward, bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty! This petition was jointly drafted by the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Ministry of Punishment."
"Wang Kui, the Minister of Dali Temple!" Emperor Song Zhen shouted coldly.
Wang Kui wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and stepped forward hurriedly, saying, "Your Majesty! Just as Lord Qi said, this memorial was drafted jointly by the three ministries."
Qi Xuan and Wang Kui had no idea of Emperor Song Zhen's intentions at the moment, so they could only report the facts. Even if there were deviations, they would not incur the emperor's wrath.
Emperor Song Zhen narrowed his eyes slightly, and tapped the imperial desk with his fingers rhythmically. With the sound of "bang bang", each tap seemed to touch everyone's heartstrings.
After a moment, Emperor Song Zhen raised his eyes and said in a deep voice: "Qi Qing, Wang Qing, you two go down first."
"Yes!~"
The two men bowed as if they had been pardoned and said, "I will take my leave first."
As the two left, only Yan Shuang and Zhao Pu were left in the Qinzheng Hall. Emperor Song Zhen remained silent again, and the silence made it difficult for the two to figure out what Emperor Song Zhen was thinking.
Zhao Pu hesitated for a moment, stroked his hand with some uneasiness and said: "Father! This matter must be investigated thoroughly. The Ministry of Punishment is related to the reputation of the royal family."
"Check!~"
Emperor Song Zhen sneered, looked at Yan Shuang and said, "Yan Qing! How do you check it?"
Yan Shuang was instantly put on the spot. How could he explain this matter? The three missing people were all minions of the Second Prince, and everyone in the court knew it.
But now Emperor Song Zhen intends not to let the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple get involved, which clearly shows that he wants to protect the Second Prince. The investigation of this case also needs to be done in a proper way.
Check, how?
It is very important to decide who will take the blame after the investigation, and the Second Prince must not be involved.
Yan Shuang hesitated for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty! I think this matter should not be made public. It would be better to send someone to investigate secretly first to avoid alerting the enemy."
Emperor Song Zhen nodded slightly and said in a deep voice: "Yan Qing! Then as you say, I'll leave this matter to you. You are a smart person and you know how to maintain the dignity of the royal family and how to preserve the face of the royal family."
"I obey your command." Yan Shuang leaned forward and responded.
Emperor Song Zhen's words were very clear. The Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Ministry of Punishment were all aware of the matter. It would take a lot of brainpower to figure out how to cover up the lie and give an explanation to all the officials.
Emperor Song Zhen had already made his attitude clear, so Yan Shuang could only agree to it. After all, the influence of this matter was still very great.
"Yan Qing! If there is nothing else, please leave first!" Emperor Song Zhen waved his hand tiredly.
"Yes! I'll take my leave." Yan Shuang leaned forward and responded, and as he spoke, he left the Qinzheng Hall.
After Yan Shuang left, Emperor Song Zhen looked at Zhao Pu. There was no trace of kindness in his eyes, but only a hint of heartache.
"Pu'er! Do you have anything to say to me?"
Zhao Pu's heart sank when he heard this, but his face remained calm. He stroked his hand and said, "Father! Your son... Your son has nothing to say."
"So you admit it?" Emperor Song Zhen asked in a deep voice.
Facing the oppression of Emperor Song Zhen, Zhao Pu forced himself to hold back the fear in his heart and said loudly: "Father! Don't I understand what you mean?"
"I don't understand. Do you want me to put all the evidence in front of you before you admit it?" Emperor Song Zhen lowered his voice and rebuked coldly.
If it weren't for the Crown Prince's face, Emperor Song Zhen would have whipped him personally. Now that the perpetrator was Zhao Pu, Emperor Song Zhen had to suppress his anger and grief.
"Good! My good son, the great crown prince of the Song Dynasty, is indeed courageous."
As Emperor Song Zhen spoke, he threw the petition in his hand out, hitting Zhao Pu right in the chest.
Emperor Song Zhen closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and said in a deep voice: "No one knows his son better than his father. I know the personalities of you two brothers very well."
"Son...your son, I don't understand what your father means." Zhao Pu replied with some fear.
At this moment, he was already a little shaken in his heart. The moment he saw the strip, he suddenly understood something.
"Thought of the loophole?"
Emperor Song Zhen sneered, looked at Zhao Pu with a look of disappointment and said, "You thought you did everything very carefully, but your abducting those three people was the biggest mistake."
"Please give me some advice, father." Zhao Pu bowed.
"Hey!~"
Emperor Song Zhen sighed and shook his head, saying, "These three are all Lao Er's men. All officials know this. Do you think Lao Er will take the risk of robbing the Ministry of Punishment to save these three useless pawns?"
Seeing Zhao Pu remained silent, Emperor Song Zhen continued, "Now you are using these three people to lure out the second brother, but now you have failed to gain anything and you have made the people who followed the second brother work harder. You are really mediocre."
"Your Majesty! I know I was wrong." Zhao Pu knelt down as he spoke.
"Now that you are willing to admit it, I thought you would refuse to confess until you die."
Emperor Song Zhen rubbed his brows with a little pain when he said this, "What kind of place is the Shenxingsi? It is a bit stronger than the Ministry of Justice. The defense map was easily stolen. This is your second omission."
"I am ashamed. I am willing to accept the punishment." Zhao Pu kowtowed quickly.
Emperor Song Zhen looked at Zhao Pu's expression, was silent for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "Forget it, you can get up. As a prince, you should be thorough in your dealings. You really disappointed me this time."
"I have disappointed you, father. I am guilty." Zhao Pu stood up slowly and lowered his head as he spoke.
"However, it is never too late to mend the situation."
Emperor Song Zhen said with a hint of displeasure: "Since the incident has already happened, we need to stop the gossips. Since Yan Shuang has received the emperor's order, I think he will handle it."
"Kejun..." Zhao Pu seemed to be having difficulty expressing himself. He didn't know how to start expressing the doubts in his heart for a moment.
Emperor Song Zhen did not notice it. He picked up the pen and dipped it in ink, then said earnestly, "Also, you must not be so reckless in future actions. However..."
Emperor Song Zhen said this with a puzzled expression on his face, "I am very curious, who has such great charm that you would resort to such means?"
Zhao Pu knew that he could not hide it any longer. After all, Emperor Song Zhen could see the essence from these subtle clues. If he concealed anything, things would definitely develop into something uncontrollable.
Thinking of this, Zhao Pu leaned forward and said hurriedly: "Father! I found someone?"
"one person?"
Emperor Song Zhen looked puzzled and asked, "You lost your mind because of just one person. Who is that person?"
"Reporting to the Emperor! Although I have no substantial evidence, I am certain that this person is related to the Lian Family Chamber of Commerce?"
"Who?" Emperor Song Zhen's expression changed and he asked anxiously.
"Xie Weiyu." Zhao Pu leaned over and said.