usatvline Chapter 186 Transfer of Power
Chapter 186 Transfer of Power
Chapter 186 Transfer of Rights
"In April of the year before last, Yunzhou, Yingzhou, and Cangzhou were ravaged by floods, leaving people displaced and homeless! I appointed you to handle this matter, instructing you to resettle the displaced people, open granaries for disaster relief, and reinforce the river embankments. At that time, officials from the three prefectures all wrote to me saying that you had handled the matter very well, which pleased me greatly. However! In just one year, all those river embankments collapsed!"
The emperor pointed at the bloodstained handprint in the crown prince's hand and roared furiously, "Now the people of three prefectures have jointly pressed their bloodstained handprints to accuse you of embezzling public funds, building tofu-like river embankments, drinking human blood, and eating human flesh. What do you have to say for yourself?"
The Crown Prince knew about the collapse of the river embankment again, but the collapsed embankment only affected two insignificant towns in Yunzhou. Seeing that the collapse had not caused a great stir, he sent people to suppress the matter and planned to reinforce the embankment. However, he did not expect that the matter would be brought to the emperor's attention so suddenly!
Who sent this bamboo slip to the capital? Why didn't he hear a word about it beforehand?
The crown prince's palms were cold, and he could barely hold the bamboo slip. He tried to calm himself and defended himself:
"Father, please calm your anger. Your son is truly wronged! Back then, I did indeed do my best to reinforce the river embankments and comfort the refugees in Yunzhou, Yingzhou, and Cangzhou. I traveled back and forth between the three prefectures in the wind and rain for fifteen days and nights without closing my eyes. When I returned to the capital, the local people lined the streets to see me off, reluctant to part with me. Father, have you forgotten all of this?"
To everyone's surprise, the emperor remained unmoved, and sneered, "Do you think I suspect you for no reason? Do you think this is all there is to this bamboo slip? Li Decai!"
The chief eunuch, Li Decai, carrying a tray, slowly walked out from the side and stood before the emperor. The crown prince, seeing the secret letters bearing his seal on the tray, panicked completely, fell to his knees with a thud, and cried out urgently:
"Father, please let me explain!"
"Explanation? Do you think this is the only thing I want to question you about?" the emperor roared. He pulled out the account book that was pressed under the secret letter in the tray and said, "Last January, I put you in charge of the construction of Qionglin Garden and allocated you 20 million taels of gold. You eventually told me that you spent 50 million taels, but this account book shows that you only spent 10 million taels in total. Where did the other 40 million taels of gold go?"
What?! An account book! The Crown Prince's expression changed drastically when he saw what the Emperor was holding, and he was instantly covered in cold sweat.
His reaction further confirmed the authenticity of the ledger. The emperor was furious and stood up, pointing at him and roaring, "You unfilial son! You unfilial son!" As he roared, he walked forward, but suddenly felt a wave of dizziness and his body fell backward weakly.
"His Majesty!"
This sudden turn of events startled Li Decai, who immediately dropped the tray he was holding and rushed forward to support the emperor. At the same time, a figure leaped up from below the jade steps. Chunyu Yang, supporting the emperor's other elbow, frowned and asked:
"Father, are you alright?"
With their support, the emperor steadied himself, catching his breath. His vision cleared, and he glared hatefully at the crown prince, who hesitated at the foot of the jade steps, too afraid to approach. He gritted his teeth and said:
"Your Highness, you have disappointed me greatly!"
Fearing that the Crown Prince might lose the Emperor's favor, Fan Yuansheng, the Minister of Works and a member of the Crown Prince's faction, stepped forward from the ranks, cupped his hands, and addressed the Emperor:
"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince has always practiced frugality and often travels incognito among the common people to understand their hardships. I believe that with His Highness's character, he would never do such a thing as deceiving the emperor and disregarding the people. Someone must be trying to frame the Crown Prince and put him in a position of injustice. I hope Your Majesty will investigate thoroughly!"
Standing not far behind the Crown Prince, Chunyu Jing glanced at Fan Yuansheng without making a sound, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips.
"Oh? Someone is framing me? Then tell me, where did those forty million taels of gold go!" the Emperor said. "Fan Yuansheng, Fan Yuansheng, reinforcing the dikes and building the gardens, which of these wasn't your Ministry of Works' responsibility? If you had wholeheartedly assisted the Crown Prince, put the people's interests first, and eliminated your own selfish desires, how could such a thing have happened! If anyone is framing the Crown Prince, my first suspect is you!"
Chunyu Jing frowned slightly, and his fist, hidden in his sleeve, clenched tightly.
The emperor's words sounded like he was directing his anger at the Minister of Works, but in reality, he was giving the crown prince a way out. It seemed unlikely that he could shake the crown prince's position with these two incidents.
Fan Yuansheng, along with Chunyu Jing, also realized that the emperor intended for him to take the blame for the crown prince. Unable to argue further, he too knelt down and bowed deeply to the emperor.
"...It was my fault for failing in my duty and for being tempted by greed, which led to such a grave mistake and caused His Highness the Crown Prince to bear the blame for me. I deserve to die!"
The Emperor took a deep breath and said, "Fan Yuansheng abused his power for personal gain, embezzled public funds, and framed the Crown Prince. Effective immediately, he is dismissed from his position as Minister of Works and demoted to the position of Director of the Water Conservancy Department of the Ministry of Works. He is to rebuild the river embankments of Yunzhou, Yingzhou, and Cangzhou, and is not allowed to return to the capital without being summoned! In addition, within fifteen days, you must find out the whereabouts of those forty million taels of gold! If you fail to do so, I will exterminate your entire family!"
Fan Yuansheng originally wanted to plead for the Crown Prince, but he ended up getting himself into trouble. He had no way to express his suffering and could only pray in his heart that the Crown Prince could ascend the throne as soon as possible and restore him to his original position.
"Your subject obeys the decree," Fan Yuansheng said, gritting his teeth as he took off his official hat and placed it on the ground.
The emperor then looked at the crown prince, his expression one of disappointment and exasperation, and said, "The crown prince was misled by treacherous people and lost his mind, committing a grave mistake. From this day forward, he shall be confined to the Eastern Palace to reflect on his actions. Without my permission, he shall not step out of the Eastern Palace, nor shall anyone be allowed to visit him!"
"Father! Your son knows his mistake!" The Crown Prince looked at the Emperor pleadingly. "Your son will definitely purge those around him, rectify his own conduct, practice frugality, and love the world, to be a wise and virtuous Crown Prince. Please, Father, do not confine your son to his quarters..."
He has already lost Fan Yuansheng's arm and cannot be confined any longer! If he is confined, he will lose control of the court! In that case, the court will likely fall into the hands of certain individuals!
“Yes, Father, the autumn hunt is just around the corner. The arrangements for the hunt will be decided by my elder brother, the Crown Prince. He has never missed an autumn hunt in previous years. Since he has already admitted his mistake, why not give him a chance to make amends?” Chunyu Jing said.
With the help of Chunyu Yang and Li Decai, the emperor sat back down on the dragon throne. Upon hearing this, he sneered and said:
"Trying to atone for his crimes? I'm afraid he'll just try to make a quick buck along the way. My decree has been issued; let's see if he obeys or defies it!"
The Crown Prince was furious at Chunyu Jing for being so talkative, and he almost ground his teeth to powder. He tried his best to suppress the urge to pounce on Chunyu Jing and said, word by word, "Your subject obeys the decree!"
At this moment, the Right Chancellor Shi Zhenghan adjusted his sleeves and asked:
"Your Majesty, the autumn hunt is approaching. Previously, His Highness the Crown Prince was in charge of the preparations for the trip, but now that His Highness is unable to accompany us, should we find someone else to take charge?"
Should another person be chosen to take responsibility? At this moment, besides the Crown Prince, only two princes, Chunyu Yang and Chunyu Jing, remained standing in the Golden Hall. The answer to which of these two the Emperor would choose to take responsibility was obvious.
"What Shi Qing said makes sense." The emperor nodded, feigning deep thought. "The autumn hunt shall be handled by..."
Chunyu Jing raised an eyebrow slightly, already confident of success, but unexpectedly, the emperor dropped a bombshell.
"Let the sixth brother take charge of the autumn hunt."