usatvline Chapter 272 It's just about seeking justice.
Chapter 272 It's just about seeking justice.
Chapter 272 It's just about seeking justice.
Gongsun Zhan put down the account book in his hand and looked up at Feng Ling. His eyes were extremely deep, and when he looked at people coldly, it was as if he could see through everything in this world.
"Do you know that if you hand this case over to His Majesty, you will likely not get any justice or the truth, and you might even lose your official position and face execution?" Gongsun Zhan said in a deep voice.
“The student knows,” Feng Ling said, “but he is still stubbornly determined to seek justice.”
"Some time ago, countless people died in Yunzhou, Yingzhou, and Cangzhou because of that tofu-covered river embankment. The people were full of resentment and jointly wrote a letter in blood and presented it to His Majesty, accusing him of greed for the people's hard-earned money and treating human life as worthless. But what was the end result? His Majesty only punished him by confining him to the Eastern Palace and dismissing him from his post as Minister of Works to take the blame for him."
"As for the case you are handling, although there are ledgers proving that the Crown Prince was also involved, and there are witnesses who can testify that the remains in the back mountain are related to him, as long as His Majesty insists that this matter was deliberately framed, the outcome will be no different from the collapse of the river embankment in the three prefectures."
“Fairness?” Gongsun Zhan chuckled. “The Crown Prince is the Crown Prince. No matter how outrageous his actions are, he is still the Crown Prince. This is something you need to understand.”
Clenching his fist tightly, Feng Linghan thought to himself, "Is this all we're going to do? The people who died tragically in the three prefectures, and the bones buried in the mountains—if all of this is to be left unresolved just because the main culprit is the Crown Prince, wouldn't that chill the hearts of the people? Justice cannot be served, and grievances cannot be redressed. If this is truly the case, I really don't know what the point is of continuing to serve as the Prefect of Shuntian!"
The more Feng Ling spoke, the more emotional he became, thinking about having to continue assisting such a monarch after the crown prince ascended the throne.
"Shut up!" Gongsun Zhan's face turned cold, and he slammed his fist on the table. "Think about this carefully! You want to seek justice for those innocent girls who died, but if you really find out the truth, what do you want in return? Do you want His Majesty to depose the Crown Prince? Or do you want the Crown Prince to pay with their lives?"
“I…” Feng Ling opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn’t know how to answer.
"Whether it's deposing the heir apparent or paying with one's life, given the current political situation and national strength, we simply cannot bear such consequences." Gongsun Zhan stood up and walked step by step towards Feng Ling. "Throughout the court, who doesn't know that the Crown Prince is incompetent? Who isn't worried about the future of Great Xia? But he is, after all, His Majesty's eldest son, the rightful heir to the throne. Even if he has made a grave mistake, he will still be the master of this country in the future. Do you understand?"
He understood that it was precisely because he understood everything that he felt disappointed!
Feng Ling steeled his resolve and declared, "He is simply not fit to be the crown prince!"
"Then who would be suitable?" Gongsun Zhan's gaze was sharp and cold. "The Third Prince? The Fourth Prince? Or the Sixth Prince?"
Feng Ling knew he had said the wrong thing, but the words were already out, and he couldn't stop thinking about changing the crown prince no matter what.
He had long known that the Crown Prince was morally corrupt and incapable of shouldering heavy responsibilities. In comparison, which of the other princes was not more outstanding than him? The Third Prince held military power and had made outstanding military achievements. The Fourth Prince had also achieved remarkable political results in his years in charge of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites. Although the Sixth Prince was idle, he was extremely intelligent. With the assistance of others, he might not be unable to handle the task...
Upon seeing Feng Ling's expression, Gongsun Zhan knew what he was thinking, and his eyes betrayed his disappointment.
"Shulang, your teacher knows that you are loyal, honest, and care about the world, but your weakness is that you are too loyal and honest, so you are easily taken advantage of by others and become a victim of the power struggle of the emperor."
Feng Ling was very clever and immediately understood the meaning behind Gongsun Zhan's words: "Does the teacher mean that this case is related to the struggle for the throne?"
Gongsun Zhan neither confirmed nor denied it, but said in a deep voice, "The timing of this case is too ingenious. It just happened after the incident where the people of three prefectures jointly petitioned the Crown Prince with a petition written in blood, and before the autumn hunt. If this matter is brought before His Majesty, although it may not lead to the deposition of the Crown Prince, His Majesty will certainly impose several more punishments on the Crown Prince in order to quell the matter. If the Crown Prince is unable to attend court and participate in politics for a long time, other factions in the court will definitely take this opportunity to make a big fuss. Once the balance of the court is broken, the country will inevitably fall into chaos."
Although Feng Ling felt that Gongsun Zhan's words made sense, she also vaguely felt that something was wrong: "But it was Teacher's granddaughter, Miss Pianran, who reported this case to Shuntian Prefecture. It was after she went to the Zhao family mansion to make a house call that this big case was uncovered."
"Ran'er?" Gongsun Zhan was greatly shocked. When Feng Ling had just discussed this case with him, he only talked about the account book in detail, and didn't mention anything else. He never expected that Ran'er would be involved in this case in such a way. It was really a surprise to him.
If what Feng Ling said is true, and the case was discovered by Ran'er, then he would have to reassess the true hidden intentions behind it.
After a moment's thought, Gongsun Zhan said, "Leave the account book here. I will write the memorial for this case, and I will personally submit it to His Majesty after the morning court session tomorrow. No matter what purpose is hidden behind this case, as long as I am involved, those people will not dare to act rashly."
Feng Ling breathed a sigh of relief, cupped his hands and bowed deeply to Gongsun Zhan, saying, "Then I'll leave it to you, teacher."
——※※※——
Night, the Eastern Palace.
This was the seventh day that the Crown Prince had been confined to the Eastern Palace. Since no one was around, the palace lights had been turned off early. However, in this unusual silence, occasional bursts of inappropriate laughter would occasionally drift from the Crown Prince's bedchamber. It turned out that the Crown Prince found the days of confinement too boring and dared not always watch the dancers perform in the main hall, so he summoned the dancers to his bedchamber to play hide-and-seek.
The prince had a cloth blindfold over his eyes, but it wasn't completely closed, and he could see the scenery outside through the gaps. By candlelight, he spotted the hiding place of one of the dancers, pretended to call out the name of another dancer, and then suddenly lunged forward, embracing her and giving her a good rub.
"Your Highness is so capable! You found me so quickly, it really startled me!" The dancer nestled in his arms and said sweetly.
The Crown Prince pulled off the cloth covering his eyes, raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Of course, there's nothing in this world that I can't see through." After saying that, he leaned close to the dancer's ear and whispered, "I even know whether you're wearing a bellyband today or not."
"Oh dear, Your Highness, you're so naughty!" The dancer blushed and giggled, pretending to push him away, but the other dancers crowded around, chattering amongst themselves.
"Your Highness, what do you think of me?"
"Look at me! Look at me!"
The prince, accompanied by a group of dancers, walked towards the large bed not far away. At this moment, the door of the bedchamber was knocked three times, three times short and one time long. The prince's steps suddenly stopped, and his smile vanished without a trace.
"All of you, step back," the crown prince said in a deep voice, releasing the dancer from his embrace.
"What's wrong, Your Highness?" the dancers asked, unwilling to give up. "Aren't you going to play anymore?"
"If I tell you to get out, then get out! Anyone who doesn't will be killed by me!" the Crown Prince roared.
The dancers were terrified and quickly retreated.
After the dancers left, the door to the bedchamber was pushed open, and a figure rushed in, kneeling before the Crown Prince and urgently saying:
"Your Highness, the villa in the suburbs has been sealed off by the Shuntian Prefecture today! And that man surnamed Zhao is dead!"