Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 481 It's Her Turn
This was the first time since the Emperor ascended the throne that he had been so enraged that he openly declared his intention to kill in the court.

Since the time of Emperor Taizu, the Great Liang Dynasty had erected a stele to vow not to kill scholars and officials or those who submitted memorials. Even during the reign of Emperor Taizong, for serious crimes such as treason, the main offenders were only exiled, and no killings were carried out.

The emperor of this dynasty has always been lenient and benevolent towards his officials, often resorting to demotion instead of execution. Therefore, his words today have truly surprised the officials in the hall.

As the prime minister, Wang Bingchen once again stepped forward and said: "This case involves the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Ministry of State Affairs. The mastermind must be thoroughly investigated and severely punished. However, this case should not implicate too many people. If the officials involved take the opportunity to implicate others, it will inevitably harm the innocent and shake the foundation of the country."

The meaning couldn't be clearer: it was another plea for leniency. The Emperor looked at Wang Bingchen: "Prime Minister Wang, you have quite the magnanimity. Do I have to wait until I'm also manipulated before I can punish them?"

When the prime minister was reprimanded, the censors immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Prime Minister Wang's advice was also to prevent Your Majesty from violating ancestral rules."

The Emperor waved his sleeve and said, “My mind is made up. This time, I will investigate this matter thoroughly. You have always said that you want to rectify official corruption. Fine… I agree. Starting with this case, all the officials involved will be imprisoned.”

"You want justice, and I will give you justice."

"The Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the two administrations will jointly deliberate on the crime," the Emperor said. "Wang Yan will be appointed as the Special Investigator to oversee the review of cases."

After finishing his speech, the Emperor did not wait for the other officials to offer any advice, and strode towards the rear hall. The chief eunuch of the Inner Palace hurriedly stepped forward to announce the end of the court session.

A moment of silence fell over the hall. After a while, Wang Bingchen walked out of the hall first, followed by the other officials one after another.

Lu Canzheng walked to Wang Bingchen's side.

“Prime Minister Wang,” Councilor Lü said, “is truly a father and son of one mind. When Prime Minister Wang implements new policies, his son paves the way. This time, he took down Xia Mengxian and implicated so many officials, thoroughly purging the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review. From now on, who can stop Prime Minister Wang from doing whatever he wants?”

Wang Bingchen frowned, clearly attributing these matters to factional strife.

"The Emperor hasn't carried out any killings for many years," Councilor Lü sneered. "Young Minister Wang has handed the Emperor a fine knife! If Minister Wang wants to implement new policies, does he also have to overturn the ancestral rules?"

Councilor Lü had always disapproved of Wang Bingchen's new policies. The recently deceased Prefect Liu and Xia Mengxian were both members of the old party. In particular, Wang Yan's use of such methods to press Xia Mengxian step by step had led to this incident at the Dengwen Prosecutor's Office.

If it hadn't escalated to such a huge extent, would the officials have been so angry?
"With the Emperor's trust in Young Master Wang and the Prime Minister holding absolute power, it seems that the court will belong to the Prime Minister and his son from now on."

Watching the departing figures of Councilor Lü and the others, Wang Bingchen's face was grave. Wang Bingcheng hurried over; he had already heard about what had happened in the court. He hadn't expected his clever nephew to suddenly cause such a commotion.

"Brother," Wang Bingcheng said, "I heard that the Emperor intends to severely punish the officials involved in the case?"

Wang Bingchen nodded.

This incident will all be attributed to Wang Yan. If the Emperor's reputation as a "benevolent ruler" is ruined, it will also become Wang Yan's crime in the future.

"Yan-ge'er...didn't you mention this to your brother beforehand?"

Wang Bingchen continued walking forward, and after a long while he said, "He's grown up now, and from now on... no one can control him anymore."

……

South City Wharf.

Xie Yuyan listened to the news sent back by Yang Xiaoshan.

"Lord Liu has been taken away. Although there is no definite news, I heard that the injury should not be a vital organ."

Yang Xiaoshan was waiting at the Dengwen Procuratorate and witnessed that thrilling scene.

Several times he wanted to rush over, but... just as the old lady said, the reason why Lord Liu and those officials were able to struggle for so long was because the constables dared not openly kill them.

If it were them going, they would have surely died by the sword long ago.

Fortunately, it had a good outcome.

Xie Yuyan asked, "Is the one leading the troops the Prince of Huai?" Yang Xiaoshan nodded again.

Xie Yuyan said, "If it's him, then Lord Liu will be fine."

The Prince of Huai must have been sent by the Emperor, and in order to win the Emperor's favor, he would definitely do his best to handle the matter well. Moreover... he could also distance himself from the Xia family.

Now that Wang Yan has finished his business, it's her turn.

Xie Yuyan thought for a moment, then looked down at the paper in her hand again.

This piece of paper was delivered to the dock last night by a beggar. It contained only one sentence: tell her not to leave the South City dock, or she might be assassinated.

Yang Xiaoshan pursed his lips: "We are still investigating, but unfortunately the little beggar doesn't know anything, not even the age and appearance of the person who delivered the letter."

Xie Yuyan stood up: "No need to investigate anymore, someone knows that person's identity and whereabouts."

Yang Xiaoshan really couldn't figure out who the old lady was referring to.

Xie Yuyan said, "Have someone prepare horses and inform Su Man that we are going to Zhou Guangyuan's house."

Zhou Guangyuan was a merchant who owned a porcelain shop. He had been to the South City Wharf before. After thinking about it carefully, Yang Xiaoshan immediately understood.

"Does Madam mean that they were the ones who delivered the letter?"

They dared not show themselves and could only communicate secretly because they couldn't confront those people directly. Yang Xiaoshan felt only frustration; why hadn't he thought of that?

His mind is sometimes sharp and sometimes not; he doesn't think things through thoroughly enough.

"It may not be them, but it must be someone they know."

Xie Yuyan got up and went to the inner room to change his clothes. Knowing that Xie Yuyan was going out, Zhang said worriedly, "If you really have to go out, then take more people with you."

Despite the imperial court's actions, she still felt uneasy. After all, the South City Wharf was her own territory, with plenty of manpower to protect A-Yan. But outside... what if those people were driven to desperation...?

Zhang dared not think any further: "Couldn't we wait a little longer?"

Xie Yuyan said, "Now is the perfect time."

Zhou Guangyuan and his group didn't want to say too much before because they couldn't see any hope. Now that the court has taken action to arrest people, the situation has changed, and they will also waver.

……

Zhou Guangyuan paced back and forth in the room.

Jiang Qi stared at him for a while, then couldn't stand it any longer and stood up to leave.

"What are you doing?" Zhou Guangyuan asked.

Jiang Qi said, "I will go find Zhao Chuan. If he cannot come forward, I will beat the drum to appeal."

Zhou Guangyuan said calmly, "The Dengwen Drum Courtyard has been shut down. Who are you going to beat the drum for?"

“Then I’ll go to Kaifeng Prefecture to plead my case.” Jiang Qi’s eyes widened.

Zhou Guangyuan said, "In whose name are these things being done? Zhao Chuan? The government will only pursue Zhao Chuan's crime of escape first."

Jiang Qi immediately deflated: "Then what should we do? In the past, it was fine if the court didn't care, but now we're seeing people being imprisoned, and we still can't file a complaint. Does this mean we'll never see the light of day again?"

Don't wait tonight, it will be very late if I do update.