tallest building

Chapter 389 Final Appeal

As if overnight, the Dong family and the Dong faction became rats in the street.

Led by the Duke of Qi and the Duke of Feng, the court exposed the various misdeeds of Dong Shou and his brother Dong Sicheng.

The petition drums at various government offices were almost constantly ringing, with hundreds and thousands of people going to accuse the Dong family of crimes such as seizing farmland and oppressing the people.

In less than three days, there were tens of thousands of cases, both large and small.

"Dong Shou, a veteran official of three reigns, has actually allowed his family and cronies to cause such havoc; it truly chills my heart," the Emperor said, pointing to a thick stack of memorials during the morning court session. "In the past few days, I have received over a hundred memorials, most of which accuse the Dong family of disrupting the court and violating the law. It seems I have truly been deceived for a long time!"

"Your Majesty is benevolent. Who would have thought that Dong Shou, with his sanctimonious appearance, was actually a scourge on the country?" Duke Feng said. "In fact, for so many years, many people have dared not speak out against him, simply because Dong Shou is good at pretense and full of cunning schemes."

We, your humble servants, have often wished to expose these crimes, but we have been ashamed of our lack of power and means. Therefore, the fault does not lie with Your Majesty, and we hope that Your Majesty will not blame yourself.”

"Minister Wen, you shall take charge of investigating the major cases that everyone just reported! It would be good to get to the bottom of things first. Once the major crimes are established, the minor ones will be dealt with naturally." The Emperor said to Wen Yuzhi.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Wen Yuzhi was ostensibly promoted by the Empress, but everyone knew that the Wen family were actually the Emperor's confidants.

Therefore, no one objected to him presiding over the trial.

At this moment, Zhu Hui stepped out of the queue, trembling, raised his tablet, knelt down, and said, "Your Majesty, I have a long-standing injustice here, and I beg Your Majesty to make a decision!"

"Lord Zhu is advanced in years; it would be better if you stood up to reply." The Emperor ordered someone to help him up.

"Please allow me to finish my report before you rise." Zhu Hui insisted on remaining kneeling. "This matter is of great importance and concerns the dignity of the nation. I dare not be negligent in the slightest."

"Then let's provide Lord Zhu with a soft cushion so he can explain in detail," the Emperor said.

The eunuch serving nearby quickly brought over a goose down cushion and placed it under Lord Zhu's knees.

"Today, I, your humble servant, wish to redress the injustice done to Consort Shen eleven years ago!" Zhu Hui proclaimed loudly. "Back then, she was framed by Empress Dong and fled the palace while pregnant with the imperial heir. She ultimately died tragically amidst the chaos of war."

Lady Dong was extremely jealous and malicious. She fabricated baseless charges against Consort Shen, causing her to die unjustly.

Also falsely accused was General Bu Yuegui, the leader of the Imperial Guards. Loyal to his lord and unwilling to see the imperial heir suffer, he risked his life to escort Consort Shen out of the palace, only to be falsely accused of adultery by Lady Dong. The Shen and Bu families were thus implicated, with no one surviving.

Zhu Hui's aged voice echoed in the hall, like an old bell, each ring evoking a sigh of sorrow.

"Lord Zhu, the matter you mentioned happened many years ago, and the parties involved are no longer alive. How can the case be overturned?" someone asked.

In truth, most court officials knew perfectly well that Consort Shen had been framed by the Empress when she was implicated. However, the Dong family held absolute power, and even if someone raised objections, they were quickly suppressed.

They were even severely suppressed, which was clearly an act of personal retaliation.

Now that so much time has passed, almost everyone who knew about this is no longer around.

Unless the Empress admits it herself, but why would she betray herself?
"Zhu Hui, you say that Shen is innocent. Do you have any witnesses or physical evidence?" the Emperor asked.

"Your subject has it!" Zhu Hui replied confidently.

"What?!" Upon hearing this, the civil and military officials' eyes widened in surprise.

They all knew that Zhu Hui was always upright and incorruptible. When he served as Left Advisor, he was demoted to Xunyang soon after because he submitted a memorial suggesting that the matter of Consort Shen was suspicious.

After many years of wandering, he finally returned to the capital.

Zhu Hui initially had no evidence; he merely raised questions. How could he now possess evidence? Everyone was filled with curiosity.

"More than three years ago, a woman came to my home with a seven-year-old child. She asked me not to pursue the case of Gong Xu, who was implicated and detained because of Yu Fengchen, and to release him as soon as possible."

Gong Xu was not directly involved in Yu Fengchen's case. Although he bore some responsibility, he was not entirely innocent.

I asked her if she had the wrong person. Anyone who knows me, Zhu Hui, should know my name, the Iron-Faced Judge.

I haven't had a chance to investigate Gong Xu's matter in detail yet, but I will definitely handle it impartially when the time comes. Whether she is guilty or not is up to the law of the land, and it is not something a woman like her can interfere with.

Moreover, it is highly likely that because of her, the Gong family will also be suspected of bribery, and Gong Xu will be punished even more severely.

But the woman said that she was not doing it for herself, or even for Gong Xu and the Gong family.

I asked her why. She said it was for the sake of the Zhou Dynasty.

I laughed at her for being pretentious and talking nonsense, saying she must have gone mad.

She asked me if I remembered Consort Shen. I asked her what she meant. She said she knew that I had spoken out for Consort Shen back then, which was why she came to find me.

She then pointed through the window to the little boy standing outside, saying that the child was the imperial heir born to Consort Shen during their escape.

When Zhu Hui finished speaking, all the officials and ministers were stunned and dropped their jaws, forgetting all about decorum.

It's not surprising that Consort Shen was wronged, but it's hard to believe that her child is still alive, because everyone knows that Consort Shen's child also died in the chaos of war.

Moreover, given the Empress's methods, it's absolutely impossible for her to leave the problem unresolved.

"Lord Zhu, could the woman you're talking about be... Wen..." The Duke of Qi guessed who Zhu Hui was referring to from his words.

“That’s right, this woman is now Consort Wen,” Zhu Hui replied, “and that child is Gong Chang’an.”

The courtiers' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets; they looked at each other, speechless.

They seemed to understand something, yet they also seemed to understand nothing at all.

"When Consort Wen met Consort Shen, who was on the run, they both gave birth to children in a dilapidated temple. Consort Wen was righteous and exchanged her own child with the imperial heir. So the one who died in the chaos was not a prince, but a child from the palace family," Zhu Hui said. "The chief eunuch Wei Fu who served Consort Shen back then is also here. Your Majesty can summon him to the palace to speak with him."

"Xuan Weifu!"

"Xuan Weifu!"

“Xuan Weifu,”

The imperial decree was relayed out one after another. Wei Fu straightened his clothes, composed himself, and entered the main hall.

"This...isn't this Zhang Ma?!" The ministers who recognized Zhang Ma almost jumped up.

"Your humble servant Wei Fu greets Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" Wei Fu knelt down and performed the salute skillfully.

"Are you really Wei Fu? What exactly happened back then?" the Emperor asked, looking at him.

Wei Fu then recounted the events of that year: "This servant can verify your identity. For so many years, to avoid suspicion, this servant has disguised himself as a woman and stayed by the young master's side. This is the blood letter left by Consort Shen, who originally thought that the prince would also be doomed. However, Consort Wen was righteous and discussed with this servant to secretly switch the two children."