Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 653 - 536

Chapter 653: 536

At the eighth moment of the Hour of Mao, the rays of the morning sun had already illuminated the area outside Taihe Gate.

But the deep chill in the Yizheng Hall had not been dispelled at all. And with the voice of the Imperial Censor Leang Wei, everyone felt an even icier atmosphere around them.

"——Charge three, there is the naval military officer Luo Yongmou, who was dismissed without reason by the then tidu of Caojiang navy, Li Chengji. His post as the Shoubei of Hong navy was quickly seized by Jiang Yue, a relative of Earl Chengyi."

"Charge four, there is the clerk Zhang Jioming from the yamen of the Caojiang navy who exposed the charges, accused Earl Chengyi, and the tidu of Caojiang navy Li Chengji, in the 27th year of Zhengtong reign, of transferring 120,000 teals of military funds for unknown reasons, suspected to be personal embezzlement."

"Charge five, in March of the 13th year of Jingtai reign, after Li Chengji took office as the Zongbing of canal transportation, he intentionally detained seventeen grain ships, causing Huizhou and Changxing counties to miss their grain ship deadlines, resulting in the dismissal of the county officials of the two counties and countless loss for the grain chiefs to the point of bankruptcy;

"Charge six——"

Leang Wei almost roared these words out with a voice as booming as a bell, full of strength, causing all the beams and rafters in the hall to shake.

By the time this man had stated the seven charges against Li Chengji one by one, he bowed in the direction of Princess Changle, Yu Hongchang: "Your Highness, the Regent, this man Li Chengji is arrogant and devious, he uses his power for personal gain, indulges in extravagance, his corruption grows daily, and he oversteps his authority. If he is not put to death, the people’s indignation cannot be appeased. I ask Your Highness to swiftly send men to capture this beast and bring him to trial, in order to uphold the laws and ethics of The Court!"

At this time, at the very back of the military ranks in the court, Huangfu Xuanji’s lips curved slightly, revealing a sense of satisfaction.

The impeachment against Earl Chengyi, Li Chengji, by General Liang Heng, was precisely his suggestion.

Ever since his failure in the last court struggle, he has never given up on collecting evidence against Li Chengji.

Li Xuan himself not only possesses unwavering integrity, his official career is also considered unblemished.

It should be noted that you can’t make mistakes if you don’t act. Li Xuan had only been currently serving for less than a year, and his style is very cautious, barely giving anyone a chance to criticize him.

So compared to Li Xuan, his father who is close to the light, is undoubtedly a better target.

Behind the curtain, Yu Hongchang frowned slightly. She waited for Imperial Censor Leang Wei’s voice to trail off, first scanning her eyes across the many court officials, then to Li Xuan: "Marquis of Guanjun, Earl Chengyi, Li Chengji is not in The Court. As his second son, do you have anything to say on his behalf?

Also, regarding the impeachment of General Zhenshuo, is there truth to it?"

At this time, everyone’s eyes were focused on Li Xuan.

Li Xuan, holding his ivory token in his hand, calmly walked out from among the officials into the center of the hall: "Your Highness, the Regent, I have limited knowledge about my father’s affairs. Of the seven charges raised by Imperial Censor Leang Wei, I only know the basis of three of them.

Imperial Censor Leang said that Earl Chengyi’s mansion overstepped regulations, yet the current residence of our family was built under the supervision of the Ministry of Works and granted by the Great Ancestor. No changes have been made to date. All blueprints and materials are kept on file in the Ministry of Works in both south and north capitals and can be verified one by one.

Imperial Censor Leang also claimed that my father favors his relatives. Jiang Yue, who took over as the Shoubei of Hong navy, is indeed a distant relative of our family. However, this man died in battle at the mouth of Hong lake six months ago, trying to stop a water demon from harming the local area.

On the contrary, the former Shoubei of Hong navy, mentioned by him, Luo Yongmou, failed to show up due to sickness during the major flood in the Yangtze River, resulting in heavy losses to one battalion of navy under his command due to lack of leadership.

There is also the matter of detaining the grain ships of Huizhou, I happened to know about this as well. These seventeen grain ships were used as warehouse goods for iron ingots, and the grain chiefs from the two counties of Huizhou were suspected of smuggling ironware to the grasslands. This is currently being investigated by Xiuyiwei, and it’s not something that I could possibly know about."

The so-called ’grain chief’ is a person appointed by Jin Dynasty to collect grain from the locals. The Jin Dynasty set up a zone for every thirty thousand stones of grain collected from the local area and appointed big households as grain chiefs.

They are not only responsible for collecting grain from the locals but also are in charge of escorting the grain ships to Capital City.

Li Xuan bowed slightly: "Your Highness, my father’s virtues, and character have been publicly praised in The Court. His Majesty has also issued decrees several times, praising my father for his loyalty to the country and his diligence in government affairs, saying he exhibits the demeanor of a great ancient minister."

At this time many of the literary officials in the hall nodded their heads; some of them even showed a look of admiration.

Although Earl Chengyi, Li Chengji was a military minister, his reputation among the literary officials was indeed very good.

Just as Li Xuan finished speaking, Shaobao Yu Jie spoke with a cold expression: "Regarding the 120,000 teals of military money in the year 27 of Zhengtong, I know a little about it. The Grand Emperor wanted to renovate Taiye Pool, and Wang Zhen intercepted and used the funds directly in court. Earl Chengyi hid it for His Majesty and kept it a secret."

With his words, a certain strange expression appeared on the faces of the ministers in the hall.

Especially the Deputy Auxiliary of the Cabinet, and Shaobao, Gao Gu, who glared at Yu Jie fiercely.

Earl Chengyi knew how to keep secrets for the Emperor, but this one had no concerns at all?

At this time, Sikong Huaji, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishments also grimaced and stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, the sixth charge filed by Imperial Censor Leang is false. The case where Changzhou citizen Huang Shiyuan accused Earl Chengyi’s mansion of encroaching on civilian land was personally handled by me seven years ago. It was due to Huang Shiyuan falling out with his family and fighting over their property."

"Earl Chengyi was not at fault in this matter. All evidence and land deeds are still recorded to this day. Moreover, after this case, Earl Chengyi’s mansion donated those five hundred mu of land to the state school of Changzhou prefecture."

Li Xuan gratefully nodded at Yu Jie and Sikong Huaji, then turned to Princess Changle, Yu Hongchang: "Your Highness, from the above we can see that most of the charges which Imperial Censor Leang has accused my father of are contrived and groundless.

If the court does not believe it, they can send out a fair and upright official to verify each one. My father is an open and honest man and a just official. He has no regrets in front of heaven, no regrets in front of the earth, no regrets in front of people, no regrets in his heart and fears no one scrutinizing him."

Upon hearing this, Yu Hongchang laughed lightly, and then asked Chen Xun: "First Auxiliary, Your Majesty has listened to Marquis Guanjun’s words, and they are well-founded. I wonder what is the stance of the cabinet on this matter?"

Chief Assistant Chen Xun, bowed slightly: "Your Highness, most of the charges filed by Imperial Censor Leang Wei are biased and reckless. It is my opinion that there is no need to send officials to investigate. Let Earl Chengyi submit a report to exonerate himself."

Deputy Auxiliary of the Cabinet, Gao Gu, hesitated slightly before raising his ivory token in agreement, "The Grand Secretary is right, I have no objections!"

Huangfu Xuanji was taken aback, feeling that something was amiss.

In the past, when Imperial Censors, officers of the six Ministries, and others heard of military ministers overstepping their bounds, they would pounce like piranhas drawn by the scent of blood, as his brother, Huangfu Shenji, had been the victim of several times.

Hence, Huangfu Xuanji was sure this charge proposed by Liang Wei, the Imperial Censor, would at least cause a huge stir in the court, even if it did not completely implicate Earl Chengyi.

But why were the court officials today so lenient towards Earl Chengyi? Had they taken the wrong medicine?

Wasn’t it supposed to be a collective response from the Qingliu faction, loyal to the True Emperor and Prince Yi? Were they just going to stand by and watch?

At this moment, Guo Cong, the Marquis of Fengcheng, left Dudu of the Central Army and the leading military minister, glanced helplessly at Liang Heng and Huangfu Xuanji.

He thought these two were more than capable of messing things up but not capable enough to actually achieve anything. Their brains must be filled with water.

If Huangfu Xuanji had only contacted Imperial Censor Liang Wei, there would certainly be a different situation in today’s court.

Gao Gu, the Deputy Auxiliary, and his followers would have been happy about it, even going as far as to add fuel to the fire.

But after meeting with Imperial Censor Liang Wei, these two also made contact with many military ministers in the Capital City.

Did they think that the scholars in the court were deaf and blind? How could the many court officials loyal to the Dowager Empress and the Prince’s Party dare to get involved?

Moreover, the first Earl Chengyi, Li Lexing, served in a scholarly position. Not only was he one of the chief strategists who helped the Great Ancestor pacify the world, but he was also involved in many state affairs in the early years of the Jin Dynasty and participated in the establishment of the civil service examination system.

He could be said to be the progenitor of Jin’s civil officials, and all scholars in the world should be grateful to him.

How could Earl Chengyi be seen as just some ordinary noble?

Unfortunately-

The Marquis of Fengcheng, Guo Cong, shook his head. He knew about this issue only at midnight, and it was too late to stop anything by then.

At this time, Li Xuan turned to Yu Hongchang and said respectfully, "There’s also the charges Great General Zhenshuo alleged against me. Your Highness can directly question Prince Xiang about the details. Prince Xiang was there at the scene, witnessing the whole thing. For some unknown reason, Great General Zhenshuo not only obstructed my case, but also provoked me with his words. I had no choice but to respond.

After capturing suspect Li Yueer, I found out under interrogation that the true culprit behind the plot against the Crown Prince was on the scene at the WanYue House."

Everything he said was true, except he didn’t mention that even if they had captured Li Yueer at the first instance, they would not have been able to nab the Illusionist, a significant fact.

However, when he said this, there was a commotion among the many civilian and military ministers in the hall. Everyone looked at Great General Liang Heng with peculiar eyes.

Everyone was suspicious. Could it be that the instigator behind the attack on the Crown Prince was the Great General Liang?

Liang Heng himself could not help but turn pale.

The Xiuyiwei had remained tight-lipped about the case details, with no news leaking out, so he was completely in the dark.

Yu Hongchang’s face was grim. She immediately asked Prince Xiang, Yu Zhanshi, "Uncle Wang, is what the Marquis of Guanjun said true?"

Prince Xiang, Yu Zhanshi, was taken aback, hesitated, looked at Liang Heng, and finally sighed helplessly before bowing to Yu Hongchang: "The Marquis of Guanjun is telling the truth. Great General Zhenshuo did hinder the Marquis’s case, and his words were quite unpleasant."

At this moment, Liang Heng looked at him with eyes as venomous as a snake lurking in the shadows.

Prince Xiang, Yu Zhanshi, was filled with regret. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to speak up for Liang Heng, but at this point, he wanted nothing more than to distance himself from this situation.

Liang Heng was furious. He immediately turned around and scanned his colleagues.

According to their pre-determined strategy, they should confront Li Xuan collectively regarding the matter of the army of Weisuo Institute, unite the entire northern military doorstep, pressure Yu Hongchang, and force the hand of Princess Chang Le.

But to Liang Heng’s surprise, the many military ministers and nobles he’d contacted the night before didn’t utter a word. Most of them were unnaturally pale and appeared hesitant.

Before this, they had no idea that Liang Heng was involved in the Crown Prince’s sudden illness case.

On the contrary, a green-robed Imperial Censor from the scholars rushed to the center of the hall: "Monarch Princess, I am Sikong Huaji, the Jiancha Yushi of North Zhili. I have received a report this morning that Zhenshuo, the Great General, had clandestinely met with thirty-seven civil and military officials last night-

Among them were Guo Ziming, the Marquis of Gongchang, Li Sida, the Earl of Taining, Ge Xiao, the Dudu Tongzhi of the Central Army Dudu’s Mansion, Imperial Censor Liang Wei, and others. I suspect that the intentions of Great General, Zhenshuo Liang, are questionable, and he may have rebellious intentions. I request the Monarch to issue an order to investigate thoroughly!"

Liang Heng’s pupils instantly contracted to the size of a pinhead as he stared incredulously at Li Xuan.

He was only planning on teaching him a lesson today. But this Marquis of Guanjun seemed determined to root out his family entirely!