The news that the Prince of Yizhou had been killed in a chaotic battle sprouted wings and flew into the capital. Upon receiving the news, the Emperor beca profoundly saddened in court, shed a handful of tears, and then ordered that this news not be leaked to the Empress Dowager so she could recuperate properly.
The death of the Prince of Yizhou ant that his privately maintained army was also entirely exposed, and the aftermath work comnced.
Upon thorough investigation, the Emperor found that quite a number of officials and prestigious families who followed the Prince of Yizhou had been with him since the struggle for positions more than a decade ago.
Normally, plotting rebellion would warrant the execution of the entire three clans involved; this implicated as many as 20,000 people needing to be questioned.
Wei Zhi and others submitted petitions for leniency, hoping that only the lead culprits would be punished.
After so deliberation, the Emperor agreed, instructing Wei Zhi and the others to examine the actions of the implicated over the past decade and punish them according to the law. There were many with records of encroaching on good farmlands and plotting murder, which had previously been covered up by mutual protection, thus remaining uninvestigated.
Because of the case involving the Prince of Yizhou, many could not withstand scrutiny this ti.
The Ministry of Justice suddenly beca extrely busy, and both Lord Tang and Wei Zhi had to stay permanently to handle the severe criminals.
However, a considerable number of people were wrongfully accused.
But regardless of whether they were wronged or not, those implicated had their properties confiscated first, and then it would be assessed if they fell within the "forgiveness" scope set by the Emperor. If so, they would be released and had to start anew.
Yet, with so many people, discerning each one could take half a year, or even longer to review completely.
Then, it was the Ministry of Personnel that was preoccupied. This incident implicated many officials, especially those from Jiannan, and several governors were involved.
Although they were not killed as accomplices of the Prince of Yizhou, captured officials like Governor Zhang and the Governor of Zizhou who voluntarily confessed his cris eventually had to be replaced.
In such a short ti, the Ministry of Personnel could not spare so many staff. The problem was, reallocating staff from one area would lead to a shortage in another.
Therefore, the Ministry of Personnel was also at wits’ end and finally suggested to the Emperor to conduct a major examination at the Ministry after the spring, focused initially only on the candidates from the Imperial Academy and then across the nation after spring.
After considering, the Emperor agreed.
Things began to run smoothly. The official guards stationed in Changqing Alley also withdrew, allowing Bai Shan and Bai Erlang to return to school, and Manbao quietly started trying to work in the dical shop.
Then, even the harem tightly controlled by the Empress like an iron bucket could not prevent leaks. By then, Yin Li was already en route with the coffins of the Prince of Yizhou and his two sons.
Upon hearing that the Prince of Yizhou had died in the chaos, the Empress Dowager spat out blood and fainted. Director Xiao, along with half of the Imperial Hospital, managed to save her.
The Emperor was discussing matters with his ministers in the study when he heard this, imdiately dropping state affairs and rushing to the harem, personally waiting outside the Empress Dowager’s palace.
The Empress stood by his side, looking at him apologetically.
The Emperor reached out to hold her, gently patted her shoulder and sighed, "Do not bla yourself; keeping it secret for so many days was already the limit."
The Empress said, "It wasn’t Ms. Ying, but Concubine Zhang’s maternal family who ca to visit her and secretly made contact with the people in Yunfeng Palace."
She paused before continuing, "Yunfeng is now confined by in the Cold Palace. Have you thought about how to deal with her, Your Majesty?"
The Emperor asked, "What does Zitong think?"
"Yunfeng is a girl, she couldn’t possibly know about her father’s affairs. Xinping is only eight years old, let them comfort our mother’s heart."
The Emperor responded softly, that was the reason he didn’t imprison Xinping with his father and brothers initially.
Director Xiao and others withdrew, reporting to the Emperor: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has awakened, but she refuses to take her dicine."
The Emperor then extended his hand and said, "Give the dicine."
The Empress, worried, stepped forward, "Erlang."
The Emperor turned back and smiled at her gently, "It’s alright, your health is not good, go back to the palace first."
The Empress anxiously watched him carry the dicine inside, soon after, the palace staff from the Empress Dowager’s palace nervously exited as well.
In the vast palace, only the mother and son were left. The Emperor placed the bowl on the table, gently helped his mother sit up and softly said, "Mother, please take your dicine."
The Empress Dowager, with white hair, set her face and turned her head away, ignoring him.
The Emperor holding the spoon, seeing that she refused the dicine, sighed and retracted his hand, "Mother, what will make you willing to take your dicine?"
The Empress Dowager remained silent for a long ti, then turned to look at the Emperor, and after a while, hoarsely said, "In my life, there were only six people most important to . Your sister passed away early, the pain of losing a child is like a heart being carved out, I thought I would not experience it again, but you made bear it three tis, even your father you..."
The Emperor clenched the bowl in his hand, his nose tingled, and with tearful eyes, he looked up, "Mother, do you also bla the deaths of my elder brother and father on ?"
The Empress Dowager slapped the bowl of dicine out of his hand, grabbed his sleeve in anger and said, "If you hadn’t killed Sanlang, how could your father have turned his hair white overnight, and how could he have passed away so early?"
The Emperor opened his mouth, and after restraining himself for a long ti, he said, "Mother, I do not regret killing my younger brother, I had no other options, he blocked my path and father turned a blind eye from behind. I could only kill him to live, so that the hundreds of thousands of soldiers under could live."
"What about Five," the Empress Dowager’s chest heaving, her eyes red, said, "He couldn’t beat you, the several thousand private soldiers he raised were nothing in front of you, why couldn’t you let him live? Whether stripping his title, demoting him to a commoner, or exiling him... any would have sufficed..."
"Mother," the Emperor interrupted her, "it was an accident, the battlefield is blind...
"It was no accident!" the Empress Dowager asserted, "If you really ant it, how would Yin Li dare to kill him?"
She said, "Yin Li had left the capital before Wulang arrived, you knew it already, didn’t you? Then why did you delay revealing it until now? You confined him in the palace, how did he escape, tell , how did he escape?"
The Emperor remained silent.
The Empress Dowager, heart aching and furious, couldn’t help but slap him on the face, crying out, "I only have two sons left, just you two brothers, how could your heart be so ruthless, he is your own younger brother, your own younger brother..."
The Emperor silently knelt down.
The Empress Dowager cried miserably, "And there’s Xin’an and Xinping, how old are they, what do they know? Xinping isn’t even married yet, is your heart made of stone?"
The Emperor bowed his head and let her scold and hit him. The Empress stood outside the hall, listening to the noises inside, after a while sighed and dismissed the palace staff further away before finally turning to leave.
Fearing that she might faint from excessive crying, the Emperor, while being hit, reached out to support his mother.
Exhausted from beating, the Empress Dowager leaned weakly on the pillow, turning her head into the bed, "I don’t want to see you, you can go now."
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