The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 20 The Emperor's Move Determines the Outcome

Hearing such an absurd answer, the emperor remained calm and said to Lu Feiwu, "Lu Feiwu, you must not speak nonsense in front of me."

Lu Feiwu shouted, "Your Majesty, I did not speak nonsense. I am willing to guarantee it with my head."

The emperor said, "Your head is worth very little; you should keep it for yourself."

Then he turned to Prince Zhongshun and said, "Brother, these people, unable to implicate the Crown Prince, are now trying to implicate you, Brother. What should I do?"

The emperor appeared to be protecting Prince Zhongshun, but in reality, he was questioning him and subtly demanding a statement from the prince.

Prince Zhongshun looked distressed and hesitated for a long time before saying, "Your Majesty, this matter may be as Your Majesty says, that someone is trying to implicate me, or it may be the work of servants in my household. In any case, I know nothing about it. I hope Your Majesty will see the truth."

King Chungshun chose not to express his opinion, but instead directly denied everything, stating that he knew nothing.

The emperor seemed undisappointed by the answer and continued, "So you didn't know, brother. I thought you couldn't stand seeing the Crown Prince being bullied, so you secretly asked someone to help him."

King Chungsun quickly replied, "I am a member of the royal family and dare not contact court officials in private."

The emperor continued, "Since my brother doesn't know, summon this Sun Xiang here and question him in court to see who is instigating him. Xia Shouzhong, Xia Shouzhong, where is he?"

The emperor summoned Xia Shouzhong to do something, but no one answered after he called twice.

Below the throne, a quick-witted eunuch said, "Your Majesty, Chief Eunuch Xia has not yet returned from his mission."

The emperor then remembered that Xia Shouzhong had gone back to the Prince An's residence to arrest the traitor. Now, who should be sent to arrest Sun Xiang?
The emperor looked around and felt that few of them were reliable. In the end, he could only turn to Dai Quan and say, "Chief Steward Dai, you have investigated this matter. I entrust the task of arresting Sun Xiang to you as well."

The emperor issued the order in court; could Dai Quan refuse? He could only obey the decree and carry it out. It was pitiful that he, the most favored person in front of the retired emperor, who had always been the one to give orders, was now being used as a errand boy by the new emperor.

After sending Dai Quan away, the emperor sat up straight and even adjusted his crown. Then, with a serious expression, he said:
"Although Sun Xiang has not yet been apprehended, the case is now clear: it was orchestrated by someone with ulterior motives and has nothing to do with the Crown Prince. Do you, my esteemed ministers, agree with what I have said?"

At this point, everyone knew that the emperor had the upper hand, and no one wanted to cause trouble.

Everyone shouted in unison, "Your Majesty is wiser than anyone else."

Seeing that no one objected, the emperor said, "Since all my ministers agree, let's leave it at that for today. The rest can be handled by the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review. Where is the Minister of Justice?"

Upon hearing this, a sprightly old man stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your subject, Zhao Yongnian, Minister of Justice, respectfully awaits Your Majesty's decree."

The Emperor said, "You and Minister Shen will handle the rest of this case together. You must find out the truth."

Shen Weiyan and Zhao Yongnian said in unison:
"Your subject obeys the decree."

After the two men withdrew, the emperor continued, "Xie Xishu, this case was investigated at your insistence. Now that the facts are clear, do you have any other doubts?"

The emperor ostensibly asked Xie Xishu for his opinion, but in reality, he was drawing the attention of all the officials to this man.

The ministers all turned their gazes to Xie Xishu, some with mocking expressions. They vividly recalled how the emperor had originally intended to postpone the case, but Xie Xishu had staged a dramatic remonstrance, forcing the emperor to hold the trial in court on the very day of his ascension to the throne—a truly humiliating situation.

Now, with the help of the retired emperor, the emperor not only quickly solved the case and helped the crown prince clear his name, but also let everyone know that the retired emperor was very supportive of the new emperor. Anyone who wants to take advantage of the emperor's recent ascension to the throne and his unfamiliarity with government affairs to do something underhanded should think twice.

Faced with everyone's gaze, Xie Xishu had long lost his previous composure, and with a bitter expression, he bowed and answered the emperor's question.

"Your Majesty, I am foolish and incompetent. Without investigating the facts, I readily believed the words of others and was misled into submitting this memorial, which has led to the current situation. I have no face to face Your Majesty and the officials of the court. I beg Your Majesty to dismiss me from my post and allow me to return home to live out my remaining years."

Upon hearing this, the emperor glared at Xie Xishu and said, "You think you can just go home and hide after causing trouble? Don't even think about it. I've already thought of a place for you. I've heard that Qiongzhou Prefecture is warm all year round, like summer, so it's a good place for you to go. Go there."

Upon hearing this, Xie Xishu turned pale and almost collapsed to the ground like Prince Zhongshun.

He never expected that even though he had voluntarily requested to leave, the emperor still did not intend to let him go and was determined to punish him and exile him to Qiongzhou Prefecture.

That place was indeed as the emperor had said, with summer all year round, but it was also a wild frontier. It was said to be rife with miasma and swarming with mosquitoes, and that of the people from the Central Plains who went there, not one in ten survived.

It seems that today's memorial has indeed offended the emperor severely, and he won't rest until he's killed.

The officials in the court were all surprised that the emperor would hold such a grudge.

Several officials who were on good terms with Xie Xishu showed expressions of reluctance.

Some officials hesitated, seemingly wanting to offer advice to the emperor. Among them was Shen Weiyan, Xie Xishu's adversary. The emperor glanced around and, upon seeing Shen Weiyan, said, "Minister Shen, do you have something to say to me?"

When Shen Weiyan heard the emperor call on him, he gritted his teeth and stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty, I do have something to say."

The emperor nodded and said, "Speak."

Shen Weiyan said, "Your Majesty, Xie Zhongcheng's memorial today, though untimely, was for the sake of the Crown Prince's reputation. Therefore, I believe that Xie Zhongcheng should not be punished too severely, lest future court officials be afraid to speak out for fear of punishment."

After hearing this, the emperor stared at Shen Weiyan for a long time, making Shen Weiyan feel very uncomfortable, before finally looking away and saying:
"You, Shen Weiyan, are indeed as rumored, not strict in your use of magic, and you even treated Xie Xishu leniently."

After saying this seemingly joking yet warning remark, the emperor looked at everyone and said, "Besides Minister Shen, who else among you wants to plead for Xie Xishu?"

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, two people stepped forward from among the officials, one of whom was the old mudfish Hong Lin, who left a deep impression on Tu Chengyu.

The two men stepped forward and said in unison, "Your Majesty, we beg you to show mercy and punish Vice Minister Xie leniently."

The emperor ignored the two of them and turned his gaze to the rest of the court. His gaze deliberately paused briefly as he passed the senior officials of the Council of State Affairs. Seeing that they acted as if nothing had happened, he waited no longer and said:

"Is there anyone else who would plead for Xie Xishu?"

At this point, no one could be sure of the emperor's attitude, and those who had originally wanted to plead for him did not dare to step forward.

Seeing that no one came forward, the emperor said, "Xie Xishu, I originally intended to punish you severely, but I didn't expect Shen Weiyan to plead for you. He has different political views from you and often argues with you in court, yet he stepped forward in times of crisis, which shows that his character and temperament are extraordinary. I will spare you for his sake. However, you still have to go to Qiongzhou. How about becoming the prefect of Qiongzhou?"

What could Xie Xishu say but accept the imperial decree and express his gratitude?

Meanwhile, everyone in the court couldn't help but scrutinize Shen Weiyan. This Lord Shen actually had such influence, able to persuade the new emperor to change his decree with a single word. Could it be that he had secretly sided with the emperor?

Shen Weiyan was now realizing that his plea had been rash, and it seemed the emperor had seized the opportunity to use him. He secretly glanced at the positions of the senior officials of the Council of State, and seeing his old mentor with his eyes closed, seemingly unconcerned about court affairs, he felt a little uneasy.

At this moment, there was another person in the court who was even more flustered than Shen Weiyan: the Minister of Personnel.

In the imperial court, the appointment of officials, especially those in prefectures and counties, was normally done by the Ministry of Personnel recommending candidates, the Council of State Affairs selecting the best candidates, and the emperor issuing an imperial edict to appoint them.

Even if the emperor had his own chosen candidate, he would still inform the Council of State Affairs and the Ministry of Personnel in advance.

Now, the emperor skipped all the steps and directly changed Xie Xishu's official position in the court.

The Minister of Personnel could not intervene, for one reason only: the emperor had already spoken, and the emperor's words carried the weight of imperial authority; they could not be easily retracted.

Secondly, Xie Xishu's official position was obtained through the intercession of others. If he were to step forward to obstruct it, the emperor could take the opportunity to rescind his decree and re-exile Xie Xishu.

He would not only offend Xie Xishu's group of hot-headed censors, but also other officials in the court. They wouldn't consider the Minister of Personnel's difficulties; they would only think that the Minister of Personnel was suppressing his colleagues.

The Minister of Personnel sighed inwardly. Who said the new emperor was a carefree prince who, having just ascended the throne, didn't understand court intrigue? This two-birds-with-one-stone strategy—he's quite adept at it!
The emperor, disregarding the thoughts of his officials, was now pushing his luck. He said, "With Xie Xishu reassigned to Qiongzhou Prefecture, the Censorate will be without a head, and I..."

"Your Majesty!" Before the emperor could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the Minister of Personnel, who hurriedly stepped forward. He had no choice but to interrupt the emperor; otherwise, if the emperor announced the new Censor-in-Chief, would the minister accept it or not? If he accepted it, how could the senior officials of the Council of State Affairs let him off so easily? If he didn't accept it, did the emperor expect him to rescind the imperial edict in court?

Therefore, he had no choice but to risk his life to interrupt the emperor.

The emperor, though interrupted, was not angry. Instead, he asked, "Minister Wu, what is it?"

Minister Wu of the Ministry of Personnel replied: "Your Majesty, the Censor-in-Chief is one of the Nine Ministers. According to the court regulations, his appointment must be approved by the court."

Minister Wu's unspoken message was: "Please don't act recklessly again and put the Ministry of Personnel in a terrible predicament."

Whether the emperor understood Minister Wu's implied meaning or not, he smiled and said, "You came at the right time. I was just about to talk about this matter. The position of Censor-in-Chief is extremely important and cannot be left vacant. I am just reminding you to select a candidate as soon as possible so that we can discuss it at the next court session."

Seeing that the emperor was not causing any more trouble, Minister Wu breathed a sigh of relief, accepted the imperial decree to express his gratitude, and returned to his original position.

Although he had not achieved all his goals, the emperor was still pleased and stood up, saying, "It's getting late, and I'm sure all my ministers are hungry. Let's have a feast."

After speaking, without waiting for the ministers' reaction, he got up and went back to the Hall of Central Harmony to return his court robes.

The officials were left staring at each other in bewilderment, as were the anxious Imperial Censor Wang and the bewildered Prince Zhongshun.

(End of this chapter)