Wandering the Heavens

"In that case, I will report the case truthfully to the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince. By then, no matter how big the prison is, how many people will die, how many people will be exiled, and how many households will be raided, I will not let anyone off!" Yu Xian ignored his words.

"Lord Xuanwu, the emperor is now dead and the government is in turmoil. Why create more trouble?" Yang Shiqi quickly stepped forward to speak in good terms.

"It's not me who caused the trouble, but you! Can't you just let the Crown Prince ascend the throne? Why are you making trouble every day?" Yu Xian looked down on these people.

At this time, the status of the cabinet was already very high, but they were still not satisfied. The same was true of Zhang Fu, the number one noble, who followed the civil officials to meddle in other people's affairs.

"How about we discuss it further?" Yang Pu asked tentatively.

"First, we all make a living in the court, so don't treat anyone as a fool; second, you should clean up yourselves and don't leave any handles." Yu Xian stated his bottom line.

You can keep things quiet, but the scapegoat you hand over must be important and have a reason that convinces everyone. Since you guys are responsible for this, you should clean it up yourself. If you leave any evidence behind and the Royal Guards find out, don't blame me for being ruthless.

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of San Yang and Zhang Fu turned ugly. Originally, everyone was doing the trouble together, but now they were going to send some people to die. How would they lead people in the future?

However, the reality is cruel. They did not expect that the Queen Mother would have the courage to let Yu Xian intervene in the matter. This is a person that Taizong, Renzong and the late emperor were afraid of and dared not use! The Queen Mother not only used him, but also gave him the greatest authority to handle the case. This person acted without scruples and was ruthless. As long as he could stabilize the situation, he didn't care about anyone's thoughts, didn't care about anyone's face, and didn't consider anyone's interests.

The three Yangs looked at each other, and finally Yang Rong came forward to make the guarantee.

"Three days. We need three days."

"Where is the Duke of England?"

Yu Xian looked at Zhang Fu. The civil officials had already decided to sell out a few unlucky guys. How could the nobles possibly escape?

Zhang Fu's side was difficult. Although the nobles were sticking together, their dependence on them was not high. On the surface, he was the number one noble, but he could not develop the kind of appeal among the nobles that the Three Yangs had among the civil servants.

In addition, he joined the civil officials in the disturbance because of his own selfishness, not for the benefit of the nobles. The emperor entrusted his son to you, Duke of Ying, not to the nobles, so why should I sacrifice my life for you?

The nobles have committed many crimes, which can be said to be lawless, but who can bear the crime of genocide?

"Can you give me some more time?" Zhang Fu still lowered his head.

"The date of enthronement chosen by the Imperial Observatory for the Crown Prince is approaching. How long do you want to extend the deadline?" Yu Xian didn't have the patience.

"Then three days later, I will also hand over the person together with the three grand secretaries!" Zhang Fu gritted his teeth.

"Okay, I will report the case to the Empress Dowager and order the release of the detained people. Another thing is that the Empress Dowager will definitely clean up the inner court, and it's time to retract your outstretched hands." Yu Xian reminded.

The four people originally came to put pressure on Yu Xian, but who knew that they would be threatened and blackmailed by him, and the situation could only be settled at the cost of several lives.

Now that the rumor case was settled, they were busy looking for a scapegoat and left the Earl's Mansion together.

When the three days were up, Zhang Fu sacrificed his younger brother Zhang Li and Huining Earl Li Ying, while the Three Yangs sent out five of their disciples.

The reason was that one of his disciples had a side job besides his main job - fortune telling. He accidentally saw the Prince of Xiang, who had not yet been enfeoffed, and felt that the prince had an extremely noble face and had the aura of an emperor.

The late emperor passed away suddenly. He felt that it was destiny that would pass to Prince Xiang, so he recruited four classmates to spread rumors in the capital to force the court officials to welcome Prince Xiang to the throne.

Zhang Li, the second son of Prince Hejian, was dissatisfied with the fact that the Duke of Ying was inherited by Zhang Fu. For this reason, he wanted to obtain the title by virtue of the merit of welcoming the king to the throne and set up his own family. So he secretly contacted Li Ying, the Earl of Huining. Taking advantage of the rumor that Prince Xiang had ascended the throne, the two conspired to launch a mutiny to control the city of Beijing and then welcome Prince Xiang to the throne.

These are quite ridiculous, but in order to make these people willing to die, the Three Yangs and Zhang Fu paid a huge price.

"Lord Xuanwu, we have done what we promised you, and we hope you can keep your promise." It was Yang Rong who spoke again.

In just three days, they seemed to have aged a little, especially Zhang Fu, whose eyes were red and it was obvious that he had been crying.

"Don't worry, Yu will keep his promise."

After Yu Xian finished speaking, he ordered the Jinyiwei to take the person they sent to the imperial prison to record his confession.

That afternoon, the Empress Dowager received the case closing documents submitted by Yu Xian. With her many years of experience, she knew at a glance that this was a way to get rid of her.

"Lord Xuanwu, is this the only way to deal with this matter?"

"Empress Dowager, this matter concerns the reputation of the late emperor and the reputation of the Ming Dynasty. If we get to the bottom of it, people's hearts will be unstable and the country will be in turmoil." Yu Xian had no choice under such circumstances.

"But I won't accept this! My husband and son were both schemed to death by these people, and now they want to plot against my grandson! How can we just hand over a few cats and dogs and get away with it?" The Empress Dowager cried out loudly despite the numerous palace maids and eunuchs in the hall.

"Empress Dowager, the young ruler is currently in power, and state affairs still depend on them. I, your humble servant, can do nothing about it." Yu Xian really couldn't say anything nice to comfort this old lady.

After hearing Yu Xian's words, the Empress Dowager was silent for a long time. She also knew that killing all the court officials involved in this matter would not help the current situation. Instead, it would make things more difficult and might even lead to the destruction of the country.

"Lord Xuanwu, I approve your request. All the scapegoats they sent out will be executed to comfort my son's spirit in heaven. Also, before my grandson ascends the throne, you must clean up the inner court and don't let those evil-hearted people harm my grandson again."

The Empress Dowager took the red pen handed to her by the eunuch, flipped through the list of prisoners herself, and marked each name with a glaring red tick.

Most of the emperors of the Zhu family were unreliable, but their wives were reliable. For example, if the one in front of Yu Xian could live a few more years, there would be no Tumu Fort incident.

The rumor case was over. The seventeen eunuchs who had tampered with Zhu Zhanji's meals, the nine imperial doctors who had taken money to reveal his condition during treatment, more than one hundred eunuchs and palace maids in the inner court who had connections with the outer court, as well as five civil servants and two nobles were all executed.

Duke Yingguo Zhang Fu was reprimanded and fined one year's salary.

Zhang Li's wife and children, the family of Marquis Huining, and the families of five civil officials were all sentenced to exile.

Those big-mouthed hooligans who spread rumors about King Xiang's accession to the throne were also beaten with a few boards and then released.

When an emperor ascends the throne, he usually issues a general amnesty. Before Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne, Yu Xian executed all the criminals who were most likely to be pardoned, thus cutting off the idea of his accomplices to rescue them.

After a few agonizing days, the day finally arrived for the Crown Prince to ascend the throne.

On the twenty-fifth day of the first lunar month in the tenth year of Xuande, the nine-year-old Crown Prince Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne. Wearing the hastily made imperial crown and robes, he was held by the hand by his grandmother as he anxiously looked at the civil and military officials kneeling on the ground below the platform.

Standing behind the grandparents and grandchildren was a eunuch with a calm face but eyes full of excitement and enthusiasm.