Chapter 1920: Convince Through Virtue
Just then, the Liu clan’s Liu Guang and Liu Yao, as well as the other people who were close to the Meng clan, spoke up for Meng Yi and King Dai. After all, this matter had been dealt with too cleverly, so they naturally had to help them voice their support.
Now, it was the Eastern Palace’s people who were full of indignation at the injustice. However, they couldn't do anything against these old foxes’ cunning. They didn’t know what to say at all.
Ye Ping and the others’ faces paled.
We’re finished, we’re done for! This time, King Dai and Meng Yi turned defeat into victory. They’ll definitely get revenge on us after the fact!
When he saw the situation had been reversed, King Dai immediately became extremely happy. He said, “Sir Zu, this is why all things require proof! You cannot just slander one’s innocence with a mouth empty of white teeth!
“Furthermore, even taking ten thousand steps back, even if I had been the one to send someone to do all of that, so what? My father was murdered on Violet Mountain precisely because of Murong Tong’s incompetence. The Qin clan’s brothers also secretly supported that traitor, so it’s perfectly reasonable for us to get revenge for him!
"Even King Jin knew to get revenge for his father. As brothers who share the same father emperor, how could I just let them be?
“My Great Zhou Dynasty is ruled by filial piety! Filial piety is the most important national policy! If we had done such a thing, not only would it be undeserving of punishment, it would be worthy of a great reward from the court, followed by being recorded as a classic of filial piety to be spread throughout the world for the common people to read and learn from us as an example!
“Of course, everything I just said was just an ‘if’. Naturally, that never happened.”
Meng Yi nodded inwardly when he heard that. This son-in-law of his wasn’t completely stupid. What had been the purpose of doing this in the first place? Wasn’t it to anger Zu An, to motivate him to make a mistake? Then they could use the chance to eliminate him and cripple the Eastern Palace. It would be even better if they were able to use the momentum to influence the crown prince’s people too. Now that King Dai was pouring oil on the flames, what could be more perfect? With Zu An’s fiery nature, and how he h ad just killed King Jin, he most likely wouldn’t be able to hold himself back. They could then gather the forces of the entire court, and then with the assistance of the Imperial Palace’s guards, they could kill this brute on the spot. Not even the crown princess would likely be able to shelter him at that point.
However, he was surprised to see that Zu An, whom he had expected to explode from rage, didn’t seem to be emotionally affected at all.
Of course, that was because everything that happened was within Zu An's expectations. He just hadn't wanted to let down Qin Zheng’s loyal heart and Jiang Luofu’s idealism, so he had decided to try the proper channels for their sake. How could he possibly be a match for these old foxes who were deeply entrenched in these political circles for decades, though?
The crown princess’ people tried to retaliate, but they hadn’t expected the Meng clan to have already dealt with the person in the know. As such, their attempts were futile.
After a round of bickering, the final conclusion ended up being set in stone.
The empress in the main seat gave Zu An a worried look. In the end, she still said, “This matter is full of suspicious details. The Qin clan and Murong clan are important ministers of the court, so they cannot simply tortured like this by someone for unclear reasons. This matter will be handed to the Embroidered Envoy to investigate.
“Furthermore, I will send the imperial physician to take care of the wounded in the Imperial Prison, as well as a group of the Armed Escort Army to watch over the Imperial Prison. In the future, regardless of identity, no one will be permitted to willfully enter the Imperial Prison.”
She knew that Zu An was extremely angry right now. However, as the empress, she couldn't go against the masses’ decision. She could only do her best to appease him.
“Your highness is wise and brilliant!” the subjects replied; they understood what was happening as well. The Meng clan and King Dai had already erased all traces. The Embroidered Envoy weren’t gods, so what could they even find out by themselves?
Just then, Meng Yi looked toward Ye Ping and the others, saying, “These individuals are members of the Ministry of Justice, and yet they consciously went against the rules and interrogated important ministers of the empire through torture. This is a first-rate crime! They ought to be punished, so I hope that your highness can deal with them.”
The empress nodded, saying, “Men, take this criminal Ye Ping outside the gates and have him executed. The others are to be stripped of their positions and investigated!”
This Ye Ping's group really is outrageous! They're the ones who tortured the Qin clan, so dealing with them should give the Qin clan and Ah Zu some kind of compensation.
Ye Ping was stunned, crying out, “Your highness, I’m being treated unjustly!”
When he saw that the empress remained ice-cold and unmoved, he really started panicking. Guards quickly emerged to drag him and his group out.
“Your highness, I am being wronged!”
“Sir Meng, I was wrong! Your respected self is of great moral status; please forgive us petty people!”
“Crown princess, save us!”
“Sir Zu, Sir Zu, save me!”
…
He was so panicked that he began to indiscriminately call for help, calling out to anyone he could think of. Unfortunately, not a single person paid any attention to him.
Zu An remained calm. This Ye Ping’s conduct in the Imperial Prison, especially how he had looked at Qin Wanru and Jiang Luofu with a malicious gaze, showed that he had clearly done many vile things in the past. He deserved to die. Either way, this man wouldn’t be of any use to him from now on, anyway.
Meng Yi stroked his beard. Both his and King Dai’s expressions contained extreme satisfaction. This Ye Ping had brazenly testified for Zu An, and yet not even that bastard Zu was able to protect him.
Let’s see just who else will dare to help him go against us in the future.
The two of them looked at the entire place. Most of the subjects had lowered their heads in shame and guilt, not daring to meet anyone's gaze.
…
In the end, the dust settled on the case, and the gathering soon dispersed just like that.
When Zu An left the throne room, King Dai was waiting by the entrance for him. He said, “Sir Zu, I really do have to apologize today. I’ve ended up making you so angry…”
Zu An gave him a calm look, retorting, “If you have a fart, hurry up and let it out already. If you don’t, you won’t have a chance to in the future.”
King Dai’s expression changed. He recalled King Jin’s fate and quickly took a step back. However, when he realized that this was the throne room, with civil and military officials all around him, and that his father-in-law was also nearby, he immediately became full of confidence. He continued, “Sir Zu must be really flustered and exasperated right now, right? Actually, I only came here to tell you one thing.
“In this world, many ordinary people think that justice will be served sooner or later, and that there will never be an absence of righteousness. That is why those who have been wronged try to uphold their values. Unfortunately, in reality, this is often not the case.
“Sir Zu did come from a small place, after all, and you earnestly climbed your way up from among ordinary folk. You never had clan elders like us from the very best families to teach you by words and example, so it is only natural that you do not understand these things. That is why this king stayed behind to tell you a few things. Otherwise, you would remain just as naive as you are now and end up suffering even more in the future.”
At the moment, he was provoking Zu An due to Meng Yi's urging. It would be best if he provoked Zu An enough to draw an immediate response. Then, they would have the perfect opportunity to get rid of Zu An.
Unfortunately, what he got in return wasn’t Zu An's helpless rage, but rather a strike to the face. His head rang with noise.
I was hit?
I was slapped in the face in front of everyone?
King Dai was briefly left dazed. He had actually already prepared himself for retaliation, but Zu An's hand was so fast that he actually hadn’t even seen it!
Meng Yi was shocked and angry, exclaiming, “You scoundrel, you dare to act violently in the Imperial Palace?!”
He had also been vigilant against Zu An’s attack, but he couldn't stop it in time.
The activity drew the attention of all the officials present.
That Zu guy really is a rough and tough fella. He actually dared to strike King Dai in the face?