CTWGD Chapter 488 - The situation is getting bigger and bigger, is Liu Tongen in collusion with others?
Qian Baokun said, “Your Majesty, this person is not from the palace, yet they disguised themselves as a eunuch, spreading so-called secrets about the deposed empress to attract the attention of the maids by the Empress Dowager’s side and Lady Xuan. Later, they deliberately committed murder to provoke Lady Xuan into barging into the Zichen Hall. They must have ulterior motives.”
“The matter of the Lu family is well-known in the court. How could there be such baseless rumors? What Lady Xuan just said was likely someone deliberately framing and slandering her.”
Marquis Wenxin also frowned and spoke up, “What Minister Qian said makes sense. Before I entered the hall, I noticed that the Zichen Hall is heavily guarded by the imperial guards. It’s absolutely impossible that they couldn’t stop a frightened and disheveled woman.”
“First, there was deliberate talk in the Imperial Garden about the unjust death of the deposed empress, then it implicated Your Majesty and Xiao Yan. Now, it seems even the guards at the hall were bribed to let Lady Xuan in.”
“All these events are suspicious. In my opinion, tonight’s incident is clearly a scheme to frame Lord Xiao and tarnish Your Majesty’s reputation. Such wicked actions must not be condoned.”
After the two spoke, others at the banquet began to chime in, clearly not everyone was foolish.
Emperor An had already grown suspicious when Xiao Yan reminded him earlier. His doubts deepened when he saw the person brought in by Yu Yanfeng. He glared coldly at the person whose jaw was being held by Xiao Yan and said directly, “Yu Yanfeng, take this traitor out for interrogation. Use any means necessary to make him talk.”
After a pause, he added, “He Cheng.”
He Cheng, the Minister of Justice, who had been watching the commotion from his seat, was stunned when his name was called. He hurriedly stood up, “Your servant is here.”
Emperor An said, “You will go with Yu Yanfeng to interrogate this person.”
“Your servant obeys the decree.”
Seeing He Cheng approach, Yu Yanfeng’s expression shifted slightly.
The Emperor was actually sending He Cheng along, indicating that he was starting to suspect both him and Xiao Yan.
Yu Yanfeng pursed his lips tightly, furious at whoever had schemed against him tonight. But given the situation, he could do nothing. He stepped forward and said, “Lord Xiao, this person…”
“Commander Yu, take him away.”
Xiao Yan did not make things difficult and released the person to Yu Yanfeng.
Yu Yanfeng gave a grateful glance before grabbing the person by the neck and dragging them out. He Cheng hurriedly lifted his official robe and followed quickly.
After they left, Emperor An glanced at Xiao Yan before turning his gaze to the imperial guards kneeling on the ground.
“The identity of that traitor just now is unknown, and their suicide would end all leads, leaving me with no way to pursue them. But you, who are part of the imperial guard, have your family backgrounds recorded. Your parents, wives, children, and relatives can all be traced.”
“Who instructed you in tonight’s matter? Who did you conspire with to allow Lady Xuan to enter?”
“Confess honestly, and I’ll grant you a swift death. If you dare to deceive me, I swear that not a single one of your wives, children, or relatives will live!”
At the Emperor’s signal, the gags were removed from the mouths of the dozen or so kneeling guards. Yet, none of them dared to seek death like the fake eunuch had earlier.
Their faces were pale, their teeth chattering as they trembled.
Eunuch Feng shouted sharply, “His Majesty is asking. Confess honestly!”
But none of them dared to speak.
Emperor An’s expression grew colder, “Since none of you want to talk, fine. Drag them out and beat them to death in front of the hall. Their families and relatives will be executed as well!”
As the sound of armor clinked, the guards brought in by Yu Yanfeng grabbed the kneeling men and began dragging them out. Those who had been kneeling panicked.
They could accept their own deaths, but their families suffering as well…
One man couldn’t hold out any longer. He broke free from the guards dragging him, fell to his knees, and began kowtowing frantically.
“Your servant is guilty. I shouldn’t have taken bribes to let Lady Xuan in, but I swear I had no intention of offending Your Majesty.”
“Someone told me that after Your Majesty used Lord Xiao to deal with the Lu family, you grew wary of him knowing too much and wanted to eliminate him but couldn’t act openly due to the unstable court.”
“They said as long as we turned a blind eye and let Lady Xuan into the Zichen Hall to make tonight’s plan succeed, not only would we gain Your Majesty’s favor, but we’d also each receive three thousand taels of silver afterward.”
“Your servant was greedy and deserves death, but I beg Your Majesty to spare my family… I beg you!”
He kowtowed so hard that his words caused an uproar in the hall.
Someone had indeed bribed these guards.
All eyes instinctively turned to Lady Xuan, whose face went pale.
“It wasn’t me!!”
Her face was still stained with blood from earlier. Facing Emperor An’s stern gaze, panic filled her eyes.
“Your Majesty, it really wasn’t me. The Xuan family relies on Your Majesty’s favor to have what we have today. I’m just a mere woman, how could I have the audacity or ability to bribe the palace guards?”
“Besides, today in the Imperial Garden, I genuinely overheard those things by chance. It was Tanxia who shouted for me to come to the Zichen Hall before she died. That’s why I came…”
“I was so panicked and desperate to save my life that I didn’t even notice there were no guards stopping me. I truly didn’t know someone had bribed them…”
Lady Xuan was frantic and trembling, fearing the Emperor wouldn’t believe her. “I would never dare deceive Your Majesty or conspire with the palace guards. If Your Majesty doesn’t believe me, I swear on the lives of my late husband and my son. I beg Your Majesty to see the truth!”
Emperor An didn’t care much about her late husband, who had been dead for years, and Lady Xuan likely didn’t either. But her young son was her lifeline.
When the Xuan family was exiled for their crimes, their eldest son and daughter died on the journey. The youngest son, who was born during the exile, survived great hardship. His father, Emperor An’s distant uncle, also died of illness during the exile. That young son had endured countless struggles alongside Lady Xuan, and they depended on each other for years.
After the Xuan family returned to the capital, Emperor An had met Lady Xuan’s young son. She cherished him deeply.
Emperor An didn’t believe Lady Xuan would use her precious son’s life to deceive him. Moreover, given the Xuan family’s resources and Lady Xuan’s capabilities, she likely didn’t have the means to bribe the guards without Yu Yanfeng noticing.
In other words, Lady Xuan might truly be unaware of the guards’ involvement.
Emperor An looked at the confessing guard, “Who bribed you?”
The man trembled and said, “It was Eunuch Kang from the imperial presence.”
Eunuch Kang?
Emperor An didn’t immediately recall, but Eunuch Feng whispered, “Your Majesty, it’s likely Kang Muhai.”
“Yes, it’s Eunuch Kang Muhai,” the guard said urgently. “He serves in the imperial presence. Though not as favored as Eunuch Feng, he frequently enters the Imperial Study.”
“He told us not to stop anyone entering the hall and said that Lord Xiao knew too much, and Your Majesty had long wanted to deal with him. We thought Your Majesty had tacitly approved this.”
“Moreover… Commander Liu had a dispute with Deputy Commander Yu earlier. Commander Liu has always been lenient with the guards, while Deputy Commander Yu is strict and punishes us for the slightest mistake.”
“Eunuch Kang said that with the recent incidents in the palace, Your Majesty was already dissatisfied with Deputy Commander Yu. If the guards caused trouble again, Commander Yu would be the first to be punished.”
Fearing punishment for his entire clan, the guard spilled everything.
Emperor An’s face darkened considerably when he heard Liu Tong’en’s name.=======================
You can read ahead to chapterr 470 (100+ extra chapters) here
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