How can I bow my head and serve the powerful officials?

Chapter 250 How can there be an innocent person in the court? But the means are more sophisticated

The next day.

The ministers, who had stayed up all night and dared not fall asleep, entered the palace early in their own carriages. When they arrived at the palace gate, they got off the carriages and walked towards their former acquaintances, huddling together for warmth, hoping to understand thoroughly what had happened in the palace last night.

To be honest, the coup last night ended inexplicably, and it was not clear who won in the end. Especially the ministers present at the time, most of the old ministers were "newbies" in coups. When they followed the late emperor to establish the country, because Emperor Jian was the late emperor's only son, they directly let Emperor Jian take the throne, and there was no coup at all.

The younger ministers were experiencing a palace coup for the first time in their lives and were not very clear about the process.

Originally, according to their understanding of history books, the prince was in a coma, and the regent took the opportunity to take down the prince's party with elite soldiers and sent them directly to prison. But now the unconscious prince was sent to the Imperial Hospital. The elite soldiers and the imperial guards worked hand in hand to clean up the bodies in the palace. Except for the death of a salt and iron official...

Ok?

and many more?

Who died?

Some ministers gradually came to their senses and smelled a conspiracy. After the confrontation between the prince's party and the regent's party, no minister was injured or killed. The only one who died was Sheng Sishi, who was in charge of the Salt and Iron Bureau and was usually neutral.

Speaking of Sheng Si Shi, he was a young and promising man with an excellent family background. Not only was he the grandson of the prime minister and the minister of the previous dynasty, and was taught excellent skills in governing a court, his father was also the president of the Hanlin Academy. He himself was like a fish in water in the court. In just eight years, he took the position of Salt and Iron Si Shi, in charge of the entire Salt and Iron Bureau, and controlling the finances and military affairs of Jian'an.

This position is most likely to breed corrupt officials, but Sheng Shihuai never made any mistakes and has always been the pride of the president of the Hanlin Academy, who believes that he has taught his son to be honest and upright.

But now that I think about it carefully, how can there be any innocent people in the court?

I'm afraid that Envoy Sheng just has some superb methods.

Given Sheng Shihuai's family background, achievements, and hidden network of relationships, even if something were to be discovered in the future, many ministers would rush to protect him and force the emperor not to punish him severely.

As long as he is not beheaded, he can be demoted or exiled. Who can guarantee that he will not be able to make a comeback and continue to harm the Jian'an Dynasty?

Only by killing can the emperor feel at ease.

The ministers who used to be dependent on Sheng Shihuai and obeyed him had already begun to tremble with fear. They burned the evidence of their collusion with Sheng Shihuai overnight, fearing that the prince and the regent would settle scores with them later, and thus their lives would be in danger.

When the palace gate opened, the ministers put aside all their suspicions, filed in, and walked quickly towards the Golden Throne Hall.

Stepping onto the stone staircase in front of the Golden Throne Hall and looking up, the Golden Throne Hall looks particularly solemn and cold under the cloudy sky. The tall, deep red palace door is like a huge mouth of the abyss, about to swallow up all the guilty people. The white mourning banners hanging high in front of the palace door are like the sharp teeth of a wild beast in the deep forest, brutally chewing up those who are lucky enough to be lucky.

All the ministers were startled and bowed their heads before entering the hall.

In the hall, the usually handsome and smiling young man was wearing a black and gold four-clawed python robe. His eyes, which used to be able to captivate people, were now as cold as ice, as if they could pierce people's bones. There was no longer any vulgarity that could make people despise him. Instead, those who looked at him felt a shudder in their hearts and dared not look up again.

He was still sitting on the golden chair beside the dragon throne, but his mood was no longer the same as before. He looked at the ministers entering the hall with cold eyes. His slender index finger, exposed from under the black and gold python robe, was resting on the handle of the chair, lightly and heavily. The darkness in his brows made it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

Until the time to go to court arrived.

Eunuch Zhao lightly raised his whisk and shouted, "Go to court—"

Xie Chengze paused for a moment, looking at the gazes of the ministers below him. He spoke in a deep voice, as hoarse as the sand of a grindstone, "It is with a heartbroken heart that I announce the death of the late emperor..."

After a brief silence, all the ministers knelt on the ground in the hall and cried.

"Your Majesty! How could you leave in such a hurry?"

"This is the state's toast. I am deeply saddened!"

"I am heartbroken! Your Majesty, how can you leave me?"

Many ministers wiped their tears, cried out to heaven and earth, and sobbed uncontrollably. However, how many of them were truly sad?

Xie Chengze watched these ministers crying quietly until everyone stopped crying and could not utter a word. They looked at each other awkwardly. Then he slowly put down his left hand that was supporting his chin and continued in a deep voice.

"During the reign of the late emperor, his achievements in civil and military affairs were outstanding, his virtues were outstanding, and his influence spread to future generations. His achievements are so great that they will be recorded in history for thousands of years."

"The first emperor died early. At the beginning of the founding of the country, the four seas were just beginning to settle down, the wars were not over, the people's livelihood was in decline, and there was a lot of work to be done. The first emperor worked day and night, dealing with a myriad of affairs, promulgating administrative policies, reducing taxes and levies, and encouraging agriculture and sericulture, so that the fields gradually became fertile, the granaries were full, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. He developed water conservancy to irrigate the fields, opened trade routes to revitalize the economy, and made the wealth of the world circulate, and the markets of the nine provinces prospered."

"In terms of civil governance, he emphasized education, established schools, recruited talented people, and made the literary style flourish; in terms of military achievements, he led thousands of cavalrymen to suppress rebellions throughout the country, reorganized the army, trained elite troops, and intimidated the borders. His achievements were for the country and benefited all nations."

"The late emperor spent his entire life with the world in his heart and the people in his heart. His virtue was like the gentle spring breeze and his achievements were like the sun and the moon. Although he has passed away, his good deeds and examples will surely be admired and followed by future generations. He will always be the spiritual backbone of our dynasty, guiding us to forge ahead, defend our country, carry on the past and forge ahead into the future, and jointly create an immortal chapter of prosperity!"

He took a deep breath and said, "Now that the late emperor has passed away, heaven and earth are in mourning. We should prepare for the late emperor's funeral with the highest courtesy and the most sincere heart, so that the late emperor can be buried peacefully and his soul can rest in peace."

"Minister of Rites, this matter is handed over to you. You must follow the ancestral teachings and must not be careless in the slightest."

"I obey your order." The Minister of Rites stepped out and responded with his hands folded.

"Also... the death of the previous emperor has been announced to the world, and the students of Beijing Middle School have been comforted. The results of the palace examination will be announced as usual, and there will be no mistakes."

"Yes."

After explaining Emperor Jian's funeral arrangements, Xie Chengze felt as if all his strength had been drained away. He leaned his back against the chair and rubbed his temples tiredly.

He was the same and did not sleep all night.

"What else do you want to report?" he asked calmly, throwing the conversation to the ministers.

"Your Highness the Regent, now that the late emperor has passed away, I wonder who will succeed to the throne..." a minister stepped forward and asked.

"We will discuss this matter later. My father's affairs are more important. During this period, I will go to court to handle state affairs until the crown prince wakes up."

The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. Some of them wanted to ask something but were stopped by their colleagues.

Now that the prince is in a coma and the queen is not present, it is obvious that there is something behind this that they don't know.

Fortunately, the Regent did not pursue the crimes of Sheng Shihuai's ministers, which gave them time to destroy more evidence. The ministers soon left the court and prepared for the emperor's funeral.

Xie Chengze also stood up and left the hall, walking towards the Imperial Hospital.