allonlinenovel Chapter 209: Going with the flow
Chapter 209: Going with the flow
"Five-Stone Powder? How could Ji Beichen have taken so much Five-Stone Powder? No wonder he was acting crazy today." Zheng Luoqi pondered to herself, looking at Ji Beichen's appearance, feeling as if he was being controlled by something.
"Five-Stone Powder?" Xue Huaiyu frowned and asked, "What kind of illness requires so much Five-Stone Powder?"
"Your Majesty, this Five-Stone Powder has the effects of dispelling wind and dampness, resolving phlegm and relieving cough, and promoting blood circulation and unblocking meridians. It is possible that Young Master Ji suffered from typhoid fever before and took Five-Stone Powder, but he took too much of the medicine, which caused it to become poisonous. That is why Young Master Ji is now in such a state of mental confusion!" the imperial physician replied honestly.
Xue Huaiyu glanced at Ji Beichen, then at He Jinyu and Zheng Luoqi, his eyes darting back and forth between them as if he were pondering something. He then said, "Minister He, today should be your joyous day, yet you have encountered such a thing. I will certainly give you a satisfactory answer!"
"Let the Imperial Guards investigate this matter! As for Young Master Ji, considering that he was under the influence of drugs and was not in his right mind, which is why he committed such a serious mistake, he will first be given fifty strokes of the cane, then sent back to the Ji family and confined for two years, and he will be forbidden from ever holding office again."
Xue Huaiyu was trying to smooth things over and protect the Ji family, since no one had actually died at the banquet; they had all been slightly poisoned. Ji Beichen hadn't poisoned everyone to death because he was afraid of implicating his own clansmen.
Xue Huaiyu understood Ji Beichen's thoughts, and he also felt that there was no need to involve the rest of the Ji family. He thought it would be better to just give the Ji family a small punishment, since the Ji family was still useful to Xue Huaiyu and was now considered part of the imperial faction.
Scholar Ji was a notoriously stubborn old man who despised officials who wielded power and acted arbitrarily. He also looked down on the Prime Minister's manners. Moreover, many members of the court, including those from prominent families, had been his students, so the Ji family still held a certain status.
Zheng Luoqi saw right through Xue Huaiyu's thoughts and thought disdainfully: Who is this kind of painless punishment meant for? It's just to prevent Ji Beichen from entering officialdom. The Ji family has more than just him as a man. To nip the weeds in the bud, you have to wipe them out completely. If you want to protect the Ji family, you'll have to see if I agree!
Zheng Luoqi immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report!"
"This Young Master Ji provoked me first at the banquet, and then attempted to assassinate me. However, I was agile enough to dodge his assassination attempt! The other guests present can all testify to this!"
"This young master Ji poisoned me first, and then attempted to assassinate me. How will His Majesty give an explanation to those officials who just escaped with their lives, and to me as well? However, banning him from holding office is far too lenient a punishment!"
Xue Huaiyu's face was also very ugly. He naturally knew that what Ji Beichen had done was no small matter. Ji Beichen could die, but he still wanted to protect the other members of the Ji family. However, he did not expect that Zheng Luoqi did not intend to let the Ji family go.
"Your Majesty, think about it carefully. How did this Young Master Ji manage to infiltrate both the Pei and He families at the same time? He dared to poison the He family at their wedding today, and he'll dare to plot against Your Majesty at the imperial banquet tomorrow. Your Majesty, you cannot aid and abet such evil!"
"Furthermore, the fact that this Young Master Ji is such a person indicates that his family's values are also problematic. As the saying goes, 'If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too,' and 'If the son is not taught, it is the father's fault.' I suggest a thorough investigation of the entire Ji family. I suspect they have the intention to murder court officials and disrupt the foundation of the Great Xia Kingdom. I also suspect they have the ambition to form a faction in secret to seize power!"
As soon as Zheng Luoqi finished uttering the words "plotting to seize power," Ji Beichen suddenly snapped out of his daze and hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, all of this was done by me alone, and has nothing to do with my family. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"
As Ji Beichen spoke, he didn't forget to kowtow a few times.
"So, Young Master Ji admits to having thoughts of plotting to usurp the throne!" Zheng Luoqi said with a smile as she narrowed her eyes.
Xue Huaiyu's face darkened. He thought to himself that Ji Beichen was a fool. He wouldn't speak when he was told to, but he ran out and started jumping around when he wasn't told to. Now the Ji family was really doomed.
Ji Beichen stood there, stunned and at a loss, before realizing what he had just said.
"Your Majesty! This humble subject, this humble subject did not mean that! I have no intention of usurping the throne!" Ji Beichen tried to explain in a panic, but before he could finish speaking, Zheng Luoqi interrupted him mercilessly.
Zheng Luoqi sneered and continued, "Your Majesty, Young Master Ji's actions this time have seriously violated the laws of the land. He must not be let off easily! If he is not severely punished, how can the people of the world be convinced?"
"In fact, I had already noticed something was amiss with the Ji family, so I sent people to investigate in secret."
Zheng Luoqi waved his hand, and immediately someone brought out a box of account books and placed it in front of the emperor.
Zheng Luoqi smiled confidently and slowly said, "Your Majesty, these are the account books of all the Ji family's shops that I obtained. Please examine them carefully. You will find that there are many gaps in the records of large income and expenditure. So where did all this money go?"
"Therefore, I investigated where the money went and found that many shops under the Ji family's name sold goods on two fronts: one for ordinary people at reasonable prices, and the other for high-ranking officials and nobles. If those officials and nobles wanted to contact the Ji family, they only needed to give a code word, 'What flowers cost ten taels a bunch?' to get in touch with the Ji family."
"Next, I continued to investigate which officials had engaged in large-scale transactions with the Ji family," Zheng Luoqi said expressionlessly.
After saying that, he nodded to the servant beside him, signaling him to present a booklet to Xue Huaiyu.
Xue Huaiyu took the booklet, opened it, and saw that it was filled with the names of officials who had made large transactions with the Ji family.
Tucked behind these names were confessions, written in black and white, clearly admitting to large sums of money dealings between the Ji family and them, and hinting at the intention to form a clique.
Such factionalism is actually not uncommon in officialdom. Most officials secretly engage in such activities, but they are never exposed.
As long as these officials did not infringe upon the interests of the imperial power and acted within the scope of the imperial power's jurisdiction, Xue Huaiyu would usually choose to turn a blind eye.
After all, as the ruler of a country, one needs to weigh the interests of all parties and cannot easily offend too many people.
This incident is different. Zheng Luoqi has brought it out into the open, stating that the Ji family has formed cliques and engaged in corruption, and the evidence is irrefutable. Given this situation, the emperor has no choice but to respond and give everyone an explanation.
It's impossible for any official to be completely clean; they will all have some problems to some extent. The key is whether someone can find fault with them.
Zheng Luoqi had originally planned to find a good opportunity to eliminate the Ji family, but now, Ji Beichen had delivered himself and his family right to her doorstep. Zheng Luoqi secretly gloated, "This is truly effortless!"
"Your Majesty, this is impossible! Our Ji family has always been upright and honest, and we have never engaged in factionalism, corruption, or bribery. The Ji family must have been framed!" Ji Beichen hurriedly explained, looking at the account books. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, his face was as pale as paper, and his eyes were filled with terror.
"Young Master Ji, you poisoned me first, then attempted to assassinate me, and now you claim your Ji family is upright and honorable. This simply doesn't make sense!"
"I wonder if Young Master Ji's reference to 'uprightness' refers to openly assassinating me, or openly poisoning an official of the court?" Zheng Luoqi raised an eyebrow and chuckled.