The eunuch shouted again, "Those with memorials may present them; if not, the court is adjourned."
Shen Xiabai gently raised his eyes and met the gaze of an old official behind him for a moment.
"Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present," said an official.
The Emperor, who had half - risen from his seat, sat back down again. He glanced at the censor and confirmed that he was not a protégé of Cui Qingyuan. "Speak," he said.
"Your Majesty, the person I want to impeach is Lord Gu."
Lord Gu, who had been sitting in a corner listlessly since the death of his son, heard this and raised his head groggily. His dazed old eyes scanned the hall.
Just now, he seemed to hear the name Gu.
The Emperor closed his eyes briefly, with annoyance and impatience written all over his face. "What has the Gu family done to you this time?"
The prodigal son of the Gu family had just died, and the Empress Dowager had only just recovered from the grief. One after another, they just wouldn't let him have a peaceful time.
"Your Majesty, the Gu family hasn't done anything to me," Censor Liu said, puffing out his chest. "But the Gu family has incurred the public's wrath."
The Emperor hated the censor's self - righteous and critical attitude the most.
"Continue," the Emperor said.
"Although the Gu scion is dead, the crimes he committed are too numerous to list. Even death cannot atone for his sins."
"..." The Emperor was extremely speechless. "What do you want? Should I order someone to dig him out and let you whip his corpse?"
"..."
Censor Liu was taken aback and bowed, saying, "Well, that's not necessary."
Lord Gu staggered out of the line and knelt down, then began to wail loudly. "My son is dead, and you still won't let him rest in peace!"
He had his son late in life, and he only had this one child. After his son's death, he and his old wife had been living in a daze, day by day. Just when the wound was starting to heal, one after another, people still wouldn't let them be.
How vicious their hearts were!
The Emperor's head was pounding.
The matter of the Gu family was supposed to be over with the death of the Gu scion, but now it was starting to stir up again.
He frowned and looked at Censor Liu. "The man has been dead for so long. What did he do to offend you?"
Censor Liu replied, "I learned about his crimes a few days ago, and I've been so angry that I couldn't sleep for several days."
The Emperor really wanted to chop him down with a single sword!
"Your Majesty, after the death of the Gu scion, many commoners sued him for forcibly occupying and insulting civilian women. The families of the victims filed lawsuits, but Lord Gu always suppressed them with his power. With such evil deeds, Lord Gu should also be punished. How can he continue to stay in the court? It's unfair to those commoners."
Now the Emperor understood. In a nutshell, the censor wanted to completely destroy the Gu family.
Lord Gu spoke with a sobbing voice, "My son is dead, and you still won't let it go. You're just bullying our Gu family because we have no successor!"
Censor Liu knelt down with a thud and presented two volumes. "These are the case files of the two women who were insulted and killed by the Gu scion. Please have a look, Your Majesty."
The Emperor remained silent, and the eunuch beside him naturally didn't dare to step forward to take them.
Although the Gu family had committed serious crimes, they were the maternal relatives of the Empress Dowager after all. Now that the family was in decline and could no longer do evil, out of respect for the Empress Dowager, the Emperor didn't want to drive them to a dead end.
"Your Majesty, those two women were originally married, but the Gu scion abducted them, raped them, and then killed them. His crimes are simply outrageous," Censor Liu said.
The Emperor asked indifferently, "Censor Liu keeps referring to the Gu scion. Can you even remember his name?"
The censor really couldn't remember the name of the Gu scion since he had been dead for so long, but it didn't stop him from pursuing the matter.
Typical of a man who wouldn't let the dead rest in peace.
"Although I've forgotten the name of the Gu scion, the families of the two women once sued in the Ministry of Justice. Lord Gu's act of covering up the crimes is clearly recorded in the files," Censor Liu said.
"Your Majesty, the Gu family is related to the royal family. That's exactly why you should enforce the law impartially and never condone their crimes."
The Emperor knew that the Gu family had committed numerous crimes, but due to the Empress Dowager, he hadn't investigated thoroughly. Now that the matter had been brought to the surface by the censor, he really shouldn't turn a blind eye anymore.
He waved his hand, and an eunuch immediately presented the case files. Lord Gu, who was kneeling on the ground, closed his eyes and fell to the ground, but he didn't pass out.
Censor Liu even tugged at him.
The case files clearly recorded the crimes of the Gu father and son. Censor Liu continued to put pressure on the Emperor. "Your Majesty, please bring justice to the world."
The Emperor flipped through the case files, and his face became darker and darker.
Many officials were confused by this dramatic scene, but there were still some smart ones among them.
Prince An's gaze swept over Censor Liu and Lord Gu in the hall, and then landed on Shen Xiabai, who stood still.
Finally, he withdrew his gaze and glanced obliquely at several officials on the right, tapping his fingers on his arm.
Several of them immediately stepped out of the line and knelt down. "We second the motion. Although the Gu scion is dead, Lord Gu's actions mean he really shouldn't continue to stay in the court. Your Majesty not killing him is already a great kindness. Your Majesty is kind - hearted and concerned about the common people. We hope Your Majesty can give an explanation to the dead commoners."
The Crown Prince, who had been grinning and enjoying the show, fell silent when he saw these officials who suddenly stepped out.
He raised his head and looked around, then finally fixed his eyes on Prince An.
Looking at him, he wondered what this was all about. Why was he butting in?
He made an inquiring gesture to Prince An, but Prince An pretended not to see it.
The Crown Prince frowned and was momentarily confused.
But after all, he was the heir apparent. He soon saw through the scheme.
In terms of being obsequious and shamelessly flattering, he really felt inferior to his younger brother.
He glanced at Cui Qingyuan, who was standing there and almost falling asleep again.
He also made a gesture to his own people, but unfortunately, those officials were all frowning, trying to figure out the hidden meaning behind Prince An's actions.
Were they plotting against the Crown Prince again?
"Psss psss..." The Crown Prince made a signal.
Cui Qingyuan raised his eyes to look at the Crown Prince, then closed his eyes again and pretended to be asleep.
"Psss psss." The Crown Prince frowned, a bit impatient.
One by one, why weren't his people as smart as his younger brother's?
Before he could continue to call, the Emperor had already reached a conclusion. He asked the eunuch to hand the case files to the Minister of Justice. "You handle this matter. If what is stated in the case files is true, then deal with it strictly according to the laws of the Great Liang. Show no mercy."
Lord Gu rolled his eyes and fainted.
The man had been dead for so long. Weren't they supposed to let it go? Why was it suddenly brought up again?
He couldn't figure it out even when he fainted.
The Emperor was also very headache. Just thinking about having to deal with the Empress Dowager later made him annoyed.
He arranged for someone to invite the imperial physician to examine Lord Gu's pulse, afraid that he would really pass out and cause trouble.
The eunuch announced the adjournment of the court, and the Emperor left. Frowning, he asked the eunuch beside him, "The Gu scion has been dead for so long. Why is this matter suddenly brought up again?"
Not only Lord Gu couldn't figure it out, but the Emperor couldn't either.
"Your Majesty, don't you know the nature of the censors?" The eunuch bowed and said, "They make a living by this. Nine times out of ten, they're just bored and want to stir up some trouble."
That's just how censors were.
The Emperor nodded. He was used to the censors' behavior. It was just that he couldn't beat or kill them.
Several officials surrounded the Crown Prince. "Did Your Highness call us just now?"
The Crown Prince nodded. "Yes, I was calling you to eat daylilies."
He glared at them irritably.
