Facing Ye Liangyu's relentless verbal assault and written condemnation, the officials of Prince Ying's faction could initially offer a few words of rebuttal, but eventually, they could only stand there in anxious silence.
They pinned their hopes on the emperor sitting on the dragon throne. After all, this was his son, and the offense was not a grave one; surely he would offer some protection.
Xiao Chengjing looked at Xiao Rongche. "Prince Qi, do you think I should severely punish Prince Ying?"
Prince Qi stepped forward and cupped his hands. "To reply to Imperial Father, although Second Brother is at fault, it is not a heinous crime. However, rumors are running rampant outside the palace. If left unchecked, I fear it will damage the imperial family's dignity."
You've said all the good and bad things, but you still just want me to punish him severely.
Looking at the military officials kneeling on the ground and recalling his own lavish praise for Prince Ying's performance in the military camp, Xiao Chengjing felt utterly humiliated.
"Pass down my decree. Prince Ying has violated military discipline, engaged in extravagance within the military camp, and disturbed the army's morale. He is to be fined two years' salary. The penalized funds shall be entirely allocated to the army to rush the production of winter clothing to reward the soldiers."
"As for the memorials he wrote, due to his youth and inappropriate wording, he is specially ordered to copy one thousand volumes of the Ministry of War's correspondence and memorials. He is forbidden from leaving his estate until the copying is complete."
"The Minister of War, Pan Yong, has been negligent. He made arbitrary judgments on submitted memorials without even reading them properly, failing in his duty of oversight. He is demoted to the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Annan and must leave the capital immediately to take up his post."
Cowering among the officials of Prince Ying's faction, Pan Yong looked up at the emperor in disbelief. A myriad of thoughts tangled in his eyes before he finally fell to his knees with a thud.
"This humble subject thanks Your Majesty for your leniency. Long live the Emperor, long live, long, long live."
Never mind. As long as Prince Ying was safe, taking the blame for him was fine. It wouldn't be too late to be transferred back once the prince ascended the throne in the future.
Ye Liangyu lowered his eyes and retreated to his original spot. He clearly knew that the emperor intended to handle the matter lightly.
If the charge of deceiving the sovereign were to fall on Prince Ying, it would essentially destroy half of his chances of ascending the throne in the future.
To prevent the balance of power in the court from tipping, Pan Yong had to be made the scapegoat.
However, Ye Liangyu was already quite satisfied with this outcome. With the position of Minister of War vacant, it was time to push a new person up.
After the morning assembly, Prince Qi immediately summoned Gu Qishan to his estate. "The position of Minister of War is vacant; we must quickly push our own person into it."
Gu Qishan replied, "Rest assured, Your Highness. This humble subject will contact the court officials to recommend the person we have planted in the Ministry of War. The position of Minister of War will definitely belong to Your Highness."
Xiao Rongyan, who was reflecting on his mistakes behind closed doors in his estate, exploded on the spot upon suddenly hearing this news.
"What? Pan Yong was demoted to the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Annan and has left the capital!"
After understanding the causes and consequences of the matter, he was mad with rage.
"It's this Ye Liangyu again, opposing this prince at every turn! I should have learned from Prince Qi and killed him."
"And who spread these rumors in the capital? Was it Prince Qi or the Duke of Qing? Send someone to investigate immediately, and report back to me as soon as you find out."
Enduring Prince Ying's fury, the servant knelt on the ground and nodded repeatedly. "This lowly one will go investigate right away." With that, he ran off.
As the sky grew dark, Fan Guanshan, the commander of the Imperial Guards, appeared in the imperial study.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble subject has investigated clearly. The people spreading the rumors are from Prince Qi's estate."
Xiao Chengjing frowned. "Did the Duke of Qing intervene?"
Fan Guanshan shook his head and replied, "Although Duke Zhenguo has awakened, Duke Zhenguo's estate remains closed to visitors. The Duke of Qing has not left his residence either. Only County Princess Linghui visits daily, staying until dusk before leaving."
"The servants in the estate do not go out often. I also sent people to tail the few servants responsible for purchasing, and they have never spread any rumors."
Xiao Chengjing took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Closing his eyes wearily, he said, "You may step down first. This matter must not be leaked."
Meanwhile, under Chu Liuyun's deliberate guidance, Prince Ying's people also quickly traced the matter back to Prince Qi.
The desk full of memorials was overturned onto the ground. "I knew it was him! Trying to push his own people into power? In his dreams!"
Just as both factions were competing to recommend their candidates, the emperor suddenly issued a decree recalling the current Provincial Administration Commissioner of Annan back to the capital and appointing him to the position of Minister of War.
This news was a bolt from the blue for both Prince Qi and Prince Ying. There were so many people in the Ministry of War, and no shortage of officials in the capital capable of serving as the Minister of War. Why suddenly summon someone from the provinces?
Upon hearing the news, Ye Liangyu sat in place and pondered for a long time. Finally, he smiled and couldn't help but shake his head.
The emperor's calculations were truly excellent. He had probably planned this long ago, hadn't he?
It not only stabilized the court's situation, preventing the struggle between the two tigers from becoming too unbalanced, but also successfully weakened Prince Ying's power in the court.
Was it Prince Qi's turn next?
Every night, Song Jinzhao would learn a lot about what happened in the court from Song Qiming.
After seven days of treatment, Duke Zhenguo's wounds were healing well. Song Jinzhao no longer needed to stay and keep watch at Duke Zhenguo's estate every day; the check-ups were changed to a visit once every three days.
After the bloody storm in the court subsided, the main gates of Duke Zhenguo's estate finally opened.
