Volume 5: The Gathering of Storms Chapter 276: The Great Xuan Judge (Part 1)
The next morning, the court was held in the Jinluan Hall of the Daxuan Palace.
The weather seems to be not very good. It is always gloomy, the sun is not visible, and the air is damp and cold.
In the main hall, civil and military officials stood under the dragon throne, shouting in unison: "The Holy Queen Mother's righteous path is in harmony with heaven, and she will enjoy eternal blessings!"
Xu Zun was also among them. Since there were arrangements for him today, Cai Kun deliberately let him stand in the front position.
Although Empress Dowager Lin was wearing an imperial robe with auspicious patterns of dragons and phoenixes, she did not sit on the dragon throne. Instead, she placed a phoenix chair next to the dragon throne.
However, careful people can see that the tassels worn on the empress dowager's head are a crown with twelve tassels.
The so-called twelve-tassel crown is a curtain made of twelve strings of pearls, which just covers the emperor's face.
This is different from the TV dramas and movies Xu Zun has watched. In order to highlight the characters in TV dramas and movies, a half-bead curtain is usually used to cover only half of the face.
But at this moment, the tasseled crown worn by Empress Dowager Lin covered her entire face, making it impossible for the ministers to see her expression of joy or anger, and making it impossible for them to speculate.
In the Daxuan Dynasty, only the emperor could wear a crown with twelve tassels, while others could only wear a crown with nine tassels at most.
Queen Mother Lin sat back on the dragon throne and motioned for all the ministers to stand up.
The ministers then stood up, but all of them kept their heads down, and no one dared to look up and face him.
Xu Zun looked around secretly and found that he didn't know many of them. It seemed that there were only Lin Chaofeng, Cai Kun, and the extremely tall and pale-skinned Prime Minister Qian Qifeng.
"I believe that you, my dear ministers, already know what happened," Empress Dowager Lin said in a resounding voice, "The Xuanmen rebels have been hiding carefully, planting layers of secret agents in my Holy City, inciting many of my key ministers to rebel, and even going so far as to open up underground tunnels. It can be said that they have good intentions!
"In the end, they launched the so-called Heavenly Tribulation Operation and actually attacked my Wanfu Palace, almost taking my life. I wonder, my dear ministers..." The Queen Mother glanced at the ministers and asked, "What do you think?"
Puff...
Hearing the Queen Mother's rebuke, the ministers who had just stood up fell to the ground and kowtowed again, shouting "terrified".
"Humph, what's the point of you being scared?" Queen Mother Lin raised her head, "What's the point of being scared when facing so many assassins from the rebel party!?
"What pains me the most about this incident is that many people have sided with the rebels, provided them with assistance, and even participated in the planning. This really pains me to the core!"
After hearing this, none of the ministers dared to respond. They all lay on the ground without saying a word.
"Okay, everyone, get up!" The Queen Mother waved her hand and said, "No matter what, the Xuanmen rebels' plan did not succeed in the end. Everything is over, so let it go!"
Hearing this, the ministers looked at each other first, and then slowly got up.
"I have always been clear about rewards and punishments. Those who have made contributions will be rewarded, and those who are guilty will never be forgiven!"
Mother Lin sat back on the phoenix chair and gestured to the chief eunuch.
An old eunuch in brocade clothes immediately stood in front of the ministers with the imperial edict in his hand and read out:
"The Emperor, by order of Heaven, proclaims!
“After a joint investigation by the Internal Guard, the Three Law Departments, and the Divine Capture Department, it has been confirmed that Duke Lushan Li Ren, although the emperor’s uncle, secretly proclaimed himself the Heavenly Lord of Xuanmen, used the Xuanmen organization that had disappeared for a hundred years, personally founded the Xuanmen Rebel Party, and presided over and planned this Xuanmen assassination incident. This is truly a heinous crime, and he deserves death!
"First, put him in prison, and wait until the case is fully investigated before punishing him.
"As for Li Ren's family, they should have been executed, but considering his status as the emperor's uncle, we have granted him a pardon and sentenced him to exile at the border, and he will never be allowed to return to the Holy City!"
this……
When this decree was issued, there was an uproar in the hall.
An old minister could not help but ask: "That's not right? Wasn't Lord Lushan assassinated? How could it be..."
"It has been found out," Lin Chaofeng said bluntly, "Li Ren simply faked his death. As early as eight years ago, he had already found a substitute and used the opportunity of indulging in alchemy to divert attention.
"He himself was secretly planning this. Now we have evidence and witnesses, and he is the Xuanmen Tianzun!"
ah……
Some ministers who were unaware of the situation were panicked and couldn't believe it.
But the cabinet headed by Qian Qifeng and many well-informed ministers remained calm, apparently having received the news long ago.
"Bi Sheng, the leader of the Left Chamber of the Inner Guard, provided information to Li Ren and aided Zhou in his atrocities. His crime is unforgivable," the old eunuch continued to read, "and he is now taken to the Imperial Prison for interrogation and will be executed according to his crime.
“After investigation, it was found that the Minister of Works Ying Rang, the Minister of Personnel Yan Hai, and the General of the Imperial Guard Chai Zheng colluded with the Xuanmen rebels and coordinated with them from both inside and outside. They are guilty of ten unforgivable crimes.
"Although he has been silenced by the Xuanmen, his crime is unforgivable. He will be demoted, his property confiscated, and his family members exiled...
"In addition, in this assassination incident, all those found to have ties to the Xuanmen will be strictly investigated and punished with capital punishment!"
After the recitation, the entire hall fell into silence.
Many ministers were unaware of the inside story and had no idea that so many people would be involved in this assassination.
Xu Zun was also thinking secretly, it seems that Empress Dowager Lin already knew that Li Ren was not Xuanmen Tianzun at all.
Therefore, the punishment given to him was considered to give enough face to the royal family. Otherwise, according to ancient laws, the crime of treason would result in the execution of all nine generations of his clan.
In addition, Xu Zun also discovered that the Queen Mother only dealt with three high-ranking officials: Bi Sheng, Ying Rang, Yan Hai and Chai Zheng.
As for Xue Guihua, the Duke of Liang whom Li Ren had mentioned that night, he did not mention the Transport Commissioner, the Prison Warden and others.
Obviously, this was a decision made by the Queen Mother after much discussion, because the names Li Ren gave out that night were not credible and there was also suspicion of framing him.
Especially for Liangguogong Xue Guihua, this person has a very high prestige, and he has already been assassinated by Xuanmen. If he is punished again, it is obviously not appropriate...
"I have ordered the Internal Guards to continue to investigate this case. Listen carefully," Empress Dowager Lin said to the ministers, "If there are still people who have connections with the Xuanmen rebels, feel free to turn yourself in. I can show leniency and keep your family safe.
"But if I find out," the Queen Mother said fiercely, "all nine clans will be exterminated and no mercy will be shown!!!"
"Yes!" Everyone responded quickly, and some were even trembling with fear.
The Queen Mother glanced at the ministers and raised her hand to signal the old eunuch again.
"If there is a crime, then there will be punishment; if there is merit, then there will be reward," the old eunuch read, "In this assassination, fortunately there were loyal people who protected their master, so I would like to reward them for their merit.
"Lin Chaofeng, the chief steward of the Inner Guard, listen to the order!"
Why?
Xu Zun was surprised. He didn't expect that the first person to listen to the title would be this general manager.
"The chief steward commanded properly, adapted to circumstances, and led the guards to defend the king. He has made meritorious contributions and is specially appointed as the general of the state, a second-rank official."
"Thank you... Thank you Queen Mother for your grace!"
Lin Chaofeng quickly knelt down and kowtowed, but his face was already red when he kowtowed.
Because, he, the Chief of the Internal Guard, is a second-rank official. He was previously called the General of the Assisting State, and now he has become the General of the Assisting State. In fact, there is no change at all!
"Chaofeng," the Queen Mother added, "you have been busy these past few days. Thank you for your hard work!
"Mr. Lushan dared to rebel and plot evil because he took advantage of his network of connections in the Zongzhengsi.
"Therefore, I order you to take over the affairs of the royal family, put order out of chaos, and thoroughly investigate those royal relatives!"
"Yes!" Lin Chaofeng thanked him.
"In addition, there is another important matter to be entrusted to you," the Queen Mother continued, "This time, the Xuanmen assassins used my Imperial Ancestral Temple to cause chaos. This is truly a great shame and humiliation for the royal family!
"I order you to supervise the renovation and construction of the Imperial Ancestral Temple from today onwards. You must monitor it every day and not make any mistakes.
"Otherwise, you will be a sinner of my Great Xuan Imperial Family!"
"Yes! I...I obey your order..." Lin Chaofeng kowtowed to express his gratitude, sweating profusely.
He already understood that the Queen Mother's reward to him was not really a reward, but a punishment for his dereliction of duty!
To put it bluntly, just let him go to the construction site!
Sure enough, when the old eunuch read out the name of the next person to be canonized, Lin Chaofeng suddenly collapsed to the ground.
"The leader of the Right Chamber of the Inner Guard, Cai Kun, comes forward to be conferred the title." the old eunuch read out.
Cai Kun hurried forward and knelt down.
"Cai Ge Ling is quick-witted , has commanded properly, and has made great contributions in saving the emperor," the old eunuch read out, "promote him to the position of Chief of the Internal Guards and take up the post immediately."
"Ah?" Cai Kun was startled at first, then he kowtowed quickly to express his gratitude.
Obviously, Cai Kun was also quite surprised. He didn't expect that he would suddenly become the chief steward of the inner guards. You know, this position has always been held only by royal relatives.
But I didn't expect that I, a person with a different surname, would actually...
At the same time, Cai Kun was sweating profusely, realizing that he might have completely offended Lin Chaofeng.
"Tangzhou Chief Justice Xu Zun, come forward and listen to the order!"
At this time, the old eunuch began to read the imperial edict again.
When he suddenly heard his own name, Xu Zun was a little dazed for a moment. He paused for two seconds and then hurried out to salute.
"Xu Zun has made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty." The old eunuch read out, "He is hereby appointed as the Grand Xuan Judge!!!"
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