Who arranges stories to liven up a banquet? Such an arrangement is truly unheard of.
But the crowd, having just experienced a great thrill, no longer cared about such details. No one raised any objections or questions.
Ye Jingcheng frowned, seemingly having guessed something, and said with a chilling tone, "Third Brother, I truly underestimated you to arrange such a grand ceremony for your enfeoffment!"
Ye Jingyu poured himself a cup of tea and grinned, "Imperial Brother is now in court, his influence unstoppable. I still have much to learn from Imperial Brother."
He took a sip of tea and gave Qian Xue a meaningful glance.
Qian Xue took out a booklet from his怀.
Su Yunmo almost knocked over the dessert plate and couldn't help but stand up from her chair, her brows furrowed deeply.
Qian Xue said, "In the sixteenth year of Yuanyou, the Chancellor Cao Mo was demoted for corruption. His assets were confiscated, and his only young daughter was sold into servitude in a manor. She carried a letter from Lord Cao. It is said that the corruption charges were fabricated; the disaster was caused by someone coveting a family treasure, leading to her being framed."
"In the seventeenth year of Yuanyou, the Grand Commander Yuan Ke was stripped of his position and demoted, exiled to the desolate borderlands for assassinating a court official. His young son searched for four years to seek justice, and upon investigation, it was found that he refused to collude with wicked individuals and was slandered for not joining factions."
"In the same year, the Grand Master Liu Zexu, due to..."
Qian Xue continued to read out names and events from the booklet without pause.
The expressions of everyone present gradually shifted from surprise to astonishment, and finally to horror!
In the short span of eight years, from the sixteenth year of Yuanyou to the present twenty-fourth year, over twenty ministers had been framed, leading to the complete ruin of their families.
What kind of monstrous person could commit such acts!
Everyone became indignant.
Someone suddenly remarked,
"The sixteenth year of Yuanyou, wasn't that when Prince Lian first began to engage in court affairs?"
Under normal circumstances, the legitimate prince begins to engage in court affairs at the age of ten. Ye Jingcheng was now eighteen, so eight years ago was indeed the sixteenth year of Yuanyou.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and all eyes fell on Ye Jingcheng.
Silence descended upon the hall.
Su Qingtian was the first to break the quiet, "I am unclear about others, but Yuan Ke was a man of the military. I recall that Prince Lian seemed to be quite close to him for a period."
This remark triggered memories in the crowd.
It wasn't just Yuan Ke; the ministers on the list had all, to varying degrees, had contact or conflicts with Ye Jingcheng or those around him.
And not long after that, their families were either confiscated or they were exiled.
Thinking about it this way, the coincidences were too numerous. It was possible that these events were indeed related to Prince Lian.
Everyone began to harbor suspicions.
Chen Guoxing clenched his fists tightly. He had participated in some of these matters himself, but the information he possessed was completely different from what was written on the list!
This was precisely why His Highness Prince Yu had asked him to wait until today!
Could a legitimate prince, who would not hesitate to cause the wrongful deaths of so many loyal ministers and generals to increase his chances of seizing the throne, truly be worth protecting?
The temperature in the hall dropped. No one spoke, waiting for Ye Jingcheng to explain.
Ye Jingcheng stood up, cast a deep glance at everyone, and finally fixed his gaze on Ye Jingyu. He said nothing, his face cold, and he turned to leave.
In reality, there was no need to say anything.
These facts were too monumental, too vast for anyone to utter a single word.
The events at the Prince Yu's manor banquet quickly reached the palace.
Emperor Ye Yao sent someone to summon Ye Jingyu to the palace and deliberately ordered everyone not to spread what they had heard that day.
The imperial study remained closed for the entire morning.
It wasn't until noon that the door opened, and Ye Jingyu emerged.
Su Yunmo leaned against the palace gate, waiting. Seeing him approaching from afar, she narrowed her eyes, "Aren't you being a bit too ostentatious?"
Exposing this matter directly at the enfeoffment ceremony was not just aimed at Ye Jingcheng alone.
If any of it were to leak, not only would the royal family's reputation be ruined, but outsiders would also say that the Emperor's princes were engaged in infighting, disrupting the court.
Did he know the severity of the charges he would face then?
He had only recently established himself in court and had just caught the Emperor's eye. Such a disturbance could easily lead to all his previous efforts being in vain.
Ye Jingyu frowned and reached out a finger to brush a stray strand of hair from her forehead to behind her ear, "Are you worried about me?"
Su Yunmo slapped his hand away, "If you get any more arrogant, I'll go report you to Consort Liang immediately!"
Ye Jingyu recalled the embarrassing incident yesterday when he was punished to stand at the cold palace gate holding a fish tank after she had reported him. He helplessly withdrew his hand.
Now she had found a good backing; he couldn't afford to offend her.
Su Yunmo frowned, "You should know the weight Ye Jingcheng carries in the Emperor's heart. After all, he is the legitimate prince born to the Empress. He cannot be brought down by a mere list."
Moreover, there was no way to bring those people forward to testify before His Majesty. They were still descendants of convicted criminals. Bringing these people out would be tantamount to telling everyone that Ye Jingyu was indeed involved with a rebel organization.
Even if Ye Jingcheng's consequences were uncertain, Ye Jingyu himself would be in trouble.
"I never intended to bring him down with just this," Ye Jingyu said, looking up at the sky.
It was past noon.
The young man extended his hand to Su Yunmo, "Are you hungry? Let's go have lunch."
Su Yunmo glared at him, furious!
But she still reached out and placed her hand in his palm.
Forget it, eating was more important!
Qian Xue had prepared a carriage and sent the two masters back to Prince Yu's manor.
The manor was quiet now, the guests having all departed.
The kitchen had laid out all the untouched dishes from the banquet on the table, over twenty new dishes.
Su Yunmo sat at the table, stuffing food into her mouth, completely ignoring Ye Jingyu, letting him eat or not as he pleased.
Ye Jingyu said with a helpless smile, "The point isn't whether Father will deal with Ye Jingcheng, but whether Father believes the matters on the list."
Su Yunmo put down her chopsticks and frowned, "What's the difference?"
If the Emperor believed it, he would naturally deal with it. It was essentially the same thing, unless...
"You discussed something else with the Emperor in the study, didn't you."
At that time, Qian Xue had omitted one item when reading the list, which concerned Duke Ying.
Ye Jingyu did not intend to directly bring down Ye Jingcheng, but rather to use this opportunity to make the Emperor suspect the events of that year and find an opportunity to reopen the case!
Ye Jingyu did not reply, merely opening his mouth with a smile.
Su Yunmo rolled her eyes and put a mouthful of food into his mouth.
Ying Xiao entered from outside, "My Lord, a messenger from the palace reports that Prince Lian was summoned to the study by His Majesty and emerged with an injury to his head. Shortly after Prince Lian left, Lin Zequ entered the palace."
Lin Zequ's arrival at the palace must be to plead for Ye Jingcheng. It was likely that this matter would soon be suppressed.
Without witnesses or evidence, only a single list, even if the Emperor wished to investigate, he would have no starting point.
A moment later, Qian Xue entered, holding an imperial decree from the palace.
The Emperor punished Ye Jingcheng by confining him to the palace for one month, but made no mention of anything related to the list.
Su Yunmo clicked her tongue and crossed her arms, "It seems your father has shifted the blame to you."
A month was not the time for the Emperor to punish Ye Jingcheng, but rather time for Ye Jingyu to find evidence.
If these cases could be proven to be framed, then the matter of Duke Ying would not be far off.
"However, there is something I am curious about. What is the connection between Lin Zequ and Ye Jingcheng? My father is not someone easily used."