Chapter 1318
Words:860Update:22/07/01 07:06:38
However, Lord Hu said, "I naturally do not dare to speculate on the Crown Prince. After I learned of this news, I specially sent people to these places to investigate. After the investigation, there were no discrepancies. Moreover, I have already ordered people to bring the officials and citizens from the border cities here. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can summon them to the palace for questioning."
The Eternal Emperor immediately summoned them to the palace for confrontation.
The officials came from remote territories and had never seen the Emperor before. Now that they saw him, they knelt uniformly on the ground in fear and trepidation. The citizens trembled as they knelt behind them.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
"Raise your heads. Let me ask you, how was the Crown Prince, Ling Yan, when he went to your cities to provide disaster relief?" The Eternal Emperor asked in a low voice.
"This …"
"How can you hesitate when Your Majesty is asking you a question? Just speak frankly. If you dare to lie, you will be immediately dragged out and beaten to death!" The Second Princess said coldly.
Those people were so scared that they trembled and opened their mouths in a trembling voice.
"The Third Prince … the Crown Prince did his best when we were at our wits' end and did not do anything suspicious …"
"Yes, yes, yes. The Crown Prince did everything personally and loved the people like his own children."
The city officials kept on praising Ling Yan's achievements.
The Eternal Emperor's expression softened slightly, but at that moment, the citizens kneeling behind the officials suddenly turned pale. They raised their heads and said, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please give us justice! "
The sudden change stunned the officials, who had just begun to suspect that Lord Hu's investigation was wrong.
The Eternal Emperor frowned slightly.
"Your Majesty, when we were at the border, we did not see the Crown Prince at all. The Crown Prince did not even go to our place, and … we did not receive any disaster relief at all …"
"Your Majesty, my son and daughter starved to death in the natural disaster. I heard that the imperial court sent the Third Prince to provide disaster relief, but … I did not see any rations at all. There was only … only some moldy rice …"
"Your Majesty, I have a lowly life, but I have to say today that the Crown Prince lied to you and the world …"
Those citizens actually exposed the city officials' honorable cover up in front of everyone, and they shouted hoarsely to accuse Ling Yan of lying.
For a time, the sounds of discussion arose in the Imperial Court.
The Eldest Prince looked at the situation in front of him with a smile in his eyes. He glanced at Ye Qingtang from the corner of his eyes.
He had originally planned to let the officials and citizens continue to smear Ling Yan's achievements, but before they left, Ye Qingtang suddenly changed her mind and made him completely change the city officials' opinions.
Initially, the First Prince was a little worried about whether this was appropriate.
But now that he saw the effect with his own eyes, the Eldest Prince was full of admiration for Ye Qingtang's intelligence.
If everyone pointed out that Ling Yan did not do a good job in disaster relief, it would make people suspect that he was trying to shift the blame. But now, the city officials' protection made it seem that Ling Yan had secretly bribed these city officials. Instead, it made the words of the poor commoners seem more credible and tarnished Ling Yan's character.
After all, no one would have thought that an ordinary citizen would slander the Crown Prince for no reason.
This move was indeed powerful.
After the commoners spoke, the expressions of the city officials immediately froze, and they trembled even more violently. From their reactions, it was obvious that they were feeling guilty.
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