nashuaworldcup Chapter 294: Past Events [2]
Chapter 294: Past Events [2]
Chapter 294: Past Events [2]
Bei Yu's pupils shrank again and again, and his eyes were full of disbelief.
"Then Prime Minister Xu..."
Although he had already guessed in his heart that the Xu family was innocent, Bei Yu always believed that even if the Xu family was innocent, the unjust case was caused by other ministers' jealousy of the Xu family.
Back then, the Xu family was more powerful than their master.
Not to mention that the three ministers listed here are all descendants of the Xu family, and nearly half of the civil and military officials are disciples of the Xu family.
As long as the Xu family does not fall, other officials in the court will never have the opportunity to be promoted.
But Bei Yu never imagined that this scene was the work of his royal brother.
"The Xu family is indeed innocent."
The Queen Mother's words fell lightly.
Make a wish and close your eyes gently.
Tears were already glistening in Shen Yijie's eyes.
Only Bei Yu still insisted: "Even if the Xu family is innocent, it is not because of my brother..."
"Emperor, if this was not done by Bei Min, would I have covered it up for him for so many years? What I want to protect is not Bei Yu's reputation, but the reputation of the Tianqi royal family. It's ok for the ministers to be jealous, but as an emperor, he harmed the entire Xu family for his own selfish reasons. If this matter gets out, the Bei family's throne will be unstable..."
This shows the status of the Xu family in the hearts of the people.
Water can carry a boat and it can overturn it.
If the people knew that the royal family framed the Xu family in order to go to war, the consequences would be unimaginable.
This is also the reason why the Queen Mother has remained silent for so many years.
It’s not like she hadn’t thought about telling everything and giving the Xu family justice.
But she is the queen mother.
She couldn't just watch Tianqi fall into chaos.
"Can……"
"I have one more thing here." The Queen Mother interrupted Bei Yu.
She took the letter beside her and said, "This is what Prime Minister Xu left for you. I wanted to take this letter with me to my grave, but now I don't have the face to see the ancestors of the Xu family."
Bei Yu took the letter tremblingly.
This letter is twenty years old and the ink is a little mottled, but it has been well preserved and the handwriting is still recognizable.
Prime Minister Xu's calligraphy is famous throughout the world.
Bei Yu also often copied when he was young, so he knows it most clearly.
This is a suicide note.
Prime Minister Xu's last letter was not left to his family, but to him.
"Prince Song wrote to me personally. I, Xu Xiang, am imprisoned today, charged with treason. They can easily find a pretext to accuse me of a crime. The Xu family attracts attention because of their size. I have expected this. I should have gone to death calmly, but I am worried about Your Highness and the people."
"Your Majesty loves war and wants to go to war, but Tianqi lacks military strength. In recent years, natural disasters and man-made disasters have continued, and the people are living in poverty. I dare not forget the experience of the previous dynasty, so I have advised Your Majesty to give up the war and seek peace countless times, but to no avail."
"Now that we are in trouble, we are even more powerless. Please consider the difficulties faced by the people of this world and give us more advice. If you still cannot help, please show us the late emperor's will and make sure to stop us."
"Today, the Xu family has been sentenced to exile. The journey to Shuozhou is long and it is difficult to return to the capital. I only hope that Your Highness takes care of his health and that the people of the world live and work in peace."
The yellow letter paper was slowly crumpled into a ball.
Bei Yu had a lot of thoughts in his mind and didn't know how to start.
In his heart, the past shouldn't have been like this.
He had thought countless times that the Xu family might be innocent, but the Bei royal family was not at fault.
But now it seems that it is not only wrong, but also extremely wrong.
That year, the late emperor went to war and died on the battlefield.
The palace received a message via carrier pigeon, and the people of the capital packed up their gold and silver items and prepared to flee Tianqi.
Prime Minister Xu is right.
At that time, Tianqi had no ability to fight at all.
Having just experienced a natural disaster and having to increase taxes due to the war, the people have long been suffering. If the previous emperor had not died in the war and he had ascended the throne, the current Tianqi would definitely not be named Bei.
The Queen Mother said, "Emperor, I know in my heart that you have been resentful of the Xu family for so many years. You felt that the Xu family supported you but chose your brother in the end. But you must know that the Xu family is also innocent."
The Queen Mother looked back and saw Xuyuan standing in the candlelight, looking like an old friend.
"I have kept this secret for twenty years. For all these years, I have dreamed of the Xu family being slaughtered every night. But for the sake of the world, I had to hide the truth. But look, today is so similar to more than twenty years ago."
The Queen Mother's voice seemed a little distant.
She recognized Xu Yuan the first time she saw him, so she asked her maid to send Xu Yuan to Wenhua Palace.
Later, she also had someone keep an eye on Xu Yuan and learned that when Xu Yuan was collecting evidence, he personally handed the witness to Xu Yuan.
She thought that everyone in the world could misunderstand the Xu family.
But the descendants of the Xu family cannot.
Otherwise, the backbone of the Xu family would be broken.
But even if the witness was sent, the Queen Mother never thought that Xu Yuan had the ability to overturn the verdict.
After all, imperial power cannot be challenged.
Until that day in prison, she saw Xu Yuan.
More determined and courageous than she had imagined.
She knew that this day would come.
But so what? No matter how Xu Yuan investigated, he could not find that Bei Yu was the culprit.
As long as she doesn't show up, no matter who serves as a witness, the investigation can only lead to the minister, and this scandal will be completely over after today.
But Xuyuan sent a letter.
The letter said: "The Crown Prince intends to rebel. He has united with the governors of the four states in the east, west and north. He is waiting to replace Song Tiancheng and take action once he gets the military token. I promise to present my case to the Emperor today. If the Emperor does not believe me, please ask the Empress Dowager to persuade me. I am willing to guarantee this with my life. This is no joke."
After reading the letter, the Queen Mother thought of Xu Xi.
When Xu Xi entered the palace that year, the empress dowager asked her privately, but she was willing to do so.
Xu Xi had only one thing to say at that time: "For the sake of the people of the world, there is no such thing as reluctance. If I can sacrifice my happiness in exchange for a good ruler for Tianqi, Xu Xi is willing to do it."
Xu Yuan and Xu Xi are so similar.
At that moment, the Queen Mother was doubting whether her persistence over the past twenty years was wrong...
Why are loyal ministers exiled and left without a burial place, while tyrants conquer the world and gain a good reputation throughout their lives?
Bei Yu was a little dazed. He looked at Xu Yuan and asked after a long while: "Xu Yuan, you said earlier, what happened to the prince?"
Xu Yuan said, "Your Majesty, the prince has bribed the governors of the three states. As long as he gets the military power, when the southern army returns to the capital after suppressing the bandits, it will be the time for him to start a rebellion. The imperial power will change, and even if there is bloodshed and sacrifice, it should not be the soldiers guarding the border. What's more, the prince's goal is the same as the previous emperor, but Tianqi does not have the ability to expand now."
Xu Yuan did not say that there would be a war in Tianqi soon.
Since the emperor didn't like war, she didn't need to explain so much, make excuses for herself, and cover up the matter.
Hearing this, Bei Yu pondered for a moment and said, "If I tell you that you can only choose one between overturning the Xu family's case and imprisoning the crown prince, which one would you choose?"