NFBE Chapter 388 The Highly Respected Old Prime Minister
Chapter 388 The Highly Respected Old Prime Minister
After Xie Shifu received the order, Emperor Wenjing immediately adjourned the court.
Without delay, Xie Xiang immediately led several officials to the Dali Temple.
The area outside the Dali Temple was still crowded with people, many of whom stayed overnight.
Especially the victims' families, they were kneeling or squatting, with the remains they had found placed beside them.
A woman held a section of leg bone tightly in her hands, her empty eyes filled with endless sorrow. She sat numbly on the ground, as if all her life had been drained away by the pain.
Xie Shifu watched this scene, and sorrow appeared on his wrinkled face.
The crimes committed by Prince Yong are truly outrageous.
Xie Shifu sighed and walked steadily forward, while the officials around him quickly made way for him.
He walked up to the woman who was holding a piece of leg bone and whose eyes were vacant, and slowly squatted down. His voice was full of sorrow and guilt: "Madam, the court has failed you and made you suffer. But please believe me, the Emperor has ordered a thorough investigation and will surely give you justice."
Upon hearing this, the woman looked up, her empty eyes brightening slightly when she saw Xie Shifu.
She could hardly believe it. "Prime Minister? You're Prime Minister Xie?"
Xie Shifu is getting old. In recent years, although he has held the position of Left Chancellor, he rarely appears in public and has delegated many official duties to younger officials.
In the past two years, he has been in poor health and rarely leaves his residence to attend court or receive guests unless absolutely necessary.
Because of Xie Qizheng's connection, Yun Shang sent a letter to the Xie family's residence as soon as he arrived in the capital, but the Xie family returned the letter on the grounds that they were not feeling well.
However, Xie Shifu's prestige among the people of Shengjing City did not diminish.
Therefore, most of the people living in Shengjing City recognized this old prime minister.
Xie Shifu nodded with a smile, "Yes, I am Xie Shifu."
“I was unaware of the suffering you had endured before, but now that I know, I will not stand idly by.”
A glimmer of hope flickered in the woman's eyes, but a trace of doubt still flashed within them. "Sir, I've heard this story too many times. Is there really any justice to be served?"
The surrounding people echoed this sentiment, looking expectantly at Xie Shifu.
Xie Shifu stood up, straightened his slightly hunched back, and raised his voice: "Yes."
"I swear here and now that I will give the people an explanation."
Li Fu stepped forward and said sincerely, "The Dali Temple has investigated and found out the crimes of Prince Yong. However, Prince Yong is currently on his way to Huizhou to quell the rebellion. It is a critical time, and the court cannot recall him."
"But rest assured, once Prince Yong returns to the capital, the Dali Temple will be able to arrest him and convict him."
Upon hearing this, the people began to discuss it animatedly.
At this moment, a strong young man in the crowd shouted, "Arrest him? Huizhou is far from Shengjing. What if Prince Yong runs away? He is a prince, a nobleman. If he uses his power to suppress this matter, what can we do?"
Xie Shifu raised his eyes, his cloudy eyes filled with determination: "His Majesty has dispatched an imperial censor to Huizhou to supervise the entire investigation and ensure that Prince Yong has no chance to escape punishment. If there is any injustice, I, Xie Shifu, will be the first to object!"
Xie Shifu's words were resounding and seemed to echo in the crowd.
The crowd was taken aback at first, then burst into enthusiastic applause and cheers.
The woman holding the leg bone burst into tears. She slowly knelt down and kowtowed to Xie Shifu: "Prime Minister Xie, I believe in you. I just hope that you can get justice for my poor child as soon as possible."
Upon seeing this, the surrounding people also knelt down and shouted in unison, "Thank you, Prime Minister! We believe in you!"
Inside the teahouse, Yu Wan sat by the window, resting her chin on her hand, quietly watching this scene.
Her gaze fell on Xie Shifu.
The original novel doesn't describe Xie Shifu much. Only later, after the protagonist becomes regent, and some old ministers are dissatisfied, Xie Shifu steps forward to persuade them.
After that, Xie Shifu resigned from his official post and went into seclusion.
Therefore, Yu Wan really didn't know much about Xie Shifu.
However, before deciding to make a big fuss about the Yongwang Mansion incident, Yu Wan also investigated Xie Shifu.
Although Xie Shifu held the title of Left Prime Minister, he had long been out of the public eye and rarely concerned himself with matters of state.
However, Yu Wan was 80% certain that Xie Shifu would step forward this time.
As she expected, Xie Shifu indeed stepped forward this time.
Xie Shifu enjoyed high public trust, and it was impossible for him to ignore the grievances of so many people.
With Xie Shifu stepping forward to appease the people, their emotions gradually calmed down. Although some people still lingered outside the Dali Temple government office and refused to leave, most of them had already gone.
The remaining people were not driven away by the yamen runners of the Dali Temple. At mealtimes, Li Fu even had the runners deliver food and water to these people.
Sensing the different attitude of the Dali Temple, by evening there were no more troublemakers outside the temple.
When Xizhu returned, she reported the matter to Yu Wan, who was not surprised.
She has succeeded in taking her first step.
The rest depends on Yun Shang's side.
Thinking of Yun Shang, Yu Wan couldn't help but recall the letter she received yesterday.
Prince Yong caused a lot of trouble along the way, determined to kill Yun Shang, but Yun Shang always managed to avoid him first.
Having failed time and again, Prince Yong must be itching to tear Yun Shang apart with his own hands.
Yu Wan's lips curled into a smile.
Why did Prince Yong have to kill Yun Shang of all people? Is a protagonist with a halo so easy to kill?
"Miss, what should we do next?" Xizhu held a steaming cup of tea in both hands, slightly bent her knees, and respectfully handed it to Yu Wan.
Yu Wan took the teacup, gently blew on it, took a sip, and then slowly spoke:
"Spread the news that the Emperor is preparing to deal with Prince Yong, especially to those who have had a grudge against Prince Yong. Guide them carefully. Before Yun Shang and the others return, the matter of Prince Yong's residence must not be overshadowed."
Xizhu frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and barely understood what her young lady meant.
"Does the young lady want others to join in the commotion?"
Yu Wan's lips curled into a meaningful smile, and a sly glint flashed in her eyes: "That's right, it's more lively with more people."
Because Yu Wan secretly had someone guide her, there were fresh gossips about Prince Yong every day in the capital.
For example, Prince Yong took a fancy to a woman from a certain family and forcibly took her away. Previously, the woman was afraid of Prince Yong's power and dared not speak up. Now that she finally had a chance, she dared to speak up.
There are also some particularly outrageous gossips, such as Prince Yong not paying when he goes to a restaurant, or even taking advantage of a pretty beggar... and so on.
In the streets and alleys, almost every resident of Shengjing City would bring up Prince Yong for gossip every day. Yu Wan was very satisfied with this pace; these gossips were like small flames, continuously igniting the people's interest in Prince Yong.
Yu Wan was very satisfied with this pace.
Prince Yong, who had already arrived in Huizhou, knew nothing of this.
Yun Shang had already learned of this matter from Yu Wanxin's letter, and heard about it on the road a couple of days later. He thought that Prince Yong must also know about it, but to his surprise, judging from Prince Yong's reaction, he seemed to know nothing about it at all.
Yun Shang immediately guessed that it wasn't that the Prince of Yong's people didn't know, but rather that someone had secretly ordered them not to gossip in front of the Prince of Yong.
Therefore, Prince Yong still doesn't know that he has become famous in Shengjing City.