NCCnovel Chapter 355: Framed Counter-Defense
Chapter 355: Framed Counter-Defense
Chapter 355
As soon as these words were spoken, the court officials keenly caught the anger hidden in Emperor Yuanzhen's words, and secretly turned their eyes to Ye Yunzhou.
There were two ministers named Ye in the court, but since the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery was also a marquis, His Majesty would never address him as "Lord Ye." Therefore, the one who was called upon was naturally Ye Yunzhou. He had always enjoyed the emperor's favor and had a smooth career at court. Everyone was filled with curiosity: what was written in the memorial that had angered His Majesty so much?
Ye Yunzhou remained calm as he took the memorial from the eunuch and quickly scanned its contents. He then calmly handed it back to the eunuch, raised his eyes slightly, and said in a steady voice, "Your Majesty, I truly never expected that my personal affairs would be mentioned in this solemn court. This is my fault."
Ye Yunzhou's words implied that others should not interfere in personal matters.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Yuanzhen's face darkened and he snorted coldly, "Hmph! You make it sound so easy. Why don't you ask Lord Liu yourself how this matter ended up in his hands?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Yunzhou turned around and looked at Lord Liu, who was pretending to be calm at this time, and said with a bow, "Lord Liu, I don't know how you knew about my private affairs. Please explain in detail."
Lord Liu licked his dry lips and stammered, "Lord Ye... Lord Ye, harboring a male prostitute is against the principles of yin and yang. I only happened to witness this. But it is ultimately despicable. As a minister of the imperial court, if you truly committed such an act, it would be a violation of Heavenly Harmony. As an official of the Zhou Dynasty, I must report this to Your Majesty."
Hearing this, the already curious hearts of the other ministers, save for a few insiders, became even more uncontrollable. Lord Ye had always been a man of integrity, enjoying an excellent reputation within the court. To be accused of such a thing was truly unbelievable. Everyone immediately began to whisper, their gazes turning to Ye Yunzhou with inquiring eyes, as if to watch a spectacle.
Marquis Zhongyong's heart suddenly trembled, and he turned to look at his son in disbelief, fearing that he had misheard and misunderstood.
"It's really hard for Lord Liu to happen to climb up the wall of my official in the middle of the night and happen to peek into what's going on in my room." As soon as Ye Yunzhou said this, the court exploded. Although his words were a rebuttal, his implication was that he admitted that such a ridiculous statement was indeed true.
Upon hearing this, everyone cast their gazes at Lord Liu, each filled with confusion. After all, this was a private matter within the inner chambers. How had Lord Liu happened to know about it? Could it be that he really had a habit of climbing over walls and snooping in the middle of the night?
Even Emperor Yuanzhen, who was sitting high above, had a playful look in his eyes when he looked at Lord Liu, without any anger at all.
Upon hearing this, Lord Liu's face turned purple, veins popped out on his forehead, and he stammered in defense: "You...you are slandering me, it is clearly...it is..." He hesitated for a long time and still didn't dare to say the whole sentence.
He was sent to expose the matter, but he knew nothing about the source of the information. He did not expect that Lord Ye, who was so young, would launch such a fierce attack. Lord Liu was panicked for a moment and had no idea how to fight back.
Seeing this, General Zuo Wei on the side couldn't help but secretly glance at Lord Liu and cursed in a low voice: What a waste.
General Zuo Wei, realizing that Lord Liu could no longer be relied upon, immediately stepped forward, seemingly questioning him: "Lord Liu, since you can't reveal the source of this information, how could you rashly submit a memorial to the court? Could it be that... there's no smoke without fire?"
When he said the last sentence, he turned to look at Ye Yunzhou.
On the surface, these words were questioning Lord Liu, but in fact, he wanted to pin the matter firmly on Ye Yunzhou.
Upon hearing this, Ye Yunzhou's lips curled up in a sneer, his gaze sweeping across General Zuo Wei like a sharp blade. "As Lord Lin said, as long as someone mentions something, there's suspicion; there's always smoke without fire. So, today I'm going to say that Lord Liu allowed his descendants to abduct women and humiliate the common people. He also offended those he shouldn't have, and now he's in danger of extinction. I wonder if what I'm saying is true, or just groundless conjecture, like there's always smoke without fire?"
"You...you..." General Zuo Wei was furious when he heard Ye Yunzhou dare to bring up this matter in the court, showing no mercy. He didn't dare to take action in the court. In the end, he could only point at Ye Yunzhou with a red face, speechless with anger.
When he discovered who had deposed his son, he was filled with shock and fury. But in terms of power, he couldn't possibly compete with the father and son at court. He happened to have secretly learned some information, so he instructed officials affiliated with him to expose the matter. He thought the young man was too shy to fight back. Unexpectedly, this man was cold-faced and hard-hearted, with no regard for his dignity. Now, he dared to mention his son's dethronement in front of him, completely ignoring him.
Seeing his furious expression, Ye Yunzhou had no intention of holding back. He took a half step forward, his voice clear, yet his words were as sharp as a knife: "Master Lin, are you so impatient? It seems this matter is not groundless. I wonder what explanation Master Lin has for you?"
Seeing General Zuo Wei unable to utter a single word, Ye Yunzhou was filled with disdain, thinking this man was utterly useless. With such limited skills, he dared to attack him secretly. He simply didn't know his place.
In the struggle between power and public opinion, excessive self-incrimination is tantamount to acquiescing to the framer's right to judge. Only decisive counterattack can break the other party's monopoly on the right to speak. They thought that when faced with such a situation, they had to rush to prove their innocence. It was ridiculous that he just didn't do what they wanted.
The Third Prince had originally stood aside, not intending to intervene personally. But now, seeing Lord Lin and General Zuo Wei being repeatedly counterattacked by Ye Yunzhou, he narrowed his eyes slightly. Though impatient, he felt compelled to step in and defend them. "Even if Lord Lin's words offended you, Lord Ye, he is still your elder. Why is Lord Ye being so aggressive and harping on these unintentional remarks?"
As soon as the Third Prince uttered these high-sounding words, a momentary silence fell over the court. All the ministers, without prior agreement, secretly cast their gazes towards Emperor Yuanzhen. The Emperor sat firmly on the dais, his expression unfathomable, and he remained silent. Seeing this, everyone quietly withdrew their gazes, shifting back and forth between the Third Prince and Ye Yunzhou—this confrontation seemed to be getting increasingly exciting.
Ye Yunzhou remained calm, even after hearing the Third Prince's distorted remarks. He remained composed and bowed respectfully, "Your Highness, I am not holding on to this matter. Lord Lin, as an official appointed by the court, should lead by example. Yet, he has simply echoed Lord Liu in maliciously accusing me based on baseless evidence. If I remain silent and allow them to distort the truth, it will be difficult to distinguish between loyalty and treachery in the court. And where will the dignity of the laws of the Great Zhou be placed?"