Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 581: Chapter 299: The Eighth Prince’s Purpose

As expected by the Emperor and Grandmaster Liu, no ministers came forward to confess. Grandmaster Liu didn’t expect any ministers to do so. He spent two days thoroughly investigating the case of Minister of Agriculture Zhang Nan’s embezzlement, leaving no involved officials untouched, except for temporarily sparing the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen.

Fortunately, the number of officials involved in this case of embezzlement and bribery was not as many as during the late Emperor’s time, but there were still thirty to forty people implicated.

When Grandmaster Liu submitted the investigation results to the Emperor, the Emperor was furious and had a massive outburst during the morning court. Although outwardly the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen were not involved in the case, due to Zhang Nan’s connection with them, they were inevitably scolded harshly.

The Emperor, in front of the civil and military officials, unceremoniously rebuked the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen. Not only that, he also punished the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen by ordering them to reflect on their mistakes while facing the wall for a month.

As for Zhang Nan and his accomplices, those who should be beheaded were beheaded, those who should be exiled were exiled, and those who should be demoted were demoted, none were spared lightly.

No one expected such a major incident to occur during Mr. Meng’s lecture in the capital. Although the matter wasn’t the Crown Prince’s fault, Zhang Nan was an official under him, so the Crown Prince’s reputation was nonetheless impacted. Of course, this incident involved the handiwork of Prince Dai and Marquis Xuanping.

Originally, due to Mr. Meng not meeting with the Crown Prince, scholars across the country were already discussing about the Crown Prince. Now, learning about the corruption and bribery under the Crown Prince’s subordinates, scholars began to harbor doubts about the Crown Prince.

Although no evidence of the Crown Prince’s embezzlement was found, his subordinates were corrupt. Didn’t they ever use the embezzled money to win the Crown Prince’s favor? Was the Crown Prince truly unaware? Could it be that the Crown Prince instructed the Minister of Agriculture to embezzle?

Most scholars don’t believe the Crown Prince is innocent. Even if the Crown Prince didn’t embezzle, they believe he knew about the Minister of Agriculture’s corruption; it’s impossible for him to be completely unaware. If the Crown Prince was truly unaware, it would make him too incompetent for his position as the Crown Prince.

Furthermore, if the Crown Prince were truly innocent, the Emperor wouldn’t have punished him with wall-facing reflection. The Crown Prince is certainly involved, but since he’s the heir of Great Zhou, the Emperor spared him for the sake of his dignity.

Not all scholars are bookworms who only read dead text. Most students are not only good at studying but also have some understanding of court affairs. Regarding the Minister of Agriculture Zhang Nan’s embezzlement and bribery case, they believe it can’t be as simple as the investigation results suggest.

Regardless of whether the Crown Prince was corrupt or not, he must have condoned his subordinates’ embezzlement. How can scholars respect such a Crown Prince? How can the common people trust and have confidence in such a Crown Prince?

Since Prince Dai quelled the rebellion in Liangzhou, the Crown Prince’s reputation among the people has been inferior to Prince Dai’s. In recent years, although Prince Dai has not gone out to suppress any rebellions or achieved anything significant, his reputation is still higher than the Crown Prince’s.

When mentioning Prince Dai, at least the people know Prince Dai used to often handle rebellions, helping the court reclaim cities occupied by rebels and rescuing people oppressed by them. But when mentioning the Crown Prince, people cannot recall what he has accomplished, only knowing him as a dutiful person.

In recent years, the most esteemed prince among the people is neither Prince Dai nor the Crown Prince, but the tenth prince. Zhao Yao, due to his invention of the Curved Plow, has significantly boosted his reputation among the people. In other words, in recent years, the Crown Prince’s reputation among the populace is even surpassed by Zhao Yao.

For the past few years, Prince Dai and Marquis Xuanping have been continuously tarnishing the Crown Prince’s reputation. Although most rumors are false, and scholars don’t believe them much, the case of Minister of Agriculture Zhang Nan’s embezzlement has forced scholars to question the authenticity of previous negative rumors about the Crown Prince.

Due to this incident, the Crown Prince’s reputation among the people has deteriorated considerably. Of course, there are still quite a few who believe the Crown Prince is innocent and blameless.

For Prince Dai and Marquis Xuanping, the Crown Prince’s tarnished reputation among the populace doesn’t matter at all. What they want is for the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen to be severely punished. However, they are well aware that toppling a Zhang Nan cannot possibly lead to the Crown Prince’s downfall. At the very least, they aimed to take a substantial bite out of the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen. Yet, the Emperor lightly reprimanded them with wall-facing reflection.