I woke up as the Villainous Empress

100 Royal Court III

The royal court fell into a deep and uncomfortable silence after Zheng Liang completed his words.

All the ministers were holding onto their breaths and were hoping that their names weren’t involved in this matter.

Zheng Huang, the Emperor, pursed his lips as he fell into deep thought. This matter is not related to the illegal activities running at the brothel house anymore but has become a serious issue of corruption in the royal palace as the high-ranking officials are deemed to have been involved as well.

” Zheng Liang, do you understand the gravity of the claims that you are making? If you fail to prove them, it can backfire on you instead.” The Emperor asked coldly.

It was because Zheng Liang investigated things privately without seeking permission from the Emperor. He is only the Crown Prince at the moment yet he is taking all the important decisions into his hands.

“I understand, Your Majesty. I know the seriousness of this issue, that’s why I appealed to the royal court to do an official investigation into this matter.” Zheng Liang said.

” We have captured one of those officers who were on the run since that day when the bear attacked the brothel house. If you allow me, I would like to present that officer who was involved in the illegal activities at the brothel houses.”

” He has confessed to me about his crimes and revealed the names of the people who are involved in this matter. I would like to present the man in front of his Majesty so that he could give his testimony in the presence of all the ministers and the respected His Majesty, ” Zheng Liang said and asked for permission to bring the witnesses inside the court.

“Bring him inside. ” The Emperor said in his deep voice and permitted Zheng Liang to bring the culprit who is also the witness of the whole incident.

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All the ministers stepped back when Gu Lan entered the royal court while holding onto the man whose clothes were dirty, his face was also covered in dust and sweat.

There were also scratches and wounds on his face which showed that he had been hit before bringing him here. There were also signs of blood on his face which had dried by now.

His hands were tied with a rope in the front to keep him in control so that he wouldn’t run wild in the royal court.

The ministers covered their noses as the man was stinking as if he hadn’t taken a bath in days.

“Your Majesty! Please save me. I didn’t do anything. Please save-” The man cried and begged the Emperor to free him.

However, before he could complete his words, Gu Lan pushed the man to the ground who fell into a kneeling position. ” How dare you look up to His Majesty? Lower your eyes!” He shouted at the man, reprimanding him.

The man immediately lowered his eyes as at the moment he is not a government official but a mere prisoner who has been caught while he was on a run.

Zheng Liang walked up to the man and glanced at Yang Luoyang who was silently standing on the side before saying to the man, ” Don’t be afraid. You’re in front of His Majesty now.”

” So tell everyone the truth: who is behind the corruption at the brothel houses and were collecting bribes from them in exchange for allowing them to continue their activities in secret?” Zheng Liang asked while provoking the man to speak up the truth in front of everyone.

“Also, tell everyone the name of the person who was involved in the corruption of the aiding supplies that were sent to the famine-affected western region. You said that you know who was behind all these things, didn’t you? So tell the truth to everyone and save your life.” Zheng Liang said in a cold voice while looking down at the man who was kneeling in front of the Emperor and was trembling in fear.

If the man reveals the truth, even though his testimony cannot be used as sole evidence and those ministers won’t be punished for it, it will at least help to establish an official investigation against those ministers.

” How dare an official at the royal palace destroy the name of the palace in front of the public?” Zheng Huang roared at the man. “Speak up! Who is behind the corruption at the Brothel House? Now!” He shouted at him and cornered him to tell him the truth.

The man almost jumped back in fear when the Emperor growled at him and his deep and loud voice resonated in the quiet main hall.

” Your Majesty! Please forgive me. I was wrong. I was tempted by greed and took bribes from the brothel houses and turned a blind eye to their activities. Please forgive me.” The man begged while kneeling and cried to the Emperor to save him.

” However, other than that, I do not know about anything. I was the only one who was taking bribes from the brothel house and there was no one else above me. I do not know what His Highness is talking about.”

“I told him that I was the one who took the bribes from the brothel house and no one else is involved in it other than me. However, he held me captivated and almost beat me to death and forced me to admit that there are high-ranking ministers who are involved in this incident.”

” Your Majesty, I agree that I am greedy and took bribes. However, I cannot tell lies and put the lives of innocent people in danger. I am not that evil. Please save me! Otherwise, His Highness will kill me after I step out of this royal court.” The man cried and rubbed his hands in desperation while begging for mercy.

Zheng Liang’s expression darkened when the man changed his attitude and was speaking nonsense in front of the Emperor.

When he was captured by his guards, he revealed that Yang Luoyang, who is the Head Minister of the Financial Department is involved in this scam and had been taking bribes from the brothel houses, meanwhile, he only gets part of it to keep his mouth shut.

Not only that, but he also revealed that it was Yang Luoyang who asked him to steal the bags of grains and rice that were going to the famine-affected western region from the palace warehouse on the way. He had given him all the information in exchange that he would spare his life and reduce the span of his punishment.

The man has asked Zheng Liang to protect him from Yang Luoyang because if he found out about it, that man would kill him if he uttered the truth to anyone.

He was scared of Yang Luoyang and was afraid that he would hurt his family and his wife and now he is taking sides with Yang Luoyang.

How can he change his words in front of His Majesty?

Zheng Liang gritted his teeth and looked at Yang Luoyang who was standing in the corner and was smirking while looking at the man.

He clenched his fists as it was evident that it was the doing of Yang Luoyang. He must have done something behind his back and forced the man to change his testimony in front of the Emperor.

However, how did he find out what he was planning to do? While searching for the officers, he made sure to keep things secret from everyone. How come he got the air of his doings and reached out to the man who was in his captive to force him to change his testimony?

While Zheng Liang was wondering who snitched on him and gave the tip to Yang Luoyang, Gu Lan couldn’t bear the man speaking nonsense about the Crown Prince.

” What nonsense are you spouting? When did we force you to tell lies in front of His Majesty? How dare you accuse His Highness of such a shameful act?” Gu Lan yelled at the man and was about to kick him to speak the truth when the guards of Zheng Huang stopped him and pushed him to kneel on the ground and held his hands.

” What are you doing? How dare you threaten someone in front of me?” The Emperor shouted at Gu Lan and reprimanded him.

He turned to Zheng Liang, who was surprised when Gu Lan was forced to kneel on the ground and rebuked his actions. ” Zheng Liang, is that your way of finding the truth? How can you force someone to give false testimony just to blame someone?”

Zheng Huang was furious at his son for not being tactical enough. How can he raise an official appeal to the royal court if he cannot protect his witness and present the correct evidence in front of the court?

How can he raise this matter in front of everyone? Now he cannot help him even if he wants to because all the ministers have witnessed the incident and will ask for harsh punishment for Zheng Liang since he raised the question of their loyalties and then failed to prove any evidence.

Zheng Liang lowered his head as he had no way to reverse this situation. He never thought that the information would be leaked to Yang Luoyang and things would be changed against him instead.

The Emperor pursed his lips and took a deep breath before he signaled his guards to take away the man who was crying and begging while kneeling in front of him.

After the guards dragged the man out of the royal court and also took Gu Lan out of the court, Zheng Huang looked at everyone and announced, ” Since the Crown Prince failed to prove his claims, I announced him to be locked in his chamber for a week.”

“He will not be allowed to leave his chamber nor the premises of the palace. No one will be able to go inside his chamber or talk to him. That will be his punishment for going out of his way to investigate the things on his own rather than seeking the official investigation.”

Zheng Liang lowered his head as other than accepting the outcome, he had no other choice left to him.