coobybook Chapter 89 Not asking for trouble
Chapter 89 Not asking for trouble
"Second sister-in-law, my second brother doesn't judge people by their appearance!" Ye Shishu quickly spoke up for her second brother, "My second brother has always had clear likes and dislikes, and has never cared about beauty, ugliness, or social status!"
Gu Simo smiled at her, "I know, he is really upright and righteous!"
Night sweats, "..."
Can the word "righteous" be used to describe a couple?
Gu Simo saw through her thoughts and covered her mouth with a smile, "Little sister, don't worry, I won't leave right away. No matter what, Father, Big Brother and Shi Jun have helped me so much, even if I can't repay their kindness in one go, I will say goodbye to them before leaving."
Ye Shishu also laughed.
She was genuinely afraid that her second sister-in-law would suddenly run away, and then her second brother would ask her for her.
……
The news that the second young mistress of the Ye family had been burned to death at her maiden home spread quickly throughout the capital, just like the fire that had struck the previous night.
When Consort Lan learned of the news, she was enjoying the scenery in the Imperial Garden with Crown Princess Zhu Huaning.
Enraged, she directly berated, "How does the Gu family operate? They just reported last night that they had Gu Simo under control, and now she's burned to death overnight?"
Zhu Huaning couldn't help but get annoyed, "We finally managed to get her under our control, and now she's gone just like that? Didn't all our efforts these past few days go to waste?"
The messenger added, "Your Majesty, I heard that the Ye family father and son caused a great disturbance at the Grand Secretary's residence. It seems they have no intention of reconciling with the Grand Secretary."
Consort Lan angrily said, "Summon the Grand Secretary's wife, Lady Li, to me. I want to question her thoroughly about how she handled things!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Huaning quickly advised, "Your Majesty, please do not be hasty. The Ye family has just taken the person back and has not yet held a funeral. If the Grand Secretary's Mansion does not want its reputation to be damaged, it must keep a low profile. It is really inappropriate to summon Li Shi to the palace now."
Consort Lan was angry, but she listened to her words and suppressed her dissatisfaction with the Grand Secretary's Mansion.
……
The Ye family certainly had no intention of letting the matter of 'Gu Simo's' tragic death in the fire go unpunished.
Not only did he not intend to resolve the matter amicably, but the very next morning at the court session, Ye Gengxin directly impeached Grand Secretary Gu Yong in front of all the civil and military officials—
"Your Majesty, I must accuse Grand Secretary Gu Yong of colluding with the Northern Lin Kingdom! Evidence of Gu Yong's treason was discovered by his eldest daughter, Gu Simo, who then lured her home and set it on fire to silence her! I implore Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate the Grand Secretary's residence, severely punish Grand Secretary Gu Yong, and bring justice to his eldest daughter, Gu Simo!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire court erupted in uproar, and all eyes turned to Gu Yong in utter shock.
Even Yu Chisheng, who was sitting upright on the dragon throne, was surprised and froze, staring sharply at Gu Yong.
Only the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Zhu Zhishun stared at Ye Gengxin with grim expressions.
"Slander! Utter slander!" Gu Yong stepped forward excitedly, knelt down before Yuchi Sheng on the dragon throne, and pointed at Ye Gengxin as he pleaded, "Your Majesty, please be wise! Since I entered the court as an official, I have been loyal to the emperor and loved the people, and have been conscientious in my duties. I would never associate with an enemy country! General Ye is only slandering me because he holds a grudge over the death of my eldest daughter!"
Among the court officials, a military officer suddenly spoke up and asked, "Lord Gu, we have heard that your eldest daughter died in the fire in your mansion. She was your own flesh and blood. Why are you not saddened? Instead, it is General Ye, her father-in-law, who is personally speaking up for her?"
Gu Yong was caught off guard by the questioning. "I...I..." Fortunately, he reacted quickly and glared at the military officer with dissatisfaction. "Who said I wasn't sad? Do I have to cry in front of others to be considered sad?"
With a cold and stern expression, Yu Chi Sheng asked Ye Gengxin, "Ye Qing, do you have any evidence that Gu Yong colluded with the Northern Lin Kingdom?"
Ye Gengxin replied, "Your Majesty, I have no evidence."
Yu Chisheng retorted angrily, "No evidence? If you have no evidence, then on what grounds do you accuse Gu Yong of colluding with the Northern Lin Kingdom?"
Ye Gengxin continued, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I didn't believe in the matter of the Grand Secretary Gu colluding with the Northern Lin Kingdom at first, but Mo'er's death has left me no choice but to believe it!"
"What exactly happened? Explain it to me in detail!" Yu Chi Sheng said impatiently.
"Your Majesty, Gu Yong's eldest daughter, Gu Simo, is the wife of my second son. On the day she and my second son, Shi Jun, were released from prison, Gu Yong and his wife came to visit them. It just so happened that the young couple were unwell, so Gu Yong and his wife forcibly took them back to the Gu family home on the grounds that the General's Mansion had not taken good care of them."
"When Mo'er first married into the General's Mansion, she mentioned to my son that she was mistreated in the Gu family and no one in the Gu family could tolerate her. Before being forcibly taken away by Gu Yong and his wife, she gave my son a letter and told my son that if anything happened to her, he must present this letter to the Emperor."
"My son didn't understand what she meant at first, until the night before last, the very night that Gu Yong and his wife took her back to their home, the Gu family's stable caught fire, and Mo'er died in the fire..."
"My son retrieved her remains from the Gu family and then remembered the letter she left behind. After reading the letter, he understood what Gu Yong and his wife had done. They not only colluded with the Northern Lin Kingdom, but also burned their own daughter alive after she had seen the evidence of their collusion!"
The courtiers stood at attention and listened intently.
Kneeling on the ground, Gu Yong roared at Ye Gengxin, "Nonsense! That fire was clearly an accident! You accuse me of colluding with the Northern Lin Kingdom, where's the evidence? Show me the evidence!"
His loud voice made Yu Chisheng close his eyes.
He then asked Ye Gengxin in a deep voice, "What letter is it? How can you prove that Gu Yong colluded with the Northern Lin Kingdom?"
Ye Gengxin took out the letter that Gu Simo had prepared in advance from his sleeve and solemnly presented it above his head with both hands.
Qi Sui, who was beside Yu Chisheng, walked down the jade steps, took the letter, and returned to the jade steps to present it to Yu Chisheng.
Yu Chisheng took the letter, unfolded it, and immediately turned ashen-faced, rising angrily from his dragon throne!
Where are the palace guards?
The commander of the guards, Wu Yue, immediately stepped forward to receive the order.
Yu Chisheng pointed at Gu Yong and said, "Take down Grand Secretary Gu Yong immediately!"
The guard obeyed the order.
Gu Yong was quickly turned into a bettor.
However, before he could even cry out for justice, Yuchi Sheng ordered Wu Yue, "Bring Gu Simo's letter and retrieve the evidence of Gu Yong's collusion with the Northern Lin Kingdom, as indicated in the letter!"
An hour later——
When Wu Yue appeared in the Golden Palace with a set of writing implements and calligraphy and paintings, Gu Yong's face turned pale and he collapsed.
Not only him, but also Crown Prince Yuchi Rui and Prime Minister Zhu Zhishun, all had drastic changes in expression.
Yu Chi Sheng descended the jade steps and was furious after examining the set of writing implements. When he pulled out the thank-you letter bearing the imperial seal of the Northern Lin Kingdom from among the calligraphy and paintings, he could no longer contain his anger and kicked Gu Yong in the face.
"You, Gu Yong, as the chief minister, instead of serving the country, you dare to colluded with the enemy! You deserve to die!"
Gu Yong, having taken the kick, fell to the ground without daring to cry out in pain. He quickly rolled over and knelt down, crying out in a sob, "Your Majesty... I'm innocent..."
"Injustice?" Yu Chisheng's eyes were filled with murderous intent as he coldly questioned, "Your eldest daughter, Gu Simo, died in the Gu family home? Did she die in a fire? You can say it was a coincidence, but this evidence was dug up in the garden outside your study. Can you say it has nothing to do with you?"
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." Gu Yong had no way to explain, and could only turn his head and glare at Ye Gengxin, "It was you! You bribed that rebellious daughter to frame me!"
Ye Gengxin stepped forward, his face grim, and said, "Lord Gu, as Mo'er's father-in-law, I only wanted to speak out for her. I never imagined it would involve such a serious matter, let alone that you would burn your own flesh and blood to cover up your crime of collusion!" He pointed to the evidence and said sarcastically, "Do you think I put these things in your residence?"
It's unclear what he said that provoked Gu Yong, but Gu Yong suddenly lost his temper and yelled at him, "These things were clearly stolen by robbers, so why are they still in my house? You're one of those robbers, aren't you?"
His deafening roar instantly silenced the entire Golden Palace.