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Chapter 1103: He Comes to Submit a Petition
🕑 Added 2023-08-10 20:15:30 +0000 UTCChapter 1103: He Comes to Submit a Petition
Unexpectedly, after a few words, Meng Yunzheng seemed to hold a grudge against Gong Qiu.
This person immediately had someone report it to the Third Prince, who was already feeling quite annoyed.
He had brought Gong Qiu and the Imperial Consort's affair to the emperor's attention, but unexpectedly, the emperor had simply locked them up without any further action. He even restricted the Third Prince's movements.
Later, he figured it out. The emperor cared about his image, and he didn't want such a scandal to be publicly known and damage his reputation.
Now, not only was the emperor displeased with the Second Prince, but he might also be upset with the Third Prince as well.
But it didn't matter; even if the emperor didn't want to lose face, the Second Prince was not his legitimate son and had no chance at the throne.
Without the Second Prince, and with the emperor's failing health, the throne would eventually be his.
However, the immediate task at hand was to find a way to frame the Second Prince and the others.
In this critical moment, Gong Xiao had arrived, and since he seemed to hold a grudge against Gong Qiu, he might be a breakthrough.
The Third Prince sent someone to inform the eunuch Xi Ping, who was by the emperor's side.
Xi Ping, upon hearing that Gong Xiao was Gong Qiu's son, immediately reported it to the emperor.
The emperor vaguely remembered Gong Xiao; after all, Minister Jing had just mentioned him, and right after that, news came about Gong Qiu's affair with the Imperial Consort. It was hard not to remember.
"What does he want? Is he here to intercede for his father?"
Xi Ping whispered, "Your Majesty, the people from the Gong family don't know that Gong Qiu is in trouble and has been imprisoned. There might be another important matter at hand."
The emperor coughed twice, leaning against a soft couch, his face pale and haggard.
He pondered for a moment and nodded, "Summon him in."
"Yes."
Meng Yunzheng was brought into the study, and when he saw the emperor, he respectfully greeted him.
The emperor looked at him, noticing that Gong Qiu's son surprisingly had a handsome appearance.
"Are you Gong Xiao?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"What brings you here?"
Meng Yunzheng hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and looked up with a determined expression, "Your Majesty, this commoner has come to accuse Gong Qiu."
He came to submit a petition to the emperor.
The emperor's pupils contracted, and he couldn't help but sit up straight, "What did you say? You want to accuse Gong Qiu? Gong Xiao, Gong Qiu is your father. Accusing your own father, according to the laws of the Da Su Dynasty, you should be subjected to punishment first."
Meng Yunzheng didn't want to face punishment, so he replied with a resolute voice, "I am not Gong Qiu's biological son. I might even say that Gong Qiu is my mother's mortal enemy."
The emperor was stunned, "What do you mean?"
"Your Majesty, this humble one is Meng Yunzheng, the son of Meng Pei, from the Tianning County's Full Prosperity Escort Agency. In earlier years, Gong Qiu was captivated by my mother's beauty and bribed my maternal family. My mother had no choice but to become Gong Qiu's concubine. However, later, she caught the eye of another official surnamed Liu, and Gong Qiu handed my mother over to that Liu official. Perhaps, with heaven's mercy, on the night my mother was imprisoned, the Liu official's residence was attacked by assassins, and much of the estate was burned down. My mother took advantage of the chaos and escaped."
Upon hearing this, the emperor's expression suddenly changed, and he interrupted him, "You said... the official surnamed Liu's residence was attacked by assassins? That was twenty-two years ago?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Meng Yunzheng was now twenty-one years old.
The emperor's face suddenly changed dramatically. Xi Ping, who was on the side, lowered his head, thinking that twenty-two years ago, wasn't that the time when the Emperial Consort Liu's brother's family was attacked?
This makes sense. If Liu Guifei and Gong Qiu were having an affair, it would make sense that she couldn't tolerate other beautiful women around Gong Qiu and wanted to get rid of the concubine through her brother's help.
The emperor's face turned somber, "Continue."
