Chapter 1320 - Justice Before Family
“The Crown Prince is speaking the truth. Because of the losses caused by the natural disaster, the situation at the border was desperate. The Crown Prince sought my help as I was situated near the border, and he asked me to raise funds for him. He later pawned his jewels to repay me.”
The old minister’s words took everyone by surprise.
This old minister was staunchly upright and would never curry favor from those in power. In the past, he had even dared to point out the Eternal Emperor’s mistakes. Hence, the Eternal Emperor trusted him greatly. The Eldest Prince and Second Princess had tried to get him over to their side but were always shown the door.
One might say that all the important ministers in the court trusted the old minister’s word.
As he spoke, the old minister produced the loan receipts that he and Ling Yan had signed that year and presented them to the Eternal Emperor. The documents had been imbued with a spell that showed when they were signed. There was no way to tamper with them.
The Eternal Emperor looked through them one by one and noticed that the time stated in the spell coincided with the disaster a few years ago.
The evidence was irrefutable.
No one had expected Ling Yan to be prepared with this.
That year, there had been nothing unusual about Ling Yan’s disaster relief work. The people that the Eldest Prince had found and the evidence of embezzlement were all falsified. They had not realized that the embezzlement had really taken place!
Except that the embezzler was not Ling Yan but Meng Yi and the others. In fact, Ling Yan had pawned his own belongings in order to make up the sum…
Many of the ministers in the court had been unhappy over Ling Yan appropriating the disaster relief funds. When they heard this, they now turned their approving looks on Ling Yan.
“We never knew that the Crown Prince had done so much for our country and our people. We admire him deeply.”
The Eternal Emperor looked at Ling Yan with a much friendlier gaze. His eyes were filled with concern.
“Yan’er, why didn’t you say something when this happened?”
Ling Yan replied. “That year, the Central Dynasty was about to make trouble. General Mo had led troops to guard the border. I was afraid that revealing the matter then would affect the line of defense at the border.”
The Eternal Emperor looked pleased.
The Eldest Prince and Second Princess were bewildered.
They had plotted against Ling Yan, but now… they had not only failed unexpectedly, but Ling Yan had used their accusation to consolidate his position.
He had even used his own money to make up the disaster relief funds and had remained quiet about it for many years without seeking any praise.
In fact, no one would have known about it… if they had not given Ling Yan a good opportunity today.
The Eldest Prince and Second Princess exchanged glances. Their expressions were a little anxious.
“Bring them away and interrogate them under torture!” The Eternal Emperor’s expression changed from kindly to chilly as he turned from Ling Yan to look at Meng Yi and the others.
They were quickly brought away.
Mo Yunxian, who was standing nearby, was stunned. Meng Yi and the others were her father’s trusted subordinates. Mo Yunxian had been completely ignorant about the matter of the disaster relief funds.
The Eldest Prince could not help but panic when he saw that Ling Yan had countered his move. But when he saw Mo Yunxian and the others kneeling in the hall, he thought of another plan. So he went forward and said, “The Crown Prince has worked hard for the people but is too soft-hearted. This might not be a good thing. Such matters should have been reported to our Royal Father in the first instance. You should not have hidden the matter on account of your engagement with Mo Yunxian. Meng Yi and the others are General Mo’s trusted subordinates. General Mo must be behind the embezzlement…”