I woke up as the Villainous Empress

99 Royal Court II

Yang Luoyang’s expression darkened to see the Emperor allowing Zheng Liang to speak. He glanced at Zheng Liang and wondered what it is that he wants to discuss in front of everyone.

” Your Majesty, pardon me for being rude. However, I believe that it wouldn’t be appropriate for His Highness to discuss that matter in the royal court in front of everyone. It wouldn’t be good for the reputation of the two families involved in this matter. There are also chances that people will not take His Highness’s words seriously afterward. It wasn’t an incident that one should be proud of after all” Yang Luoyang interjected and requested the Emperor to think about it once again.

The Emperor pursed his lips as he fell into deep thought. It is true that discussing this matter will only bring shame to both families. What if the rumors become worse afterward? He wondered.

Zheng Liang gritted his teeth to see Yang Luoyang preventing him from speaking and spoke again to convince His Majesty to give him a chance to explain the incident. ” Your Majesty, there is a reason why I requested for this appeal to be brought up in the royal court. Please allow me to speak about this matter in detail and you will know why there is a need for this matter to be discussed officially in the royal court.”

The Emperor pursed his lips but seeing the sincerity and solemnity on Zheng Liang’s face, he nodded and permitted him to speak. “Alright. Go ahead and put the matter in front of everyone.”

“However, Your Majesty, it wouldn’t be-” Yang Luoyang tried to raise an object once again but the Emperor raised his hand and stopped Yang Luoyang from speaking, ” Silence. Minister Yang, I don’t think I have allowed you to object to my decisions as per your liking. Go and take your seat.” He said and instructed Yang Luoyang to take his seat and stay silent for the rest of the hearing.

Yang Luoyang pursed his lips and was humiliated when the Emperor told him off in front of everyone. He had no choice but to return to his seat and stay silent while Zheng Liang took the center to speak about the matter in front of everyone.

Zheng Liang smiled at the Emperor for allowing him to speak as he was glad that, unlike the other times, he didn’t berate him and gave him the chance to explain this matter.

” As everyone is aware of the incident the other day, it is true that I visited the brothel that day. However, there was a reason why I went there. It was because I had received a tip that illegal activities are still running at the brothel house in the facade of a family diner.” He started explaining.

.....

He avoided mentioning Yang Ning’s name while talking about the incident as he didn’t want her to receive backlash again because of this matter. Because rather than praising her for killing the bear, people would be more interested to talk about why she went there and what for.

” What? So you’re saying that despite banning the entertainment activities at the Brothel House, they were still continuing it? How dare they disregard the royal command and do such shameful activities at a place which should be accessible for women and children now?” The Emperor bellowed in rage.

Yang Ning told him that the brothel houses will become a turning point in the history of his reign and will become a historical monument in the future and he will be remembered as a Great King.

He was convinced by her lucrative words and was planning to make the brothel houses which have been turned into family diners, more accessible for women and children so that it will gain more popularity in the future and the people will sing his praises while visiting such places.

However, he was stunned and furious when he heard that such places are still running illegal activities in secret.

Zheng Liang nodded and continued, ” Yes. However, that was not the only matter. Those people could run their illegal businesses because some corrupt officials who work at the royal palace are supporting them and were putting a bind eye to their unlawful activities by taking a hefty amount of bribes from them.”

” That day I went to the brothel house to catch those corrupt officials in action. They not only take bribes but also accept favors from the women who work at the brothel house.” He exposed the cause behind his visit to the brothel House the other day.

Everyone’s faces went pale and they stood there in awkwardness. They weren’t expecting Zheng Liang would bring up that issue in front of everyone like that.

The Emperor’s face hardened when he heard about the involvement of the officials who work at the palace in this matter. “Zheng Liang, have you gone crazy? Are you saying that the people who work at the palace are the ones who are encouraging this business?”

He was worried that if this news goes out, it will leave a bad impression on people about the staff who work at the royal palace and they will lose their trust in the Emperor and the people at the royal palace.

” Are you sure about it? Do you have any evidence to prove your claims?” The Emperor asked.

Zheng Liang glanced at Yang Luoyang and said, ” Yes, Your Majesty. I have the evidence to prove the claim in front of everyone.”

” Because not only the low-rank officers who work at the royal palace but also some high-rank Ministers are also involved in this matter and are leading such corrupted activities. How can I not bring the evidence to prove my accusations when many great names are involved in this matter?”

Zheng Liang’s words caused chaos at the royal court and the Ministers who were attending the session were now in a frenzy and were worried that their names might be brought up in it.

” Your Highness, How can that be possible? There is no way the High-rank officials will be involved in such a shameful act of corruption. We all are loyal people of His Majesty, how can you doubt our faithfulness?” One of the Ministers said in the support of all the ministers.

Zheng Liang turned around at the person who raised the objection and said, ” Minister Qiao, are you also involved in this matter? Is that why you are supporting the people who are doing corrupt activities?”

“Your Majesty, I am innocent. I didn’t do anything. I am the head of the department of foreign affairs of the Empire. I have nothing to do with the brothel houses or anything.” He panicked and was on the verge of crying when Zheng Liang confronted him.

He was wrongly accused. He didn’t even do anything, why is the Crown Prince questioning him like that?

“Then what are you getting worried about? If you haven’t done anything wrong, then there is no need for you to be afraid of the proper investigation as well.” Zheng Liang looked at him coldly and responded to his unnecessary statement.

The man zipped his lips tightly and stepped back with his mouth shut. Seeing Minister Qiao being berated like this, no one else dares to speak anything against the accusing statements of the Crown Prince.

” Your Majesty, I have a witness who can testify against my claims. However, before bringing that witness to the royal court, I have one more thing to reveal as well.” Zheng Liang added.

“What is it?” The Emperor asked coldly.

” Your Majesty, do you remember when the people were suffering from the famine in the western region of the Empire?” Zheng Liang asked.

“How can I forget about it? There was quite a commotion at your birthday celebration banquet because of it. What about it?” The Emperor asked; remembering how Yang Ning attended the banquet wearing plain and ordinary clothes because she wanted to sympathize with the people who were suffering from the famine in the western region.

” When the people were suffering from the famine in the western region, the bags of rice and grains were sent to the famine-affected region along with medical assistance. However, after the private investigation about the matter, I found out that the quantity of bags of rice and grains that reached the people was less than what was assigned for them.”

“It means someone either has smuggled the bags of the rice and grains on the way or the budget assigned for this mission has been tampered with. Because of this reason, the people suffered greatly from the famine as the help that reached from the royal palace was not enough to keep everyone satiated even for two weeks.”

” Your Majesty, many people have died because of our negligence. I am bringing up this matter in front of everyone because the people who are involved with the illegal activities at the brothel house, many names from the same incident are also involved in the corruption of the famine-affected western region.”