Chapter 300: Zhao Mingqiao Is Actually a Rebel

Sun Daoning personally came to the Heavenly Prison; today he was going to interrogate the imprisoned official Zhao Mingqiao.

Chen Guanlou notified Zhao Mingqiao while inviting Sun Daoning to the prison warden's office to rest and drink tea.

"My lord, I want to ask, when will the newly appointed prison warden take office? Without a prison warden, everyone feels like they have lost their backbone, and their hearts are panicked."

Sun Daoning held his teacup and glanced at Chen Guanlou. "Aren't you happy without a prison warden managing you?"

"My lord, you joke. A prison warden not only manages us but also guides our work, checks for leaks and fills gaps, and lets us take fewer detours and make fewer mistakes. Without a prison warden, everyone is like a headless fly, and we don't even know when we make a mistake. Over time, everyone is uneasy!"

Chen Guanlou was sincere and earnest, fully expressing the prison guards' expectation for the new prison warden; the position of prison warden absolutely could not be vacant. The longer it was vacant, the more it meant that people above were fighting fiercely for this position, and the funds spent would increase exponentially.

As a result, the gift money shared by each prison guard would also increase exponentially.

The best situation was for the previous prison warden to leave in the morning and the new prison warden to take office in the afternoon. Such a prison warden would cost less, wouldn't have gone through multiple rounds of fighting to take office, and the gift money collected would be less, and they wouldn't be overly greedy later.

Sun Daoning put down his teacup and said slowly: "Because of the troops wreaking havoc in the capital, the position of prison warden had been vacant and no candidate had been decided. Now, all government offices have returned to normal, and the position of prison warden should indeed not continue to be vacant. Regarding the position of prison warden, I already have a candidate."

"I dare to ask, who is the newly appointed prison warden?"

"Why are you asking so much?"

"My lord, I just want to be prepared in advance." Chen Guanlou explained.

Sun Daoning smiled half-heartedly and suddenly asked: "You are pondering how much money to send to the new prison warden, right? Don't worry, I personally nodded for your promotion to prison clerk; no one can dismiss you."

Ah!?

What an unexpected surprise. He didn't expect that Sun Daoning had contributed to his promotion. He thought it was all thanks to Jiang Jiang Yucheng Niu's efforts to promote him.

He decided decisively and bowed deeply. "Thanks to your appreciation, my lord, I will definitely serve with all my heart and will never add trouble to you."

Sun Daoning praised: "That's good. Serving with all your heart is better than anything; don't spend all day thinking about sending money and walking relationships; that is a small path, not the right way. With your ability, a mere prison clerk is not your end point. If you have the heart, read more books; it will be good for you."

"Thank you for your guidance, my lord; I will turn out the books in the box when I go back and study hard."

Privately, Chen Guanlou didn't care whether he was promoted or not. Being a prison clerk was quite good; the people he contacted were either prison guards or imprisoned officials, and these two groups were very safe for him.

He didn't really want to deal with people in the government office; they had too many schemes. He was afraid that some smart person would see through his secrets.

Besides, sitting in the office every day was not as free as the Heavenly Prison. Look at Little Master Fan; he sat in the position of prison clerk and didn't see anyone all year round. The duty of sitting in the government office required daily attendance.

Of course, if Sun Daoning insisted on promoting him, it wasn't impossible. Just muddling through; he could muddle through anywhere. It was just that he might need to spend a little more effort dealing with colleague relationships.

He was still thinking about Sun Daoning interrogating Zhao Mingqiao, but he couldn't ask, so he was a bit anxious. When the yamen runners of the Six Shanmen brought Zhao Mingqiao out of the cell, he consciously withdrew from the prison warden's office and went to the east wing office to drink tea. While drinking tea, he pricked up his ears to eavesdrop on the conversation inside.

Listening and listening, it was indeed related to that old guy Lu Mingchuan.

The Crown Prince was deposed; this was just the prelude. The real war had only just begun.

Clearing, taking sides, dividing enemies and friends, encircling and suppressing opponents, inflating the value of princes, and increasing the weight for princes qualified to compete for the throne—the court officials were busy.

Lu Mingchuan belonged to the first wave of people to be cleared.

Don't look at the Crown Prince being deposed; the people of the Crown Prince's faction were instead valued by the old Emperor. For those who had fallen into the trap of the Crown Prince or stayed out of it, the old Emperor's paranoia had struck again, and he began to suspect that this group of people was plotting something, such as trying to subvert imperial power, trying to alienate father-son affection, or trying to kill the deposed Crown Prince.

The old Emperor even madly believed that the reason he insisted on deposing the Crown Prince was definitely because he was bewitched by some of them.

This buck-passing was simply too shameless.

Public opinion had begun to ferment throughout the world; the Crown Prince being deposed had an influence far exceeding the initial estimation. Memorials impeaching court officials, the Political Affairs Hall, other princes, and even cursing the old Emperor flew into the palace like snowflakes.

Regardless of stance or identity, local officials, imperial clan members, and princes all opposed deposing the Crown Prince. They called this the most muddled act in the three hundred years of the dynasty. If one day the Great Gan Dynasty perished, it would definitely perish in the forty-ninth year of Taixing, perish because of deposing the Crown Prince.

Emperor Taixing had firmly borne the name of a muddled ruler; the words "muddled ruler" had been nailed to him and couldn't be shaken off.

How could the old Emperor accept this hat of a muddled ruler? He considered himself wise and martial, and everything in the world was under his control. He absolutely would not allow public opinion to develop in a direction he couldn't control.

Therefore, the court began a vigorous clearing. Someone had to stand up and take the blame; the more famous the person, the more suitable they were to take the blame.

Deposing the Crown Prince was the insistence of the court officials; he, as the Son of Heaven, had to respect the decision of the court officials.

Hmm, this was the fact!

The old Emperor deceived himself and others, trying to reverse the situation.

However, the world had its own eyes and would judge the truth.

Lu Mingchuan happened to appear in the Heavenly Prison on the first day of the military mutiny, avoiding the first wave of the storm, which was too coincidental. This person must be a traitor; it was said that the Crown Prince was deposed, and he must have contributed to it. Who let him be famous throughout the capital? He was exactly the famous scapegoat the Emperor needed.

Originally, everyone believed, including Chen Guanlou, that Zhao Mingqiao would definitely defend Lu Mingchuan. They were teacher and student, and Zhao Mingqiao had always firmly supported and believed in Lu Mingchuan.

No one expected that Zhao Mingqiao would drop a bombshell as soon as he opened his mouth.

"That's right! My teacher supported the Crown Prince on the surface, but he was actually secretly planning to depose the Crown Prince!"

What?

What kind of nonsense?

Zhao Mingqiao actually betrayed Lu Mingchuan? The student betrayed the teacher? ===== CHAPTER 301 =====

"That's right! The teacher has been supporting the Crown Prince on the surface, but has actually been secretly planning to depose him!"

What?

What on earth?

Zhao Mingqiao actually turned against Lu Mingchuan? A student betrayed his teacher?