Chapter 552
~ IMPRISONMENT ~
Jin Wang was kneeling on the ground. When he heard these words, he immediately raised his head and looked at the Emperor sorrowfully, saying, “Imperial Father, what kind of person this Son, you should know clearly in your heart. This Son admits that I have spent much time and effort fighting with Eldest Imperial Brother over the years, but this Son will never forget your teachings. We can compete with each other, but we will never do anything harmful to the Dali Dynasty.”
The Emperor narrowed his eyes abruptly as disappointment flashed across his eyes. “Third Son, I have misjudged you. I thought you were a gentleman even though you had ulterior motives, but I didn’t expect you to be a complete villain!”
How could he brazenly say such words after having caused so much harm to many people?
“Imperial Father, aren’t you forcing me to die by saying this. Jin Wang’s face turned pale, and tears had already burst from his eyes as soon as his voice fell. “This Son will always remember Imperial Father’s teachings. Every day, I will always wake up and use Imperial Father as a role model to do things beneficial to the people and the Imperial Court. However, Imperial Father thinks this Son is a villain. With such an assertion, how can this Son still have the face of continuing to live in this world?”
The Emperor shut his eyes and refused to look at Jin Wang’s expression. “Since you are unwilling to admit it, I shall ask you in person. The salt merchants of Jiangnan and the officials of Linjiang City have confessed that they contributed nearly three million silver taels after the last inspection of the salt tax. Is this true?”
“No, it’s completely illusory.”
“Also, someone admitted that the reason why Linjiang burst the dike because you wanted to destroy the evidence of the fake salt tax account book and the tax silver. Is that true?”
“No, this Son has no idea.”
“If you don’t admit to these two things, then you definitely won’t admit to the case of the beggar who hid away the silver in the Capital.” The Emperor turned around and sat back on his throne. He looked at Jin Wang coldly, “Things have already come to this point. I am not willing to speak with you any longer. I only ask you one question. Do you know your crimes?”
Jin Wang panicked, “Imperial Father, this Son doesn’t know where his mistake is. Please enlighten me.”
“Didn’t you say that before? After I issued the decree, you should have returned to the Capital with Ling Wang, but you stayed in Lingjiang City for a few days. It is clear that you refused to obey the decree.”
Jin Wang’s heart sank, “Imperial Father, I am staying in Linjiang City because I want to help Lord Qi repair the river channel. The rainy season in Jiangnan will come at any time. When heavy rain pours down, the embankment of the Linjiang River will definitely not be preserved.
This Son is also thinking about the people in Linjiang City...”
“I don’t care who you are thinking of. After receiving the decree, I only know that you disobeyed it and became extremely disrespectful to me. Don’t tell me that you’re unwilling to admit the crimes you’ve committed yourself?”
Jin Wang clenched his fists tightly, raised his head to look at the cold expression on the Emperor’s face, and a chill hit his heart. “I’m willing to admit it.”
“That’s good. You are my child anyway, I will not kill you, but you can’t escape punishment. You defy the decree, so I will release you from the title of Jin Wang and confine you to your current residence. You cannot go out without my will, and no one is allowed to visit!”
Jin Wang trembled uncontrollably, “Imperial Father, you want to imprison me?”
“Disobedience of the decree is a capital offense. It’s an extrajudicial act of kindness that I only imprisoned you. I have exempted you from the title of prince, but the conditions and servants will not be remitted from now on … You better take care of yourself.”
Jin Wang could not help but have his eyes turn red, “Imperial Father, why are you treating me like this? I have always thought I had completed all my duties since becoming an adult. Even when Imperial Eldest Brother oppresses me, I have always tried to hold myself back. Don’t tell me that what I have done all these things over the years was not worth a single cent in Imperial Father’s eyes? The Imperial Eldest Brother is narrow-minded, and you can tolerate him many times. He went to Jiangnan this time, regardless of the people’s lives, and it can be said that he has done nothing at all. You didn’t punish him, but you punished me. Is it because my mother was born from a humble background?”
Jin Wang couldn’t help but roar out these thoughts in his mind. His hands pressed against the ground as tears streamed down his face.
The Emperor looked at him coldly, his gaze swaying for a moment before returning to his calm state. “You should know that my background is also not high, Third Son. I know about this kind of suffering, so I’ve doted on you and your mother over these years. If you take your background as an example, I ask you, have you ever been bullied by the servant in the harem because your mother didn’t have a high birth?
If your Imperial Brothers were taunting you, I would punish them if I knew it. Did you fall behind once? You can only see that others have treated you poorly, but you can’t remember the kindness others have shown you.”
“Imperial Father, this Son will always remember your kindness to him.”
“You may leave. I don’t want to see you again.”
Jin Wang clenched his fists tightly, and his chest heaved as he said, “Imperial Father, this Son is unwilling to accept this. If you want to imprison me, this Son will accept it. However, I hope Imperial Father can explain the reason to this Son so that this Son can understand it.”
The Emperor picked up a paper fold and threw it in front of Jin Wang, saying, “Take a look for yourself.”
Jin Wang picked up the imperial report and quickly skimmed through it. After reading it, his face turned even paler, “Imperial Father, this Son doesn’t know why the beggars hid the silver on their bodies, nor did I instruct them to smuggle the tax silver into the Capital. Someone was deliberately framing me, so please check it out.”
“Those people have already confessed. They said that they were ordered by you. I have also sent people to investigate and discovered that your two uncles and your mansion’s aides are in contact with them.”
“How is that possible?” Jin Wang quickly shook his head. The salt taxes were not handed over to the officials but sent directly to the Capital through banknotes. There would be no beggars who came to the Capital with silver hidden. It was obvious that someone was deliberately framing him. Could it be that Ling Wang, who came to ridicule him before? Jin Wang suddenly raised his head and said, “All this matter was arranged by Imperial Eldest Brother, Imperial Father. The two of us had been fighting for so many years, so he had long since disliked me and held a grudge against me. Taking advantage of this time when I wasn’t in the Capital, he used the Li family and my two uncles to fabricate evidence to frame me.”
“Framing?” The Emperor sneered. These matters had already been verified by the Shadow Guard, yet Jin Wang still refused to admit it. “Fine. If you say you’ve been framed by someone, do you have any evidence?”
Jin Wang pondered quickly, “Imperial Father, the salt taxes silver are of great importance, and the amount of money is huge. The Li family can’t raise such a large amount of silver without flaws. As long as someone is sent to investigate the Li family, it is bound to be able to find clues.”
“Third Son, the silver taels found are not just tens or hundreds of thousands, but more than two million taels. Do you think the Li family can bring out so much silver to frame you in such a short time?”
Jin Wang opened his mouth and swallowed the words that came to his lips. He could not reveal the truth because the salt tax banknotes had already disappeared. If he were to say it aloud, Imperial Father would think he was trying to quibble to clear the crime and might even let Ling Wang and the Li family find a chance to bite back.
What should he do? What the hell was he supposed to do?