After time travel, I was caught and became a fake princess

Li Bangquan, the Minister of Finance, knelt on the ground and said, "Your Highness, I am innocent. Ni Hongzhen is making false accusations. I hope Your Highness will investigate this matter."

Ni Hongzhen sneered: "Li Bangquan, I know you won't admit it, but I have evidence in my hand." As he said that, he took out a stack of papers from his sleeve and handed it to the eunuch in charge.

The prince took the paper filled with evidence of Li Bangquan's crimes, glanced at it, and said dissatisfiedly: "Ni Hongzhen is so bold that he dared to deceive his superiors and subordinates and accept bribes. Such behavior is irritating to heaven and people. Come, take him away and hand him over to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation."

Li Bangquan kowtowed and said, "Your Highness, I am innocent. It was Ni Hongzhen who framed me. I hope Your Highness will investigate this matter."

Ni Hongzhen said: "Li Bangquan, this is true. You still dare to quibble. We are colleagues. I advise you to tell the truth."

Zhu Yizhen stood up and said, "Your Highness, Minister Li is loyal and devoted, but he has not yet bought a house in Leyuan City. His family lives in a small courtyard. How could such a loyal minister like him be corrupt and accept bribes? As for occupying the people's land, it is out of the question. I hope Your Highness will investigate it clearly."

The ministers were whispering to each other.

Chu Qilin clenched his fists, furious.

Li Bangquan is incorruptible, impartial, and strict with himself, and he enjoys a high reputation in the officialdom of Dayi.

Ni Hongzhen was often impeached for his improper conduct.

His good son only glanced at the indictments with evidence on them and it was obvious that he knew the inside story in advance.

It was obvious that the two of them joined forces to get rid of Li Banghua.

The prince glanced at the Minister of War Yun Lie.

Yun Lie understood and said, "Prime Minister Zhu, everyone knows that Li Bangquan is your favorite student. Are you going to protect him?"

Zhu Yizhen said, "Lord Yun, I, Zhu Yizhen, am upright and honest, so how could I protect a criminal? But Lord Li has done all these years for the court and the people. Lord Yun, Lord Ni, you are framing a good man, aren't you afraid of losing the support of the people and the emperor?"

"Zhu Xiang is careful with his words. The emperor is not here, and the crown prince is the most important. If the crown prince says Li Bangquan is guilty, then he is guilty."

"Master Ni, do you mean that as long as the prince speaks, we can ignore the truth and make arbitrary convictions?"

"Zhu Yizhen, what do you mean? Are you implying that the prince is unfair?"

"I don't dare."

"That's what you mean..."

Seeing that the people below were about to start quarreling, the prince showed a look of dissatisfaction.

"Prime Minister Zhu, you are getting bolder. Don't think that I can't punish you just because my father is not here. Don't you see who is sitting there?"

Chu Feng stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Prince, calm down. Prime Minister Zhu was indeed a bit reckless."

"Humph!"

"But Your Highness, we are all working for the Emperor. We cannot let a bad guy go, but we also cannot wrongly accuse a good guy. I think Li Bangquan is wrongly accused, and I hope Your Highness will investigate it."

Chu Feng knew clearly that Li Banghua was Zhu Yizhen's disciple, a clean man with an excellent reputation among the people.

If the prince and others pulled him down, it would be equivalent to cutting off one of Chu Feng's arms.

Everyone knows that the Minister of Justice is the prince's man. Once Li Bangquan enters the Ministry of Justice, he will be convicted even if he is innocent.

So he must not be imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice.

The crown prince smiled, but there was no warmth in his smile: "King Xuan, what do you mean, you don't trust the Ministry of Justice?"

"I dare not. This matter is of great importance. I think it should be handed over to the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, and the Censorate for a joint trial."

The prince frowned. Everyone knew that the Chief Justice of Dali Temple was Chu Feng's man. With the Dali Temple interfering, it would be extremely difficult to convict Li Bangquan.

Zhu Yizhen cupped his hands and said, "I second the motion."

Almost all the officials of Chu Feng's faction stood up, bowed and said: I second the motion.

The prince's faction insisted on handing the case over to the Ministry of Justice for trial, and the two sides were in a fierce dispute.

Only a few ministers stood aside without saying a word, watching with great sorrow the quarrel between the two officials.

Alas, the court was supposed to discuss military and national affairs, but it was turned into a chaotic place.

Chu Qilin saw that the court was noisier than a vegetable market, and that these officials were indulging in party struggles and neglecting government affairs, and he couldn't help feeling sad.

It's time to clean up the court.

Yun Lie pointed at Zhu Yizhen's nose and said, "Zhu Yizhen, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has spoken, how dare you disobey his orders? Do you want to rebel?"

Zhu Yizhen retorted: "Why do you say that, Minister Yun? We are paid by the emperor and we are loyal to him. How dare we disobey his orders? But Li Bangquan is an important official of the court. According to the Dayi Law, officials of the second rank and above who commit crimes shall be tried by the three courts. Lord Yun must know this!"

"Humph, Zhu Yizhen, stop making trouble here. The Crown Prince is the regent and has the final say in the court. If people do not obey, they are deceiving the emperor!"

"Lord Yun, the emperor should be a role model for the people. If the emperor does not abide by the laws of Dayi, the country will be in chaos if the people follow suit."

"Besides, the prince is only the regent, and the emperor is the emperor."

"How dare you," Ni Hongzhen said with anger that his beard was crooked. "The emperor is not feeling well and is recuperating outside. The emperor personally ordered that the crown prince be regent. The crown prince's words are the imperial decree. Do you want to disobey the order?"

"The Emperor has asked the Crown Prince to supervise the country and the Prince Xuan to assist him. If the Crown Prince does something inappropriate, the Prince Xuan should correct it.

The prince stood up from his chair, his face sullen, and sneered, "Prime Minister Zhu, you openly and secretly ridiculed me for mishandling the matter and behaving inappropriately. Do you look down on me as the prince and think I am unworthy of being the prince?"

Zhu Yizhen knelt on the ground and said, "I dare not."

When the ministers in the court saw the prince getting angry, they all knelt down and shouted, "Prince, calm down!"

The prince waved his sleeves and said, "Since I am still the prince, I should make the decision. Come, take Li Bangquan away and hand him over to the Ministry of Justice for trial."

Yun Lie and Ni Hongzhen looked at Chu Feng and Zhu Yizhen proudly, and shouted in unison: "The prince is wise, live a thousand years, live a thousand years, live a thousand thousand years."

Zhu Yizheng looked at them coldly and sneered in his heart: Humph, the real boss is right behind us, let’s see how long you can be so proud.

But, Your Majesty, why don’t you come out?

When the prince saw that his ministers had surrendered, he sat back in his seat in a leisurely manner.

He looked at the golden dragon throne on his right, as if he saw himself wearing a dragon robe, sitting on the dragon throne listening to the ministers below shouting "Long live the dragon" three times.

"Prince, you dare to destroy the Great Yi Law before you even sit on the throne. If you really become the emperor, I'm afraid you will dare to destroy the saints and annihilate the clan!"

This was an extremely impolite statement, a slap in the face of the prince.

The ministers gasped when they heard this. Who was so bold as to risk his life?

They looked in the direction of the voice and saw a guard with a stern face, staring at the prince with scorching eyes.

No, why does this guard look so familiar?

The prince was so angry that his face turned blue and he almost fell off his chair.

"Who is it? Stand up for me. I want to see who is so bold."