Puppet Emperor, the Empress Wields All Power and Calls a Deer a Horse

Chapter 34 The Evidence Is Irrefutable! Emperor Dowager Has Lost All Face!

Empress Dowager could not believe that Gu Changsheng would be able to produce evidence.

One must understand that among the hundreds of ministers who perished last night, it was impossible for all of them to have been traitors and treacherous officials!

“Heh!”

Gu Changsheng smiled faintly and said calmly:

“If the Empress Dowager wants evidence, naturally I can provide it.”

“Impossible!”

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager’s face showed surprise and disbelief, and she immediately retorted.

Gu Changsheng ignored the Empress Dowager, lightly tapping the dragon throne with his fingers. He turned to the head eunuch, Xia Wudao, and said in a deep voice:

“Chief Eunuch Xia, read it aloud!”

“Read aloud the deeds of the so-called pillars of the Great Zhou that the Empress Dowager speaks of, and let everyone see whether I am a tyrant or not!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The head eunuch, Xia Wudao, respectfully nodded, then reached into his robe and pulled out a thick memorial. Taking a deep breath, he loudly read it out in front of the entire court:

“Vice Minister of Revenue, Lei Yu, accepted bribes from the Jin Dynasty, colluded with the enemy, and committed treason. He is to be sentenced to death, and his entire family executed!”

“Vice Minister of Works, Hu Yun, secretly colluded with the barbarian beast tribes, smuggling military supplies of Great Zhou. He is to be sentenced to death, and his entire family executed!”

“Lieutenant General Qi Feng, abused his power in the military, forming cliques and embezzling soldiers’ pay, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians. He is to be sentenced to death, and his entire family executed!”

“Vice Minister of Justice, Zhao Feng, is in fact a demonic cultivator from the Demon Sect. During his years in office, he set up illegal private punishments, abused his power, and harmed officials of Great Zhou. He is to be sentenced to death, and his entire family executed!”

“…”

Xia Wudao’s loud voice echoed throughout the court.

For half an hour, he read out the crimes of hundreds of officials before finally stopping.

The crimes of the officials listed in the memorial were thoroughly investigated by the Royal Shadow Guards, with irrefutable evidence, leaving no room for denial.

Upon hearing the crimes of these hundreds of officials, the entire court was in shock, staring wide-eyed and speechless.

They could never have imagined that in the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty, so many treacherous officials and traitors were hiding.

Especially the Minister of Justice, Yang Ping, who trembled all over and turned pale with sweat when he heard that his subordinate, Zhao Feng, was a demonic cultivator.

One must understand that Zhao Feng was under his jurisdiction, and if Zhao Feng’s true identity was exposed, Yang Ping would be implicated.

Fortunately, from the look on His Majesty’s face, he seemed lenient and had no intention of taking action against him.

Only then did Yang Ping begin to relax.

“Empress Dowager, do you believe that the officials listed here are treacherous traitors or the pillars of the Great Zhou?”

Gu Changsheng’s face grew cold, and his eyes were filled with disdain as he looked at the Empress Dowager with a mocking smile.

The hundreds of officials on the list were all from the Empress Dowager’s faction, and their crimes were enough to sentence them to death and have their families executed.

It was no exaggeration to say that none of the officials eliminated last night were wrongly killed.

Had it not been for the irrefutable evidence, he would never have taken action so easily, giving the Empress Dowager any excuse to use against him.

Upon hearing Gu Changsheng’s inquiry, the Empress Dowager did not answer, as waves of disbelief surged in her heart.

The crimes of the hundreds of officials that Chief Eunuch Xia Wudao had just read out were so thoroughly detailed that even she had not uncovered them all.

How could Gu Changsheng, who had only recently ascended the throne, have such comprehensive knowledge of the crimes of these hundreds of officials?

Could it be that Gu Changsheng had been planning this for a long time, even before his ascension?

If that were the case, Gu Changsheng’s scheming is terrifying.

Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager’s expression became resigned, and she remained silent for a long time.

With the evidence overwhelming, her accusations that the emperor was muddle-headed and cruel towards ministers no longer held any weight.

In the next moment, under the Empress Dowager’s gaze, the Imperial Censor, Zhao Ze, collapsed in fear within the hall and was immediately dragged out of the Tai Chi Hall by several Royal Shadow Guards guards.

Witnessing this, the Empress Dowager’s hands slowly clenched, her lips pressed together as if she wanted to speak, but before she could say anything, Gu Changsheng waved her off.

“Imperial Censor Zhao Ze, for his offense of insulting the emperor in court and defaming the imperial authority, cannot be spared!”

“If he is not executed, where will the dignity of the Great Zhou imperial family be?”

“Empress Dowager, if you wish to plead for the Imperial Censor, I advise you to remain silent.”

“Hmph!”

“If that’s the case, I leave it to Your Majesty to decide.” the Empress Dowager snorted in frustration, her tone betraying her anger.

She had calculated everything, but she had never expected that Gu Changsheng would truly have such clear evidence of the crimes of hundreds of officials, leaving no loophole for her to exploit.

Today, in front of the entire court, she had once again lost face.

“Your Majesty, with the removal of these treacherous officials and traitors, many official positions in the court are now vacant. This is a serious matter and must be swiftly addressed by selecting capable individuals to fill these positions and stabilize the court!”

“I, your humble servant, am willing to assist Your Majesty in this task.” Right Prime Minister Liu Wu suddenly stepped forward, slightly bowed, and made a formal gesture of respect.

Upon hearing this, Gu Changsheng’s face remained impassive, though internally, he couldn’t help but sneer.

What a joke. He had gone through so much trouble to eliminate the Empress Dowager’s faction in order to install his own people.

There was no way he would agree to the Right Prime Minister’s request.

“The matter of the court vacancies does not require your concern, Right Prime Minister.”

“Minister of Personnel, select capable individuals as soon as possible and draft a list. Once the task is completed, present it to me for review.”

Gu Changsheng seemed to have already made up his mind. His gaze fell on the Minister of Personnel, and he spoke earnestly.

The reason he entrusted this matter to the Minister of Personnel was because the Minister belonged to the Left Prime Minister’s faction.

He wanted to use this opportunity to gauge the Left Prime Minister’s attitude—whether or not he would support him.

Moreover, the final list of officials would still need his approval, leaving no room for the Empress Dowager to interfere.

Once everything was dealt with, Gu Changsheng, looking somewhat weary, glanced at the court officials and said indifferently:

“Court dismissed!”

With a wave of his hand, Gu Changsheng stood up and left the Tai Chi Hall.

“May Your Majesty live long!”

The entire court bowed slightly, paying their respects.

After Gu Changsheng’s figure completely disappeared, the court officials stood up and exchanged glances, unsure of what to say.

Today in court, the Empress Dowager had once again lost in her power struggle against the new emperor.

Watching Gu Changsheng leave, the Empress Dowager’s face turned icy, her eyes narrowed, and a cold aura emanated from her, sending chills down one’s spine.

Today was supposed to be the trap she had set for the emperor.

In the end, Gu Changsheng had easily defused it.

She had indeed underestimated the emperor.