Chapter 218 Chapter 218 is the only genuine version...

The court was extremely quiet.

There was only Xie Rong's voice, muttering to himself something that no one else could understand.

Xie Rong once again shook off Xie Jing, stumbling to his feet, feeling uneasy.

A faint fragrance lingered around Xie Rong's body, filling his nostrils. He had completely lost his sense of smell, so he couldn't smell it and didn't notice it at all.

Suddenly, he realized he could see. He had been blind for a long time, but when he could see again, he didn't feel the sudden brightness dazzled him at all. Instead, it seemed like a natural progression.

His eyes were fixed on the front, as if he was falling into an icy cave.

Standing before him was the late emperor, his father, the man he had poisoned to death with his own hands!

"Rong'er."

The late emperor had a kind face, like a loving father. He called to him in a gentle voice and slowly extended his hand to him.

This hand had black nails and held half an ink stick in the palm, emitting a strange luster.

"I really like the birthday gift you gave me. Rong'er is so thoughtful."

The late emperor walked closer step by step, and black blood continuously flowed out from his mouth, nose, eyes... all seven orifices, dripping onto the ground with a "tick-tick" sound.

"Don't come over here, don't!"

Xie Rong's voice trembled, almost squeezed out from the depths of his throat.

He kept backing away, waving his hands wildly in front of him, his forehead covered in sweat. Suddenly, he felt a chill approaching from behind, and a thin, long, dark shadow enveloped him.

Is that Jing'er? Xie Rong frantically reached out his hand, wanting Xie Jing to help him. He subconsciously turned around and his breathing suddenly stopped.

"Big brother, the prince."

The person standing behind him was actually the former crown prince!

There was a thick rope wrapped around the former prince's neck, which cut deeply into his flesh, leaving a deep red mark that was horribly glaring.

"Second brother."

There was a strange smile on the former crown prince's dark face, his pale lips opened and closed, and his voice was cold and hollow.

"Why?"

The shadow looming over him grew heavier and heavier, making it hard for him to breathe.

Behind him was the former crown prince with a rope around his neck, and in front of him was the former emperor with blood gushing from all seven orifices. The two men were approaching him, one in front and one behind.

Xie Rong was unable to move forward or backward. They were getting closer and closer to him, and he could even see the bloody palm prints left on the rope loop.

He once personally took the rope loop, put it around the neck of the late crown prince, and then slowly tightened it... He used all his strength, the hemp rope rubbed his palms, and the blood that flowed out remained on them.

"Why?"

The late emperor's voice also joined in the questioning, filled with endless resentment.

"Why? Why? Why?"

The sound waves drowned him like a tide. Xie Rong's sanity completely collapsed at this moment. His smile was crazy:

"Of course it's for the throne."

"Of course it's because I want the throne!"

Xie Rong shouted loudly, and his hysterical shouts echoed in the court.

Everyone stared at Xie Rong who was standing in the middle of the court.

Xie Rong's laughter gradually faded. His eyes were hollow, filled with a morbid obsession. "Brother Crown Prince, you are the legitimate son, the eldest son. You were born the Crown Prince. As long as you are alive, I have no chance."

"I strangled you!"

"I am the eldest son!"

With a ferocious expression, he made a motion of pulling the rope: "Hehehe, if you die, no one will fight with me anymore."

The Dali Temple's Chief Justice gripped the gavel, his fingertips turning pale from exerting so much force.

"Sister, you did it?" Gu Yican whispered in her ear.

He had just seen his sister draw a talisman with his own eyes and then secretly handed it to Xie Rong.

"It's fragrant."

Gu Zhizhuo leaned his head against his and whispered, "It will make him see some of the people and things he fears the most."

Gu Zhizhuo had used this incense on Ji once.

And that talisman would only slightly affect his mind. In addition, Gu Zhizhuo specifically mentioned to him that the late emperor and the deposed prince would come to find him. Now that he is like this, maybe he really saw it?

Oh, oh, oh. Gu Yican was delighted: "Look!"

Xie Rong was blind, so he relied on his ears to listen, and he would unconsciously tilt his head left and right.

It is the same now, so no one noticed anything wrong with his behavior.

His body swayed slightly, his eyes bloodshot.

"Father, why do you only see the Crown Prince? I can do it too."

"I will prove to you that I can be a wise ruler."

"Father, please die. And Xie Yingchen, he's only fourteen years old, how can he surpass me?"

His voice was sometimes high and sometimes low.

Xie Jing stood aside, stunned.

Is he confessing?!

The Grand Justice, the Minister of Justice, and the Left Inspector General looked at each other in bewilderment. They had assumed the case would be tried and questioned three times, at least until next year. Who would have thought the deposed emperor would actually confess?!

Xie Yingchen picked up the tea bowl and slowly skimmed off the foam. Receiving everyone's inquiring gazes, he smiled slightly and said, "I'm just here to attend the trial."

Gu Yican spared no effort to "provoke" his sister in her ear: "You are really pretending. Sister, right?"

Gu Zhizhuo chuckled softly. This laugh broke the silence in the courtroom. The people, recovering from their shock, looked at each other and shouted in unison, "Convict! Convict!"

The Dali Temple Minister calmed himself down, discussed with his two colleagues, and then slammed the gavel.

"Xie Rong, since you plead guilty, please sign and seal your name."

Confess?

Xie Rong shuddered when he heard the word "confession".

He met the late emperor's bloodshot eyes. The late emperor pointed at him and asked sternly, "You killed your father and brother and usurped the throne. Do you admit your guilt?"

"I……"

Xie Rong's lips twitched.

“You deserve to die!”

The late emperor walked up to him, so close that black blood gushed out from all seven of his orifices. Xie Rong gasped in fear, and just as he was about to step back, a hemp rope flew from behind and wrapped around his neck.

"No!"

Xie Rong screamed miserably.

In the courtroom, everyone watched in amazement. In their eyes, Xie Rong confessed everything one by one, and then suddenly grabbed his own neck, almost strangling himself to death.

Xie Jing pounced on him and desperately pried his hands apart.

Xie Rong's arms suddenly loosened, he gasped for breath, and collapsed to the ground.

"Brother, I was wrong. Don't come to me."

"Father, I was the one who poisoned you."

"Guilty. I plead guilty to everything."

Xie Rong's eyes were hollow, and he seemed to have opened a chatterbox, muttering to himself: "Father, you said that for your Emperor's birthday gift, you wanted me to make an inkstone myself. I made it myself, and I even poisoned it. You really didn't notice, and you even praised me for my dedication..."

"But it's poisonous. It's poisonous. And you use it every day. Hehehe."

He spoke incoherently, talking here and there.

"You're dead."

"The next one was the prince. I strangled him to death. They all thought he committed suicide out of fear of punishment."

"Oh, and Xie Yingchen, he's going to die too."

"If you are all dead, I will be the emperor! No, I am already the emperor now. I am the emperor... I am the emperor who is immune to evil spirits."

The people were stunned and whispered to each other.

"Is it retribution?"

"It must be the spirits of the late emperor and the crown prince."

"The late emperor forbade him to bring disaster to the Great Qi Empire again."

"Look, he signed it!"

The Dali Temple Minister personally took the file and went down.

Xie Rong shook his hand and signed the file.

The final verdict.

"Don't come over... I plead guilty, why don't you disappear!" Xie Rong pushed the Dali Temple Minister away with all his strength.

He got up and stumbled out, full of fear and madness.

The people took advantage of the chaos to vent their anger, throwing vegetable leaves, fire sticks, and even eggs that they usually wouldn't eat. One egg hit Xie Rong right on the forehead, and the broken egg liquid flowed down his forehead.

The Dali Temple Minister quickly signaled the yamen runners to stop him and take him back to the prison first.

Xie Jing followed him silently, feeling distraught.

The three-court trial is still ongoing.

Next, the interrogation continued with the eldest princess, the brothel owner of Rouge Tower, Li Deshun, the imperial physician who served the late emperor, the maids and eunuchs who had waited on the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and so on. During Gu Zhizhuo's absence, all those implicated in the current treason and the regicide seven years ago had been dug up one by one.

Even Ji Nanke, who had just been brought back, was no exception.

During the interrogation, Jiang Wu was also interrogated.

The people were angry and frightened when they heard this, and all the truth was revealed one by one during the interrogation.

It even included the incident four years ago when Xie Rong colluded with Xiliang and betrayed the former Duke of Zhenguo Gu Taotao to the people of Liang.

!!!

Every single incident is simply outrageous.

The Duke of Wei's heart trembled upon hearing this. At the time, Daqi was at war with the Liang Kingdom, suffering repeated defeats, with the western border practically falling to the Liang. Gu Taotao's arrival had saved the day. Why wasn't Xie Rong afraid that Gu Taotao's death would unleash the Liang people's fearlessness and lead them eastward, putting their kingdom at risk?!

He keeps saying that the late emperor favored the crown prince, and now he's allowed to sit on the throne, but how can he be considered a wise ruler?!

That’s right!

Duke Weiguo's heart skipped a beat and he glanced at the flowery headscarf tied around his arm.

Miss Gu just returned from Western Xinjiang. Could it be...

He silently told himself not to think about what he shouldn't think about and not to care about what he shouldn't care about.

The trial lasted for two hours, from the hour of Wei to the hour of You. However, not a single person among the people who were standing there watching the trial cried out in frustration. They felt tense, excited, and indignant at the same time.

Even Xie Rong pleaded guilty, so others no longer held out for hope.

Those who should plead guilty should plead guilty, and those who should sign should sign.

The three courts would not pronounce a verdict in court. Instead, the Supreme Court Minister, the Minister of Justice, and the Left Censor-in-Chief would later jointly determine the criminal's guilt. The case file would then be submitted to the Cabinet for review, and finally, Xie Yingchen would approve it.

The Dali Temple's judge banged the gavel: "Court adjourned!"

The fire and water sticks pounded, and the runners shouted. Suddenly, a jailer ran in breathlessly, shouting, "Sir! Sir! The deposed emperor has been stabbed! His life is in danger."

What? !

Gu Zhizhuo was also stunned. He calculated silently and his mind moved slightly.

The prisoner was stabbed in prison? The Minister of Justice knelt down in fear: "Your Majesty..."

Before the people who had come to watch the trial had left, Xie Yingchen, without hiding anything, asked them in front of him, "Who did it?"

The jailer knelt on the ground, trembling, but his words were clear enough: "It was done by Xie Yan, the son of the deposed emperor."

Xie Yan? Duke Wei blurted out, "The illegitimate child born to him by Ji Shi?"

There was another commotion among the people, and they were whispering to each other.

Tsk!

Duke Weiguo sneered. Xie Rong had previously treated this illegitimate son as a treasure, letting the Gu family raise him as a son for free, and even wanted to seize the title of the Gu family. Now he died at the hands of the illegitimate son. It was truly justice.

He was muttering to himself when he looked up and saw Xie Yingchen had already left, and Miss Gu was almost gone with him. He hurried to catch up and went to the imperial prison.

The Dali Temple Minister and others followed closely behind.

The imperial prison was no different from when Gu Zhizhuo came back. Xie Rong was still imprisoned on the second floor underground.

Imprisoned in the same room with him were Xie Jing, Xie Yan and Ji Nanke.

If a prisoner died before being convicted, the jailer would be severely punished, not to mention that the prisoner was the deposed emperor. As soon as the jailer discovered this, he quickly called in a doctor.

When they arrived, the doctor was trying to stop the bleeding.

Xie Yan huddled in a corner with blood on his hands. As soon as he saw Gu Zhizhuo, he rushed over, grabbed the iron fence, and cried, "Big sister, I didn't mean to do that. He hit me first."

Xie Yan's nose and face were swollen, and there were many bruises and pinch marks on his exposed arms and neck, some new and some old.

Gu Zhizhuo glanced at the jailer, who hurriedly said, "It was the deposed emperor who beat him. We tried to stop him."

Since the beating was not severe, they did not separate the two.

"What's going on?" Xie Yingchen asked.

The jailers looked at each other in bewilderment, then knelt down with sweat on their foreheads. "Grandson, we didn't see anything. It was already like this when I heard the noise and came over."

"I saw it."

Xie Jing spoke in a hoarse voice: "Father came back to the prison not long after..."

Xie Jing was close, and even though he didn't see Gu Zhizhuo's movements clearly at the time, after returning to the prison, he still found the talisman, which was only left with ashes, on Xie Rong's body.

Ha. Gu Zhizhuo sneered in response: "Hurry up and speak, don't talk too much."

Just see it, we can't drag this case until after the New Year.

Xie Jing sat on the ground, his head bowed as he spoke, "Father lost his temper again. He grabbed Xie Yan and started beating him, saying that Xie Yan had harmed him."

Xie Jing guessed that his father might think that this was the same witchcraft that Ji had used last time, and so he took his anger out on Xie Yan again.

These days, his father has been using him and Xie Yan as punching bags.

Sometimes he could still try to persuade his father, but the more he tried to persuade his father, the angrier he became, and he would always suspect that he had colluded with Xie Yan to harm him.

"After he beat Xie Yan, he sat in the corner, raging and cursing..."

"Not long after, my father fell asleep from exhaustion. Xie Yan quietly went over to sit next to him. I didn't pay any attention. Unexpectedly, he stabbed my father."

"Where did he get the knife?"

"I don't know. It's a paper cutter."

At that time, Xie Jing was terrified. He rushed forward and pushed Xie Yan away, and found that a paper cutter was stuck in his father's chest. His father was covered in blood and was dying.

"He hit me, big sister." Xie Yan's eyes were filled with tears, and she said pitifully, "I didn't mean to do it."

Gu Zhizhuo said softly, "Young Master, do you still remember the curse Changfeng uttered before his death?"

Before Changfeng died, he sacrificed his own life and used the Zhuyin spell.

Xie Yingchen had an idea and turned to look at her. Gu Zhizhuo understood what he meant, replied "OK", had the prison door opened, and walked in.

The paper cutter was still stuck in Xie Rong's chest, blood staining his clothes red. He coughed up blood and gasped for breath.

What rang in his ears was Chang Feng's vicious curse, word by word—

You will die at the hands of your own son.

You will die at the hands of your own son...

Xie Rong opened his mouth wide, and every breath he took was so painful that he wanted to die immediately.

He looked at Xie Yan, who was huddled behind Gu Zhizhuo, pretending to be pitiful. When their eyes met, Xie Yan looked up and glared at him with resentment. Xie Rong felt like he was haunted by a vengeful ghost, and a piercing chill welled up from the depths of his heart.

At that time, Ji was pregnant, but he didn't care.

It was just a child, no big deal, he didn't lack children. Later, he successfully ascended the throne, and the Gu family became more and more arrogant and domineering, relying on their military power to control the northern border. Even Gu Taotao didn't come back for his coronation ceremony.

Gu Taotao must still be on the side of the prince and is unwilling to submit to him as the emperor!

He suddenly came up with a good idea. He decided to get rid of the Gu family, which was a big threat to him, and let Xie Yan inherit the title.

Let the military power return to the hands of the Xie family bloodline.

The emperor couldn't help coughing so hard that his chest spasmed in pain.

Could it be that I will really fulfill Changfeng's curse and die at Xie Yan's hands?

He is unwilling, unwilling...