The atmosphere in the yamen lobby was solemn.

Liu He knelt in the hall, feeling uneasy like many others who were about to be tried.

But remembering what Prime Minister Cui had told him not long ago, Liu He calmed down a little.

Zhao Xin looked at Liu Han and his son. Their hair was disheveled, their bodies were covered in blood, and they looked in a miserable state.

"Liu Yishan, you raped a woman, murdered several people, and framed the imperial officials Ma Youjiang and Liang Xiping. Now you must plead guilty!"

After the severe torture last night, the former bully in Beijing has completely lost all his arrogance.

"I plead guilty... I plead guilty..."

Last night, I confessed everything I should and shouldn't have confessed. Does it make any difference whether I plead guilty or not?

Zhao Xin glanced coldly at Liu Han and said sternly, "Liu Han, you've been trafficking in illegal salt for huge profits, involved in the sale of official titles, and accepted and offered bribes. Do you know your crime?"

"I know my crime..."

Zhao Xin continued, "You're just a merchant, holding no official position, yet you're not only trafficking in smuggled salt, but you're also involved in the buying and selling of official titles. Who else is behind this?"

Liu Han confessed all of this during the interrogation last night.

Now during the trial, Liu Han repeated his confession word for word.

He knew that he could not escape the death penalty this time, and he only hoped that the emperor would spare the lives of the other members of his family in recognition of his active cooperation.

Liu Han was doing all these business of buying and selling official titles and smuggling salt for his younger brother Liu He. With Liu He's control and support behind the scenes, his business was going smoothly.

All the officials on the list were involved.

Each official title has a price tag, and the higher the rank, the more expensive it is.

The Qin Empire followed the imperial examination system established by the previous dynasty, and mainly relied on the imperial examination to recruit talents.

But now, under the manipulation of Liu He and others, the buying and selling of official positions and titles in the court has become a common practice.

Even if you can't read a single word, as long as you are willing to spend money, you can buy an official position.

Even the ranking in the imperial examination can be bought with money.

Those scholars from poor families who studied hard were admitted to the list based on their own abilities, but because someone paid money behind the scenes, their names were replaced with others'.

After Liu Han finished speaking, Zhao Xin looked at Liu He coldly:

"Now that we have all the evidence, Liu He, what else do you have to say?"

Liu He subconsciously looked at Cui Cen who was sitting at the lower left, then kowtowed with a look of grievance.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent! I have no knowledge of the things that my elder brother mentioned!"

Liu Han was stunned and looked at his younger brother beside him.

He didn't even look at himself, his expression was firm and angry, as if he had really suffered a great injustice.

Zhao Xin's expression turned cold, and he said sternly, "How do you explain what Liu Han said?

Without the support of you, the Jingzhao Yin, behind him, how could Liu Han, a mere businessman, sell illegal salt and even buy and sell official titles?

Not only Liu Han, but also the officials kneeling behind you have confessed everything!

Liu He, if you dare to deceive me and refuse to confess, your crime will be even more serious!"

The emperor's cold and stern tone made Liu He tremble with fear.

Normally, when attending court, the emperor is always the weaker party.

Since he took power, he was suppressed by his ministers in every way, so Liu He never felt that the young emperor had any dignity.

But now, perhaps because the environment is different, and Liu He really has something to hide, he feels uneasy.

Under the pressure of the emperor's series of words, his body, which was kneeling on the ground, could not help but tremble slightly, and beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

At this moment, he only felt the emperor's overwhelming power, which made him terrified and a sense of fear arose for no reason.

Cui Cen suddenly said, “Your Majesty, Sir Liu’s name is not on that account book.

It doesn't prove that he was involved in these things.

It would be hasty to convict him based solely on these people's confessions."

As soon as Cui Cen spoke, the other ministers present echoed and agreed with the prime minister's point of view.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Cui is absolutely right.

Liu Han and his son were covered in wounds, clearly tortured into confessing. Their confessions cannot be fully trusted."

"What does the content recorded in the account book have to do with Lord Liu? I'm afraid Liu Han is taking advantage of his power to make money and doing these things in Lord Liu's name?"

"I have served in the same court with Lord Liu for a long time and know him well. How could he be a corrupt official?

Your Majesty, please do not listen to one side of the story and misjudge a good minister!"

“I believe that Liu Han and his son are pushing these charges onto Lord Liu in order to seek a lighter sentence.

Slandering an official of the imperial court is a serious crime. I hope Your Majesty will punish me severely!"

This group of ministers kept talking nonsense one after another, and their lies became more and more outrageous, until they portrayed Liu He as an honest and upright official who had suffered injustice.

Among the three dukes and nine ministers, most of them spoke for Liu He and strongly agreed with Cui Cen's point of view.

Liu Muzhi watched the reactions of the ministers silently. When his eyes passed over Deputy Prime Minister Cui Luan, he paused for a moment.

Cui Luan has been very low-key recently. He took sick leave for a while and did not attend court.

Cui Luan's sick leave ended only after the emperor took power, but he rarely spoke in court.

Today, Cui Luan was as quiet and silent as ever.

All the ministers were speaking for Liu He, but Cui Luan stood behind his brother Cui Cen, but just acted as a background quietly.

"Bang!" The gavel slammed down.

"quiet!"

There was silence in the hall.

Although Prime Minister Cui was present, none of the ministers dared to speak again because of the emperor's aura.

When the emperor's cold gaze swept over, their words were stuck in their throats.

Zhao Xin sneered, "Everyone is saying that Liu Han and his son made false confessions and deliberately framed Liu He?

Then what about the confessions of these dozen officials? !

Many of these officials were on good terms with Liu He. Could it be that they were also slandering Liu He?"

Liu Han was not stupid. After listening to Liu He's words and the speeches of a group of ministers, he knew that Liu He wanted to put all the blame on himself.

He looked bleak, his mind was blank, and he couldn't tell what emotion he was feeling at the moment.

When Liu Yishan saw that his uncle wanted to clear himself and make him and his father take all the blame, he was shocked and couldn't believe it.

Even at this point, Liu Yishan still thought that even if his uncle was arrested and tried, nothing serious would happen.

After all, he is the confidant of Prime Minister Cui, who is extremely powerful and even the emperor has to give him face.

If Prime Minister Cui wants to save his uncle, isn’t it just a matter of a word?

As long as I can save my uncle, maybe I can save him and my father as well!

But now he actually wants to shirk everything and let them, father and son, die in his place? !

Liu Yishan said angrily: "Uncle, most of the money my father earned went into your pocket!

Now that something's wrong, you want us, father and son, to take the blame for you?!"

Liu He cursed Liu Yishan inwardly, calling him a stupid, selfish idiot. He and his son were destined to die, so why couldn't he help him before he died?!

After all, his uncle usually took care of him, and now this is how he repays him?!

What a ungrateful person!

And if it weren't for the trouble he caused, why would so many of them die with him now?