In a sense, the reason why he had persisted until now was largely because he wanted to see the official in person.

In sharp contrast, Zhao Jiu only took a look at the 43-year-old Zhe family head, who was at the prime age of a general, and became a little impatient:

"Have you finished reading? If you have, then let's get down to business. You call yourself a criminal, what crime have you committed?"

"I, a guilty minister, could not keep my integrity... and ended up kneeling before the northern barbarians." Zhe Keqiu quickly bowed his head and answered.

Zhao Jiu heaved a long breath upon hearing this, which was even more hurried than the one he took after taking away Li Ganshun's stinking head. After taking a few deep breaths, the official looked at the fish pond in the north and shook his head: "I know the process of your surrender. To be fair and objective, your crime is unforgivable but excusable."

"I am a sinner who can only receive this..."

"But you didn't just surrender once. You have three other serious crimes." Zhao Jiu interrupted without waiting for the other party to say anything. "One is that when the country was in danger, you still regarded the three states outside the Yellow River as your private property and used the land of the three states as a bargaining chip for the continuation of the clan, unlike Li Yongqi and Li Shifu of Suide who dared to abandon their land and travel around to serve the country; the other is that you watched Xu Huiyan die in the Jinning Army. I have ten thousand reasons to pardon you, but I can't stop Xu Huiyan from dying... If I don't punish you, how can I face Xu Huiyan and the Jinning Army soldiers who died with him when I go to Yuetai in the future?"

After hearing this, everyone understood the emperor's intention, even Zhe Keqiu lowered his head again and remained silent.

"Besides that." Zhao Jiu glanced at him and continued. "Your third crime is that you dared to come to see me! And you brought the head of Li Ganshun to see me... What's the meaning of this? Do you think that the head of a king who lost his country can atone for your crime? Or do you want everyone in the world to say that the Emperor Zhao was so generous to the Tangut royal family, but treated the people who have been guarding the border for a hundred years harshly?"

Zhe Keqiu was completely enlightened, and raised his head hastily. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the official waving his sleeves and saying to him in the stone pavilion: "I'll give you a sword, go out quickly, go through Xuande Tower, go through Xinzheng Gate, and go to Yuetai to pay homage to the spirits of Xu Huiyan, Li Yongqi and others on my behalf!"

All the words that Zhe Keqiu wanted to say were stuck in his chest. He could only kowtow several times on the ground, then stood up in a daze and turned to leave. Several Zhe family members who were also dressed in white and without hats wanted to follow him, but were stopped by the imperial guards and turned away. Only Zhe Yanzhi lowered his head and followed at Yang Yizhong's signal.

After he left Linhua Gate, Yang Yinzhong, who had been accompanying him, gave him a sword and asked him to leave with the sword in his hand.

In the morning, when the sun was rising a little, Zhe Keqiu turned south from Linhua Gate and walked to Yiyou Gate with a sword in hand. He regained some clarity of mind. He knew that the emperor wanted to humiliate him and then let him die in Yuetai in front of the world so that he could give an explanation to the world... and after his death, the three states outside the Yellow River would probably be directly ruled by the court, but his children and the Zhe family would be more or less saved.

When he thought of this, the man who had been mentally prepared felt a little relieved.

However, with a desperate mentality, Zhe Keqiu came out of Yiyou Gate, turned left through Yintai Gate and entered the front palace, but he suddenly stopped, because when he arrived here, he saw people coming and going in front of him. They were all bureaucrats and generals from the front province, Privy Council, and Chongwenyuan where the Secret Council was located, entering and exiting the side door of Xuande Tower and Donghua Gate.

Civil and military officials walked back and forth, some in purple, scarlet, or green robes, some wearing armor and carrying swords, all looking around proudly, facing each other left and right, the atmosphere was high and warm, so much so that Zhe Keqiu, who was wearing white clothes, bare head and holding a sword, was surrounded by onlookers as soon as he set foot on the road.

People have a sense of shame. Although he had long understood that this was Emperor Zhao's original intention, Zhe Keqiu still paused, then lowered his head and hurried away.

However, the further they went, the denser the crowd of civil and military officials gathered. Moreover, everyone knew that the emperor had summoned Zhe Keqiu today. With Zhe Keqiu dressed like this, and with Zhe Yanzhi and Yang Yizhong leading the soldiers following behind him, who would not be able to wake up if they paid a little attention?

Besides, there were actually quite a few people who knew Zhe Keqiu directly, that is, the so-called old friends of Zhe Keqiu in the court.

Therefore, when Zhe Keqiu arrived at the main gate of Chongwenyuan, many officials from the capital province and the Privy Council in the courtyard had already heard the news and rushed out to watch. Even the four ministers of the capital province and the Privy Council, several Shangshu, Shilang, Jiuqing, and judges who were working there, when they heard that Zhe Keqiu had achieved results, also went out to see... just like watching Yue Fei passing by with the banner of loyalty to the country that day.

At this point, Zhe Keqiu was completely ashamed, his face flushed, and he was almost too embarrassed to show his face. He could only walk faster in an attempt to escape.

However, when he reached Xuande Tower, he suddenly stopped and then slowed down his pace... Yang Yizhong had given orders long before he arrived to open the door of Xuande Tower. At this time, the Imperial Street in front was bustling with people, and countless Tokyo citizens were curiously looking around, wondering why the door was opened and who was going to come out of it?

Could it be more glorious than the last time Yue Pengju did?

Zhe Keqiu, who originally thought that he could grit his teeth and walk to the altar for the sake of his family, and die in front of the altar in exchange for the safety of his family, was shocked at the last moment, and was in a dilemma for a while, and then completely panicked.

But I just dare not stop!

As he walked slowly forward, he looked back and saw countless officials of the current dynasty swarming behind him, some watching in astonishment, some standing in silence, some watching with cold eyes, and some sighing with their hands held high. Of course, there were also people pointing and talking. Even his nephew, Zhe Yanzhi, who was over fifty years old, was so embarrassed that he covered his face.

Looking further ahead, he saw that outside the main gate of Xuande Tower, countless Tokyo scholars and common people were gathered on both sides of the Imperial Road. The number of people far exceeded that of those inside the gate. They were all watching curiously. Some people even followed his steps forward and caught a glimpse of his figure, whispering with the people on the same side.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!