Chapter 278 Revenge

Ever since the powerful officials who participated in the purge of the imperial court were arrested and taken to the Dali Temple, news has been coming out one after another.

Your Majesty has officially issued an edict to demote the King of Han and the King of You to commoners. They will spend the rest of their lives in the deep palace.

Although Prince Xin, Prince Xuan, and Prince Ji had nothing to do with the events of that year, they were also implicated and deprived of their qualifications to be regents. If nothing unexpected happened, they would only be able to be idle princes in the future.

At the same time, the news that Jingzhao Yin committed suicide out of fear of punishment quickly spread outside.

In the East Palace case back then, he was one of the masterminds, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was executed by all the nine clans.

For him, committing suicide by taking poison was the most comfortable way to die.

Given the crimes he committed, he would most likely be sentenced to death by slicing.

Even if he dies, His Majesty does not intend to give up.

His body will be hung at Caishikou and whipped for three days.

His family members were also captured by the imperial guards at the first opportunity. Although they were not subjected to the punishment of being tortured to death and whipped for public display, they were still sentenced to death.

It is really sad that a third-rank official, one of the most powerful officials in the court, ended up in such a situation.

In the Dali Temple, the officials and dignitaries who were still in custody were extremely nervous.

In their hearts, they had already cursed the King of Han and the King of You.

If the two of them had not vowed that they would be able to get rid of Li Xuanjing this time, they would not have participated in this incident.

He targeted Li Xuanjing, but ended up in Li Xuanjing's hands. It would be difficult to leave safely without paying some price.

Dali Temple, inside a prison cell somewhere.

Several princes and dukes were either sitting or standing in the cell, all with gloomy looks on their faces.

"I shouldn't have trusted the King of Han in the first place!"

"Clear the emperor's side, clear the emperor's side, clear yourself to the Dali Temple!"

"What do you think Li Xuanjing will do to us?"

"What are you afraid of? We were not involved in the East Palace case back then. He can't do anything to us, right?"

Although they were in a very bad mood, they were not worried in their hearts.

The Prince of a County is of the first rank, and the Duke of a County is of the second rank, so they are eligible for certain exemptions from punishment. What's more, everyone has a golden medal of immunity from death granted by emperors of all dynasties in their homes, so even Your Majesty cannot kill them.

At some point, the door of the cell was opened, and an official from the Dali Temple stood outside and said, "Prince of Ruyang, the Lord of the Temple invites you."

Prince Ruyang walked out of the cell with his chest puffed out and followed the Dali Temple official into a room.

This room was decorated quite luxuriously. On a plaque in front of it were four large characters "A Clear Mirror Hanging High" inscribed on it. Below it was a long desk, which was somewhat similar to the Dali Temple's court, but also very different.

The floor of the room is covered with valuable carpets, and the other furnishings are also quite exquisite.

The Prince of Ruyang was a first-rank noble. Although he had heard that the Dali Temple had a special place for interrogating the powerful, this was his first time there.

In the middle of the room, there was an upholstered chair.

Prince Ruyang sat on the chair and asked, "How long do you plan to keep me in prison?"

Li Xuanjing sat behind the desk and said, "The Dali Temple is under the order of His Majesty to investigate the murder of the Crown Prince. We need to ask Prince Ruyang a few questions. I hope you can answer them truthfully."

Prince Ruyang frowned and said, "You investigate your case, what does it have to do with me? I have nothing to do with the murder of the crown prince."

Li Xuanjing said calmly, "King Han and King You knew that I had found clues to the Donggong case, so they wanted to silence me in the name of clearing the court of corrupt officials. Since Prince Ruyang had nothing to do with the case, why did he get involved in this incident?"

The Prince of Ruyang moved his lips, not knowing what to say for a moment.

The King of Han and the King of You did not tell him this. He participated in the campaign to purge the court just to kill Li Xuanjing.

The feud between the powerful and the wealthy and Li Xuanjing has been going on for a long time. After Li Xuanjing's death, who in the entire court would dare to openly go against the powerful and wealthy?

But how could he say this in front of Li Xuanjing?

It cannot be said that it is because he formed a clique for personal gain, excluded dissidents, abused power for dictatorship, abused his authority, accepted bribes and perverted the law, murdered loyal and good people, took human lives lightly, killed innocent people indiscriminately, misled the country and the people, and deceived the emperor..., so they want to eliminate traitors for the country and bring peace to the court?

Prince Ruyang cleared his throat and said, "Lord Li is a smart man. You must know that the case in the Eastern Palace has nothing to do with me. We were also used by the King of Han and the King of You..."

Li Xuanjing looked at him and said, "But, isn't that what King You said?"

Prince Ruyang was stunned and asked, "What did Prince You say?"

Li Xuanjing played with the gavel in his hand and said, "Prince You said that the powder he used to murder the crown prince was provided by Prince Ruyang. How do you explain this?"

The Prince of Ruyang was startled, and suddenly stood up from his chair, saying in shock: "Prince You is framing the prince. How can this prince benefit from killing the prince? No matter who takes the throne, it will be the same for this prince. This prince has no reason to do this!"

Li Xuanjing shook his head and said, "Why did the Prince of Ruyang want to murder the Crown Prince? Only the Prince himself knows..."

Prince Ruyang immediately said: "I want to confront Prince You!"

Li Xuanjing said: "Prince You has been sent to the palace and imprisoned, and no outsiders are allowed to see him."

Prince Ruyang was anxious and shouted, "Killing the prince is a serious crime of treason. You can't convict me of such a crime just because of Prince You's one-sided statement. You have to use evidence when handling a case!"

Li Xuanjing put down the gavel in his hand, looked at him indifferently, and said: "Really? Prince Ruyang, have you forgotten that you are very good at accusing others of treason based on one-sided statements..."

"What?"

Prince Ruyang's body trembled, and he finally realized something. A chill instantly rushed from his tailbone to the top of his head. He pointed at Li Xuanjing and said in a trembling voice: "You, you, you are seeking revenge. I want to see His Majesty, I want to see His Majesty!"

Li Xuanjing said: "His Majesty is very busy and will not see you."

Prince Ruyang was completely panicked and said, "I am a prince of the first rank. You Dali Temple have no power to punish me. I want to see the Minister of Zongzheng Temple!"

"Your Majesty has issued an order that the case will be handled by the Dali Temple." Li Xuanjing looked at the Prince of Ruyang and said, "However, you have reminded me that the next person to be tried will be the Minister of the Imperial Clan..."

The Prince of Ruyang then remembered that the Minister of Zongzheng Temple had also been imprisoned in Dali Temple.

Not only the Minister of Zongzheng Temple, but all the officials of the Zongzheng Temple are here...

Li Xuanjing threw down a warrant and said, "Prince Li Ying of Ruyang County participated in the murder of the crown prince and committed the crime of treason. He will be taken to Caishikou immediately and executed!"

Prince Ruyang shouted, "Li Xuanjing, you are abusing your power for personal gain and taking human life lightly!"

Li Xuanjing looked at him and asked, "Isn't this the reason why you want to purge the emperor?"

The Prince of Ruyang's lips trembled slightly, and he was speechless for a moment.

He knew that Li Xuanjing often took human lives lightly.

But I never thought that one day I would be the one taking someone’s life.

Two figures stepped forward and held down the arms of the Prince of Ruyang. The Prince of Ruyang struggled desperately and shouted, "I am the Prince of Ruyang, you can't kill me... Oh, I have a gold medal of immunity from death, I have a gold medal of immunity from death, let me go!"

Li Xuanjing walked up to him with his hands behind his back and said, "A golden medal of immunity from death does not exempt you from treason. Doesn't the prince know that?"

In the eyes of Prince Ruyang who was shocked and terrified, he waved his hand and said, "Take it away..."

…

Chang'an, a certain place in Caishikou.

As the largest vegetable market in Chang'an, it is not just a place to sell vegetables.

The authorities occasionally carried out public executions here.

This is where people gather. Executions here can serve as a warning. Generally speaking, only death row prisoners who have committed certain major crimes will be sent here.

The body of Jingzhao Yin Lin Fuzhi is now hanging here, and all the people passing by will stop to take a look.

The third-rank Jingzhao Yin was the highest-ranking official to die in recent years.

Even if he died, his corpse would be whipped every hour.

However, for the crime of treason, being whipped in public after death is better than being cut into pieces while alive.

"A third-rank official died just like that!"

"This is a crime of treason. Not to mention a third-rank official, even a first-rank official would lose his head, and the three clans would be in danger..."

"I can't understand it. I really can't understand it. He used to have a high position in the East Palace. How could he betray the Crown Prince?"

"Who knows? How can we understand the thoughts of these big shots?"

Just as people were talking, a prison van drove over from a distance.

Unlike ordinary prison vans, this one was surrounded by bright yellow curtains, making it impossible to see what was going on inside.

"What is this?"

"It looks like a prison van, but why is it fenced off?"

"I don't know. I've lived for decades, but this is the first time I've seen it."

The vast majority of the people were completely confused, but there were also some knowledgeable people who were so surprised that they couldn't close their mouths.

The prison car with bright yellow curtains indicated that the prisoners on the car were powerful people.

Not only was he a noble, but he was also a noble of extremely high status. Above the curtain, there were dragon patterns embroidered on it. This was at least the status that only a prince could have - although it was not a good status.

The difference between the powerful and ordinary people lies in all aspects.

Even the executions are different.

During the entire execution, the faces of the powerful will not be seen by the people.

The knife used for execution was also a precious sword made by skilled craftsmen of the Mohist school.

The execution site at Caishikou has been surrounded by several screens.

The prison van opened and a figure with a yellow bag on his head was taken off the van and taken behind the screen.

It was not until an official from the Dali Temple read out the verdict that people realized that the person about to be executed was the Prince of Ruyang.

A prince is the most powerful among the powerful, only one level lower than a prince. This means that his father is a prince, his grandfather is the late emperor, and the current emperor is his uncle.

The reason he was sentenced to death was treason.

This is probably the only reason to execute a prince.

The crime of treason is so serious that even the golden medal of immunity from death cannot be avoided.

The Prince of Ruyang was involved in the murder of the crown prince and was sentenced to beheaded by the Dali Temple. This was the first time that the people of Chang'an saw a member of the royal family being beheaded.

Ordinary powerful people can only be considered to have royal blood.

But the prince is a true member of the royal family.

There was no "sparing life" as in the opera, nor was there any sudden incident of robbing the execution ground. At the command of the supervising officer, the executioner raised his sword and a pool of blood splattered on a certain screen.

The people licked their dry lips and were shocked in their hearts.

At this moment, the powerful and influential people in their hearts did not seem so fearful anymore.

It turns out that the rich and powerful are just like them, they can bleed and die...

The body of Prince Ruyang was quickly taken away.

Although he was beheaded for a capital crime, his funeral still had to be conducted according to certain regulations.

After the execution, the people gradually dispersed. No one noticed that the blood on the ground was seeping into the ground at a speed visible to the naked eye...

(End of this chapter)