Chapter 252 The Emperor's Mindset 1

Tonight's Chaoyang Palace was the most lively night Song Zhao had ever seen since he entered the palace.

Xiao Jingheng wanted to personally interrogate Ruchang, and all the concubines who had nothing to do with him should have gone their separate ways.

But perhaps because Xiao Jingheng was too sad, he forgot to ask people to leave after he got on the sedan chair, so all the concubines had to follow him to Chaoyang Palace.

When Ruchang was taken to Chaoyang Palace, he saw Xiao Jingheng sitting at the head of the table, with the Queen Mother and Empress standing on his left and right, and all the concubines in the palace standing in order at the bottom of the hall.

The candlelight in the hall was dim, and countless pairs of eyes were staring at Ru Changzai, giving her goose bumps all over her body.

She was detained in the center of the hall. Before Xiao Jingheng could ask any questions, she suddenly slammed her knees on the ground and began to explain in a panic.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me! This matter has nothing to do with me! I have never thought of cursing the Imperial Concubine and the heir in her belly. I really didn't!"

She was terrified and kowtowed every time she spoke. A dull "dong dong" sound echoed on the golden dragon-patterned ceiling of the hall, like thunder.

"You didn't? The witchcraft doll was found in your palace? Vicious woman!"

Xiao Jingheng was extremely emotional due to the sudden loss of his son. His angry voice echoed in the empty hall, hitting Ru Changzai's ears and making her break into a cold sweat.

"Your Majesty, calm down! Although I have made a rag doll, I don't want to curse the imperial concubine! It's just because...

It’s just that Concubine Ying has oppressed me too much, and I was confused for a moment, so I wanted to put the blame on her... I know I was wrong, and I beg Your Majesty to forgive me this time, considering that I am a newcomer to the palace and it is inevitable that I will be confused!"

When Concubine Ying heard this, her face immediately turned pale and she said sarcastically:

"Oh, you really have something to say. It's true that compared to blaming me and cursing the imperial concubine's unborn child, the crime is much lighter."

As always when you are 'attacked from both sides', the more you talk, the more mistakes you make.

She wanted to argue, but Xiao Jingheng announced her death in a solemn voice.

"You have done such a thing, your mind is extremely vicious, I will never tolerate a vicious woman like you by my side. Considering your father's contribution to the court's suppression of the rebellion, I will make a special exception and allow you to commit suicide, leaving your body intact and returning it to your mother's family!"

The air pressure in the hall was so low that it was almost suffocating.

Everyone didn't say it openly, but they were all thinking in their hearts:

The Mongolian forces, like the Adahu tribe behind Concubine Ying, were what Xiao Jingheng feared the most.

If he wasn't really angry, he wouldn't have sentenced Ruchang to death directly.

This move shows that Concubine Chen has an extraordinary status in his heart.

But Song Zhao has a different view on this.

She didn't think that Xiao Jingheng cared much about Concubine Chen, but felt that everything that happened tonight was inexplicably weird:

Xiao Jingheng said that he would ask Ruchang to come and personally review the case, but what did he review?

He just sent someone to reprimand him, then hastily ordered him to commit suicide.

He made the order so decisively, which showed that he had already thought it through.

But since he had made up his mind, he could have just issued an imperial decree to execute Ru Changzai when he was in Yonghe Palace just now. Why bother to meet her and have all the concubines in the palace listen and watch?

At that time, the only sounds in the hall were the usual muffled kowtows and her crying in her hometown dialect which no one could understand because of her extreme fear.

Jiang Deshun led the palace servants forward quickly, dragging Ru Changzai out of the palace.

Ruchang struggled desperately, scratching the eunuch's hand with his long and sharp nails.

As soon as the eunuch loosened her grip, she broke free like a slippery loach, knelt down in front of Xiao Jingheng again, and shouted loudly:

"Please give me another chance, Your Majesty! I really know I was wrong..."

Seeing that Xiao Jingheng didn't even want to look at her, he raised his hand again and ordered someone to pull her down.

As usual, his eyes fixed on the subject, and he suddenly thought of something, and said hurriedly:

"I, your concubine, would like to write a letter to my father, asking the Mongols to send 30,000 troops to atone for their sins! Please show mercy, Your Majesty!"

When these words came out, everyone was visibly stunned.

Although both the Mongols and the Adahu tribe were subject to the Qi Dynasty, they also had their own tribal troops at their disposal, and their power should not be underestimated.

These troops were governed by the tribes and served other tribes, and were not under the jurisdiction of the Qi Dynasty's military command.

Therefore, the conditions offered are indeed very tempting.

In fact, given her status as a female member of the imperial family, if she committed other crimes and was executed by the emperor, even if she wrote a letter to the Mongolian king, the Mongolian king would not have sent so many troops to save her life.

But things are different now.

Ruchang Zai is now accused by Xiao Jingheng of using witchcraft to murder the heir to the throne.

This concerns the royal heir, and anyone involved will be sentenced to death with all nine generations of his clan being executed.

In a rage, Xiao Jingheng could find any excuse to say that the Mongols had done this intentionally, and that Ruchang was allowed to enter the palace in order to murder the royal heir and damage the destiny of the Qi Dynasty.

By then, not to mention Rujou, even the entire Mongolian tribe would face the possibility that Qi Dynasty would destroy them even at the cost of losing eight hundred of its own men.

At this time, the Mongol king surrendered his troops to Qi Dynasty not only to protect his daughter,

Instead, it was to protect the entire Mongolian tribe from a brutal war with corpses everywhere.

Even so, Xiao Jingheng still disagreed.

He continued angrily, "How can 30,000 Mongolian soldiers save the prince's life? Drag him away!"

"Then fifty thousand!" Ruchang cried out, "Fifty thousand soldiers! I beg the emperor to show mercy! The emperor, please show mercy!"

Fifty thousand soldiers and horses are nearly half of the Mongolian tribe's strength.

But Xiao Jingheng remained unmoved and didn't even respond, allowing the eunuch to drag him out of the palace as usual.

Just when half of the foot had been dragged out of the threshold as usual,

The Queen Mother suddenly spoke up, "Wait."

She stopped the eunuch, turned her eyes to look at Xiao Jingheng, and said word by word:

"Your Majesty, have you thought it through? Fifty thousand Mongolian soldiers and horses will be of great benefit to the national strength of the Qi Dynasty."

Xiao Jingheng pointed at Ru Changzai with trembling fingertips and shouted:

"This vicious woman killed my own flesh and blood! Could it be that my mother wants me to let it go like this? If so, how can I explain to the imperial concubine if she finds out about this in the future?"

The Queen Mother said, "Witchcraft is nothing but supernatural power. If Ru Changzai really had that ability, she could have made a baby and pierced two needles to decide life and death. Wouldn't she have ascended to heaven long ago? In my opinion, the loss of the noble concubine's son was purely an accident. If the noble concubine makes a fuss about this, I will explain it to her. She understands the situation and will not be unsympathetic to the emperor."

Seeing that Xiao Jingheng remained silent and did not refute her, the Queen Mother continued, "Let me make the decision on this matter. If you are still here, you should write a letter to the Mongolian king immediately. If he is willing to use 50,000 troops to quell this matter, then the Emperor and I will not pursue your mistakes anymore."