Before Concubine Zheng could finish, Liu Zhi interrupted her anxiously.
"Mother, do you have any good ideas?"
Concubine Zheng shook her head helplessly: "My prince, remember, if you want to survive, you must never admit to that."
Liu Zhi was stunned for a moment, then realized what Concubine Zheng was talking about. He looked her up and down and asked, "Did they punish you too?"
Concubine Zheng wiped her tears and said, "Mother is fine. Mother will wait for you to come out and reunite with us.
You must persevere. Only when you are alive can you have hope. When you die, there is nothing left."
Liu Zhi lowered his head and muttered tremblingly, "Before, they locked me in a secret room. It was very dark inside, and there were snakes and rats.
"I was so frightened I dared not move. I'm sure Nangong Yunxue was just as frightened as I was back then, right?"
"You are most afraid of snakes. These black-hearted ones are torturing you like this on purpose."
Concubine Zheng felt heartbroken when she saw the abnormal Liu Zhi.
"It's a pity that the mistake has already been made. This is retribution. It's all your fault that Mother didn't teach you well!
Promise your mother that if you can get out one day, you must behave yourself and change your ways."
Liu Zhi nodded in agreement: "But can my son still go out?"
"As long as you're alive, there's hope! If I had my chance again, Mother would only wish you to be a leisurely prince, living a peaceful and stable life..."
The mother and son seemed to have endless things to say, and several eunuchs became impatient and stepped forward to separate them.
"It's time to go."
"My son, you must listen to your mother!" Concubine Zheng knew very well that this was probably a farewell forever, and she stared at her son reluctantly.
"Mother, please come visit me more often!"
Liu Zhi reached out and grabbed the hem of Concubine Zheng's clothes, unwilling to let go.
A eunuch came forward and forcibly pried his hands apart, finger by finger.
Soon, Concubine Zheng was dragged out of the clan house, and Liu Zhi was thrown into the secret room again.
After court was dismissed the next day.
Nangong Honglie and his son were called to the imperial study by Emperor Dongling.
"The man who abducted Xue'er back then was my third son, Liu Zhi. I have imprisoned him in the Imperial Clan House, and he is forbidden to leave for life. Concubine Zheng has also been banished to the cold palace.
I know that even so, it cannot make up for the pain of separation from your family for more than ten years.
I will find a way to compensate you. Tell me, what kind of compensation do you want?"
Nangong Honglie saluted: "Your Highness and his son have already received the punishment they deserve. I thank the Emperor for upholding justice. No compensation is necessary!"
At this time, Chen Shangshu from the Ministry of Justice had a solemn expression on his face. He hurried to the outside of the imperial study to ask for an audience. After whispering with Eunuch Wei, he waited outside the door.
Eunuch Wei trotted to the side of Emperor Dongling and whispered a few words.
Emperor Dongling frowned and waved at Nangong Honglie and his son.
"That's it for now. Xue'er and her daughter are waiting outside and will go back to the mansion with you."
"Yes!" Nangong Lie and his son left the imperial study and saw Nangong Xue standing at the intersection not far away, looking in the direction of the imperial study.
Nangong Yunsheng waved in response.
On this side, after Nangong Honglie and his son left, Emperor Dongling looked at Minister Chen who came in hurriedly.
"What happened?"
"Your Majesty, Xue Lin requested to see you. She said she had something important to discuss with you concerning the relationship between our two countries."
"Relations between the two countries?"
"Yes, that's what she said. If I ask her again, she won't say anything. I'm afraid of making mistakes, so I can only come and report."
Emperor Dong Ling sneered: "She is probably about to die and wants to use this trick to buy her life!
I'll go meet her later and see what earth-shattering news she can reveal."
On the other side, on the carriage returning home.
Nangong Honglie took Nangong Jiu from Nangong Yunxue's arms.
"Xue'er, I heard from the Emperor that it was Liu Zhi who kidnapped you. What exactly is going on?"
"Dad, I went through a lot yesterday.
First, Jiuer told the Empress that Liu Zhi and Liu Heng had conspired to harm the Second Prince. The Emperor went to find Liu Heng to verify the facts, and then sent someone to find Liu Zhi and question him in the Imperial Study..."
Nangong Yunxue recounted in detail what happened yesterday.
"I see! It's justice, retribution, it's what I deserve!
They, mother and son, didn't hurt you once enough, and they want to hurt you a second time. They are simply insane."
Nangong Yunsheng laughed instead of getting angry: "After the court session tomorrow, I will go find the Second Prince and ask him to take me to the clan residence to see the miserable state of that beast.
He has torn our family apart for over a decade, and now he's finally getting the punishment he deserves, how can I not go and congratulate him?"
Nangong Honglie nodded in agreement, and after a moment of joy, he asked Nangong Yunxue.
"In the afternoon, the entire Xue family will be executed at Caishikou. Do you and Jiuer want to go and see it?"
Nangong Yunxue looked at Nangong Jiu who was sleeping peacefully in her arms.
"Jiu'er is still young, and the execution ground is too ominous, so we won't go!"
Nangong Honglie nodded when he heard this: "Jiu'er is indeed not suitable for that kind of occasion, you and your daughter should just wait at home.
Speaking of which, if it weren’t for Jiuer, our entire Nangong family would have been beheaded.
Therefore, everyone in the Nangong family must go to the execution ground to see it, so that everyone can witness it and be warned! "
Nangong Yunxue smiled and said, "Dad, Big Brother, our enemies have all gotten their comeuppance. It's time for us to move on from the past and live a good life."
Nangong Yunsheng reached out and gently patted Nangong Yunxue's shoulder.
"From the moment you and Jiu'er returned home, we have moved on from the past. You should do the same and be happy from now on."
"Yes!" Nangong Yunxue nodded heavily.
Big prison.
All the hundreds of people in the Xue family were tied up with ropes and waited for the time to be taken to the execution ground to be beheaded.
Except for the young children who were crying out of fear, the adults had already cried and cursed enough, and were all waiting for death resignedly.
Just a few days.
Prime Minister Xue has transformed from a powerful official who was always cheerful and confident with a sense of superiority into a disheveled, haggard old man.
Li Yulin went from being a handsome top scholar admired by all, a young fifth-rank minister to a destitute death row prisoner with nowhere to turn and no hope of salvation.
Concubine Xue Lin, who had been the most favored concubine in the harem for many years, waited calmly for Emperor Dongling to come and see her.
In the past two days, she thought about it over and over again, and could only reveal her life-saving talisman, her identity as the princess of Xiyue Kingdom, in order to avoid death.
When Emperor Dongling arrived at the prison, Xue Lin had already been taken to a separate cell.
Seeing Emperor Dongling, Xue Lin struggled to kneel and crawl forward.
"Your Majesty, for the sake of my many years of service, please spare my son and me. We will flee far away, remain anonymous, and never appear before Your Majesty again."
"Served me for many years? You kept rolling back and forth between me and that bastard Xue Huaian. I feel sick just thinking about it now.
Since you entered the palace, I believe I have never treated you unfairly. Why are you still so unsatisfied? "
"Disgusted? Aren't you also doing this today and that tomorrow? I feel disgusted too.
Yes, you have never treated me unfairly! But so what? What I want is someone who is devoted to me.
Xue Lin looked at Emperor Dongling, who was on the verge of a rage, and raised the corner of her mouth.
"Your Majesty, you cannot kill me..."
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