Chapter 66 His Majesty Wants You to Die
In the cold and gloomy prison cell of the Ministry of Justice, Zhang Shucai, the Minister of the Supreme Court, was wearing prison clothes and leaning in a corner covered with straw.
The nostrils were filled with the smell of decay and dampness.
He was used to the smell of the prison cell, but he had never thought that one day he would be taken in here.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps. He slowly raised his head and saw that the person coming was the Minister of Justice. He immediately stood up and walked to the iron bars. "Minister Xin, I was framed! Where are the two assassins? I want to confront them face to face!"
"No need." The Minister of Justice said coldly, "We are colleagues, I will see you off."
Zhang Shucai opened his eyes wide, "What do you mean? Are you going to convict me before the trial?"
Only then did he notice that the jailer behind the Minister of Justice was holding a tray, on which was a white silk and a medicine bottle.
"Master Zhang, please make your own decision. You can leave with dignity."
"I don't plead guilty! Why do you want me to commit suicide? Aren't you known for being impartial? We have no grudges against each other! Why do you..."
"This is what His Majesty wants." The Minister of Justice interrupted him, "Your Majesty wants you dead, and no one can stop you. You have a close personal relationship with Prince Yi, do you think His Majesty doesn't know?"
Zhang Shucai's hands gripped the iron bars with throbbing veins, and he said with trembling lips: "Looking at the entire court, I am not the only one who has made friends with the powerful. His Royal Highness Prince Yi has no ill intentions! He and I just have similar interests..."
"Then how do you explain your previous slander of Prime Minister Song by using the death of the thief? His Majesty never believed your words, but he spared you temporarily because there was no evidence. If you had repented earlier and made a clear line between you and Prince Yi, perhaps you would not have been killed today."
Seeing that the Minister of Justice was making light of it, Zhang Shucai immediately became angry, "Don't you know that Song the dog thief is a ruthless official and how wicked he is in private? He is a shameless villain who undermines the rules of the court. So what if I framed him!"
"I don't care whether he is moral or not. I only know that he can relieve your majesty's worries, and your majesty should tolerate him. As subjects, you and I should follow your majesty's wishes. If you have to consider your own joys, sorrows, anger and happiness in everything, you are not fulfilling your duty as a subject. Sir Zhang, you have been an official for many years, but you don't even understand such a simple truth."
The tone of the Minister of Justice remained calm. "You now have two choices. One is to write a confession and commit suicide. The other is to refuse to plead guilty. I will eventually convict you. Master Zhang, you should think carefully. His Majesty only intends to take your life and will not implicate other people in your family."
“…”
In the hall on the other side, Jun Liluo listened to people below constantly pleading for Zhang Shucai.
"Your Majesty, the Dali Temple Minister has not committed any faults during his five years in office. I believe that he is a man who abides by his duties. Please ask the Minister of Justice Xin to interrogate him carefully first and do not torture him."
"I second the motion."
"That's wrong." Behind Song Yunchu, Gong Mingyuan raised an objection, "Your Highness Prince Yi is the emperor's uncle. As a suspect, Zhang Shucai should be tortured. Why can't officials who break the law be beaten? If we are too polite to him, he will refuse to plead guilty. How can we seek justice for Prince Yi?"
"Doesn't Minister Gong know that torture can easily lead to confessions? If Lord Zhang can't stand the torture and confesses without thinking, wouldn't the court be wrongly killing an innocent person? If he really did commit the assassination, there must be clues to be found."
Jun Liluo listened to the arguments of the people below, a trace of distress appeared on his face, and then he looked at Song Yunchu, "Song Qingjia, what do you think?"
When Song Yunchu saw that Jun Liluo was asking about her, in order to maintain her original personality, she said calmly, "Your Majesty, I think what Minister Gong said is reasonable, and he must be punished."
Everyone knew that Gong Mingyuan was her follower. This guy almost always spoke based on what the original owner was thinking. If she didn't stand on the same side with Gong Mingyuan, she would be slapping her own brother in the face in public.
No matter what, you have to maintain your consistent style of behavior in front of your younger brothers. There are some among them who are domineering and bully others. You can slowly discipline them later.
This Gong Mingyuan is too arrogant. He is unscrupulous and quarrels with everyone whenever he has nothing to do. I will definitely punish him when I get back.
Fortunately, this person follows her lead in everything, so some mistakes can still be corrected.
As for whether or not to torture Zhang Shucai, the emperor probably already knew it in his mind. Asking her was just a formality. The man was arrested by Shen Yue himself, so he probably would never have a chance to leave the prison of the Ministry of Justice again, right?
"Then let's follow the Song Qing family's wishes." Sitting on the dragon throne, Jun Li Luo stated his decision.
"Your Majesty, please think twice."
There were still officials who pleaded for the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, either because they were on good terms with him or because they disliked Song Yunchu and Gong Mingyuan and habitually opposed them.
At this moment, a guard outside the palace sent an urgent report -
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Justice has reported that the guilty minister Zhang Shucai has written a confession and committed suicide out of fear of punishment!"
When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.
Song Yunchu was not surprised.
[The dog emperor probably has already found out from the assassin that the mastermind behind this is the stupid princess. It is not a loss for him that the Shangguan siblings hate Jun Tianyi. He wants to save the face of Beichen country, so he caught Zhang Shucai as a scapegoat to take the blame for the princess.]
[Forcing Zhang Shucai to confess his crime and commit suicide, leaving Beichen Kingdom clean, while also getting rid of Prince Yi's accomplices, is indeed something a dog emperor would do.]
[No wonder he didn't let me go to the Ministry of Justice. He had already determined that Zhang Shucai was disloyal and wanted to take this opportunity to get rid of him.]
[I really didn't expect that the scumbag's accomplice would be killed so early... It's also his fault that he had to kill the thief and put the blame on me. The emperor is so suspicious that he must have someone keep a close eye on him, so the fact that he is on good terms with Prince Yi can no longer be hidden.]
Jun Liluo listened to Song Yunchu's inner thoughts and sighed inwardly - Sure enough, when it comes to understanding him, it has to be Song Yunchu.
The two assassins were indeed not qualified suicide warriors. The interrogation result showed that they had no family to worry about, unlike other secret guards who could face death calmly and exchange sacrifice for their families for generous rewards.
He was not surprised to learn that Shangguan Yun was the mastermind behind them. It was obvious that the princess was inexperienced, no wonder she caused such a big mess. In order not to affect the alliance between the two countries, he could only cover up the matter. He believed that Shangguan Qi would teach this ignorant sister a lesson.
In the hall, everyone came back to their senses from the news of Zhang Shucai's death, and the officials who had pleaded for Zhang Shucai found it unbelievable.
"how so?"
"Is it really Lord Zhang? I really can't tell..."
"Do Lord Zhang and His Royal Highness Prince Yi really have a personal grudge?"
Song Yunchu turned to look at the person on the dragon throne and saw that Jun Liluo was also full of surprise, as if he was as shocked as the ministers by the news brought by the guards.
[Dog Emperor, your acting skills are getting better and better. ]
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