Chapter 335 Mrs. Liang's Collapse
The atmosphere at the next morning court session was as solemn as iron.
Holding a memorial in hand, Jingzhao Yin tearfully accused Liang Zhi of all kinds of evil deeds: torturing and killing seven maids, crippling more than ten servants, and forcibly taking women... There was solid evidence for every single one of them.
The emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, his face looking terribly gloomy.
Liang Shangjiong knelt down on the steps and kowtowed to beg for mercy: "Your Majesty, please have mercy! Zhier has disabled legs and mental disorder. Please spare his life for the sake of the Liang family's loyalty for generations!"
Liang Shangjiong was crying and his forehead was bleeding.
Minister Zhao glanced at Liang Shangjiong coldly and continued, "Your Majesty, Liang Zhi's crimes are heinous. If he is not severely punished, how can we uphold the law and appease the public anger? Yesterday, Jingzhao Yin caught him on the spot for torturing and killing a maid. The maid's death was so tragic that even the experienced coroner couldn't bear to look at it."
Someone came out to agree: "I second the proposal. Liang Zhi relied on his family background to bully others. The people are complaining. If he is not severely punished, he will lose the support of the people."
The emperor slammed the dragon table, and the hall suddenly fell silent.
"Liang Zhi is guilty of a crime that cannot be forgiven! He will be taken to the city and beheaded immediately! Liang Shangjiong failed to educate his son properly, so he will be dismissed from his post as general and confined to reflect on his mistakes! Concubine Liang failed to discipline her relatives properly, so she will be confined to her house for a month!"
As soon as the imperial edict was issued, the whole court was in an uproar.
Minister Zhao raised the corner of his mouth slightly and looked at Liang Shangjiong who was limp on the ground with a meaningful look.
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When the news reached the harem, Concubine Liang almost fainted on the spot.
The second prince hurriedly supported her: "Mother, take care of yourself."
Concubine Liang shook off his hand and angrily asked, "Is this what you said, that it has been arranged?"
"Also, is Liang Zhi crazy? At this critical moment, he actually dared to act so recklessly. He deserves to die, and he even implicates us after his death!"
"Idiot, idiot, idiot who deserves death!"
The second prince also looked very unhappy.
"Those people had clearly already received the money, but who would have thought that they would turn against us and not acknowledge us."
"And Minister Zhao clearly promised to speak for us, but I have inquired and found that he strongly advocated that Liang Zhi should be severely punished in the court. Only then did the emperor order Liang Zhi to be executed in court."
Concubine Liang pondered: "Did the Zhao family notice something because of Feng Wei's incident last time?"
Feng Wei went to the Third Prince's Mansion, and there was no news after that. They had no idea what had happened.
Later, the Third Prince's mansion became heavily guarded, and the Second Prince wanted to find out information, but he had no idea where to start.
The second prince said firmly: "Feng Wei will not betray us, he dare not."
Concubine Liang sneered: "Nothing in the world is absolute. Anyway, if Feng Wei's affairs are exposed, the Zhao family will definitely hate us. You have to be careful in the future."
The emperor's decree has been issued, and no matter how unwilling Concubine Liang is, she can only be under house arrest for the time being.
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When Mrs. Liang learned of Liang Zhi's death, she felt as if the sky had fallen.
Recently, because of Liang Yusong's ringworm, she has been living in her mother's house with her daughter.
Unexpectedly, no matter how he turned around, the second son died!
Minister Zhao was indeed decisive and efficient in his work. By noon, Liang Zhi was dead. When Mrs. Liang hurried back to the Liang family, the mansion was in chaos.
When Mrs. Liang saw Liang Shangjiong, she ignored her usual manners and pulled Liang Shangjiong's clothes and asked repeatedly: "Where is Zhier, where is my child?"
Liang Shangjiong mechanically pointed to a ball of something covered with white cloth on the ground. Madam Liang ran over and tried to uncover it with trembling hands, but she didn't dare.
Liang Yusong covered her mouth in disbelief, shaking her head and muttering, "Impossible, impossible, this is not my second brother."
Madam Liang stared at the white cloth. Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed a corner of it. The scene that came into her eyes made her scream and she immediately fainted on the ground.
Liang Yusong tightly grasped the sword in his palm, not even noticing the sharp nails piercing his flesh. Beheading...
The second brother died without a complete body!
"ah……"
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The Liang family set up a mourning hall with white banners hanging low. Liang Zhi's tablet was placed on the altar. However, because his death was not glorious, not many people came to pay their respects.
Madam Liang knelt on the mat and mechanically threw paper money into the brazier. The firelight illuminated her haggard face, with two deep dark lines under her eyes.
"The Second Prince has arrived."
The housekeeper's announcement made Madam Liang tremble and she slowly turned her head.
The second prince walked into the mourning hall in plain clothes, his eyes were red, and it was obvious that he had been crying.
He walked up to the coffin and wanted to burn incense, but Madam Liang suddenly stood up, overturned the brazier, and the burning paper money splashed all over the floor.
"What are you doing here?" Mrs. Liang's voice was as sharp as a knife.
The second prince was shocked by this sudden question: "Aunt, of course I am here to pay my respects..."
"Worship?"
Madam Liang sneered bitterly, "If it wasn't for helping you and your son to fight for power and cause trouble, how could my Zhier end up like this!"
Seeing this, Liang Shangjiong stepped forward and said, "Shut up, you are crazy, how can you say these words?"
After saying this, he winked at the steward, asking him to dismiss all the idlers in the mourning hall.
"calm?"
Madam Liang turned to her husband, her eyes burning with crazy anger, "Liang Shangjiong! Look at this family! Yusong was poisoned and had to wear a veil every day and dared not see anyone; Zhier was disabled and beheaded. He was less than twenty years old and he died!"
"And Zhong'er, whose engagement was broken off, became the laughing stock of the whole capital! Who is to blame for all this?"
She pointed at the Second Prince, her fingers shaking with anger: "Isn't it all because of them, mother and son?"
"If they didn't have so many ambitions, my child, how could they end up like this!"
"Liang Shangjiong, can't you see clearly now? If you continue to stir up trouble, I'm afraid that everyone will die!"
Mrs. Liang didn't have so many ambitions. She just wanted her children and husband to be alive and well.
There have been constant turmoil in the past few months, and she is exhausted both physically and mentally.
She was scared.
She doesn't want these things anymore. She just wants her family to live in peace, instead of having to wait for the young to die before the old.
There was deathly silence in the mourning hall, with only Mrs. Liang's hysterical voice echoing.
Fortunately, the servants in the room left, otherwise, if the news got out, who knows how much trouble it would cause.
Liang Shangjiong's face was extremely ugly. He first comforted the second prince: "Your aunt is angry and her mind is not clear. Don't think too much about it."
The second prince's face also looked unhappy.
He was already troubled by his impotence, and Liang Zhi's failure to live up to his expectations led to his mother being confined to her room.
At this point, my aunt still has the nerve to blame them and their son!
However, for the sake of his uncle, he would not really bother with Madam Liang.
"Uncle, don't worry. My mother and I are very sad about my cousin's matter. We understand my aunt's grief."
"However, the more we get to this point, the more we cannot retreat. We cannot let our cousin lose his life in vain and let our enemies get away with it."
His face became more serious: "Besides, uncle, do you think we have a way out?"
Liang Yusong said firmly, "That's right. We have no way out. Besides, if we don't make them pay for their crimes with blood, what's the point of living in disgrace?"
The second prince has always been fond of Liang Yusong.
"Cousin, don't you blame me?"
"Cousin, my mother is so sad that she said these stupid things."
Liang Yusong said in a rhythmic voice: "The people who killed my brother were Lu Jiangnian and his gang. It must be them. One day, I will take their heads to pay tribute to my brother's heroic spirit."
Liang Shangjiong and Liang Zhong both said that they thought so too.
Since they have placed all their lives and fortune on the Second Prince, they cannot lose, nor can they become alienated from him.
When Mrs. Liang saw that her husband and children were still stubborn and refused to repent, she let out a miserable laugh and didn't know what to do.
Outside the window, the cool breeze hit the window lattice. Mrs. Liang slowly closed her eyes, and the faces of her three children appeared in her mind.
Yusong, who should have been beautiful, was covered with terrible red spots. The healthy and lively Liang Zhi became a cripple. The calm and steady Liang Zhong was unwilling to accept the humiliation of breaking off the engagement.
Two lines of tears slid down her cheeks, and she didn't even know who she was crying for.
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