When Jiayin heard him bring up the past, she couldn't bear to spoil the mood, so after thinking for a moment, she simply lay down as well.
During the day, the sun makes the tiles scorching hot, but they still retain warmth and are not cold, making them very comfortable to lie on.
The evening breeze gently caressed the willow branches, carrying their delicate fragrance to their noses and permeating their hearts.
Before me lay a pure night sky, without a single star, only a pale yellow, disc-shaped moon hanging high, lonely yet proud.
The cicadas, which had been chirping all day, finally fell silent, replaced by the quiet, noisy chatter of unknown night insects...
Jiayin watched and listened quietly. She wanted to say something, but her eyelids slowly grew heavy...
Shuiyun stood guard under the eaves, occasionally looking up to listen for any sounds.
After much anticipation, the two people on the roof jumped down, only to find their master being held in their arms.
She immediately panicked, and just as she stepped forward, she heard Mu Xu whisper, "The princess is asleep!"
Having no other choice, Shuiyun could only take her master away and personally escort him back to his room...
Mu Xu touched his nose, gave an awkward laugh, and flew away, disappearing into the darkness.
After a good night's sleep, Jiayin woke up to the sound of birdsong. She stretched and then remembered what had happened before she went to sleep last night, so she quickly sat up.
Hearing the noise, Shui Ling pushed open the door and came in to bring warm water for washing up.
Jiayin tentatively asked, feeling a little guilty, "Nothing happened last night, right?"
"Nothing's wrong, the palace is very quiet. Caiyun just sent a message saying that the Third Princess wants you to come over for breakfast."
Jiayin breathed a sigh of relief, happily picked out an ivory-colored dress and a pink pearl headdress, and then went next door to eat with a smile.
Leaving aside the usual cheerful and peaceful atmosphere in Zhilan Palace, today's grand court assembly was so unexpected that everyone was completely taken aback by the sudden turn of events.
I had thought that today's discussion would be the same as before, involving a few words about the drought, but in the end, nothing came of it.
Unexpectedly, the emperor suddenly punished the three officials.
Although these three officials were all fourth-rank officials, not high-ranking or powerful, they held substantive positions and were in charge of important duties.
For example, one of them was the director of the Ordnance Equipment Department of the Ministry of War...
The three of them were naturally indignant and knelt down in unison, crying out for justice.
“Your Majesty, although it is said that if the ruler commands a subject to die, the subject must die, I have served Your Majesty faithfully for many years for the sake of Tianwu. You cannot punish me without cause. Wouldn’t that chill the hearts of all loyal subjects?”
The other person, also panicked and angry, chimed in, "Yes, Your Majesty. I have always been diligent and conscientious in my duties. Even if I have no merit, I have still worked hard. Even if you despise me, you should at least let me die knowing why."
The last man was even more indignant, "Your Majesty, I refuse to accept this! If you don't give me a reason today, I will kill myself right here!"
Although the civil and military officials felt that the three men were somewhat rude, they also felt a sense of shared vulnerability and were unwilling to embolden the emperor at this time. Otherwise, wouldn't the emperor treat them like cabbages, chopping them off at will?
Then, everyone fell silent.
The emperor sat on his dragon throne, smiling as he looked at the crowd, and even cheered.
"Good, good, I never knew that the civil and military officials in the court were so united. This is a joy for our Tianwu and the people."
"However, you seem to have misplaced your efforts today. As the ruler of a nation, I can only punish someone if the evidence is conclusive; otherwise, how can I convince the people!"
After saying that, he waved his hand, and Steward Yi stepped forward with the memorial in his hand and began to read it aloud.
"Ling Changrong, the Director of the Weaponry Department of the Ministry of War, in March of the 87th year of Tianwu, privately transported 500 long swords and 1,000 long spears to the Northern Barbarians, and obtained 30,000 taels of silver in illicit gains."
"In June of the 88th year of Tianwu, he secretly hoarded ten boxes of refined iron ingots, totaling eight thousand catties, under the pretext of a change in the warehouse..."
The list included more than thirty items, each detailing all the crimes committed by the three traitors from the past to the present.
Moreover, each of their crimes was enough to warrant the confiscation of their property and the extermination of their entire clan!
Cold sweat poured from the heads of the three men like a fountain, their faces turned deathly pale, and their spines could no longer support them as they collapsed to the ground.
It's not that they don't want to defend themselves, it's just that the list of crimes is too detailed.
Even back when they were still in Jiangbei, before the capital was moved, they were already under investigation.
The civil and military officials were also shocked. They had guessed that the three men had some dirty deeds, but they never expected that they had committed the heinous crime of treason and collusion with the enemy!
Not to mention the loyal ministers and generals who still harbored some sense of justice, even their relatives and friends who originally wanted to plead for them silently retreated and hid in the crowd, fearing that they would be implicated...
The Emperor saw everything and snorted coldly, saying, "Such disloyalty and treason, selling out the country for personal gain, is simply heinous."
"The Dali Temple is hereby ordered to conduct a thorough and severe investigation, render a judgment as soon as possible, and have the entire clan be beheaded at Caishikou as a warning to others."
Everyone gasped in shock. It was said that the case would be handled by the Dali Temple, but since the outcome had already been decided with beheading, there was no need to investigate at all!
The three disgraced officials panicked immediately. They had left home dressed neatly in the morning and were riding in sedan chairs to court, but in the blink of an eye, they could not return home.
Not only did he become a prisoner, but he was also a prisoner who was destined to die.
They simply cannot accept this.
At this moment, someone "risked their life" to remind them, "Is there anything else you want to say? Quickly speak up, and the Emperor might spare your lives!"
The three of them were somewhat confused and hesitant.
Fortunately, one of them realized what was happening in time and quickly crawled out of the ranks on his knees, shouting, "Your Majesty, I am guilty, but I was only following the orders of the person behind me. Otherwise, how could I have dared to disregard the country for my own selfish reasons?"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty ordered me to do this! Waaah, I was confused for a moment, please have mercy, Your Majesty!"
The Emperor was filled with surprise and anger, and he shouted, "Outrageous! The Empress Dowager is my mother, how could she possibly instruct you to collude with enemy countries! You should know that the barbarians invaded and forced Tianwu to move the capital because they had these weapons backing them up!"
"If the Empress Dowager instigated this, it would be an unforgivable crime! Even my mother would be punished! This is a frame-up, absolutely impossible!"
There are no fools in this world, especially officials who have stood in the court for many years; they are so shrewd that they are practically cunning.
The Emperor's tone was impatient, and his words implied that he intended to punish the Empress Dowager.
The other two officials no longer hesitated and quickly crawled forward on their knees, also crying out for justice.
"Your Majesty, I am also innocent! The tax increase in Chuanzhou Prefecture was carried out on the Empress Dowager's orders, and all the collected money was given to her. I have evidence!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, even if you gave me ten thousand lives, I would never dare to embezzle the disaster relief funds. It was all the Empress Dowager's doing. My staying in the capital as an official was also with the Empress Dowager's permission!"
In an instant, the three of them, in order to save their lives, began to speak at once, each sentence an accusation against the Empress Dowager.
They wanted to portray the Empress Dowager as utterly wicked, while they themselves were merely pitiful lackeys forced to cooperate with her...
The other civil and military officials bowed their heads tightly, regretting a thousand times over why they hadn't asked for sick leave today.
The previous guess was absolutely correct. The deaths of Commander Chang and Grand Tutor Cai were not accidents at all; they were the clarion call sounded by the Emperor as he began to purge the court!
Two updates today!
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