Some court officials watched the spectacle with amusement, some were surprised, some were afraid of being implicated, but most were puzzled.
Since Imperial Censor Wen was practically a member of the Li family, he stepped forward first to present his memorial, followed by Li Lao Er. It was no surprise that those who were being accused had all offended the Li family.
But no one knows exactly what offended the Li family.
Moreover, such a large-scale counterattack must have enraged the Li family!
But there were also some sensible people in the crowd, namely the six officials who knelt down and defended themselves.
They know best what they did to the Li family.
It was because of Li Jiayi's case of injuring someone in the street that they submitted a memorial to the emperor, demanding that Li Jiayi be punished as soon as possible.
Even if they can't be beheaded, they should still be sentenced to twenty years of hard labor.
This is definitely a heavy blow to the Li family!
As a result, their memorials were submitted but disappeared without a trace, and the emperor did not respond at all.
No, the Emperor reacted; otherwise, the Li family wouldn't have been able to locate them so precisely...
The Emperor must have given the memorial to the Li family!
The Li family spent the entire period of their silence gathering evidence of their crimes and their background!
The more they thought about it, the more panicked they became, and the louder they cried out for justice...
In contrast, after submitting their memorials, Imperial Censor Wen and others lowered their heads and waited quietly, without uttering a single word in the commotion or debate.
The difference in quality is immediately apparent!
The other officials fell silent and stopped talking, leaving only a few defendants acting like clowns...
The Emperor glanced at Chief Eunuch Yi, who immediately shouted, "Silence!"
The few who cried foul finally realized they were at a disadvantage, but it was too late.
The Emperor directly declared, "If appealing for justice is useful, what is the point of having the Court of Judicial Review? The officials involved in the case are to be escorted to the Court of Judicial Review, and the Court of Judicial Review is ordered to conduct a thorough investigation and report back immediately!"
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review quickly stepped forward to accept the order, but his heart was filled with bitterness, as if he had swallowed a bitter pill.
This case may seem ordinary, but behind it lies a power struggle between the Li family and the forces behind these six individuals.
When gods fight, he, a "mortal" caught in the middle, gets dragged into it again!
Before he could think further, the Emperor asked, "How is the investigation into the Wu family of the Jiangning Marquis's residence progressing? Did the Wu family really seize farmland and abduct women?"
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review trembled upon hearing this and immediately knelt down.
The investigation was successful, as there was ample witness testimony and physical evidence.
The Wu family, relying on the Emperor as their son-in-law, had never really intended to conceal their true intentions...
But the emperor remained silent, and there was an empress in the palace who was willing to die for her family. Even if he had a thousand times the courage, he wouldn't dare to take the initiative to submit a memorial!
He quickly analyzed the emperor's tone again, and after confirming that there was no sign of regret or softening, he hurriedly explained the case clearly.
The Emperor snorted coldly and said, "The Wu family has betrayed the Emperor's grace and oppressed the people; the evidence is irrefutable. The entire clan, all those over ten years old, will be beheaded; those under ten will be sold into slavery. Next year..."
He hesitated for a moment, then said, "I will be executed next autumn."
The court officials were somewhat surprised to hear this, after all, the empress was still in the palace, and the emperor had no intention of deposing her. They thought that the Wu family's fate would at most be to be sent back to their ancestral home to farm.
Who would have thought that the Emperor truly intended to exterminate the Wu family?!
I'm afraid the Wu family's crimes are not as simple as they seem on the surface...
But no matter how hard they racked their brains, no one dared to ask the Emperor.
Soon, the emperor waved his sleeves and dismissed the court.
The courtiers were filled with mixed emotions as they watched the six unfortunate men being led away by the guards, discussing the matter as they walked.
"Has the Li family gone mad? Why are they suing so many people all at once?"
"Who knows? They must have offended the Li family. The Li family doesn't usually show their faces in public."
"Never mind the reasons for now, let's look at the Li family's power. It's only been a few years, and the Li family has already gathered so many allies! Today they're attacking from six directions simultaneously!"
"Oh, yes, yes, I was surprised by that too. The Li family has quietly amassed such great power."
Imperial Censor Wen and Li Lao Er walked ahead, completely ignoring the discussions behind them.
Those who dared to kick the Li family when they were down should have expected this outcome.
After all, the Li family values "reciprocity" the most!
Imperial Censor Wen rubbed his sore eyes and laughed, "I'll finally get a good night's sleep tonight. I stayed up half the night last night and then had to attend court this morning. I could have fallen asleep standing up!"
“Me too,” Li Lao Er yawned. “Let’s go back to Suijintan early this afternoon. Lao Si and Dayong will be there too. Let’s have a few drinks and then get a good night’s sleep.”
Lately, the two of them and Li Zhensheng have really put in a lot of effort to investigate these six people.
Fortunately, we managed to take down all six idiots today.
All the hard work and effort have paid off!
Mr. Wen waved his hand and said, "Let's wait a few more days until Hailan Army arrives in Kyoto and brings Jiayi back. Then we can drink together."
These words reminded Li Lao Er. He glanced at the sky and quickly said, "I'll go first. We can talk at home tonight."
After saying that, he left in a hurry.
Mr. Wen shook his head enviously; he wasn't as free as Li Lao Er, who could leave whenever he wanted.
He still had to go back to the yamen to work, but he could sneak out at noon to buy some trinkets.
My precious daughter is throwing a tantrum and refusing to let me hold her because he's been too busy lately and hasn't played with her much...
The capital city was bustling during the day because six more officials had fallen in the imperial court, and everyone was talking about it.
But as night falls, everything reluctantly returns to calm.
In the prison of the Prefect of the Capital, four jailers sat together drinking tea and chatting.
One of them said, "Our boss is really getting old. He only had a few bowls of mutton soup tonight, and he still got an upset stomach!"
"Haha," another prisoner couldn't help but laugh, whispering, "Don't even mention it, our boss's legs are so weak he almost bumped his head when he went out!"
"If he doesn't drink the herbal medicine when he gets back, I'm afraid he won't make it through!"
"It's a pity about the mutton soup. Cyclamen's cooking is just so good. The soup is milky white, and the mutton offal and meat don't have any gamey smell at all. Add a few layered sesame flatbreads, and it's an absolute perfect match!"
The first to speak, a gaunt jailer, had a drooling look on his face, as if he was still savoring the memory.
The onlookers laughed gleefully and asked the gaunt jailer, "You went back to your hometown a few days ago and didn't come to work. Did you suffer a loss?"
"We've been eating at Cyclamen for several days now, and every meal is delicious."
"The sweet and sour pork is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the sweet and sour fish is sweet and sour, but the most fragrant is the braised pork. If you scoop a spoonful of it and pour it over white rice, you wouldn't trade it for a gold ingot."
"Oh dear, look at my waist! It's gotten so much bigger from all that eating!"
The gaunt jailer pretended to pinch his waist, and the two couldn't help but laugh and joke.
After chatting idly for a while, when it was time for patrol, the two jailers simply strolled around the cell.
When they returned, one of the jailers said to the skinny jailer, "Fugui, you just got back today, why don't you ask him more questions?"
"Why did you throw that thief into General Li's room?"
The gaunt jailer, also known as Fugui'er, quickly said in a flustered manner, "I just noticed that the room was empty, so I threw the person in. It's only for one night, so nothing should happen, right?"
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