"Ms. Chang is finally willing to meet me." In the flower hall, Li Lu saw Chang Suining coming and stood up and raised his hand to salute.
"So the prince understands." Chang Suining looked at the thin young man. "If I don't see the prince today, he will come again until the door of my Chang Mansion is broken down. Outsiders will talk about it endlessly, thinking that our Chang family is resentful and alienated from the prince because he refused to give 'false testimony' for my brother before - right?"
Regarding the previous testimony, although Li Lu did not deny that he had spoken to her brother alone that day, he only insisted that "I don't know where Chang Langjun went after they separated, so I dare not make a definite guarantee." This statement can be said to be a two-pronged approach. Even if her brother's unjust name is cleared now, no one will think that there is anything wrong with what the Prince of Rong said that day.
Instead, he "tells the truth" and does not cover up anyone because of "personal feelings", which shows his openness, integrity and gentlemanliness.
Such a sickly gentleman had come to visit him many times in person afterwards, but the Chang family always avoided him. Isn't that too petty? So, how could she not see him?
Li Lu: "If you are going to apologize so easily, where is your sincerity?"
Chang Suining sat down: "The prince's sincerity is always irresistible."
This person is extremely goal-oriented and never takes other people's wishes into consideration. He seems gentle and harmless, but in fact he is a ruthless person. He is good at forcing others to do things.
From proposing to her at the Hibiscus Flower Banquet, to forcing her to marry him by mentioning her brother's affairs, to even the small act of visiting her at her home, it was all like this.
"But Madam Chang refused, and not just once." Li Lu also sat down, his tone seemed a little lonely: "Madam Chang refused me at the flower banquet and the appointment in those two days, didn't she?"
In other words, he has always been frustrated in front of this girl.
Chang Suining: "But the prince is unyielding—"
The young man looked at her, smiled, and said sincerely: "Because Madam Chang is worth it."
This is the truth.
Originally, he did want to use this girl to win over Chang Kuo and his son behind her, but although he was frustrated by being "rejected" twice, he was also pleasantly surprised - this girl was worth his fight to the end.
"In three days, the Ming family's heir... no, the criminal Ming Jin will be executed." He said, "I cannot imagine what I can do, but Madam Chang has done it on her own. This shows that I was self-righteous and limited in my vision before."
As he spoke, he looked apologetic and ashamed: "These days, I have been thinking over and over again. Although my previous proposal was originally intended to save people, it was indeed rude and coercive. If I can't apologize to Madam Chang in person, I will really be unable to sleep or eat."
Chang Suining was amazed by such hypocritical remarks. She was a person who loved talents. She thought that if such talents could go to the front line, their face alone could withstand the spears in the hands of thousands of soldiers and would be indestructible by swords and guns.
The other party is hypocritical and shameless, but fortunately she is not bad either.
So I asked, "Your Highness keeps saying he wants to apologize, but where is his actual action?"
If there is something to gain, it is not impossible to act with the other party.
Li Lu seemed to think for a moment before he said, "I came here today with two pieces of news that have not yet been sent back to the capital. You can tell Madam Chang first to show your sincerity in apology."
Chang Suining reached out and picked up the teacup: "Sir, let's hear what you have to say."
"The first piece of news is that the army led by Li Yi to fight against the rebels was accidentally defeated in the first battle at Liangshan in Yudu."
Chang Suining’s fingers gripping the teacup slightly tightened—Old Chang was defeated?
"In fact, the fault does not lie with General Chang."
Li Lu sighed and said, "It is said that a plan to fight the enemy had been made, but halfway through the battle, the commander Li Yi saw that the situation was not good and became timid, so he ordered the army to retreat. On the way back, they were ambushed by the Xu rebels... Fortunately, General Chang took charge of the situation and led the army to break out, so the losses were not too heavy."
Chang Suining frowns.
Li Yi had been timid and overly cautious since childhood. Xu's army probably knew this weakness, so they devised this plan to first make him retreat and then ambush him.
She had this worry before sending out the troops, but at that time Chang Kuo had said that Li Yi had assured her that everything would be arranged by him. Now it seemed that although they said so, there were still unexpected changes and disagreements when the real battle started.
This is the first battle. If we lose, the morale and even the people's hearts will be severely damaged. It is not a good start.
"General Chang was accidentally wounded by an arrow while protecting Li Yi from the siege, but Madam Chang, don't worry, it didn't hurt any vital parts, so his life is not in danger."
Chang Suining's frown did not relax, and he continued to ask, "What is the second piece of news that the prince mentioned?"
Li Lu: "Huainan King Li Tong is seriously ill."
King Huainan Li Tong was Li Yi's father.
Chang Suining looked at Li Lu and asked calmly, "Was this news brought back by the servant sent by the Crown Prince's family to celebrate the birthday of the King of Huainan? Is it credible?"
When she sneaked into Prince Rong's Mansion that day, Li Lu told her that a few months ago he had sent a servant to Prince Huainan's Mansion to deliver a birthday gift to Prince Huainan, and when the servant returned to Beijing, he would bring her news about the war in Yangzhou and Chang Kuo.
It is normal for her to ask this question at this time.
But only Chang Suining knew in his heart what she was doubting at this moment.
"It was brought back by the family servant. As for whether it is credible or not, I believe that news will soon be reported back to the capital. Madam Chang will be able to make the final decision then."
Li Lu sighed, "My uncle is old. Before the imperial army arrived, he was ordered to resist the Xu rebels and guard the Huainan Road... In addition to being busy with military affairs, he was also unable to bear the rumors and became angry, which led to his serious illness."
"Rumors?" Chang Suining's eyes moved slightly: "Are you referring to the rumors between the King of Huainan and the Saint?"
"It seems that Madam Chang has also heard about the rumors about the Li family scandal. Madam Chang, please forgive me for making you laugh."
Chang Suining did not make any comment.
When the Empress Ming ascended the throne, in addition to military generals and court officials, she also received support from royal family members, among whom Li Tong, King of Huainan, was the leader.
There were rumors secretly that the Queen had an affair with Li Tong.
"While rumors cannot be trusted, it is true that the King of Huainan is loyal to the Saint... The Saint dared to entrust Li Yi with the task of leading the army because of his trust in the King of Huainan."
Li Lu said: "But now the King of Huainan is seriously ill, and Li Yi lost the battle due to his own fault. He will surely be blamed and impeached by the court officials. Under such circumstances, I am afraid that the morale of the generals and the army will be unstable..."
Chang Suining knew that there was no exaggeration in his words.
If the Prince of Huainan really "died of illness" at this time, the situation in the south of the Yangtze River would surely fall into greater chaos.
"General Chang has a strong character and may be drawn into an unknown vortex..." Li Lu said, "I have said this, I hope Madam Chang can think about it early."
…
Li Lu's words were confirmed two days later.
The news that the army was defeated and Li Yi was not advancing reached the capital, along with the sad news that King Huainan Li Tong had died.
The Holy Cemetery Emperor was furious and sad.
During the past ten days, there has been no peace in the court. There have been countless statements openly criticizing the Ming family, and officials from the aristocratic families have been pressing forward step by step.
Now these two pieces of news have been reported, and for a while there was an uproar and endless disputes in the government and the country.
The news of Li Yi's defeat quickly spread throughout the capital, and rumors began to spread among the people that "the death of Prince Huainan was a sign from heaven that the Queen's luck had run out."
When the news reached the Emperor Shengce, he immediately ordered the Palace Office to investigate the source of the rumor.
"The Xu family rebels, and now the aristocratic officials led by the Changsun family..." It was late at night. The emperor looked at the memorials on the dragon table and said to himself: "The two have a common interest, and that is to force me to abdicate."
At this point, if she had not been extremely stupid, she would have thought of the possibility of these two people working together...
Xu Zhengye raised an army in the south, and there must be someone in the court who is connected with him! The Holy Ce Emperor looked towards the dim candlelight.
That night, a palace maid came to Duke Zheng's mansion to summon him late at night. Wei Shuyi hurriedly got up and changed into official clothes.
At the same moment, Ma Xingzhou, the Right Prime Minister of the Secretariat, was also on his way to the palace in a sedan chair.
Although it was late at night, the palace servants guarding outside the Ganlu Palace were on high alert and did not dare to relax even a little.
The sage secretly summoned his trusted ministers late at night, and there must be something extremely important to discuss... After tonight, I'm afraid that there will soon be a bloody storm in the court.
Speaking of this, tomorrow is the day when the saint's nephew will be beheaded.
Thinking of this, a palace maid guarding the corridor secretly glanced at the brightly lit imperial study.
The emperor is currently discussing important matters with his ministers. I'm afraid he has no time to think about his nephew being executed tomorrow.
For an ordinary person, such an act of cutting off flesh and blood would not cause the emperor to feel any pain or regret at all. Even if he did, it would only be cold anger and indifference.
It was true that the prince had made mistakes and got into trouble, but he was also raised under the watch of the saint. However, the saint never showed any sympathy or hesitation. After deciding to punish him, he no longer paid any attention to him or asked a single question...
Alas, he is the emperor after all.
…
Mingjin and Chang were both sentenced to be beheaded in public.
That night, Chang was unwilling to be beheaded and humiliated in public, so he died in prison.
Ming Jin still didn't believe that he would be executed. He was the emperor's nephew and the blood of the Ming family. Someone would definitely come to save him... Even if he couldn't be exonerated openly, there must be arrangements to help him get out of it secretly! As an accomplice, Feng Min was exempted from the death penalty because he took the initiative to testify. He and his grandmother Xie were sentenced to exile and would leave Beijing tomorrow.
But Feng Min felt that her grandmother would not have the chance to be exiled from Beijing with her.
The two were imprisoned in the same cell, with their hands and feet tied with heavy chains. Xie, who had been sentenced to thirty lashes of the cane according to the law, was now lying on the ground unable to move.
She had scolded Feng Min at first, but now she no longer had the strength to do so.
The wounds on her body were festering, and she had not been able to eat for three days. At this moment, she looked at the bowl of water brought by the jailer, moved her cracked lips, and uttered a weak voice: "Min'er... water..."
"Grandma, would you like some water?" Feng Min came over.
Xie raised her head with difficulty and watched her granddaughter pick up the bowl of water.
Feng Min took two steps back and slowly poured the water onto the ground.
"You..." Xie's desperate eyes showed a fierce look and hatred: "You rebellious and unfilial bastard, you...will not die well!"
"Grandma, what you said is both right and wrong. I deserve to die, and I deserve to die a miserable death because I killed someone. It's only right. It's not because of the rebellion and unfilial behavior that Grandma said I should have."
Feng Min's eyes also flashed with hatred: "Grandma really needs this bowl of water. She will die without this bowl of water, right? Then when Grandma pushed me into a desperate situation and wanted to use me to exchange for benefits, did she ever think that I would also die!"
"Of course Grandma has thought about it..." She laughed: "The only thing Grandma didn't think about was that I, a damned person, could drag Grandma to die with me."
"I am where I am today, all thanks to my grandmother... so this is the retribution that my grandmother deserves."
After Feng Min poured out the last drop of water, he threw the broken bowl in front of Xie.
Xie widened her eyes and tried to crawl towards the puddle of water on the ground, but the short distance now seemed thousands of miles away, a place she could never reach in her lifetime.
At dawn, Xie had completely stopped breathing, but his eyes were still wide open.
Feng Min slumped down on the ground helplessly, looking up at the faint ray of sunlight filtering in from above his head.
Soon, she was taken out of the cell and tied up one by one with a group of other prisoners. They were escorted by a group of officials, walked through the long street, were cursed at, and were led out of the city gate.
Her mother saw her off outside the city and spent money to bribe the officials in the hope of getting more care for her during her exile.
Seeing her mother, who was the most useless in her eyes in the past, now trying her best to take care of things for her, Feng Min's eyes turned red and she felt even more regretful.
In the past, she only listened to her grandmother and disdained her mother's "cowardly" teachings, but now...
"Min'er...we should bear the consequences if we do something wrong..."
The woman stroked her face with tears in her eyes. "Mother will do her best to arrange everything for you. It will be hard during exile, and it will be hard in Lingnan, but if you admit your mistakes and can correct them, you still have a chance. If you are lucky enough to encounter a general amnesty in the future... maybe you and I can be reunited."
"No matter what others do, my mother will wait for my Min'er to come back."
Feng Min burst into tears and nodded heavily to the woman.
…
At three quarters after noon, the executioner raised his knife.
The midday sunlight shone on the back of the knife, reflecting a dazzling light. Ming Jin, who was tied and kneeling in the center of the execution ground, did not dare to close his eyes.
He couldn't believe that he was going to die like this.
He wanted to remind everyone that he was the legitimate son of the Ming family. Even the Crown Prince Li Zhi didn't dare to speak loudly when he saw him!
But his mouth was blocked tightly and he couldn't make any sound.
Looking at the people around him and listening to the sound of the knife ring shaking, he finally began to feel afraid and showed a look of fear.
The next moment, the look of fear was completely frozen on the head that rolled on the execution platform, and the body without the head was still kneeling in the same place.
Some people were applauding, while others were shocked, and the discussions were noisy and chaotic.
This is one of the reasons why Emperor Shengce ordered the public punishment of Ming Jin. The people need to vent and be shocked, and they also need to witness with their own eyes the emperor's act of sacrificing his own relatives for the sake of justice.
Chang Suining also came to watch the execution. To be exact, he came over to see the excitement after he came back from meeting Shen Sanmao at the farm.
She took a last look at Ming Jin, whose head and body were separated, then turned and left the crowd.
Not far from the execution ground, when Chang Suining was about to get on the carriage, a group of people of different ages and clothes quickly caught up with him.
"Madam Chang, please stay!"
Thank you all for your monthly tickets and rewards. Please, please, please, please give me monthly tickets. I’m ranked eighth now. I hope I can keep my ranking stable!
(Some boxed lunches were distributed in an orderly manner in this chapter)
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