Chapter 144
Li Yuanting still didn't understand what Grand Tutor Li meant when he saw his father walking towards the palace gate. He hurriedly chased after him and asked, "What does he want us to give in exchange for Huai'an?"
Li Taifu's wrinkled eyelids drooped slightly, hiding the dark color in his eyes: "Huai'an will not do anything to betray the Li family."
Li Yuanting was stunned by his father's words.
They would not betray the Li family. That means that even if Li Huaian fell into Xie Zheng's hands, Xie Zheng would not be able to obtain evidence of the bandits' escape from Chongzhou and the narrow capture of Lucheng, which they had facilitated?
It was because Xie Zheng couldn't pry open Huai'an's mouth that he used Huai'an's jade pendant to negotiate with them?
The official bridge of the Li family father and son had been carried to the street outside the Meridian Gate by servants. Li Yuanting stopped Li Taifu as he was about to step forward, his emotions clearly agitated: "Father, do you want to give up Huai'an?"
Master Li looked at his eldest son indifferently and said, "Do you think the Li family has any other options now?"
From the moment the Li family began to fully support the emperor's eldest grandson, the emperor viewed the Li family as traitors and villains who he wished to kill as soon as possible.
The emperor's eldest grandson also holds the correspondence evidence between him and them, which is equivalent to holding their lifeline. The Li family has no choice but to continue to protect the emperor's eldest grandson.
Abandoning Li Huaian is the only way to preserve the interests of the Li family to the greatest extent.
After Li Taifu got into the carriage, Li Yuanting was still stunned by those words and stood there for a long time.
Even though he understood the Li family's current situation, he still found it hard to believe that his father would just abandon the youngest and most promising child of the Li family.
The servant waiting nearby saw that Li Taifu had already left the official bridge, so he asked carefully, "Sir, shall we get up?"
Li Yuanting thought of his abandoned son, and sadness surged in his heart. His face was gloomy, and he turned around and said, "Let's go back."
-
The imperial palace.
After Qi Sheng left the Jinluan Palace, he did not even have time to return to the Taiqian Palace, but instead smashed vases and jade articles all over the floor in a side hall.
He was tired of smashing things, so he leaned his hands on the table, panting heavily, and stared fiercely at the pile of broken porcelain on the ground: "How can Xie Zheng take me seriously?"
The eunuchs who served him were silent. No matter how eloquent they were in normal times, they didn't know how to flatter this moody emperor.
Qi Sheng took a breath and then smiled sinisterly: "Let him be crazy for a while, his good days of thanking the emperor are almost over."
He didn't know what he was thinking about, but his mood suddenly improved. He even straightened his dragon robe which was messed up because he smashed things in anger just now. He said with a smile: "Return to Taiqian Palace."
However, just as he walked out of the side hall, he was frightened by the blood that spread out on the white marble steps and let out a short scream.
Qi Sheng sat paralyzed at the doorstep of the side hall. In his terrified pupils he saw the dead look of one of his trusted eunuchs with his eyes wide open and a long sword that was still dripping with blood.
He looked at the man in armor holding a knife standing coldly at the bottom of the hall, and tremblingly asked: "Wu... Marquis Wu'an, you... you want to kill the king and rebel?"
Xie Zheng's wrist trembled slightly, and the blood on the tip of the knife fell off. He slowly put the long knife back into the empty scabbard of the Jinwu Guard beside him. He ignored the pale face of the Jinwu Guard and looked at Qi Sheng calmly: "Your Majesty, you have wronged me. I heard that the eunuch was spreading rumors to harm the emperor, and Your Majesty also allowed me to have the power of life and death, so I had the courage to help Your Majesty get rid of this disaster."
The eunuch who died was the one who had previously gone to Chongzhou to supervise the army and announced the imperial edict.
He received Qi Sheng's secret order. If the Li family had not allowed Wei Yan to join forces with Huang Changsun to escape from the shell of the golden cicada in Chongzhou City and attack Lu City instead, he was afraid that the next step would be to attack Fan Changyu on the battlefield.
Rao's evil plan failed, and when Tang Peiyi was mobilizing cavalry to support Lucheng, he also interfered.
If Tang Peiyi had not been so tough, the eunuch would have taken away most of the cavalry on the pretext of returning to Beijing to report the news, and Lucheng would have been impossible to defend. After returning to Beijing, the eunuch exaggerated what happened in Chongzhou and told Qisheng.
If Tang Peiyi and his men had not won the battle, Qi Sheng would have had no place to vent his anger. Otherwise, Tang Peiyi and Fan Changyu would have been severely beaten if not killed when they came to Beijing this time.
Xie Zheng hadn't had time to deal with these reptiles before.
Today I have returned to Beijing openly and honestly, and it is natural that I have to settle all the accounts that need to be settled.
Qi Sheng looked at the man walking towards him leisurely, his face as pale as paper. He wanted to call for protection, but in such a huge palace, there was only one Jinwu Guard guarding outside.
The rest of the people were sent to who knows where by Xie Zheng. Qi Sheng was even more frightened. His hands on the ground couldn't stop shaking. He stared at Xie Zheng who was getting closer and closer, and asked timidly, "You...what do you want to do?"
He looked so ferocious, there was no trace of the imperial demeanor in him.
Xie Zheng's eyes flashed with a hint of sarcasm. He bent his waist slightly and extended a hand to Qi Sheng. He was born with a good appearance. When he raised his lips and smiled, he was extremely deceptive. "I was dealing with the servant who spread rumors and misled the master. I accidentally frightened Your Majesty. I deserve death. I will help Your Majesty up."
Qi Sheng looked at the handsome face in front of him and felt that it was even scarier than seeing a Yaksha demon.
He did not dare to ask Xie Zheng to help him. He was about to stand up by himself, holding on to the door frame, but his elbow was clamped by a huge hand like a clamp.
This was the first time that Qi Sheng realized how terrifying the power in the general's hands was. He let out a muffled groan and felt that his entire arm was about to be broken by Xie Zheng. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead like beads.
Xie Zheng still had that faint smile on his face, and asked slowly, "Your Majesty was disrespectful to General Yunhui in the court before. Was it instigated by that servant?"
Qi Sheng was shocked and finally realized that Xie Zheng's action today was to vent his anger for Fan Changyu.
He was shocked and angry, and felt a twisted hatred towards Xie Zheng for daring to disrespect the imperial power to such an extent. However, at this moment, it was all covered by fear. A bean-sized bead of sweat rolled down his temples, and he echoed with a pale face: "It was...it was that dog slave who spoke ill of me."
Xie Zheng raised his black eyelashes slightly, which seemed to loosen the clamp on his elbow joint, and said meaningfully: "This is the best."
Qi Sheng certainly heard the threat in Xie Zheng's words.
He came here today to warn him not to set his sights on Fan Changyu again.
No matter how resentful he was, the severe pain from his elbow kept Qi Sheng awake, and he did not dare to say anything in front of Xie Zheng.
Xie Zheng glanced at him calmly, clasped his hands and bowed: "Now that the treacherous villain has been eliminated, I will withdraw."
After Xie Zheng was completely out of sight, Qi Sheng managed to stand by holding onto the door frame of the side hall. It was a cold winter day, and the clothes on his back were soaked with cold sweat.
The chief eunuch, who had not dared to breathe a single sound from beginning to end, went forward to help him with a pale face, and cursed in a shrill voice: "Xie Zheng is really ambitious! The Xie family is full of loyal and brave people, but he dares to disregard the law and is not afraid of bringing shame to the Xie family!"
Qi Sheng's face was gloomy. He waved away the chief eunuch who came to help him, looked in the direction where Xie Zheng left and whispered, "I can't keep him here!"
-
Xie Linshan was a general stationed in Beijing at that time, and the Xie family also had a mansion in the capital, so there was no need to make separate arrangements for his residence.
Almost immediately after the court session ended, someone from the palace delivered the nine treasures bestowed upon him by the emperor to his residence.
Xie Zheng only went back to change into casual clothes. He didn't even bother to see the eunuchs who came to deliver gifts, and went directly to the Jinzouyuan to find Fan Changyu.
This time, I came back empty-handed.
It turned out that not long after Fan Changyu brought Aunt Zhao back, Tang Peiyi sent someone to call her over.
The progress of the three-court trial was not only closely followed by Fan Changyu, but Tang Peiyi, who was determined to seek justice for He Jingyuan, also kept a close eye on the developments at the Dali Temple.
Just today, when Xie Zheng returned to the capital, the Dali Temple once again tortured and killed another person during the interrogation of the captured Sui family generals and servants. However, the matter has been suppressed for the time being and has not yet been reported to the court.
Tang Peiyi was worried that there were Wei Yan's people in the Dali Temple. If all the main witnesses of the Sui family died suddenly during the trial, it would be impossible to identify Wei Yan.
There is another trial this afternoon. Tang Peiyi is afraid that something might go wrong, so he decides to take Fan Changyu, He Jingyuan's eldest son, and Zheng Wenchang to sit in on the trial.
-
Dali Temple.
The weather got colder day by day after the beginning of winter. Fan Changyu was now a third-rank military officer and had a place to sit in the audience. Under the low table on his left was a charcoal basin for heating.
In the court, the presiding judge was the Grand Court Justice, and next to him were people from the Ministry of Justice and officials from the Imperial Secretariat.
There were charcoal basins placed under the brocade-covered desk in front of them, and the warmth was even greater than that in the audience seats below.
The remnants of the rebels kneeling below were only wearing a thin prison uniform that had been beaten to tatters. They were unkempt and their faces were bruised from the cold.
Officials who have served in the Dali Temple for a long time have experience that the best time to interrogate is in the severe winter months. No torture is needed. Just freezing the prisoners for one or two nights will make them confess.
Fan Changyu had been listening in for a while. The presiding judges only went through the procedure and asked some questions, but before answering, the prisoners had to be dragged out and beaten with thirty boards. The executioners were extremely heavy-handed, and after thirty boards, the prisoners' skin was almost torn.
Tang Peiyi said that this was a killing stick and that he had suffered from it before, so he would not dare to speak nonsense again when answering questions.
However, those interrogated this afternoon were all small fry. The torture bench outside the venue was stained with blood, but they still didn't get any important information out of them.
During the halftime break, the officials who were attending the meeting went to the side room to drink some tea or go out for a walk to get some fresh air.
Seeing that there was no one around, Tang Peiyi lowered his voice and said, "In the morning, a murder was found, and in the afternoon, only servants with no itching were interrogated. Although Wei Yan is sick at home, he still reaches out to the police!"
Upon hearing this, Fan Changyu could not help but frown and said, "If there are people from his clan in the Dali Temple, should we send more people to protect the staff member in the Changxin Palace?"
He Jingyuan's eldest son He Xiuyun said: "Li Taifu's people are more anxious than us. The Li family will not let him die an unnatural death."
Tang Peiyi nodded in agreement and said, "The Li family is still struggling to find physical evidence to incriminate Wei Yan. They will probably have to try Sui Yuanhuai's concubine later. With her child as a weak link, she probably can't hide any secrets."
Fan Changyu suddenly asked, "Have you examined Sui Yuanhuai's concubine this morning?"
Of course she knew that the concubine of Sui Yuanhuai imprisoned in the prison was fake, but since she was used by Qi Min to replace Yu Qianqian and her son, she must be a member of the Sui family.
But with Qi Min's methods, he would never send someone who knew his secrets to the court.
Severe torture may not yield any evidence of Wei Yan's collusion with the Sui family, but it is unknown whether it will lead to the discovery that "Sui Yuanhuai" is not dead yet.
The emperor was already jealous of Xie Zheng, and he deliberately set up a trap when Tang Peiyi and his troops from Hezhou came back to Beijing for the first day of court meeting.
If this excuse is used again, and the remnants of the rebels are still alive, all the generals who participated in suppressing the rebellion will not only be punished, but will also be held accountable. The situation at that time will be extremely unfavorable to them.
Fan Changyu clenched his palms, his expression becoming serious.
It turns out Qi Min had dug a trap here waiting for them!
As long as the three courts can judge everything smoothly, when Wei Yan is overthrown by the Li family, they will also be punished for falsely reporting the suppression of rebels in exchange for military merit.
This is really killing two birds with one stone!
Tang Peiyi saw that Fan Changyu looked unhappy and said, "Before the trial, before summoning Sui Yuanhuai's concubine, they first tried a servant beside Sui Yuanhuai, and it was that servant who was beaten to death. Who would have thought that when the concubine went to court, she passed by the yard and saw the servant beaten to death on the torture bench, and fainted on the spot. The people in the Dali Temple were afraid that she was scared to death, so they invited the imperial physician, and then the news was spread."
Fan Changyu said, "So that's how it is."
She was preoccupied with something and had no intention of listening to the rest of the interrogation. She found an excuse to leave the court.
She wandered to the prison, and the guard at the gate saw that she was wearing the uniform of a third-rank military officer, so he blocked her way and clasped his fists, saying, "Sir, this is a restricted area, you cannot go any further."
Fan Changyu put his hands behind his back, raised his eyelids slightly and nodded coldly, with the demeanor of a general who never showed his emotions. He turned around and walked away somewhere else, as if he was just thinking about something and came here by mistake.
All serious criminals of the imperial court who are to be tried by the three courts must be brought to trial individually and cannot be detained again.
Fan Changyu wanted to find out the terrain and military deployment of the Dali Temple and sneak into the Dali Temple at night.
She walked along the high wall, continuing to look at the terrain of Dali Temple calmly, when suddenly something hit her shoulder.
Fan Changyu lowered his eyes and saw that what fell on the ground was a tightly wrapped plum bud.
She looked up and saw Xie Zheng sitting on the gray tile wall with one leg bent. He brushed away a branch of red plum blossoms that was sticking out from the side with one hand and turned his head slightly to look at her. His face was as beautiful as jade, and it was no less beautiful than the bright plum blossoms.
He lowered his eyes slightly and asked her lazily, "You walked all the way from the south wall to the north wall, are you planning to be a thief?"
The author has something to say:
Changyu (twisting her head): You really understand me (honest jpg)
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