Chapter 489 Killing Intention
The man knelt on the ground and didn't dare to look at Emperor An's expression. He just confessed everything in a trembling voice.
"Your Majesty... you and I were all confused for a moment. We were frightened by the ruthlessness with which Vice Commander Yu had dealt with those men in the cold palace. Eunuch Kang also goaded us, saying that Your Majesty had already decided to deal with Governor Xiao. That's why we agreed to what happened tonight. But you and I absolutely wouldn't dare to murder Your Majesty."
"I know I will die, but I beg Your Majesty to forgive my family. Please, Your Majesty!"
After he said that, he kowtowed loudly, and blood soon appeared on his head.
When the other dozen or so people saw that someone had confessed first and that the matter could no longer be concealed, they panicked and confessed their crimes one after another.
"Your Majesty, we truly had no idea anyone would die tonight. Eunuch Kang only instructed us to turn a blind eye when Madam Xuan arrived..."
"It was Eunuch Kang who told us that His Majesty had secretly signaled us, so we didn't dare to stop him. We just wanted to please His Majesty and gain a better future."
"Your Majesty, we are wronged!"
"Your Majesty, please spare my life! Your Majesty, please spare my life!"
Some of these people were greedy for money, some wanted to bring Yu Yanfeng down, and a few wanted to use this incident to gain the emperor's favor, eliminate the "traitors" and gain a good future.
Kang Muhai was a man in front of the Emperor. When he hinted to them like this, everyone thought that Madam Xuan's matter was arranged by the Emperor for Xiao Yan, but who would have thought that they were all deceived.
Listening to the noisy pleas for mercy below, Emperor An's face became extremely ugly. Not only because of the discord between Liu Tongen and Yu Yanfeng, but also because of the sneer on Xiao Yan's lips below, which made him feel embarrassed and angry as if he was being teased.
Emperor An slammed the table and shouted angrily, "Go and bring that dog slave Kang Muhai to me. I want to ask who had the audacity to let him forge the imperial edict!"
He then looked at the imperial guards who were kneeling on the ground begging for mercy.
"I asked you to guard the palace, yet you dared to bribe others and presume to guess my intentions. You deserve to die."
"Drag them all out and have them beaten to death in front of the palace!"
"Your Majesty, spare my life!"
"Your Majesty, please spare us..."
"I know I'm wrong, please spare my life, Your Majesty!"
The dozen or so men all had pale faces and fell to the ground, begging for mercy loudly, wishing they could break their heads. However, Emperor An had no intention of sparing their lives and only shouted angrily at the people below.
"What are you still standing there for? Shut them up and drag them out!"
The imperial guards in the hall stepped forward, blocked the mouths of the dozen or so people, and dragged them out forcibly. After they were outside the hall, a moment later they could hear the heavy hitting of sticks on flesh.
The court officials and ladies in the hall were fine; they could only vaguely hear the noise outside and could not see the bloody scene. However, those who were sitting under the steps outside the hall saw with their own eyes that more than ten people were pinned to the ground and beaten heavily with boards.
Emperor An was furious, so the executioners naturally did not dare to hold back.
The three-inch-wide stick hit the men's waists again and again, and blood appeared in just a moment.
Those people had their mouths gagged and their bodies pinned down, unable to move. The festive lanterns placed in front of the hall made the distortion and hideousness on their faces clearly visible.
A suppressed wail faintly emanated from his throat.
Blood flowed down the waist.
The fishy smell gradually spread, and the guards who were originally struggling and screaming gradually became silent, casting a terrifying shadow over the palace banquet.
The low-ranking officials under the eaves were either pale-faced or covering their mouths tightly with their hands. Even though they were trembling with fear, they dared not make a sound. They just looked at the lofty Emperor An in the hall, and the fear in their eyes could not be concealed.
…
On the high platform in the hall, Concubine Yu and others retreated. Eunuch Feng led people to clean up the table. When the people who went to capture Kang Muhai came back, they said that Eunuch Kang had hanged himself in his room and his body was cold. The table on the high platform that had just been cleaned was overturned again.
Emperor An was furious, and everyone knew that Kang Muhai was probably silenced.
Tang Ning and others couldn't help but look at Cui Lin, but Cui Lin's expression was too calm. When he heard that Kang Muhai was dead, he showed a hint of surprise.
Tang Ning pursed her lips tightly.
Cao Dejiang made a "tsk" sound.
Qian Baokun looked at Xiao Yan worriedly: Is it possible that his nephew is really in trouble this time?
When everyone in the hall was thinking different things, He Cheng and Yu Yanfeng came in again. The man held by Yu Yanfeng was covered in blood, and there was no good flesh on the exposed skin. It was obvious that he had been tortured.
Yu Yanfeng first glanced at Xiao Yan with a complicated expression before throwing him to the ground and saying to Emperor An:
"Your Majesty, this man has confessed."
"His name is Zheng Kun. He is a loyal soldier raised by Prince Xie Tianyu of Cheng. In his early years, Xie Tianyu gave him to the deposed Empress Lu. For many years, he has been hiding outside the palace, doing some shady things for the deposed Empress and the Fourth Prince."
Emperor An looked gloomy. It was Lu Qingfeng again!
"How did he get into the palace?" Emperor An asked sternly.
He Cheng lowered his head and spoke, "Zheng Kun instructed that the deposed queen often asked him to travel to Prince Cheng's palace to deliver messages, and he would also help the deposed queen deal with those who were at odds with her. Because many things could not be made public, and he dared not delegate the task to others, he would sneak into the palace every once in a while."
"The palace is heavily guarded, but thanks to the protection of the deposed empress and Prince Cheng, as well as the Lu family's connections, Zheng Kun is extremely familiar with the inner court and palace restrictions. Furthermore, the Shoukang Palace maid Tan Xia who died in the imperial garden tonight wasn't an accidental intruder. She was a spy planted by the deposed empress to the empress dowager."
Emperor An's eyes turned cold: "You mean, that palace maid is with him?"
"Your Majesty, Zheng Kun's instructions are indeed true."
He Cheng reported truthfully, "According to Zheng Kun, the Empress's ambitions are immense, and she has agents everywhere in the harem. Governor Xiao purged a number of them when he was in charge of the Twelve Prisons. While the Empress's dethronement cut off many of their connections, some deeply buried thorns still remain."
"Tan Xia served the Empress Dowager and knew that she was worried about the future of the Xuan family. She deliberately suggested that the Empress Dowager bring Madam Xuan to the palace for a banquet, so that the Xuan family could use the palace banquet to show their face in the court and socialize with the ladies of the capital. She also deliberately kept Madam Xuan in Shoukang Palace to talk to the Empress Dowager, causing her to miss the banquet."
"Tan Xia led Madam Xuan to the Imperial Garden. She overheard Zheng Kun discussing the dethronement of the empress with others, and then pretended to be discovered by them in order to silence them."
He Cheng repeated what Zheng Kun had said as concisely as possible.
"According to Zheng Kun, Tan Xia had already discussed tonight's events with him. After the incident, she would pretend to turn around and stop them, allowing Madam Xuan to seek help from the Purple Palace, while she herself feigned injury and unconsciousness to escape."
"But she didn't expect that Zheng Kun had no intention of letting her live at all. He had already wanted to kill her before he took action."
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