Chapter 491 Zheng Kun commits suicide, points his sword at Xiao Yan
Zheng Kun's words were full of determination, and his face became even more ruthless as he spoke later.
Seeing that something was wrong, He Cheng hurriedly shouted, "Stop him," but it was too late.
Zheng Kun had just used his broken arm to support his body while scolding Emperor An, and moved slowly to the front of the stairs by using fierce words to cover up his anger. At this moment, the broken porcelain pieces were right in front of him, and he lunged forward sideways, landing directly on the broken porcelain pieces.
"ah--"
Everyone around exclaimed in surprise.
Zheng Kun opened his mouth, took a tiny piece of porcelain into his mouth, and swallowed it with great force. The sharp weapon cut his throat and trachea.
"You're crazy!"
Yu Yanfeng strode forward in shock and grabbed Zheng Kun's jaw, but unfortunately the small piece of broken porcelain had already been swallowed.
The trachea under his throat was cut from the inside and protruded outwards. The sharp point was covered with a layer of human skin as thin as a cicada's wing, and the blood was clearly visible.
Zheng Kun fell to the ground, blood gushing out of his open mouth, and his whole body twitching in pain.
In just a moment, his eyes widened and he stopped breathing.
"Dead... He's dead..."
Such a tragic death made even Yu Yanfeng, who was used to seeing life and death, turn pale. The court officials in the hall who had never seen too many deaths were even more pale.
Some timid ladies and female relatives even fainted after screaming, while others huddled at the table, trembling, their faces pale without a trace of blood.
"Tang Ning!"
Rong Yue's heart was pounding, and she grabbed Tang Ning with a look of horror on her face.
Tang Ning also looked at the corpse in a trance, and subconsciously looked at Xiao Yan.
Zheng Kun died just like that, my brother is in trouble.
Yu Yanfeng checked Zheng Kun's breath.
"Your Majesty, Zheng Kun is dead."
Emperor An was also shocked by what happened in the palace. Eunuch Feng supported him hard and prevented him from falling. He grabbed Eunuch Feng's arm tightly, with anger in his eyes.
"Drag this traitor out! Drag this traitor out!!"
Yu Yanfeng quickly asked someone to come in and drag Zheng Kun's body out. The blood all over the ground cast an endless gloom over the Mid-Autumn Night that should have been a happy occasion.
Emperor An felt dizzy as he looked at the pool of blood. Not only did his previous good mood disappear, but the irritability and anger in his body rose even more.
It felt like a nerve in his brain was breaking, and the pain was so severe that he could hardly suppress the urge to see blood.
"Your Majesty." Cui Lin stepped forward. "Although this traitor surnamed Zheng is dead, his words just now clearly pointed out that Xiao Yan and Queen Lu had long been in collusion. He even knew about her affair with Prince Cheng and that the Lu family had long been aware of her deceiving the emperor..."
"I understand!"
Emperor An knew what Cui Lin was about to say and interrupted him directly, his expression becoming even uglier. "This is the end of the palace banquet tonight. I will take care of Xiao Yan's matter myself. You all may disperse."
"Feng Lai, escort all the ministers out of the palace..."
"His Majesty!"
How could Cui Lin let Emperor An drive the people in front of the hall out of the palace? He had finally caught Xiao Yan's handle and knew that it was him who framed him and exposed Queen Lu's scandal, which almost made him bedridden. The Cui family was even in danger of following the same fate as the Lu family. How could he possibly forgive the culprit?
Emperor An relied heavily on Xiao Yan, and Xiao Yan was too resourceful. If he could not be convicted of the crime during the court session, who knew whether he would be able to turn the dying into alive with his sharp tongue after the palace banquet, and let Emperor An easily forgive him as before.
Cui Lin sacrificed two spies buried deep in the palace, and also gave up Zheng Kun, who he had found with great difficulty, and directly pushed himself into the open.
The relationship has already been torn apart, there is no way he will give up at this time.
"As a palace eunuch, Xiao Yan was trusted by His Majesty to manage the Privy Council. He even enjoyed the favor of the Emperor's family by participating in the imperial court as a eunuch. However, he did not appreciate His Majesty's grace. He colluded with the Empress, became close to the Fourth Prince, and concealed Prince Cheng's scandal. I wonder if he has committed other acts of deceit against the Emperor."
"Your Majesty, we must not let him off lightly if he acts like this!"
As soon as Cui Lin finished speaking, Feng Qiuli frowned and stood up.
"Minister Cui is right. Xiao Yan is a man who has been in the presence of the Holy One, yet he has private dealings with the Empress and the Prince. Zheng Kun said that he has long been trusted by the Empress. Even before the Empress broke with the Lu family, the Fourth Prince had not yet revealed his background, and he was not as shameful as he later became."
"Xiao Yan, a eunuch, has close ties with the prince. What is he planning?"
Master Liang did not expect Feng Qiuli to speak, and in an instant he understood Feng Qiuli's plan.
The situation has come to this point. What happened tonight is obviously inseparable from Cui Lin. Even if he gave in, the aristocratic families and Xiao Yan would still be mortal enemies. What's more, Grand Tutor Liang does hate Xiao Yan.
Ever since this man climbed up from the inner court and showed his prowess in the palace, he has been stepping on the reputation of the aristocratic families step by step to get to where he is today.
Although he hated Lu Chongyuan's stupidity, the Lu family was ruined, and the court officials from the aristocratic families in the court also suffered a huge blow. As a result, they were taken advantage of by Cao Dejiang and others and lost many important positions.
Xiao Yan's targeting of the aristocratic families is too much, and his ruthless pursuit of the Lu family is also suspicious.
Grand Tutor Liang had already sensed something was wrong and sent people to investigate Xiao Yan's background. He had originally planned to take action against him only when he was completely sure. But now that Cui Lin had been able to find evidence against Xiao Yan, and it was a serious crime of betraying the emperor and having private dealings with the deposed empress and her son, he didn't mind helping Cui Lin.
Grand Tutor Liang stood up and did not question Xiao Yan like Feng Qiuli and Cui Lin did. Instead, he said:
"Although the Lu family's actions are worthy of death, as far as I know, Lu Chongyuan didn't know about the affair between Empress Lu and Prince Cheng before Guan, the eldest of the Lu family's branches, died. The Lu family's break with the Empress must have occurred after that incident."
"Just now, Zheng Kun said that Xiao Yan had been in contact with the Queen before the two broke up, and even made a promise to her. I dare to ask, was this your Majesty's instruction?"
"Has Your Majesty long been aware of the Lu family's rebellious intentions, and therefore allowed Xiao Yan to deliberately approach the Queen and her son, using his position as a close minister to gain Queen Lu's trust in exchange for evidence of the Lu family's crimes?"
"If it is Your Majesty's will, then Governor Xiao is innocent, and we will leave immediately."
Grand Tutor Liang's words were not as harsh as those of the previous two, but the meaning behind his words was far more cruel than those of the two.
If Emperor An said that Xiao Yan was instructed by him, then the mocking and contemptuous words Zheng Kun had just said would come true.
Everyone knows that Emperor An is cruel and vicious, and that he schemed against the old ministers who helped him ascend to the throne, hiding the bow after the bird is dead and destroying the bridge after crossing the river. They also know that he had long known about the affair between Lu Qingfeng and Prince Cheng, but he used Lu Qingfeng for the throne.
Cui Lin and Prince Zeng were punished by him before because he deliberately took his anger out on them. The two of them were devoted to serving the emperor but ended up with a disgrace and were despised by the palace.
Emperor An was mean and ungrateful, and was despicable and shameless.
But if Emperor An denied it and said that he did not know about Xiao Yan's actions, then what Xiao Yan did was not only deceiving the emperor, but also getting involved in the fight for the throne and colluding with the princes.
If Emperor An did not conduct a strict investigation, it would be difficult to quell the uproar in the court, and he would also be known as an incompetent being manipulated by eunuchs, as Zheng Kun said.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com