Chapter 132 Suicide
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.
A white figure stood with his back straight, holding a tray with a phoenix robe and phoenix crown in his hands, and stepped into the Golden Palace step by step with a dignified manner.
In an instant, all eyes in the hall were focused on Queen Lin, moving slowly around her.
There is no longer the elegance and luxury of the past, nor the majesty of the phoenix crown and bridal robe.
At this moment, Queen Lin was wearing only a plain, washed-out coarse cloth dress, her long hair tied up with a wooden hairpin, no makeup on, her face as pale as paper, and her body shaky, as if a gust of wind could blow her down.
You could almost hear a pin drop in the entire hall.
Only the light yet firm footsteps of Queen Lin echoed in the empty hall.
She walked to the foot of the imperial steps and was still ten steps away from the dragon throne when she stopped, her red eyes staring blankly ahead.
Then, in front of everyone's shocked gaze, Queen Lin knelt three times and kowtowed nine times.
The plain white cloth looked particularly desolate in the magnificent hall, yet it also carried a heart-shaking sadness.
Queen Lin kowtowed for the last time and stood up. Her forehead was already blue and purple, with traces of blood seeping out.
She held the heavy tray in both hands, raised it high above her head, and her voice echoed clearly throughout the hall:
"The sinful woman, Lin, was a poor father and failed to manage her family properly, causing her father and brothers, Lin Chong and Lin Heng, to disregard the law, engage in corruption and pervert justice, frame loyal and honest people, and commit heinous crimes."
"This is all due to the fact that as a daughter of the Lin family, I failed to persuade my father and brother and to restrain my relatives. I am ashamed to continue to hold the position of empress and sully the reputation of the royal family."
"I, a sinner, now request that the Empress be deposed, the Phoenix Seal be taken back, and I be demoted to a commoner. I am willing to accept any punishment."
"I only ask Your Majesty to consider that I have served you for many years and have never committed any serious offense, and to spare the innocent children of the Lin family a chance to live."
At the end of her speech, Queen Lin's voice was choked with sobs, filled with endless sadness and pleading.
"Mother!"
When Lu Cheng heard the word "deposed queen", he cried out in shock. He only knew that his mother came to apologize, but he never expected that his mother would be so determined as to ask to be deposed herself.
He suddenly raised his head and looked at the emperor sitting on the dragon throne, his eyes filled with pleading: "Father! What crime has the Queen Mother committed? How can the sins of my maternal grandfather's family be blamed solely on the Queen Mother? I beg Father to show mercy and spare the Queen Mother's life!"
Lu Cheng was really panicked at this moment.
He thought that his father would at most reprimand his mother and deprive her of the power to manage the harem, but he did not expect that his mother would directly force him into a desperate situation.
The court fell into dead silence.
Queen Lin's resolute apology and request to be deposed shocked people with her stubbornness.
The emperor's expression softened slightly when Empress Lin said the word "depose the empress."
That's exactly what he wanted.
The Lin family has fallen, and keeping this Lin family girl as the queen will be an obstacle to his preferred heir, the Fourth Prince Lu Yong.
Turning his gaze to Lu Cheng, a hint of murderous intent flashed across the emperor's eyes.
With the fall of the Lin family, the crown prince, who carries the blood of the Lin family, is the biggest hidden danger. How could he leave behind any future troubles?
The emperor did not express his opinion immediately, but glanced at several trusted ministers standing in the front row of civil officials with a very obscure look.
Immediately.
The old censor who had rebuked the Queen for interfering in government affairs stood up again, his voice loud and full of indignation:
"Your Highness, this is wrong. Although the Empress herself requested to be deposed, her father, Lin Chong, has committed heinous crimes, each one too numerous to list!"
"His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, is the heir apparent and the grandson of the Duke of Fengguo. He and Lin Heng are very close, and the only Consort Lin in the Eastern Palace is a daughter of the Lin family."
"How could His Royal Highness the Crown Prince truly be completely ignorant of what the Lin family has done? In my opinion, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's words are ostensibly a plea for mercy, but in reality, they are an attempt to exonerate the remnants of the Lin family. This constitutes a cover-up!"
"Exactly!"
The Minister of Personnel immediately followed up with sharp words: "Your Highness the Crown Prince and Lin Heng have a close relationship, which is known to everyone in the court and the country. When Lin Heng abused his power to bully others and acted lawlessly, Your Highness the Crown Prince not only did not dissuade him, but actually condoned him!"
"Now that the Lin family incident has occurred, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is trying to distance himself from the matter and shift all the blame onto the deceased. He is even using the mother-son relationship to blackmail Your Majesty. He deserves death!"
"I believe that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is absolutely not completely unaware of this matter, and may even be involved in it!"
"I second the motion!"
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is to blame!"
At once, several ministers came forward and pointed their fingers at Lu Cheng.
Qin Xiu watched this scene coldly and sneered in his heart.
The emperor's thoughts are obvious.
This was to take advantage of the Lin family's downfall to completely depose the prince. He remained calm and did not speak.
The Lin family has fallen, the crown prince has been deposed, and the political situation will be reshuffled, which may not be a bad thing for his subsequent plans.
Pingjiang Hou and others were also silent. Since the issue involved the throne, no one dared to express their opinion easily.
Queen Lin lay on the ground, listening to the ministers' heart-wrenching accusations against her son, her body trembling uncontrollably.
As expected, her good husband not only wanted to destroy her, but also wanted to take this opportunity to completely destroy her son.
Uproot the Lin family, along with the mother and son, leaving no room for them.
She knew him too well.
Cold, selfish, suspicious, and unscrupulous in achieving one's goals.
After being married for decades, she had already seen through him.
My apology today and request to be deposed as queen were probably just a clown's performance in his eyes, and the best excuse for him to get rid of her and her son.
The emperor looked at the angry scene below and felt satisfied.
He was about to speak, to prove the Crown Prince's guilt and depose him.
Queen Lin slowly raised her head, the blood on her forehead was glaring. She looked at her son who was besieged by ministers, her eyes filled with endless despair.
She took a deep breath and spoke with all her strength:
"Your Majesty, gentlemen, my son Lu Cheng is young and full of energy, and may have been negligent in his supervision."
"However, the crimes of the Lin family were committed by Lin Chong and his son. My son has nothing to do with them. If we are to talk about guilt, it all stems from my Lin bloodline."
"The sinful woman Lin is willing to sacrifice her own life to atone for the sins of the Lin family."
"I only ask Your Majesty to spare my son's life for the sake of our father and son!"
She kowtowed again, "I, a sinner, am willing to die! I only ask for mercy, Your Majesty!"
"Mother! Don't!"
Lu Cheng understood that his mother was using her own life to exchange for his.
He struggled to rush forward, but was stopped by the guards in front of the palace.
The emperor's face instantly became extremely gloomy.
This bitch actually dared to threaten him with death, making the emperor bear the infamy of forcing his wife to death, and also asking him to let go of the hidden danger of the crown prince.
Don’t even think about it!
"What nonsense!"
The emperor slammed the dragon table, his face livid with anger, his chest heaving violently:
"Empress! You have committed a grave offense, yet you have no apology for your mistakes. You even dare to speak nonsense about life and death in the Golden Palace, threatening me with your own life!"
"Do you still have eyes for me, the emperor, and the laws of our ancestors?"
At the critical moment, hurried footsteps were heard outside the hall again.
A general dressed in the uniform of the Imperial Guards rushed into the hall, knelt on one knee, and spoke with a breathless voice:
"Your Majesty! Urgent report from the Duke of Feng's Mansion: Following the death of Duke Lin Chong yesterday, the entire household committed suicide by drinking poisoned wine in the mansion's mourning hall half an hour ago!"
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