Chapter 393: My order is to imprison the eldest prince forever and to execute Bai Yanyue
Concubine Xi's face was pale. She took a deep breath and placed her hand on his chest. Her heart was about to jump out of her throat. She was pressed against the wall. From here, she could hear the emperor's voice in the imperial study.
She lowered her voice.
"No way! It's getting late, and I'm afraid of getting bumped, so I'm in a hurry to go back!"
Xu Cairong kissed her on the ear and said, "Go back first and take good care of our child."
Concubine Xi's hands were shaking. She didn't tell anyone why the prince knew so much. Fortunately, she had a maid to support her, otherwise she would have fallen hard.
She turned around and looked at Xu Cairong's broad back.
"No, since I've done it, I don't regret it. It doesn't matter who the man is, as long as I am rich and prosperous."
Xu Cairong also came to the imperial study.
It was a coincidence that we arrived before the interrogation even started.
"Your son is here to watch the show too."
"Nonsense!" Emperor Xu scolded, but still asked Eunuch Shang to bring him a chair. "Sit there and be quiet."
He stood up and walked over to his eldest son, and saw that both of them had been crying.
He half-jokingly said, "Come together, you can't tell me that it was the eldest prince who killed Cai Qi's entire family, right? Haha..."
"Your son deserves to die." Xu Xiaoli kowtowed, resting his forehead on the back of his hand, refusing to stand up. "Indeed."
Emperor Xu couldn't laugh anymore. He sat back on the throne with a serious expression, "Jiang Jing, Song Wang, don't joke with me. This is not funny."
He doesn't like his eldest son.
But it was his child after all. If he really did something to wipe out the whole family, it would bring shame to the royal family!
Jiang Jing said: "Sir, I am not joking."
Emperor Xu's face flushed with rage. He roared, "Take him out and behead him!"
Eunuch Shang was stunned. Who was he pulling? Lord Jiang, Lord Song, or the eldest prince? He quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Perhaps there is a hidden story behind this. Please listen."
Emperor Xu said nothing, his chest rising and falling.
Bai Yanyue, of lowly status, had always been afraid of the Emperor. But now, she stepped forward before His Majesty and raised her head, saying, "Your Majesty, I was originally the daughter of a commoner in Yongjiang. That day, Cai Qi took advantage of the heavy rain and wanted to stay at our house. My parents were kind and agreed. But, intoxicated, he became possessed by evil intentions. My father found out, and fearing his actions would be exposed, he killed my entire family!"
The scars that have been buried for many years are revealed again.
Her heart was bleeding.
"When I was young, I was hidden in a pile of firewood and witnessed my family being killed. Later, I left Yongjiang and was adopted by a kind-hearted person and taken to Shengjing. I worked as a maid in His Highness's mansion, but I never dared to forget the hatred."
Emperor Xu said dissatisfiedly, "Didn't the Yongjiang County Magistrate sentence Cai Qi?"
"So what?" Bai Yanyue asked tearfully, "His family is dead, but he only stayed for a few years. When he came out, he was still fat and pale. In this world, money can buy life. How can a poor family like us, without money, seek revenge?"
Seeing everyone in deep thought, she continued.
"The sinner explained this to His Highness. He used this opportunity to recuperate, but in reality, he was biding his time and carrying out a revenge plan."
“…”
The evidence has been admitted.
Emperor Xu said mercilessly: "As a daughter-in-law of the royal family, you acted so despicable and dared to destroy the whole family!"
Bai Yanyue raised her head and said, "The sinner's family was not killed. It was Cai Qi who was killed, as well as Madam Cai who always bullied the people and the evil slave."
Song Wang said: "There are indeed fewer corpses in the mansion."
The lucky survivors of the Cai family were found by Jiusu.
Emperor Xu summoned him.
The Cai family members cried and hugged Bai Yanyue. The survivors were Cai Qi's concubines and children. The concubines were forced into the mansion, and the lady beat and scolded them. Several of them had died.
They hated Cai Qi.
"Your Majesty, to you, she is a heinous murderer who wiped out an entire family, but to me, she is a benefactor who did good deeds. I beg Your Majesty to show your great kindness and show some mercy!"
Everyone was waiting for the emperor to speak.
Jiusu thought, for the sake of the so-called royal face, they would at least spare the lives of the eldest prince and his family, right?
After a long while, Emperor Xu spoke expressionlessly.
"This is a heinous act, involving the murder of countless people. As the saying goes, even the emperor who breaks the law is subject to the same punishment as the common people. Pass on my decree: the eldest prince will be imprisoned forever, and Bai Yanyue will be executed."
Bai Yanyue closed her eyes and shed a line of tears.
Accept it calmly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Xu Xiaoli shook his head and kowtowed in fear, "Father, please sentence me to death as well!"
Emperor Xu sneered, "To die for a woman? You're just like your mother, a coward and a fool! Spread my word: if anyone fails to keep an eye on the eldest prince, and he hangs himself, the entire palace will be buried with him!"
Xu Xiaoli hugged Bai Yanyue tightly, preventing the eunuch from dragging her out.
"No, don't touch her!"
"Your Highness." Bai Yanyue stroked his face, took a deep breath, and said calmly, "Don't cry. As long as you are still alive, it is the best outcome. You must be well in the future. I wish you many children and grandchildren."
Xu Xiaoli was heartbroken, "You can't leave me."
Jiusu stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I think your punishment of the eldest prince and his family now is neither reasonable nor moral. Not only will it fail to give an explanation to the world, it may also cause public outrage."
Public outrage?
Emperor Xu sneered.
It is one thing for him to pamper Jiusu, but he cannot always interfere with his decision-making.
"I'd like to hear why it's so unreasonable and illogical."
The eldest prince and his wife looked at Jiusu in surprise. They had not expected that someone they had only met once would plead for them.
Jiusu said, "To put it simply, Bai Yueyue represents the thousands of poor people left behind by brutal thugs. If these poor people seek revenge but receive a heavier sentence than the thugs, will they still have hope of survival? Will they still trust the court? Could it be that they were forced into poverty and killed people with a knife?"
She paused and continued.
"To put it in a broader context, relations with other countries are extremely tense right now, and war may break out at any moment. By punishing the eldest prince, aren't you signaling to the world that the royal family is at odds?"
Bang!
Emperor Xu slammed the table.
Jiang Jing knelt down and said, "Master Jiu is right. State affairs are of paramount importance. Please think twice before returning to the Emperor."
Song Wang bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please reconsider."
At this point, Xu Cairong stood up with his hands on his hips and asked, "She killed someone, why can't she be punished?"
Jiusu asked back, "Were you punished when you killed someone?"
Xu Cairong's face changed.
"You! I'm the prince!"
Jiusu looked at the eldest prince, her meaning clear: "You are a prince, so I am not the eldest prince?" She stopped talking and stood quietly, waiting for the emperor to speak.
Emperor Xu looked at the memorial beside the desk, which stated that Guan Yu and the generals wanted to fight.
He folded his hands, but he still needed to be soft for a while, so as not to let her feel cold.
"My dear minister, what you said is true." He stood up and looked at Xu Xiaoli and the others coldly. "You may be spared the death penalty, but you cannot escape the punishment of life. Without my order, you are not allowed to leave Shengjing and are imprisoned in the palace forever."
The two of them kowtowed quickly.
The eunuch sent the two men back, and the door of the mansion was locked immediately.
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