Chapter 58: Bones piled up like a mountain
Song Tingchen looked at Su Tan deeply, his expression hard to tell whether it was disappointment or something else. He lowered his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, no."
Emperor Qinglong smiled instead of getting angry, his gaze falling on Su Tan, "County Lady Jiayi, what else do you have to say right now?"
"Your Majesty, I am innocent!"
"The entire Zhao family is wronged!"
Lord Zhao knelt on the ground and immediately cried out for justice in a sad and plaintive voice.
The other members of the Zhao family also immediately seized the opportunity and tearfully said that they had no grudges against Su Tan and did not know why she was so cruel today and intended to kill the entire Zhao family.
Even Song Tingchen's gaze fell on Su Tan at this moment.
He frowned, and his eyes seemed to be covered with a thick layer of frost and snow. He looked at Su Tan with disappointment and confusion.
"Su Tan, even if you and Zhao Yu have a personal grudge, you shouldn't say such things to slander the Zhao family."
He knew that Su Tan was born into a military family. The family of Duke Dingguo had been loved by the emperor since childhood. She was raised in luxury and always had a somewhat arrogant temperament.
Even though she is not a bad person by nature, she has been influenced by others since she was a child, and she always feels that others do not take human life seriously.
The competition between the aristocratic families is often bloody.
Sometimes, just one word from them can lead to a tragic ending with rivers of blood.
"Su Tan, when did you become like this?"
She had previously slandered Qingyin for killing his father, and said that Qingyin could even kill her own sister.
He also thought Su Tan was willful and ignorant.
But now, Song Tingchen sneered.
How can it be said that I am willful and ignorant?
Su Tan has been close to the people in the Eastern Palace recently and has been in contact with Prince Chen for a long time, so the words "take human life lightly" have been deeply engraved in his bones.
Emperor Qinglong felt a headache. He had no time to listen to their nonsense. He simply fixed his gaze on Su Tan and asked again, "County Princess Jiayi, I only doubted Zhao Qing because I believed your words."
"But I haven't found anything yet, and Lord Zhao has become disheartened, damaging the bond between ruler and subject."
After he said this, Su Tan's reaction was unknown. It was only said that Lord Zhao immediately kowtowed to him and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not have any complaints against you."
"Your Majesty works tirelessly day and night to govern the country. My admiration for you is like the endless flow of a river. Your Majesty is not doubting me, but has been deceived by a treacherous person."
Su Tan smiled, with a hint of sarcasm between his lips.
"Lord Zhao is truly eloquent. He can even turn black into white."
Song Tingchen frowned, a cold aura emanating from his body, "Su Tan, have you had enough of this?"
"You framed loyal ministers and generals, and even now you refuse to admit your mistakes?"
Su Tan scoffed. She didn't bother paying attention to the Zhao family or Song Tingchen either. She just turned to Emperor Qinglong and said, "Your Majesty, you have to see for yourself to know whether there is anything there or not."
"After all, seeing is believing."
Emperor Qinglong frowned, as if in deep thought.
Song Tingchen, on the other hand, had a hint of coldness in his eyes, and he couldn't hide the disappointment in his heart when he looked at Su Tan.
"Oh, Su Tan, you don't have to talk like that. It's so sarcastic."
"Do you think that because I'm on good terms with Zhao Yu, I can act on my own and help him deceive the Emperor?"
"But I wasn't the only one who saw it. The Imperial Guards who went there also saw it. The Zhao family's backyard was almost dug up three feet deep, but there was nothing left!"
Su Tan simply looked at Emperor Qinglong and asked, "Your Majesty, would you like to go and see it?"
Song Tingchen was about to say something, but Lord Zhao shook his head and said to Emperor Qinglong, "Your Majesty, since Princess Jiayi won't cry until she sees the coffin, please trouble Your Majesty to go and see it."
"Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll go to hell with this injustice. How will I explain this to my ancestors then?"
Seeing that Lord Zhao had spoken, Emperor Qinglong did not say anything else.
He frowned and rushed to the Zhao family's backyard under the escort of countless royal guards.
Sure enough, the Zhao family's backyard was dug up beyond recognition, and it was no exaggeration to say that they had dug three feet deep into the ground.
Song Tingchen glanced at Su Tan coldly, his expression puzzled. "Now you've seen it yourself. There's nothing. Are you still not going to admit your mistake?"
Does she really have to wait until the remaining elderly, weak, women and children in the Su family also lose their lives because of her willfulness before she regrets her actions?
Emperor Qinglong's eyes were cold, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Lord Zhao looked at Su Tan coldly, "Princess Jiayi has seen it with her own eyes now, what else is there to say?"
Su Tan sneered, slowly turned away, and said to Emperor Qinglong: "Your Majesty, I am right. If an ordinary person were to dig, they would definitely not find anything."
"Even if we really dig deep into the ground, others will only think that the Zhao family is innocent and that I am framing them."
Emperor Qinglong's face was as gloomy as ink.
Su Tan actually got it right.
When Song Tingchen went to lead the Imperial Guards, Su Tan whispered to Emperor Qinglong that the Zhao family was cunning and would use some cunning tricks to make it impossible to find out anything.
If the emperor had the patience, he could witness the Zhao family's shamelessness with her.
Although Emperor Qinglong was very annoyed with Su Tan.
However, compared to personal likes and dislikes, what Emperor Qinglong cares about most is whether the imperial power is being challenged and whether anyone is coveting his throne.
Therefore, he suppressed his annoyance towards Su Tan and agreed to this matter.
Unexpectedly, he actually saw this spectacle.
Cold sweat broke out on Lord Zhao's forehead, and a bad premonition unconsciously arose in his heart. He subconsciously felt that he could not let Su Tan continue speaking.
The veins on Lord Zhao's forehead bulged violently, and he immediately knelt down, saying in a mournful voice, "Your Majesty, I am loyal to you and will never accept such an unjust accusation!"
"This person has repeatedly slandered our Zhao family. I don't know what her motives are. Your Majesty, this sinister woman should be beaten to death on the spot!"
After hearing these words, Song Tingchen frowned even more tightly. He rubbed his swollen temples and stared at Su Tan solemnly.
"Have you had enough of the trouble?"
"Su Tan, what else do you want?"
Must she not cry until she sees the coffin?
Will she be content only if the entire Su family is buried with her?
Su Tan's eyes were cold, and her gaze suddenly fell on Emperor Qinglong, "Your Majesty, Song Tingchen's words make this servant uncomfortable."
"He has repeatedly slandered me because of a few words from others. Once the truth is revealed, may I give Song Tingchen a few slaps and a few whips?"
Emperor Qinglong's brows furrowed instantly.
He exuded a heavy chill, staring at Su Tan without blinking, and reminded him: "Su Tan, Song Tingchen is an official appointed by the court after all."
"He is also your husband who has shared your joys and sorrows."
He was reminding Su Tan not to forget the principle that men are superior to women and the husband is the head of the wife.
Even though Song Tingchen's words made her uncomfortable, since they had once been married, she could not forget the rules even if they had already separated.
Su Tan's eyes were cold. "Your Majesty, it is precisely because Song Tingchen is an official appointed by the imperial court that I must seek justice."
"Otherwise, if everyone in the court follows Song Tingchen's example and speaks and acts based solely on their likes and dislikes, and convicts someone they dislike over a disagreement, who knows how many unjust, false, and wrongful convictions will there be in this world."
"Even the emperor can be deceived."
"If this continues, there will be widespread public resentment and chaos in the world."
Song Tingchen farted in front of her again and again.
As soon as they opened their mouths, they started throwing all the dirty water on her.
It had been proven many times that he had wronged her.
But he will fall back into his old ways next time.
Su Tan was too lazy to ask Song Tingchen to trust her.
But she had to teach him a lesson.
Let him remember the pain of being beaten and the loss of face in front of his respected king and father, then he will learn his lesson.
What Emperor Qinglong valued most was imperial power.
What he cares about most is imperial power.
He suddenly smiled and his eyes fell on Su Tan. She really knew how to strike the snake at its weakest point.
"Can."
After all, Su Tan said something very right.
He would never allow his court officials to be like Song Tingchen, who easily convicted people based on their personal preferences.
Song Tingchen exuded a heavy chill and said nothing.
He knew Su Tan's temper.
I can't stand any grievance.
He refused to give in even a little.
He refuses to endure even the slightest hardship.
But it would be better if she was really wronged.
Su Tan ignored Song Tingchen and the pretentious Zhao family members.
She made a hand gesture in front of Emperor Qinglong, holding a willow branch that she had casually broken off when she left the palace, and chanted a long string of spells that no one else could understand. Finally, her eyes fixed on the devastated pit.
There was a gust of wind blowing past his ears, and Su Tan's eyes were cold, as if he was carrying an endless mission to find a place for the wronged souls in this world to come and seek justice.
Willow branches pierced the sky, bringing with them bursts of piercing screams. Su Tan's hands glowed with golden light, "Break!"
In an instant, a cold wind blew by their ears, and sharp and piercing wails resounded throughout the night sky, as if to pierce everyone's eardrums.
The scene before my eyes gradually changed.
Emperor Qinglong and Song Tingchen watched helplessly as the deep pit, which was originally empty, became piled with countless bones.
It is impossible to count how many wronged souls there are.
These bones were piled up randomly, as if no one cared about their life or death.
But if you look closely, the skulls of these bones seem to have been dug out, like some kind of strange ritual.
Song Tingchen took two steps back in shock.
He had seen such a scene before.
During wars, corpses and starving people are everywhere. If there is an epidemic, all you can hear are countless wailing.
See the mountains of bones.
Song Tingchen's heart was sinking.
Su Tan's eyes were cold, "General Song, did you see that?"
"This is all the fault of Zhao Yu, whom you deeply trusted."
Song Tingchen said nothing, as if a huge rock was pressing down on his heart, and it kept falling down.
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