Chapter 37: Killing someone means paying with your life!
Li Mian frowned, and the muscles on his face twitched.
He originally thought that Queen Mother Chi wanted to deal with Zhu Fangfang and had already prepared to sacrifice him, but who knew that they were coming for Li Xiaoci!
This was really beyond his expectations.
Especially Li Jiying, who committed the crime of murdering her husband but still dared to cry out for justice in front of the emperor. It really opened his eyes!
How could the Li family raise such ungrateful, rebellious and disrespectful descendants?
I was so furious that I wanted to execute this shameless and disrespectful woman on the spot!
But at the moment they are completely unprepared and have no idea how many tricks Empress Dowager Chi has left. They cannot act rashly and can only adapt to the situation.
He raised his head and gave Li Xiaoci a soothing look: Look at your ability. You just accidentally killed a concubine. What's there to be so nervous about?
Li Xiaoci understood the look in his eyes and felt a little calmer.
That’s right, he was a second-rank minister, how could he go to jail for killing a concubine?
Li Xiaoci slowly straightened up and glared fiercely at Li Jiying beside him. Just as he was about to speak, he heard footsteps outside the palace door.
It was a witness brought in.
All the ministers in the hall turned their eyes to look. The guards led three people away - no, another one was carried in.
The old woman was Liu Shanxin, who had served Liu Ruiyun in the Li Mansion, and the man in Taoist robe and holding a whisk was Xu Qingzi, the abbot of Baiyun Temple.
As for the man who was carried in lying on the stool, he was naturally Wang Liu who had been punished with a comb and wash.
Everyone looked at the rotting flesh on his back, and could vaguely see white worms wriggling inside. It was simply unbearable to look at. They turned their heads away after just one glance, and some even retched on the spot.
Li Xiaoci immediately questioned, "Why was Wang Liu subjected to such a severe punishment? Are you trying to force him to confess?"
Ling Qiong slammed the table and stood up, staring at him angrily, "This man attempted to murder the Imperial Secretary Wu, but was caught red-handed. Lord Li, are you saying that we at the Yiluansi can't bring him to justice? Or are you the mastermind behind this?"
Li Xiaoci instantly broke out in a cold sweat. How could Wang Liu be so disappointing that he even blurted out this matter?
If that's the case, why is he still alive? What a waste!
Little did they know that Wang Liu also wanted to die, but he just couldn't.
I had to drink several bowls of ginseng soup every day, hanging on to my life, and it was so painful that I wanted to die.
Seeing him like this, Li Xiaoci was afraid that he had confessed what he should and shouldn't have, so he hurriedly distanced himself from him.
"I know nothing about this matter! Who knows who paid this guy to do this evil thing to frame me? Your Majesty, please investigate!"
Li Mian seized the opportunity and spoke, "The Yiluansi should provide evidence when speaking. To casually accuse someone and convict them based on just a few sentences really makes me doubt your ability to conduct interrogations and solve cases."
The ministers immediately became nervous, looked at Li Mian, and then looked at the Yiluansi.
Before the witness even opened his mouth, both sides started arguing, but in the end, Li Xiang was the winner!
Ling Qiong was stunned by what he said and was about to refute when she heard a light cough from above.
"Alright, Lingqiong, don't make random statements without evidence."
Lingqiong's heart tightened, and she suddenly realized that she had been led astray by them. Now was not the time to argue about this matter.
He immediately lowered his head and said, "Yes."
He sat down slowly, and caught a glimpse of Li Xiaoci's smug expression from the corner of his eye, and couldn't help but sneer in his heart.
Do you really think she has no evidence? Of course she has evidence, but now is not the time to speak.
Thinking of this, she raised her hand and rubbed her earlobe. She didn't know why, but she could always hear some inexplicable words in the past few days, but she couldn't hear it today.
In the hall, after the three of them finished kneeling, Liu Shanzhen spoke first and told what happened before Liu Ruiyun's death.
She realized it only after a long time that Liu Ruiyun was murdered by Li Xiaoci, and she felt very guilty.
As soon as she opened her mouth, tears streamed down her wrinkled face. "...That day, everyone in the mansion saw the master dragging his concubine into the house. After more than half an hour, the door was finally opened, but my aunt didn't come out."
"I later learned that it was at this time that my aunt met with misfortune. It was all my fault for not entering the house to stop her... But I also didn't expect that Master could be so cruel. They say that a husband and wife become bound by love for a hundred days. My aunt gave birth to children and took care of the household chores for you. After so many years of love, how could you have the heart to do that to me?"
As Liu Shanzhen spoke, he became more and more emotional and questioned Li Xiaoci tearfully.
Li Xiaoci was furious and said, "You are just a servant in my Li Mansion. What qualifications do you have to question me? Do I have to look at the mood of an old slave like you when I teach my own woman a lesson? How ridiculous!"
After he finished speaking, a knowing chuckle was heard in the hall, and it was unknown which of the male officials' hearts were touched by his words.
Chi Li said in a deep voice, "So, Li Xiaoci, you really killed Liu Ruiyun?"
These words immediately silenced everyone, and the male ministers who were laughing immediately held their breath and lowered their heads.
"I, I just gave her a light push, and she lost her balance and fell to her death! Your Majesty, I also feel wronged!"
Chi Li's eyes turned cold. "Is that so? Wang Liu, tell me, what exactly happened in that room that day?"
Wang Liu reiterated that Li Xiaoci had called him in to deal with Liu Ruiyun's body.
But he spoke with difficulty and his breath was weak, as if he was about to die in the next moment, which was very unbearable to listen to.
Chi Li said coldly, "Li Xiaoci, if you really didn't kill Liu Ruiyun, why didn't you hold a normal funeral? Instead, you hid Liu Ruiyun's body in a desolate mountain to conceal it?"
Li Xiaoci was sweating profusely, knowing that he could no longer deny this matter. However, he was unwilling to admit his guilt and struggled, saying, "I was afraid of being misunderstood at the time, so I had her buried quietly out of fear. But I really didn't kill Liu Ruiyun!"
Li Jiying believed that Queen Mother Chi would make the decision for her, so she didn't say anything and just listened silently.
But after hearing this, she couldn't hold it in any longer and said angrily: "You lied, it was you who killed my mother!"
He rushed forward, raised the shackles in his hand, and was about to smash Li Xiaoci's head.
Li Xiaoci was so frightened that he fell to the ground with a thud, covering his head with his hands. "She's crazy! This rebellious girl is crazy, why don't you stop her!"
But after a long time, he heard no movement, so he carefully put down his hand and found that it was a whisk across his head, blocking Li Jiying.
Li Xiaoci couldn't help but give Xu Qingzi a grateful smile, "Thank you, Taoist Xu."
Xu Qingzi smiled slightly, "You're welcome."
Li Xiaoci felt a little relieved, thinking that he had donated so much money to Xu Qingzi's Taoist temple, and she would definitely not be as heartless as those two people and expose his secrets.
As soon as he got up from the ground, he heard her say, "At the end of July, Lord Li said he was haunted by a ghost and asked me to come and exorcise him. In order to suppress the evil spirit, he had to confess to me that the ghost was beaten to death in his lifetime, so the wronged spirit lingered and wanted revenge on him."
Li Xiaoci felt a buzzing in his head, his legs went limp, and he fell to the ground again.
From above came the stern voice of Empress Dowager Chi, "Li Xiaoci, what else do you have to say? Deceiving the emperor is a capital crime."
Li Xiaoci knew that it was useless to argue at this point. He said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, I acknowledge my guilt. I accidentally killed Liu Ruiyun. But it was truly unintentional. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy!"
Chi Li stood up from the throne, looked down at him condescendingly, and spat out four words from her mouth, "Killing means paying with your life!"
Li Xiaoci felt like he was struck by lightning. He was stunned and at a loss, his whole body froze.
Pay with his life... Why should he pay with Liu Ruiyun's life?
He looked up at Chi Li, his eyes full of resentment, "No! I am a second-rank minister, Your Majesty, you can't sentence me to death just because I killed a woman!"
Chi Li's eyes were cold. "Come here, drag Li Xiaoci away and take him to the Yiluansi prison to await his punishment."
The Jinwu Guard stepped forward, grabbed Li Xiaoci's arm, and tried to drag him out.
Seeing Chi Li being so ruthless, Li Xiaoci's eyes turned bloodshot. He could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. He struggled desperately and cursed:
"A father is the leader of his sons, and a husband is the leader of his wives. A son suing his father, or a wife disobeying her husband, should be punished by death. I am not wrong. It is Liu Ruiyun and Li Jiying who should die. Empress Dowager Chi, you are defying Heaven! Ask the entire court, civil and military officials, who will support you?"
Chi Li sneered, "Everyone in the court, if anyone thinks that my judgment is wrong, please feel free to stand up."
The Jinwu Guards stopped, and Li Xiaoci looked at the ministers in the court with hope, his eyes sweeping across their faces one by one.
Everyone lowered their heads the moment they came into contact with him, not daring to look him in the eye.
There was dead silence in the hall.
For some reason, no one stood up to oppose Queen Mother Chi.
Li Xiaoci was nearly mad, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Speak up! Why aren't you speaking? Haven't you ever beaten or killed your wives, concubines, or servants? Aren't you afraid that I am today and you will be tomorrow?"
Then he went to see Li Mian, "Dad, save me! Dad!"
Li Mian sighed, and finally stood up and knelt down, "Your Majesty, even if Xiaoci is guilty, his crime does not deserve the death penalty. Please show some mercy."
Chi Li looked at him and chuckled, "Prime Minister Li's compassion for his son truly touches me. But, since you're so lenient with your son, why weren't you willing to pardon your granddaughter?"
Li Mian's expression froze. "Well, Ji Ying killed Duke Cao's son, how can they be compared?"
Chi Qi's smile widened. She rested her hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and stared at him. "It seems that Prime Minister Li has his own scale for measuring sin. Well, I'd like to hear what the sentence is for you, who murdered an official of the imperial court and colluded with your cronies to plot treason."
These words were like thunder, causing Li Mian to stagger. "W-what?"
Chi Yan picked up a memorial and threw it in front of him, "Read it for yourself."
Li Mian took it and looked at it. It was clearly Zhu Fangfang's handwriting, which implicated him in a rebellion against the Empress Dowager Chi and his intention to become the emperor himself.
Is Zhu Fangfang crazy?
Li Mian looked up at Zhu Fangfang, only to see that he was pale and had an indescribable strange expression on his face.
He suddenly understood, slowly glanced at the officials sitting at the desks on both sides, and a sad smile appeared on his face.
It turned out that Empress Dowager Chi made all these moves not to redress Li Jiying's grievances, nor to sentence Li Xiaoci, but to overthrow him as the prime minister!
He still underestimated Empress Dowager Chi's methods and courage.
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