Han Jiang, the Minister of Revenue, has lost all his backbone. The Prime Minister is already dead, and all the evidence from last night has been revealed.
Emperor Jing is now clearly purging them, and the evidence is quite complete.
Whether you tell the truth or not, you're doomed to die. But if you tell the truth, you can save your family's lives, at worst they'll be exiled.
If you don't tell, it might implicate your entire family.
He couldn't bring himself to have his entire family executed along with him.
He honestly explained the whole story.
"...He kidnapped my son to threaten me; otherwise, he wouldn't have betrayed the Emperor..."
In the end, it was too late for regrets.
"You're confused! The Emperor is a wise ruler. Everyone here knows how he treats me and the people. How can you be so foolish?"
The Minister of War looked furious.
He confronted the Emperor today because he and the Minister of Revenue were old friends, but he never expected things to turn out this way.
"Brother Liu, I'm sorry to disappoint you."
The Minister of Revenue was moved to tears. It would be a lie to say he wasn't touched that someone had stood up for him when he was in trouble.
[If you knew that the Minister of Revenue got close to the Vice Ministers of War because of your relationship, and that he was the one who instigated those two to sideline you and do bad things behind your back.]
I wonder if you'll be so angry you'll vomit blood.
[And one more thing, "In the end, it was all a misplaced investment!"]
Jing was thoroughly enjoying the melon seeds; she was just short of having someone bring her a plate of them so she could start cracking them open.
Emperor Jing's face turned ashen. It was utterly shameful that such a stupid official was one of his own.
It seems we need to recruit more talent.
Perhaps feeling a pang of conscience, the Minister of Revenue looked at the Minister of War with remorse and said:
"The Left and Right Vice Ministers of the Ministry of War were also involved in the Prime Minister's rebellion. Neither of them are good people; I was the one who connected them. I hope Lord Liu will not trust others again in the future."
The Vice Minister of War was so shocked that he stood there speechless for a long time.
He never expected that his own officials were involved, and that he had no idea.
He knew very well what this meant: he had been unknowingly sidelined by his subordinates.
if...
If everyone present were intelligent, they would surely understand the key point.
If Emperor Jing hadn't made prior arrangements, the Prime Minister's rebellion might have actually succeeded last night.
"Drag it down."
Emperor Jing waved for the Minister of Revenue to be taken away, then picked up the evidence on the table and had Eunuch Xu pass it on to the assembled officials.
"Take a look, everyone. This is the evidence you wanted. Look carefully, lest you be plotted against by someone with ulterior motives and accused of being ruthless and a tyrant."
Wow, Father Emperor can actually explain things now! That's progress. In my previous life, Father Emperor never liked to explain, which allowed the Prime Minister and his ilk to take advantage of the situation and smear him.
[He was clearly a wise and benevolent ruler, yet he's been portrayed as a tyrant—it's utterly absurd.]
Rumors are harmful. In the future, I should advise Father Emperor to prioritize civil affairs over military matters.
Jing Le looked at Emperor Jing, who was slaughtering everyone around him, with bright eyes and a face full of satisfaction.
This made Emperor Jing very vulnerable.
Emperor Jing: Shouldn't Lele look at me with adoration? I feel a little gratified.
"What? Is that so? The Prime Minister is far too audacious."
"What audacity! This is treason! It is utterly disgraceful to the Emperor's high regard for us."
"The Minister of War is also pitiful, he didn't even know that his subordinates had long harbored disloyal intentions."
The courtiers discussed the matter animatedly, while some of the more astute among them lowered their eyes in deep thought.
This time the evidence is conclusive, and it has implicated so many people.
Just like the faction of the prime minister, which almost all fell from power, the Minister of Revenue is a typical example, as is the Censorate.
This place was directly under the Emperor's jurisdiction, yet it was infiltrated by the Prime Minister's men.
Some veterans of both dynasties praised the prime minister as a cunning old fox who had been plotting for over a decade.
The outcome, however, fell into the hands of Emperor Jing.
Those with ulterior motives quickly stopped what they were doing.
"Mu Hongbo plotted treason; his entire household was beheaded, and his nine generations of relatives were exiled."
"Han Jiang was executed on the spot, and his clansmen were exiled thousands of miles away."
"The Left and Right Vice Ministers of the Ministry of War..."
Emperor Jing issued orders one by one, confiscating the property of those who had been confiscated and exiling those who had been exiled, but no one objected.
Because Emperor Jing did not go too far in order to bring good fortune to Jing Le or the Dayong Dynasty.
In the past, those who plotted rebellion were always executed along with their entire families.
Compared to now, they are so much better off.
The dungeon of Dali Temple.
Those detained here are the family members of the various families who were brought here by the Imperial Guards last night.
Officials such as the Minister of Revenue and the Vice Ministers of War were imprisoned in separate rooms.
All officials involved in the prime minister's rebellion have been apprehended.
Inside the prison, the women wept, while the men looked ashen-faced.
Just then, the messenger arrived; it was Eunuch Xu.
"Imperial edict has arrived!"
"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees..."
"Mu Hongbo is guilty of treason. The entire prefecture will be beheaded and their heads displayed to the public at noon tomorrow, and their nine generations of relatives will be exiled."
"Han Jiang, Jiang Wenlin, He Yangqiu, Li Jie, and Qian Chengyi shall be executed by beheading at noon tomorrow, and their clansmen shall be exiled a thousand miles away."
Eunuch Xu relayed the imperial decrees one by one before leaving.
Meanwhile, an imperial decree also arrived at the Cold Palace.
The Cold Palace.
Since arriving at the Cold Palace, the Empress has become quiet. She already had internal injuries, and if the Second Prince hadn't sent someone to check on her, she might not have made it this far.
"Mother."
The second prince entered the hall with a eunuch carrying a tray.
He knew this would happen.
The prime minister is dead, and all his accomplices have been captured. Tomorrow is the day of execution.
The Empress, too, would not keep her.
The choice was between poison, a white silk ribbon, or a dagger; this was Emperor Jing's final act of courtesy to the Empress.
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