At this moment, the emperor and his entourage also quietly arrived. They were quite satisfied with Zhang De's decision to have Tu Sandao beaten, but only ten strokes of the cane were too few!
However, Tu Sandao was terrified when he saw that Master Zhang was not playing by the rules today and was being forced to the ground. Let alone ten strokes, even five strokes would be too much for his weak body to bear!
"My lord! You can't hit me! I'm the brother of the empress in the palace, and the maternal uncle of the sixth prince! If you hit me, he will definitely not forgive you when he ascends the throne!"
Tu Sandao struggled and yelled, but although he was fat, he was far weaker than the well-trained constables. He was beaten repeatedly and screamed in agony, shouting that the Sixth Prince would execute them all if he became emperor.
The Sixth Prince, isn't that the bird prince?
Chuanwen's memory returned to the time when the Sixth Prince showed the Emperor the divine bird in the palace, and he was somewhat speechless.
However... the Emperor and the Crown Prince are still alive, so how can the Sixth Prince become Emperor?
Chuan Wen expressed his bewilderment.
But Zhang De was already sweating profusely, especially when he noticed Dong Zhen and the other two in the crowd, a thunderbolt seemed to strike him in the heart.
The three men were a General of the Imperial Guard, an Imperial Censor, and a Vice Minister of Works. Although Zhang De had never met them before, he recognized them at a glance.
Being an official in the capital city, a place teeming with powerful and influential people, especially a lowly one, required him to be extremely cautious. Therefore, after taking office, he diligently investigated the family backgrounds of every official in the capital and commissioned portraits of each official and their family members to be drawn, striving to avoid offending anyone.
However, what shocked him the most was not the three people, but the one they were surrounding!
Ever since the changes began in the capital a year ago, he had heard that the emperor often liked to go out in plain clothes. He had originally wanted to have a portrait of the emperor painted, so that he wouldn't be surprised if he bumped into him on the street. But how easy was it to get a portrait of the emperor? He had only found out the emperor's height and build; the portrait of the emperor in his study didn't even have a face yet.
Although they didn't know what the emperor looked like, the height and build of the person surrounded by the three matched the emperor's. Moreover, that person had piercing eyes, and even when disguised as an ordinary person, their imposing presence would unconsciously emanate from them.
Therefore, this person is almost certainly His Majesty the Emperor!
Cold sweat poured from Zhang De's forehead, while Tu Sandao was still shouting about the Sixth Prince's ascension to the throne!
He immediately glared angrily and ordered his men to beat him severely!
What Tu Sandao! What Li Feng! Are they any more important than his life?! The Emperor is watching from outside! Waaah!
Zhang De was practically in tears. What kind of wind had blown into his little temple today? How did it manage to bring both Chuanwen and the Emperor, these two great Buddhas, here?
"Sir! Ten strokes are finished!"
The constable clasped his hands and reported. As Tu Sandao cried out in pain, he was still uttering those treasonous words. Zhang De shouted, "Keep beating him! This sworn brother who's not even related to us dares to dream of becoming the emperor's brother-in-law! Beat him!"
Zhang De no longer defended Tu Sandao; in fact, he loathed the guy who had caused him trouble. Moreover, he phrased it skillfully, distancing the Li family from Tu Sandao as well.
When the Li family heard about his attack on Tu Sandao, they not only wouldn't blame him, but they would probably be eager to sever all ties with him!
This is the art of being an official; it inadvertently helped the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review.
Just as Zhang De was sighing inwardly, he saw Li Feng, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, arrive. Li Feng had even tripped and fallen from a distance because he had heard Tu Sandao's shouts.
At this moment, Li Feng wondered if there was something wrong with his ears. Which prince was going to ascend the throne and become emperor?
He glanced at Yin Shuang, who had brought him here, and felt like dying. That meant the Emperor himself was here too!
Li Feng was helped up by Yin Shuang and walked shakily to the outside of the courtroom, where he indeed saw the emperor on the periphery of the crowd!
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Before Li Feng could even stammer out the word "Emperor," the Emperor raised his hand to stop him. He had come in disguise and didn't want to be recognized.
Li Feng immediately understood and shut his mouth. But then he heard Tu Sandao's shouts from inside, and his legs went weak. What deep-seated hatred did he have for this man? This man was trying to kill his entire family!
[With the Sixth Prince's pathetic appearance, surely he wouldn't follow others in plotting a rebellion, would he?]
Since Tu Sandao keeps bringing up the Sixth Prince, Chuanwen might as well go and dig into the Sixth Prince's current situation.
But as she pushed her way through, Li Feng, who was outside the crowd, immediately knelt down. Treason?!
His sudden kneeling startled the onlookers.
"What... what's going on?"
Several onlookers nearby sized up Li Feng and his group, whispering with great interest, "What a juicy story!"
The emperor forced a smile and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, "Yes, what's wrong, Brother Li?"
When the emperor travels, he addresses his ministers as brothers, but Li Feng is filled with dread. He can almost see his entire family being beheaded at the entrance of the market, and no one has told him that Chuanwen is here too! Waaah!
"I... I had a flare-up of my rheumatism just now, so I couldn't stand properly."
Li Feng and the emperor found an excuse: if he were to reveal the emperor's identity again, his crime would be compounded.
However, he couldn't stand up after a few attempts, and Yin Shuang had to help him up. Moreover, Yin Shuang had to keep supporting him, otherwise Li Feng's legs would give way and he would kneel down again as soon as she let go.
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