Chapter 164 His life or death was decided by His Majesty.
The King of Wu looked at Ruan Xingzhi with some confusion.
What do you mean by merely being demoted to commoners?
In this cousin's eyes, being demoted to a commoner seemed to be a trivial matter.
He was a prince, a true member of the royal family; to be demoted to a commoner would be an utter disgrace.
"Xingzhi, what do you mean by that?" King Wu frowned as he looked at Ruan Xingzhi.
Ruan Xingzhi smiled and quickly bowed to the King of Wu again.
"Cousin, I didn't explain myself clearly enough."
The blood of His Majesty flows in your veins, and no one can take it away from you. So, even if you are a commoner, who would dare to mistreat you?
You might think we're in a hopeless situation right now, but that's not actually the case.
King Wu looked at Ruan Xingzhi, signaling him to continue.
"Although my cousin arrested Lord Shangguan without telling me, and the situation got out of control."
But all of this doesn't mean that death is inevitable.
At least for now, it seems that you are working for King Zhao, so all of this should be attributed to King Zhao.
Since that's the case, no matter how His Majesty punishes you, in other people's eyes, you're the one who took the blame for King Zhao.
His Majesty also knows that his cousin has been wronged.
Therefore, the worst outcome would be that His Majesty, in order to protect the King of Zhao, would shift all the blame onto you and demote you to a commoner.
This wasn't the death of a minor official; it's not something that can be easily solved by simply finding someone to take the blame.
The punishment was too lenient; His Majesty will have no way to explain this to the nobles in the capital.
After all, exchanging the patriarch of the Shangguan family for a prince who was demoted is still a worthwhile deal.
The patriarch of the Shangguan family is important, but not so important that a prince's life should be sacrificed for him.
The Shangguan family dared not think that way, and neither did anyone else.
Therefore, being demoted to a commoner was the highest possible punishment.
But His Majesty cannot keep you a commoner forever, nor will the King of Zhao.
Even a prince who has been demoted to a commoner will one day rise again.
When Emperor Wu first ascended the throne, the Prince of Qin plotted a rebellion, leading his men to storm the palace and committing such a heinous crime. In the end, he was only demoted to a commoner.
What happened next?
Five years later, Emperor Wu secretly released the Prince of Qin and sent him to Lingnan.
Later, the King of Qin became the famous Zhenhai King of Dayu.
Cousin, what are you worried about? You are a prince, His Majesty's own son. Do you think His Majesty would really kill you?
Now, as long as you explain things clearly, regardless of whether others believe it or not, first submit a letter of apology to His Majesty.
You'll inevitably be reprimanded by His Majesty, but is it even possible for him to actually kill you?
No pain, no gain!
"Think of that King Zhenhai, my cousin. There's no road you can't walk." Ruan Xingzhi looked at King Wu.
After a long silence, the King of Wu finally nodded.
"You're right, how could Father possibly kill me! At most, he'll just demote me to a commoner."
Anyway, I didn't kill anyone!
Alright, cousin, I'll listen to you and stay at home.
As for things outside…
"Leave it to me! It's not so easy to put all the work on your shoulders." Ruan Xingzhi bowed again.
Seeing Ruan Xingzhi turn and enter the tunnel, King Wu's mood improved considerably.
...
Song Zhimian was also woken up by Ye Yunshu's people while she was asleep.
Upon arriving at the Merchant Guild in a hurry, Song Zhimian saw Ye Yunshu's horribly gloomy face for the first time.
She no longer kept the account book with her at all times as before.
Ye Yunshu stood by the window without saying a word.
Everyone else in the merchant guild dared not utter a sound, and all stood respectfully to the side with their hands at their sides.
After Song Zhimian went inside, Ye Yunshu turned around and then dismissed all the servants.
"Do you know about this?" Ye Yunshu asked softly.
Song Zhimin was taken aback. What happened? What happened?
...
It was only then that Song Zhimian learned that Lord Shangguan had died in prison.
Her first thought was that the King of Wu was incredibly audacious to dare harm Lord Shangguan.
But then I thought about it again and realized that even if the King of Wu had a lot of courage, he wouldn't dare to do such a thing!
But that's not necessarily true...
What's this called? The more impossible something seems, the more likely it is to be possible. There's also the saying "the darkest place is under the lamp."
Perhaps it was because Lord Shangguan's words were too sharp that he berated the King of Wu to the point of losing his mind in prison...
Anything is possible!
“My lord, now…” Song Zhimian looked at Ye Yunshu.
"Regardless of the reason why the old man died in prison, this matter is inextricably linked to the King of Wu."
The old man is the backbone of Chongqing, loyal and patriotic, and intolerant of any wrongdoing.
"If the King of Wu dares to lay a hand on the old man, then he shall die!" Ye Yunshu said coldly.
Song Zhimian suppressed the turmoil in her heart.
This matter is not that simple.
"My lord, do you mean that the King of Wu should pay for the old man's life?" Song Zhimian asked.
Why not?
The last person to see the old man was the King of Wu.
When the King of Wu met with the old man, a dispute also occurred. Was there anyone else who took action besides him?
These past few days, the Ministry of Justice prison has been almost entirely watched by the King of Wu's men. How could anyone else have a chance to make a move?
I originally thought that the old man would just take a trip to the prison and make the King of Wu suffer a loss.
"Who knew..." Ye Yunshu regretted it more and more as she thought about it.
If only I hadn't let the elder go in the first place. If I had insisted on going myself, things might have been different.
...
Seeing Ye Yunshu's face full of regret, Song Zhimian also felt bad.
I came up with the idea myself, never expecting that it would be the old master who would step forward in the end. Who could have imagined that the old master would never return after that trip...
What happened in the prison at that time, perhaps only the old master and the King of Wu themselves know!
"My lord, do you think it's possible to make the King of Wu pay with his life now?" Song Zhimian asked in a low voice.
Ye Yunshu's expression darkened further.
"The Prince of Wu is a prince, and a prince with a fiefdom. Unless he has committed a heinous crime like treason, His Majesty cannot order his death."
If the King of Wu was responsible, he would certainly have had a way to deal with it.
Investigating a case is simple, but when it involves a prince, things become complicated.
If I'm not mistaken, the people on King Wu's side will definitely try to frame this as a power struggle among the princes.
If the struggle for the throne is involved again, things will definitely get complicated.
In the end, everything must be decided by His Majesty.
Judging from this outcome, the King of Wu would at most be demoted to a commoner.
"After all, the life and death of the King of Wu are decided by His Majesty," Song Zhimian said, emphasizing each word.
Ye Yunshu's eyes narrowed immediately.
Yes, the King of Wu is a prince, and only His Majesty can decide his life or death.
One old official like Shangguan is not enough to make the King of Wu pay with his life...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
