Chapter 198 The Feng Family
As soon as Yang Qin entered the palace, he knelt before him and told him everything he knew with tears streaming down his face.
"Your Majesty, a palace maid named Qiulu asked me to meet her in a side hall of the outer court."
"She told me that she saw her sister beaten to a bloody pulp and died a horrific death. She also said that the Imperial Concubine was pregnant with the heir, and this was the perfect opportunity for revenge."
"Your Majesty, it is my sister's fault. It is only right that Your Majesty punish her. How dare I harbor resentment and harm the Imperial Concubine and the Dragon Heir?"
"I reprimanded her at the time and never saw her again. I have no idea what she did."
Yan Shixu lowered his head and looked at Yang Tongqin who was lying on the ground, sneering in his heart.
He reprimanded her, but did not stop her or report her.
When the Yang family learned that someone was going to attack Wen Li'er and her unborn child, they must have been happy to see it happen.
Instead of participating, they watched from the sidelines and waited for things to develop.
Maybe he's still praying in his heart that things will work out.
Yan Shixu looked at Yang Tongqin coldly. The Yang family's power was deeply rooted and could not be shaken at all, but they must be punished.
Eliminating a soldier is also eliminating.
Yan Shixu immediately slammed the table and angrily shouted, "Yang Tongqin, you keep saying that you reprimanded Qiulu and never met with her again. But you knew that someone was plotting to murder my Imperial Concubine and the Dragon Heir, but you kept silent about it. Do you know what your punishment is?"
Yang Tongqin's body was shaking and cold sweat was pouring down.
"emperor……"
Yan Shixu interrupted him.
"In this dynasty, failure to report knowledge is a serious crime. According to the law, if you know of a serious crime like treason or murder and fail to report it to the authorities or me, it is equivalent to indirect participation in the crime. This is a serious crime that attempts to endanger the royal bloodline and undermine the foundation of the country. Your concealment and failure to report it is a crime of deceiving the emperor and committing the crime of great disrespect!"
"Your Majesty, please have mercy!" Yang Tongqin cried.
"I, your humble servant, dare not harbor the slightest intention of harming the Imperial Concubine or the Imperial Heir. I was afraid of getting involved in this matter and getting into trouble, so I didn't dare to speak out. Your Majesty, please understand."
Yan Shixu sneered: "Are you afraid of causing trouble? With such a serious crime, I can no longer use you."
He waved his hand and pronounced the final verdict: "Yang Tongqin, you are hereby dismissed from office, punished with eighty strokes of the cane, and sent back to your residence. I, in recognition of your contributions to the Yang family, will offer a mild punishment and a significant warning. Do you accept this?"
Yang Tongqin collapsed to the ground, his body limp. "Your Majesty, spare my life... Your Majesty..."
After receiving the order, Zhang Sicheng immediately led the imperial guards forward and dragged the man away.
Only then did Yan Shixu look at Feng Junjue who was kneeling numbly beside him.
He didn't say a word, just knelt there, determined to die.
Yan Shixu looked at him, his eyes as cold as a sword.
"Feng Junjue, you're not speaking, are you waiting for me to speak?"
Feng Junjue still didn't respond, not even a single extra expression.
Yan Shixu snorted coldly and asked, "Who is behind you and Qiulu? What did you do to Concubine Wen? What is your ultimate goal?"
Feng Junjue was like a wooden man, still not moving at all.
Yan Shixu nodded calmly and ordered to the side: "Go and take all the Feng family members into the palace and beat them to death in front of Master Feng..."
Feng Junjue's body stiffened slightly, and he looked up at Yan Shixu with his eyes wide open.
"You foolish emperor, you are such an unjust and cruel tyrant! You favored your evil concubine! You killed my daughter! And now you're going to kill my family! You will get your comeuppance! Dayan will sooner or later be destroyed by a foolish and ruthless emperor like you! Even if I die, I will be watching from heaven, witnessing the tragic end of you and that evil concubine!"
The palace maids standing by were terrified and lowered their heads, not daring to speak.
Seeing that the emperor remained silent, Yongtai shouted on his behalf, "Feng Junjue, you are so bold! You are so arrogant! Do you want to watch your entire family be buried with you?"
Feng Junjue laughed wildly towards the sky: "What's the big deal about death? It's just a few worthless lives! Eighteen years later, I'll be a hero again! You dog emperor, you can't tell right from wrong and killed my daughter. I, Feng Junjue, will never coexist with you! I curse..."
Before he could finish his curse, he was blocked by the guards who rushed in.
Yan Shixujing lowered his eyes and looked at him, with no anger on his face, as if he was not the one being scolded.
Feng Junjue struggled desperately, making a whimpering sound from his mouth.
He stopped struggling and resisting only after all the Feng family members were taken into the hall.
The Feng family has only ten people in total, including one wife and three concubines.
But he only had one legitimate daughter, Feng Yingying, and one illegitimate son and one illegitimate daughter.
Feng Junjue's parents are old, with gray hair, wrinkles on their faces, and slightly hunched backs.
All ten people were tied up and pressed on the torture chair prepared by the palace servants.
Yan Shixu ordered someone to take the cloth strip from Feng Junjue's mouth, and then he spoke again.
"I'll give you one last chance, will you tell me or not?"
Feng Junjue's eyes were almost bloodshot, and he glared at Yan Shixu with hatred in his eyes.
Yan Shixu raised the corners of his mouth slightly and began to count down.
"Three... two... one, or don't tell me?"
He ordered coldly: "Hit."
A moment later, the entire hall was filled with the sounds of beatings and wailing.
One stick after another hit Feng Junjue's heart like a stick.
He bit his lip and refused to speak.
Feng Junjue's concubine's daughter was the first to beg for mercy.
"Father, please tell the emperor the truth. Do you want us all to die for this unruly and domineering elder sister?"
Feng Junjue lowered his head, not daring to look into his daughter's resentful eyes.
Then Feng Junjue's mother spoke.
"Jun Jue, don't be silly. Don't you know what kind of personality your daughter has become because of your pampering? She tried to harm the Imperial Concubine, she deserves death! Do you really want our entire family to be buried with you just for a good-for-nothing daughter?!"
Feng Junjue prostrated himself on the ground, sobbing, not daring to listen to his mother's disappointed tone anymore.
One of Feng Junjue's concubines cried and called her son's name.
"Hua'er, don't hit my Hua'er. Feng Junjue, you are so heartless! A daughter's life is life, but a son's life is not life?! My miserable Hua'er."
Feng Junjue's wife pleaded with a sorrowful face: "My husband, please explain to the Emperor. In this life, it is us who failed to educate Yingying well and could not protect her. The sooner she dies, the sooner she will be reborn. She has learned her lesson in this life and will definitely be a good person in the next. My husband, why should you sacrifice the lives of this whole family for her alone!"
Feng Junjue's parents were old after all, and after being beaten with sticks a few times, their faces were as pale as death.
Feng Junjue's father even spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
Feng Junjue finally let out a cry of "Woo".
He crawled to his father on his knees, threw himself on top of him, and tried to block the beating with his body.
Two guards came forward and carried him down.
The stick continued to fall on his father, making a 'pa pa' sound.
Feng Junjue prostrated himself on the ground and finally collapsed.
He spoke in a trembling voice: "I say...I say...I beg the emperor to let them go, I will tell you anything!"
Yan Shixu raised his hand, and the palace servant holding the stick stopped.
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