When Lin Wuchen heard Third Master Xie say that the man was in the hall, he stopped.
The other people in the hall were also confused and didn't know who he was talking about.
It was the middle-aged man behind Mr. Xie San who reacted quickly. He quickly glanced at the people in the hall, then walked into the middle of the crowd.
He grabbed Su Yuanqing's collar and dragged him to the center of the hall.
"In reply to the Emperor, this man is the one who bumped into my third uncle this morning."
The middle-aged man who spoke was Xie Le'an, the son of Marquis Zhenbei, who had been teaching at Jinling Academy with Master Xie San.
Su Yuanqing was kicked by Xie Le'an and fell to his knees on the ground.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I didn't mean to offend you, old gentleman. I was blind and didn't recognize you. Please don't take my words seriously. I was also furious when I saw my grandfather's grave being dug up."
Emperor Xuande did not know Su Yuanqing, so Shen Zhixiu explained it to him.
"Your Majesty, this is the second young master of the Su family. He drank with two friends this morning, reminiscing about his deceased grandfather. The three of them went up the mountain to pay their respects and discovered that the Su family's ancestral tomb had been dug up."
Emperor Xuande looked at Su Yuanqing with a sullen face. He thought that just because he spoke rudely to him and offended the Marquis of Zhenbei, he deserved to die.
Moreover, he knew the time when the Xie family held funerals and burials. According to Third Master Xie, it should have been before dawn when they met Su Yuanqing.
But according to Su Yuanqing, he drank with two friends in the morning and went up the mountain to worship, so the time doesn't match.
Emperor Xuande didn't say anything, but Third Master Xie suddenly spoke.
"When you met us, it was still dark. Who would go up the mountain to worship at that time?"
"Also, you said you didn't know our identities and didn't mean to offend us. If we were really just ordinary people, I'm afraid you would have given us a hard time today."
"Just because a member of a marquis's family can insult and beat up ordinary people at will?"
Third Master Xie's calm and deep eyes glanced at Su Chengye indifferently. If you looked closely, you could see a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
He remembered that when the old man of the Su family was still alive, although the Su family was also on the decline, it was not as bad as it is today.
There's a saying in the countryside: When a weasel gives birth to a mouse, each generation is worse than the previous one.
Sensing the look from Third Master Xie, Su Chengye's eyes immediately shrank, not daring to meet his gaze. In his heart, he cursed Su Yuanqing to death, wondering how many troubles he had caused outside.
At this moment, Su Yuanqing hesitated and could not answer Mr. Xie San's question.
Shen Zhixiu lost his patience and walked to Emperor Xuande and whispered a few words.
After Emperor Xuande nodded, Shen Zhixiu glanced at the crowd in the hall and pointed at Young Master Liu and Young Master Li standing at the back and said, "Aren't you two going to testify for Second Young Master Su? Come forward, I have something to ask you."
No matter how dumb these two people were, they probably figured out what was going on by now.
Young Master Li regretted it immensely. It had been such a beautiful day, with the girl in his arms. Why had he been drinking with Su Yuanqing, going up the mountain? Now that the incident had reached the imperial court, he only hoped it wouldn't affect his father's career.
Young Master Liu was lost in thought, not thinking about his father's career. His father was just a legal advisor in Shuntian Prefecture, and he had no official career to speak of.
The two men knelt in the middle of the hall, not daring to look up.
Shen Zhixiu acted like a judge in the Ministry of Justice, and in just a few words he found out what happened in the morning.
After several confrontations, it was confirmed that Su Yuanqing had gone up the mountain on his own in the morning.
Afterwards, Feicui also returned from the Su family and brought back Su Yuanqing's personal servant.
The servant confirmed that Su Yuanqing had left early in the morning, before daybreak, and had taken a shovel with him. The servant could also confirm that he had bought the deer bone skewer the night before.
The truth about the Su family's ancestral tomb being dug up was finally revealed. It was Su Yuanqing himself who dug it.
Su Chengye looked at Su Yuanqing in anger, rushed up and kicked him first.
"You evil creature, you are so bold."
He never expected that this kid would dare to dig up his ancestors' graves.
Su Yuanqing was unable to dodge and crashed into a high table on the side.
The plum vase with flowers on it fell down and hit the prince's shoulder directly.
The prince screamed in pain and covered his shoulder.
Su Xiangling quickly stepped forward to support the prince, "Your Highness, are you okay? Where did it hurt? Let me take a look."
The prince lowered his eyebrows, covered his shoulder where he was hit, and looked up at Su Xiangling.
If she hadn't sworn that this was a good way to make the Lin family give up the medicinal materials business, he wouldn't have rashly left the palace to make the decision for the Su family.
Now, the Su family is not reliable, causing him to be scolded by his father.
I'm going back to the palace today, and I don't know what my father will say.
Su Xiangling was also feeling bitter, secretly cursing her brother for being such a hopeless case. Why hadn't he seized such a good opportunity?
Su Yuanqing was kicked to the ground by Su Chengye and now he was extremely regretful. If he had been braver and not bumped into the coffin, or if he had apologized politely and left, he wouldn't have been exposed.
Emperor Xuande glanced impatiently at the chaotic hall and spoke in a deep voice.
"Su Yuanqing... as a member of the Marquis's family, he committed such a heinous act. His crime is unforgivable."
"In consideration of the generations of loyalty of the Su family, I will spare your death. You will be exiled to Mobei and will never be allowed to return to the capital."
"The Su family is incompetent in educating their children, and the Marquis of Pingning will be fined one year's salary."
Having said that, Emperor Xuande glanced coldly at the Crown Prince and Su Xiangling.
Su Xiangling sensed Emperor Xuande's cold gaze and instinctively covered her belly with her hands. Even though she wasn't showing any signs of pregnancy yet, this action would have reminded Emperor Xuande that she was still pregnant.
I don’t know whether Emperor Xuande wanted to go back to the palace to make a decision or he really cared about the baby in Su Xiangling’s belly. He pondered for a moment and said nothing.
Afterwards, Shen Zhixiu was ordered to send someone to write down the details of what happened and post it. The people had the right to know the truth, and it was also to restore the reputation of the Lin family.
Hearing he was going to be exiled, Su Yuanqing was terrified and turned pale. He knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, but was then covered by the Dragon Guards' mouth and nose and led away.
Su Chengye and Su Chengyan didn't even dare to beg for mercy. The emperor had shown mercy by not stripping the Su family of their titles.
Su Qingyu and Su Shunci also had gloomy faces. Although one of them was married and the other had severed ties with the Su family, they would also lose face if Su Yuanqing did such a thing.
At this moment, both of them had only one thought in their minds, which was to hope that Li Yunzhou would be able to reorganize the Su family after returning to Beijing.
After dealing with the matter, Emperor Xuande returned to the palace, accompanied by Master Xie San and Shen Zhixiu. The Crown Prince did not dare to stay any longer and followed behind with Su Xiangling in disgrace.
Su Yuanqing was taken away by the Dragon Guards and handed over to the Ministry of Justice. The two young masters who had testified for him were terrified, and seeing no one was pursuing them, they fled as if for their lives.
Seeing this, Su Chengye and Su Chengyan also prepared to return to the Su family. Su Chengyan suddenly looked much older. He was the only son of the second wife, so why was he suddenly exiled?
I originally thought that after today's matter was settled, my son would be able to inherit the Su family's title. But in the end, not only did he not get the title, but he also lost his life.
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