Minister Xu was the elder brother of Concubine Xu and the biological uncle of Princess Anle. He had been doing business in the capital for many years, and many people in the court were on good terms with him.
After receiving the instruction from Concubine Xu, Minister Xu immediately gathered a group of people who were on good terms with him and prepared to report the matter to the court tomorrow morning.
The emperor was well prepared for this.
So when Minister Xu came forward to report the matter and asked the emperor to punish the imperial concubine, the emperor just listened and watched indifferently.
Until half of the court officials followed Xu Shang and stood up, kneeling and begging the emperor to make a decision on behalf of the Li family, the emperor suddenly sneered.
"My dear ministers, you are well-informed. You have heard about what happened in the harem yesterday. Those who don't know would think that you are secretly having an affair with the concubines and committing adultery in the harem."
The emperor has always been very good at framing people, and thinking of what happened to Lord Zheng before, he was afraid that today the emperor would accuse him of committing adultery in the harem. Then, they would not be simply sent to the harem, but would be beheaded directly.
The ministers lowered their heads and said rather sadly, "We all heard all this from Lord Xu. Lord Xu is Concubine Xu's elder brother, so it's not surprising that he knows what's going on in the palace."
Minister Xu was pushed out like this.
Although palace rules strictly forbid concubines from passing on information outside the palace, if there are any movements in the palace, the concubines will basically inform their families.
However, if the emperor insists on holding on to this point, there is nothing others can do.
"Master Xu, you and the Imperial Concubine are secretly having an affair. Do you, the Xu family, still care about me?" The Emperor, completely disgusted with the Xu siblings, seized on this point and said directly, "Take Master Xu away and punish him with fifty lashes of the cane."
Upon hearing this, Minister Xu's face turned green. He was just a civil official, how could he withstand fifty lashes of the cane?
However, the emperor had reasons and evidence to punish Minister Xu, and even the court officials were unable to plead for him.
Minister Xu had enjoyed a smooth life for many years thanks to his sister and niece. Even the emperor had been somewhat lenient with him in the past. He had grown complacent over the years, but now he was about to be publicly punished. He felt a moment of dissatisfaction and dared to shout before the eunuchs were about to take him away: "Is the emperor going to punish me because he wants to protect the imperial concubine?"
"The Imperial Noble Consort is arrogant and domineering. She just entered the palace and she attacked Concubine Li, who was once pregnant by the Emperor. She is so careless about human life, and the Emperor lets it go. I will not accept it!"
"Then I'll beat you until you submit." The emperor hated people who dared to question his orders, so he said directly: "Another fifty strokes."
"As for what Xuchang reported today, you may be accusing me of shielding the Imperial Concubine. Today, I will have a thorough discussion with you. I will punish those who deserve punishment and demote those who deserve it. I will not show favoritism."
"Let's wait until Xuchang receives his hundred lashes before discussing this."
The emperor, intent on teaching these officials who dared to question him a lesson, said to the officials who had just stood up with Xu Chang, "As an official, you don't care about sharing my worries, but instead focus on my family affairs all day long. Now, without knowing the truth, you are forming a clique with Xu Chang for personal gain. You deserve to be punished with fifty lashes."
The emperor remembered that these were the same people who had advised him to adopt a son last time.
Half of these people were old and could not endure fifty lashes of the cane. For a moment, there was a sound of wailing outside the hall.
The ministers in the hall were also afraid.
When the emperor first ascended the throne, he took drastic measures. First, he killed all his brothers who opposed him, and then he publicly executed all the ministers in the court who opposed him.
There was wailing everywhere in the court, but the military power was firmly in the hands of the emperor. Even if these civil officials objected, they could do nothing and had to keep their heads down.
Later, the emperor had no children for a long time, and there was a lot of talk in the court. The emperor himself may have become a little decadent because of this. He even ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddhist scriptures for a while. He was not as violent as before, and was willing to listen to advice. He looked like a normal emperor.
This made them forget the emperor's former tyranny.
The person being beaten felt that time was becoming extremely long, but to the executioner, a hundred strokes of the board took only a moment.
Some of the old ministers had been knocked unconscious.
Especially Xuchang, he was beaten with a hundred boards, his skin was torn and his flesh was exposed, looking horrible.
But the emperor did not let them go.
They were brought up again and given a basin of cold water. Some of them were still unconscious, so they were given another basin of cold water.
The cold water fell on the wound, and they jumped up immediately due to the pain.
The emperor smiled sinisterly.
The ministers: “…” They only felt their buttocks hurt more.
"I still need to discuss the matter of Li's death with you, my dear ministers. How can you escape in the middle of this discussion?"
Minister Xu was almost unable to stand, but thinking of his sister's request, he gritted his teeth and said, "The Imperial Concubine has committed murder. There is evidence and witnesses. Please, Your Majesty, punish the Imperial Concubine severely."
"Oh, really? But I also have two witnesses here." While the emperor was speaking, someone brought out Lord Zheng and the palace maid who had served Li before.
The palace maid who was originally bribed by Concubine Xu had already turned against her and insisted that she was ordered by Concubine Xu to kill Li and frame the Imperial Concubine.
If the confession of the palace maid was doubtful, then the confession of Mr. Zheng, who was over fifty years old and dressed in the clothes of a court lady, could not arouse any suspicion at all.
The same thing happened in the harem and the inner house. In order to compete for the favor of men and the power to manage the household, women framed and slandered men one after another. They were all silent when they heard this.
After a long while, "We are guilty."
All those who had previously agreed with Minister Xu admitted their mistakes.
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