Chapter 642 Treason Must Pay the Price!
"Archers, prepare to shoot this imposter!" Shen Congyi immediately gave the order.
Shen Lanxi smiled as she watched him give the order, then calmly raised her right hand.
"Imperial Guards, open the city gates!"
A bad feeling suddenly washed over Shen Congyi.
Impossible. He has won over everyone in the palace. No one will listen to Shen Lanxi.
She's acting like this all for him.
He was already the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a ruler recognized by all his officials. Shen Lanxi was just a woman, and no one would listen to him.
"Your Majesty, we receive the decree!" A voice suddenly rang out from within the palace.
Shen Congyi shuddered, his face no longer able to conceal his panic.
"No, no one is allowed to open the city gates without my order."
"I have already ascended the throne. I am the Emperor of the Great Zhou. If you dare to disobey my orders, it will be a crime punishable by the extermination of your entire family!"
Unfortunately, no matter how urgently Shen Congyi shouted or how desperately he yelled, he still couldn't stop the Imperial Guards from opening the city gates.
"I am a man, and the throne should rightfully belong to a man."
"You are all men, how can you listen to a woman!"
Shen Congyi's sharp eyes were useless; he directly blurted out his innermost thoughts.
This statement will definitely stop the Imperial Guards.
The Imperial Guards are men, so they can probably understand him. They certainly wouldn't want to serve a woman as emperor; the one sitting on the dragon throne should be a man.
With a loud "boom," the gates of the imperial city were flung open.
"No……"
"Yuan Kang and Yuan Ning, quickly have your men close the city gates."
"They've gone mad. They'd rather serve a woman as their master than let a man sit on the dragon throne."
Are they even men?
Shen Congyi stood on the city wall, shouting at the top of his lungs.
When Shen Yuankang, Shen Yuanning, and the others realized that the situation was not right, their first thought was to escape.
The total number of troops they brought back this time was less than two thousand.
The prerequisite for the father to sit on the dragon throne is that Shen Lanxi is already dead.
Now that Shen Lanxi is alive, it will be them who die.
The thought of escaping merely flashed through their minds before being ruthlessly rejected. They couldn't escape; Shen Lanxi had returned with troops. They were members of the Shen family, and even if they had done something wrong, they wouldn't lose their lives.
Escaping is a different story. Given Shen Lanxi's personality, she has plenty of ways to make them die unexpectedly.
"Father, we've lost."
"Father, surrender!"
"Your Majesty, we also believed the rumors and thought you had died in Tianjin. A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. We only did what we should do to keep the Great Zhou Dynasty at peace."
"If something were to happen to you, and no heir were to appear for a long time, the Great Zhou would surely descend into chaos. We are merely trying to stabilize the court and calm the hearts of the people."
The carriage smoothly entered the imperial city. Shen Yuankang and his men noticed that the guards they had brought were kneeling respectfully on the ground, and not a single one of them stood up to urge them to take a desperate gamble to seize power.
They're finished.
Today's coronation ceremony was nothing short of a joke.
"Father, please beg Grandmother!"
They had no other choice.
As the officials followed Shen Lanxi into the palace, those of the fourth rank and above remained calm and composed, while only a few officials of the fourth rank and below were drenched in sweat, their clothes soaked with cold sweat.
They chose the wrong side. They never expected that the officials and soldiers, even those who knew Shen Lanxi as a woman, would not care.
The world has changed.
Shen Lanxi looked at her grandmother, whose face was deathly pale, on the dragon throne, and slowly walked over step by step.
"Grandmother, is this chair of mine comfortable?"
Old Madam Shen stared intently at Shen Lanxi, her whole body trembling.
It's all fake, it's all fake. Shen Lanxi doesn't look injured at all, it's all a lie.
"Hmph, you entered the family with your life hanging in the balance, your family was heartbroken and busy with affairs in the capital. And you, on the other hand, are perfectly healthy and don't even bother to send a few letters to the capital."
Madam Shen turned to look at the officials. These people were all opportunists; they had kowtowed when her son ascended the throne.
Now that Shen Lanxi is back, they have already kowtowed. Whoever sits on the dragon throne, they will obey.
"When I was quelling the rebellion in Tianjin, I did not receive any letters from home. It is clear that my grandmother's worries were just words, not real concerns."
"Nonsense!" At this point, how could Old Madam Shen admit it?
It's likely that Shen Lanxi wouldn't dare to punish her.
"You should thank your fourth uncle and the others. If it weren't for them stabilizing the court for you, the capital would probably have been in chaos long ago."
Shen Lanxi chuckled coldly: "Although I am not in the capital, I am fully aware of all the major and minor events that happen inside and outside the capital."
Madam Shen tensed up, silently confronting Shen Lanxi.
"Now that you are alright, I will take my children and grandchildren back to the mansion to recuperate!"
She had just stood up when she heard Shen Lanxi say, "I'm afraid you won't be able to go back!"
Madam Shen's face changed drastically, and she could no longer maintain her composure. She angrily questioned, "Do you still intend to detain us in the palace?"
Shen Lanxi: "Detention is not the point. Since some people dare to rebel, they must bear the consequences!"
"Even my blood relatives cannot escape the guillotine of the law."
Madam Shen's heart sank. How could she not understand what Shen Lanxi meant after hearing this?
With a single word, she ordered her grandson's legs to be broken, which led to his death on the road to exile.
Her cold-bloodedness towards her relatives was already evident when she was exiled to Dongchuan.
She had just thought that Shen Lanxi would show mercy to her children and grandchildren, but she had overestimated Shen Lanxi.
"What do you intend to do to your fourth uncle and the others?" Old Madam Shen questioned sternly.
Shen Lanxi slowly withdrew her smile, her face expressionless and her eyes icy.
"Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Personnel, Court of Judicial Review, what crime is it for treason?"
Ministry of Justice: "Execute their entire family!"
The Ministry of Personnel: "Not a single member of the three clans shall be spared; the other six clans shall be exiled to the army!"
The Dali Temple stated: "The law states that if the emperor, his relatives, or high-ranking officials commit crimes, they shall be punished the same as commoners. Regardless of merit or bloodline, if they commit serious crimes, they shall be dealt with according to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty!"
Shen Lanxi glanced at Wei Jie and asked, "According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, how should they be dealt with?"
Wei Jie: "The entire family involved will be beheaded, and the soldiers involved will be exiled or sent to the army according to the severity of their crimes!"
Madam Shen collapsed to the ground, her face deathly pale.
"Shen Lanxi, how dare you!"
"They are all your relatives, you dare to lay a finger on them!" Old Madam Shen threatened hoarsely.
The difficulty in handling this case lies in whether His Majesty will show leniency towards his relatives.
After all, if nine generations of a family are exterminated, His Majesty is among them.
Shen Lanxi: "A country has its laws, and a family has its rules. Without rules, nothing can be accomplished. The law makes no exceptions for anyone!"
As soon as Shen Congyi and the others were brought in, they heard Shen Lanxi announce their deaths, and they all shouted that they were not convinced.
"Your Majesty, I am only worried that the empire you have worked so hard to build will have no one to inherit it!"
"Your Majesty, ignorance is no excuse, but we have indeed received news of your death."
"Your Majesty, spare me..."
Seeing that Shen Lanxi's heart was as hard as iron, Madam Shen forced herself to stand up.
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