Chapter 462 Exile to Lingnan
"However, Zhu Lan, as the Chief Censor, was guilty of negligence in killing an official of the imperial court. I still hope that Your Majesty will impose a severe sentence to comfort the soul of my humble cousin in heaven!
in addition--"
Before Yan Xiuyun could speak, Li Mao changed the subject and said earnestly:
"My father, Duke Weiguo, has moved to Duxin Temple to keep vigil for the late emperor for half a month. I went to visit him yesterday and saw that he was coughing. I was very worried.
I hope Your Majesty will grant my father the grace to return to the Duke's Mansion to pray for the late emperor. The entire Li family will be grateful!"
After saying this, he fell to the ground.
Yan Xiuyun narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression somewhat unreadable.
How could he not hear that the Li family was taking a step back and giving him a way out?
Duke Weiguo was willing to return home, but on the condition that Zhu Lan be severely punished. He could escape the death penalty, but could not escape punishment while alive.
"Your Majesty, the Duke of Wei is a beloved person of the late emperor, and he is already old, so he must not suffer from the cold again!"
"Your Majesty, please allow Duke Weiguo to return home!"
Yan Xiuyun looked at the ministers who were begging for mercy for a long time, and finally accepted the step handed over by Li Mao and said:
"Okay, then let's do as Li Qing said and ask Duke Weiguo to return home and pray for the late emperor.
As for the case of Chief Censor Zhu Lan, what is the opinion of the Ministry of Justice? "
The Minister of Justice stepped forward and said:
“Your Majesty, I would like to report that the Imperial Censor Zhu Lan, as an imperial envoy, did not follow the court rules when handling a case in Qingzhou. He arbitrarily designed to detain the grain supervisor Li Moxu, which led to his murder by the thieves.
Although Zhu Lan did not kill anyone, he cannot escape the crime of abusing his power and causing the death of an official. This case has a bad impact and he can be sentenced to exile."
Yan Xiuyun nodded.
"Okay, pass on my decree. From today on, Zhu Lan will be dismissed from his position as the Chief Censor, demoted to a commoner, and exiled—"
He thought for a moment.
"Lingnan."
…
After the court meeting, the ministers left the hall in twos and threes.
Li Xiang, the Supervisor of the Imperial Household, followed in two or three steps and walked behind Li Mao.
The two of them moved away from the others, and Li Xiang couldn't help but ask in a low voice:
"Nephew, what's going on?
Didn't you say you were going to bite Zhu Lan to death? Why did the Duke of Wei suddenly let go?"
"Sixth uncle." Li Mao sighed, "It's all because of my little mother."
Li Xiang was stunned, "Madam Hui?"
"Who else could it be?" Li Mao said unhappily.
“My dad is really obsessed and tells her everything.
Originally...she was only focused on making money and didn't care about these things at all.
But yesterday, for some reason, he suddenly said he had a headache and tricked my father into returning home from the temple."
"Then what?" Li Xiang asked.
"Then?" Li Mao sneered, his tone filled with disgust.
"Then she said she had a weird dream. In the dream, there was a god riding on clouds and mist who said he was Wenquxing and that he had a female disciple in the human world who was harmed by our Li family.
He also said that if we could help his disciple survive this disaster, he would bless the Li family and the baby in her belly with a bright future. "
Li Xiang's mouth twitched slightly, "And your father believed it?"
"He obeyed the vixen's orders. The woman said that for the sake of the future of her unborn child, she would not let Zhu Lan die, or else she would starve herself to death.
How could my father be willing to do that? He agreed immediately."
Li Xiang: “…”
The two were silent for a moment, and finally Li Xiang spoke to comfort them:
“Forget it, even though I can’t kill her this time, she’s in exile in Lingnan and she’s in danger of death. I guess she won’t be able to come back in this lifetime.
Lingnan is so far away. I heard that the mountains are so high and steep that there are many snakes, insects, ants and beasts, and even demons. I have been an official for so many years, and I have never seen anyone who was exiled to Lingnan come back alive. "
"That's true." Li Mao nodded, and the depression in his heart finally dissipated a little.
Li Xiang put his arm around his shoulders and said with a smile:
"No matter what, our Li family has eliminated such a tough opponent today, so we should celebrate.
Nephew, Uncle Six invites you to have a drink, let's go!"
…
At the same time, there was another corridor outside the palace gate.
"Minister Zhao, please stay!"
Zhu Qingyan caught up with Zhao Sicheng who was walking in front of him and asked with some dissatisfaction:
"The emperor just issued an order to exile Zhu Lan. Why didn't you plead for her and not let me speak?"
Zhao Sicheng turned around and looked at her with a faint smile on his face, without any worry at all.
"Your Majesty has already been troubled by the Duke of Weiguo. Now that the Duke of Weiguo is finally willing to take a step back and not want Zhu Lan's life, Your Majesty will naturally give him some face.
In that situation just now, if you continue to plead for Zhu Lan, not only will you fail to save her, but you will also embarrass His Majesty."
"But what's the difference between exiling her to Lingnan and letting her die!?" Zhu Qingyan was a little anxious.
Zhao Sicheng smiled and said:
"Don't worry, Lingnan is not as dangerous as the legend says. Aren't the people there living well?
Well, the Ministry of Industry still has a lot of things waiting for me to deal with, so I'm leaving."
…
Inside the prison, the environment was dark and there was a faint smell of mold in the air.
Only the light from the skylight is like a guiding light in the long night, giving people some hope.
In a neat cell, Zhu Lan, wearing prison clothes, was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed and concentrating.
Her long hair was carefully tied behind her ears. Although she was in such a situation, she did not look embarrassed at all.
Hearing the faint sound of someone entering the sky prison in the distance, Zhu Lan slightly opened his eyes, and his slightly dim gaze fell on the horizontal and vertical marks carved on the stone on the wall.
It's already the fifteenth day.
Her eyes slowly rose up, and she tried to look at the sunlight through the skylight.
The winter sunshine always makes people particularly happy. This sunshine is very dazzling. It seems that it will be a sunny day outside today.
Zhu Lan thought with some anticipation, but she didn't dare to expect too much. After all, she didn't know how long she would stay in this prison.
This time she miscalculated and both she and the King of Zhenbei suffered losses.
Now that she is behind bars, she has no choice but to wait patiently.
Those people outside must have thought that she was doomed, but they didn't know -
She is never alone.
The footsteps outside finally stopped in front of her cell, and the sound of a key opening the chain was heard.
Zhu Lan walked out of the prison, the warm winter sun shone on her, the birds were singing and the flowers were blooming, everything was familiar and reassuring.
After the jailer escorted her out, he turned and left. The surroundings were empty and quiet.
A plush cape was thrown over her.
The one who came to pick her up was Zhu Qingyan, whose eyes were red and he was sobbing:
"What should I do, Zhu Lan? You are going to be exiled to Lingnan..."
Zhu Lan had the impression that Zhu Qingyan rarely cried, so he couldn't help but be surprised:
"You're lucky you're not dead. Why are you crying?"
Zhu Qingyan wiped away tears:
"Your Majesty won't let me go with you... I heard that Lingnan is full of snakes, insects, rats and ants, and it's haunted... It's scary..."
Zhu Lan pointed at the prison behind him and said jokingly:
"I've been in there for the past ten days, and I've become familiar with them all, like brothers."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Qingyan knew that Zhu Lan was also having a hard time in there, so she squatted on the ground and cried even harder.
"Who's worried about you... woooooo... I heard there are a lot of ferocious beasts in Lingnan...
If you get eaten along the way...how can I explain this to Madam Pei? Wuwuwu...my mother will beat me to death if she finds out...
It’s over, it’s over… wuwuwu, what should I do now…”
Zhu Lan was a little amused and helpless, so he had to squat down and pat her on the back, comforting her again and again and assuring her that he would never be eaten on the road.
Zhu Qingyan's crying finally subsided a little, and Zhu Lan took the opportunity to ask her:
"You must have put a lot of effort in rescuing me this time, right? Where are Xiao Wan and the others?"
Zhu Qingyan cried and hiccuped, "They... are waiting for you... in the Imperial Fragrance Pavilion..."
Zhu Lan nodded, this was consistent with what he had guessed.
His Majesty was gracious enough to allow her to set off for Lingnan tomorrow. She could take advantage of this half day to say goodbye to her good friends.
(ps. Happy weekend, babies. Give me thumbs up~)
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