Volume 1 Chapter 95: Prison Punishment
Zhen Rou frowned and looked at him, saying softly, "Commanders, please feel free to speak."
Zhu Jinxiao said again: "If what I said offends you, please allow me to offend you and listen to your ear in detail."
Mei Renyao, who was kneeling, shouted angrily, "Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you be rude to the queen!"
Zhen Rou also frowned, but she was even more displeased with Mei Renyao's attitude. After hesitating for a while, she said, "It's okay, come here!"
Zhu Jinxiao smiled bitterly in his heart and cursed himself for meddling in other people's business. There was no benefit in doing this and it might even cost him his head.
But as a man, there are things that a man should not do. If there are things that you cannot stand, you naturally have to stand up and speak out. Otherwise, what is the point of living a life of frustration?
Zhu Jinxiao took off the sword from his waist and put it aside to show that he had no ill intentions. Then he walked up to Zhen Rou and whispered in her ear, "Your Majesty, when I was searching the Jingshifang just now, I found two thousand taels of silver in the closet in the chief eunuch's room."
Zhen Rou's pupils shrank when she heard this. What did the commanders mean by saying this to her? Did they want her to...
Zhu Jinxiao stopped talking and immediately withdrew after he had finished speaking. He stood aside without saying anything else, leaving the choice to the Queen.
Zhen Rou was moved. Thinking of Wang Jiaojiao's miserable situation, her expression gradually turned cold. She took a deep breath, looked at the chief eunuch coldly, and asked, "The Imperial Guards found two thousand taels of silver in your room. Explain where this silver came from!"
The eunuch in charge froze when he heard this. Oh no, there was not enough time to transfer so much silver. This was terrible!
"This, this." Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He thought about it carefully. In short, it was impossible for him to tell anyone about his affair with Mei Renyao. Murdering the prince was a serious crime punishable by the death of nine generations of the clan. Now he could only admit this crime and make a big deal out of a small matter.
He immediately said bitterly: "The silver is the tribute given to me by my subordinates these days. Over time, there are two thousand taels of silver in total."
"But I dare not use any of this money. I have left it all somewhere. I know I have made a mistake. Please punish me, Queen!"
Zhen Rou was almost laughing because of his anger. What a fellow, it was obvious that he didn't respect her authority and even now he dared to act so unreasonably.
Zhen Rou sneered, "What a scattershot deal! The ingots worth ten taels of silver are all scattered, and the big ones must be worth a hundred taels of silver each. How come your salary is higher than this Queen's?"
The chief eunuch was speechless and very nervous. He only heard Zhen Rou say, "The emperor asked me to rule the six palaces, and he hates corrupt officials the most. Two thousand taels of silver is not a small amount, but since you have admitted your mistake, I will spare your death penalty."
The chief eunuch was delighted when he heard this, thinking he had escaped a disaster, and he quickly said, "Thank you, Queen, for not killing me!"
Zhen Rou sneered at this and said, "Don't be in a hurry to thank me. You can't escape this punishment. Commanders, drag him away and let the soldiers of the Imperial Guards beat him with a hundred military sticks as a warning!"
"One hundred." When the eunuch in charge heard this number, he was frightened out of his wits. This was not a punishment at all, it was clearly a punishment to beat him to death!
Zhu Jinxiao immediately bowed his hands, and two soldiers of the Imperial Guards came forward to drag him away. The chief eunuch immediately kowtowed to Zhen Rou and shouted, "Your Majesty, please spare my life. If you beat me with one hundred sticks, I will not be able to survive!"
Zhen Rou said: "It's okay, they know how to control their hands. These 100 blows will definitely not take your life. At most, you will be half dead."
"Oh, by the way, if you think of anything you want to say to me during the punishment, report it immediately and they will stop. You can come back to see me then."
“Drag him away!”
Following Zhen Rou's cold shout, he was violently dragged outside by two imperial guards. It didn't seem like a joke at all. He was dragged to the door. He finally couldn't help crying out under pressure: "Empress, I have something to say!"
Zhu Jinxiao waved his hand, and the two imperial guards immediately let him go. He came over from the doorway, crying and kneeling, saying aggrievedly, "Your Majesty, please understand. These two thousand taels of silver were given to me by Mei Renyao last night!"
"She asked me to modify the records in the Jingshifang file and delete the record of Concubine Wang being favored by the Emperor. She promised me 10,000 taels of silver and even promised to be my concubine for three nights!"
"Your Majesty, I served my master loyally, but I was blinded by greed and that's why I behaved like this. Please be magnanimous and spare my life!"
He was obviously frightened by Zhen Rou's strength and immediately told her the crucial thing. Only in this way could he have a chance of saving his life.
Otherwise, no matter what else I say, I'm afraid the Queen will find a way to punish me.
After hearing this, Mei Renyao could no longer sit still. She stared at him fiercely and cursed: "You are slandering me. How could I do such a despicable thing!"
Then Mei Renyao immediately looked at Zhen Rou with a pleading look on her face and said, "Your Majesty, please understand. I have never promised him anything. This eunuch is now like a mad dog, biting around here!"
Zhen Rou didn't even look at her, and said coldly: "Now the truth has been revealed, I really misjudged you!"
Zhen Rou took a deep breath and gave a clear order: "The chief steward of the Jingshifang abused his power for personal gain, is suspected of murdering Longzi, and accepting bribes and corruption, and he shall be beheaded!"
"What?" The eunuch in chief suspected that he had heard it wrongly upon hearing this.
Shouldn't I make amends for saying something so crucial? Even if I can't stay in my original position, at least my life can be guaranteed, right?
He was dumbfounded. He had no idea how strong the hatred in Zhen Rou's heart was at this moment. From the beginning to the end, Zhen Rou never wanted to let them go. She just wanted to get the truth before killing them.
Before he could continue begging for mercy, two soldiers of the Imperial Guards rushed up, covered his mouth and dragged him out.
Mei Renyao was completely stunned. She quickly knelt down and crawled to Zhen Rou's feet, crying, "My queen, I know I was wrong. I will never do it again. My queen, please spare my life for my loyalty!"
Zhen Rou looked down at her coldly and said in a cold voice: "You even dared to murder Long Zi blatantly, what else would you not dare to do? This palace can't tolerate such a daring guy like you!"
Immediately, two more soldiers from the Imperial Guards rushed up and pulled Mei Renyao away, keeping her away from Zhen Rou.
Zhen Rou felt sick just looking at her now, and was very scared, so she said in a cold voice: "Palace maid Mei Renyao, bullied her master with slavery, murdered the imperial concubine, murdered the prince, and caused chaos in the palace. Her methods are cruel and intolerable, and I order you to punish her."
Zhen Rou thought for a while before saying, "You are such a cruel person, you should be cut into pieces, but considering that you have served me wholeheartedly, I will spare your life and sentence you to confinement. If you are lucky enough to survive, you will be sent to the Music Bureau and will not be allowed out for life!"
Zhu Jinxiao's mouth twitched when he heard this. The Queen was being too cruel.
Killing is not the right thing to do. This solitary confinement is really cruel. I don’t know how many years it has not been used. Not only is it extremely painful, but the chance of survival is no more than 30%!
The key is that if you survive you still have to go to the Jiaofangsi, which is better than dying.
Mei Renyao's face turned extremely pale at this time. Seeing that he was about to be dragged out by these imperial guards, he cursed: "Zhen Rou, you have such a cruel heart!
I have done so much just for your position as Queen. If I wasn’t afraid that Concubine Wang would give birth to a prince and seize your son’s throne, I would never have done such a dirty thing!
For you, I even gave my body to that eunuch, and now you treat me like this!"
"How dare you!" Upon hearing that, Zhen Rou slammed the table, stood up, stared at Mei Renyao coldly, and slowly walked over.
Mei Renyao thought there was hope, and quickly said, "Your Majesty, please spare my life. I know I was wrong! I did all this for you, Your Majesty!"
Zhen Rou walked up to her and said in a cold voice, "When did it become your turn as a maid to worry about the throne?
You keep saying you're doing it for me, but I think you're doing it for yourself!
Do you really think that I don't know what you did in the palace? It's all my fault that I was too soft-hearted and didn't have the heart to punish you, which led to such a big mistake today!
If you were always making trouble, I would just turn a blind eye and do nothing about it, but you are so bold that even I am scared!
So don't blame me for being cruel today, it's all because of you!"
"Drag him away and execute him!"
The imperial guards immediately dragged Mei Renyao away, and only when her voice could no longer be heard did Zhen Rou sit down again, trembling.
She was extremely scared, panicked, and sad.
But she had to do this. The emperor asked her to be a queen who ruled the country, so she had to be ruthless to those who made mistakes and not have any selfish motives.
Otherwise, who in the harem would respect her as the queen in the future? It is even more likely that they would put the blame on her for the murder of the dragon son.
How should I explain it to the emperor then?
Thinking of this, Zhen Rou's face turned extremely pale. Yes, even if she killed Mei Renyao, what would it matter? She was her personal maid!
If I tell others about this, who would believe that this matter has nothing to do with me?
Anyone would think that it was her intention and her order that asked Mei Renyao to take people to get rid of Longzi!
Zhen Rou touched the wound on her right arm and finally figured out why Wang Jiaojiao bit her so fiercely!
No matter what, she is bound to bear this crime.
Zhen Rou is actually not afraid of what others think of her, but what she cares about is the emperor's opinion. Will the emperor believe her?
How dare a maid attack a concubine and harm the dragon son without the instructions of her master?
Thinking of this, Zhen Rou smiled bitterly and murmured: "Your Majesty, I am sorry for you. If Your Majesty wants to punish me, I will obey your will..."
Then she ordered Zhu Jinxiao in a slightly hoarse voice: "Commander Zhu, please go and investigate who was involved in Concubine Wang's incident last night. Arrest them all and execute them by beheading!"
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