At dawn, officials in Beijing had already dressed up, left home, and rushed to the palace to attend the morning court.

At this time, the sky was dark and hazy, and most of the capital was still asleep. Officials who were far away from the palace had to set out in the middle of the night. The wheels of the carriages rolled over the bluestone roads, making dull and repetitive sounds. Occasionally, small stones would fly up and hit the carriages, which would scare the sleepy officials in the carriages.

Morning court attendance is a compulsory task for every official of the fourth rank and above in Beijing, and it happens every day, from winter to summer.

The same time, the same etiquette, the same rules, the same people, the same court robes, and if there is no important matter in the court, even the content of the morning court is generally the same.

But today, many things are destined to be different.

This is different. It starts with the court dress prepared by Yan Mansion for the master.

The court dress is mainly black with crimson as a secondary color. According to the rank and function, the feathers on the official hat, the belt and the patterns on the court dress are all very strict and cannot be wrong at all. However, the style of court dress is wide-sleeved robes with broad lapels, which implies "the beauty of clothing, the splendor of etiquette, and the grandeur of etiquette, so it is called Xia".

Court robes must be clean and tidy, and no one is allowed to desecrate them.

But there is a situation where one can attend the morning court without wearing court dress.

At this time, Yan Sikong was being served by Ali, wearing a white robe inside and red outside, and the black gauze hat on his head was replaced with a Xiezhi crown. In the past, the Xiezhi crown could only be worn by judges. It was said that the ancient mythical beast Xiezhi was loyal and upright, and could distinguish right from wrong, good from evil. Therefore, law enforcement officials wore it to show their determination to enforce the law impartially.

This hat has been abolished by now, and all officials wear the same black gauze hat. However, there is still an extreme situation in which it can be worn, and at the same time, the official must wear this bright red robe, which means that the official will do something in the morning court that will make the world famous and he will never regret it - the death bullet.

The so-called death bullet is an impeachment in which the accused is charged with the crime of risking his life to guarantee the truth of the testimony. Any false accusation will result in punishment. When an official wears a red robe and a xiezhi crown on his head and carries out a death bullet, all the impeached people, as long as they are in the capital and alive, must line up in front and accept questioning by the emperor and all officials.

It is difficult for ordinary people to come up with such a determination to fight to the death, so such a serious suicide bombing has not been seen for several decades. Yan Sikong's actions today will surely be recorded in the history books - whether it is a praise or a criticism for him.

When Wan Yang heard the noise and rushed over, she saw Yan Sikong's fully dressed back. She was stunned: "You..."

Yan Sikong turned around, and the Xiezhi carved on his crown revealed a ferocious and ferocious look, as if it could swallow up all the sin and darkness with just a breath. However, his expression was as calm as water, and only his dark eyes were plotting a storm that would sweep away everything.

He was dressed in a robe, tall and slender, with large patches of blood-red on his face, making his flawless jade-like handsome face look even colder and more solemn. He was so dignified that he didn't seem like an ordinary person. One would want to kneel at his feet and not dare to disrespect him in the slightest.

From the first moment she saw Yan Sikong, Wan Yang knew that what the outside world said was true. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen except for her cousin, but he... he was a heartless, shameless person.

Her heart sank. "Who are you going to impeach?"

Yan Sikong spoke clearly, word by word: "Thanks, loyalty, and benevolence."

Wan Yang was struck by lightning. The person in front of her looked so strange, as if they were meeting for the first time. It was ridiculous that this was her husband who she had been married to for three years! "You, you want to impeach Xie Zhongren?"

"There are also many eunuchs." Yan Sikong paused, "As many as 138."

"…Why?"

As if he thought this question was a little ridiculous, Yan Sikong curled his lips lightly and said, "The eunuch party has done many evil things, and everyone can punish them. Why do you ask 'why', Madam?"

Wan Yang bit his thin lips lightly: "Aren't you one of them?"

"Madam is right, so I will impeach myself too." Yan Sikong stepped aside and showed Wan Yang what was behind him.

It was a torture shackle.

Ali picked up the shackle and looked at Yan Sikong hesitantly.

Yan Sikong solemnly raised a half-foot-thick memorial with both hands and said, "Come on, put it on me."

Wan Yang rushed forward and stared at him: "Yan Sikong, what on earth do you want to do?!"

Yan Sikong said softly, "Madam, don't worry. Be careful not to disturb the fetus."

After Yan Sikong's reminder, Wan Yang remembered that she had rushed over when she heard the noise and forgot to put on the fake pregnant belly. Fortunately, she was slim and graceful, so it was not noticeable. She subconsciously covered her belly. Suddenly, she realized something and pointed at Yan Sikong in disbelief: "You... So you are doing this for..."

Yan Sikong patted her back soothingly: "Will Madam plead for me?"

Those deep eyes looked into Wan Yang's eyes, which made Wan Yang shudder. She trembled and said, "Yan Sikong, are you a human or a ghost..."

"When I walk in the human world, I am a human. When I walk in the underworld, I am a ghost." Yan Sikong curled his lips and smiled, leaning over to whisper sinisterly in her ear, "Guess, when I pass through the capital, walk through the Meridian Gate, step over the Jinshui Bridge, and step into that magnificent palace with carved beams and painted rafters, is it the human world or the underworld?"

Wan Yang took a few steps back in shock, looking at Yan Sikong with eyes full of fear.

"My husband is going to die, and I don't know whether he will live or die. I hope that Madam will plead for me for the sake of our love." Yan Sikong raised his hand again and ordered, "Ali."

Ali put a heavy shackle on Yan Sikong. The crisp sound of the iron colliding and clasping echoed in the house, making the already stuffy air even more solidified and making it difficult to breathe.

"It turns out to be so heavy..." Yan Sikong murmured. Yuan Mao wore this thing to the execution ground, Feng Ye wore it to prison, and Yuan Nanyu, at the age of thirteen, carried it on his thin body and walked a thousand miles of exile.

What was the suffering and torment he endured?

For seventeen years, he had dreamed of putting this thing around his enemy's neck, and now, he was going to make it happen.

Nothing can stop him.

Wan Yang just watched Yan Sikong being put in shackles, and walked out step by step with his hands respectfully holding the death penalty memorial.

Yan Sikong did not take a carriage because he was already a criminal at this moment, so he walked to the palace.

On the way, he met the common people who had gotten up early to work, and the officials who were going to court like him, all of whom looked at him in shock. The closer he got to the palace, the more people recognized him, and they were all shocked by his clothes and the murderous look on his face, and no one dared to come forward to ask him questions.

From the palace came the sound of Jingyang bells, heavy as thunder. Over the past hundreds of years, dynasties came and went, but the sound of the bells representing the majesty of the empire had never stopped for a single day.

The officials filed through the Meridian Gate as usual and gathered in front of the Taiji Hall. The eunuch in front of them waved his whip, and there were three crisp sounds. The soldiers marked the ground in an orderly manner and struck the ground with long spears. The sound was earth-shaking. The officials divided into two teams, walked across the Jinshui Bridge, and entered the hall.

Among them, Yan Sikong, dressed in a red robe and in shackles, stood out among the hundreds of officials. Everyone was whispering and feeling uneasy.

When Yan Sikong stepped over the high threshold of the Taiji Hall, he suddenly paused.

The officials behind him all stopped following him. In order to keep the team in order, the officials in another row also had to stop. He tilted his head slightly and urged cautiously, "Lord Yan?"

"There are sword tips everywhere." Yan Sikong looked at the luxurious palace with empty eyes and sighed softly.

The man was puzzled: "...Where?"

"Under my feet."

After Yan Sikong finished speaking, he stepped over the threshold, straightened his chest, and walked in step by step.

When Emperor Zhaowu looked at Yan Sikong, his expression changed suddenly. He seemed to have guessed what Yan Sikong was going to do. He felt a chill in his head and a heat in his feet, and he had an urge to escape.

He stared blankly at the officials bowing and paying respects for a long time before he trembled and asked Yan Sikong, "Yan Qing, what do you want to do?"

Yan Sikong stepped out of the line, knelt straight on his knees, and held up the thick memorial in his hand. The pages of black words on the white paper contained the bloodiest and ugliest crimes in the world. He said loudly: "Your Majesty, Yan Sikong, impeaches the 374 major crimes committed by the treacherous official Xie Zhongren and his 138 cronies." He paused slightly, "Including me."

The whole country was shocked!

Emperor Zhaowu slumped on the dragon throne, his eyes wide open, unable to speak for a long time.

Yan Sikong continued, "The impeachment memorial is here. I also have a cart of evidence. I have asked my servants to bring it to the outside of the Meridian Gate and it can be presented to the three judicial officials at any time."

He and She Jun spent more than ten years carefully collecting the crimes committed by the eunuchs' party in various places, spanning a period of twenty years. The evidence was clear and shocking.

There was a sound of people sucking in gasps of cool air. All the officials had their own hidden agenda, and some were so frightened that their calves were shaking.

At this time, Meng Duo stood up and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, since Lord Yan wears a Xiezhi crown and a red robe to show his determination to kill, according to the ancestral system, Your Majesty should bring Xie Zhongren from prison to the Taiji Hall to listen to the impeachment against him." He looked around, "As for the rest of the officials, except for those who are far away and whose ranks are not high enough to attend the court, they are probably all here."

Emperor Zhaowu opened his mouth, and the flesh on his face trembled. He raised his hand and issued an order: "Bring... the guilty minister Xie Zhongren to the Taiji Palace."