When Concubine Yuan Shu looked at him, Zhang Yuan immediately thought to himself, "Not good." Sure enough, along with this look came Concubine Yuan Shu's faint complaints. She said, "I miss the emperor so much that the sedan chair sent by Zhaohe Palace was about to carry me to the palace square, but was stopped by Eunuch Yuan. Eunuch Yuan said that I am a disaster, a vixen, who pesters the emperor all day long and makes him unable to sleep. He also said that if I go again today, the emperor will definitely die tomorrow. Your Majesty! I don't ask for anything, but only for your health. If my existence really harms your majesty, then I would rather die in exchange for your eternal peace."
She was crying and crying, with faint marks on her neck, and she would cough occasionally. She looked so pitiful. Emperor Tianwu felt so sad, and kept stroking Concubine Yuan Shu's cheek with his big hands, trying to wipe away her tears. But the tears were like beads that had broken off the string, and they would not dry no matter how hard he tried. He was so distressed that he kept saying, "Don't cry, my beloved concubine. If anyone dares to say that I am a disaster, I will skin him alive!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuan knelt down with a plop. He looked at Concubine Yuan Shu in confusion and asked, "Where did Concubine Shu say this? When did I ever say this? Your Majesty, I did persuade Concubine Shu not to go to Zhaohe Palace, but I never said anything like a disaster source or a vixen! I dare not curse Your Majesty! Your Majesty must investigate this matter!"
Today is different from the past. If it were in the past, no matter who slandered Zhang Yuan, Zhang Yuan would not be afraid. Because he believed that the emperor would definitely stand on his side and would never believe such nonsense. But now it is different. The emperor's behavior is weird, and there is an inexplicable entanglement between him and Concubine Yuan Shu. It can be said that Concubine Yuan Shu is equivalent to Concubine Yun back then. No one can say anything bad about her. As long as it involves anything about her, Emperor Tianwu will immediately turn hostile.
Zhang Yuan's defense did not get a response from Emperor Tianwu. Instead, Yuexiu, a maid from Cunshan Palace, knelt down and said, "Why didn't Eunuch Yuan admit it? When you drove my queen away with harsh words, you were so majestic! Your Majesty, I can testify that Eunuch Yuan did say that. Not only me, but also the eunuch who came from Zhaohe Palace to invite Concubine Shu to come over, and several sedan bearers can testify. If Your Majesty doesn't believe it, you can summon them for questioning. My queen is so wronged. She was almost in front of the palace but was driven back. Not to mention being laughed at along the way, what Eunuch Yuan said made her even more sad. My queen couldn't think straight and came back to seek death. We finally rescued her, but there was still a mark on her neck. Please, Your Majesty, make a decision for Concubine Shu!"
Following her words, the servants in the room knelt down and begged Emperor Tianwu to make a decision for Concubine Yuan Shu. At this time, Concubine Yuan Shu cried even louder, crying and saying, "Don't beg me anymore. I can't harm the emperor. As long as I can keep the emperor healthy, it doesn't matter whether I live or die."
"Nonsense!" Tianwu was furious. "Without my beloved concubine, what's the point of living?" After saying that, he turned and glared at Zhang Yuan. The fierceness and brutality in his eyes made Zhang Yuan feel dazed for a moment, just like when Emperor Tianwu threw Concubine Bu, he seemed to have such a look in his eyes. And the affection he had for the emperor for so many years disappeared in this glare.
Zhang Yuan subconsciously took two steps back, still kneeling on the ground, but his legs were already shaking. It is said that serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. He used to treat the old emperor like a relative, thinking that he would depend on the emperor for the rest of his life, and would serve him until Tianwu passed away, and then he would die with him. But now... "Your Majesty." He called out with despair, "I really didn't say that. Your Majesty, please believe me again."
Tianwu clenched his fists tightly, and there was no trace of old thoughts about Zhang Yuan in his eyes. Without thinking, he blurted out: "Drag him out and chop him up!"
Everyone shuddered when they heard this, and they were all slightly shocked. No one had expected that the eunuch who had once been at the peak of his power would end up like this. Concubine Shu's favor was really too strong.
But just when everyone thought that Zhang Yuan was hopeless, and even Zhang Yuan himself had given up hope of survival, Concubine Yuan Shu, who was lying on the bed, felt that it was too easy for Zhang Yuan to be beheaded. How many times had she suffered from Zhang Yuan? How much anger had she suffered from this eunuch in the past ten years? Because she was not favored, she had to do everything she could to bribe this eunuch if she wanted to see the emperor, but this eunuch was unmoved, and he didn't want money or face, leaving her with no way out. Now that he finally fell into her hands, she just chopped him off like this, how could she feel relieved!
"Your Majesty!" She called weakly, reaching out to pull at Emperor Tianwu's sleeve. "Your Majesty, Eunuch Yuan has been serving you for so many years. Even if he has no merit, he has worked hard. Please spare his life for all his years of service! It is not easy for people to be slaves in the palace. Your Majesty, please be magnanimous and spare his life, okay?"
Tianwu looked at Concubine Yuan Shu and felt that this beloved concubine was too sensible. Zhang Yuan bullied her like this, but in the end, she was the one who pleaded for Zhang Yuan. Looking at the marks on Concubine Yuan Shu's neck, Tianwu became even more angry. He wanted to ignore Concubine Yuan Shu's words and forcibly chop Zhang Yuan, but he didn't know why, when he had this idea, his head would hurt for no reason, as if he was resisting. This puzzled him.
"Forget it." He said, "Then I will listen to my beloved concubine and pardon his death sentence. But the death sentence can be pardoned, but the living sentence cannot be escaped." He looked at Zhang Yuan and said, "You go out and receive thirty strokes of the cane, and then go to the Criminal Slave Division to be a slave!"
The Criminal Slave Department is where the palace maids who have committed crimes serve. All the dirty, tiring and hard work is done by the people in the Criminal Slave Department. Everyone knows that if a palace maid commits a crime and is thrown into the Criminal Slave Department, the chance of survival is less than 30%. If they don't die, they will be skinned alive. If a good person is sent there, he will be tortured to the point of being unrecognizable within a few days, and his life will be worse than death. Every day, corpses are carried out of the Criminal Slave Department, and no one will ask how those people died, because they are criminal slaves and they deserve to die.
When Zhang Yuan heard that Emperor Tianwu was going to throw him into the Criminal Slave Division, he even thought that it would be best if he could die during the thirty beatings, so that he could avoid going to the Criminal Slave Division to suffer.
Unfortunately, how could he do as he wished? Since Emperor Tianwu said he would send him to the Criminal Slave Department to suffer punishment, the servants who beat him with sticks naturally did not dare to beat him to death. The people in the bedroom heard waves of wailing outside, from strong to weak, one by one, which made people tremble.
Concubine Yuan Shu was still lying on the bed, holding Tianwu's hand. She looked pitiful, but she was very happy in her heart. She thought that Zhang Yuan finally had his day. Just wait and see! Slowly, one by one, she would clean up all those who had been bullied by her. This palace must be reorganized according to her wishes to lay a solid foundation for her Mo'er to ascend the throne in the future.
Without Zhang Yuan's obstruction, Concubine Yuan Shu and Emperor Tianwu were even more affectionate. When Emperor Tianwu saw Concubine Yuan Shu, the comfort in his heart came over him again. Because Concubine Yuan Shu was injured by hanging, he simply stayed in Cunshan Palace and no longer bothered Concubine Yuan Shu to go to Zhaohe Palace. The two of them were so loving that others envied them. The Jingshifang even began to expect whether Concubine Yuan Shu would give birth to another prince for the old Emperor Tianwu. This also caused a headache for the Imperial Hospital. They were afraid that if the emperor really had such thoughts, they would be busy again.
Zhang Yuan was beaten with thirty sticks and could not walk. Although he was still alive, he was half dead.
The next day, when Emperor Tianwu went to court, the eunuch who followed him was replaced by the eunuch who helped Concubine Yuan Shu with advice yesterday, named Wu Ying.
Although it was just a change in one eunuch, the people in the court could sense the further development of the situation from this detail. Those who were close to the Eighth Prince were very happy about this, while those who were on the side of the Ninth Prince frowned.
The morning court was no longer the same as before. In the court now, the Eighth Prince and his party were very active, while the Ninth Prince was very depressed. It was not because they were depressed, but because Emperor Tianwu simply ignored them. No matter what they said, Emperor Tianwu never gave them a good look, and sometimes he simply did not allow them to speak. As a result, even the left and right prime ministers, who were the first-rank civil officials of the dynasty, were often blocked by Emperor Tianwu and had nothing to say, which made them very embarrassed and depressed.
After the court was dismissed, the left prime minister Lu Song couldn't help but catch up with the right prime minister Feng Qing and whispered: "It's not going to work if we keep going like this!"
Feng Qing's attitude towards Lu Song is no longer as repulsive as before. After all, Lu Song's performance in the past year is still very commendable. The two of them have also joined forces to cause a lot of trouble for the Eighth Prince's party, so their relationship is naturally closer than before. Hearing Lu Song say this, Feng Qing also sighed, and did not answer directly, but looked directly at Xuan Tianming. However, he saw Xuan Tianming looking at him and shaking his head slightly, and he knew that there was no way out. He then said: "Let's take it one step at a time! He is the king, and we are the ministers. If the king does not allow the minister to speak, what can the minister do?"
Lu Song also said helplessly: "Yes! Even the censors can't speak, what else can we do? I'm just afraid that if this goes on, the country... will no longer be a country!" He sighed, walked away quickly, and stopped talking to others.
Even Lu Song could say that the country would no longer be a country, so how could Right Prime Minister Feng Qing not know this? It was just that the changes of Emperor Tianwu were too unpredictable, and he really had no countermeasures for a while.
After Xuan Tianming finished his court session, he went straight back to the palace, and brought Xuan Tianhua with him to the Prince Yu's Palace. However, Xuan Tianhua was not the only guest in the Prince Yu's Palace today. When they came back, they saw Yao Xian was also there, sitting in the front hall and talking with Feng Yuheng.
The two of them were very respectful to Yao Xian. When they met, they took the initiative to salute. Yao Xian also returned the salute. Then, without much politeness, he said directly: "I went to Xiaozhou a few days ago and just came back. Ah Heng told me about the emperor. I thought about finding a reason to go to the palace to take a look. The emperor once gave me a waist badge to enter the palace, but I don’t know if it is still useful now. If it is not useful, I wonder if the two princes can arrange it for me?"
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