Zhu Kongshan used his death to accuse the Eighth Prince of his crime, which surprised and moved all the court officials present. They all knelt down, and no matter which party they belonged to, they all stood on the side of justice in this atmosphere of death, and shouted in unison: "Your Majesty, please punish the Eighth Prince! Your Majesty, please punish the Eighth Prince!"
On the other side, Xuan Tianming and the others also knelt down, saying the same lines as the court officials. The hand of Emperor Tianwu holding the memorial was shaking constantly, and a feeling of being forced and helpless came over him. Although he admitted that there were still many doubts about the case, he also knew: Old Eighth deserved it!
So what if he was wronged this time? He escaped the crime twice before. Facing these court officials, facing the people of the world, and facing his other sons, he must show an attitude today!
“The Eighth Prince Xuan Tianmo…” Tianwu finally spoke: “He is cruel and brutal, inhumane, and ruthless. He will be thrown into death row immediately. The Imperial Guards in the palace will be handed over to the Ninth Prince for command. The Eighth Prince… will be executed by the Ministry of Justice on a chosen day!”
One sentence determined the fate of the Eighth Prince. But someone asked unwillingly, "What about Concubine Yuan?"
Tianwu waved his hand and said, "Demote her to a concubine, move out of Cunshan Palace, and live in Jingsi Palace."
Another was sent to Jingsi Palace. Although she was not executed or sent to the cold palace, she was demoted to a concubine, which was no different from a palace maid. After all, she was just a concubine in the harem. After losing her son, she could not cause any more trouble. People had no doubts about this punishment.
Only Xuan Tianming and Xuan Tianhua knew that Tianwu was not confused. He knew that Concubine Yuan was framed, so he left a glimmer of hope for that woman. Xuan Tianming sighed in his heart, thinking that his father was indeed old. If it had been twenty years ago, Concubine Yuan would have died. But now, Tianwu was full of debts to the concubines in the harem that he knew he could not make up for, so he was no longer as decisive as before.
After the court was dismissed, Xuan Tianming led a large group of imperial guards to surround Prince Sheng's Mansion and arrested Xuan Tianmo.
The death cell was in the palace, in the underground of the back mountain. It was so cold that even in the dog days of summer one had to wear a cotton-padded jacket. Now in the twelfth month, the water inside would freeze into ice, and the cold was so cold that it penetrated one's heart and lungs.
Xuan Tianmo sat in the death row. The coldness of the ground made him feel numb from the waist down. He was a little confused. He didn't understand why he was thrown into the death row without knowing why? It was said that he would be executed? How could it be possible! How could he end up like this?
Not to mention that the Eighth Prince couldn't figure out why things turned out like this, the noble lady Yuan who was driven out of Cunshan Palace couldn't figure out why things suddenly turned so bad. It wasn't until she heard that Zhu Kongshan had accused the Eighth Prince of several crimes and killed himself in front of Emperor Tianwu that she suddenly realized that she and her son had been smart all their lives, but in the end they fell into the hands of that girl.
She gritted her teeth in anger! She originally wanted to help her son, but she didn't expect to send a wolf cub to her son, and caused them to end up like this.
Jingsi Palace, how ironic! Concubine Li was demoted to a noble lady and sent to Jingsi Palace. Now she was demoted even more thoroughly, becoming a concubine and entering Jingsi Palace. Is this the reversal of fortune?
The maid Yuexiu moved into a side hall of Jingsi Palace with Liu Cainu. She lost her noble status and even her title of Yuan was taken back. Now she can only be called by her mother's family name. "Cainu, what a thing!" She almost bit her teeth with hatred. "I don't believe it! I don't believe that Mo'er and I are over like this!" Liu Cainu's eyes were blazing with fire, "This matter can never be let go like this. As long as Mo'er is alive, I will definitely find a way to save him!"
Yuexiu didn't want to live such a miserable life. Now she still had a Jingsi Palace to live in. Once the Eighth Prince ordered her to be executed, she was afraid that her master would not even be able to keep her position as a concubine sooner or later. Although she didn't expect her master to sit on the position of the Queen Mother one day, she definitely didn't want to become a concubine. If the master is not good, how can the servant be any better?
Yuexiu frowned and thought for a while, then said, "It seems that the emperor's decree did not say that the master is not allowed to leave Jingsi Palace. I think it is different from when Concubine Li was imprisoned here."
This sentence reminded Liu Cainu. Yes, compared to the Li Fei at the beginning, she now has absolute freedom of movement. The emperor only said to demote her and move to another palace, but he did not say that she was not allowed to move around in the palace. As long as she can still leave the gate of Jingsi Palace... She suddenly laughed, "It turns out that the road between me and Mo'er is not blocked. As long as this door is open, I have a chance to turn the tide. Yuexiu, help me change my clothes and comb my hair, let's go to the Queen's place and walk around."
The noble lady was demoted to a concubine by the emperor himself. The news quickly spread throughout the harem and reached the ears of the queen.
For the Queen, the fact that Concubine Yuan was only demoted to a concubine could not relieve her hatred. If it were up to her, she would have better throw that person into the death row together with the Eighth Prince and have them executed together on a certain date. Otherwise, she could just give her a white silk or a bottle of poison and let her die. Only when Concubine Yuan died could she no longer be threatened by that person and live a more stable life, instead of having to worry all day long like now.
Fang Yi advised her, "Your Highness, take it step by step. She has been demoted to a concubine. Then you can find any excuse to torture her to death. It's too easy to kill someone in the harem."
"Yes!" The Queen sighed, "In this harem, it is too easy to kill someone. But I have never bothered to use such means, and no one has ever threatened my position, so I have almost forgotten about such things."
As the two were talking, a palace maid came in and reported, "Your Majesty, Liu Cainu is outside asking to see you."
"Liu Cainv?" The queen was stunned and didn't react for a while, "Who is Liu Cainv?" How many years has it been since someone of Cainv's position came to Jingci Palace?
The palace maid replied, "She is the former noble lady Yuan, who was just demoted to a concubine today."
"It's her!" The queen's face showed a moment of anger, which she had never had in all these years. But it was only for a moment, and soon she regained her composure. She nodded, "Let Liu Cainu come in."
The palace maid went out to invite someone, and Fang Yi whispered, "Why does the Majesty want to see her? She is just a concubine now. Even if she has that handle in her hand, I think she won't dare to speak it out easily until she is desperate. And how can we really let her live until she is desperate? This matter has been thought about by this maid. As long as it doesn't dirty the Majesty's hands, I will do it."
The Queen frowned and didn't respond directly. She just said, "I just want to find out how much that woman knows and what kind of evidence she has. If it's just hearsay, we don't need to worry so much."
As they were talking, Liu Cainu came in with Yuexiu. After being demoted to a concubine, she had to kneel down and bow to the queen again. She was very unhappy, but as long as she was in the palace, this rule was inevitable.
The two men bowed and said, "Greetings to the Queen."
The Queen sat at the top, looking at the people kneeling below, and couldn't help asking: "Do you think that with my ability, I can still pull the Eighth Prince out of the death row? Or do you think that I can help you regain your position as a noble? Or even a concubine?"
Liu Cainu looked up with a faint smile on her face. She said, "No, I never thought that the Queen could have such great ability. If you really had it, the one who returned to the position of concubine would not be Concubine Li."
"Then what are you doing here?" The Queen was furious. "Are you here to show off that you didn't die this time? I'm telling you, whether you live or die is all your own doing! You fell into the hands of your own niece, and this matter has nothing to do with me!"
"Why is the Queen so excited?" Liu Cainu was still kneeling on the ground, looking up at the Queen and talking to her. She said, "I came here today, but I didn't mean to ask the Queen to do anything. I just thought that such a big change had happened, and I couldn't just feel aggrieved by myself." When she said this, a fierce light flashed in her eyes, and she said coldly, "Cheng, I'm not happy, and you don't want to be happy either! I came here today just to show you my fate, so that you can think carefully about what will happen to you if everything is revealed one day. Don't think that you will always be the Queen just because you are the Queen today. I tell you, I have arranged people outside for your affairs. Once something happens to me and the Eighth Prince, you will just watch. Soon, every corner of Dashun will spread the Queen's true identity. By then, I want to see if you still have the face to sit in this position, and if you still have the face to be the mother of the world, and whether the Emperor can still tolerate someone who has been hiding for so many years by his side. I just want to see, by then, whether you are dead or alive, the same as me, or worse than me."
Liu Cainu's words made the Queen's heart tremble, but it did not cause her any substantial blow. She even laughed and said, "What's there to be curious about? It's a matter of time. It's not like I haven't thought about it. Besides, Yuan Guiren, oh no, it should be Liu Cainu, do you think the Emperor is confused? I tell you, the Emperor was smart in the past, and he is still smart now. Nothing can be hidden from him. My affairs can't be hidden, and your affairs can't be hidden even more. The mines in Yuzhou, the war in the South, do you think that the fate you have this time is just because of Zhu Kongshan? Wait and see, it's not that I won't report it, it's just that the time has not come. When the time comes, everything will be reported. You are like this, and so am I."
Liu Cainü stared at the queen and felt that the queen had a layer of death on her face. Suddenly, she realized that the queen herself had lost hope of survival. Whatever she said could really irritate her?
The queen waved her hand and said, "Go back! It's no use using that incident to threaten me. The emperor has known this for a long time. He has kept me here until now just to use me as bait. You are a concubine and I am bait. You see, neither of us is better than the other!"
Liu Cainu walked out of the main hall of Jingci Palace amid the Queen's laughter. The Queen's words stirred up waves in her heart. If what the Queen said was true, then what had she been doing all this time? The threats she thought she made were just the play of a clown. The Emperor knew long ago that she could not threaten anything. But if she could not threaten anything, then what should she and Mo'er do?
As she was thinking, she suddenly bumped into someone. Liu Cainu was startled and looked up, only to see a stunning beauty in red standing in front of her. She smiled and said to her, "Liu Cainu, why do I smell the smell of a corpse on you?"
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