Chapter 273: Death-free Gold Medal
'Boom!'
The sudden sound of thunder startled Concubine Chen.
The word "execution" was heard by Concubine Chen along with the thunder, making her scalp numb and her feet feel like lead. Her mind went blank for a moment and she froze in place.
"Hey, Madam Concubine, when did you come?"
Jiang Deshun hurried to Concubine Chen's side and saw that her expression was not right.
"Royal Concubine? Royal Concubine?"
His calls brought Concubine Chen back from her trance.
With her heart burning with anxiety, Concubine Chen no longer cared about etiquette and rules, and reached out to push the door.
Jiang Deshun hurriedly stopped her and urged her: "Your Highness, please don't do that! The Emperor is discussing matters with Lord Zhu inside, you can't force your way in!"
"Get out of the way!" Concubine Chen pushed Jiang Deshun to the ground and rushed into the palace without any hesitation.
The noise outside the door at that time had already attracted the attention of everyone in the hall.
Xiao Jingheng and several ministers looked at the door together until it was pushed open. Concubine Chen rushed in in a panic, ignoring the presence of foreign ministers, and questioned Xiao Jingheng.
"Your Majesty! My father and brother have already retired from the army and returned all their military power to the court. Your Majesty has also promised them to return to their hometown to live out their lives. Why do you want them to..."
"My Lady, you are being too presumptuous."
Concubine Chen questioned Xiao Jingheng in front of the court officials, which made him lose face and his face became more and more ugly.
"I am discussing state affairs with my ministers. How dare you barge in without my summons?"
Concubine Chen's bright eyes were filled with tears. She turned a deaf ear to his reprimand and continued to talk to herself in a very emotional manner.
"Your Majesty, why do you treat my father and brother like this? Didn't you always say that my father and brother were loyal ministers of the Qi Dynasty?"
Xiao Jingheng responded with a cold look, the anger hidden between his brows was obvious.
Most of the ministers of the previous dynasty also knew the domineering and unbridled nature of Concubine Chen.
They felt it was inappropriate to stay here any longer, so they all tactfully left.
After they left, Xiao Jingheng suppressed his anger and patted the table in front of him.
"See for yourself."
Concubine Chen staggered forward and picked up the stack of documents on the table.
Listen to Xiao Jingheng's sonorous words: "Here is evidence of Ning Baichuan and Zhu Yin's conspiracy to sell out the country, and there are letters in which Ning Baichuan privately contacted his old subordinates, pretending to hand over military power, but actually intending to rebel. The blood-stained things below are the confessions of those generals and soldiers who testified against him. There are also various hard evidences of your father and brother's corruption and bribery over the years. Take a good look and see if I have wronged them!"
Concubine Chen quickly flipped through the documents page by page.
The handwriting was illegible, and there were many words she didn't recognize at all.
But she recognized her father's handwriting.
The letters that were said to be written by Ning Baichuan himself, although the handwriting was very similar to Ning Baichuan's, Concubine Chen could not find any fault with them.
But her intuition told her that these letters, which were intended to plot rebellion, were definitely not written by her father himself.
She scattered the documents all over the floor, knelt down in front of Jamel Xiao, and tried hard not to let her tears flow out.
"Your Majesty! I recognize my father's handwriting. This letter was definitely not written by my father himself! And if you say that my father and brother are colluding with the enemy and betraying the country, I absolutely do not believe it! My father has served the Qi Dynasty for many years and has always been loyal and brave. Today, there must be a traitor who wants to wrongly accuse my father and brother! Please understand, Your Majesty!"
Xiao Jingheng sighed, "All the evidence here was secretly collected by King Rui. There are as many as 38 documents that report Ning Baichuan's corruption and bribery by real name! Could it be that they colluded to frame Ning Baichuan together!?
There is solid evidence for these things, and they have already caused a great uproar in the previous dynasty. I must give an explanation to the people of the world!"
Whether Ning Baichuan was corrupt or not, Concubine Chen knew better than anyone else.
Her extravagance in the palace and the Ning family's wealth outside the palace were never money that fell from the sky.
Faced with the overwhelming evidence before her, Concubine Chen was extremely anxious, and the tears in her eyes could no longer be stopped.
"Your Majesty! Even though my father was corrupt and committed treason, his crime is not punishable by death! I dare to guarantee with my life that my father and brother have absolutely no intention of disloyalty to Your Majesty, let alone treason!"
Xiao Jingheng looked at Concubine Chen's tearful eyes with a very sad expression.
He reluctantly advised, "The ground is cold, you get up first."
But this piece of advice made Concubine Chen lose even her last bit of pride.
She suddenly leaned down and grabbed the ground with her forehead.
The 'bang bang' sounds echoed in the empty room, making people feel scared.
"I have never asked the emperor for anything before, but this time I will treat it as a request from you! Considering that I have served the emperor for many years, I beg the emperor to show mercy and spare the lives of my father and brother!"
Although she was crying, her words were still firm, and the force of her kowtows became heavier each time.
Even though his head was broken and bleeding and his vision was blurry, he never relaxed his strength.
"Your Majesty can take back all the wealth of my mother's family, and your rewards to me can all be turned over to the national treasury! If there is any shortfall, I will do my best to make up for it even if I don't want a monthly salary in the future!
"I only ask Your Majesty to spare their lives, even if you have to exile the whole family to the bitter cold land of the northern frontier, as long as they can live! I beg you!"
Xiao Jingheng, who was firmly seated at the top, could no longer sit still.
He stood up suddenly, walked quickly to the hall, stroked Concubine Chen's arm, and stopped her from continuing to kowtow.
"What are you doing? Get up!"
Concubine Chen looked up at Xiao Jingheng. The wound on her forehead was bleeding. The blood flowed down her brow, ruining the delicate makeup she had just put on to please Xiao Jingheng.
"Your Majesty...I beg you...I beg you..."
Xiao Jingheng frowned, his eyes full of pity.
"Even if I forgive your mother's family because of the friendship we have had for many years, you will be executed in three days. The emperor is in Suzhou now, so I won't be able to deliver the order in time."
Hearing that her father and brother still had a glimmer of hope, Concubine Chen's dim eyes were rekindled with hope.
She raised her hand and wiped away the blood and tears on her face, saying repeatedly:
"It's still in time! It's still in time, Your Majesty! If we ride day and night as fast as we can, we will be able to get back to Kyoto in three days!"
She tightly grasped Xiao Jingheng's hand, as if she had grasped the last straw that could save her father and brother, and said in a hoarse and aggrieved voice:
"Please, Your Majesty, give me some leniency..."
"Get up first."
Xiao Jingheng helped the crying Concubine Chen up and held her in his arms. He also comforted her with red eyes:
"I can spare the lives of your father and brother, but your entire family must be exiled, otherwise the criticism from the previous dynasty will be difficult to resolve."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Concubine Chen leaned in Xiao Jingheng's arms, feeling his strong heartbeat again.
She was shivering from the cold, but after hearing what Xiao Jingheng said, her body immediately warmed up a lot.
Then Xiao Jingheng hurriedly called Jiang Deshun and ordered:
"Go get the pardon gold medal, have Vice General An personally take it and rush back to the capital day and night to pardon the Ning family father and son from death and temporarily detain them in the Heavenly Prison. All matters will be decided after the emperor returns to the palace."
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