In a moment, dozens of people knelt down and forced Liu Chen with an extremely tough attitude: "Your Majesty, Shen Jinghong killed loyal people, which is against the will of heaven. Please punish him severely!"
"Please punish him severely!" Liu Chen held his breath and looked at the officials in front of him, and his eyes slowly moved to Shen Jinghong's face.
Shen Jinghong lifted his clothes and knelt down: "Your Majesty, I plead guilty."
Shen Jinghong was imprisoned in the Tiger Prison, but this was not the end, but just a beginning.
On the way home from court, Mu Zhuohua heard the discussions outside through the carriage.
"I heard that Lord Shen was imprisoned, and the six ministers jointly reported to him that he had framed Prince Ding. Prince Ding is innocent!"
"No, I heard that Lord Shen was also instructed by His Majesty. It was His Majesty who was afraid that Prince Ding's achievements would surpass his own, so he let Shen Jinghong frame him and sentenced him to death!"
"That's right, otherwise Shen Jinghong and Prince Ding had no grudges, why would he harm him?"
Mu Zhuohua listened to the people's discussions outside with a gloomy face. When he returned to the mansion, he asked with a pen, "Sir, did you hand over the evidence to them?"
Mu Zhuohua shook her head: "Not me, I haven't decided to hand over the evidence yet, this matter has too much impact..."
Thinking of the discussions of the people outside, her face became even uglier. "In less than a day, it spread almost all over the city, and even every detail in the court was clearly stated. It is clear that someone is fanning the flames. I guess it's the aristocratic family who is instigating behind the scenes."
What made Mu Zhuohua even more uneasy was that these rumors slowly pointed the finger at one person, Liu Chen.
"The aristocratic families can't sit still... They finally got the chance to turn against Your Majesty, and they won't let it go this time."
Mu Zhuohua said, looking at Zhimo: "But in this way, the prince's revenge can be considered as revenge, are you happy?"
Zhimo's expression was a little complicated. After thinking for a moment, he said: "I think that the prince was just being used by others."
Mu Zhuohua looked at him admiringly and nodded: "Yes, you can see that those people are not vindicating the prince at all. They just want to use this incident to threaten Your Majesty to compromise, or even... not just compromise."
Mu Zhuohua's worried guess was confirmed the next day. Thousands of people took to the streets to protest, angrily denouncing the "tyrannical monarch who killed loyal people." The sound was deafening, and even in the palace, it could be faintly heard.
Shen Jinghong, who was praised by everyone a few days ago, was also shrouded in a shadow. There were half of those who believed in him and half of
those who doubted him. Some people believed that he was forced to become the pawn of the tyrant, while others firmly believed that Prince Ding was domineering and Shen Jinghong was still the Shen Jinghong who was not afraid of the powerful and asked Liu Chen to interrogate Shen Jinghong and find out who was behind the scenes. These people had ferocious faces, and there was no respect or fear in their eyes when they looked at Liu Chen.
The Prince of the Council of State, who held a large number of troops, died, and died unjustly. No one could protect Liu Chen anymore. The 200,000 defenders of Juliang Pass learned the truth about Liu Yan's death, and almost caused a mutiny. Liu Yan's words before his death still worked. Although the military camp was angry, they still couldn't hold back, but Liu Chen had already lost the will of the army.
Not only the will of the army, but also the will of the people and the ministers, he had lost them all.
Liu Chen looked at the old ministers with a sullen face. Now Shen Jinghong was locked up, and the noble families were all enemies of him. Although he was the emperor, he had no one to trust, and could only be forced by others.
The final result of the morning court was that Liu Chen walked out in anger without giving any reply to the officials, but no reply itself was a reply. The news soon spread outside the palace, and the people knew that the emperor tacitly agreed to the fact that he killed his uncle to seize power and killed loyal officials. The people sang praises to the heroic deeds of Prince Ding and put him on the altar. In contrast, the new emperor framed and killed such a great contributor and uncle. He was simply stupid and cruel, and unworthy of being a king!
There were more people marching and demonstrating, but the soldiers who were supposed to maintain order turned a deaf ear to them and let the people of the whole city make a fuss. Even the most solemn and quiet North City fell. Countless people crowded to the gate of the palace, cursing Liu Chen for being meritless, ruthless, and unworthy of being a king, and abdicated immediately.
However, this was not the worst.
Just after Shen Jinghong was imprisoned, on the fifth day when the public anger reached its peak, the third prince of Beiliang, Yelu Jing, published a eulogy in a pretentious manner, complaining for Liu Yan and accusing Liu Chen of being incompetent and unjust. Three hundred thousand Beiliang troops marched south and broke through the first city on the border.
Mu Zhuohua once again stepped into the Dali Temple.
She walked down the steps step by step and came to Shen Jinghong.
"In the past, he was high above, but now he is a prisoner. The Dali Temple is such a wonderful place." Mu Zhuohua's voice sounded, and his eyes looked at Shen Jinghong, who was tied up by iron chains. He was injured, and his white clothes were oozing blood, but his appearance was still handsome and handsome, not like an ordinary person.
He heard Mu Zhuohua's voice, his eyelashes trembled slightly, and he slowly raised his eyes to look at the person in front of him, and his dark and deep phoenix eyes reflected the faint firelight.
"It's you." He curled his lips and smiled, and didn't seem surprised.
Mu Zhuohua put the lantern on the table beside him and saw the torture instruments on the table.
"Even though Lord Shen is in hell, he is still so calm and composed. I really admire him." Mu Zhuohua smiled softly, "Is it because you expected all this?"
Shen Jinghong's eyes moved, and he looked at Mu Zhuohua quietly without saying anything.
"I just find it strange that Lord Shen, who is always cautious, has so many mistakes and omissions in the evidence against Prince Ding. It turns out that you have never thought of hiding anything." Mu Zhuohua walked up to Shen Jinghong and stared at his unfathomable and cold eyes. "The false evidence I asked Zhimo to find was the evidence you deliberately revealed. Your target has never been Prince Ding, but His Majesty. You took advantage of His Majesty's trust, alienated His Majesty's relationship with the aristocratic families, cut off His Majesty's arms, and caused civil unrest in Chen. Now, Beiliang has invaded the border. Are you satisfied?"
Shen Jinghong chuckled twice and coughed out a mouthful of blood foam. The bright red blood stains the corners of his lips.
"Lord Mu, you are really a genius..." The low and hoarse voice echoed in the dark prison.
"Why?" Mu Zhuohua frowned. Every time she thought she had seen Shen Jinghong clearly, she would be surprised by his other mask. "Yelü Jing's move seems to be imitating the battle of Yancheng. He wants to retaliate and humiliate the State of Chen... Are you a spy from Beiliang?"
Shen Jinghong smiled and said, "You don't believe me anymore. What difference does it make whether I say yes or no?"
"You will die." Mu Zhuohua said in a deep voice, "You risked your life for today. Even if it is as you wish, the State of Chen is in chaos and His Majesty abdicates, you will not escape the punishment of being cut into pieces."
Shen Jinghong seemed to be completely unconcerned about the tortures inflicted on him. His eyes were as deep as a vortex, absorbing all the light, like black jade and glass, so beautiful that it was frightening.
"It is an honor to die... "
The 300,000-strong army of Beiliang was unstoppable, and they broke through the two passes in one fell swoop without encountering any obstacles. The soldiers guarding the pass resisted for a day and a night, but they were defeated in the end due to the disparity in strength.
The court was noisy, and the people of the aristocratic families advocated abandoning the city and fleeing, and moving the capital to Huaizhou. Huaizhou is the richest place and also their base camp. Moving the capital to Huaizhou is most beneficial to the aristocratic families. Most of the poor scholars advocated fighting. They had no way out. If the country was destroyed and the king died, their dreams of official careers would also be shattered.
Amidst the clamor, a sharp voice suddenly came from outside: "Report--"
A guard ran into the hall in a panic and knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, the Northern Liang army has arrived at Juliang Pass!"
Everyone was in an uproar!
Once Juliang Pass was breached, Dingjing was like a snail with its shell peeled off, without its barrier, ready to be slaughtered.
The hall was noisy like a pot of boiling water, and some people did not lose their reason and shouted: "There are still 200,000 elite soldiers at Juliang Pass!"
Another person sneered: "Without Prince Ding, how can we beat Yelu Jing's 300,000 elite soldiers!"
Everyone then remembered that Prince Ding was framed and sentenced to death by this majesty.
The hall suddenly became quiet for a moment, and looked at the gloomy and silent young emperor on the throne with unfriendly eyes.
Liu Chen stood up slowly under the gaze of everyone: "I am the ruler of a country. I will never abandon my people and flee the city!"
"Pass on my order to seal the nine gates. No one is allowed to enter or leave! Anyone who abandons the city and flees will be regarded as treason and will be killed without mercy!"
Everyone's hair stood on end, and they were shocked. When they raised their heads and were about to speak, they saw Liu Chen's murderous eyes.
"I will lead the army in person. If Beiliang does not retreat, I will not retreat either! Who among you is willing to follow me?"
There was silence in the palace, and the heads wearing official hats bowed low, fearing that they would be called by Liu Chen.
Liu Chen sneered in his heart, but at this moment he heard a clear and pleasant voice.
"Your humble servant is willing to follow your majesty!"
Liu Chen was startled, raised his eyes, and saw the person standing at the farthest distance, with a petite body and clear and firm eyes, over countless people.
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