Coldly glancing at Prince Duan and the Duke of Wuguo, the Emperor turned his eyes to Long Xuanmo and said affectionately, "Momo, have all those rats been caught?"
"Reporting to Father Emperor, they have all been caught, especially the so-called descendent of the former royal family, who is now detained in a secret place," Long Xuanmo replied indifferently. "Also, your son has captured the Rebel Army leaders Zheng Changwei and Zheng Changming (the Duke of Wuguo’s son), and found imperial robes, crowns, as well as a large amount of gold, silver, and jewels in the Duke Wu Mansion. Moreover, the Duke of Wuguo instigated Long Yanrou to poison and plot against the Ke Prince Mansion, and now everyone in the Ke Prince Mansion has succumbed to the poison."
The Emperor became furious, "Audacious Zhengjiong (the name of the Duke of Wuguo), not only did you plot to usurp the throne, but you also poisoned an entire royal family. You truly deserve death a thousand times over!"
The Duke of Wuguo collapsed to the ground, his face ashen, everything was over now!
"So, you wanted to be the Emperor yourself, you have been deceiving me all along, I will kill you!"
Prince Duan was first stunned, then charged at the Duke of Wuguo in fury, his sword aimed directly at the Duke, shouting that he would kill the Duke.
With a wave of Long Xuanmo’s hand, Prince Duan’s arm went numb, and his sword flew from his grasp, clattering to the floor several meters away from Prince Duan.
"How dare you be so presumptuous and reckless in front of Father Emperor?"
Coming back to his senses, Prince Duan crawled to the Emperor, his face pale as he loudly pleaded, "Father Emperor, your son was deceived by the rebel, leading to my mistake; I already know my wrongs, I beg for your grace!" He kowtowed non-stop, begging for mercy, and soon, blood was seeping from his forehead.
Observing Prince Duan, who appeared to be suddenly repentant but whose eyes flashed with resentment, the Emperor’s gaze was as deep as the ocean, filled with regret and melancholy.
He, along with Momo and the Grand Prince, and Prince Ning had set up the ruse of the Empress Dowager going to Huangjue Temple to pray, involving the children of noble families, to draw out the hiding rats and catch them all in one swoop. It was also intended as a test for Prince Duan.
Last night, he still hoped Momo would find a way to circumvent dealing with Prince Duan. Momo had not agreed, and he was saddened. Yet in just one night, Prince Duan had callously plotted to poison his very own biological father and frame Momo, even conspiring with the Duke of Wuguo to usurp the throne. How could this not leave him feeling desolate and disheartened?
Fortunately, Jiujiu was dutiful to him, always careful to attend to his health, and even meticulously developed a poison-avoiding elixir for him to ingest, advising him to always wear the Spirit Jade she gave him, which would change color upon contact with poison, allowing him to detect the poisoned tea in time. Otherwise, he would now be lying there, cold and lifeless.
The Emperor did not want, nor need to ask anything. He simply looked coldly at the people by his bedside—his biological son and ministers he had always trusted—raised his hand in a gesture, and the Imperial Army immediately stepped forward to escort Prince Duan and others away.
The Duke of Wuguo and the palace maid sister to Concubine De said not a word, Prince Duan loudly begged for mercy, and Concubine De remained unconscious.
A rebellion and internal chaos were swiftly quelled.
The Duan Prince Mansion and the Duke Wu Mansion fell, Concubine De was stripped of her title and sent to the Cold Palace, Prince Duan was demoted to a commoner and imprisoned in the Zongren Mansion, and the entire Zheng family was detained in the Sky Prison, only awaiting the Emperor’s birthday for their punishment.
Princess Duan and her family had not participated in the conspiracy; the Emperor pardoned their crimes and allowed Princess Duan to divorce Prince Duan, taking her dowry back to her family.
The Ke Prince Mansion was poisoned by the Duke of Wuguo; the Emperor showed mercy by selecting another piece of land with auspicious feng shui for a grand funeral for the Ke Prince and his family. They were not buried in the Imperial Mausoleum because their grandchildren had not yet reached adulthood, which went against ancestral rules, and the Emperor could not bear to separate the family in death, so he chose a different burial site.
The Duke Wu Mansion plotted against the state, but other Zheng family members were unaware and had always been loyal to the Imperial Court, so the Emperor did not extend the punishment to the Nine Clans.
At the same time, the Emperor generously rewarded the civil and military officials who had contributed to quelling the rebellion, especially Yang Chengyu.
Officially, it was the execution of traitors, but in reality, it was the new weapons crafted by Yang Chengyu that made a huge difference in this affair. Of course, the details about firearms and hand grenades were not made public, and the Emperor specially conferred the title ’Lord of Filial Piety and Righteousness’ on Yang Chengyu and gave Chu Dieyi a Death Exemption Token.
With the Emperor’s special pardon for Princess Duan and her family, as well as the Zheng family members, along with his clear distinction between rewards and punishments, he won the reverence and support of the Dong Chu people, who all praised the Emperor’s kind and virtuous nature.
In the Nanping and Beiyue courtyards.
Confidants praised their master’s wisdom and insight, as the outcome was exactly as he had predicted, especially since their master had withdrawn his spies early on to avoid being caught in the purge.
Long Xuanmo and Yang Mengchen left the palace and went directly to the Yang family. Seeing both of them safe and sound, everyone finally relaxed, and the families sat together enjoying a lively reunion dinner.
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