Chapter 9 Chapter 9 The traces of tears have already turned bright red and glaring.
"Brother, brother...it's not like that, it's not like that..."
In the Lizheng Hall, Shangguan Xu knelt weakly on the couch, rubbing Shangguan Li's clothes with his hands, shouting with a choked and begging voice.
The incident of the shipwreck on Shangsi Night has come to a conclusion——
It was just an accident caused by lax requirements during the construction of the hull.
Shangguan Xu cried until her eyes were swollen and her nose was red. Tears covered her originally fair cheeks like a curtain of rain, just like a newly blooming peony being destroyed by heavy rain.
"It's not an accident, it's not an accident... I saw it, brother, I saw it!"
"There were assassins among the eunuchs who wanted to kill him. I really saw it..."
She was anxious and helpless, and didn't want to let go for a moment. She couldn't go outside, so she could only pin all her hopes on the brother in front of her.
“Brother…Brother…”
The girl burst into tears, in such pain that she could barely utter a complete sentence. Shangguan Li looked at her, his heart breaking. He hugged her shoulders with pity in his eyes, "Ah Xu, Ah Xu, listen to me first, listen to what my brother has to say!"
Shangguan Xu stopped crying, but continued to sob.
Shangguan Li said, "Brother, I have gone to look for the person you mentioned, but to this day, I have searched the entire palace and even the capital and still haven't found any trace of him."
"Brother, I know what you said must be true, but the situation has changed so much since the incident. If there really is someone behind the assassination, then these things that might expose his existence would definitely be dealt with in advance. So it's really difficult to find that person."
"What do you mean?" Shangguan Xu was silent for a moment, his red and broken eyes filled with resentment. "Is this the end of it? Are we going to let him die in Qujiang in such an unclear way?"
Shangguan Xu frowned, suppressing his own collapse: "Brother, you are the Minister of Justice, are you giving up now?"
"It's not giving up, it's just the only way now." Shangguan Li lowered his eyes for a moment, then raised them again and advised, "Think about it, the world is at peace now, there are no external threats on the borders, and no internal worries in the market. What kind of person would attempt to assassinate the emperor?"
"If history books record his death as the result of an assassination attempt, how will future generations judge him? A person is gone, and the dead cannot be brought back to life. Ah Xu, he can no longer come back. How do you want him to be judged?"
"Ah Xu, you are his widow, and you still have a lot to do. We don't have a choice now. I believe it was an accident. I believe the results of the investigation will be good for his reputation after his death and for your future safety."
During the Shangsi Night Water Festival, the guards were so strict, yet they were still able to arrange an assassination. Can you really shake the person behind the scenes?
If you spread the news about the assassin and there are forces behind the scenes trying to stop you, are you sure you can find the murderer?
Did you leave him with the result of a monarch being assassinated just to let future generations speculate freely?
If you can't give him the truth, you might as well give him some dignity.
Decent?
Shangguan Xu suddenly threw his face back and laughed, desperate, compromising, morbid, crazy...
When he came back, his body was in such a state, how could he be decent?
Even as he laughed, tears still flowed uncontrollably from the corners of his eyes, but the tear marks had already turned bright red and glaring.
…
Shangguan Xu was alone in the side room, setting the incense seal and refilling the orchid incense in the incense burner with incense sticks.
The room was dimly lit, her face was calm, and even when she wasn't smiling she looked a little cold.
Su Wang is as dedicated to his work as a mountain. This is not her evaluation of him, but the evaluation of him by the world.
In the second year of Xining, Shangguan Shi passed away, and Su Wang became the leader among the ministers.
Soon, a scandal broke out in the Su family that Su Silang had beaten a servant to death.
According to the laws of the Jin Dynasty, if a slave or servant committed a crime and his master killed him without asking the authorities for help, he would be beaten with the stick 100 times; if he killed someone without any guilt, he would be charged with murder.[1]
The slave killed by Su Silang had committed theft. According to the law, Su Silang only needed to be caned 100 times, which was not a capital crime. However, because he came from the famous Su family and was serving in the court at the time, he naturally attracted attention.
However, despite this, all the officials felt that Su Wang, as the Prime Minister, would help Su Silang out of this matter. After all, although Su Silang's ability was average, his moral character was not damaged in his daily life. If he was really beaten with a hundred sticks, his vitality would certainly be greatly damaged.
However, not long after this incident, Su Silang committed suicide to apologize.
He believed that if a slave was guilty, he should be handed over to the authorities, and that privately killing a person was an abuse of power and unfair to the people. As an official appointed by the court, he should set an example for the people, not do anything illegal, and not bring shame to the Su family.
Although he left a letter of apology, everyone knew that Su Silang's death was actually caused by Su Wang's coercion.
People at the time said that Prime Minister Su strictly abided by the family precepts, obeyed the law, and treated everyone equally. In order to give an explanation for the life of the slave, he forced his most beloved nephew to commit suicide. In addition, Su Wang was also good at governing afterwards, so he was always known as a wise prime minister.
Shangguan Xu recalled these things and a cold smile appeared on his lips.
On the surface, Su Wang pretended to be selfless, dedicated to his work, loyal to the emperor and patriotic, making people who didn't know him think that he was a model of high moral character and respect. Over the years, Shangguan Xu was very pleased to see him act this way.
But precisely because of this, Shangguan Xu was certain that he would not take action in the matter of Liu Chang.
But……
"How can being a Minister of Works be enough?" Shangguan Xu grabbed a handful of the incense smoke rising from the incense burner and brushed it away calmly, muttering, "Su Wang, you present yourself as a virtuous and kind person to the world, but I will tear off your disguise and make sure everyone in the world knows what kind of traitor you really are!"
——
Late at night, deep in the Censorate Prison, the air was filled with dampness and coldness. The official's boots stepped down the bluestone steps, and each step made a crisp and cold sound.
The light from the lantern shone all the way to the door of the innermost cell. The door lock was opened and the iron chain was pulled, making a muffled and heavy noise.
Liu Chang leaned weakly against the wall and woke up drowsily in the noise.
He was actually quite clean. Apart from his messy clothes and hair, there was no blood or wound on his body.
But he had indeed been severely tortured.
Covering the face with yellow paper and pouring water on it is called water torture, which is as painful as drowning and suffocation.
No, the torture was repeated and there was no way to struggle. It should be more torturous and more desperate than ordinary drowning.
Xu Qing'an dismissed the others, walked slowly to him, squatted down, and put the lantern aside.
"Minister Liu, did you sleep well?"
A voice that is always clear and cheerful.
Liu Chang opened his eyes and took a look, then said weakly, "Didn't I admit it? Why are you still here?"
Xu Qing'an said, "You seem very aggrieved, but did I wrong you?"
Liu Chang didn't say anything.
Xu Qing'an pursed his lips and smiled: "Let's make a deal, okay? You tell me what I want to know, and I'll save your life."
Liu Chang looked over in surprise.
Xu Qing'an tilted his head slightly, raised his eyebrows and smiled.
——
The next morning, Qinghe's hurried footsteps were heard outside the Lizheng Hall. She walked quickly into the hall and leaned over to Shangguan Xu who was dressing.
"Liu Chang died last night."
Shangguan Xu immediately turned around and asked in surprise, "What happened? Why did he die?"
Qing He replied, "I heard he committed suicide by hitting his head against a wall at night. The coroner has already done an autopsy and confirmed it's correct, but he also left a blood letter—"
Qing He lowered his eyes as he spoke, his voice suddenly solemn. "He's risking his life to accuse the Censor Xu Qing'an of abusive torture, forcing him to confess. He also wrote in blood that Censor Xu had come to the prison last night, attempting to force him to confess to the shipwreck four years ago, at the cost of the lives of the entire Liu family."
With a bang, Shangguan Xu's mind went blank.
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