Chapter 210 A Fake Tiger Tally?
"Wonderful! Your Majesty's wisdom and insight are profound! This humble general is dull-witted! I never thought of this!"
Wei Zikai was so excited he was incoherent. "A merchant! Yes! It must be a merchant! Money! Hatred! Motive! And he can explain the source of the money! Your Majesty is wise! This plan is flawless! This humble general... this humble general will go and do it immediately! Arrest that unscrupulous merchant Qian Mancang and bring him to justice! He will be made to confess without hesitation!"
The emperor not only approved of his idea of finding a scapegoat, but also personally helped him perfect this colossal lie!
What does this mean? It means that Wei Zikai has completely grasped the emperor's intentions! He has truly become the emperor's confidant!
"Go."
Pei Yan waved his hand. "Be quick and make sure the evidence is solid. Tomorrow at noon, I want to see the heads of these four sources of chaos still at the city gate. I want everyone to know what will happen to those who dare to criticize the Emperor!"
"Your humble servant obeys! I will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust!"
Wei Zikai spoke loudly, kowtowed three times, and almost scrambled to his feet, bowing and backing away from the Imperial Study.
As Wei Zikai stepped down, Pei Yan's smile vanished instantly.
"idiot."
With the heads of a few insignificant commoners and a greedy merchant, he could temporarily suppress the voices of unworthy virtue, stabilize his crumbling state, and completely bind Wei Zikai, this somewhat quick-witted vicious dog, firmly to his chariot, making him wholeheartedly bite people... This deal was too worthwhile.
Deep within the Yongning Marquis's residence, in Xie Wuyou's small courtyard, the maids were quite attentive today, thoroughly cleaning the room and bringing her two meals a day as usual.
The physician had just given Xie Wuyou a bowl of extremely bitter medicine and applied some ointment to several obvious external wounds on her body before shaking his head and leaving.
Xie Wuyou leaned against the wall, covered with a quilt that the maids had brought for her.
The medicine seemed to have some effect, temporarily suppressing the burning pain in her lungs and the urge to cough, and her complexion improved slightly, but her expression did not show any relief. She knew that such days would not last long.
Outside the window, the sky remained overcast, while a faint commotion could be heard from inside the mansion.
She overheard the servants' discussion.
"The general has returned from the palace! Judging from his expression... it seems like good news!"
"...Absolutely! This time I'm likely to achieve a great feat!"
"It's confirmed! The general has done a great job for the Emperor, and the reward will probably arrive at our Yongning Marquis's residence soon!"
Xie Wuyou slowly twitched the corner of his mouth.
He actually succeeded! He'll definitely ask for a marriage decree!
If he were to request a marriage decree, whether it be from the Emperor or Xie Sangning, he would be made to wish he were dead.
——
At the east gate of Jinling City, four human heads hung high, swaying gently in the cold wind; the bloodstains had congealed and turned black.
Below the city gate, a proclamation bearing the seals of the Prefect of the Capital and the Military Command of the Five Cities was posted. In black ink on white paper, it listed the heinous crimes of Qian Mancang, Liu Fu, Zhang Xiucai, and Wang San, who had conspired to rebel, fabricated rumors, and slandered the emperor, along with their confessions.
Wei Zikai stood on the city wall, wearing a brand-new fourth-rank court robe, trying his best to straighten his back, enjoying the awe-inspiring gazes of the people below.
Before his execution, he made a point of having the imperial eunuch read aloud the emperor's decree at the execution ground, praising him for his meritorious service in solving the case and promoting him to the position of Deputy Commander of the Capital Guard!
This tangible promotion and the honor of being praised by the emperor made him feel like he was floating on clouds.
Last night, he personally supervised the process and provided Qian Mancang with a watertight confession in the imperial prison. The confession detailed how Qian harbored resentment towards the emperor because his family property was confiscated, how he secretly contacted Liu Fu, who was loyal to the previous dynasty, and Zhang Xiucai, who was full of resentment, and how he bribed Wang San with a large sum of money to spread rumors.
The chain of evidence is perfectly closed.
Looking at Qian Mancang's desperate and empty eyes as he signed the document under torture, Wei Zikai felt only pleasure.
At this moment, in the palace, Pei Yan sat deep within the palace, listening to Desheng's low report on the situation at the execution ground. His nerves, which had been tense for many days, finally relaxed slightly.
Killing a few ants temporarily silenced the gossip, stabilized the crumbling regime, and even gained a more devoted and vicious dog...
This deal doesn't seem to be a bad one.
He picked up the warm ginseng tea and had just brought it to his lips—
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"
A palace attendant scrambled into the imperial study.
Pei Yan's hand trembled violently, spilling scalding ginseng tea onto the back of his hand, but he was completely unaware, his heart gripped by an ominous premonition.
"What's the panic! Speak!"
"It's...it's spread again outside!"
The eunuch was so frightened he stammered, "More...more terrifying than before!"
"What are you spreading?!" Pei Yan suddenly stood up. "Is this ever going to stop?!"
"They said those four who were beheaded were scapegoats found by His Majesty!"
The eunuch was almost in tears. "He even said that His Majesty's ascension to the throne was illegitimate! That's why the tiger tally was only taken out once during the coronation ceremony... and the real tiger tally was never seen again during the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven or the military review!"
What? !
Pei Yan's vision suddenly went black, and his body swayed violently, almost losing his balance!
Desheng reacted quickly and stepped forward to support him, preventing him from falling to the ground.
"Nonsense! Outrageous! Nonsense!"
Tiger tally! They actually mentioned the tiger tally!
"And some people say..."
The eunuch collapsed to the ground in terror, crying out with his eyes closed, "They said the tiger tally from the coronation was fake... so... so His Majesty dared not show it to others often... for fear that the old ministers of the previous dynasty would recognize it and expose the deception..."
puff!
Pei Yan could no longer hold back. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of scalding blood!
"His Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!" Desheng exclaimed, quickly supporting the swaying emperor.
If the previous "unworthy of his position and the plague that descended from heaven" were like poisonous needles piercing him, painful but not necessarily fatal, then the rumors about the tiger tally at this moment are like directly stabbing him in the most fatal spot in his heart!
Natural disasters can be attributed to vague divine will or the machinations of wicked people, but the tiger tally is irrefutable and undeniable ironclad evidence!
In the ten years since he ascended the throne, he only used the tiger tally, which he had painstakingly forged, once during the coronation ceremony!
Every time thereafter, he would use the excuse that the tiger tally was a national treasure that should not be moved lightly and that it was enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and guarded by the spirits of his ancestors to deflect attention from the occasion.
He's betting that no one will dare to question him!
But now... this fig leaf has been ripped off in front of the whole world by these vicious rumors!
An unprecedented panic instantly overwhelmed Pei Yan!
He seemed to see countless eyes staring at him with suspicion, disdain, and even hatred!
He saw the dragon throne beneath his feet collapsing!
"Investigate...investigate for me!!"
Pei Yan shoved Desheng away abruptly, his eyes bloodshot. "Find out who it is!! I will exterminate his entire family! I will grind his bones to dust and scatter his ashes! May he never be reincarnated!"
He hysterically grabbed the memorials, inkstone, and pen holder from the imperial desk and smashed them to the ground!
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