"Now that things have come to this, what else do you have to say?" Emperor Yun was utterly disappointed in his son. He had thought he was just a little too ambitious, but he never expected him to be so ruthless and unscrupulous.
He killed nearly a hundred members of the Su family without hesitation, his cold-bloodedness was appalling.
“Father, although I do not know how Lord Pei obtained this so-called memorial, the Prefect of Liangzhou is dead and there is no way to verify it. How can you prove that the memorial in your hand was written by the Prefect of Liangzhou himself?”
Li Wang panicked for only a moment before raising his hand to gently wipe the blood from his forehead. His tone was respectful yet calm as he turned black into white.
The implication was that Pei Qingyan had deliberately framed him.
As soon as he finished speaking, the ministers who privately supported Prince Li understood and stepped forward to echo him, "Your Majesty, this humble subject thinks that His Highness Prince Li is right. After all, three years have passed since this matter, and most of the clues have been lost."
The memorial that couldn't be found three years ago has now been easily discovered by Lord Pei. Whether it's genuine or not remains to be verified.
"I second that proposal."
"..."
Pei Qingyan lowered his eyes and chuckled twice. He really wouldn't shed a tear until he saw the coffin.
"Your Majesty, since the officials wish to verify the authenticity of the memorial, then I will grant their wish."
Before they could even rejoice, Pei Qingyan spoke again, "But before we begin the investigation, I would like to have you all meet someone."
*
Before long, a middle-aged man who looked like a servant was led into the hall by Steward Li.
"Does Your Highness Prince Li still recognize this person?" Pei Qingyan raised his lips and met Prince Li's eyes.
As their eyes met, sparks flew, and the ruthlessness and ferocity revealed in their eyes could only be understood in this moment.
Prince Li remained silent, only staring intently at the man with a gloomy expression. He had planned everything, but he hadn't anticipated that he would be defeated by Pei Qingyan.
Now, even the surrounding ministers noticed something was amiss.
"Isn't this the son of the former governor of Liangzhou?"
Suddenly, someone exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention to the man.
Countless scrutinizing and probing gazes fell upon the man, burning and fierce, making him feel as if he were being pricked by thorns.
"Wasn't the son of the Liangzhou governor dead three years ago? It's said he was killed by Qingfeng Village..."
The minister who spoke suddenly realized something, and his voice grew softer and softer until it was almost imperceptible.
"This is the second offense I have to mention."
Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Pei Qingyan presented the confession from Qingfeng Village to Emperor Yun.
"His Highness Prince Li colluded with Qingfeng Village, embezzled countless amounts of government grain and silver, and repeatedly obstructed the imperial court's efforts to suppress bandits, allowing Qingfeng Village to burn, kill, loot, and commit all sorts of evil deeds."
He even pocketed the stolen silver for his own use, and his crimes were too numerous to list. Pei Qingyan's list of crimes was enough to ensure that Prince Li could never recover.
The crowd went from initial shock to numbness, and even calm.
"With witnesses and physical evidence presented, what else does Your Highness have to say?"
Pei Qingyan's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't mention that the Prince of Li was raising a private army, for fear of alerting him.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Prince Li actually laughed out loud, "Lord Pei went to great lengths to find so much evidence, it really wasn't easy."
"I'm very curious, what exactly is your intention in wanting to kill me?"
He had put in a lot of effort to win over Pei Qingyan, but even offering him great rewards failed to persuade him.
But now, Pei Qingyan went to great lengths to find evidence of his crimes, and hit the mark with a single blow, clearly intending to ensure that he could never recover.
Pei Qingyan remained silent. For both public and private reasons, he could not allow Prince Li to sit in that position.
"Let me guess, is it for Song Zhiyu?" Prince Li immediately guessed the point, after all, he really couldn't think of anyone else who could make the Crown Prince and Pei Qingyan join forces to bring him down.
Now, not only Pei Qingyan, but even Zhou Xingzhi's face turned cold, his handsome brows furrowed slightly, and his eyes were covered with a layer of ice.
"I really guessed it..." Prince Li laughed again. He was such a shrewd person, how could he not see through Zhou Xingzhi's eyes at this moment?
"Enough!"
A loud shout rang out, and Emperor Yun abruptly stood up, his anger reaching its peak. The fury in his eyes was like a sharp knife, mercilessly slashing at Prince Li.
"You have committed so many heinous acts and show no remorse whatsoever. You have truly disappointed me. The emperor is subject to the same laws as the common people. As a prince, you have secretly colluded with Qingfeng Village, allowing them to commit crimes and embezzling government funds."
If we do not punish them severely today, we fear we will fail to appease the people and will be letting down the dynasty and its millions of citizens.
"Then how would you like to punish him, Father?" Prince Li remained calm, his expression unreadable.
Emperor Yun sighed and closed his eyes. “But considering your past merits, you may be spared the death penalty, but you cannot escape punishment. You shall be flogged thirty times outside the palace gates, your crimes shall be made public, and you shall be demoted to a commoner, stripped of your title, and imprisoned in Xian’an Prefecture for life.”
Upon receiving the imperial decree, Consort Cheng immediately went limp and collapsed to the ground.
Shen Jinshu slumped into her chair, unable to recover for a long time.
She had only been a concubine of the king for a few days, how could things have turned out like this?
Li Wang seemed to have anticipated this outcome, showing no surprise whatsoever. Instead, he laughed out loud, his eyes filled with mockery.
"Father, if the Crown Prince makes a mistake, will you treat him the same way?"
By making his crimes public, they were not even considering giving him a chance.
His good father is still so ruthless.
“Xingzhi is not you.” These few words were like a sharp knife, piercing deep into the heart of the Prince of Li.
Because he is not Zhou Xingzhi, he cannot compete for that position. Because he is not Zhou Xingzhi, he has committed so many heinous acts.
King Li had never hated Emperor Yun so much, and at this moment he made up his mind about something he had hesitated about for a long time.
Father, since you are so unrighteous, don't blame your son for being unjust.
*
The grand and solemn birthday banquet ended hastily, and news of Prince Li's demotion to commoner status reached the ears of the people in the capital.
They used to praise Li Wang highly, but now, the mere mention of his name makes them want to spit on him.
It is unbelievable that King Li, who has always been known as a wise and virtuous king, would commit so many heinous acts and deceive everyone.
Such scheming and cunning are truly outrageous.
When Shen's mother heard the news, her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but worry about Shen Jinshu's situation.
She was just about to call a maid to inquire about the Li Prince's residence when a servant came to report that Shen Jinshu was requesting an audience.
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