Chapter 218 [VIP]
The courtroom was completely silent.
Only Xie Rong's voice could be heard, muttering words that no one else could understand.
Xie Rong shook off Xie Jing once again, stumbled and got up on her own, feeling uneasy.
A faint fragrance lingered around Xie Rong, wafting into his nostrils. He had completely lost his sense of smell, so he couldn't smell anything and was completely unaware of it.
In a daze, he suddenly found that he could see again. He had been blind for a long time, but when he suddenly regained his sight, he did not feel any glare from the sudden brightness; on the contrary, it seemed as natural as day.
His gaze was fixed straight ahead, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
Standing before him was the late emperor, his father, the man he had personally poisoned!
"Rong'er".
The late emperor had a kind face, like a loving father, and gently called out to him, slowly extending his hand.
The hand had blackened nails and held half an inkstone in its palm, emitting an eerie glow.
"I am very pleased with the birthday gift you gave me. Rong'er is very thoughtful."
As the late emperor approached step by step, black blood continuously gushed from his mouth, nose, eyes, and all seven orifices, dripping onto the ground with a "drip-drip" sound.
"Don't come any closer! No!" Yuege
Xie Rong's voice trembled, almost as if it were being squeezed out from deep in his throat.
He kept backing away, waving his hands wildly in front of him, his forehead covered in cold sweat. Suddenly, he felt a chill creeping up from behind, a long, thin black shadow looming over him.
Is that Jing'er? Xie Rong hurriedly reached out his hand to let Xie Jing help him, but when he subconsciously turned around, his breath suddenly stopped.
"Crown Prince, elder brother."
Standing behind him was none other than the former Crown Prince!
The former crown prince had a thick rope wrapped around his neck, the rope digging deep into his flesh, leaving a dark red mark that was horribly glaring.
"Second brother."
A strange smile hung on the former crown prince's ashen face. His pale lips opened and closed, his voice cold and hollow.
"Why?"
The shadow looming over him grew heavier and heavier, making it hard for him to breathe.
Behind him was the late Crown Prince, who was bound with ropes, and in front of him was the late Emperor, who was bleeding from all seven orifices. The two men approached him from the front and back.
Xie Rong was caught between a rock and a hard place. They were getting closer and closer to him, and he could even see the bloody palm prints left on the rope loop.
He once took the rope and put it around the neck of the former prince, then slowly tightened it... He used all his strength, and the hemp rope chafed his palms, leaving blood on them.
"Why?"
The late emperor's voice also joined in the questioning, filled with endless resentment.
"Why? Why? Why?"
The roar of voices engulfed him like a tidal wave. Xie Rong's reason completely collapsed at that moment, and his smile became maniacal.
"Of course, it's for the throne."
"Of course, it's because I want the throne!"
Xie Rong shouted loudly, his hysterical cries echoing throughout the courtroom.
Everyone stared intently at Xie Rong, who stood in the middle of the courtroom.
Xie Rong's laughter gradually subsided, his eyes vacant, filled with a morbid obsession: "Elder brother, you are the legitimate son, the eldest son, you were born to be the crown prince. As long as you live, I have no chance at all."
I'll strangle you!
"I am the eldest son!"
With a ferocious expression, he made a pulling motion on the rope: "Hehehe, you're dead, no one will fight me anymore."
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review gripped the gavel so tightly that his fingertips turned slightly white.
"Little sister, did you do this?" Gu Yican whispered in her ear.
He had just watched his sister draw a talisman and then secretly slipped it to Xie Rong.
"It smells good."
Gu Zhizhuo leaned her head against his and whispered, "I'll let him 'see' some of the people and things he's most afraid of in his heart."
Gu Zhizhuo had also used this incense on Ji Shi once.
The talisman only slightly affected his mind. In addition, Gu Zhizhuo specifically mentioned to him that the late emperor and the deposed crown prince would come to find him. Now that he is like this, perhaps he really saw them.
"Oh, oh, oh!" Gu Yican exclaimed with delight, "Look, look!"
Xie Rong was blind, so he relied on his ears to listen, and would unconsciously tilt his head left and right.
That's still the case now, so no one has noticed anything wrong with his actions.
His body swayed slightly, and his eyes were bloodshot.
“Father, why do you only see the Crown Prince? I can do it too.”
"I will prove to you that I too can become a wise ruler."
"Father, why don't you just die? And Xie Yingchen, he's only fourteen years old, how dare he surpass me!"
His voice rose and fell.
Xie Jing stood to one side, stunned.
Does this mean he's confessing?!
The Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, the Minister of Justice, and the Left Censor-in-Chief exchanged bewildered glances. They had expected at least three trials and interrogations, dragging it out until next year. Who would have thought that the deposed emperor would confess?!
Xie Yingchen picked up his teacup and slowly skimmed off the foam. When he received questioning glances from the crowd, he smiled slightly and said, "I'm just here to listen to the trial."
Gu Yican relentlessly "stirred things up" in his sister's ear: "You're really pretending. Sis, aren't you?"
Gu Zhizhuo chuckled softly.
The laughter shattered the silence of the courtroom. The crowd, recovering from their shock, looked at each other and, in unison, shouted, "Convict! Convict!"
After calming himself down and consulting with his two colleagues, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review struck the gavel.
"Xie Rong, since you plead guilty, sign and put your fingerprint on it."
Confess?
Xie Rong shuddered when he heard the words "confess."
He met the late emperor's eyes, which were filled with black blood. The late emperor pointed at him and asked sternly, "You murdered your father and brother, and usurped the throne. Do you admit your crimes?"
"I……"
Xie Rong's lips moved slightly.
You deserve to die!
The late emperor walked up to him, inches away, black blood gushing from his seven orifices. Xie Rong gasped, terrified. Just as he was about to back away, a hemp rope flew from behind and swiftly looped around his neck.
"No!"
Xie Rong screamed in agony.
In the courtroom, everyone stared in disbelief. In their eyes, Xie Rong confessed to everything on his own, then suddenly grabbed his own neck, almost choking himself.
Xie Jing lunged forward and pried his hands off with all his might.
Xie Rong's arm suddenly loosened, and he gasped for breath, collapsing to the ground.
"Brother, I was wrong. Please don't come looking for me."
"Father, it was I who poisoned him."
"I plead guilty. I plead guilty to everything."
Xie Rong's eyes were vacant. He seemed to have opened a floodgate, muttering to himself, "Father, you said you wanted a black inkstone made by my own hand for the Emperor's birthday gift. I made it myself, and I even poisoned it. You didn't notice, and you even praised me, praised my thoughtfulness..."
"But it's poisonous, poisonous! And you still use it every day. Hehehe."
He spoke incoherently, jumping from one topic to another.
"You are dead."
"Next was the Crown Prince. I strangled him, and they all thought he committed suicide out of guilt."
"Oh, right, Xie Yingchen is going to die too."
"You are all dead, and I will be the emperor! No, I am already the emperor, I am the emperor... I am the emperor who is immune to evil spirits."
The people were dumbfounded and whispered among themselves.
"Is this karma?"
"It must be the spirits of the late Emperor and the Crown Prince appearing."
"The late emperor forbade him from further harming the Great Qi dynasty."
"Look, he's signed it!"
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review personally took the case file down.
Xie Rong shook his hand and signed his name on the case file.
The case is closed and the verdict is final.
"Don't come any closer... I have confessed my crimes, why haven't you all disappeared yet!" Xie Rong forcefully pushed away the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
He scrambled to his feet and stumbled as he ran outside, filled with terror and madness.
Taking advantage of the chaos, the people vented their anger, throwing vegetable leaves, tinderboxes, and even eggs that they usually couldn't bear to eat. One egg hit Xie Rong squarely on the forehead, and the broken egg liquid trickled down his temple.
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review immediately signaled the constables to stop him and take him back to prison.
Xie Jing followed silently behind him, looking utterly dejected.
The joint trial by the three judicial departments is still ongoing.
Next, the eldest princess, the madam of the Rouge Pavilion, Li Deshun, the imperial physician who served the late emperor, and the palace maids and eunuchs who served the crown prince and crown princess were all interrogated. During Gu Zhizhuo's absence, all those involved in this rebellion and the regicide seven years ago have been dug up one by one.
Even Ji Nanke, who had just been brought back, was no exception.
As the investigation progressed, it even reached Jiang Wu.
The people were both angry and frightened when they heard this, and all the truth was revealed one by one during the interrogation.
It even includes the fact that four years ago, Xie Rong colluded with Xiliang and betrayed the former Duke Zhenguo, Gu Taotao, to the Liang people.
!!
Each and every one of these incidents is utterly outrageous.
Duke Wei's heart trembled as he listened. At the time, the Great Qi was at war with the Liang Kingdom, suffering repeated defeats, and the western frontier was practically in the Liang's grasp. Only after Gu Taotao's arrival did the tide turn. Why wasn't Xie Rong afraid that with Gu Taotao's death, the Liang would become even more unrestrained, advancing eastward and jeopardizing the kingdom?!
He keeps saying that the late emperor favored the crown prince, but now he's put him on the throne. Where is he even a little bit like a wise ruler?
Oh, right!
Duke Wei's heart skipped a beat as he glanced at the floral headscarf tied around his arm.
Miss Gu just returned from the Western Regions, could it be that...
He silently told himself not to think about things he shouldn't think about, and not to meddle in things he shouldn't meddle in.
The trial lasted for two full hours, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, but not a single one of the people who stood watching complained of being tired or wanted to leave. They found it tense, exciting, and infuriating.
Even Xie Rong confessed, so the others no longer harbored any illusions.
Those who should plead guilty should plead guilty, and those who should sign should sign.
The joint trial by the three judicial departments did not result in an immediate verdict. Instead, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Justice, and the Left Censor-in-Chief would jointly determine the guilt of each offender, and then the case file would be submitted to the Grand Secretariat for review. Finally, Xie Yingchen would approve the verdict.
The Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review struck the gavel: "Court adjourned!"
The water and fire sticks pounded loudly, and the constables shouted. Suddenly, a jailer came running in, panting, shouting, "My lord! My lord! The deposed emperor has been stabbed! His life is in danger!"
What? !
Gu Zhizhuo was also taken aback, silently calculated for a moment, and his thoughts stirred slightly.
A prisoner was stabbed in jail? The Minister of Justice was so frightened that he knelt down: "Your Majesty..."
Before all the onlookers had left, Xie Yingchen, without hiding anything, asked them in front of them, "Who did it?"
The jailer knelt on the ground, trembling, but his words were still relatively clear: "It was Xie Yan, the son of the deposed emperor, who did it."
Xie Yan? The Duke of Wei blurted out: "The illegitimate son that Lady Ji bore for him?"
Another commotion broke out among the people, who were whispering among themselves.
Tsk!
Duke Wei sneered. Xie Rong had previously treated this illegitimate son like a treasure, letting the Gu family raise his son for free, and even wanted to seize the Gu family's title. Now he died at the hands of this illegitimate son. It was truly a just outcome.
He muttered to himself, and when he looked up, he saw that Xie Yingchen had already left, and Miss Gu was almost out of sight as well. He quickly followed and went to the imperial prison.
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and others followed closely behind.
The imperial prison was no different from when Gu Zhizhuo last came; Xie Rong was still imprisoned on the second basement floor.
Xie Jing, Xie Yan, and Ji Nanke were also imprisoned in the same cell as him.
If a prisoner dies before being convicted, the jailer is in serious trouble, especially since the prisoner is a deposed emperor. Upon discovering this, the jailer immediately went to fetch a doctor.
When they arrived, the doctor was stopping the bleeding.
Xie Yan, his hands covered in blood, huddled in a corner. As soon as he saw Gu Zhizhuo, he rushed over, grabbed the iron fence, and cried out, "Big sister, I didn't mean to. He hit me first."
Xie Yan's face was bruised and swollen, and there were also many bruises and pinch marks on his exposed arms and neck, some new and some old.
Gu Zhizhuo glanced at the jailer, who hurriedly said, "It was the deposed emperor who did it. Our men stopped him."
The blows weren't severe, so they didn't separate the two.
"What happened?" Xie Yingchen asked.
The jailers looked at each other, then knelt down, sweating profusely: "Your Highness, we didn't see anything. When we came over after hearing the commotion, it was already like this."
“I saw it.”
Xie Jing spoke, his voice hoarse: "My father regained consciousness not long after returning to prison..."
Xie Jing was nearby, and even though he didn't see clearly what Gu Zhizhuo was doing at the time, he still found the talisman, which was now just ashes, on Xie Rong's body after they returned to the prison.
"Ha." Gu Zhizhuo responded with a cold laugh: "Hurry up and say it, stop rambling."
If they figured it out, they figured it out. We can't just drag this case out until after the new year.
Xie Jing sat on the ground with his head down and said, "Father lost his temper again. He grabbed Xie Yan and started hitting him, saying that Xie Yan had harmed him."
Xie Jing guessed that his father might think this was the same kind of witchcraft that Ji Shi had used before, and that's why he was angry with Xie Yan again.
These days, his father has been taking his anger out on him and Xie Yan.
Sometimes he could try to persuade his father, but the more he tried, the angrier his father became, and he would suspect that he had colluded with Xie Yan to harm him.
"After he hit Xie Yan, he sat in the corner and threw a tantrum, constantly cursing..."
"Not long after, my father fell asleep from exhaustion. Xie Yan quietly went over and sat down next to him. I didn't pay any attention. I never expected that he would stab my father in the back."
Where did he get the knife?
"I don't know. It's a paper cutter."
Xie Jing was terrified. He rushed over and pushed Xie Yan away, only to find a paper cutter stuck in his father's chest. His father was covered in blood and was barely breathing.
"He hit me, big sister." Xie Yan's eyes filled with tears as she said pitifully, "I didn't mean to."
Gu Zhizhuo said softly, "Young Master, do you still remember Changfeng's curse before he died?"
Before his death, Changfeng used a blessing incantation, sacrificing his own life.
Xie Yingchen had a sudden thought and turned to look at her. Gu Zhizhuo understood his meaning, replied "Okay," and had someone open the cell door before going inside.
The paper cutter was still stuck in Xie Rong's chest, his clothes stained with blood. He coughed up blood and gasped for breath.
What echoed in his ears was Changfeng's insidious curse, word by word—
You will die at the hands of your own son.
You will die at the hands of your own son...
Xie Rong opened his mouth wide; every breath he took was so painful that he wished he could die immediately.
He glanced at Xie Yan, who was cowering behind Gu Zhizhuo, feigning pitifulness. When their eyes met, Xie Yan looked up and stared at him with resentment. Xie Rong felt as if he were possessed by a vengeful ghost, a chilling cold rising from the depths of his heart.
At that time, Lady Ji was pregnant, but he did not care.
It was just a child, nothing serious, and he didn't lack children. Later, he successfully ascended the throne, and the Gu family became increasingly arrogant and domineering, controlling the northern frontier with their military power. Even Gu Taotao didn't return for his coronation ceremony.
Gu Taotao definitely still sides with the Crown Prince and is unwilling to submit to him, the emperor!
He suddenly had a good idea. He decided to get rid of the Gu family, this major threat, and then let Xie Yan inherit the title.
Return military power to the Xie family bloodline.
The emperor couldn't control his violent coughing, which caused him severe chest spasms.
Could it be that I will truly fulfill Changfeng's curse and die at Xie Yan's hands?
He was unwilling to accept it, so unwilling...
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