Chapter 172 Death Sentences, Death Sentences for All! 84
Liu Fei was in a good mood. He had not come back simply to celebrate, but more importantly, to please Lü Zhi.
He had previously visited the Empress Dowager and the two princesses with gifts, and so far he felt his actions had been very successful; the advisor who came up with the idea could give him a raise later.
Guided by the attendant's soft voice, he arrived at the banquet venue, the main hall of the palace next to the emperor's bedroom.
When the attendants led him into the hall, there were already a few officials seated, but the emperor, empress dowager, and two princesses had not yet arrived.
Because it was a celebration, the atmosphere at the banquet was relaxed, and there were no rules about officials not being allowed to sit down when the Empress Dowager and the Emperor arrived. They only needed to stand up and pay their respects when the Empress Dowager and the Emperor arrived.
"This is the seat His Majesty has arranged for you."
"Okay, you can go now."
"Yes, sir." The servant bowed slightly and withdrew.
He looked around at the seat. His position was pretty good. There were only two seats above him: one was the best seat in the center, and the other was to the side of the center seat.
Liu Fei thought that this must be the position of the emperor and empress dowager, and he was the first one after the emperor!
Liu Fei's lips unconsciously curled up. Although it wasn't that important to maintain a good relationship with his very kind-hearted emperor brother, it wasn't a bad thing that the emperor liked him.
He chatted with the ministers who came to pay their respects, occasionally showing off in a subtle way.
The fact that he was able to sit so close to the emperor not only shows that the emperor cared about him, but also that the empress dowager did not dislike him; otherwise, how could he have sat there?
The two princesses were positioned a little further back; yes, he had already seen his two younger sisters.
He greeted them warmly and kindly, adding a compliment: "Yan Yan has really grown up; she's so much taller than she was two years ago."
"Brother is always good at teasing," Liu Ya replied with a smile.
Liu Fei wondered to himself why there was still one person between his two younger sisters and him.
However, he has not raised any questions yet, because the seats are arranged in two rows, one on the left and one on the right, and more and more seats are added in the same row as the later rows, so that the court officials will also participate.
There should be a high-ranking official among them, such as Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu.
After figuring it out, Liu Fei didn't dwell on it and continued chatting and laughing with his two younger sisters. He had grown up with Princess Lu Yuan since childhood, and their relationship was fairly good. His younger sister Liu Ya, who was currently the Imperial Preceptor, was also someone he had watched grow up. There were no major rifts between the two princesses and him.
Once most of the people had arrived, his sister Liu Ya stood up and began a 'blessing ceremony,' temporarily 'opening the eyes' of everyone.
Liu Fei felt uneasy; he suddenly had a bad feeling.
He knew why a ceremony had to be held first, and why his sister was able to become the Imperial Advisor.
So, will the 'Han' also come?
For some reason, he was more nervous than excited, even though he had previously felt honored and excited to meet 'Han'.
When he first saw the Han Dynasty in person, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep that day, and he almost fainted the next day.
Not far away, Han walked at the front, followed by Empress Dowager Lü Zhi, then Emperor Liu Ying, and behind them a group of attendants.
Seeing the two of them enter the main hall together, Liu Fei suddenly understood: he was sitting in the emperor's seat? There was still an empty seat between him and the princess…
But it was too late. Everyone had arrived, and it would have been too conspicuous for him to change seats while everyone else was bowing.
No, it's already too conspicuous!
Once he understood, Liu Fei broke out in a cold sweat and turned deathly pale.
Which troublemaker is trying to harm him?!
Liu Fei immediately knelt down: "Your subject is guilty. Just now, a servant led me to my seat, but he misled me into sitting in His Majesty's seat. I beg Your Majesty to see the truth and thoroughly investigate that servant. He was trying to harm me!"
His speech became faster and faster, and he kept his head down, not daring to look at Lü Zhi's expression.
There are only two seats at the head of the table, which is not enough for the three giants to share. So, is it even a question of whose seat he sat in?
How insidious, how vicious! Less than a month after returning to court, whose steamed buns did he manage to steal?
He ran through his list of political enemies, even suspecting Empress Lü, but judging from her words yesterday, it didn't seem like she intended to harm him...
While he was still puzzled, Liu Ying quickly stepped forward to help his elder brother up and comforted him: "Brother, don't panic. I arranged the seats. You can sit here."
Liu Ying then pointed to the first seat below Liu Fei: "This empty seat is mine, brother, you haven't sat in the wrong place."
Zhang Liang: ?
Zhang Liang: It was my fault for not consulting a fortune teller before leaving home this morning...
Liu Fei: ?
'Chinese':?
Liu Feigang was helped up, but his legs immediately gave way and he knelt down again.
Listen to this! Is he even speaking human language? What do you mean by saying the emperor sits below him? Does he deserve it? He doesn't deserve it at all!
Liu Ying asked in confusion, "Brother?"
Liu Fei thought to himself, "It's all over. Am I going to die too? If this continues, I'll start to believe in conspiracy theories. Was Liu Ruyi actually killed by Liu Ying? Now she's going to kill me!"
"…I……"
He was furious and trembling as he tried to raise his hand, but then he hesitated because his younger brother was the emperor, and he forced himself to hold his anger back.
Was he Hu Hai in his past life? He didn't deserve this!
Having witnessed yet another farce, Lü Zhi took a deep breath. She held her forehead, suddenly feeling weak. The female physician beside her, who was responsible for treating her body, quickly supported her: "Your Highness! Your Highness?"
Han gave the order directly: "Why aren't you helping Zhi'er over to sit down?"
Overwhelmed by fear, Liu Fei calmed down. He was already about to die; could he escape now that he had fainted?
Hearing the female doctor's exclamation, Liu Fei, desperate to save his life, suddenly pretended to be frightened unconscious by the emperor.
Another period of chaos ensued.
Liu Ying had gone halfway when he saw that Lü Zhi was still awake. Hearing the commotion behind him, he turned back and said, "Brother, brother, are you alright? Quickly, fetch the imperial physician!"
Liu Fei: Thanks for the invitation, but I'm not feeling well!
The imperial physician examined Liu Fei's pulse and discovered that the Prince of Qi was not actually unconscious; he was just faking it.
Hidden beneath his sleeve, the imperial physician's hand was being tightly gripped by the Prince of Qi.
Imperial Physician: "..."
The imperial physician said, "His Highness Prince Qi was so frightened that he fainted, but he is otherwise unharmed."
Liu Ying breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. Take your brother downstairs first."
'Han' sat leisurely in the most honored position and interrupted the servant's actions: "Wait a moment."
Liu Fei: No, no, no! Let me go, let me go, let me go!
Imperial Physician: It's not that I don't want to help, but I simply can't. Your Highness, may you have good fortune.
The imperial physician secretly withdrew his hand and silently stepped aside.
Han looked at Liu Ying calmly and said, "Take a seat."
Liu Ying was somewhat bewildered, but she sat down in the originally planned spot as instructed.
Empress Lü Zhi seemed to have lost her voice due to anger, and has remained silent ever since.
Han's voice was soft: "Why did you place the King of Qi above you?" she asked herself, answering her own question, "Do you believe that brothers come before ruler and subject, and that family is greater than country?"
The courtiers remained silent.
Liu Ying's heart skipped a beat. He had indeed placed his elder brother in a position before him out of respect for his elder brother, but now, hearing what the 'Han' said, it seemed that he was going to be held accountable.
Liu Ying also knelt down: "I was just thinking that this banquet is not like a major holiday, it is more like a family banquet, so there is no need to be bound by those minor details."
Liu Fei, still lying on the ground, wanted to curse. He felt that he had been tricked by the emperor.
"Oh?" 'Han' nodded slightly, as if agreeing with Liu Ying's opinion. "What the Emperor said makes a lot of sense. Since that's the case..."
She scanned the silent crowd below and began calling out names from the highest point: "The wife of Prime Minister Weisheng was previously just a commoner, and she herself had no connection with the imperial clan."
Liu Ying didn't know why 'Han' suddenly brought up Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu, so she echoed 'Han's' words: "That's right, my father once said in private that he wanted to marry the princess to the prime minister, but unfortunately the prime minister already has someone he loves."
'Han': "To be granted death."
Liu Ying opened her eyes wide in horror, disregarding etiquette, and abruptly looked up at the indifferent 'Han' sitting at the head of the table.
"Zhang Liang...Han Xin, Cao Can...were sentenced to death."
Zhang Liang: ...
He knew there was no such thing as a good banquet, so what had bewitched him to come? Why didn't he claim to be ill?
Han Xin blinked. "Huh? Order him to commit suicide?"
When a person is ordered to commit suicide, he will be terrified, confused, and angry. But when his name appears among a group of people, and it is said by the Han people, then Han Xin is left only with bewilderment.
Zhang Liang had just knelt down, but now that he realized what was happening, he quickly crawled a few steps forward, knelt down, and kowtowed to the Han emperor, saying, "Ancestor, please calm your anger."
Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu was a beat slower and followed suit, stepping forward and kneeling down. Is this how it's supposed to be handled in this situation? No wonder he's Zhang Liang; he's more flexible and adaptable than Zhang Liang.
But why are some ministers kneeling on their seats, trembling with fear?
The courtiers echoed their sentiments, but heaven knows they were only there for a banquet. Weren't they discussing work before the banquet started? How did the promised victory celebration turn into a last meal before their execution?
Thanks to Zhang Liang for stepping forward, and thanks to MicroLife 99 for its great energy.
The Gaozu (高祖) is now only followed by "Zu" (祖), while "Han" (汉) combines both "Zu" (祖) and "Zong" (宗). They feel that things are not going to end well today, and they have a feeling that... the world is about to change.
'Han' ignored Zhang Liang's words and simply called out the names from beginning to end, as if reading a death list. She paused again: "The imperial censors responsible for recording the emperor's daily life, Imperial Censor Zhang, Imperial Censor Wang, Imperial Censor Zhao... all of them are to be executed."
The censors whose names were called had already knelt down. They didn't even dare to beg for mercy. Of everyone present, the other ministers probably wouldn't die, but if they were to be killed to silence them, they would definitely be the first to die.
Han's gaze shifted again, looking at the few imperial physicians who had narrowly escaped death: "The imperial physicians over there, also be executed."
Imperial Physician: QAQ.
At this moment, I don't crave the attention of the 'Han' at all! We can wait until they demonstrate their superb medical skills to save lives before we watch them, really!
They wanted praise from the Han, not to be killed.
Censor: Great, someone's going to be buried with us, haha.
“Your Majesty the Emperor…” 'Han' actually used a respectful title, and the word 'Your Majesty' was emphasized. The second half of the sentence became light and airy, as if he didn’t care about the chaos at all. “Why not just order my death as well?”
Would Liu Ying dare? No, Liu Ying wouldn't dare. He wouldn't dare in this life, he wouldn't dare in the next life, he wouldn't dare in countless reincarnations. He completely collapsed to the ground.
"Imperial Physician Li."
"Your subject is here." Physician Li's legs went weak, and he knelt and crawled to the empty space between the seats on both sides, kneeling behind Zhang Liang and Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu Dao.
He was heartbroken. Shouldn't the censor have died first? Why did the imperial physician have to be operated on first? He had already told his master that studying medicine was a dead end.
"Please excuse my poor performance," 'Han' smiled at the assembled ministers, who, without looking up, repeatedly said they dared not. Her tone was indifferent. "The emperor has lost his mind. Take him away."
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Author's Note: Liu Bang: I'm so angry I could come back to life! [Cracks]
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Liu Ying did indeed do this in history, but people generally pay more attention to Empress Lü's "Cruelty".
According to historical records, the Empress Dowager was furious after this incident and wanted to poison Liu Fei.
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