amaotonovel Chapter 119: Killing relatives for justice
Chapter 119: Killing relatives for justice
Concubine Shu was wearing a light and elegant plain palace dress, which was snow-white all over with a slight hint of goose egg blue.
Her hair bun tonight was not as complicated and gorgeous as before. She just tied up her long black hair and pinned two white jade hairpins on it, looking as if she was repenting for her sins.
She was not wearing any makeup, and the corners of her eyes were red from crying. She looked at Li Xuansheng who was sitting on the dragon throne with pleading eyes, as if begging for mercy.
When Li Xuansheng looked at her, all the evil deeds of his father Zhao Ning immediately emerged in his mind.
Although he hated it in his heart, Li Xuansheng had to admit that for a moment, he wanted to exempt Concubine Shu from the crime of being implicated.
He recalled how lively and bright Concubine Shu was when she first entered the palace. It seemed like she had become a completely different person after so many years in her life. She was so haggard because of her father!
Li Xuansheng's eyes darkened, and he said in a low and calm voice:
"Shufei, this matter needs to be investigated. You get up first."
Zhao Rongyuan, who was dressed in plain clothes, had a barely perceptible smug look in her eyes. She stood up and stopped bowing, but she was still kneeling on the ground.
Hearing Li Xuansheng say this, she felt confident.
As long as she could gain Li Xuansheng's sympathy, she could stay out of the matter as if nothing had happened.
Shufei, who has always been arrogant and disregards etiquette, is also afraid when faced with the crime of treason.
She knew clearly that her father Zhao Ning would end up in a terrible way, but she didn't care about her father and just wanted to get herself out of it.
However, although Concubine Shu could gain Li Xuansheng's sympathy, she was unable to move the hearts of the ministers who came to the banquet.
Prime Minister Wang Zhong's face looked extremely ugly.
Her daughter, Wang Jinrou, is the queen of Li Xuansheng. She used to be in the prince's mansion, and now she is in the palace. She is always squeezed by Concubine Shu and has a very unhappy life in the palace.
Right now, Concubine Shu's father is guilty of treason which will implicate nine generations of his clan, yet the Emperor actually raised him high and then put him down so easily. Isn't this a slap in his face!
Wang Zhong stood up solemnly.
"Your Majesty, the crime Zhao Ning committed deserves the death of all nine clans. Although Concubine Shu is among the nine clans, she has the merit of reporting the crime, but her merits do not outweigh her faults, and she must not violate the law!"
"Your Majesty, please enforce the law strictly and not show favoritism!"
As the prime minister, Wang Zhong had many students who were civil servants in the court. He also served as an imperial examination examiner for many years, and his court was filled with his students.
As soon as he stood up, he attracted a lot of responses.
A group of civil officials stood up, followed Wang Zhong's lead, and gave advice to Li Xuansheng.
"I ask the emperor to strictly enforce the law and not show favoritism!"
Li Xuansheng looked at this neat and orderly group of people giving advice and smiled contemptuously.
Originally, he wanted to deal with Zhao Ning, an imperial merchant with evil ambitions, but unexpectedly he saw the unity of Prime Minister Wang Zhong's followers.
When he first ascended the throne, he made Wang Jinrou his empress, indeed in order to take advantage of the influence of Wang Zhong, a veteran minister of two dynasties. But now that his imperial foundation is stable, having Wang Zhong by his side is bound to be a hindrance.
Regarding today's incident, Wang Zhong actually dared to force him to deal with Concubine Shu in public!
The intention of usurping power is obvious!
However, he had not yet dealt with Zhao Ning's matter, so Li Xuansheng put Wang Zhong and others aside for the time being.
Lu Qingqing sat at the last seat and watched quietly.
Although the punishment of the Zhao family was a foregone conclusion, the severity of the punishment would naturally be decided by Li Xuansheng.
Even Lu Qingqing could see that Prime Minister Wang Zhong had gone too far and even seemed to be threatening Li Xuansheng.
She had a vague feeling that perhaps Wang Zhong's final fate would be even more tragic than Zhao Ning's.
Concubine Shu was still kneeling on the ground. She looked at the civil officials who stood up to give her advice, and all she wanted to do was curse them.
These old bastards! The emperor hasn't even given the order to punish them, so why are they standing up to join in the fun?
She has already decided to expose her father for the sake of justice, so why can't she just let herself go?
Li Xuansheng's face was cold and he frowned towards the civil officials.
"Prime Minister Wang, the laws of the country must be strictly enforced. I will put an end to Zhao Ning and his gang of traitors."
"But this matter still needs to be thoroughly investigated, and whether Concubine Shu is involved has yet to be determined. Concubine Shu is my concubine, as for how to deal with her, do you have to teach me too!"
Wang Zhong shook his head repeatedly.
"I dare not, but I have some questions that I would like to ask the Concubine Shu."
Wang Zhong said he didn't dare, but he still didn't give in to Concubine Shu.
"Prime Minister Wang, please speak." Although Concubine Shu was angry, she had to answer since Wang Zhong specifically asked her.
Wang Zhong's brows were relaxed, his face was full of pride, and he strode up to Concubine Shu who was kneeling on the ground.
"May I ask, Madam Concubine Shu, since you want to expose Zhao Ning's rebellion, how did you learn the truth?"
Concubine Shu sneered and looked at him with contempt.
I thought Wang Zhong would ask some tricky questions, but I didn't expect him to just ask her how she knew the information.
Is this not easy?
Concubine Shu took out the packet of Soul-Losing Powder from her bosom and presented it with both hands.
"Your Majesty, after the fire in the valley, I was abducted by the thieves and taken to a thatched cottage. Later, I received a secret letter from Zhao Ning, along with this packet of Losing Soul Powder, asking me to poison you."
"I have thought over and over again, and I believe this is a serious crime of treason. I cannot do this! Therefore, I am exposing Zhao Ning's evil deeds today."
"What Zhao Ning did is unworthy of being a subject. This is an unforgivable crime!"
Every word Shufei spoke was sincere and powerful. She called her father "Zhao Ning" all the time and was eager to draw a clear line of blood relationship with him.
Wang Zhong walked in front of it, looked at the packet of Losing Soul Powder wrapped in straw paper, and clicked his tongue softly.
"In this case, I have nothing more to ask, but I will leave it to the emperor to decide."
Concubine Shu looked at the defeated Wang Zhong with a smug look on her face.
However, as soon as Wang Zhong finished speaking, a long and painful howl was heard outside the tent.
"what--"
The miserable sound attracted the attention of everyone present.
When people were wondering who was wailing, Concubine Shu's face suddenly turned pale.
Her eyes were filled with tears and she stared in disbelief.
This, this?
This is father's voice!
Following the scream, Prince Jing walked into the imperial tent, exhausted, followed by a man in shackles.
"Brother, please see your Majesty."
"Be flat."
Concubine Shu didn't dare to look behind Prince Jing. She just tilted her head slightly and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
The disheveled man behind her, covered in shackles and chains, was her father, Zhao Ning!