The civil and military officials did not expect that Wei Fangzhi would confess to all the charges in just a single night after being arrested in the afternoon of the first day. He even confessed to an accomplice.
Although there was something fishy about this matter, Zhou Xing had even produced Wei Fangzhi's handwritten confession. As the Prime Minister, Wei Fangzhi often gave instructions to the various yamens and departments, so the officials were all familiar with his handwriting. Wu Zetian ordered the officials to read his confession. When they saw that it was indeed Wei Fangzhi's handwriting, they couldn't help but be speechless.
Although they knew the power of torture to extract a confession, they had never personally experienced it, so they did not know how powerful the torture that made people wish for death but could not obtain it was, not to mention that Wei Fangzhi had children and grandchildren. If this torture was not imposed on him, but on his flesh and blood, letting him hear the extremely tragic cries with his own ears, it could really make people completely collapse, and obediently follow the orders of the other party.
Thus, even though the officials were doubtful, they couldn't refute the evidence that Zhou Xing had brought out without any evidence. Originally, they had intended to rescue Wei Fangzhi, but now that Wei Fangzhi had confessed to his crimes, there was no way to save him. They could only hurriedly give up on their original goal and plead for Su Liangsi's life.
Actually, Zhou Xing wanted to force Wei Fangzhi to accuse one of the Prime Ministers in order to maximize his victory. Ever since Wu Zetian ascended to the throne, he had been lonely for far too long.
In order to avoid the unbearable pain for himself and his family, Wei Fangzhi had confessed to his crimes against his will. However, he was ultimately unwilling to drag his close friends into this mess. However, if he did not accuse others, he would not be able to get past Zhou Xing. In the end, he could only harden his heart and reveal Su Liangsi.
Su Liangsi and Wei Fangzhi had never been on good terms. Back then, in order to fight for the position of Prime Minister and his ranking among the Prime Ministers, they had fought each other both openly and covertly. Wei Fangzhi knew that it would be difficult for him to escape, and if he did not accuse others, he would not be able to get past Zhou Xing. After thinking it over, he decided to make this old Prime Minister his accomplice.
It wasn't easy for Zhou Xing to achieve such results in just one night. He had also heard some rumors and knew that the officials were preparing to rescue Wei Fangzhi. There was no more time for him to interrogate a more ideal target. Thinking that it would be better if there were no more fish and shrimp, he brought Su Liangsi out.
Officials loyal to Wu Chengsi's faction and officials loyal to Li Tang's faction were arguing endlessly in the golden hall, each with their own views. Seeing this, Wu Zetian ordered someone to summon Su Liangsi to the golden hall to confront Zhou Xing.
Su Liangsi was already eighty-five years old. Since the beginning of the year, he had been bedridden due to illness. As soon as he heard the people from the Palace explain the reason, Su Liangsi was scared out of his wits. He quickly dressed himself and forced his sick body to rush to the Golden Hall. He wept bitterly and complained about his grievances.
By this time he could not care less about the grudge between him and Wei Fangzhi that should not be brought up to the table; he only wanted to prove his innocence. As Wu Zetian listened to his tearful account, she saw that he was old and clumsy, his hair as white as snow, and his sickly face. Even when he spoke, he looked like he was on the verge of death. In her heart, she also felt that it was unlikely that this person was conspiring with Wei Fangzhi.
Wu Zetian said: "Alright, alright, you don't need to argue anymore. Prime Minister Su also need not say anything more. We believe that Prime Minister Su is loyal and devoted to us and has no ulterior motives. This must be Wei Fangzhi's revenge by deliberately accusing Prime Minister Su. Zhou Xing, you did not handle the case properly and fell into a trap, almost harming our loyal minister! "
As soon as Zhou Xing heard this, he hurriedly apologized: "I was foolish. If not for Your Majesty's wisdom, I would have harmed a loyal minister!"
As Su Liangsi heard Wu Zetian exonerate him, he could not help but shed tears of gratitude. He kowtowed repeatedly and said: "Your Majesty is wise! Your Majesty is wise! This old minister thanks Your Majesty! "
Wu Zetian sighed and waved her hand, saying: "Alright! Prime Minister Su is ill, there is no need for such a big bow. Go home and have a good rest. We will not blame you. "
"Thank you, Your Majesty! This old minister thanks Your Majesty! "
Su Liangsi kowtowed three more times and struggled to get up. But he was already old and suffering from a serious illness. After being frightened, he suddenly put down his worries. He felt his ears ringing and his heart beating rapidly. His whole body went limp. He struggled twice but could not stand up. Instead, he fell to the ground and fainted.
There was a commotion in the Golden Hall. Di Renjie rushed over and held Su Liangsi in his arms, repeatedly pinching his philtrum. Seeing this, Wu Zetian asked the chamberlain Xiao Hai to fetch a jade cup from her table and gave Su Liangsi two mouthfuls of hot water. Only then did Su Liangsi slowly wake up.
Wu Zetian saw that his face was as white as a sheet and he really did not have the strength to stand up. She summoned two imperial physicians and ordered people to drive the imperial carriage to escort Su Liangsi back to his residence.
Who knew that Su Liangsi was already in his twilight years. After such a torment, he died before he even reached home. When the news reached the Golden Hall, all the officials paled. Wu Zetian was also very unhappy and the morning court ended on bad terms.
After the morning court ended, the officials who were friends with the Prime Ministers all crowded around their pillars and expressed their indignation. The Prime Ministers also felt sad for the death of a rabbit, but at this time they still had to control their emotions and tried their best to appease the officials.
With great difficulty, the Prime Ministers returned to the Hall of Governmental Affairs. Before they could sit down, Li Zhaode angrily roared: "This group of rascals is so savage! Now that Prime Minister Wei has admitted his guilt, he is finished! Although Prime Minister Su is innocent, he will be implicated and die! In one day, a Prime Minister has become a prisoner, a Prime Minister has died a wrongful death. We, the grand Prime Ministers, are actually just a puppet in the hands of these cruel officials! "
Cen Zhangqian said: "If Zhou Xing did not have an ulterior motive, why would he become enemies with the Prime Minister? At the beginning, he was unjustly imprisoned because he was trying to figure out His Majesty's intention and cater to His Majesty. This time, Zhou Xing framing Prime Minister Wei was obviously not His Majesty's idea. There must be someone behind the scenes. "
Di Renjie sneered: "Prime Minister Cen is also old, your eyes and ears are not as sharp as before. Don't you know that Zhou Xing has now joined Wu Chengsi's faction? This must be Wu Chengsi's idea! "
Li Zhaode angrily said: "What's the use of the two of you arguing about these things! Whether it was Wu Chengsi's idea or Zhou Xing pretending to be a mad dog and biting people! In short, Wei Fangzhi has become a prisoner and Su Liangsi is already dead. Are you and I going to turn a blind eye to this? If this goes on, it will be our turn next! "
Cen Zhangqian said: "We will naturally return the favor! It's just that … Zhou Xing 'has reason and evidence', what can we do? "
Di Renjie stroked his long beard and pondered for a moment. He slowly said: "The Prime Minister is the head of all the officials. Right now, all the officials are watching our actions. If we give up, not only will the officials be bitterly disappointed, it will also increase King Wei's arrogance. Moreover, it is very likely that as Prime Minister Li said, it will be our turn next. This move by King Wei, we have to accept it whether we want to or not!"
At this point, Di Renjie slowly raised his grizzled eyebrows and said in a deep voice: "If we want to return the favor, it is not impossible!"
…
Lai Junchen was not the least bit concerned about what happened in the Imperial Court today.
Lai Junchen was a very strange person. Unlike Zhou Xing, Qiu Shenji and other cruel officials, these people usually have a clear political goal when they handle a case. It may be to eliminate dissidents, attack political enemies, or to cater to the wishes of the higher-ups and seek high positions and generous salaries.
But Lai Junchen never cared about these things. He was a solitary official. He did not form cliques, nor did he rely on any powerful officials. He was only loyal to Empress Wu. If Empress Wu told him to bite someone, he would bite with all his might, bite to death, and even bite that person's relatives and friends to death.
He did not form cliques, nor did he meddle in government affairs. He was never concerned about the turmoil in the political arena. He never even thought about his own path of retreat. He never thought about Wu Zetian's advanced age. If she died, who would he, a solitary official, cling to?
Other than obeying orders from Wu Zetian and biting to death those officials who opposed her, he only cared about two things.
One was young women, and the other was torture.
Among the four cruel officials, Zhou Xing and Qiu Shenji tirelessly pursued power; Suo Yuanli, that Hu, cared most about wealth; and Lai Junchen only cared about women and torture. Of course, if someone offended him, he would definitely retaliate. But the problem was, who would take the initiative to provoke a mad dog like him?
Lai Junchen had a special fetish for beautiful women, and another fetish was torture. People like Zhou Xing and Suo Yuanli designed all kinds of torture in order to force their victims to obediently follow their whims. Once they achieved their goal, they would no longer need to torture.
But Lai Junchen was different. He enjoyed the process of torture. The reason he designed all kinds of torture was because he liked to see the victims' flesh and bones being destroyed on the instruments of torture, and he liked to listen to their incomparably tragic cries.
Therefore, what prisoners feared the most was to fall into Lai Junchen's hands. Because even if they confessed everything according to Lai Junchen's requirements, he would continue to torture them until he was overjoyed to see it and hear it. Only then would he stop.
This man was a complete madman.
The thing this madman was most obsessed with right now was to obtain Xie Xiaoman.
The more he couldn't obtain her, the more he desired her. Lai Junchen was now so obsessed with Niuniu that he couldn't even think about eating or drinking.
In the imperial court, while Wu Chengsi's faction and the Prime Minister's faction were engaged in a life-and-death struggle, Wu Sansi's faction and the fence-sitters were watching from the sidelines. Lai Junchen, the lone minister, was also watching from the sidelines. He didn't care at all whether the prime ministers won or Wu Chengsi won.
At that time, his mind was wandering, imagining that he had already obtained the beautiful young woman that he yearned for day and night, and that he would use all kinds of methods to ravage her. In the golden hall, the perverted Lai Junchen was so excited by his fantasies that the thing between his legs was as hard as the halberds in the hands of the palace guards. Fortunately, the official's robe had always been relatively loose …
When the morning court adjourned, the officials were indignant and surrounded the prime ministers to complain about the injustice they had suffered. Lai Junchen leisurely returned to the Imperial Messenger Platform. When he rushed back, he was delighted to see that his trusted aide, Wei Suizhong, was already waiting there, bringing him a piece of good news.
"You're saying that the seventeen shops on that street in Nan City are all Yang Fan's businesses?"
"Yes! Moreover, it was given to him on the day of his marriage! Although this matter was kept secret, how could he completely suppress the news when he wanted to take over more than ten shops? I originally wanted to capture those shop owners and interrogate them, but the Deputy Prime Minister forbade me to act rashly and alert the enemy. That's why I bribed a few shop assistants with a large interest rate, and finally got the truth out of them! "
Lai Junchen rubbed his chin and slowly said, "How generous!"
Wei Suizhong said, "Yes! He's just a general, what kind of person, and what need is there for them to give him such a generous gift? "
Lai Junchen chuckled and ordered, "Continue investigating for me. If you can find concrete evidence of this person's wrongdoing, that would be for the best. If you can't, I'll just give him a few charges! "
Wei Suizhong said, "Yes! But … Master Xue, King Liang, and Princess Taiping … "
Lai Junchen glared at him and said, "If it wasn't for the fact that I thought they were a hindrance, I would have taken them down a long time ago. Why would I need you to investigate? Don't worry, when the time comes, I will naturally give him a major charge that will make these people run away from him. Let's see who else dares to cause trouble then! "
…
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