The leaders of the riot were two scholars. Before the two of them were escorted to the main hall, they saw the Emperor, the Empress, and a group of ministers sitting in the main hall from afar. Their legs went soft.
One fell to the ground while the other knelt, unable to get up.
"Your Majesty, have mercy! Your Majesty, have mercy! This commoner was ordered to do this! "
"Your Majesty, have mercy! I beg Your Majesty to have mercy! This commoner doesn't know anything! Someone ordered us to do this! "
Everyone in the hall wore different expressions at these words.
Han Yunxi sneered inwardly. She'd overestimated these two leaders. She'd thought she'd have to interrogate them after bringing them into the hall. But now, before they even came in, they had already confessed everything!
"Who ordered you to do this?" Long Fei Ye asked again.
Long Fei Ye didn't know what Han Yunxi had done, but he wasn't stupid enough to ask who leaked the secret.
Long Fei Ye's angry voice scared one of them into fainting.
Now the hall was completely silent. Baili Yuanlong and Baili Lixiang were both trembling. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that a great disaster was about to befall them.
The scholar outside the hall was so scared he couldn't speak clearly, his tongue in a knot. "Yes, yes … it was a eunuch in the palace who ordered this commoner to do this."
Baili Yuanlong's heart stopped at these words, but Baili Lixiang was still holding on! She hoped that the eunuch wouldn't betray her!
Of course, she'd done this in secret. She hadn't directly negotiated with the two leaders, but through a palace eunuch. This eunuch was called Chen Zhaode. He hadn't personally negotiated with the two scholars either, but through a middleman.
As long as the middleman kept his mouth shut and Chen Zhaode didn't leak the secret, they wouldn't be able to find out the truth in a short time!
"Who was it?" Long Fei Ye asked again.
Baili Lixiang's heart was hanging in the air. She kept comforting herself that Chen Zhaode wasn't that stupid. If he confessed, he'd lose his life too!
The scholar didn't say anything for a long time. The little eunuch Chen Zhaode stood to the side, his hands and feet trembling. He didn't dare to raise his head.
In the silence, the atmosphere became more and more tense!
Baili Lixiang and Baili Yuanlong were probably the most nervous people present. Life and death were at stake.
"You're not going to say it, are you?" Long Fei Ye's cold voice made the people around him fearful.
The scholar was scared out of his wits. "This commoner doesn't …"
Before he could finish speaking, Han Yunxi suddenly spoke, "Someone, drag Chen Zhaode out for this consort. Tell him to endure this for a while!"
"Yes!" Xu Donglin replied loudly.
Baili Lixiang and Baili Yuanlong were both stunned.
The scholar had no idea who Chen Zhaode was. He was wondering. Chen Zhaode immediately knelt down in the main hall, "Your Majesty, please spare my life! Your Majesty, please spare me! This servant was forced! "
"This servant was …"
Before he could finish his sentence, Baili Lixiang threw herself at him like a madwoman. "Don't speak nonsense!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the originally quiet hall fell into an indescribable silence. Even the world outside was silent.
Baili Lixiang fell at the eunuch's feet, dumbstruck. Only then did she realize what she'd said and done.
Heavens!
What … what's wrong with me?
Even if … even if Chen Dezhao sold me out, I could still deny it! Even if you beat me to death! She could even use her death to prove her resolve and protect the Baili Clan. But …
However, what she did just now was undoubtedly a confession, a confession without being pressed!
Everyone was looking at her. Some were shocked, some were sympathetic, and some were rejoicing in her misfortune. Of course, the Baili Clan was filled with despair.
Chen Dezhao hadn't expected Baili Lixiang to throw herself at him. He met her eyes, too shocked to say anything.
Han Yunxi watched all of this from her high vantage point, her face expressionless.
Actually, she didn't know who the two troublemakers had contacted, nor did she know who Baili Lixiang had told to do it.
Xu Donglin had caught Chen Dezhao sneaking out of the palace, so she knew that Baili Lixiang and Chen Dezhao were in cahoots.
So, she'd pushed Chen Dezhao out of the hall and let the scholar identify him as the culprit. It was purely a test. More accurately, it was a psychological warfare!
The effect of this psychological warfare was really beyond her expectations! She'd only guessed that the mastermind behind Chen Dezhao was here, but never expected Baili Lixiang to admit it herself.
Now she didn't need to waste her breath, nor did she need to waste her breath.
It wasn't that she was cruel, or that her methods were despicable.
There was no such thing as fair competition in the palace or court, nor was there any such thing as open and aboveboard. She was just giving Baili Lixiang a taste of her own medicine.
She looked at Baili Lixiang from her lofty vantage point, three parts sympathy, three parts anger, and six parts regret. If Baili Lixiang was smart enough, she would've stayed in Northern Li as a first rank madam and never come back.
How could the Long Fei Ye hand over all of Northern Li to Jin Zi?! That was a very risky move.
Based on her understanding of Northern Li and her connections, as long as she had enough patience and time, she'd definitely be able to gain a certain amount of power. Moreover, if the Long Fei Ye needed to restrain Jin Zi in the future, he'd definitely use her.
She'd left the Baili Clan for so long, so why did she come back and get involved in this mess?
Did she think she had enough ability and intelligence to fight for more benefits for the Baili Clan? How foolish!
She must've forgotten. She wasn't the only one who'd managed to climb all the way to the position of Imperial Noble Concubine and become the most favored concubine of the Northern Dynasties Emperors!
How much help had the Long Fei Ye's forces in Northern Li given her over the past decade? Just how much of Long Feiye's advice had he given her on important decisions?
Suddenly, Baili Yuanlong groaned and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Father!" Baili Qiyu cried out in alarm as he rushed over to support him.
Baili Lixiang finally recovered her wits and anxiously crawled over. "Father! Father! "
Baili Yuanlong wanted to say something, but his mouth remained open as he stared at the Long Fei Ye. In the end, he couldn't speak, and his vision darkened as he fainted.
"Your Majesty, it was all my idea. My father and my younger siblings didn't know! It was all my idea! "
"Your Majesty, please save my father! Please save my father! "
The Long Fei Ye was as cold as an iceberg, expressionless and silent.
If the Long Fei Ye didn't speak, no one would dare save Baili Yuanlong even if he was on the verge of death!
After all, inciting the people to revolt was the most serious of crimes. In the worst case, it was punishable by nine familial exterminations!
"Your Majesty, have mercy! This sinner pleads guilty! This sinner pleads guilty! This sinner is at Your Majesty's disposal! My father is innocent! "
"Your Majesty, I beg you to have mercy! Your Majesty, please save my father on account of all his hard work over the years! "
"Your Majesty … Esteemed Empress, have mercy! Esteemed Empress! "
Baili Lixiang was like a madwoman as she kowtowed incoherently. Baili Qiyu and his wife also knelt and begged for mercy.
Soon enough, the generals and their wives of the Baili Army all knelt as well, including the ministers.
But the Long Fei Ye still didn't say a word, his gaze so cold that it was terrifying.
The Guogong of Ding, Xiao An, had never expected things to turn out this way. Now, he felt both fear and relief. Back then, Xiao Dong had been so infatuated with Baili Lixiang that he'd almost done the deed for her. Fortunately, he'd stopped him. Otherwise, he'd be the one vomiting blood and losing consciousness.
Baili Lixiang had colluded with Xiao Dong in an attempt to use the southern army's influence to put pressure on the Long Fei Ye. He'd also wanted to borrow the Baili Clan's power to put pressure on the Long Fei Ye. Both sides were aiming for the position of empress and noble consort, so there was no problem in working together. Fortunately, he'd kept his cool and wasn't impatient!
Otherwise, he'd have been implicated today.
The Baili Clan's members were all kneeling on the ground, their pleas filling the hall.
Long Fei Ye was like an emotionless god, looking down on them from high above. How many of them could see the anger and disappointment in his eyes?
Han Yunxi didn't need to look to know Long Fei Ye was suffering. How could she not be suffering too?
She wasn't the true princess of Western Qin, and she hadn't spent much time with the Di Clan. If the Di Clan had betrayed her and done something like this, she'd be angry and disappointed.
Moreover, Long Fei Ye's relationship with the Baili Clan wasn't just a simple master-servant relationship.
Baili Yuanlong should've been the one who understood Long Fei Ye the most. Even if he was a crude man who wasn't meticulous enough and couldn't see through his master's thoughts after all these years, he should've been the most loyal person!
But after the founding of the country, the Baili Clan had been the most outrageous and unbridled in the court's power struggles.
Not to mention those who rejoiced in their misfortune, it was already good enough that they didn't kick them while they were down. Even those who'd benefited from Baili Yuanlong and had been friends with him for many years didn't dare speak up in the face of the furious Long Fei Ye.
The unconscious Baili Yuanlong suddenly coughed up another mouthful of blood.
"Father!"
"Father!"
Baili Lixiang and Baili Qiyu didn't know what to do. Everyone else was also trembling with fear. This old general who'd followed the emperor the longest, who'd watched him grow up, and who was the pillar of the Baili Clan — was he really going to die in the main hall like this?
Finally, someone stood up in the silence. It was none other than Grand Tutor Gu Beiyue.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's first birthday is a joyous occasion. For the Crown Prince's sake, please spare General Baili's life. There are still many things we don't understand and need to investigate in detail, "Gu Beiyue said seriously.
It was impossible for the empress to plead for mercy. Aside from her, only the Grand Tutor had the guts to persuade him.
Baili Lixiang and Baili Qiyu both grew nervous. The Baili Clan also looked over, their hearts thumping in fear.
But Long Fei Ye said, "Empress, the Crown Prince is young and doesn't know any better. You decide for the Crown Prince on this matter. "
Now, Baili Lixiang was in complete despair. The rest of the Baili Clan also lost their strength. If Han Yunxi made the decision, it'd be strange if Han Yunxi didn't torture the Baili Clan to death!
The Baili Clan was finished!
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