West Palace, Yongshou Palace.
The Imperial Concubine returned less than a minute after leaving the palace.
Princess Yunyang hurried out and asked, "Mother, what did she say?"
The Imperial Concubine said calmly, "She's not in the palace."
Princess Yunyang's expression changed. She said flatly, "That's impossible. She's no longer a member of the Zhou family. If she's not in the palace, where else could she be?"
The Imperial Concubine said calmly, "It's true that she's not in the palace. She probably predicted that you would ask me to beg her. Tomorrow, the Imperial Concubine Temple will judge the Prince Consort according to the law. She doesn't want to see us."
Princess Yunyang said anxiously, "Mother, what should we do now? You have to help me think of a way …"
The Imperial Concubine thought for a while. She looked at her and asked, "Do you really have to save him?"
Princess Yunyang nodded and said, "No matter what, I have to save him!"
The Imperial Concubine thought for a long time and finally sighed. She walked into her bedroom and took out a wooden box from under her pillow. She opened the wooden box and handed a golden token to Princess Yunyang. She said, "This token was given by the late Emperor. I only have one. Take it to the Imperial Concubine Temple tomorrow and give it to Prince Shou. He'll know what to do."
Princess Yunyang asked suspiciously, "This token can save the Prince Consort?"
The Imperial Concubine said, "You just have to do as I say."
…
Li Residence.
Li Mu put the tofu that the Empress asked for into the boiling pot and sighed. Who would have thought that the Empress of the Great Zhou, a Seventh Realm Transcendent powerhouse, would not be in the palace but sit here and eat hotpot with them?
Most of the food in the palace was exquisite. The special feature was that the quantity was small and the presentation was very particular. Of course, the taste was not bad.
Needless to say, the culinary skills of the imperial chefs were top-notch. Those who could cook in the palace were all at the top of the industry. The palace cuisine used the best ingredients and had the most meticulous processing. Li Mu was fortunate enough to eat it twice, and it was really a pleasure.
In comparison, hotpot was much simpler.
Some simple vegetables were put in the pot and boiled. In terms of taste, it was naturally incomparable to the delicacies in the palace.
However, when a few people gathered together, their faces flushed red from the heat, and they fought over a piece of cooked tofu, this kind of different atmosphere was something that could never be experienced in the palace.
When she was eating in the palace, no one dared, and no one had the right to sit with her.
Li Mu stole a glance at the Empress. He couldn't help but wonder if the Empress had a twin sister who looked just like her. The one in the palace was the Empress, and the one outside was her sister.
Li Mu scooped up a piece of meat for himself and said, "Today, the Zongzheng Temple's final trial of Cui Ming should be over soon."
The Empress put down her chopsticks and looked in the direction of the Imperial Clan Temple. She counted with her fingers, and her beautiful eyebrows suddenly furrowed.
Li Mu noticed her strange behavior and asked, "What's wrong?"
The Empress stood up and said, "I'm going back to the palace."
As soon as she finished speaking, her figure disappeared in front of Li Mu and Xiao Bai.
Xiao Bai's mouth was stuffed with food, and she swallowed it with great difficulty. She exclaimed, "Sister Zhou is so awesome."
Li Mu patted her head and said, "You eat first. I'll go to the palace."
The Empress originally planned to avoid the matter of Cui Ming here, but after only one night, she changed her mind. It seemed that something had happened at the Imperial Clan Temple.
Li Mu remembered Zhou Zhong's reminder, so he walked out of the house and went straight to the palace.
At the Imperial Clan Temple.
The final trial of Cui Ming's case was held today at the Imperial Clan Temple.
Many officials gathered in the Imperial Clan Temple to listen to the trial.
King Shou looked at the old party members with a helpless expression and asked, "The crimes committed by Prince Consort Cui are enough for him to die a hundred times. Tell me, what should I do? If I kill him, he's one of us. If I don't kill him, I'll be bending the law for my own benefit. How am I going to explain it to His Majesty and the people?
I'm so troubled … "The assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel asked," Is there still no news from the princess and the dowager? "
Someone said, "The princess went to the palace yesterday to beg the dowager for help. I heard that the dowager went to see His Majesty, but His Majesty wasn't in the palace. He didn't return last night …"
"Ah, His Majesty didn't return last night!"
"If His Majesty didn't return to the palace, where else could he have gone? Could it be the Zhou family? Impossible, His Majesty has long lost contact with the Zhou family."
"He must be hiding from the dowager and the princess. It's obvious that His Majesty doesn't want to get involved in this matter …"
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel coughed and said, "Don't talk about His Majesty. The most important thing now is Assistant Minister Cui."
King Shou waved his hand and said, "I can't save him, but I can't not save him either. Who can tell me what I should do?"
Zhou Zhong said faintly, "We can't save Assistant Minister Cui. If we save him, it will implicate King Shou. Moreover, King Shou can only save him for a while. When the time comes, King Shou will be implicated and the Imperial Clan Temple will change hands. Assistant Minister Cui's case still needs to be retried, so let's not waste our efforts."
King Shou said, "What Assistant Minister Zhou said makes sense. Why don't we just forget about it …"
As soon as he said that, a Imperial Clan Temple official ran in and announced loudly, "Princess Yunyang has arrived!"
"Greetings, Princess."
When Princess Yunyang walked in, everyone greeted her.
Princess Yunyang bowed to King Shou and said, "Greetings, Uncle."
"You may dispense with the formalities." King Shou waved his hand and said, "Have you found a way to save the prince consort?"
Princess Yunyang nodded and said, "I found it."
King Shou was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He said in disbelief, "You found it?"
Princess Yunyang took out the golden token and said, "Uncle, please take a look."
When he saw the golden token, King Shou realized something. He patted his head and said disappointedly, "How could I forget about this!"
Princess Yunyang said in surprise, "Uncle, you don't seem too happy?"
King Shou sighed and said, "I'm just blaming myself. If I had thought of this earlier, the prince consort wouldn't have to suffer so much."
The Imperial Noble Consort didn't tell her the use of the token. Princess Yunyang quickly asked, "Uncle, can this token really save the prince consort?"
King Shou took the token and weighed it in his hand. He nodded and said, "This is a token that the late Emperor ordered the Ministry of Works to make with meteoric iron in order to reward the important officials of the imperial court. The token is also plated with a layer of fine gold. The holder of this token will be exempted from the death penalty unless they commit treason. There are a total of thirteen Death Exemption Tokens. The Imperial Noble Consort was very favored by the late Emperor. It seems that the late Emperor also gave her one …"
Someone asked, "Can the Imperial Noble Consort's token save Assistant Minister Cui?"
King Shou nodded and said, "As long as the Imperial Noble Consort is willing, this token can save anyone."
When the officials of the old party heard this, they were all delighted.
The Assistant Minister of Personnel asked, "Can this token absolve Assistant Minister Cui of his crimes?"
King Shou said, "It can, but it can't. Those who use the Death Exemption Token will be stripped of their post and salary. This token can save his life, but he will no longer be the Assistant Minister of the Secretariat. He will only be the prince consort in name, but not in reality. The imperial court will have to take back his residence and no longer give him the salary of a prince consort."
Cui Ming was the Assistant Minister of the Secretariat. This position allowed them to be the first to know about the state's affairs. They could control the imperial court through the decisions of the Secretariat. After the incident in Yang County, the Assistant Minister of Personnel used Cui Ming to order the imperial court to reward the evil spirit. Once he lost this position, the old party would lose a large part of their control over the imperial court.
In other words, even if he could keep his life, he would be useless to the old party.
The Assistant Minister of Personnel sighed and said, "This is already the best ending."
Moments later, in the Imperial Clan Estate, at the entrance of the prison, Zhang Chun blocked King Shou's path and shouted angrily, "What? You want to release Cui Ming? Cui Ming committed such a grave crime and you want to release him? Do you have no respect for the law?"
King Shou held up the token and said, "This is the Death Exemption Token granted by the late emperor. Those who hold this token will be exempted from the death penalty except for those who have committed treason. This is the law."
Zhang Chun said loudly, "You are using the Death Exemption Token from the late emperor. What are you doing to His Majesty?"
King Shou snorted and said, "A ruler doesn't joke. The Death Exemption Token represents the dignity of the imperial family and the Great Zhou. As long as the Great Zhou still exists, this token will be effective. Those who see this token will be the same as seeing the late emperor. Those who resist this token will be the same as resisting the imperial edict. Those who resist the edict will be executed and the three races will be exterminated …"
Zhang Chun stepped aside and extended his hand. "Please."
…
When Li Mu arrived at the Imperial Clan Office, he learned from Zhang Chun that Cui Ming had returned with Princess Yunyang.
At the critical moment when the trial was about to begin, Princess Yunyang sent the Death Exemption Token and exempted him from the death penalty.
Although Cui Ming lost his position, the Prince Consort's Residence, and his salary, he kept his life.
At this moment, Li Mu finally understood the meaning of Zhou Zhong's words.
It was impossible to say that everyone was equal before the law.
The Death Exemption Token granted by the late emperor was a privilege for these people.
With the Death Exemption Token, as long as they didn't rebel, they could be exempted from the death penalty even if they committed murder or arson.
With the Death Exemption Token, they could become an outlaw.
This wasn't a special case in the Great Zhou. Li Mu knew that in the world he came from, this kind of thing happened a lot in history. However, the Death Exemption Token in that world was called the Red Ink Iron Certificate.
The holder of the Red Ink Iron Certificate could be exempted from the death penalty nine times, and his descendants could be exempted from the death penalty three times. This was something that really happened in history.
This of course destroyed the fairness of society and the fairness of the law. However, the law of this world was meant to serve a small number of people. In essence, the country was still governed by people and not by the law.
Zhou Zhong proposed that the powerful were punished the same as the common people. Not only did he lose his position, but he also almost lost his life because the law protected the powerful, not the common people.
Zhang Chun gritted his teeth and said, "There are 37 lives in the Chu family. A lousy token in exchange for 37 lives. This damn Death Exemption Token …"
"I heard it." Prince Shou walked out from the side and said, "You dare to say that the Death Exemption Token granted by the late emperor is a lousy token. Zhang Chun, Zhang Chun, I finally got something on you …"
"What did I say just now?" Zhang Chun looked at Li Mu and asked, "Li Mu, did you hear it?"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "No."
Zhang Chun looked at Prince Shou and said, "I didn't say anything. Your Highness, don't slander me."
Prince Shou snorted at Zhang Chun and said, "I'm in a good mood today. I can't be bothered to argue with you."
Zhang Chun gritted his teeth and said, "Don't be happy too early. I won't let that bastard Cui Ming go!"
King Shou shrugged and said with disdain, "What else can you do? Although a death-exemption medallion can only be used once, do you have anything on Assistant Minister Cui? Can you prove that he was the one who framed the Jiujiang Prefectural Governor? If you can't prove it, then stop boasting in front of me …"
He glanced at Li Mu and Zhang Chun and said, "Let's go home and watch the opera …"
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