Of course, the material used to make the Death Exemption Golden Medallion was not ordinary metal.
Li Mu had asked Hyun Jinko about it. According to Hyun Jinko, the metal in his hand was a piece of meteoric metal.
In the cultivation world, meteoric metal was called meteoric metal. It was a metal that did not exist in the Ten Continents. It was extremely tough and was most suitable for refining weapons. It was one of the main materials for refining Heaven-grade magic treasures.
Therefore, Li Mu found a new box and put it away. It might be useful in the future.
Then, he began to think about something.
Although Zhou Zhong's suicide attack was useful, according to the law, he himself could not escape the death penalty.
Of course, Li Mu could not watch him die.
After thinking about it, he left the house and walked toward the palace.
At the same time, in the southern courtyard.
It was a mansion with more than ten entrances.
Several figures gathered together. They did not look happy.
"I've told you that Zhou Zhong is a traitor. We can't trust him easily. Now, not only have we lost control of the Ministry of Justice, but we've also given away the entire Ministry of Personnel!"
"What's the point of saying all this now? Who knew that Zhou Zhong would be so cunning? He seemed to listen to us on the surface, but he always had evil intentions. He destroyed all our years of hard work …"
"Preposterous! I can't take this lying down!"
…
The people present were all members of the Xiao Royal Family. They were all furious that Zhou Zhong had betrayed them.
At this moment, one of them looked at King Shou and asked, "Fourth Brother, don't you still have a Death Exemption Golden Medallion? Give it to Chen Jian. He has been loyal to us for many years. Even if he didn't make any contributions, he still worked hard …"
King Shou spread his hands and said, "I lost that Death Exemption Golden Medallion …"
"What?"
"You lost it? Where did you lose it?"
"You actually lost such an important thing? What else can you do?"
King Shou shrugged and said helplessly, "I can swear to the heavens that the Death Exemption Golden Medallion is no longer in my hands. Perhaps this is his fate …"
"You really lost it?"
"You really lost it …"
"Have you searched for it?"
"I tried using an Object Seeking Talisman, but I couldn't find it …"
"Look at you, other than drinking tea, listening to operas, and gambling with dice, what else can you do? How did our Xiao Clan end up with you … Sigh, forget it. Whether Chen Jian dies or not, I don't care. But Zhou Zhong must die. If he doesn't die, he will forever be a disgrace to our Xiao Clan!"
"Anyone can survive, but Zhou Zhong must die!"
"Send this letter to the Zhou family. They should know what to do."
"Didn't he want to overthrow Li Yi? I would like to see who will save him this time."
…
In the Changle Palace, Li Mu prepared the dishes for the Empress. He also poured fresh and fragrant tribute tea into a jade cup and placed it beside her hand.
Zhou Yi said, "There are no outsiders here. You can sit down too."
Li Mu said, "I'll just stand. If Your Majesty has any orders, please call me."
Zhou Yi glanced at him and asked, "Why are you so good to me today?"
Li Mu asked, "Did I not treat Your Majesty well in the past?"
Zhou Yi was speechless for a moment, then said, "That's not what I meant …"
Then she said softly, "Sit down. I don't want to eat alone."
Li Mu sat opposite her and accompanied her to eat for a while. At a certain moment, he raised his head and asked, "Your Majesty, how do you plan to deal with Zhou Zhong?"
Zhou Yi said, "According to the law, he should be beheaded."
Li Mu quickly said, "But he turned himself in and confessed all his accomplices. It can be considered meritorious. Shouldn't he be given a light sentence?"
Zhou Yi took a memorial from the side and handed it to him, saying, "This is the memorial that the Secretariat just handed over. Take a look."
Li Mu opened the memorial. From the signature, it was handed over by an official of the new party.
In this report, there was a detailed list of cases where Zhou Zhong had covered up for the officials of the old party over the years. A single case was not a big deal, but when all of them were put together, it was enough to convict him of the felony of bending the law for personal gain.
This crime could be heavy or light. If it was light, it could be a forfeit of salary. If it was heavy, it could be beheaded.
In the past ten years, in order to gain the trust of the old party, Zhou Zhong used the power in his hands to cover up many officials of the old party. He also violated the law and did many things that were beneficial to the old party. They were all listed in this memorial. Perhaps only the old party itself could understand these things in such detail.
It seemed that Zhou Zhong's behavior of harming himself and hurting the enemy had thoroughly angered the people behind the old party. The old and new parties joined forces to put him to death.
In order to execute Zhou Zhong, the old party even exposed some of their own scandals and sacrificed some people. The purpose was to make Zhou Zhong's death irreversible.
Zhou Yi picked up a piece of tofu and slowly ate it before saying, "These crimes added together are enough for him to die twice."
Li Mu picked up his chopsticks and put them down, saying, "I think that although Zhou Zhong violated the law in the past, there is a reason behind it that cannot be ignored. His good friend was wronged and died tragically. He had no way to seek justice through the imperial court and the late emperor. How desperate was that? In order to redress his good friend's case, he violated morality and endured humiliation until today. He is praised and respected by the people. If the imperial court does not care about the reason and sentences him to death, I'm afraid that people will not be convinced …"
Zhou Yi glanced at him and asked, "So, you are here to plead for him?"
Li Mu looked at her eagerly, "Your Majesty ~ ~ ~"
Zhou Yi said helplessly, "Alright, alright, I promise you …"
Li Mu's appetite suddenly improved. If he had known that acting coquettishly could settle this matter, he would not have thought of so many reasons. Perhaps this was what it meant to be fearless when one was favored. For this favor, Li Mu was willing to be her intimate cotton jacket for the rest of his life …
Zhou Yi added, "I can only save his life. In the future, he will no longer be the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice and will need to stay away from Luoyang."
Li Mu said, "As long as you can keep him alive, that is enough."
After serving the Empress, Li Mu walked out of Changle Palace and let out a long sigh of relief.
Li Mu had already reached the limit of what he could do by not executing Zhou Zhong directly. It was also considered an explanation to Li Qing.
If he made any further requests, it would be difficult for the Empress.
Of course, she was the Empress. Her words were the law. It was not impossible for her to pardon Zhou Zhong and Li Qing directly. However, Li Mu still hoped that the Imperial Court would maintain order. He would not let the Empress walk down the same path as the previous Emperor.
Imperial Secretariat.
The head of the Imperial Secretariat, the head of the Imperial Secretariat, the head of the Ministry of Justice, and the servants gathered to judge Zhou Zhong.
In fact, there was nothing much to try in this case. The Soul Searching Technique was not difficult for the presiding judges. With Zhou Zhong's active cooperation, the details of the case were revealed at a glance.
Li Yi's crime of treason was purely a false accusation.
Among them, the officials of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhou Chuan, the Marquis of Zhongyong, the Duke of Ping 'an, and the Marquis of Yongding were the masterminds of the case. According to the law, they should be executed.
However, among these seven people, six of them had a gold medallion. A gold medallion bestowed by the previous Emperor could exempt them from all crimes except for rebellion. They would be stripped of their official and noble positions, but they could keep their lives.
Even so, this was a huge blow to the Imperial Court.
Out of the six ministers, two of them were executed in this case alone. None of the three main officials of the Ministry of Personnel were left. Just filling up the vacant positions was a huge headache for the three provinces.
However, the outcome was already decided.
If the case was not investigated, then so be it. No matter how much injustice Li Yi had suffered, as long as the Imperial Court did not investigate, there would be nothing.
As long as the Imperial Court did not investigate, the ministers of the Ministry of Personnel were still ministers, and the assistant ministers were still assistant ministers. They were still important officials and pillars of the Imperial Court.
However, since the Imperial Court had investigated, no matter what the outcome was, they had to accept it.
The other six were already prepared. After the three provinces made their verdicts, the six gold medallions were placed on the table of the Imperial Secretariat.
Only the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Chen Jian, sat on the floor and muttered, "I'm so stupid. I only knew that I was with you to frame Li Yi, but I didn't know that all of you had gold medallions except for me. I regret it, I really regret it …"
After sentencing the masterminds, the Left Assistant Minister asked, "How should we deal with Zhou Zhong?"
The Right Assistant Minister said, "Based on the crimes he has committed over the years, he should be executed."
The Left Assistant Minister looked at Zhou Jing and asked, "What do you think, Lord Zhou?"
Zhou Jing said, "I am deeply ashamed that my younger brother framed a loyal official. I will leave the following matters to the three of you."
With that, he slowly walked out of the Imperial Secretariat.
The Head of the Imperial Secretariat shook his head and said, "I am also a little tired. You two can do as you see fit."
With that, he also left with his hands behind his back.
The left and right assistants looked at each other and exchanged glances.
Zhou Zhong had single-handedly turned the Imperial Court into a mess.
After this incident, both the new and old parties hoped that Zhou Zhong would disappear forever.
His disappearance would be a good thing for the Imperial Court.
The Left Assistant Minister cleared his throat and said, "If that's the case, then …"
At this moment, Mr. Mei walked in from outside and said, "His Majesty has decreed that the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Zhou Zhong, tried to redress his friend's innocence. Although it is pardonable, it is not pardonable by law. From today onwards, he is stripped of his position as Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice and will be banished to the army …"
The two assistants looked at each other again and bowed at the same time. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Although banishment to the army was lighter than the death penalty, it was still more severe than exile.
Moreover, the place of banishment was near the borders of the Demon Nation or the Netherworld. It was desolate and dangerous. Even if the banished person did not die under the blade of the executioner, he would die under the hands of the Demon Ghosts. The difference was that the latter way of dying was to protect the Great Zhou. It was more heroic than the former way of dying.
Criminals who were banished to the army were usually used as cannon fodder. Even if they were at the Fifth Realm, they would not survive.
This ending should be enough to satisfy those people.
At the Imperial Clan Temple.
"You are not righteous. You will not die a good death! You will not die a good death!"
When Chen Jian was escorted into the Imperial Clan Temple's prison again, he could not help but roar with grief and indignation.
Zhang Chun sat under the shade of a tree and shook his head. "If you knew this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?"
King Shou sighed and said, "The Heavenly Dao is clear. There will always be people who have to pay the price for their past mistakes. Although the Imperial Court is big, it cannot tolerate animals …"
Zhang Chun looked at King Shou in surprise. He said in surprise, "I can't believe you would say something like that, Your Highness …"
King Shou waved his hand and said, "This is something I learned from the opera. It's based on my feelings. It's not targeted at anyone. Come, come, come, let's continue. Today, I will win back all that I lost in the past …"
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