Zhang Yuan let out a sigh of relief. If the old emperor had this kind of mentality, then he would be at ease. At the very least, he wouldn't be moved by the sight of the mother and son, or feel pity for his son and soften his heart. If that was the case, then all of the Ninth Prince's efforts would have been in vain.
Fortunately, Emperor Tianwu's hatred for the two of them surpassed everything else. What kinship? What love? Under this kind of hatred, there was no need to talk about anything else. Emperor Tianwu said, "They're suffering in here, so they must be very lonely. Xiao Yuan, go tell Zhen's other sons and the concubines in the harem to line up to come in and take a look. If such a grand occasion is not revealed in front of others, then wouldn't it be a waste of Ming and Heng Zheng's efforts? " After he finished speaking, he glanced at Lady Liu and said with disgust, "When everyone has finished looking, send this woman to the gallows. Zhen will bestow upon her the punishment of dismemberment."
Lady Liu was almost scared to death when she heard the word 'punishment by hanging'. Punishment by dismemberment! In the past, even if the concubines had committed a grave mistake, they would only be given three feet of white silk or a cup of poisoned wine, or if they were truly disobedient, they would be strangled to death by a strong eunuch. She had never heard of punishment by dismemberment. In reality, it wasn't just the concubines. Although punishment by dismemberment existed in Dashun's criminal law, no one had ever been subjected to it.
Punishment by dismemberment was also called 'cutting the flesh from the bone'. It was said that there was a very particular method to it. A living person would be tied up and the executioner would use a polished blade to cut off the flesh from the criminal's body and execute him. Those who were punished by dismemberment often committed grave crimes. The executioner believed that even death couldn't atone for their crimes, so they used this method to punish them. That wasn't all. The most terrifying thing about punishment by dismemberment was that the criminal couldn't die during the process. From the first cut, they had to go through a total of a thousand cuts until the last cut. Only then could they die.
When Lady Liu thought of this, she wanted to bang her head against the wall, but she was stopped by the guards. Emperor Tianwu ordered, "If she dies early, none of you will live."
Finally, after seeing everything that needed to be seen, the palace servants carried Emperor Tianwu out of the death row prison. On the way to Zhao He Palace Hall, Emperor Tianwu said to Zhang Yuan, "Everyone says that there is no familial love in the imperial family. I didn't believe it before and always wanted to treat these sons well and not let them be bitterly disappointed. But now I know that the royal family really doesn't have any familial love! You treat them well, but it doesn't mean that they will treat you well. You treat them as your sons, but they don't treat you as their father. For the sake of the throne, he can harm me to this extent. What use is there for me to have such a son? "
Zhang Yuan quickly comforted him, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Not all princes are like this. Isn't it just the Eighth Prince? The previous Third Brother doesn't count. "
"Yes." Emperor Tianwu nodded, "It's okay to think of it this way. At least the other brats are still good." Although he said this, he was still unhappy and dispirited. He even felt irritated by the sun above his head. Even though there were palace servants holding umbrellas, it made him feel like the sun was shining through the umbrellas. He couldn't help but cover his forehead with his hand and hurriedly urged, "Let's go quickly. I don't want to be in the sun."
Because of Emperor Tianwu's order, the princes and concubines had to line up to the death row prison to see the miserable state of the Eighth Prince and Lady Liu. The princes were fine. At most, they sighed for a while after seeing it. But the concubines weren't so lucky. They were all disgusted and vomited nonstop. They were practically carried out of the prison. They were also scared. At first, they were wholeheartedly trying to curry favor with Lady Liu. They didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, Lady Liu and the Eighth Prince would fall to their current state.
A smart person said, "Who has ever had a good ending when opposing the Ninth Prince?"
The Sixth Prince, Xuan Tianfeng, had the important task of regent. He was the last of the princes to go to the death row prison. He didn't go alone. He also specially brought Noble Lady Li out of Jing Si Palace and went with her to the death row prison.
Noble Lady Li was a very neurotic person. Her thoughts were extreme and she was easily driven into a dead end. During this period of time, she was locked up in Jing Si Palace. Sometimes, she would cry, sometimes she would laugh. Sometimes, she would feel hatred when she thought of her sister who was sent to the death row prison. Sometimes, when she thought of her son sitting on the dragon throne with the important task of regent, she felt that life was full of hope. When the Sixth Prince came to pick her up, she was talking to her maid, Zuo, about what she wanted to do after she became the Empress Dowager. When she heard that her son came to pick her up to see the Eighth Prince, she became unhappy again.
But what could she do if she was unhappy? This was the Emperor's decree. She had no choice but to go.
Noble Lady Li followed behind the Sixth Prince. When she thought of going to see those two people, she didn't know how to face them. Those were her sister and nephew. At the same time, they were the two people she hated the most. With these two people's identities, how would she feel when she saw them again?
Noble Lady Li's mind was filled with random thoughts. When they arrived in front of the death row prison, she found that there were many imperial concubines waiting at the prison door. The people who came out all had pale faces and vomited. There were even some people who lost their minds and crazily shouted, "Too scary! Too scary! The Eighth Prince is a demon. He's going to rot to death! "
She was a bit afraid and her footsteps paused. She wasn't willing to walk forward. She could still hear the imperial concubines waiting outside whispering. Someone said, "Yesterday, I heard Imperial Concubine Hua say that Madam Liu has already gone crazy. She wants to die every day, but with the guards watching over her, she can't die even if she wants to."
Someone else said, "The Eighth Prince is even worse. His butt is completely rotten. He's worse than a eunuch."
"I heard that the environment in the death row prison is very bad. The prisoners eat, drink, and defecate in the same cell. The smell is enough to make people vomit on the spot."
"The Emperor sentenced Madam Liu to death by dismemberment. She doesn't want to be punished like that and always wants to die. It's a pity that she can't die. Even if she goes on a hunger strike, it's useless because Royal Consort Yu will come into the palace every day to give her some kind of injection. After being injected, even if she doesn't eat, she won't die."
Noble Lady Li's body was trembling and her teeth were chattering. She wanted to tell Xuan Tianfeng not to go in, but the person walking in front did not have any intention of stopping. The palace servants following her would occasionally remind her: "Niang niang, quickly follow. His Highness the Sixth Prince has already walked a bit far."
The Sixth Prince currently held the position of regent. His status was basically the same as the Crown Prince. When these concubines and concubines saw him, they still held some reverence. Even Noble Lady Li became cautious. Regardless of whether she was Consort Li or Noble Lady, she was still the birth mother of the Sixth Prince. This Sixth Prince was different from the Eighth Prince. He was an elegant scholar and was the idol of all the scholars in the world. He was a reliable prince. During this period of time, he had taken on the role of regent and managed to clean up the foul atmosphere in the imperial court over the past few months. His achievements were also gratifying. Thus, no one dared to underestimate the Sixth Prince. When they saw him come, they all took a few steps back and made a path for him.
Xuan Tianfeng still had a scholarly air. This kind of temperament was innate, just like Xuan Tianhua's immortal aura. It could not be erased. Even if he had a serious expression at this moment and wore the light yellow robes of a regent prince, under the heavy pressure of nobility, it could not suppress the scholarly air.
He brought Noble Lady Li into the death row prison. When the guards saw that it was the Sixth Prince who had come, they understood the situation and handed Noble Lady Li one of the sachets that they had prepared beforehand. They even picked one with the strongest fragrance so that she could cover her mouth and nose to block the smell in the death row prison.
Noble Lady Yu had made a certain degree of mental preparation and even adjusted her mentality when she heard the people outside the prison talk about the situation inside. She thought that even if she could not face it normally, she would not be scared to the point of crying and vomiting like those people. But when she really saw the Eighth Prince and Liu Shi, all the mental defenses she had built up collapsed in an instant. It was to the point that her legs went soft. If not for the two strong eunuchs supporting her, she would have fallen to the ground.
The Sixth Prince turned around and personally supported his mother. Then he pointed at the Eighth Prince and said to her: "Mother, do you think he looks terrible like this? Is it scary? "
Noble Lady Li nodded in a daze and said with a trembling voice: "Feng, I've seen, I've seen, let's quickly leave!"
Xuan Tianfeng shook his head and said: "Mother, you have to look carefully. As you look, you have to think. This Son will not hide it from you, his pitiful state was caused by Princess Yu, because he had once sent a caretaker to barge into Feng Zirui's bedroom in the middle of the night, with the intention of having that child who was not even ten years old lose his virginity at such a young age. Royal Consort Yu was angered and pushed this sin onto him. You see, this is the result of going against them. Mother does not wish for the person locked up here to be me one day, right? "
"How can it be you? How can it be you? "Noble Lady Li said loudly:" Aren't the two of you very good? You even helped her, how can she harm you? "
"Me helping her is an act of kindness, but everyone has their own bottom line. Feng Yu Heng's bottom line is ninth brother. If you continue to touch it again and again, it's hard to guarantee that she will place this debt on me. Mother, if you really love me, then live your life properly and stop thinking about those ghosts and gods. " He said while pointing at Liu Shi in the other cell, saying: "Look at her, you are sisters. Liu family has close contact with Gu Shu's Gu poison aristocratic family, this matter has already been exposed. If I did not remove you from your consort position and send you to Jing Si Palace, I'm afraid mother would not be able to escape a miserable fate. After all … that Gu Master was sent into the palace through your hands. "
Noble Lady Li trembled. It turned out that her son knew everything. It turned out that everything she had done could not escape the eyes of others! She had thought no one would know, could it be … that she would really harm her son?
"You are already the regent prince, there is no need … no need to be afraid of them, right?" Noble Lady Li made her final struggle.
"I am only the regent, not the crown prince. Moreover, even if I am the crown prince, they are also my brothers. I can only protect them and absolutely cannot harm them. Mother, this is your son's principle, please do not wantonly destroy it. "
After he finished speaking, he indicated for the palace servants to send Noble Lady Li out, while he stayed in the cell for a while. Looking at his Eighth Brother and Liu Shi, even if he could not bear it, he had to admit that all of this was their own fault. Earlier, he had scared Noble Lady Li, he believed that no matter what Noble Lady Li did, Feng Yu Heng and Xuan Tianming would not put this debt on him. But if such a day really came, even if they did not blame him, how could he face those two again?
A regent prince, if he could not even control his own mother, how could he control this world?
Ten days later, he welcomed the former imperial consort Liu Shi's punishment of being hacked to pieces …
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