Zhu Kongshan had used her death to report the Eighth Prince's crimes. This caused the officials present to feel very surprised and moved. They all kneeled. Regardless of which faction they belonged to, they all stood on the side of justice in this atmosphere of death, loudly shouting: "Would Your Majesty please punish the Eighth Prince for his crimes! Would Your Majesty please punish the Eighth Prince for his crimes! "
On the other side, Xuan Tianming's group also kneeled, repeating the same lines as the officials. Emperor Tianwu's hand that was holding the report trembled endlessly. There was a feeling of helplessness that surged forth. Although there were still many suspicious points about this case, he also knew: The Eighth Brother deserved it!
So what if he was wrongly accused this time? The previous two times, he had been able to escape punishment. Faced with these officials, faced with the people of the world, faced with his other sons, he had to show an attitude today!
"The Eighth Prince, Xuantian Mo …" Finally, Tianwu spoke up: "Harming the common people, tyrannical, inhumane and devoid of humanity. Immediately send him to the death row. The Imperial Guard in the palace will be handed over to the Ninth Prince. As for the Eighth Prince … have the Board of Punishments set a date … for execution! "
These words determined the Eighth Prince's final fate. Someone, however, felt unreconciled and asked: "Then what about Noble Lady Yuan?"
Tianwu waved his hand: "Demoted to talented lady and moved out of Cun Shan Palace … to Jing Si Palace."
Another person was sent to Jing Si Palace. Although she was not executed, nor was she sent to the cold palace, she was demoted to talented lady, which was no different from a palace maid. After all, she was just an imperial concubine of the inner palace. After losing her son, she could no longer do anything. The people did not have any objections to this punishment.
Only Xuan Tianming and Xuan Tianhua understood. Tianwu was not a fool. He knew that Noble Lady Yuan had been framed, thus he left that woman with a chance to live. Xuan Tianming sighed to himself and thought to himself that his Father Emperor had indeed become old. If this was 20 years ago, Noble Lady Yuan would have undoubtedly died. But now, Tianwu was filled with an irreparable debt to the concubines in the imperial harem, so he was no longer as straightforward as before.
After court was dismissed, Xuan Tianming led a large group of Imperial Guards to surround the Sheng Palace and arrest Xuantian Mo.
The death row prison was located in the palace, right under the mountain behind the palace. It was a place so cold that even during the hottest days of summer, one would have to wear a cotton-padded jacket. It was the twelfth month of the year, and the inside was so cold that a drop of water would turn into ice, so cold that it could penetrate one's heart and lungs.
Xuantian Mo sat in the death row cell. The floor was so cold that he felt numb from his waist down. He was still in a daze. He didn't understand how he had been sent to the death row for no reason. It was said that he would be beheaded? How could this be? How could he have ended up in this sort of situation?
Not to mention how the Eighth Prince could not understand how things had ended up like this, but Noble Lady Yuan, who had been chased out of Cun Shan Palace, also could not understand how things had suddenly turned upside down. It was only after she heard that Zhu Kongshan had countersued the Eighth Prince for a number of crimes and had killed herself in front of Emperor Tianwu that she came to a sudden realization. It turned out that she and her son had been smart for their entire lives; however, in the end, they had fallen into that girl's hands.
She angrily gritted her teeth! She originally wanted to give her son some help; however, who knew that she would send a wolf cub to her son's side and cause them to end up in this sort of situation.
Jing Si Palace, how ironic! Back then, Consort Li had been demoted to noble lady and rushed to Jing Si Palace. Now, she had been demoted even more thoroughly, becoming a talented lady. She had also entered Jing Si Palace. Was this how the wheel of fortune had turned?
The palace maid, Yue Xiu, followed the current Talented Lady Liu into Jing Si Palace's side hall. Without her noble lady position, even her title had been revoked. Now, she could only use her mother's surname. "Talented lady, what sort of thing is this!" She was so hateful that she nearly shattered her teeth from gritting them. "I don't believe it! I definitely don't believe that Mo 'er and I are finished like this! " Talented Lady Liu's eyes spat fire, "This matter definitely cannot be left as it is. So long as Mo 'er does not die, I will definitely think of a way to save him!"
Yue Xiu did not want to live in such a miserable state. Right now, they still had Jing Si Palace to live in. Once the Eighth Prince was executed, perhaps her master would not even be able to maintain her position as a talented lady. Although she did not hope that her master would one day be able to sit in the position of the empress dowager, she definitely did not hope for her to become a talented lady. If her master was not good, how good could this servant be?
Yue Xiu furrowed her brow and pondered for a long time before saying: "It seems that His Majesty's imperial decree did not say that master is not allowed to leave Jing Si Palace. Thinking about it, it's different from when Consort Li was locked up here."
These words reminded Talented Lady Liu. That's right, compared to Imperial Concubine Li in the past, she now had absolute freedom of movement. The Emperor had only said that she would be demoted and moved; however, he did not say that she was not allowed to move about in the palace. As long as she could still leave Jing Si Palace's gates … she suddenly began to laugh, "It turns out that my path with Mo 'er was not completely sealed. As long as this gate is open, I have a chance to turn things around. Yue Xiu, help me get changed and comb my hair. Let's go over to the Empress' side to take a look. "
A noble lady had been demoted to talented lady, and it had been personally demoted by the Emperor. This news very quickly spread through the inner palace and reached the Empress' ears.
To the Empress, Noble Lady Yuan's demotion to talented lady was not enough to resolve the hatred in her heart. If it were up to her, it would be best to throw that person into the death row with the Eighth Prince and set a date for their execution. Otherwise, she would simply be given a white cloth or a bottle of poison and be given a death sentence. Only with Noble Lady Yuan's death could she no longer be threatened by that person. Her days would be a little more stable, and she would not need to be on edge all day like she was now.
Fang Yi advised her: "Your Highness, take it one step at a time. She's already been demoted to talented lady. From this day forward, just find a random reason to torment her until she's half dead. In this inner palace, it's too easy to kill someone. "
"That's right!" The Empress sighed, "In this inner palace, it's too easy to kill someone. It's just that this One has never disdained using this sort of method, and there has never been anyone that could threaten this One's position. That's why this sort of thing was practically forgotten by this One. "
Just as the two were speaking, a palace servant came in from the outside to report: "Your Highness, Talented Lady Liu is requesting an audience."
"Talented Lady Liu?" The Empress was stunned and was unable to react for a while, "Who is Talented Lady Liu?" How many years had it been since someone of the position of talented lady had come to Jingtsu Temple?
The palace servant replied: "It's the former Noble Lady Yuan. She was just demoted to talented lady today."
"It's her!" A vicious look appeared on the Empress' face. This was something that had never happened to her in many years. But it was only for an instant, as she very quickly regained her composure. She just nodded, "Let Talented Lady Liu in."
The palace servant went out to invite her in, and Fang Yi quietly said: "Why bother with seeing her, Your Highness? Right now, she's nothing more than a talented lady. Even if she has that weakness, as this servant sees it, she would not dare speak of it until it's time to cut off all means of retreat. As for us, how could we allow her to truly cut off all means of retreat? This servant has already thought about this matter. As long as Your Highness' hands aren't dirtied, this servant will naturally do it. "
The Empress furrowed her brow but did not directly respond to this topic, only saying: "This One just wants to investigate a bit more. How much does that woman know and what sort of evidence she has. If it's just hearsay, there is no need for us to be so worried. "
While she spoke, Talented Lady Liu walked in with Yue Xiu. Having been demoted to talented lady, she would need to kneel and greet the Empress upon seeing her. She was very unhappy, but as long as she was still in the palace, these rules could not be ignored.
The two bowed and said: "Greetings to Your Highness the Empress."
The Empress sat at the head of the table and looked at the kneeling person below. She could not help but ask: "Could it be that you believe that based on this One's abilities, this One is able to bring the Eighth Prince out of prison? Or do you feel that this One can help you regain your position as noble lady? Or perhaps the position of imperial concubine? "
Talented Lady Liu raised her head, a faint smile on her face, as she said: "No, this concubine never thought that Your Highness the Empress would have such an ability. If you really did, the one who regained the position of imperial concubine would not have been Consort Li. "
"Then what did you come here for?" The Empress was furious, "Could it be that you came to show off that you didn't die this time? This One will tell you, whether you live or die, it was all because of you two! Falling into your own niece's hands, this matter has nothing to do with this One! "
"Why is Your Highness the Empress so agitated?" Talented Lady Liu was still kneeling on the ground, looking up as she spoke to the Empress. She said: "This concubine came here today without any intention of asking Your Highness the Empress for help. This concubine was just thinking that with such a large change, it won't do for me to be the only one feeling sullen. " When she said this, a sharp light shot out of her eyes as she coldly said: "Cheng shi, if I'm not happy, don't think that you'll be happy either! I came here today to have you see my end. I'll have you think carefully about what sort of end you will end up with when everything is exposed. Don't think that just because you're the Empress today, you'll always be the Empress. I'll tell you, I've already arranged for people to take care of your matter. Once something happens to me and the Eighth Prince, just wait and see. Very quickly, news of Your Highness the Empress' true identity will spread to every corner of Dashun. When that time comes, I'll see what sort of face you'll have left to sit in this position. What sort of face you'll have left to become the mother of the world. I'll also see if His Majesty can still tolerate someone that has been hidden at his side for so many years. I just want to see, when that time comes, whether you'll be dead or alive, whether you'll be like me or inferior to me. "
Talented Lady Liu's words caused the Empress' heart to tremble; however, it was unable to cause her any real impact. She even laughed and said: "What's there to be curious about. It will happen sooner or later. It's not like this One has never thought about it. Also, Noble Lady Yuan, oh, that's not right. It should be Talented Lady Liu. Do you think that His Majesty is muddle-headed? This One will tell you that His Majesty was shrewd in the past and is still shrewd now. Nothing can be hidden from him. My matter can't be hidden from him, and the matter between you two can't be hidden from him. The mine in Yu Zhou and the battle in the South, do you think that you ended up in this situation just because of Zhu Kongshan? Just wait and see. It's not that there won't be retribution. It's just that the time has not come. When the time comes, everything will be retribution. You are like this, and this One is also like this. "
Talented Lady Liu stared at the Empress and felt that this head empress' face was covered in an aura of death. She suddenly realized that the Empress herself no longer had any hope of surviving. What sort of things that she had said could truly provoke her?
The Empress just waved her hand, "You can go back! Using that matter to threaten this One is pointless. His Majesty already knows this. The reason that he has kept this One around until now is just to use this One as bait. You're the talented lady, and I'm the bait. Look, neither of us is much better than the other! "
Talented Lady Liu left Jingtsu Temple's main hall while the Empress laughed. The Empress' words had caused waves in her heart. If what the Empress had said was true, what had she been doing this entire time? The threats that she had thought of were nothing more than a clown's play. The Emperor knew long ago that she could not threaten anything. But if she could not threaten anything, what should she do with Mo 'er?
As she was thinking, she suddenly bumped into a person. Talented Lady Liu was stunned and looked up. She saw a heaven-defying beauty in red standing in front of her. Displaying a heaven-defying smile, she said to her: "Talented Lady Liu, why do I smell the scent of a corpse coming from your body?"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
