The eunuch bowed and retreated. A moment later, he appeared again and said,""Your Majesty, Commander Meng has a message for this servant. He said that he captured an outsider Sima Lei who trespassed outside Zhao Ren Palace.”
As soon as he said this, the entire hall was shocked. But after the shock, their expressions changed.
Noble Consort Yue's face was tense, the Crown Prince's face was ashen, King Jing and the princess were deep in thought, Empress Yan and Prince Yu were secretly delighted, and the Emperor, who was sitting high above the main seat, had a gloomy expression on his face and seemed to be in a complicated mood.
After a long silence that was almost suffocating, Emperor Liang raised his somewhat heavy arm and gestured for the eunuch who came to report to leave.
"Consort Yue…What else do you have to say?" Different from the stern voice and expression from before, this question was unusually gentle and tired, but it was especially chilling in people's ears.
Noble Consort Yue's gorgeous makeup could no longer hide the paleness of her background. After turning around and looking at her beloved son woodenly, she suddenly rushed to the front of the throne and knelt down. She hugged Emperor Liang's leg and called out in a trembling voice,"Wronged…"
"At this point, you still want to complain?”
" I know that I am not wronged." Noble Consort Yue raised her head, her eyes filled with tears, her expression extremely sorrowful and moving." But the Crown Prince is wronged!"”
"What did you say?"
"All of this was ChenQie's plan, ChenQie's arrangement. The Crown Prince didn't know anything…It was ChenQie who lied to take a look and told him to bring Sima Lei into the palace. He was only following his mother's orders. Emperor, you know that Xuan 'er has always been filial. Not only to ChenQie, but also to the emperor!”
"If the Crown Prince is completely innocent, why didn't he dare to defend himself from the moment he called you into the palace?”
"Emperor, how do you want Xuan 'er to defend himself? Was he going to push all the blame to his mother in front of so many people? Xuan 'er was born with pure filial piety. He could not do such a thing! ChenQie was worried about him because he did not know how to protect himself and was always bullied by people with ulterior motives. She wanted to have more support by his side so that he would not be plotted against.。。”
"Nonsense!" Emperor Liang flew into a rage and flipped Noble Consort Yue to the ground." The Crown Prince is the crown prince. How could someone plot against him? As his consort mother, you should have taught him to be good at governing, to be diligent and responsible, to share my worries, and to set an example for the subjects. This is truly for his own good! But look at what you're doing! How could you do such a despicable thing? If Ni Huang is harmed today, I'm afraid you won't be able to atone for it with a hundred deaths! Even the Crown Prince's reputation and status would be implicated by you. Truly foolish, extremely foolish!”
This scolding could be said to be thunderous and powerful. It was enough to make people's hearts tremble and their souls scatter. However, even though he was scolding her so fiercely, Ni Huang's face flashed with a cold smile. Empress Yan and Prince Yu also revealed a slightly disappointed expression. Because no matter how hard he scolded, he was only scolding Imperial Consort Yue. Especially the last sentence, it was already clear that he wanted to take responsibility for the Crown Prince. In this situation, it was not important whether the Emperor truly believed that the Crown Prince was innocent. What was important was that the Crown Prince was facing the crime of " framing a subject with the ruler, helping his mother force the princess to rape, and attempting to kill his brother to silence him." If he were to be dealt with according to this crime, it would probably shake his position as the Crown Prince. As for Emperor Liang, he did not want to depose the Crown Prince because of such a matter, which would cause a huge shock to the current relatively stable court situation. Therefore, after Noble Consort Yue took the blame, he could use this step to come down first.
"As expected, Little Chu." Ni Huang thought.
After cursing for a while, Emperor Liang heaved a sigh of relief. He was not in a hurry to deal with Imperial Consort Yue. Instead, he ordered someone to summon Meng Zhi in.
A moment later, Meng Zhi entered the palace and bowed. Emperor Liang asked him a few questions about how to capture Sima Lei. Meng Zhi replied that his subordinates had met him during their routine inspection. After they caught him, they knew that he was the son of the Grand Marshal and did not dare to deal with him on their own, so they came to ask for an edict. Emperor Liang did not hear anything unusual and only felt that man's plans were not as good as God's. He could not help but sigh and ask,"Where is Sima Lei now?"
"Temporarily detain him in the courtyard where the guards take turns to rest.”
Emperor Liang grunted. He thought that this case concerned the princess's daughter's reputation and could not be handed over to the authorities for trial. He ordered a small yellow door beside him to bring the criminal over and prepare to personally interrogate him. Who knew that after half a day, the little yellow door ran back in a panic and said,"Sima Lei's face was beaten black and blue, and he's in a very miserable state. He's unconscious on the ground now and can't see you.”
Emperor Liang frowned and looked at Meng Zhi sternly. Meng Zhi was startled." That's impossible. My subordinates wouldn't beat up people without permission."。。”
" No," the young man said hurriedly." It wasn't the guards. I heard it was."。。It's…"
"Tell me what it is!"
"It was Young Prince Mu who beat him up. He heard some news and rushed in. The guards didn't dare to stop him. He personally kicked and punched Sima Lei and even broke one of his arms.。。”
Emperor Liang grunted and glanced at Ni Huang, wanting to see her reaction. In fact, before the case was decided, Mu Qing was definitely guilty of breaking into the forbidden garden and using the law to punish the suspect. However, when the Emperor's gaze swept over, Ni Huang was still sitting there expressionlessly. She did not move at all. She did not even stand up and say perfunctorily,"I was reckless. Please forgive me, Your Majesty." This made Emperor Liang somewhat embarrassed as he scolded the little yellow door disciple."If you interrupted me, then so be it. If there's anything important, tell me, quickly get down!”After scolding her, she swept her eyes over her again. Princess Nihuang still had a cold expression on her face and did not have the slightest intention of thanking him. Her pride was probably rare even among men. Not only did Emperor Liang not feel displeased, he even felt a sense of admiration and secretly praised her.
Although Sima Lei could not be tried now, he was actually quite easy to deal with. It did not matter whether he was tried or not. The Liang Emperor hurriedly issued an edict to sentence him to exile for the crime of " trespassing into the forbidden garden." His father, Grand Marshal Sima, was also executed and demoted. No one expressed any objections. The pitiful Sima Lei could be considered to be skilled in both literature and martial arts. However, if he had to suffer the punishment of exile after breaking his leg, he probably wouldn't be able to endure it.
However, Emperor Liang was a little troubled when it came to Imperial Consort Yue. This woman had entered the palace at a young age and had been favored for many years. Her rank was second only to the Crown Prince's. She was also the Crown Prince's biological mother. If she was punished severely, she would not be able to bear it. If she was punished lightly, the Princess would be disappointed. Moreover, with so many eyes watching, the word "fair" had to be considered. Just as he was hesitating, the Crown Prince fell to the ground and cried,""Your son is willing to apologize to the princess on behalf of Consort Mother. I beg Imperial Father to be lenient on account of Consort Mother's many years of service.。。”
"Evil creature!" Emperor Liang raised his leg and kicked the Crown Prince to the ground." Why didn't you stop your mother from doing such a foolish thing? Where is your filial piety?"
The Crown Prince cried hoarsely. He got up and hugged Emperor Liang's leg, tears streaming down his face.
He lowered his head and looked at the person on his knees. Emperor Liang suddenly felt his mind go into a trance. His chest felt as if it had been crushed by something, and it was in pain. A figure that had been deliberately forgotten for many years flashed across his mind. That tall and straight posture, that handsome face, that cold and arrogant expression, and that pair of fierce eyes that seemed to be burning with a fierce flame.
"King Qi…"
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