The next day, in the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Qianlong's face was solemn as he looked at his son kneeling on the ground. Finally, his gaze landed on Yukui. "Yukui, tell me, why did you show the secret file of the Merit Examination Office to the remnants of the Ming Dynasty? Do you want these people to laugh at me for not having a ruler and using inhumane people?”
Yu Kui lay on the ground, his eyes darting around as he thought about how to say something to reduce his punishment to the lightest." Your son, your son…"
"You what? Tell me!" Qianlong shouted impatiently.
"Your son is just…"
The Fourteenth Prince, who was kneeling at the back, couldn't help but interrupt,"Seventh Brother, why didn't you just say that the reason you copied the secret files of the Merit Examination Department and recorded them into a book was to frame Twelfth Brother?”
"Nonsense! Why would I frame my own brother if I'm not the emperor's brother?”
The Thirteenth Prince, Yuhao, who was kneeling beside Yureng, also said,""How can that be? In order to prevent Twelfth Brother from suffering enough, he even used the weakness of human nature to coerce Dong Chang to commit murder and arson for him. Then, he would let Twelfth Brother take the blame so that Twelfth Brother would not be able to defend himself.”
Yukui laughed when he heard that." Good, that's really good! One said that I stole the records of the Merit Examination Division, one said that I had someone write the Record of a Hundred Paths, and one said that I had someone burn Huxi Town. Since you all say that I did it, then let me ask you, where is the evidence? You can't push all the blame on me just because of your words, right?”Yukui turned to Qianlong." Your Majesty, do you also believe that I did all these things?"”
Qianlong's eyes narrowed." But Yuli found a copy of the secret file of the Merit Examination Department in your residence. How do you explain this?”
"Your son was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel before, and then it was handed over to Twelfth Brother, so it is very natural for your son to have the secret files of the Merit Examination Department. How can you conclude that I asked someone to write the book based on this?”
Yuqi, who was standing, snorted coldly." Really? Then let me ask you, the secret files of the Merit Examination Department have never been allowed to be touched by anyone, let alone read. As the head of the Ministry of Official Personnel, why did you knowingly violate the rules and even copy them for your own private collection?”
"I just…"
"But what?"
" It's just…" Yukui looked up fiercely." Alright! Even if it was wrong for me to copy the records of the Merit Examination Department, what evidence do you have to prove that I asked someone to write the Hundred Vehicle Record? I'm not the twelfth brother who can casually befriend a group of the previous dynasty's remnants.”
Yuqi snorted." You want witnesses? Then I'll bring you a witness." He stepped forward and cupped his hands." Your Majesty, please allow me to call the witness."”
Qianlong was curious." Alright, I'll listen to you."”
Yuqi shouted loudly,"Twelfth Brother, come in!"”
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the 12th Prince Yu Li slowly walk in with a woman." Your son, Yu Li, pays his respects to the Emperor. May the Emperor live forever.”
"Zhu Daixiu greets the Emperor. Long live, long live!”
Everyone was shocked, especially Yu Kui and Qian Long.
Qianlong was so angry that his entire body was trembling." You, you bastard! You actually dare to defy the imperial edict?"
Yu Li held Zhu Daixiu's hand and kowtowed to the ground." Your son wouldn't dare!”
"Since you don't dare, why is this witch still alive? Didn't I ask you to kill her?"
Yu Li loudly said," Your Majesty, your son is your son. If you want to kill your son, your son will not dare to complain. But if you want to kill Qing 'er, your son will not agree." Because Qing `er was innocent. She wasn't a demon and she didn't commit any heinous crimes. His Majesty couldn't kill her!”
Qianlong was so angry that he laughed and stood up." I can't kill her? Since you said that you have no regrets in dying, it means that you are willing to die in her place?”
"Yes, sir! Your son is willing to die in her place. I only hope that Your Majesty will spare Qing `er's life and give her a chance to tell the truth.”
"Bullshit! I gave birth to you. Do you think I won't dare to kill you?”Qianlong took the imperial sword in the eunuch's hand and pulled out the blade, ready to cut down on Yuli.
For a moment, the Imperial Court could only hear voices asking the Emperor to calm down.
Suddenly, Zhu Daixiu stood up in front of Yu Li." All the sins and grudges are caused by this woman. If the emperor wants to kill, then kill this woman!"”
Qianlong was slightly stunned. He looked over and his eyes lit up.
Zhu Daixiu's eyebrows were curved and her cheeks were full. Her eyes were watery and her hair was like clouds. She was beautiful and seemed to contain thousands of worries. It made people want to hug her, hug her, and even kiss her to eliminate her endless worries.
Qianlong looked down and saw that she was weak, with tears in her eyes, slightly panting, as quiet as a flower shining on the water, as moving as a weak willow supporting the wind, more beautiful than Xi Shi, more stunning and pitiful than Zhaojun.
Qianlong's anger disappeared unconsciously. He thought to himself, How could there be such a beautiful woman in the world? Not to mention Yuli, even when he saw her, his heart could not help but pound. No wonder this little brat Yuli would rather defy the imperial edict than kill her.
He stared at Zhu Daixiu with admiration, surprise, regret, and even a hint of jealousy.
"Your name is Zhu Daixiu?"
"Yes."
"Are you willing to be punished on behalf of Yuli?"
"Qing Er is willing to do anything for the twelfth prince.”
"Including dying for him?"
Zhu Daixiu nodded without hesitation." That's right. Qing 'er is willing to die for him, but…"
"But what?"
"However, if the twelfth prince didn't deserve to die, but because the emperor was muddle-headed and let the twelfth prince be wronged, then even if Qing Er died, she wouldn't be willing!”
Qianlong's eyes widened." Are you pointing at the mulberry and scolding the locust tree?”
"Qing `er wouldn't dare. Qing` er just feels that it's strange. The evidence is clearly there, but why does the emperor refuse to believe that all of this was arranged by the seventh elder brother?”
"You said that all of this was arranged by Yukui? What evidence do you have?"
"Evidence? Emperor, please listen to Qing Er and you will know.”
So Zhu Daixiu told him how Yukui threatened his father to write the Hundred Vehicle Record, how he stole the sky and switched the sun, how he killed to silence him, how he sold himself to Jia Shi, how Jia Shi forced him to serve Yuli, and how he framed Yuli.
When it was said that Yu Kui was afraid that Yu Li would find out the truth and ruined the path of the princes, he actually asked Dong Chang to kill and set fire to destroy the evidence so that he could frame Yu Li. He also wanted to force rape and murder her, and even ordered people to put her in a coffin and send her to the evolved human field to be burned alive before she died, Qianlong could not sit still and stood up.
"Then how did you escape?”
"Because Dong Chang was afraid that the seventh elder brother would kill him again, he went into hiding after returning to the capital, secretly looking for an opportunity to get away with it. He saw that the Seventh Prince had ordered people to put Qing Er into the coffin and send her to the human transformation field, so he boldly intercepted her on the way. Fortunately, he had this unexpected move, otherwise, Qing Er would have become a pile of ashes at this moment and would not be able to tell the truth to Lord Wansui.”
"Dong Chang didn't save you out of kindness, right?”
"Of course not. He just wanted to use Qing Er as his bargaining chip. If Seventh Brother won, he could use me to threaten Seventh Brother. After all, I know too much truth, so he believed that Seventh Brother would buy this account. It would be even better if the 12th brother won, because he knows the 12th brother…the 12th brother…"
Yu Li reached out to hold her hand and continued,"He knows that I love Qing `er and that I must marry her in this lifetime.”
Qianlong replied softly," Do you have any evidence for what you said just now?”
Zhu Daixiu nodded." Yes. When my father was forced to write the Hundred Vehicle Record, he knew that this book would eventually bring disaster to himself, his family, and even more innocent people. Therefore, he had already drafted a will and submitted it to the Emperor, asking the Emperor to read it.”
"Will? Hand it over."
Zhu Daixiu turned her body and took out a letter from her bosom.
Qianlong opened the letter and carefully read it again and again. He even asked the eunuch to check the handwriting with the Baicheng Record to make sure that the person who wrote the letter was the same person who wrote the book.
The letter roughly mentioned the reason and process of writing the book. It even mentioned that " everything in the book is copied. I dare not add or delete anything. There are no mistakes. I hope that the Holy Lord will judge the merits and demerits, determine right and wrong, and correct the court."
At this point, Qianlong finally understood that although Zhu Lun was forced to write a book, his intentions were not completely unacceptable. It could not be compared to the Wen Prison incident back then. Moreover, he was able to give birth to Zhu Daixiu, this extremely intelligent daughter. Zhu Lun shouldn't be some rebel, right?
He remembered that Yuqi had once told him in private that this whole matter was a big injustice. The cause was that Yuli was a straightforward person and refused to bend the law for personal gain. He had cut off many opportunities for the princes to promote their disciples and earn money to sell their official positions. That was why Yukui had thought of ways to bring Yuli down.
Therefore, if this case was handled correctly, it could rectify the court's rules and save the government. It could also save the lives of countless people and avoid another storm of the literary prison. If he did it wrong, father and son, brothers would kill each other, and the country would be in danger. It was really dangerous!
Qianlong leaned against the dragon throne and stared at his son who was kneeling on the ground. After a long time, he said,
"Yukui, I don't want to know what you did. I don't want to know whether you admit your mistake or not. Take this sword back yourself. Do as you see fit!”
Yukui's face turned pale." My lord…"
Qianlong pulled a long face." Drag it out. I don't want to see him again!”
Two servants stepped forward to help Yukui up. Yukui was still struggling." Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”
"Drag him away!"
Seeing that no one could save him, the chamberlain could only drag Yukui away.
"Yureng!"
The 14th brother rushed out of work.”
"Dong Chang is currently imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice, right?”
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"I order you to immediately bring Dong Chang out of the Meridian Gate and behead him in public. His wife and children will be exiled as well. Without my order, they will never return to the court.”
"Yes!"
"Yuli!"
"Your son is here!"
"Although this matter is an undeserved disaster for you, you didn't discipline your disciple strictly and let him cause a big disaster. This crime can't be forgiven. Second, you disobeyed the decree, so you must be punished. I'm punishing you to shut yourself in for a month to reflect on your mistakes. Read more books this month and restrain your temper. One month later, I will make you my wife.”
Yu Li was stunned on the spot." But love?”
"That's right, Princess Ke Qing from King Duan's residence. Why? Any objections?"
Yu Li tightly held Zhu Daixiu's cold little hand and said loudly,"Your son already has Qing `er. In this life, I will not marry anyone other than Qing` er.”
Qianlong slammed the table." Nonsense! You're the grand emperor's elder brother, how can you marry a remnant of the Ming Dynasty? I won't allow it!"
"If Your Majesty doesn't allow it, your son would rather not marry!”
"What did you say?" Qianlong roared.”
Yu Li raised his head fearlessly. "If Your Majesty doesn't allow your son to marry Qing `er, your son would rather not marry for the rest of his life.”
Qianlong sneered at Yuli." Never marry? I want to see how you won't marry for the rest of your life! Men, drag Zhu Daixiu out of the Meridian Gate and behead her immediately.”
Yu Li turned pale with fright and hurriedly stepped forward to protect Zhu Daixiu." Your Majesty, if you want to kill Qing `er, then kill your son as well!”
"You think I don't dare? Men, drag this adulterous couple out and behead them!”
Seeing this, the other brothers quickly knelt down again." Your Majesty, please calm down!"”
Yuqi also stepped forward to stop him and shook his head repeatedly." Your Majesty!”
However, Qianlong was still so angry that he blew his beard and glared at him. Among all his sons, only Yuli dared to talk back like this. He even refused to bestow marriage again and again. He did not give him any face at all. It was really infuriating! No wonder Yukui would come up with such a vicious scheme to mess with him. He really didn't know how to be flexible!
Zhu Daixiu trembled and looked at Qianlong with teary eyes." Your Majesty, may I ask why you want to kill Qing 'er?"”
Qianlong was stunned, and his anger disappeared in an instant. Strange, this woman had a way to make him not angry. It was too dangerous!
" I..." Qianlong opened his mouth, but he didn't know how to answer. In fact, he didn't know why he had to kill her.
"Because Qing `er is a descendant of the previous dynasty, she must die?”
Qianlong raised his head to hide his guilty conscience." That's right.”
"Since that's the case, I request the Emperor to order that all Han people, regardless of whether they are civilians or officials, be beheaded on the spot.”
Qianlong was shocked." What did you say?"
"Other than the Manchu people, all the Han people are the remnants of the previous dynasty. Since they are the remnants of the previous dynasty, they deserve to die! Even this Imperial City was left behind by the previous dynasty. If the Emperor really cared about the previous dynasty, then he would set fire to the Imperial City to prevent it from causing harm to the Qing Dynasty!”
Qianlong was suddenly drenched in cold sweat. He looked at Zhu Daixiu and couldn't say a word. This woman was too smart! He couldn't let them stay, he couldn't let them stay!
Zhu Daixiu kowtowed to the ground." Qing 'er knows that she is not worthy of the 12th Prince. Qing' er only wishes that the Emperor will no longer blame the 12th Prince. Then, Qing 'er will be satisfied and have nothing else to ask for."”
Qianlong nodded." I don't blame him, but I still won't allow your marriage because the marriage between him and Ke Qing Ge Ge has been decided long ago. It can't be changed.”
Zhu Daixiu didn't say anything. It was obvious that she had already accepted her fate of not being able to marry Yu Li.
"How about this! For your sake, I forgive your father's crime of reading the secret files of the Merit Examination Department. I will not pursue the matter of the Hundred Vehicle Record. As for your clansmen, I will also grant them innocence and not harm the innocent. But you can avoid death, but you can't escape punishment. Do you know that?”
Zhu Daixiu kowtowed to the ground." As the Emperor wishes!"”
"Good! Zhu Daixiu was immediately sent to Huanggutun to shave her hair and become a monk. No one was allowed to visit her. From now on, Yu Li would be closed for a month. After a month, she would marry Ke Qing Ge Ge. No one was allowed to intercede!”
The mansion of the 12th Prince
Yu Li smashed everything in the mansion to vent his anger. From antiques and vases, he smashed all the way to tables and chairs, furniture, and even some of the decorations in the garden. The only thing that was intact was the room where Zhu Daixiu lived. It was the pair of mandarin duck pillows that Zhu Daixiu had embroidered for him.
However, when he saw the mandarin duck pillow, Yu Li's anger rose again and he shouted sternly,"Men, come quickly!"
A few maidservants ran in, trembling." Twelfth Prince…"
Yu Li's eyes were on fire as he said angrily,"Bring the wine!"
"Yes, sir!"
The servant girl flew over and soon brought back a pot of wine and a few dishes. "Master, the food and wine are here!"
Without waiting for the servant girl to set it up, Yu Li picked up the wine jug and directly drank the entire jug of wine in a mouth-to-mouth manner." Bring more wine!"”
"Yes, sir!"
The situation was still the same. Yu Li still drank a pot of wine at a time. After a few times, Yu Li only felt that his anger was even greater. He raised the wine pot and smashed it on the servant girl. "What a bunch of good-for-nothings! You only took so little at a time? Feed the cats? Bring me the whole urn!"
The maidservant was in so much pain that her eyes were filled with tears, but no one dared to make a sound. A few people hurriedly went to the cellar and carried out a jar of wine.
Seeing the huge jar of wine, Yu Li's mouth curled into a sinister and self-harming smile. He took a big step forward, picked up the jar of wine with both hands, and poured it into his mouth, not caring how harmful it was to drink like this.
Yu Li drank more than half of it and his mind was already a little tipsy. However, he wanted to die, so he did not care that the wine had already drenched his entire body. He raised his head and drank again.
At this moment, a hand reached over and snatched the wine jar from his hand. "Stop, don't drink anymore. If you continue drinking, you'll die!”
Yu Li raised his eyebrows angrily. Give me the wine, or I'll cut you in half and feed you to the dogs!”
Yuqi shook his head and placed the wine jar on the table. He then sat down." Why are you throwing such a big tantrum with Fifth Brother?" Yuli, are you really drunk or are you faking it?”
Yu Li was stunned. It was obvious that he had only just realized that it was Yu Qi." Fifth Brother, is that you?”
Yuqi smiled slightly and picked up a small wine glass. He scooped a cup from the wine jar." Don't drink alone. Fifth Brother will accompany you!”
"Good!" Yu Li sat down heroically and raised the wine jar directly into his mouth.
Yuqi couldn't help but shake his head," Twelfth brother, how sad will Qing 'er be if you drink like this?”
At the mention of Zhu Daixiu, Yu Li's heroic spirit and arrogance disappeared in an instant, leaving only pain and despair in his heart. "I never drink in front of her. She's afraid of alcohol. She would even get drunk in my arms when she smelled it.”
Yuqi reached out to hold his hand." In that case, don't make her sad."”
"Sad? Would she be sad? No, she wouldn't be sad, she would be heartbroken. She would be heartbroken that I, a dignified imperial brother, almost couldn't keep her life, and even more heartbroken that I couldn't fulfill my promise.”
"Twelfth brother, are you talking about yourself?”
Yu Li was stunned and his eyebrows furrowed.
"You're the one who's really disappointed, right? You have never been someone who would give up on yourself. Even a year ago when you thought that Qing `er had died, you never gave up completely. Why are you now…" Yuqi paused." Is it because of the Emperor?”
There was a touch of sorrow in Yu Li's eyes." Fifth Brother, can't you tell? The emperor has fallen in love with Qing `er!"
Yuqi wasn't too surprised by this answer. In fact, he could see that something was wrong with the Emperor's expression, but he didn't want to mention it.
"His Majesty likes Qing `er. He looked at Qing` er with the eyes of a man. I'm too familiar with that gaze and have seen it too many times!”
"Twelfth Brother…"
"Today, there were a few times when I discovered that the Emperor was originally very angry. But as soon as he saw Qing `er, his anger immediately dissipated. So I think that he sent Qing 'er to Huanggutun to become a monk, not to separate me and Qing' er, but to separate himself, so that he wouldn't be impulsive and do the same embarrassing thing as his predecessors!”
The so-called predecessor was, of course, Tang Xuanzong, who forcefully took his daughter-in-law as his concubine.
"You gave up on yourself because you knew this?" Yuqi said in a low voice.”
"What else can I do? Disobeying orders? Didn't disobeying the order give the emperor an excuse to kill Qing 'er? He was just worried that he could not find a reason to kill the femme fatale, Qing 'Er!”
"But are you willing to let her spend the rest of her life alone in Huanggutun with the ancient Buddha?”
"Of course I don't want to, but what can I do? Can I get out? The emperor sent people to guard this place so that I wouldn't go out. Otherwise, I would have…"
Yuqi got up and patted Yuli's shoulder." You go!"”
Yu Li was stunned." Fifth Brother?"
"I know that without her, the twelfth brother is only half a person and not complete. Since you know each other and love each other so deeply, why should you give up because of this little obstacle in the end? Go! Fifth Brother will take care of everything."
"But…"
Yuqi raised his thick eyebrows." She gave up her life for you. She would rather choose to live alone for the rest of her life. Can't you give up something for her?”
Yu Li gradually understood and a sincere smile appeared on his face." If I wasn't the emperor's brother, then all of this wouldn't be a problem."”
"That's right, you are you. You are not someone else. You don't have to control your life because of someone else's words.”
"I understand, Fifth Brother. Thank you! But…"
"Are you worried about Keqing Gege?"
"The imperial edict to bestow marriage has been issued. When the time comes…"
Yuqi revealed a bitter smile." When the time comes, there's really no other way but for me to marry her! You can't ask 14th brother to sacrifice his Yan 'er, 13th brother to abandon his Yan' er, or you want to ask 4th brother to abandon his Miss Xiaoguang and marry Keqing?”
"But Bi Huan…"
Speaking of Bihuan, Yuqi's face revealed a rare blush." That girl has her own way of dealing with things. You don't have to worry about her." It's getting late. You should set off quickly, or it'll be too late if Qing 'er really becomes a nun! Fourth Brother, Thirteenth Brother, and Fourteenth Brother will help you get rid of the guards at the door!”
"Thank you, Fifth Brother!"
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。