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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 103: Disfavor
King Qi and Yang Liang approached awkwardly, trying to soften their stance. "We are cousins; those past grievances are nothing. Qiao Lingze and Liu Qian'an, those troublemakers, have already been expelled from the residence."
Li Jian Cheng sighed dramatically and glanced over there, speaking in a low voice, "I naturally remember the bond of blood with Your Highness. However, I was suddenly assigned by His Majesty, and these guards are all trusted confidants of the Emperor. Aside from my two household servants, I cannot control anyone else."
Upon hearing this, both men trembled slightly, unable to utter a word. Li Jian Cheng slowly took in Yang Liang's anxious expression before turning to await the outcome.
He had already guessed what could be uncovered. A few days ago, it was likely the Crown Princess; now it was probably those princes who had been granted titles. If Yang Liang was ruthless enough, perhaps even the Emperor would be implicated.
Liu Jianzhi grabbed Yang Liang's arm. "Now is the time to go see His Majesty and plead for forgiveness. Do not hide anything; confess everything clearly."
Yang Liang was already in a daze. After hearing this, he numbly nodded and started running toward the palace gates. Liu Jianzhi pulled Li Jian Cheng back, pleading, "Just take it slow."
Li Jian Cheng shook his head as he saw the leader of the palace guards emerge from the inner courtyard, holding a pile of small wooden figures and talismans. Upon seeing Li Langjun being held back, he followed the earlier orders from Lord and immediately mounted his horse to rush toward the palace.
Liu Jianzhi wanted to step forward and stop him, but at his old age and frail condition, how could he possibly restrain a guard leader as capable as Shen Guang? He fell helplessly to the ground, watching the knight's retreating figure through the dust that rose around him.
Li Jian Cheng stepped forward to help him up. "You did your best."
Yet in the Emperor's eyes, doing one's best but failing to accomplish the task meant incompetence. What good was incompetence if one continued to live and waste resources?
Both of them understood the Emperor's temperament, which was why Liu Jianzhi endured teaching King Qi despite knowing he lacked regal demeanor.
"Still unable to escape this calamity, Li Langjun. If I were to die here, would His Majesty spare my descendants?"
"That would only anger His Majesty further."
"What would you have me do, Lord?"
Li Jian Cheng replied, "The faults of King Qi must not be concealed in the slightest. Everything must be laid bare so that the world knows it is not His Majesty who lacks compassion for King Qi, but rather that King Qi is utterly debauched."
"His Majesty truly intends to pass the throne to the Crown Prince?"
"Lord Liu, if you follow my advice, you may yet preserve your life. As for other matters, those not in power should not meddle in politics; why worry about it?"
When the two returned to the palace to report, they found the Emperor holding the Imperial Staff of the Predecessor Emperor, circling around King Qi while reprimanding him. King Qi had lost his usual arrogance and was now burying his head and raising his backside, shouting, "I am guilty! I am guilty!"
"Of course you are guilty! As an Uncle, you actually used a curse to torment your own nephew. You are worse than a pig or a dog!"
This was indeed difficult to judge. King Qi had merely sought supernatural means to ward off evil, while the Emperor had outright killed his own nephew.
But clearly, no one dared to bring up this topic. Upon seeing their return, the Emperor immediately pointed at Liu Jianzhi and scolded him fiercely before summoning all officials of fourth rank and above from the court as well as those from the Qi Wang Mansion.
Li Jian Cheng stepped forward and recounted Liu Jianzhi's words to the Emperor in a completely emotionless tone, including matters concerning the Wei Family.
Yang Liang turned back in anger to glare at Liu Jianzhi; there was no way Li Jian Cheng could have fully investigated everything so quickly.
Yang Guang had not anticipated that Yang Liang would be so audacious. He himself had waited until he became Emperor to act recklessly, yet this fellow dared to take a woman from the Wei Family as a Concubine even before ascending to the throne.
Immediately, the Captain of the Imperial Guards was ordered to command the Wei Family to commit suicide, and then to eliminate everyone in the outer residence completely.
Yang Liang rushed forward and clung to Yang Guang's leg, pleading, "Father, the Wei Family has given birth to a daughter for me; that is a merit in itself. Moreover, she is now pregnant, possibly with your grandson. I beg you to show mercy!"
The Emperor was so furious that he could not speak. After kicking him away, he struck him several times with his staff before panting heavily and tossing the Imperial Staff aside as he returned to his dragon throne. As his breath calmed, there was no trace of anger or joy left on his face.
Everyone lowered their heads in unison, quietly waiting for the arrival of the court officials and the subordinates from Qi Wang Mansion.
Moments later, the court officials arrived. Seeing the situation, no one spoke; they simply stood silently with their mouths closed. However, the subordinates from Qi Wang Mansion were not so composed. They had been terrified on their way there and immediately began bowing and begging for mercy upon arriving before the Emperor.
The Emperor ordered thirty beheaded and over a hundred others along with their families to be exiled to a new county. He publicly questioned King Qi and Liu Jianzhi. King Qi did not dare to speak, while Liu Jianzhi reported truthfully and condemned King Qi as inhumane.
Everyone thought Liu Jianzhi would surely die, but unexpectedly, after listening to him, the Emperor sighed deeply and merely demoted him to a commoner.
As for King Qi, the Emperor stripped him of his position, exiled all his old officials, and commanded the Captain of the Imperial Guards to become the Tiger General, specifically responsible for overseeing King Qi and ensuring he did not commit any further misdeeds.
It was indeed a ruthless move; anyone could forgive and befriend King Qi, but only this Captain of the Imperial Guards had personally eliminated the Wei Family and that child—someone who had an irreconcilable feud with King Qi—yet was now tasked with watching over him.
When the Emperor hardened his heart, what did it matter that he was a son?
Li Jian Cheng showed no signs of protest, but the silent officials began to feel uneasy. They had heard some rumors about how many mistakes King Qi had made, but after all, he was the Emperor's only legitimate son.
Compared to ensuring a smooth succession of the throne in the future, what King Qi had done seemed trivial; such individuals could be found even in counties or districts.
The Grand Historian Yu Zhi spoke up to plead for King Qi, but this was precisely what the Emperor did not want to hear at that moment—especially since he remembered that Yu Zhi's son was one of Qi Wang Mansion's subordinates.
"You cannot serve me wholeheartedly while your son serves King Qi. How can you turn your back on me like this?"
Yuzhi hurriedly replied, "I serve Your Majesty, and my son serves King Qi; it is indeed with one heart, and I dare not have two."
The Emperor coldly laughed and turned to Li Jian Cheng, asking, "Do you believe this one heart and no two?"
Li Jian Cheng solemnly replied, "Heaven has no two suns, and a nation has no two rulers!"
Upon hearing this, the Emperor immediately demoted Yuzhi to a county magistrate. The other officials quickly guessed the Emperor's intentions; it seemed he was planning to arrange for the sons of officials to accompany the Crown Prince in his studies.
After the farce ended, the Emperor kept Minister Yuan Mao behind, reassuring him that once the storm passed, he would grant him a marriage with Princess Yang. Yuan Mao wept in gratitude for the Imperial Favor.
Although Liu Jianzhi lost his official position, he did not dare to rest. He went around discussing how absurd King Qi was, and the common people also murmured their disdain for King Qi.
However, this was soon overshadowed by another piece of good news. General Chen Ling commanded troops across the sea to conquer Liúqiú Kingdom. He successfully captured the capital of Liúqiú Kingdom, killed its king Kashidou, and brought back over ten thousand captives.
…………
(End of Chapter)
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