King Linjiang entered the Yiqing Hall with an ugly look on his face, stepped forward and saluted: "I have met the emperor."
Emperor Jian'an, who was reviewing the memorial, raised his head and glanced at him: "How is this trip?"
Except for Eunuch Luo, all the other servants in the palace withdrew.
King Linjiang then opened his mouth and told the story of the trip... Of course, those words that were too insulting to Emperor Jian'an had to be reworded. They were said euphemistically and implicitly. Some of the offensive words were omitted directly.
Even so, Emperor Jian'an also looked gloomy when he heard this, and threw the memorial to the ground with a snap: "What a Prince Ning! How dare you be so arrogant when you are about to die!"
"Okay! Okay! Okay!"
"I will fulfill his wish now and kill him tonight!"
Emperor Jian'an was furious. King Linjiang and King Hejian did not argue, but they both rolled their eyes in their hearts.
Yes! You can kill people if you want, but you still want this fig leaf to maintain the illusion of a benevolent emperor! It’s too greedy!
Prince Ning is not made of paper and clay, so how can he be so easy to manipulate?
Emperor Jian'an slapped the table hard again, and the anger in his eyes fell on King Hejian: "King Hejian, are you loyal to me?"
King Hejian was trembling all over and responded quickly: "I am loyal to the emperor a hundred thousand times."
"Okay," Emperor Jian'an said coldly, "You take action tonight and kill Prince Ning."
King of Hejian: "..."
King Hejian's knees weakened and he knelt down with a bitter look on his face: "Your Majesty, please spare me!"
How could he have such courage?
The last time all the female family members of the Huainan Prince's Palace died in the Zongren Mansion, the imperial censors filed memorials to impeach him one after another, which made him extremely embarrassed. If Empress Dowager Yu hadn't secretly intervened to protect him, the position of Zongzheng of the Zongren Mansion would have been eliminated long ago.
He was beaten to pieces.
If Prince Ning died "suddenly" in the prison of Zong Ren Mansion, how could Prince Ning's followers in the court be willing to let him go?
Seeing the cowering King Hejian, Emperor Jian'an became furious and threw a paper weight at him. It hit King Hejian hard on the shoulder.
The King of Hejian gasped in pain, but did not dare to move. He continued to kneel and apologize: "I am incompetent!"
King Linjiang frowned slightly, feeling quite unhappy.
They were also serious princes. In terms of seniority, they were all two generations older than the young Emperor Jian'an. When Emperor Jianwen was still alive, he respected them all. Even the King of Huainan whose children and grandchildren made big mistakes, Emperor Jianwen just scolded them angrily.
, not deliberately humiliating.
Emperor Jian'an's actions obviously didn't take them seriously at all.
The emperor has neither ambition nor magnanimity, which is really disappointing.
King Linjiang took a step forward, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down!"
"Although Prince Ning refuses to plead guilty, the fact that the assassination of the King of Shu is complete with both personal and material evidence does not allow him to deny it. Today, Lu Ge Lao Fang Ge Lao and others have already submitted memorials to the court. After a few days, I will
I will submit a memorial together with my clan members to ask the emperor to convict Prince Ning!"
It was impossible for King Ning to take the initiative to plead guilty. It would be better to accept the invitation of the ministers and clan members and directly convict him!
The ministers gave the memorial first, and the clan members came after the memorial. He, the emperor, had no choice but to do this. He had no choice but to convict his brother with sorrow.
That makes sense.
Even if it leaves a mark in the history books, it won't be too ugly.
Emperor Jian'an calmed down his anger and nodded slightly: "That's okay!"
King Linjiang was stunned, and a look of gratitude appeared on his face: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
…
After a while, King Linjiang and King Hejian resigned and left the Yiqing Hall together.
The scorching heat has passed, and it's starting to get cooler in the morning and evening. King Hejian suddenly broke out in cold sweat, waving his sleeves to wipe it, and soon, cold sweat oozed out again.
King Linjiang glanced at King Hejian and snorted: "Look at your potential!"
The King of Hejian smiled helplessly: "Yes, yes, I have no future, right? In the situation just now, I don't give up, but if I really want to..." Before he finished speaking, he swallowed it back and glanced at it warily.
Made a circle.
Who knows how many pairs of eyes and ears are hidden in this darkness?
King Linjiang was a shrewd and sophisticated man, so he was naturally more cautious and careful. He didn't say much and only said: "I will take you back to your home."
After leaving the palace, I went to Hejian Palace to discuss what to do.
The King of Hejian nodded in agreement.
…
Seven or eight days later, the clan members, headed by King Linjiang and King Hejian, jointly submitted a memorial. The memorial was full of impassioned accusations against King Ning, and the words were far more intense than the memorials by Lu Ge and others.
This wave of calls for the emperor to issue an order to deal with Prince Ning became more and more ups and downs.
Of course, there were people in the court who defended Prince Ning, but unfortunately their voices were weak and were quickly suppressed.
Mr. Lu Ge never misses a good opportunity. He stepped forward calmly, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is kind and has a deep brotherly love. The sun and the moon can tell you how much you treat Prince Ning."
"It's just that the King of Shu is also the emperor's sibling. If the King of Shu had not been alert that day, he would have been taken advantage of by King Ning. You must not spare King Ning just because the King of Shu is safe."
"If King Ning is not severely punished, someone will imitate King Ning's evil deeds in the future, or assassinate the emperor or the vassal king, or even kill an important minister in the court. By then, the court will be corrupted, people's hearts will be turbulent, and it will be too late to regret it.
!”
"Old minister, I sincerely request the emperor to issue an order to severely punish Prince Ning!"
Mr. Fang Ge also took a step forward and said loudly: "Old minister, I second the proposal and I sincerely request the emperor to issue an edict!"
Xie Jun and others also made generous speeches.
Emperor Jian'an let out a long sigh, and a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes: "Before his death, the late Emperor once told me to respect and love the Queen Mother, to be kind to the Queen Mother, to be kind to the Imperial Sister, and to be kind to brothers. I have complied with them one by one, and I have done everything I asked myself."
"But I didn't expect that King Ning would do such a thing secretly. I am also in a dilemma. To punish King Ning severely, I would be ashamed of the late emperor. If I don't punish King Ning severely, I would be ashamed of the King of Shu, and even more ashamed of all the ministers."
"King Ning has made a big mistake, my heart aches, even better than Prince Ning!"
As he spoke, he burst into tears.
The emperor who "valued love and righteousness" shed tears at court, and the ministers had no choice but to accompany him in the performance and offer words of comfort one by one.
After Emperor Jian'an calmed down a little, he took a deep breath and a look of determination flashed in his eyes: "King Ning secretly plotted against the King of Shu, and the personal and material evidence is conclusive. Although the King of Shu is safe and sound, King Ning must not go unpunished!"
"I immediately ordered someone to draw up an edict to remove the title of King Ning and change it to King of Ningxia."
"The King of Ningxia is imprisoned in the clan's mansion. He is still stubborn and refuses to admit his guilt. I punish the King of Ningxia to guard the imperial mausoleum for the late emperor for three years."
This kind of punishment may not sound like much at first glance. If you think about it carefully, you will know the pros and cons.
The title was reduced and he was demoted to the king of Ningxia. When his heirs inherited the title in the future, they would also be lowered to a lower level.
After guarding the imperial mausoleum for three years, he will no longer be able to get involved in court matters. In these three years, the emperor can calmly deal with Prince Ning's followers.
The most important thing is, can Prince Ning endure this humiliation and survive these three years?
