Song Huaicai sighed: "The result is not up to your Majesty's expectations. Wang Qiuyu has been caught. The family will also suffer heavy losses this time. They will not be able to stand up again in the next fifty years. Your Majesty really has a wonderful plan!"
"I think the emperor is playing a big game of chess." Xiao Shen took a thick stack of letters from Xiao Bing, flipped through them roughly, and patted them with a smile, "These are all good things.
It contains not only the evidence that the ancestors colluded with each other and plotted rebellion, but also the letters that Wang Qiuyu colluded with King Yanye to frame Zhongliang. All of them are Wang Qiuyu's handwritten masterpieces. They must be framed and admired after returning!"
This trip was fruitful. Xiao Shen expressed that it was a great pleasure to search the house, so he walked back to the palace with Song Huaicai in excitement to recover his life.
After not seeing His Majesty for many days, he felt that His Majesty's majesty seemed even stronger than before. Song Huaicai only dared to take a quick glance at it, but did not dare to look at it any more. He kowtowed respectfully and said, "I pay my respects to Your Majesty."
Xiao Feng was wearing dark blue regular clothes with dark patterns. His hair was tied with a jade hairpin. He did not wear any other accessories. He was low-key but dignified. He raised his arm and motioned for Xiao Shen to be level with Song Huaicai. His voice was low and steady.
: "How are things going?"
Xiao Shen and Song Huaicai recounted their experiences one after another, and finally Xiao Shen presented a stack of letters. Xiao Feng read through the letters, his eyes turbulent, but his tone became calmer: "Well done, keep up the good work."
After spending such a long time, he had to receive a verbal reward. Xiao Shen said that he was at a disadvantage. He smiled cheekily and said: "Today, in order to help the emperor on errands, I offended most of the people in the court at once. Look at me."
For making such a huge sacrifice, my dear brother, why don't you give me some reward for my hard work?"
Xiao Feng glanced at him with a half-smile but not a smile: "Before, you got too close to the Wang family, which caused uproar in the city and made the Imperial Grandmother angry. This debt has not been settled with you, and you want to ask for a reward from me?
"
"Hey, you don't want to burn bridges like this!" Xiao Shen exclaimed exaggeratedly, "I opened the bag of tips left by the emperor brother before. The emperor wrote on the note that I would temporarily compromise with the Wang family. These
It's all what you asked me to do, otherwise I wouldn't dare to approach the Wang family even if I had a hundred courages!"
"But I didn't ask you to make the Imperial Grandmother angry. She is old. What if you make her angry?!" Xiao Feng threw away the letter with a cold expression, "The merits and demerits are equal, you can get out.
.”
Xiao Shen stared at him dumbfounded, with an expression on his face that said, "You are ruthless, you are cruel, you are unreasonable." He covered his face in grief and anger and ran away.
After Xiao Shen left, Xiao Feng looked at Song Huaicai and said lightly: "You did a good job this time."
It was precisely because he continued to pursue the case of Prime Minister Qu's collusion with the enemy and treason that he forced Wang Qiuyu to take desperate risks. This time, the Wang family was able to be captured in one fell swoop. It can be said that he made the most of his contribution. Song Huaicai looked unfazed and said respectfully:
"The humble ministers are just doing things according to orders. Without His Majesty's clever calculation, how could those aristocratic families be uprooted?"
"It's not yet uprooting," Xiao Shen pointed to the list that had just been written on the table, "These are the hidden clues that those old foxes buried in the court. You can take them and decide for yourself."
Song Huaicai held the list with both hands, glanced at the names on it, and frowned slightly. Many of these people had higher official positions than him, so it would be difficult for him to deal with them.
As if he guessed what he was thinking, Xiao Feng took out another imperial edict: "This is for you, take it."
Song Huaicai immediately issued the imperial edict, and when he opened it, he saw that it was an appointment edict.
In a few words, Song Huaicai, the imperial censor, was appointed as prime minister.
Song Huaicai immediately knelt down on his knees: "I am a humble minister without virtue or talent. I am afraid I cannot bear such a big responsibility!"
"Whether you can afford it or not, you have to try to find out." Xiao Feng glanced casually and saw that he looked very embarrassed, "Is it possible that you want to resist the order and disobey it?"
Song Huaicai kowtowed vigorously: "I don't dare!"
"Then what else do you have to say?"
Helpless, Song Huaicai had no choice but to say obediently: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the gift!"
Xiao Feng smiled with satisfaction. He leaned back on the chair and waved his arm gently: "Okay, you can get out."
Song Huaicai took the imperial edict and the list and simply rolled away.
Xiao Feng was the only one left in the room. He took out a red concentric knot from his sleeve and gently rubbed the copper coin. He kept thinking about the person who gave him this concentric knot in his heart. His eyes were so gentle that they could almost overflow with water.
Come.
After a while, Eunuch Xia pushed open the door and walked in. He knelt down and saluted: "This servant pays homage to Your Majesty."
Xiao Feng's eyes were still glued to Tongxinkou, and he said calmly: "No need to be polite, how is the investigation going on that I asked you to investigate?"
Eunuch Xia lowered his eyes, not daring to look at him more, and replied respectfully: "The Queen secretly left the palace last night, went to the Wang family mansion this morning, showed her face at the birthday banquet, and then disappeared. The servant has already
Send someone to pass the order, seal the city gates, and conduct strict inspections from house to house."
Thinking of that stupid woman who dared to betray him, Xiao Feng's eyes darkened little by little, and he sneered at the corner of his mouth: "Post the notice that everyone in the Wang family will be killed. Make sure that everyone in the city knows about it. I want to take a look.
, can she even ignore the life and death of her parents?"
Eunuch Xia bowed his head in agreement.
In the torture room of Dali Temple Prison, Xiao Feng sat leisurely, gently stroking the concentric knot with his fingers: "Long time no see, how are you doing lately, Ai Qing?"
Wang Qiuyu, who was hanging in the air, raised his eyelids and glanced at him hard, his voice hoarse: "Thanks to your blessing, I can't die now even if I want to."
Wang Qiuyu's body was covered with wounds, his clothes were soaked with blood, and he was in a miserable state. In the past few days, almost every hour, jailers would come to interrogate him, and they would torture him regardless of whether he said anything or not. He was tortured with all kinds of torture.
He almost died in prison several times. However, the emperor issued an order to ensure that he was sent to the Meridian Gate to be beheaded alive, so every time after he was tortured, the jailers would use decoction to heal his wounds and prolong his life, no matter how old he was.
It was so uncomfortable that I couldn't die simply and neatly.
He was hanging on for breath, barely holding on to his last breath, and it was already worse than death.
The Prime Minister, who was so glorious in the past, has become such a downcast person today. The truth is that things in the world are impermanent.
Xiao Feng smiled with satisfaction: "I am very relieved to see Aiqing living in such a bad life."
Wang Qiuyu was so angry that he couldn't even take a breath. He coughed violently and coughed up blood in the blink of an eye. He moved his lips covered with blood and wanted to speak, but he was so weak that he couldn't even make a sound, but he
His eyes revealed strong resentment.
"My dear, do you ever remember how glorious you were when I first ascended the throne?"
Wang Qiuyu was still coughing and had no strength to answer, and Xiao Feng had no intention of hearing his answer.
Xiao Feng answered to himself: "All civil and military officials in the dynasty had to walk from the palace gate to the court. Only you, Aiqing, can take a soft sedan directly to the entrance of the court, and only Aiqing can wear a sword and face the saint.
, even my queen can only be Aiqing's daughter. The majesty of the emperor is regarded as nothing by Aiqing. In Aiqing's eyes, I am just a puppet that can be manipulated at will. Unfortunately, Aiqing did not expect that she
In the end, you were defeated at the hands of the 'puppet'. The feeling of being stepped on the ground must be amazing, right?"
Wang Qiuyu's cough became more and more severe, almost coughing out his entire lung, which was frightening to watch.
"Aiqing's illness is too serious. The jailer will find a doctor to check on him. Don't let him die before he goes to the execution ground." Xiao Feng stood up calmly, withdrew his eyes without looking at him again, and led
A group of eunuchs and attendants turned and left.
The jailers, magistrates, and officials knelt on the ground in a noisy manner, and respectfully sent His Majesty away in unison.
Xiao Feng's back gradually faded away in the sunshine. After enduring the humiliation for two years, he finally successfully counterattacked and completely reversed the status of the family and the royal family.
From now on, the entire Wushuang Dynasty has no room for survival as a family, let alone the qualification to despise the imperial power.
Xiao Feng became the first emperor in history to completely return imperial power to the Tian family, leaving a mark in the history books.
Notices that the Wang family would be executed were plastered all over the streets and alleys of the city. People gathered in front of the notice boards, pointing to the contents and talking about it.
"A few days ago, I saw that the Wang family was having a grand birthday party, and the carriages stacked with gifts were almost parked on the whole street. I didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, the family would be confiscated and the whole family would be exterminated. This is really more exciting than what was sung in the play!"
"I heard that Prime Minister Wang has so much power in the government and the public that no one dares to touch him, civil or military officials. How could he be put in prison?"
"You don't know this, right? My brother-in-law is on duty at Yingtian Mansion. Listen to him, Prime Minister Wang not only collaborated with the enemy and treason to frame Zhongliang, but also formed a clique for personal gain and rebellion! After being discovered by His Majesty, not only will the entire Wang family be executed, but everyone will be executed.
Everyone who has been involved with the Wang family will not be spared, and they will all suffer!"
"Then the prisons in Dali Temple are all filled with people?!"
"Anyway, these people will be executed soon, and the prison will be empty again soon."
"That's true..."
The crowd was still chatting excitedly, and a slender young woman stood in the crowd. She was wearing a veil, and her face could not be seen clearly. She only revealed a pair of eyes filled with strong hatred.
The veiled woman clenched her fists, her eyes were red, and when she was about to rush forward and tear off the dazzling notice, a pair of big hands stretched out from behind and pressed on her shoulders.
She immediately turned around nervously, and after seeing the face of the person clearly, her eyes were filled with fear: "Why is it you?!"
The person who came was wearing a blue brocade dress with a white gauze cover. His face was delicate and handsome, but his eyes were much deeper than those of ordinary Han people. This person was none other than Wang Yu's distant expression Xilingtan.
Xilingtan's hand stretched forward slightly, and pressed the back of the veiled woman's neck without any trace. With a little force, the veiled woman was immediately out of breath. She tensed her body, her eyes showed fear, and her face was as pale as paper:
"You, what exactly do you want to do?"
Xilingtan smiled friendly: "Come with me."
The veiled woman wanted to refuse, but the big hand on the back of her neck made her speechless. She could only follow him and leave the crowd with uneasiness. (To be continued)