In the imperial study room, Ming Cheng Zuxing hurriedly sat in front of his imperial desk and opened Liao Xianghe's confession.
From the incense burner next to it, wisps of incense with refreshing effects floated in the sunshine.
Lin Shangli hunched over and glanced at the confession from time to time, taking a look at Long Live Lord's reaction.
This case is the first major case in Dongchang, and it is also an important ruling that establishes his position as the official of Dongchang. Being able to bring down the leader of Beizhen Fusi, who is in charge of the entire prison, is tantamount to having set off a stir in the imperial court.
Huge waves soaring into the sky.
Even though they are competing for each other's favor, Liao Xianghe's identity has undoubtedly magnified the impact of this case countless times.
No matter whether there is any reward from the court for solving this case, no one can take the title of Dongchang Changgong away from him for the time being.
After finally reading the confession in his hand, Ming Chengzu slowly raised his head.
"Xiao Linzi, in your opinion, how should the crime committed by Liao Xianghe be dealt with?" he said, rubbing his brow with his right hand.
Lin Shangli was stunned.
When did the emperor ask himself what to do with these court officials who had committed serious crimes? All the time, whenever the charges were submitted to the prison, there was always only one word in the emperor's mouth, "Behead".
Could it be that in the emperor's mind, these crimes were not enough to kill Liao Xianghe? Or did the emperor not believe that this was the only thing Liao Xianghe had planned?
Lin Shangli's mind was spinning rapidly.
When I came to the emperor to apply for the arrest of Liao Xianghe, I clearly felt the emperor's anger. Why was the emperor uncharacteristically calm when I got Liao Xianghe's confession today, and asked myself how to deal with Liao Xianghe.
Could it be that the emperor believed that what Liao Xianghe did was nothing more than fighting for favor, and that although the methods were a little too complicated and cruel, they were not enough to offset his previous achievements in prison, so the emperor did not want to kill him?
Thinking of this, Lin Shangli's back felt a little cold.
It seems that I still underestimated the importance of Liao Xianghe in the emperor's mind, underestimated the importance of Liao Xianghe to the imperial edict, and even more underestimated the importance of the imperial edict to the emperor.
Originally, he used Liao Xianghe's confession to express his merits to the emperor, but now it seems that not only did he not win over Liao Xianghe, but he also made the emperor look down upon him.
"Your Majesty, Liao Xianghe has been in charge of the imperial edict and has handled countless major cases in his life. How could he not know that he should not do anything about Dongchang's various conspiracies? However, maybe it was the first time that Dongchang was born.
Jian, Liao Xianghe was only afraid that Dongchang would steal Jin Yiwei's limelight, so he did such a despicable thing. All his starting points were just to compete for favor, and in the final analysis, he just wanted to be more loyal to the emperor."
Lin Shangli bowed his body and adjusted his tone of voice in time.
Although in his mind, it was not an exaggeration for Liao Xianghe to have the ten clans exterminated, but looking at the emperor's unmoving expression at this moment, how could he dare to continue attacking Liao Xianghe.
He could only say words to excuse Liao Xianghe against his will in order to synchronize his thinking with the emperor.
"Loyalty is not wrong, but these methods are a bit inappropriate." Ming Chengzu said calmly with an expressionless face.
Listening to Ming Chengzu's words, Lin Shangli's eyes moved back and forth, thinking over every word.
"Not wrong" and "inappropriate", these two words have clearly expressed the emperor's attitude towards this matter.
If Liao Xianghe was taken down because of the competition between Jinyiwei and Dongchang, Ming Chengzu would obviously be unwilling to accept it. But the confession in black and white put Ming Chengzu into an embarrassing situation.
Looking at the confession stamped with Liao Xianghe's bloody fingerprints on the table, Lin Shangli felt like something was stuck in his throat, and he was full of words.
Every case in the confession involved human life, and even more so, it involved collusion with the Yanqing Guards who were responsible for guarding the border. Each single crime was enough to decapitate Liao Xianghe.
But such a huge conspiracy ultimately boils down to two parties competing for favor, which is somewhat surprising.
"I think that the achievements that Liao Xianghe made in the imperial prison far outweighed the mistakes he made. In our Ming Dynasty, although the merits and demerits cannot be equal to each other, because he is in charge of the imperial prison well and solves the emperor's problems everywhere, he will
It is not impossible for him to move down a level and continue to serve the emperor." As he spoke, Lin Shangli used the corner of his eyes to check the changes in Ming Chengzu's face.
After a long silence, Ming Chengzu stood up slowly: "According to you, the people and officials who died because of this all lost their lives in vain and were not held accountable?"
"Dead people cannot be resurrected. Even killing Liao Xianghe has no practical significance for them. The slaves thought that by properly providing compensation to the families of the deceased, Liao Xianghe was demoted. This not only appeased people's hearts but also retained talents.
, it makes the emperor’s grace even more magnanimous.” Lin Shangli said without daring to raise his head.
Ming Chengzu slowly walked to the window and looked at the empty plain outside the window.
"Xiao Linzi, do you still remember that red plum blossom that has already bloomed?"
Lin Shangli was startled.
Last time, it was also at this window that the emperor broke out in a cold sweat.
Now the emperor mentioned red plums again. Could it be that what I just said did not speak to the emperor's heart.
"I remember, I remember. That red plum tree is very popular with the emperor." Lin Shangli said perfunctorily.
At this moment, he really couldn't figure out what the emperor was thinking.
"Then do you think it would be better to plant the red plum outside the window, or would it look better just like this empty place?" Ming Chengzu said lightly, but his eyes did not leave the open space outside the window.
"Although the red plum is good, it must block the emperor's view of the distance. I think this empty area is the most suitable." Lin Shangli said hurriedly.
At this moment, he finally understood that the emperor's sacred power would not tolerate any provocation. Even if something he liked blocked his sight, he would have to remove it.
"This Liao Xianghe has worked hard all his life. How to deal with him makes me a little embarrassed." Ming Chengzu walked back to the case and looked at the confession quietly.
"The emperor issued edicts and repeatedly established the status of Dongchang. Although Liao Xianghe was just fighting for favor, he ignored the holy will. Although he had merit in being in charge of the imperial edict, targeting Dongchang would be targeting the Ming Dynasty. If it is not dealt with seriously and the national law is rectified,
I'm afraid it will leave a bad reputation for the important ministers in the court." Lin Shangli's tone of conversation began to change drastically again.
"According to what you said, how should we deal with it seriously?"
"Behead him as a warning to others," Lin Shangli said.
"Hey, this Liao Xianghe, like you, has been with me for many years, and I don't want to leave him. Now, even Xiao Linzi says that he can't be kept, so I can only bear the heartache and kill him." Ming Chengzu said.
