12dz Chapter 141 Beheading
Chapter 141 Beheading
Empress Ji appeared at the side of the palace, and the emperor saw her as soon as he turned his head.
When Marquis Ji saw the Empress, he immediately shouted indignantly, "Your Majesty, my Ji family has been loyal to you and our country for many years. Yet, you have been deceived by the people and are sentencing Ji Cheng to death. Even this old minister has been demoted. You have fallen into the trap of the treacherous people!"
He wept bitterly, "For the past fifteen years, my Ji family has been doing this for you..."
When Jiang Xing saw Empress Ji appear, he worried that the truth might have changed again, so he immediately interrupted Marquis Ji: "A treacherous scheme? Are you talking about me, Marquis?"
He laughed mockingly, his voice as sharp as a knife: "The Marquis hid a whole vault of gold under his villa in Qingxiu Mountain, which is worth half the treasures of the national treasury. Did I also put it in there for you?!"
Jiang Xing was filled with anger and couldn't help but question in a harsh voice.
W-what? ! !
It was as if there was a firecracker hidden in Ji Xiangli's heart, and it exploded with a bang at this moment.
His sobbing stopped and his face turned pale instantly.
The emperor smiled sarcastically and glanced at Empress Ji, "My Lord, are you still not convinced by my judgment?!"
Queen Ji still remembered Lu Xuan's previous threats and was actually hesitating whether to plead for Ji Cheng.
But now that the evidence had been found and the emperor was so furious, she was at a loss for a moment and could only watch the emperor cry.
Ji Xiangli saw the queen come out for a long time and just stood there without saying anything, and subconsciously became even more panicked.
However, he still maintained his usual arrogance and spoke righteously: "Where is the gold? Your Majesty, please do not make false accusations without any evidence!"
He angrily said, "That villa is just for my Ji family to escape the summer heat. If there really is gold, wouldn't I have people guarding it day and night? Besides, no matter what the crime is, the emperor must personally send people to investigate to confirm the truth of the matter!"
Although the queen was afraid of Lu Xuan, she gritted her teeth when she saw her father and brother like this, and immediately went up to the Sumeru platform with tears in her eyes, and knelt down in front of the emperor.
"Your Majesty, since my father claims he was framed, you must give him a chance to explain, right?"
Empress Ji begged pitifully, but the emperor was annoyed when he saw her.
It was so obvious that all the officials were watching, and there were common people like Old Man Yuan in the audience. If he showed that he was willing to give in for her, wouldn't that really confirm his reputation as a tyrant?
Empress Ji became even more panicked. Seeing that the emperor did not answer, she immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed, crying so hard that she almost fainted.
The emperor knew that someone must have informed the empress. He glared at the eunuch beside him and was about to stand up to support Empress Ji when he saw Pei Fan quickly walk into the hall.
Pei Fan hurriedly reported, "Your Majesty, a large number of common people and scholars have gathered in front of Zhengyang Gate. They are all complaining that the Ji family is disrupting the government and interfering with the imperial examinations. They demand that the master of the Ji family immediately die as an apology! Otherwise, the people in front of the palace gate will not retreat!"
Jiang Xing's heart skipped a beat. It was A Xuan!
His A Xuan is so smart!
Ji Cheng had been hoping that Queen Ji would plead for him, but now, that hope was like a huge door, slamming shut in front of him.
However, this is not what makes Ji Cheng most desperate.
Pei Fan hadn't left yet. He continued, "Lord Huang Zhiwang, the Left Secretary of the Dali Temple, is waiting outside the palace with his men. Early this morning, Lord Huang received a report from the people that over ten bodies had been seized from the Ji family's villa on Qingxiu Mountain, along with thousands of carts of gold. They're awaiting the Emperor's ruling!"
The emperor's slightly plump body was shaking. After hearing this report, he felt as if the Ji family was holding a knife to his neck, and he was filled with anger.
He pushed Queen Ji aside and said, "Ji Xiangli, what else do you have to say?!"
His pupils were dilated and his swollen eyelids seemed to be burning with fire.
His determination became unwavering at this moment.
Ji Xiangli was completely stunned.
Jiang Xing, this bastard, actually dug up his lair before coming to inform on him. Every step was clearly planned long ago!
Feeling the emperor's determination, he took two steps back dejectedly, his throat tightened and he could not make a sound.
The emperor glared at Pei Fan with uncontrollable fury. "Huang Zhiwang need not enter the palace! Pass on my decree that all the gold in the Ji family be confiscated, and Marquis Ji Xiangli be stripped of his fifth-rank official position and never serve again!"
"No! Your Majesty, you can't, you can't do this..."
Empress Ji knelt weakly towards the emperor, tears streaming down her face, but she held back her tears and dared not cry out loud.
She didn't understand why the emperor didn't let her brother and the Ji family go as he did before, even though she had been serving so carefully and cautiously during this period.
Lord Ji saw that the emperor had become even more aggressive and was even unmoved by his daughter's pleas for mercy.
How could this still be the emperor who listened to him and consulted with him in the past?
The dejection in his heart suddenly turned into resentment. He was powerless just now, but in an instant he was filled with anger.
He looked up at the emperor and slowly stood up. His scarlet eyes were bloodshot and his whole body turned pale.
"Jiang Muyao, you are so ungrateful to my Ji family! Don't forget..."
At this moment, Lord Ji's voice stopped abruptly.
He felt a void force suddenly and forcefully strangle his throat.
He was anxious and angry, shouting like a madman, his veins bulging, his face flushed red, but he could no longer make any sound.
He stared at the emperor intently, feeling overwhelmed by resentment, and immediately began to curse.
Although there was no sound, everyone knew what he was saying from his lip movements.
Queen Ji was terrified and stared at her father blankly, not daring to utter a word of pleading.
Jiang Xing was watching this wonderful show when suddenly, a gray-black figure came running at high speed and suddenly got back into the jade pendant.
It’s Yuan Fang’s soul!
He looked terrified, as if he had been extremely frightened.
Jiang Xing looked up and saw that the emperor had turned pale at some point.
Did the emperor see Yuan Fang?
But the emperor's eyes were fixed on Ji Xiangli.
The emperor was furious at being yelled at by Ji Xiangli. If he hadn't been silent, his dignity as an emperor would have been completely destroyed!
"Come here!" the emperor shouted, pointing tremblingly at Ji Xiangli and Ji Cheng, his voice thick with the smell of gunpowder. "Ji Cheng has brought disaster to the people and incurred the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. He must be beheaded immediately at the Meridian Gate! The people will be allowed to witness the execution! Ji Xiangli has disrespected the emperor and must be punished with fifty strokes of the cane. He will be dismissed from office and will never serve again. Execution will be carried out immediately!"
Twelve Jinwu Guards immediately arrived outside the hall, picked up Ji Cheng, Ji Xiangli and his son, as well as Yin Hong, and quickly dragged them out of the hall.
Ji Xiangli was struggling fiercely, his face flushed and his neck thick, all the way.
On the contrary, Ji Cheng said nothing and made no effort. He just looked at Queen Ji's figure with deep affection as she was led out like a corpse.
The ministers in the hall were all shocked by the ferocious look of Lord Ji. They all lowered their heads and dared not look at him again.
It seems that if I just look at it, that will soon become my fate.
Jiang Xing looked at this inexplicable scene and immediately realized that there must be something or some information in the hall that he had missed.
But, what is it?
The morning court session that day lasted until almost noon.
Now that his revenge was achieved, Jiang Xing finally felt better.
When leaving the court, he was about to take Old Man Yuan out of the hall, but he found that there was a figure behind him.
When I turned around, it was Sun Xiaoyue.
Sun Xiaoyue had gone completely crazy. She only recognized Old Man Yuan, who followed her crying and laughing, mumbling something to herself.
Old Man Yuan couldn't hear what she was saying, he just looked at her angrily and said, "I didn't expect Miss Sun to be such a person. Don't follow me, or I'll beat you up when I see you!"
Jiang Xing listened carefully to the sound she made, mumbling softly: "Juren, I am the wife of Juren...Juren..."
Jiang Xing was worried that she was following him because Yuan Fang's soul was inside the jade pendant on him, so he immediately called Fei Xing: "Call a guard to send Sun Xiaoyue back to Huangzhou!"
"Yes!"
Facing the scorching sun, Jiang Xing and Old Man Yuan finally left the Hall of Supreme Harmony that day.
Just as they stepped out of the palace, a minister in the corner of the palace followed his back with a dark gaze and took a deep look at him.