The middle-aged woman was stunned by the beautiful scenery of the palace when she visited it for the first time. She followed closely behind cautiously and tremblingly into the imperial study, not daring to raise her head.
The eunuch in front stopped in his tracks. Trembling, she was about to kowtow when her gaze fell upon Li Yan and the others two meters away. Enraged, she roared and lunged at them, shouting, "You beastly, treacherous officials! Give me back my daughter! Give me back my daughter…"
The middle-aged woman saw her enemies and was furious. She roared at them angrily and scratched and clawed without any regard for her image.
The emperor, Lord Ma, the eunuchs, and the guards were all watching from the side. Li Yan and Wang Qiang couldn't rely on their martial arts skills to beat up the middle-aged woman, so they dodged and hurriedly explained, "You've mistaken me for someone else, you've hit the wrong person."
"It's you five! I'd recognize you even if you were ashes!" The middle-aged woman roared, showing no restraint as she used all her strength to desperately attack Li Yan, Wang Qiang, and the other three.
Their neat clothes were torn into strips and tattered, and their tidy black hair was also scratched into a mess. The imperial study was very large, but in front of the emperor, they could not dodge much. They were being tightly grabbed by the middle-aged woman and brutally ravaged, and they were truly in a sorry state.
Looking at the emperor's gloomy face, Eunuch Zhao roared at the six people fighting amongst themselves: "You audacious woman, how dare you cause such a ruckus in the emperor's study? You're tired of living!"
The middle-aged woman was startled, suddenly realizing that this was the imperial palace. She hurriedly let go of his hand, knelt down on the ground, her body trembling uncontrollably: "This humble woman is uncouth and has offended Your Majesty. Your Majesty, please forgive me. Your Majesty, please forgive me."
"You have caused such a disturbance in the Imperial Study. Do you know what your punishment is?" The emperor looked down at the middle-aged woman with a cold and imposing gaze.
"This humble woman offended Your Majesty; it was my fault. If you avenge my daughter, I will submit to Your Majesty's judgment, even if it means facing death or boiling oil, I will not utter a single complaint." The middle-aged woman's words were resolute and unwavering, her vow causing the Emperor to pause slightly in surprise: "Your daughter...is dead?"
"Yes." The middle-aged woman raised her head, her eyes filled with tears, pointed at Li Yan, Wang Qiang and the others, and roared angrily: "They raped my daughter and falsely accused her of seducing them, forcing her to commit suicide out of shame and resentment. She died with her eyes still open."
"Madam, you've mistaken us for someone else. We don't know you." Li Yan lied without batting an eye, thinking to himself, "I never thought she would actually complain to the Emperor. If I had known this would happen, I would have just killed her instead, and avoided all this trouble."
"You don't know me, but you must know him, right?" The middle-aged woman sneered, pointing at Li Fan. "You colluded with him to frame my daughter, forcing her to commit suicide. My poor daughter was only fourteen years old, violated and humiliated by you beasts..."
"Madam, the reason I have determined that Li Yan, Wang Qiang, and the other three are innocent is because your daughter was not a virgin when she seduced them, and she also extorted five hundred taels of silver from them."
Li Fan refuted the middle-aged woman's words, but he felt a chill in his heart. When Eunuch Zhao invited him to the palace, he felt that something was wrong. He did not expect that the death of the village girl had alarmed the emperor. How could this be?
"The coroner has been bribed by you to frame my daughter. She is an innocent young woman, how could she not be a virgin?" The middle-aged woman roared hysterically, her voice trembling.
"That's what the coroner reported to me, so of course I have to use it as the basis for my judgment." Li Fan's eyes flickered as he shifted the blame to the coroner, absolving himself of any responsibility. A case that had alarmed the emperor was a major, important case. Although brotherly affection was important, it was far less important than his own life. He decided it was best to protect himself.
The emperor's sharp eyes swept coldly over Li Yan, Wang Qiang, and the other four. It was possible that one woman had seduced and blackmailed them, but for two women to seduce and blackmail them again ten days apart was simply a fantasy. The truth of the matter was already becoming clear.
"Thump." A woman was pushed into the imperial study and fell flat on her face. After seeing the woman's face, Li Fan's face turned ashen. A female coroner, she had actually been invited here.
"Your Majesty, these are the items found in her house." A guard entered the imperial study, placed a small wooden box in front of the emperor, and quickly opened it, revealing a layer of snowflake silver that dazzled everyone's eyes.
The case of the woman's daughter's tragic death involved the coroner. When Eunuch Zhao invited Li Fan and the middle-aged woman, Lord Ma also ordered his guards to go to the coroner's house to investigate him. When they found something amiss, they immediately dragged him to the palace.
The emperor's face instantly darkened, and he coldly stared at the female coroner: "Where did you get so much silver?"
The coroner knelt on the ground, trembling as he said, "Your Majesty, this was left to me by my ancestors..."
"Nonsense." The emperor's gaze was sharp, his voice as cold as ice, frightening the coroner into not daring to raise his head: "Your ancestors for three generations were all commoners, living a relatively comfortable life. Even if they had saved money, they couldn't have accumulated this much..."
"And...and the small salary...add it all up, it's about..." The coroner's body trembled like a leaf, but he remained stubborn and refused to admit it. As a coroner, he knew the seriousness of accepting bribes, so how could he admit it?
"A coroner's salary is one tael of silver a month. After deducting daily expenses, there is not much left. Even if you had not eaten or drunk anything since you were born, you could not have that much silver. Who exactly did you take bribes from? Tell the truth now."
The emperor emphasized the last sentence, and the surrounding temperature instantly dropped. The coroner felt a chill seep into her from behind, quickly reaching her limbs, so cold it was bone-chilling. She was so shocked that she shivered.
"This humble subject...this humble subject..." A layer of cold sweat appeared on her forehead. Her body trembled, her eyes darted around as she pondered the best answer. Inadvertently, she bumped into the emperor. His sharp gaze was like a sword, as if it could instantly pierce through all pretense, leaving no room for anyone to hide.
Her breath hitched, and she kowtowed repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice: "Your Majesty, spare my life! It was those five who gave me money to give false testimony and frame that girl."
The emperor wanted to be meticulous and insightful, so if she confessed now, there was still a glimmer of hope. But if she waited until the emperor was completely enraged, she would only face death.
"As expected, it's the five of you." The emperor's icy gaze suddenly shot onto Wang Qiang, Li Yan, and the other three, his voice as cold as ice: "Born in the year, month, day, and year of Yangming, your birth dates are special. I trust you and have placed you in the army, entrusting you with important responsibilities, to protect the people and safeguard peace in this region, not to let you abuse your privileges and harm people indiscriminately."
People born in a year, month, day, and hour with Yang energy are few, but they can still occupy all the key points. Losing one or two, or even three or five, is no problem. Do these people think that because their birth time is special, they can do whatever they want? They are taking themselves too seriously.
"Your Majesty, spare our lives! We know we were wrong!" Wang Qiang and Li Yan hurriedly knelt down.
First, there was the mother of the woman who was raped by them and committed suicide out of shame and indignation. Then there was another woman who was almost raped by them as a witness. In addition, there was the coroner's personal testimony, which was enough to convict them. If they resisted, it would be a futile struggle. In a fit of anger, the emperor might just have them all executed.
It would be better to boldly admit it and let the emperor's anger subside. They have indeed made meritorious contributions to Qingyan. When the emperor judges their crimes, he should take it into consideration. Whether he removes them from their official positions or demotes them to commoners, he should spare their lives.
"Wang Qiang, Li Yan, Huang Liang, and the other two are unambitious, abuse their power, rape women, and take lives. Their crimes are unforgivable. Take them out and behead them!" The emperor's majestic voice echoed in the imperial study, announcing the fate of the five men.
How... how could it be a beheading?
Li Yan, Wang Qiang, and the others stared wide-eyed, speechless with shock. They too had rendered meritorious service; did the Emperor not consider their contributions?
They didn't know that the emperor valued natural disasters and, incidentally, they also valued them. However, they abused their power and caused the deaths of ordinary people, which made the emperor disgusted and wary of them. He also realized that those who obtained high positions by relying on auspicious birth dates would become arrogant and complacent, and would not know their own limitations.
Li Yan and Wang Qiang both had merits and would not normally be executed. However, the emperor wanted to make an example of them to deter those born in the year of Yang and who held high positions and were arrogant. Therefore, the five of them were destined to become sacrifices.
After a brief moment of astonishment, Li Yan and Wang Qiang understood the implications. They were the first to be targeted; they had made a grave mistake, and the emperor wanted to make an example of them to deter others born in the same year and month.
"Your Majesty, spare our lives! We know we were wrong!" The five men knelt on the ground, their heads pounding as they kowtowed, their eyes filled with remorse.
The emperor ignored them and waved his hand impatiently. The imperial guards outside the door stepped forward, grabbed the five men on either side, and quickly dragged them out of the imperial study.
"Your Majesty, spare us... This humble servant will never dare to do it again..." The five men cried out in regret one after another, but the emperor's gaze was gloomy, and he turned a deaf ear to them. Those who did wrong should be punished.
"Swish, swish, swish." After a few soft sounds, the pleas for mercy in the courtyard stopped abruptly, and the world seemed to fall silent. A faint smell of blood wafted through the air. Everyone in the imperial study looked at the emperor's gloomy face, and no one spoke. The atmosphere was eerily quiet.
"The coroner accepted bribes and falsely accused someone of wrongdoing; he shall be imprisoned for twenty years." The emperor's majestic voice rang out again, and everyone took the opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief.
The female coroner's deathly pale face improved slightly, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was somewhat relieved. Thank goodness, she was only sentenced to twenty years in prison, not beheading: "Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty."
As the female coroner finished speaking, the middle-aged woman slowly said, "Your Majesty, my daughter and I have avenged our great wrong. I am willing to submit to Your Majesty's judgment. However, Lord Li Fan accepted bribes and also participated in harming my daughter and me. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."
The emperor's sharp gaze fell on Li Fan: "Li Fan, is this true?"
Li Fan's face turned deathly pale instantly, and he stammered, "Your Majesty... Your humble servant..."