The court officials were all cunning old foxes, each of them more or less putting on an act. Yu Xin's detached and aloof demeanor was particularly convincing, even fooling Yu Xin.
In his own home, Yu Xin shed all pretense and revealed his smug true colors. Only then could he hear the shocking truth with his own ears and see with his own eyes the murderous intent that Yu Xin harbored against him. Ha, Yu Xin actually wanted to kill him.
"Guards, drag Yu Xin away and break his spine!" He wanted Yu Xin to know that he was the emperor of Qingyan Kingdom, and that he held the power of life and death. No matter how meticulously a traitor like Yu Xin planned, he would eventually be exposed and his fate would be beheaded and displayed to the public.
Yu Xin's old face turned deathly pale instantly. As a member of the Imperial Observatory, he knew Qingyan and was aware that breaking the spine was an extremely cruel punishment. The emperor's decision to sentence him to death showed that he hated him to the bone.
Two guards stepped forward, grabbed Yu Xin's arms, and roughly dragged him out.
A gust of cold wind blew past, and Yu Xin suddenly awoke. Looking at Dongfang Zhan, he cried out in panic, "Your Majesty, I am but a diviner, utterly powerless, lacking the ambition to become emperor or the aspirations to lead an army. How could I possibly plot to usurp the throne? You have wronged me, Your Majesty! I have been wronged..."
Dongfang Zhan understood the implication in Yu Xin's words, and his dark eyebrows furrowed tightly. The emperor was furious and convinced that Yu Xin was plotting to usurp the throne, so he wouldn't listen to anyone else.
Moreover, it was he who suggested that Yu Xin perform the ritual to inquire about the natural disaster. If he disregarded the occasion and rashly pleaded for leniency, the emperor would suspect that he was involved with Yu Xin, and the crown prince would seize the opportunity to severely punish him...
Dongfang Zhan's expression remained calm, but his emotions were surging violently, and the look in his eyes kept changing as he pondered the best solution.
Yu Xin was sentenced to have his spine broken immediately, with no time to wait. Just as the guards were about to drag him out of the study to break his spine, Dongfang Zhan stood quietly as if nothing had happened, without saying a word. Yu Xin was shocked. Was the Prince Zhan going to abandon him? How could this be? He didn't want to die, he didn't want to die.
In a panic, Yu Xin looked in the emperor's direction, and screamed in terror, "Your Majesty, the ritual to consult the heavens is actually... um..."
Prime Minister Li stuffed a cotton handkerchief into Yu Xin's mouth, silencing him before he could speak: "Lord Yu, stop trying to argue. Deceiving the emperor is a capital offense, and you should have known this would be your fate when you embarked on this path."
Fortunately, he saw that Yu Xin was unreliable and kept a close eye on him, stopping him from saying what he was about to say in time. Otherwise, if the secret were leaked, both the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Prince Zhan's Mansion would be doomed.
No, he never intended to rebel. He was just helping Dongfang Zhan. The mastermind behind the magic trick was Dongfang Zhan, it was Dongfang Zhan!
Yu Xin looked at the emperor, whimpering, and repeatedly winked at him, implying that it was Dongfang Zhan who wanted to seize the throne.
Seeing that the emperor saw him with snot dripping down his nose and tears streaming down his face as he pleaded for mercy, the emperor felt a deep disgust. How could such a cowardly person be appointed as the Imperial Observatory of the Azure Flame? He must have been blinded and misjudged the person, which was why he valued such a good-for-nothing: "What are you standing there for? Take him away and break his spine."
"Yes." Two Imperial Guards dragged Yu Xin into the courtyard, one pressing down on his head and the other on his feet, pinning him to the ground.
Yu Xin struggled desperately, but could not break free from the battle-hardened Imperial Guards. He stared wide-eyed at the Emperor, howling like a wounded beast, desperately trying to signal to him. The Emperor, whether he did not understand or did not care, looked at him coldly and remained silent.
Another Imperial Guard stepped forward, holding a thick stick two or three meters long. He raised it high and struck Yu Xin hard on the spine. With a muffled crack, a section of his spine shattered.
With a cloth stuffed in his mouth, Yu Xin let out a muffled scream. His face turned deathly pale, and large beads of sweat seeped from his forehead.
The so-called spinal fracture is a cruel punishment in which a person's spine is broken with a wooden stick, causing death. Before the spine is completely broken, the person's mind will be very clear. He can clearly feel his spine breaking inch by inch in his back and feel death approaching him step by step, but he is powerless to do anything about it!
"Crack! Crack! Crack!" The wooden sticks struck Yu Xin's spine again and again. He howled and screamed, his eyes wide open, struggling desperately, but he could not avoid the guards' wooden sticks. The merciless blows were rapidly destroying his life.
Looking into the emperor's sharp, cold eyes, he knew that the emperor hated his deception and his secret plot to usurp the throne. That was why the emperor had used such cruel punishment to kill him and make him suffer a terrible death.
But he really wasn't the mastermind!
His gaze fell on Dongfang Zhan, only to find Dongfang Zhan glaring at him fiercely, his sharp eyes reflecting a chilling light, as if to say: "Because of your negligence, my most elite guard was killed. Executing you with broken vertebrae is too lenient for you."
"Thud, thud, thud." The blows to his back grew heavier with each strike. Yu Xin could clearly hear the cracking of his spine. Most of his body was paralyzed; his life was slowly slipping away. Facing Dongfang Zhan's angry accusations, he responded with a bitter smile:
It was Prime Minister Li who came to him and threatened him with a ritual to consult the heavens to save Li Fan, which is how the emperor overheard the secret. He didn't reveal a single secret, yet he has to endure all the suffering. Where is heaven? Where is justice?
Blood stained his clothes, and Yu Xin, barely breathing, stared wide-eyed at Prime Minister Li. It was because of his love for his grandson that he had recklessly revealed all the secrets, leading to his current predicament. He was the culprit who had destroyed the power of the Prince of Zhan.
In other words, all of Zhan Wang's hard work over the past few years, and the loyal bodyguards he had built, were ruined by this纨绔子弟 (spoiled brat) Li Fan.
The dim sky gradually turned black, and Yu Xin's clothes on his back were completely stained red. His spine was broken, his head lolled to the side, and he was lifeless.
The Imperial Guards stopped, carefully checked Yu Xin's breathing, and reported, "Your Majesty, Yu Xin is dead."
"Throw the corpses into the mass graves, forbid any burial, and execute the entire family, including the nine generations of the Yu clan." The emperor's eyes were gloomy. To deal with a usurper with wolfish ambitions, one must be ruthless and show no mercy: "All those born in the year of Yang in the army, kill them all, leave no one alive."
"Yes." The Imperial Guards scattered in all directions. Some flew out of the mansion to report to the army, while others shuttled back and forth between the front and back yards. The huge Yu mansion was immediately thrown into chaos. The cries and howls of the master, maids, and servants filled the mansion.
The small courtyard where the study was located was heavily guarded and peaceful.
Dongfang Zhan lowered his eyelids, his face was terribly gloomy, and his white jade fingers clenched tightly. The guards he had carefully trained were stationed in various corners of the army, and their power was too scattered. They would definitely be captured and killed by the Imperial Guard or soldiers. All the arrangements he had painstakingly made were gone before they could even be used. How could this be?
Why did Father Emperor suddenly come to the Yu residence, catch Grandfather and Yu Xin discussing their plans, and even implicate the guards who performed the ritual to question the heavens?
Dongfang Zhan looked up at the emperor, only to see the emperor turn to look at the other person who had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor: "Prime Minister Li, do you know your crime?"
He had known about Yu Xin's deception of the emperor for a long time, but he had kept it a secret and even used it to threaten Yu Xin. What a good minister he was, only caring about himself and ignoring the country.
"Your Majesty, this old minister knows that Li Fan is a dissolute young man, utterly useless and good-for-nothing, like a lump of mud that can't be plastered on a wall. But no matter how worthless he is, he is still this old minister's grandson. This old minister couldn't bear to see him exiled to the frontier and die far from home, so I asked Lord Yu for help to deceive Your Majesty through divination..."
Having served as prime minister for decades and having had extensive contact with the emperor, Li knew him very well. He had already discovered the truth, and there was no point in trying to deny it anymore. It would be better for him to admit it openly and give a very tactful reason, so that the emperor could determine the punishment according to the severity of the circumstances.
The emperor's expression softened, no longer showing the sharpness and anger he had shown towards Yu Xin, though his tone remained unusually stern: "Yu Xin has committed the crime of deceiving the emperor. If you had exposed him, it would have been a great achievement, and pardoning Li Fan would have been an easy matter. Why did you choose to collude with him and plot to deceive me?"
A bitter look flashed in Prime Minister Li's eyes. The mastermind behind the scheme to ask the heavens was Dongfang Zhan. How could he expose his grandson in order to protect his own grandson? "This old minister was confused. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
He had no way to express his suffering and could not offer any explanation. He could only vaguely find a reason and leave the emperor to deal with him.
"Prime Minister Li, do you know that deceiving the emperor is a capital offense?" The emperor's tone was low, and his sharp eyes flashed with a sharp light. This old minister, who had served the emperor for decades, no longer respected him for his own benefit.
Dongfang Zhan's heart began to race. His maternal grandfather was a veteran of three reigns and had made great contributions to Qingyan. Even if he had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, he would be forgiven. However, his father was furious and would not listen to any advice. How would he deal with his maternal grandfather?
"This old minister has committed the crime of deceiving the emperor and is willing to accept punishment. I only beg Your Majesty to consider my decades of service to the country and to preserve a bloodline for my Li family."
The emperor hates deception and betrayal the most. Prime Minister Li knew that he had committed a major taboo against the emperor and could no longer get away unscathed. He only hoped that one of his descendants could survive and not die out.
Prime Minister Li, nearing sixty, was deeply affected by the Li Fan affair. He had been racking his brains for days, his face haggard, his eyes weary, and his once imposing figure now extremely thin. Kneeling on the ground, he appeared slightly hunched, a sight that stirred a pang of sorrow in Dongfang Zhan. Dongfang Zhan knelt down and pleaded:
“Father, there are no parents in the world who do not love their children. My grandfather was in a hurry to save my cousin and committed the crime of deceiving the emperor. He did not cause any inconvenience to Qingyan. His crime does not warrant death. Please, Father, have mercy.”
Is the crime not punishable by death?