Jiuxi

Chapter 612: 610 [Deserve to be killed]

Lu Chen's words were powerful and the hall was filled with a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

A group of important officials looked solemnly at the emperor behind the imperial desk. No one spoke for the time being because this involved royal affairs.

Although it is said that the emperor has no personal affairs, this is just a beautiful but unrealistic statement.

Even a wise emperor like the late emperor was no exception. When Li Zongjian planned to assassinate Lu Chen in the street, anyone else would have been tortured to death long ago. However, he was spared the death penalty simply because he was a prince, and was only stripped of his title of prince.

Whether Li Zongjian is mad or unrepentant, it is still the royal family's own problem after all. How to deal with it depends on what Li Zongben wants to do.

But common sense would indicate that the emperor does not have many choices.

This is no small matter. What Li Zongjian did was an attempt to assassinate the emperor. If the emperor does not punish him severely, what will the officials in the court and the people of the world think?
Should we praise His Majesty for his benevolence, or should we think that this young emperor is too weak and lacks the courage to be a wise ruler?
If this continues, I am afraid that some forces that are not firm enough in the first place will have second thoughts, and this will be the most terrifying impact.

So no one stood up to persuade the murderous Lu Chen to calm down. The emperor must set the tone for this matter first.

Li Zongben looked gloomy and fell into a long silence.

It seemed that he was shocked and angry because of the news, but in fact, the development of the situation had deviated from his expectations.

He arranged for Wen Changbao to assassinate him for two purposes. One was to use this incident to pave the way for future adjustments to the Weaving Bureau. Qin Zheng must be replaced, otherwise he would have difficulty sleeping peacefully in the future.

The second is to add a restriction to Li Zongjian, so as to control both Empress Dowager Xu and Li Zongjian.

There would be no conclusive evidence on Wen Changbao to prove that he was instructed by Li Zongjian. The only thing that could be considered was that he had stayed in Prince Jian's Palace for several months. In this way, Li Zongben had a lot of room and leeway to handle the matter.

He didn't intend to take Li Zongjian's life now, but he didn't want to face Empress Dowager Xu's bullying and nagging, nor did he want to see Li Zongjian continue to stir up trouble in secret.

Originally according to his plan, this strategy of killing two birds with one stone would achieve very good results. However, the news that Lu Chen brought to the palace today put Li Zongben in a difficult situation.

He looked up at Lu Chen who was standing solemnly not far away. The other party still couldn't hide his anger, and it was obvious that he hated Li Zongjian deeply.

Li Zongben could understand this because Lu Chen had been plotted against by Li Zongjian before. The fight on Qingfeng Street was earth-shattering. It was said that Li Zongjian had invited the top ten masters on the Jianghu Martial Arts List from Jiangbei, and Lu Chen almost died on the spot.

Now that Li Zongjian has caused such a mess that has angered everyone and God, it would be strange if Lu Chen didn't want to kill him.

The problem is that Li Zongben never intended to make such a big fuss, and now the matter is gradually getting out of his control.

It was not a solution to remain silent. Li Zongben coughed twice and said slowly, "What suggestions do you have?"

He did not ask whether Lu Chen's testimony was true or false. This kind of thing was too easy to verify, and it was impossible for the other party to talk nonsense in this situation.

After a while, the Minister of Personnel Zhong Cheng spoke up and said, "Your Majesty, if the Duke of Shanyang was not deceived by the assassin, and this major crime was indeed committed by Lieutenant Fengguo, then his actions are tantamount to treason. This is a capital crime and there is no reason to pardon it. Otherwise, wouldn't the court's laws be meaningless? I agree with the Duke of Shanyang's opinion. As long as the evidence is solid and there is no frame-up, Lieutenant Fengguo should be executed to rectify the court order."

Li Zongben frowned slightly.

The two assassins mixed in with the craftsmen were not arranged by him, but he did not believe that these two people were related to Li Zongjian.

The reason is simple. The probability of success of this method is too low, and the price to pay after failure is too high. Li Zongjian is not stupid enough to do this.

From Li Zongjian's perspective, it would be more effective to let Empress Dowager Xu host a banquet for Li Zongben and poison him during the meal instead of using such a stupid method.

In other words, although Li Zongben had not personally interrogated the two assassins, he had already concluded that they were deliberately trying to frame someone. However, he could not let Lu Chen continue to investigate further because Wen Changbao was doing the same thing, and the secret hidden by this person must not be exposed.

If the court and the people knew that he, as the king of a country, actually used such means to plot against the empress dowager, his younger brother and important ministers like Qin Zheng, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Thinking of this, Li Zongben said in a deep voice: "What Minister Zhong said makes sense, but the late emperor passed away not long ago, and the empress dowager is heartbroken day and night. If the phoenix is ​​ill because of Li Zongjian, wouldn't I be violating filial piety?"

This is human nature.

Zhong Cheng said no more.

He had no grudges against Li Zongjian, and the reason why he spoke first at this time was simply to show his support for Lu Chen.

After all, in the previous grand court meeting, Xin Yixian and others took the lead in picking a fight against Lu Chen, and many people thought that this was at his instruction. Zhong Cheng would not explain to Lu Chen in private, as that would be too humble. He believed that the other party could understand the intention of his words at this moment.

Lu Chen said firmly: "If it is an ordinary minor matter, Your Majesty can forgive Lieutenant Fengguo, but he committed the crime of regicide this time. Filial piety must be observed, but Your Majesty is the emperor of Daqi, the foundation of the country. If you pardon even such a serious crime, the people in the court will inevitably be unstable. Please understand Your Majesty!"

Li Zongben was in a dilemma at this moment.

At this time, a calm voice sounded: "Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. You may wish to summon Lieutenant Fengguo to the palace and ask him about it in person. If this case of assassination was framed by someone, you can also listen to Lieutenant Fengguo's own defense. If he really committed such a serious crime, it will not be too late to make a decision then."

Li Zongben looked up and saw that it was the Right Prime Minister Xue Nanting. He couldn't help but feel a little relieved. To be honest, Lu Chen's angry suggestion had already pushed him into a corner. If he continued like this, only Li Zongjian's death could calm the storm. Fortunately, Xue Nanting's suggestion allowed him to calm down and continue thinking. He nodded and said, "Prime Minister Xue is right."

He turned to look at Yuan Yuji and said solemnly: "You personally take people to Qiushan Lane and bring Li Zongjian here."

Yuan Yuji understood and said, "I will obey your order."

Left Prime Minister Li Daoyan raised his eyes and looked at Xue Nanting who was sitting opposite him.

The latter sensed his gaze, and then saw a questioning look in the old man's eyes, as if he didn't quite understand why he did this.

Xue Nanting lowered his head and looked away.

On the one hand, he was trying to rescue the emperor, and on the other hand, he also wanted to find out the truth of the matter.

If this case was indeed planned by Li Zongjian, it would prove that Xue Nanting's previous judgment was wrong and the emperor had no intention of targeting Qin Zheng.

For Xue Nanting, this point is extremely important, even more important than Li Zongjian's life or death, as it will determine how he will face the emperor in the future.

The hall fell into silence. Li Zongben no longer had the interest to continue discussing state affairs. His mind was full of thoughts on how to deal with this matter.

He couldn't investigate further and could only let Li Zongjian take the blame. The key was how to convict him.

The ministers all had different expressions, obviously with their own thoughts, except Lu Chen who stood there calmly, as if the undercurrents here had nothing to do with him. He only wanted to bring Li Zongjian to justice.

During the long wait, the official standing at the end on the right suddenly looked at Lu Chen and said humbly, "My Lord, I have a question about this case. Please enlighten me."

Lu Chen looked up and saw that it was Li Shizhi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, so he said calmly, "Vice Minister Li, please feel free to speak."

Li Shizhi coughed lightly and asked, "May I ask, Lord Jun, did the eunuch and the other two assassins collude in advance?"

Under everyone's gaze, Lu Chen replied calmly: "According to their confessions, the two groups of assassins did not know about each other's existence in advance."

Li Shizhi frowned slightly and said, "This seems a little unreasonable."

"what for?"

"I was also at the scene when the crime happened. Although I don't have the martial arts prowess of a county lord to save you in time, I did notice the details at the time. The eunuch was near the altar, very close to Your Majesty, so he had the opportunity to act. After he caused the chaos, the guards' attention was drawn, and the other two assassins who were mixed in with the craftsmen had the opportunity to approach the altar. Otherwise, given the distance between the two assassins and the altar, they would have been discovered by the court guards if they made the slightest move, and there would have been no chance for them to threaten Your Majesty."

Li Zongben slowly sat up straight.

The ministers looked thoughtful. The Imperial Censor Xu Zuo said, "Minister Li, please explain it more clearly."

Li Shizhi still looked at Lu Chen and said calmly: "In my humble opinion, since the two groups of assassins did not connect in advance, this case is likely an accident."

Lu Chen's expression remained unchanged, his brows slightly raised: "Accident?"

Li Shizhi said respectfully, "The situation was unpredictable at the time. The eunuch might have been instructed by Lieutenant Fengguo, but he obviously could not pose a threat to Your Majesty. This is consistent with Lieutenant Fengguo's usual style of doing things. He only wanted to vent his anger and never thought about how serious the consequences would be. As for the other two assassins, they were just hiding and dormant. When they found the chaotic situation and had an opportunity, they immediately rushed out. In fact, they didn't know that the eunuch would attack."

Several other important ministers remained silent, but Li Zongben suddenly felt relieved.

Lu Chen said calmly: "Minister Li wants to say that the eunuch was an assassin arranged by Li Zongjian, and the other two craftsmen have nothing to do with Li Zongjian?"

Li Shizhi said: "This is just my guess, maybe it can provide some ideas for your majesty and the others."

Lu Chen asked, "What do you think, Minister Li? After being interrogated, the three assassins all confessed that Li Zongjian was the mastermind behind the scenes?"

Li Shizhi responded calmly: "Perhaps, this is just a coincidence."

"coincide?"

Lu Chen looked at the face of the middle-aged civil servant, seeming somewhat dissatisfied with his eloquent speech.

Li Daoyan coughed lightly, and Li Shizhi quickly apologized and retreated.

But before the old prime minister could speak, Lu Chen nodded and said calmly under Li Zongben's gaze: "What Minister Li said makes some sense. We cannot rule out the possibility of coincidence."

Then he said no more and stood there in silence.

(End of this chapter)