boyutpedia Chapter 541: Whipping
Chapter 541: Whipping
In the court, Duan Xu and Zhang Zhong reported their on-site investigation to the emperor.
Duan Xu said, "According to what the Princess Su said, we still need to ask the palace maids in Kunning Palace."
After saying this, Duan Xu lowered his head and waited for the emperor's reply.
The emperor leaned back on the dragon throne, his eyes, tempered by time, half-closed as he looked at the other people in the hall.
Some looked at him secretly, and some hung their heads.
At this time, Grand Tutor He was trembling and asked He Wen to support him. He said sharply: "Your Majesty, this matter must be thoroughly investigated."
"Oh?" The emperor looked at Tutor He, waiting for his next words.
Grand Tutor He held his breath and said hoarsely, "At the very least, this is a dispute between ministers. But Prince Su is your Majesty's brother. Without your Majesty's order, someone dared to attack your Majesty's brother. At the most serious level, this is treason. Such incidents were not uncommon in ancient times."
"Your Majesty, in order to give justice to Prince Su, and to clear the name of the Empress and Prime Minister Su, and to prove that they have no intention of treason, this matter should be thoroughly investigated and the rumors silenced."
These words put the emperor, the empress and Su Heng in a state of anger.
If the emperor does not investigate, it means he does not care about the relationship between brothers.
If the Queen and Su Heng are unwilling to investigate, they are plotting rebellion.
Pianpian and the others are also the most likely ones.
Coveting imperial power is the biggest taboo.
Some officials who had just entered the palace secretly wiped the sweat from their foreheads.
"Teacher!"
Su Heng's veins bulged, his shrewd eyes blazing with rage. "All of this is based on my rebellious daughter's groundless accusations. Master, please stop adding fuel to the fire and sowing discord in front of His Majesty."
Grand Tutor He said solemnly, "I was just offering your opinion to Your Majesty. Why is Prime Minister Su so agitated? Is he feeling guilty?"
Su Heng snorted coldly, and looked at Grand Tutor He with sharp eyes. "Ordinary? Grand Tutor has been ill for a long time and has not attended court. How come he happened to attend court today? I'm afraid this is your purpose!"
Taifu He heard that Su Heng wanted to divert the emperor's attention and make the emperor think that he was colluding with Prince Su's Mansion.
He ignored Su Heng's words and asked, "Prime Minister Su, now that His Majesty, I, and all of you are discussing whether you have ulterior motives, shouldn't Prime Minister Su do his best to cooperate and prove his innocence?"
There was a tit-for-tat exchange of words in the hall, and lightning and thunder flashed as their eyes met.
"Enough!" the emperor shouted coldly.
He glanced at the people in the hall and said in a deep voice, "Duan Xu, Zhang Zhong, you two will go to Kunning Palace with Wan Baishui."
"Yes."
The turbulent thoughts of the crowd gradually calmed down, and His Majesty finally became suspicious.
*
After questioning the Queen and everyone in Kunning Palace one by one, it was almost noon and the subordinates who were investigating the origin of the blood-stained clothes also returned.
The court has dispersed.
Duan Xu and Zhang Zhong met Jiang Fu on their way to the Qinzheng Palace.
Seeing the two men coming, Jiang Fu hurried forward and asked in a low voice, "My Lords, what are the results of the investigation?"
The two shook their heads, "The evidence is invalid."
Jiang Fu's expectant expression gradually cooled down.
The emperor leaned back on the dragon throne with his eyes closed, his hand on his forehead as he listened to the two men's reports, his brows furrowed.
"Everyone who has seen the Princess of Su at Kunning Palace claims they've never seen her change clothes. I've had my subordinates investigate this dress, and they've found it's not from the palace, but was made by a tailor shop in the capital. It's been sold for years and there's no way to verify it."
The emperor opened his eyes and asked, "So there's no evidence to prove that the queen and Su Heng did it?"
Duan Xu cupped his hands and said, "Yes, the body of the assassin who came to Prince Su's mansion last night also needs to be investigated."
The emperor lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment before he said in a deep voice, "I understand. You continue your investigation and announce the current results to the public."
The prince cannot have a cruel mother and uncle.
"Yes."
The two men saluted and prepared to leave when the emperor said in a deep voice, "Princess Su, you have falsely accused the Empress and your biological father. You are to be caned ten times. You must be caned at the South Gate."
Duan Xu and Zhang Zhong were both stunned, looked at each other, and then looked at the emperor.
Zhang Zhong hesitated, "Your Majesty, even a man can't stand the whipping from the Ministry of Justice. She is Prince Su's principal wife. Is it inappropriate to punish her in public like this?"
The emperor stared at him, speaking in a menacing tone, and asked in a cold voice, "Which is more important, her face or mine?"
Su Lingyue's disturbance did indeed damage the emperor's reputation.
To the outside world, Zhang Zhong had nothing to do with Prince Su's Mansion, so he was not in a position to say more.
Coming out of the Qinzheng Hall, Zhang Zhong saw Jiang Fu again.
This time Zhang Zhong didn't say much and handed him the imperial edict.
When Jiang Fu opened it, his eyes suddenly widened and his hands began to tremble, as if he had already felt the pain of the whip on his body.
"How can a girl like Yue'er bear this?"
Jiang Fu held the imperial edict and said to the eunuch outside the palace: "Please inform the eunuch that Jiang Fu requests an audience."
"Yes."
The eunuch responded and turned to go in to report.
When he came out again, he brought the news that the emperor refused to meet him.
"His Majesty asked Lord Jiang to return. This is a royal family affair and outsiders are not allowed to interfere."
In a word, the possibility of pleading was blocked.
Jiang Fu immediately thought of the queen.
Since Su Lingyue married Prince Su, she and the Queen were not as close as before, but as far as he knew, their relationship was still quite close. He didn't know how it had come to this.
But now he can only pin his hopes on the queen.
Since he couldn't enter the harem, he stopped a eunuch to deliver a message to the queen.
*
Outside the south gate, Su Lingyue stood there holding Caidie Caiyi, looking ahead calmly.
Duan Xu first returned to the Dali Temple to seal the evidence.
Zhang Zhong came to the south gate with the imperial edict and several men.
When Su Lingyue saw the imperial edict, she knew that the results of the review had come out.
Zhang Zhong walked up to Su Lingyue, his face showing some reluctance, and said, "Princess, please accept the order."
Su Lingyue curled her fingertips slightly, held Caidie Caiyi's arm and knelt down to receive the order.
"The Minister of Punishment and the Supreme Court Justice, acting under His Majesty's orders, have investigated the assassination of Prince Su. It has been determined that the Empress and Prime Minister Su Heng are not involved. Prince Su's wife, disregarding imperial authority, falsely accused the Empress and, disregarding human ethics, falsely accused her own father. Her crime is unforgivable. She is sentenced to ten lashes as a warning to others! This is my decree!"
"what?!"
The colorful butterflies and colorful clothes all cried out in surprise at the same time.
Caiyi said, "Sir, haven't you investigated clearly? When our young lady returned from the palace, the prince inhaled the powder on the clothes and began to vomit blood. How could he be wrong? We can all testify to this!"
Caidie nodded rapidly, "Yes, I can testify! I saw the prince vomit blood. It was the powder on his clothes that caused him to do so."
"But that dress is not from the palace, and no one in the palace saw the princess wearing it yesterday, so it cannot be considered as evidence."
After hearing this, Caidie Caiyi had nothing to understand.
Since the Queen wanted to set up a trap, why would she leave any evidence for people to find out?
From the beginning to the end, Su Lingyue knew that this matter would not have any result.
It might make the Queen and my father afraid to attack Xiao Yu easily again, so it's all worth it.
Moreover, this matter is not over yet.
Su Lingyue said calmly, "Caidie, Caiyi, please move aside."
"But?"
The two sisters' eyes fell on the whip that was two fingers thick. It looked like it was made of cowhide. How painful would it be to whip it?
Caiyi kowtowed to Zhang Zhong and said, "Sir, please, we two sisters are willing to take the punishment for the Lord. It doesn't matter how much. The young lady is too delicate to bear it."
As he spoke, he shed tears of heartache.
Caidie kowtowed along with her sister.
Zhang Zhong said solemnly, "The imperial decree cannot be disobeyed."
Su Lingyue looked at the two sisters with a smile on her face, and her clear eyes were covered with a layer of mist.
"Good Caidie, good Caiyi, with your kindness, I don't feel any pain. Don't delay Master Zhang, please move aside."
"Miss!"
The two sisters cried with heartache, but they could only let Zhang Zhong's men pull the man away.
"Start the execution!"
Gave an order,
"Snapped!"
The sound of the whip made the onlookers gasp. They dared not make a sound and stared at Su Lingyue, wanting to see what had happened to this delicate lady from a distant place.
She closed her eyes tightly, cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and blood was seeping from her white clothes along the whip marks, and the bloodstains ran through her entire waist.
Su Lingyue knelt, her slender fingers tightly grasping her dress. Even though her body was shaking, she gritted her teeth and didn't make a sound.
Zhang Zhong couldn't bear to turn around and continued the execution.
"Snapped!"
After the second whip, Su Lingyue's body shook, and another blood mark appeared on her plain clothes.
Everyone gasped.
The slender waist formed a sharp contrast with the strong executioner, as if the slender body would be broken if the strong man used a little more strength.
Caidie couldn't bear to watch any longer and buried her head in Caiyi's arms.
The whip cracked again and again.
*
"Master Jiang, Yue'er has refused to listen to anything I and her father say since she married Xiao Yu. It's time to teach her a lesson. Let's go. I have some excellent wound medicine. Let's go and take a look."
The queen rode in a sedan chair to the south gate of the palace and looked down at the city wall.
"Miss!"
With the maid's scream, Su Lingyue's body swayed and fell to one side.
Her back was covered in blood.