The sweat on Xiao Yuncheng's forehead was getting more and more, and he was struggling inside.
He didn't know how much his father knew at the moment, and he didn't dare to gamble. After all, he had never been the kind of son his father liked the most.
If the emperor already knew that he was the one behind the plot, then if he admitted his mistake now, perhaps the emperor would spare his life for the sake of their father-son relationship.
But if the emperor didn't find out anything, wouldn't he be incriminating himself and adding fuel to his father's wrath?
At this moment, Xiao Yuncheng finally understood what Xiao Heyu had struggled through.
"What's wrong? Are you mute? Or is my question too difficult to answer?" Emperor Qianwu asked in a deep voice with a gloomy look.
Under the emperor's intimidation, Xiao Yuncheng knelt on the ground with a plop.
"Father..."
Emperor Qianwu pursed his lips slightly, his cheeks were cold and hard, and he lowered his eyes to look at his son who was kneeling below him, his expression unclear.
Xiao Yuncheng swallowed his saliva, his Adam's apple sliding, "Replying to the Emperor, the property of Jinglou belongs to my uncle Su Yan."
The ministers looked at each other, and for a moment, many people began to discuss in low voices.
"I am guilty! I only thought that my uncle also had royal blood in his body and had a hard time in recent years. When my uncle came to me for help, I took care of him. I never thought..."
Xiao Yuncheng chose a compromise and pushed his second uncle out according to the original plan.
However, he believed that this matter could not be hidden from his father.
This is not important. What is important is how the father intends to decide, or in other words, does the father want to believe it or not?
Xiao Yuncheng knelt down and whispered, holding his breath, his heart almost jumping out of his throat.
After a while, Emperor Qianwu sneered, with an ambiguous meaning: "What a great second uncle, I didn't know that my son is so kind."
Xiao Yuncheng couldn't figure out what Emperor Qianwu meant. Then, he heard Emperor Qianwu say, "Prime Minister Qin, you are responsible for this matter. Arrest Su Yan immediately, throw him into prison, and interrogate him strictly!"
"Yes."
After Qin Ying responded, Shen Shuhan stepped forward and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I have collected some evidence. Please review it."
Emperor Qianwu narrowed his eyes and said, "Bring it up."
At that moment, Shen Shuhan asked someone to hand over to Li Yun the bills that Shen Shuyi had collected from Qin Xuerong and the account books that he had snatched from Jinglou last night.
In addition, he also has a lot of evidence of Xiao Yuncheng's private transactions with several great scholars.
However, Emperor Qianwu’s attitude is unclear at the moment, so these things still depend on the emperor’s attitude before a decision can be made.
Li Yun handed it to Emperor Qianwu. When Emperor Qianwu looked through it, the people below him were silent.
Wang Taifu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I, along with the imperial guards, raided the Jinglou last night and confiscated a lot of items. At that time, the people in the Jinglou were destroying the stolen goods. Fortunately, I arrived in time."
"Prime Minister Qin, you must give me an explanation for this matter within three days!"
"Yes!"
A farce was interrupted.
However, everyone knew that this was just an interruption, not an end.
*
On the other hand, Shen Shuyi was invited into the palace by Concubine Jing.
Just as he arrived at the palace gate, Shen Shuyi received a message from Tong Guan, saying that Ouyang Song and Shen Jing'an were ordered to be executed immediately by His Majesty, so he rushed over to join in the fun.
Most of the beheadings in the palace were outside the Meridian Gate. Now Shen Jingan and Ouyang Song were going to be beheaded at Xisi outside the Meridian Gate.
When Shen Shuyi arrived, Ouyang Song and Shen Jingan were crying and being pushed forward.
"Second brother, what's going on?" Shen Shuyi spoke with a smile, lifting the white curtain above her head, her voice clear.
Shen Jing'an suddenly raised his head and his eyes fell on Shen Shuyi. His eyes were bloodshot, but he seemed to have met a savior.
He ignored the guards' attempts to stop him and struggled to throw himself at Shen Shuyi's feet.
"Shu Yi...please save me...please save me, I know I was wrong! I will never dare to do it again!"
"As long as you can let me live, I will obey you in everything from now on! Please forgive me this time for the sake of our blood relationship!"
Jinzhu took out two large silver ingots to reward the escorting guards, and the guards were naturally happy to do the favor.
After all, the person is about to die, so it is only human nature to give him some convenience and let him talk to his family.
Shen Shuyi smiled and said, "What are you talking about, second brother? I heard that second brother is the top scorer in the preliminary examination. How could His Majesty be willing to kill you?"
Shen Shuyi's smiling face made him look like a devil to Shen Jingan.
He was covered in blood and looked disheveled, with shackles and chains on his hands and feet. Was she blind?
How could she pretend not to see it?
"Shuyi... Shuyi, please, I don't want to die, I really don't want to die! Please save me! I really know I was wrong..."
Shen Jingan cried with tears and snot, he really regretted it.
He never thought that Shen Shuyi, who was kicked out of the Shen family and suffered a lot of difficulties, and Shen Shuhan, who was once stepped on and beaten by him, would design such a big trap.
Shen Shuyi's eyes turned cold and the corners of his lips curled up.
"Don't be afraid, second brother. There's a big scar on your head. Considering our relationship as siblings, I will burn more paper money for you."
"you you……"
Shen Shuyi lowered his head to look at Shen Jingan, who was covered in stench in front of him. There was still a smile on his face, but his eyes were as cold as ice.
"Shen Jing'an, when you bullied my brother, did you ever think that this day would come?"
"Remember to keep your eyes open in your next life and don't mess with me again."
After saying that, the guards pulled Shen Jing'an up and pushed him towards the guillotine. Shen Shuyi raised the corners of his lips.
Qin Xuerong, you lost two sons in one day. I wonder if you can bear this blow?
Unfortunately, just beheading him was too easy.
Shen Shuyi looked at Qin Xin and said, "Go, give some hard work fees to the executioner. It's hot, so it's normal for them to have trouble holding the knife. Remember not to chop off their heads with one blow."
Qin Xin's throat tightened and her scalp felt numb.
Woohoo... People spend money just to get the best result possible, but now the young lady wants them to spend more money. It's so scary.
Shen Shuyi turned and walked out of the crowd, no longer wanting to look any further.
But later, hearing about that day's execution became a nightmare for many people. It was said that Ouyang Song died quite quickly, with his head falling off as the knife chopped off.
But when it came to Shen Jing'an, the executioner chopped three times in succession, and the blade of the knife was bent. Shen Jing'an had not yet breathed his last, and even struggled to get up.
The executioner cursed angrily: "Bad luck!"
He kicked him away so hard that Shen Jing'an's head was almost broken. After being exposed to the scorching sun for several hours, no one knew when he died.
However, until his death, his eyes were not closed, but instead were bloodshot.
After Shen Shuyi left, before he went far, he met Xiao Tingshan.
Xiao Tingshan had just noticed her, so he naturally heard everything she said clearly.