My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 416 - 278 Revenge

In their hearts, they had thoroughly cursed King Han and King You.

Had it not been for their firm assurances that this time they would surely eliminate Li Xuanjing, they would not have participated in this affair.

And the matter directed against Li Xuanjing had ironically ended up in Li Xuanjing's hands; without paying a price, they feared they might not leave safely.

The Ministry of Justice, within a certain prison cell.

Several Commandery Princes and Dukes were either sitting or standing in the cell, all wearing faces of doom and gloom.

"We should never have trusted King Han!"

"Purify the court, purify the court, ended up purifying ourselves straight into the Ministry of Justice!"

"What do you think Li Xuanjing will do to us?"

"What is there to fear? We had no part in the Eastern Palace case; he can't do anything to us, can he?"

Although their mood was at rock bottom, they weren't really worried in their hearts.

These Commandery Princes were of Secondary First Rank, the Dukes of second-rank; they had certain privileges that exempted them from punishment. Moreover, their families all possessed Death Exemption Tokens granted by generations of Emperors; even Your Majesty couldn't put them to death.

At a certain moment, the door of the prison cell was opened, and an official from the Ministry of Justice stood outside, saying, "Ruyang County Lord, the Si Minister invites you."

The Ruyang County Lord strutted out of the cell, following the Ministry of Justice official to a room.

This room was quite lavishly decorated. In front, a plaque read "Mirror Hung High," underneath which was a long table, similar to the court's public tribunal, yet distinctly different.

The floor of the room was covered with exquisite carpets, and the rest of the furnishings were also quite elegant.

The Ruyang County Lord, as a first-rank noble, had heard of the Ministry of Justice's special facility for interrogating nobles but was visiting for the first time.

In the center of the room, there was a chair padded with a soft cushion.

The Ruyang County Lord sat down on the chair without invitation, asking, "How long do you intend to detain this County Lord?"

Li Xuanjing, sitting behind the table, said, "The Ministry of Justice is carrying out Your Majesty's orders to investigate the case involving the Crown Prince's murder and would like to ask Ruyang County Lord a few questions, hoping you will answer truthfully."

The Ruyang County Lord frowned and said, "You investigate your case; what does it have to do with this County Lord? I have nothing to do with the Crown Prince's murder."

Li Xuanjing replied calmly, "It was upon learning that this official had uncovered clues to the Eastern Palace case that King Han and King You used the name of cleansing beside the Emperor to attempt to silence me. Since the Ruyang County Lord claims no involvement in the case back then, why participate in this recent event?"

The Ruyang County Lord's lips quivered, at a loss for words for the moment.

King Han and King You had not informed him of this, and he had gotten involved in the plot to rid himself of Li Xuanjing.

The feud between the nobles and Li Xuanjing was not something new, and with Li Xuanjing dead, who else in the court would dare to openly oppose the group of nobles?

But how could he say such a thing in front of Li Xuanjing?

It wasn't as though he could admit they wanted to eliminate him because he formed cliques for personal interest, expelled dissent, monopolized authority, abused power, was corrupt and perverted the law, persecuted the loyal and the good, had no regard for human life, executed the innocent, misled the country and the people, and deceived the Emperor... They were trying to rid the court of a villain and return peace to the court, weren't they?

The Ruyang County Lord cleared his throat and said, "Lord Li is a wise man; you surely know that the Eastern Palace case is unrelated to this County Lord. We too have been used by King Han and King You..."

Li Xuanjing looked at him and said, "Yet, King You didn't say so?"

The Ruyang County Lord was taken aback and asked, "What did King You say?"

Li Xuanjing twirled the gavel in his hand and said, "King You claimed the powder used to poison the Crown Prince was provided by the Ruyang County Lord. How do you explain that?"

The Ruyang County Lord's expression froze, and he suddenly stood up from his chair, exclaiming in shock, "King You is framing me! What good does it do me if the Crown Prince is dead? No matter who ascends the throne, it's all the same to me. I have no reason to do such a thing!"

Li Xuanjing shook his head and said, "Why the Ruyang County Lord would want to harm the Crown Prince, only the County Lord himself knows..."

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Immediately, the Ruyang County Lord declared, "I demand a confrontation with King You!"

Li Xuanjing said, "King You has already been sent to the palace to be imprisoned and is not allowed visitors."

The Ruyang County Lord became frantic and raised his voice, "Murdering the Crown Prince is a grave crime of treason; you can't condemn the County Lord based on King You's unilateral account. You must have evidence in your proceedings!"

Li Xuanjing put down the gavel and looked at him indifferently, saying, "Is that so? Maybe the Ruyang County Lord has forgotten... you are rather skilled at convicting others of treason based on mere words..."

"What?"

The Ruyang County Lord shivered, finally realizing something, a sudden chill rushing from his spine to the top of his skull. Pointing at Li Xuanjing, he stammered, "You… you… this is revenge. I want to see Your Majesty; I must see Your Majesty!"

Li Xuanjing said, "His Majesty is very busy and will not see you."

Completely panicking, the Ruyang County Lord said, "I am a Commandery Prince of secondary first rank. The Ministry of Justice has no jurisdiction over me. I demand to see the Minister of Zongzheng ."

Your Majesty has already decreed that this case is to be handled entirely by the Ministry of Justice." Li Xuanjing looked at the Ruyang County Lord and said, "But you have reminded me. Next, I'll be interrogating the Minister of Zongzheng…"

Ruyang County Lord finally remembered that the Minister of Zongzheng had also been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice.

Not only the Minister of Zongzheng, but all the officials of the Zongzheng Si were here...

Li Xuanjing tossed down a token and said, "Ruyang County Lord Li Ying, for your involvement in the plot against the Crown Prince and the heinous crime of treason, you are to be taken immediately to the market place for execution without delay!"

Ruyang County Lord shouted, "Li Xuanjing, you are settling personal scores under the guise of official business, wantonly taking lives!"

Li Xuanjing's gaze fell upon him as he asked, "Isn't that exactly your justification for 'purging the court'?"

Ruyang County Lord's lips trembled slightly, finding himself suddenly at a loss for words.

He knew that Li Xuanjing often took lives without batting an eye.

But he had never imagined that one day his life would be so wantonly disposed of.

Two figures stepped forward and grabbed Ruyang County Lord's arms. He struggled desperately, yelling, "I am a Commandery Prince; you cannot kill me... Wait, I have the Death Exemption Token, I have the Death Exemption Token, let me go quickly!"

Li Xuanjing walked over to him with his hands behind his back and said, "Death Exemption Token does not exempt one from charges of treason. Does the Commandery Prince not know this?"

Before Ruyang County Lord's shocked and fearful gaze, he waved his hand and said, "Take him away..."

...

Chang'an, at a certain market place.

As the largest market place in Chang'an, it was more than just a place for selling vegetables.

The government would occasionally carry out public executions here.

Being a spot where crowds gathered, conducting executions here served as a warning. Generally, only those who had committed major crimes and were sentenced to death would be brought here.

The body of the Capital Governor Lin Fuzhi currently hung here, where any passerby would stop to look.

The Capital Governor at the Standard Third Rank was the highest-ranking official to be executed in recent years.

Even though he was dead, his body would still be whipped every two-hour interval.

But for the crime of treason, being posthumously displayed and whipped was far better than being alive and suffering the torment of a thousand cuts.

"A third-rank official just like that, dead!"

"For the crime of treason, it doesn't matter if you are third or Secondary First Rank; your head will fall and none of your family will be spared..."

"I can't fathom it, truly can't. He had such a high position in the Eastern Palace before; how could he betray the Crown Prince?"

"Who knows? Can we common folk really understand the thoughts of these great figures?"

As people were abuzz with their discussions, a prison cart approached from a distance.

What set this prison cart apart was that it was surrounded by bright yellow curtains, concealing its inside from view.

"What is that thing?"

"It looks like a prison cart, but why is it enclosed?"

"Who knows, I've lived for decades and it's the first I've seen of this."

Most commoners were baffled, but there were some who, being more experienced, could scarcely close their mouths in amazement.

A prison cart, with bright yellow curtains, indicated that the prisoner inside was a noble.

Not just a noble, but a high-ranking one at that; embroidered with dragon patterns, these were at least the privileges of a Commandery Prince----although not exactly a privilege in this context.

The differences between nobles and common people were apparent in all aspects.

Even executions were handled differently.

Throughout the entire execution process, the face of a noble would not be seen by the public.

The blade used for the execution was also a treasured sword crafted by skilled Mohist artisans.

The execution site at the market place had been enclosed by several screens.

As the prison cart was opened, a figure with a yellow cloth bag over their head was brought down from the cart and led behind the screens.

It wasn't until an official from the Ministry of Justice read the verdict aloud that the people knew who was about to be executed—it was none other than Ruyang County Lord.

A County Lord was a noble among nobles, only one rank below a King, indicating that his father was a King, his grandfather an Emperor, and the current Emperor his uncle.

And he was sentenced to death for treason.

This was probably the only justification for executing a County Lord.

Treason, a crime so serious that not even the Death Exemption Token could exempt one.

Ruyang County Lord had been part of the conspiracy against the Crown Prince years ago and had been sentenced by the Ministry of Justice to be beheaded. It was the first time the people of Chang'an had witnessed a member of the Royal Family being executed.

Ordinary nobles could only claim to have lineage from the Imperial Family.

But a County Lord was indeed a true member of the Royal Family.

There was no such thing as "spare the prisoner under the knife" in the dramas, nor any sudden event of disrupting the execution. At the command of the Executioner, the executioner's blade rose and fell, and a splash of blood stained one of the screens.

The people licked their dry lips, profoundly shaken.

In this moment, those high and mighty nobles seemed less formidable in their hearts.

It turned out that even nobles, just like them, could bleed and die...

The body of Ruyang County Lord was quickly taken away.

Although he had been executed for a capital offense, his funeral still had to follow certain protocols.

After the execution was complete, the crowd gradually dispersed, and no one noticed that the bloodstains on the ground were seeping into the earth at a visibly rapid rate...