Jiuxi

Chapter 872: No Descendants

The early morning sunshine awakens the prosperous capital.

The people, who were in a state of panic because the emperor had been assassinated and the city was under martial law, woke up and suddenly found that everything had calmed down.

The court's notices were posted in prominent places in various neighborhoods, which clearly stated that the former Minister of Personnel Li Shizhi had colluded with some civil officials and military meritorious officials, and with the support of some powerful families, committed regicide in an attempt to usurp power and subvert the country.

Relying on the prompt decision of Lu Chen, Duke of Qin, and the support of Xiao Wangzhi, Duke of Rong, Li Tianrun, Duke of Wei, Xue Nanting, the left prime minister, Xu Zuo, the right prime minister, and knowledgeable people in the court, the court promptly thwarted the conspiracy of Li Shizhi and others, rooted out the traitors hidden in the court and the army, captured all the masterminds in one fell swoop, and would execute them in public on a chosen day.

The notice also mentioned that the nine gates of the capital will still check people entering and leaving in the next two months, but will not be blocked as strictly as before. It is hoped that the people of the capital will behave themselves and not spread rumors to mislead the public.

For a time, Li Shizhi's name was despised by everyone, and those traitors on the list became rats crossing the street. Anyone could curse him a few words, and no official would pursue the matter.

The spies from the Weaving Bureau would not care about these trivial matters. They were already very busy because Li Shizhi had so many accomplices that they would definitely not be able to find out the truth in a short period of time.

Therefore, when Lu Chen arrived at the headquarters of the Sutra Weaving Bureau under the escort of more than a hundred cavalrymen, only Su Yunqing and a few of his personal followers were outside the gate to greet him.

Without waiting for Su Yunqing to salute, Lu Chen held his arms and said sternly, "Thank you for your hard work."

Su Yunqing knew why he said that, and said sincerely: "Now that the clouds have been cleared and the sun has come out, it's worth it. In fact, it wasn't that hard. Although Shen Yi had the Queen Mother's decree, he knew that my people were everywhere in the General Office, and they didn't even dare to torture me, so I just slept in my own territory for two nights, which can't be said to be torture. Seriously speaking, it was the Minister Gao who suffered a lot. People like Yuan Yuji would not be merciful, but Minister Gao held on and didn't give in, which is really impressive."

"Gao Huan can withstand this test, so I will not treat him unfairly."

Among Lu Chen's most trusted confidants, Su Yunqing must be at the top of the list, so he would not be vague in front of him.

Su Yunqing smiled and said, "Then I have to congratulate Minister Gao in advance."

Lu Chen smiled and said nothing.

The two men walked into the Weaving Bureau office side by side. Lu Chen's personal soldiers did not stay outside the door, but followed in under the leadership of Qin Zilong.

Although Su Yunqing has already taken control of this special government office and most of the enemies have been captured or killed, they still dare not be careless.

About half an incense stick later, Lu Chen and Su Yunqing arrived at the northeast corner of the main yamen, where there was a heavily guarded prison.

Su Yunqing said: "All the people from the eldest branch, fourth branch and third branch of the Li family who stayed in the capital are imprisoned here. According to your instructions, we did not disturb the Li family's ancestral home in Jinlin County. We only arrested everyone on the list."

Lu Chen nodded and said, "That's enough. Ever since the old prime minister begged for his bones, the Jinlin Li family has been divided. Those ambitious Li family members have surrounded Li Shizhi, and the old prime minister has been consciously cutting ties with them in the past two years."

Su Yunqing sighed and said, "Although the old prime minister killed his own relatives for the sake of justice, the reputation that the Jinlin Li family had accumulated for hundreds of years was destroyed in one day, and their status as the leader of the Jiangnan aristocratic family no longer exists. I don't know how many years it will take to recover. But then again, this is already the best outcome. Not many people can be as decisive as the old prime minister."

"If a wife is not virtuous and a son is not filial, even a man can be unavoidable."

Lu Chen spoke calmly, and then walked into this special prison first, followed by Su Yunqing, Qin Zilong and more than a dozen elite personal soldiers.

The environment in the cell must not be very good. Under the guidance of Su Yunqing, Lu Chen walked deeper into the cell. Along the way, he saw those members of the Li family trapped in cramped and dark cells. He saw almost all kinds of human conditions along the way.

Some people cried and wailed, repeatedly repeating that they had nothing to do with Li Shizhi and had no idea that he had murdered the emperor.

Someone looked at Lu Chen and his group walking outside the cell with a cold brow and disdain.

Some people also knelt down and kowtowed, begging Lu Chen to give them a chance to live.

When passing by the prison cell full of women, the sound of crying was endless, but Lu Chen's expression did not change at all, and he did not even look at it.

"Duke Qin, Duke Qin, I want to report my father! Please spare my life!"

A hoarse voice suddenly appeared, causing Lu Chen to stop.

He looked towards the cell on the right, and saw the once arrogant and domineering Li Sanlang Li Yunyi clinging to the cell door, his face covered with snot and tears, looking extremely embarrassed.

Seeing Lu Chen stop, Li Yunyi immediately shouted: "Duke, I want to tell a secret. My father has been secretly planning to kill the king and usurp the throne all these years! As long as you spare my life, I am willing to tell all the secrets!"

Lu Chen ignored him and turned to look at Su Yunqing with a questioning look in his eyes.

Su Yunqing said with embarrassment, "Please forgive me, Duke. There are too many people to interrogate, and we don't have enough manpower. It's not their turn yet, so he had the illusion that the Textile Bureau couldn't do anything to him."

Li Yunyi immediately opened his mouth, his face full of horror.

"heard it?"

Lu Chen spoke calmly, "Li Yunyi, you should be thankful that you are the grandson of the old prime minister, otherwise you would have died four years ago. But the old prime minister can save you once, but he can't protect your life forever, especially when you insist on seeking your own death. Don't waste your energy, use these few days to reflect on yourself, and strive to be a good person in your next life."

Having said that, he continued on his way.

Li Yunyi looked at the receding figures of the group and his body began to tremble continuously. Finally, he collapsed to the ground, unable to control himself, and cried in despair.

Arriving at the deepest part of the prison, Lu Chen looked at the middle-aged man sitting on the floor in the cell and said calmly, "Open the door." Su Yunqing took the key from the jailer, opened the chain himself, and then walked a little further away with the others.

Lu Chen walked slowly into the cell and first looked at the environment here. There was not much difference compared to other cells. It was obvious that Su Yunqing did not deliberately target him, but he certainly would not give him any preferential treatment.

Li Shizhi adjusted his sitting posture, with his back quite straight. As his body moved, the chains of the shackles on his hands and feet made sharp sounds.

He looked up at Lu Chen and said calmly, "You're here so early."

Lu Chen said: "I came to ask you a few questions."

"Just ask."

Li Shizhi looked calm, then sneered, "I can't guarantee that you will get a satisfactory answer."

Lu Chen didn't care and asked directly: "Before you decided to kill the king, how many people knew about your plan?"

This is a very core issue.

Knowing Li Shizhi's plan in advance means being his most important accomplice, rather than a fence-sitter who changes sides according to the wind.

There are too many people implicated in this regicide case. It is impossible to confiscate the property of all of them and exterminate their clans. We must make some distinctions. Some people need to be severely punished, while others can be treated a little more leniently.

Li Shizhi obviously didn't expect Lu Chen to be so straightforward. He looked at this young and powerful opponent with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes and said, "You are finally afraid."

Lu Chen said calmly: "Whether I am afraid or not is my business, you just need to tell the truth."

"No problem, I can tell you."

Li Shizhi smiled and said frankly: "There are many people who conspired with me before. I will read them to you one by one. They are Hu Jingwen, Yuan Xingqin, Jing Qingshan, Yang Jing, Pei Fangyuan, Lou Huanzhang, Fu Yangzi, Chen Guan, Wang Yongxin..."

He named seventeen names in one breath, six of whom were not important officials in the court, but representatives of local aristocratic families.

Looking at Lu Chen's calm face, Li Shizhi continued: "Of course, if you want to kill the emperor in the palace, how can you do without the cooperation of the queen mother? To be honest, if Queen Mother Xu hadn't asked her confidants to deal with Chen Hong and his men, my people would not have the courage to do it. But I also know that you hypocrites will not lift the lid. If the world knows that the queen mother killed the emperor, how can you maintain the dignity of the court?"

"I didn't expect you could drag so many people into this. It looks like you've been planning this for many years."

Lu Chen sighed casually, then asked with a puzzled look: "Just now you said that I know I'm afraid, what do you mean?"

"If you're not afraid, why are you rushing to find me?"

Li Shizhi seemed pleased, and said calmly: "You are in power now, you should be happy to kill people, but you know that you can't kill people and become the target of public criticism, so you came to me, wanting to clarify the truth as soon as possible at the lowest cost, determine who should be confiscated and exterminated and who should be punished, and then calm this storm as soon as possible. The most dangerous time is when you are in high spirits, and you know this very well. After I die, you will become the next target of those people, how can you not be afraid?"

Lu Chen looked at him with interest and asked, "Who are those people?"

Li Shizhi said with a bit of pride: "After I die, the Jiangnan noble families will also be seriously damaged because of this incident. By then, you will be in charge of the border army and the court. Xue Nanting and Xu Zuo will no longer be able to restrict you. Everyone knows that you will be a powerful minister under the emperor. The royal family only has a pair of orphans and a widowed mother. How can they be your opponents? When those loyal ministers come to their senses, they will realize that your existence has really threatened the young emperor. Do you think they will try every means to get rid of you?"

Lu Chen crossed his arms and looked at him leisurely.

Li Shizhi couldn't help laughing and said leisurely, "Originally, the court could barely maintain a balance, but now that you have defeated me, you seem to be in great glory on the surface, but in fact, you have fallen into a dead end. You will not be willing to give in again, but everyone will realize that you will not be a loyal minister of the Great Qi, so you will definitely follow in my footsteps. I admit that I lost completely this time, but when I think about the fact that you will repeat my mistakes in the future, I feel that fate is really interesting."

He leaned back against the wall and smiled, "With my example in front of them, how long do you think they will tolerate you?"

"I'm not you."

Lu Chen also laughed and said slowly: "Let's not talk about whether I will follow in your footsteps. At the moment, I only know one thing, you are really going to be extinct. It's amazing that you can still be so optimistic."

Li Shi was choked.

Lu Chen's words instantly exposed his false attitude.

His face slowly turned red, his eyes were no longer calm, and gradually gathered a resentful light. He said in a slightly ferocious tone: "I should have killed you directly a long time ago."

Lu Chen blinked and asked curiously, "Then why don't you do it? Is it because you know that if you kill me, you will not be able to covet the imperial power? Is it because you know that only I can help you take the blame for the regicide? Is it because you can't wake up from the daydream you have been having for more than ten years?"

Li Shizhi's face flushed and he stared at him intently.

Lu Chen continued, "Throughout history, there have been many people who have attempted to usurp power. Some have done so openly, some have started wars, and some have waited for the opportunity to succeed. No one has ever relied on calculations like you have. I really don't understand why you have such naive, stupid, and despicable ideas. Li Shizhi, you can only tinker with conspiracies that are not worthy of being shown on the stage. It's a pity that the old prime minister is a great man, but he has a son like you who is like a rat in the gutter. I really feel sad for him."

"you!"

Li Shizhi's eyes widened with anger and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood mist.

(End of this chapter)