Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 409: Killing the nine clans of the Zhen family?
At the same time that Lu Bu was ordered to lead his troops to capture the entire Zhen family, Zhen Mi's convoy finally arrived in Yecheng.

In the carriage, Zhen Mi gently lifted a corner of the curtain and looked at the towering city in front of her, her eyes and mood were extremely complicated.

Although she would be returning to the palace soon, she did not feel happy in her heart. Instead, she was filled with sorrow.

Her family had committed such a heinous act as murdering the imperial envoy. She didn't know how to face Liu Xie, nor did she know whether to plead for her family.

She didn't even know whether the emperor would be disappointed in her because of this incident and no longer favor her as before.

With all kinds of emotions intertwined together, Zhen Mi felt that the Yecheng city in front of her was like a whirlpool, and once she went back, she would be trapped in it.

But she couldn't escape these things.

Thinking of this, Zhen Mi couldn't help but sigh and began to think about how to explain to Liu Xie what she had done after returning to the palace.

The convoy gradually drove into Yecheng and stopped outside the imperial palace.

After getting off the carriage, Zhen Mi was about to enter the palace, but at this time she noticed her brother Zhen Yi, standing in the snow waiting to be summoned by the emperor.

She hesitated for a moment and wanted to go forward and say a few words, but when Zhen Yi saw her gaze, he snorted coldly and turned his face away without looking at her.

Seeing this, Zhen Mi couldn't help feeling aggrieved. She bit her red lips lightly, then boarded the sedan chair and entered the palace.

Outside the Qingli Palace, Liu Xie had already been waiting there.

When he saw Zhen Mi coming in a sedan chair, he immediately stepped forward and said with a smile: "My beloved, you are finally back."

Zhen Mi didn't expect Liu Xie to be waiting for her here in advance. She bowed nervously and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

"Get up quickly."

Liu Xie helped Zhen Mi up, handed her the heater in his hand, and said jokingly, "They say a short absence is better than a new marriage, but my beloved concubine has become estranged from me."

"This is not the beloved concubine I am familiar with."

Seeing Liu Xie's gentle smile and familiar words, Zhen Mi inexplicably felt like crying.

Her eyes were slightly red, and she said to Liu Xie: "Your Majesty, I, your concubine..."

But before I could say anything, tears started flowing.

Liu Xie took her into his arms and said softly, "My beloved concubine, there is no need to say more. I already know the situation in Wuji County. Zhen's affairs have nothing to do with you."

"You are already weak, and now that you are pregnant, you must pay extra attention to your health."

"It's cold outside, follow me into the palace first."

Liu Xie's voice carried an inexplicable power that soothed Zhen Mi's guilt, tension and anxiety, and her tense heartstrings also relaxed.

She said nothing more and followed Liu Xie into the Qingli Palace.

On the way to the palace, she suddenly said, "Your Majesty, although Zhen is my relative, she has committed a serious crime this time. Your Majesty will punish her according to the law."

Zhen Mi mustered up the courage to say these words. Although she felt very painful when she said this, she understood that this was the attitude she had to show.

Zhen's behavior this time was too extreme. If she is not severely punished, it will greatly damage the reputation of the emperor and the court.

If you dare to do something, you have to pay the corresponding price.

Liu Xie held Zhen Mi's hand and said, "My beloved concubine, don't worry about these things. I will handle them properly."

Zhen Mi nodded silently. Although she didn't know how Liu Xie would deal with Zhen, this sentence made her feel very reassured.

After all, Liu Xie had never lied to her.

After sending Zhen Mi back to Qingli Palace, Liu Xie stayed with her for a while and then went to Tai'an Palace.

In the Xuanshi Hall, Fa Zheng was already waiting there.

In addition to him, all the ministers also stood here solemnly.

Liu Xie walked into the Tai'an Hall and sat down in the main seat. Looking at Fa Zheng who had lost a lot of weight, he said with emotion: "Xiaozhi, you have worked hard this time."

It was just a simple concern, but Fa Zheng was so grateful that he immediately knelt down and said, "I am willing to die in the service of Your Majesty!"

Liu Xie waved his hands and said, "Don't say such unlucky words. If you really die, won't I lose an arm?"

"I cannot do without your assistance if I want to revive the Han Dynasty. Besides, the court still has a heavy burden waiting for you to shoulder. How can you say you will die?"

Fa Zheng kowtowed repeatedly, tears streaming down his face.

At this moment, he felt that all the dangers and hardships he had endured were worth it. The emperor valued him so much, what else could he ask for?

The other ministers in the hall were also quite envious of Fa Zheng, because the emperor's evaluation was of great value.

Fa Zheng risked his life to secure a bright future.

After some consolation, Liu Xie asked, "Xiaozhi, what happened on the night when the posthouse caught fire? Are you sure it was done by Zhen?"

At present, he has no evidence to prove that the fire was caused by Zhen, so he still has to ask Fa Zheng, who experienced it personally.

Fa Zheng did not dare to answer this question easily. After thinking for a while, he said, "I went to bed early that day. When I woke up, the fire outside was already very big."

"I wanted to escape with the account book, but I found that the doors and windows were locked with chains. This shows that the fire was not an accident, but was aimed at me."

"If it weren't for the timely rescue by the embroidered messenger arranged by Secretary Jia, I would have died in the fire."

Fa Zheng spoke frankly based on the facts without any exaggeration, nor did he directly say that it was Zhen who set the fire. He just said that the fire was not an accident.

The reason was simple. Although he knew in his heart that this incident was most likely done by Zhen, he had no actual evidence.

You have to know that the Zhen family is not a small family. They are the heroes who helped the emperor defeat Yuan Shao, and they are also relatives of Concubine Zhen, so he didn't dare to make a conclusion rashly.

"So, you don't know who set the fire?"

Liu Xie raised his eyebrows and asked.

Fa Zheng nodded, but after a slight hesitation, he continued, "But according to the embroidered robe envoy who protects me, he saw someone sneak into the posthouse and sprinkle tung oil that night."

"Later, he saw the people who splashed the tung oil in the Zhen family's mansion... They seemed to be members of the Zhen family."

For a moment, the hall fell silent.

Jia Xu stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, do you want to summon the envoy in embroidered robes? He is waiting outside the palace now."

He already knew what happened on the night of the fire, so he was not surprised by what Fa Zheng said.

The fire was caused by Zhen, and Qingzhu is the witness.

Liu Xie's face was calm. Hearing this, he said calmly, "No need. Summon Zhen Yi to the palace for an audience. I have something to ask him...Xiaozhi, you can leave now."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Of course Fa Zheng said nothing and quietly retreated.

Soon Gao Lan led Zhen Yi into the hall.

As soon as he entered the hall, Zhen Yi knelt in the center, kowtowed deeply to Liu Xie above him and said, "Your Majesty, I am your humble servant Zhen Yi!"

Liu Xie raised his eyes slightly when he heard this and looked at Zhen Yi. After staring at him for a while, he asked, "Your Majesty, why do you say that?" Zhen Yi did not dare to look up and said in a heavy tone, "Your Majesty sent an imperial envoy to Wuji County to check the accounts, but I, your Majesty, failed to protect the imperial envoy, causing him to die in the sea of ​​fire. This is my fault."

"I have come here to ask for forgiveness from Your Majesty."

Hearing these words, a hint of coldness flashed across Liu Xie's eyes, and he felt even more disappointed.

But on the surface, his expression remained unchanged, and he said calmly: "The fire in the posthouse was an accident, and Xiaozhi died unfortunately. This is not your fault."

"No, Your Majesty!"

Unexpectedly, Zhen Yi directly refuted Liu Xie's words, as if he had made up his mind, and raised his head and said: "The death of the imperial envoy is not an accident!"

"The fire in the posthouse was set by a member of my Zhen clan!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall was shocked.

All the ministers in the hall, including Liu Xie, were shocked by Zhen Yi's sudden self-exposure and cast disbelieving glances at him.

Zhen Yi... took the initiative to plead guilty?

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Liu Xie's expression changed slightly, and he squinted at Zhen Yi and said, "My dear Zhen, do you know what you are talking about?"

"Setting fire to the posthouse and murdering the imperial envoy are crimes no different from rebellion!"

"Is this really the work of your Zhen family?"

Facing Liu Xie's cold questioning, Zhen Yi's face turned pale and he gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, this was indeed done by a member of my Zhen family."

"My Zhen family has been trusted by His Majesty for many years. With the great grace of God, our family has grown stronger day by day."

"But the guilty minister was also blinded by the interests, and abused his power for personal gain, allowing his clansmen to embezzle a lot of money, grain and land from the imperial court."

"The same thing happened with the recent batch of disaster relief supplies. It wasn't that they couldn't raise enough money, but that they were embezzled by the corrupt officials."

"Later, your majesty sent an imperial envoy to check the accounts. Only then did I realize the seriousness of the problem, but it was too late."

"I wanted to confess my crime to Your Majesty and ask for forgiveness, but I never expected that my clansmen were so cruel that they set fire to the post station without my knowledge, intending to destroy the imperial envoy and the account book in order to escape punishment."

"I know that I have committed a grave sin. Not only have I betrayed your majesty's trust, but I have also committed a heinous crime. I am willing to accept all the punishment!"

Zhen Yi spoke with tears in his eyes, revealing the whole process, his tone full of pain and regret.

On the way to Yecheng, he thought a lot, whether to try to hide it or confess everything to the emperor.

If he concealed the truth and attributed everything to an accident, then perhaps his Zhen family could escape this disaster.

If they were to tell the truth, the Zhen family would certainly be severely punished by the emperor, because such a violation of the bottom line could not be turned a blind eye.

Even if the Zhen family is a hero who helped the emperor succeed the throne, this won’t work!
After repeated hesitation, he finally chose to confess everything to the emperor and tell the truth of the matter.

Because he was not sure he could hide it from the emperor.

In other words, it was impossible to conceal this matter. Anyone who was not a fool could tell who set the fire in the posthouse.

Even if the emperor did not find evidence that they set fire to the post station this time, and they successfully escaped punishment, wouldn't the emperor remember it?

Sooner or later, the Zhen family will be caught, and by then the emperor's wrath will be a hundred times greater than it is now!
If he took the initiative to confess and take all the responsibility, there might be hope of leaving Zhen a chance to survive and avoid having his property confiscated and his family exterminated.

The death of a few people in exchange for the survival of the family.

Moreover, when he confessed his guilt, he specifically concealed the reason for withholding relief supplies, and only said that it was due to corruption, not that he wanted to threaten the emperor or compete for the throne.

In this way, Zhen Mi can be avoided from being implicated.

This was the only thing he could do right now.

After Zhen Yi finished speaking while crying, he closed his eyes and waited for the emperor to punish him, ready to die.

"Are you willing to accept all punishment?"

After listening to Zhen Yi's words, Liu Xie snorted and sneered, "Do you think that if you confess your guilt, I will only punish you?"

"He embezzled disaster relief supplies, causing countless people to starve, freeze, or even die. According to the law, his entire family should be executed!"

"To murder the imperial envoy is the same crime as treason, and according to the law, all nine generations of the family shall be executed!"

"Can you bear these sins?"

Liu Xie's tone was filled with anger, and his questions were like sharp arrows piercing Zhen Yi's heart.

"I remember that you, the Zhen family, helped me when I was in humble circumstances, so I gave you, the Zhen family, chances again and again and tolerated your embezzlement of money, grain and land."

"But you are going too far and even dare to ask for disaster relief supplies!"

"I sent people to check the accounts to give you a warning and let you hand over the supplies on your own initiative, but you chose to murder the imperial envoy!"

"Tell me, who gave you such courage!"

Liu Xie slammed the table hard and stood up angrily.

Zhen Yi kowtowed and cried, "I am guilty of death, I am guilty of death! I only ask Your Majesty to be merciful and show some mercy..."

"shut up!"

Liu Xie shouted in a stern voice, his face flaming with anger, "If I show leniency to the Zhen family, then where is the dignity and law of the Han Dynasty!"

"Since you said before that you are willing to accept all punishments, I will punish you Zhen according to the laws of the Han Dynasty!"

"Pass on my order——!"

Liu Xie was about to order punishment for Zhen.

But at this moment, Zhuge Liang took the initiative to stand up and said, "Your Majesty, wait a minute. I have something to advise you."

Liu Xie said coldly: "If Kong Ming wants to plead for Zhen, there is no need. I must punish Zhen severely today according to the law!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down."

Zhuge Liang still did not retreat, and said with a cupped hand: "Zhen's embezzlement of disaster relief supplies and the murder of the imperial envoy are indeed unforgivable crimes."

"But the Zhen family has made great contributions to our Han Dynasty, and the head of the Zhen family took the initiative to confess his guilt to Your Majesty. According to the law, the punishment can be reduced as appropriate."

"Therefore, I think it is not appropriate to punish Zhen with the most severe punishment. Your Majesty, please think twice before acting, so as not to damage your holy name."

After Zhuge Liang finished speaking, Yang Xiu also stepped out and said, "Minister Zhuge is right. Besides, the Zhen family still manages a huge industry. If the entire family is punished with the extermination of nine generations, no one will be able to take over these industries."

"If this happens, I'm afraid it will affect the court's plan to march south to fight against Cao thieves."

Zhuge Liang and Yang Xiu came forward to plead for mercy, and other ministers in the palace such as Yang Biao, Cui Yan, Fu Wan and others also spoke up to plead for Zhen.

Everyone could see that the emperor did not really want to severely punish Zhen. It was clearly a case of much ado about nothing. So of course they had to play along.

It's a very simple logic. Even a great contributor like Zhen who initially followed the emperor could be executed along with all nine clans. What would other contributors think?
Under the persuasion of his ministers, the anger on Liu Xie's face gradually disappeared, but he still did not issue an order. Instead, he ordered coldly: "Come here, throw Zhen Yi into the Heavenly Prison and wait for his punishment!"

(End of this chapter)