Thief Emperor

Chapter 1153 Captivity
Inside the main hall, His Highness the Prince of Qin knelt on the ground, his face flushed a deep, liver-colored red.

After His Majesty the Emperor uttered this rebuke, everyone present fell silent, not daring to utter a sound or speak.

You can hear the needle drop.

The atmosphere seemed to freeze, with only the Qin King's heavy breathing caused by fear audible.

After hesitating for a moment, Minister Du stood up and bowed to the stunned Princess Qin, saying, "Princess, would you please take the others and leave for a while?"

With so many people around and so many eyes watching, it was inevitable that the King of Qin would lose face after being reprimanded like that.

There are many things that even His Majesty the Emperor finds difficult to say.

In the end, neither the father nor the son had any way to back down.

At this point, only Prime Minister Du dared to stand up and say such a thing.

Princess Qin seemed to awaken from a dream, quickly bowing to Prime Minister Du, then turning to look at Li Yun, her eyes reddening and her voice trembling with tears: "Father..."

The emperor glanced at his daughter-in-law and waved his hand, saying, "What happens here has nothing to do with you. You should go out and have some fun."

Only then did the Princess Consort of Qin dare to wave her hand, dismissing all irrelevant people in the main hall. She herself gritted her teeth and knelt down in front of the Prince of Qin, bowing her head and saying, "Father, Your Highness has made a mistake. It is always because I, as your daughter-in-law, failed to dissuade you in time. If you are to punish someone, punish your daughter-in-law as well."

She also knelt on the ground, her forehead touching the ground, not daring to move.

His Majesty the Emperor frowned, then said, "This has nothing to do with you; it's a matter between my son and me."

The Queen Consort of Qin wept, saying, "Husband and wife are one, Father..."

The King of Qin looked up at his father, then turned to look at his wife. Despite his fear, he gritted his teeth and said, "Cai Mei."

"Help your second sister-in-law down."

The fourth princess glanced at her elderly father, and the emperor grunted in acknowledgment: "You may all leave now."

The Fourth Princess took a deep breath, but instead of helping the Princess of Qin, she went to Prime Minister Du's side, bent down, and whispered, "Uncle Du."

Du Qian quickly replied, "Your Highness, rest assured, I'll keep watch here."

The Fourth Princess then stepped forward and helped Princess Qin up, saying softly, "Second Sister-in-law, we're all family, nothing will happen. Let me help you down to rest."

Princess Qin glanced at Li Yun but refused to get up. The Fourth Princess whispered, "With Uncle Du here, nothing will happen. Second Sister-in-law, we can't really anger Father."

“If we stay here, things will only get worse for Second Brother.”

Princess Qin glanced at her husband before standing up with the Fourth Princess, tears streaming down her face, and said, "Thank you, sister."

The two women, sister-in-law and aunt, then left the main hall.

At this moment, only the father and son, along with Master Du, remained in the main hall.

Du Xiangong stood up, walked to Prince Qin, reached out to help him up, and said with a smile, "Between father and son, what can't be resolved? My son at home often makes me angry too. Let's talk things out."

The King of Qin refused to get up and said in a low voice, "Uncle, please let me kneel."

His Majesty the Emperor grunted, "Make him kneel and answer."

Minister Du sighed, but did not return to his seat; he simply stood silently to the side.

The princes were kneeling when they spoke; if he were to sit back down, it would be against the rules.

The emperor looked at the King of Qin and said in a deep voice, "Judging from your appearance, you seem to be somewhat unconvinced. Tell me, where has your father wronged you?"

“If I have wronged you in any way, tell me, in front of your Uncle Du.”

The emperor said in a muffled voice, "I apologize to you."

The King of Qin knelt on the ground, finally unable to hold back any longer. His eyes turned red and tears streamed down his face. "Father, I know that I have done some wrong things in the past few years since I came to Chang'an, but I am not as bad as you say."

He looked up at Li Yun and wiped away his tears.

"In the eleventh year of Zhangwu, my son was enfeoffed in Chang'an. At that time, when he bid farewell to his parents, he still felt a little sad."

"Back then, back then..."

The burly Prince of Qin wiped away his tears and continued, "When I arrived in Chang'an, I was unfamiliar with the place and the people, and the language was different. I was very depressed and could only drink every day."

"At that time, I felt, I felt..."

He kept crying, then wiped his tears before continuing, "I feel like there are quite a few people sent by my elder brother watching me."

"He was suspicious all the time, and he drank too much alcohol."

He choked up as he said, "I accidentally killed someone."

The emperor frowned, then said in a low voice, "Accurately killing someone four times? That's just what I've heard. In reality, the number of people who have died in your Qin Prince's mansion in the past few years is probably far more than four." The emperor tapped the table and continued, "You were born of a father and mother. Did you kill those people yourself?"

The King of Qin looked up at Li Yun, but dared not refute him. He could only lower his head and remain silent.

In his early years in Luoyang, he had a very good relationship with Prince Jin and Duke Yingguo, among others. Especially when he was a teenager, he would often go to Prince Jin to hear his father's stories from back then.

He knew that before starting his business, his father was the village chief, and he had a lot of blood on his hands.

It is precisely because of this understanding that he does not value the lives of others.

The emperor looked at him and continued, "Back then, Wang Junping wreaked havoc in the Central Plains. After entering Guanzhong, he made Chang'an a chaotic place. In the end, he died a violent death in the Chang'an Imperial Palace, and his head was hung on the city gate for more than half a month."

"you are my son."

The emperor said coldly, "What difference does it make whether you kill someone in Chang'an or I kill someone in Chang'an?"

"It has only been a little over ten years since the founding of the country."

The emperor roared, "Do you also want our Li family members to be hung up on the imperial city tower in the future?"

These were all harsh words. After hearing them, the King of Qin looked ashen-faced. After a while, he bowed his head and kowtowed, saying, "I know I was wrong."

"I am willing to give my life for yours."

He kowtowed and said, "Please punish me, Father Emperor."

The emperor slammed his hand on the table and grunted, "When I saw the war reports from the Northwest while I was in Jiangnan, I knew that you no longer treated human lives as human lives. Just based on these few deaths alone, I was already preparing to take you back to Luoyang and imprison you."

His Majesty the Emperor exhaled a breath of stale air and continued, "But considering your merits in the Northwest and your leading by example, your confinement will be moved to Chang'an. For the next three years, you are not allowed to leave the Prince's residence. During these three years, if I hear of you having blood on your hands again..."

"Then you should give up being the King of Qin."

The emperor stated bluntly, "From now on, your fiefdom will be abolished, and the lineage of the King of Qin will cease to exist."

In suppressing the rebellion in the northwest, the King of Qin acted decisively, saving the court at least several thousand soldiers from casualties. From this perspective alone, the King of Qin undoubtedly made a great contribution.

Li Yun also had to consider this contribution to the Northwest.

The King of Qin knelt on the ground and said through gritted teeth, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your mercy."

The emperor looked at him and continued, "What you did was too outrageous. If it hadn't been suppressed by the local officials, I wouldn't have let you off so easily."

In this era, print media already existed, and it was created by Li Yun himself. This means that Li Yun and the imperial court had to start paying attention to public opinion.

The fact that the King of Qin beat and killed his servants was well covered up, and for a long time, even Li Yun himself was unaware of it.

The common people naturally had no way of knowing.

Because his influence was small enough, Li Yun was likely to show leniency to the King of Qin.

Otherwise, they must be severely punished.

"even so."

The emperor looked at the King of Qin and continued, "Your lineage of the King of Qin should not be allowed to perish."

The King of Qin was the son of Consort Liu. When he was enfeoffed, the emperor was very fond of this second son and granted him the title of King of Qin, which was hereditary and perpetual, meaning there was one King of Qin per generation.

If the hereditary system were no longer allowed, the next generation would only be a prince, and so on, generation after generation.

The King of Qin's expression changed.

He looked up at Li Yun and pleaded, "Father, I know I was wrong..."

The emperor shook his head, ignoring him, and continued, "After I return to Luoyang this time, I will find your uncle and your Prince Jin to jointly establish the regulations for the imperial clan, which will be strictly enforced thereafter."

“If a member of the royal family makes a mistake, even to the point of killing someone, it violates the clan rules.”

"The lightest punishment is stripping the title, the heaviest is stripping the state, and in the worst cases, the offender will be handed over to the relevant authorities for questioning."

Removing a title means stripping the person of their title and selecting someone else in their lineage to inherit it.

"To remove the country" means to simply strip the title of nobility.

Seeing that the King of Qin was about to speak, Prime Minister Du walked to his side, bent down, and whispered, "Your Highness."

His Highness the King of Qin looked up at Du Qian before kneeling on the ground, tears welling in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your mercy..."

(End of this chapter)