novelden Chapter 343: The Empress Dies Suddenly
Chapter 343: The Empress Dies Suddenly
But when the Left Censor raised his eyes, he met the Emperor's cold gaze.
That look in his eyes was as if he had already sentenced him to death. The Left Censor shook his head repeatedly: "Your Majesty! This is all a forgery... a forgery!"
He suddenly knelt down on the ground, and in his panic, grabbed the emperor's leg.
Seeing this, the emperor's face darkened, and he kicked the Left Censor away forcefully.
The Left Censor collapsed to the ground, clutching the letter, his eyes filled with terror: "Your Majesty, please hear my explanation! This was taken from the Empress! It was all from the Empress!"
Now, the Left Censor-in-Chief suddenly found an excuse and abruptly pointed at the Empress.
Upon hearing this, the Empress's eyes widened, her expression one of disbelief.
She never expected that the Left Censor would suddenly say that.
"Your Majesty, you were the one who gave it to me back then. Have you forgotten?" The Left Censor asked hastily, as if grasping at the last straw.
Upon hearing this, the Empress immediately became enraged and stood up abruptly: "Don't talk nonsense! When did I give you these things? It was you, Censor, who came to the palace to find me on your own initiative, wasn't it? Besides, wasn't it you who threatened me?"
The queen glared at him fiercely, trying to explain herself.
The Left Censor was also furious: "If you hadn't seduced me, how could I have had that kind of relationship with you?"
"I seduced you? Who said they couldn't forget the feelings we had when we were young?"
In front of the emperor, the two began to shift the blame onto each other.
This is just like dogs fighting!
However, it also indirectly acknowledged the illicit relationship between the two of them.
Seeing the two of them turn against each other, Lin Rusi subconsciously tugged at Li Jingyang.
The two looked at the emperor's face.
The emperor's face was now extremely grim. He sat on the highest throne, coldly watching this farcical scene unfold.
The two argued fiercely and almost came to blows.
Looking at them coldly, the emperor completely lost his patience: "Guards! Throw the Empress into the Cold Palace! Execute the entire Left Censor's family, leave no one alive!"
These words sealed the fate of both of them.
Suddenly raising her head, the Empress cried pitifully, "Your Majesty! I was merely momentarily bewitched; it was all the fault of the Left Censor!"
At this moment, the Left Censor retorted, "You're talking nonsense! It's clearly you! Your Majesty, your humble servant's loyalty to you is as clear as day!"
The emperor ignored their shouts.
Lin Rusi frowned. Such a serious crime as adultery was only punished with being banished to the cold palace.
She found it strange, and although she was somewhat dissatisfied, she was not allowed to express her opinion in this setting.
After all, the emperor's decisions are not open to outsiders.
Just as she was thinking, the emperor looked over and said, "Princess Consort Jinglie, I heard that you finally obtained evidence of their treason and collusion with the enemy, and were threatened by the Empress twice. I am sorry for you."
As he spoke, the emperor's eyes were filled with remorse.
Seeing this, Lin Rusi hurriedly stood up and shook her head: "As the Princess Consort of Jinglie, this is only what I should do!"
"He should be rewarded." The emperor waved his hand, his mind made up.
As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately had Eunuch Su bring the imperial edict and bestowed a pile of gifts upon Lin Rusi.
This matter can be considered closed now!
……
They boarded the carriage and returned to the Jinglie Prince's Mansion.
Lin Rusi remained silent, as if she were pondering something.
Seeing her like this, Li Jingyang looked up and affectionately ruffled her hair, asking with a puzzled expression, "Asi, is something on your mind?"
"Have."
Lin Rusi nodded, quite frankly: "Your Highness, with all the Empress's crimes combined, is the only punishment to be banished to the Cold Palace?"
As she spoke, she stared intently at him, her face full of dissatisfaction.
Hearing this, Li Jingyang sighed, showing no anger on his face, as if he had already guessed it.
"Did Your Highness already know this?"
Lin Rusi countered with a question, then leaned closer: "The Empress has clearly committed a grave crime, yet the Emperor has treated her so leniently. Why is that?"
She wouldn't believe any nonsense about harboring old feelings!
Thinking about this, Lin Rusi felt even more uneasy.
Seeing her frown, Li Jingyang couldn't help but laugh and said, "As expected of my Si, she knows everything and can't hide anything from you."
"So what exactly happened?" Lin Rusi pressed again.
"Does Asi still remember what I once said: 'Cast a long line to catch a big fish'?"
Li Jingyang chuckled and asked in return.
Lin Rusi's eyes widened: "You mean?"
"Why don't you wait a couple of days and see?"
Li Jingyang smiled slightly, feigning an inscrutable expression.
Hearing this, Lin Rusi frowned: "Then I'll wait two days and see."
Time flew by, and two days later, just as Li Jingyang had predicted.
The Empress's maternal clan plotted a rebellion, and the evidence was conclusive. The Empress heard about this while she was in the Cold Palace.
Suddenly, he seemed to have gone mad, saying things like "absolutely impossible."
But who would listen to her explanation?
In a fit of rage, the emperor ordered the execution of the empress's entire maternal family, exiled all males under the age of fifteen to the frontier, beheaded all adult males, and demoted women to commoners.
For three generations, his descendants were forbidden from holding official positions in the court, and the empress's position was revoked, demoted to the rank of concubine.
When Lin Rusi heard about it, she was taken aback, but she still felt that such a punishment was a bit too lenient.
Despite the heinous crime of rebellion and treason, the Empress only demoted her rank.
Lin Rusi couldn't understand it at all, but when she asked Li Jingyang, he just smiled mysteriously.
"Asi, just you wait and see, this isn't over yet."
Li Jingyang spoke with such certainty, as if he already knew something.
But no matter how Lin Rusi asked, he refused to say.
There was nothing Lin Rusi could do but wait.
This wait lasted for almost half a month.
Half a month later, news suddenly came that the Empress had died suddenly in the Cold Palace, and no one knew what had happened.
However, the current empress is universally disliked, and there isn't even anyone to collect her body.
The maids and servants who used to be by her side have all left.
Once the affair became public knowledge, the Empress became the most despised person in the entire palace.
In the end, it was the emperor who couldn't stand it anymore.
Out of consideration for past affections, they ordered the body to be disposed of in a mass grave.
She was clearly the empress of a country, but in the end, she hastily ended her life.
Upon hearing this, Lin Rusi smiled and raised her lips: "This is truly gratifying! This is what they call 'those who do many evil deeds will surely perish'!"
Wanxia and Wanqi echoed her sentiments.
However, while feeling exhilarated, Lin Rusi also thought of something: what would happen a month later?
There will likely be a locust plague in the Northwest region, and the Emperor will certainly send Li Jingyang there.
It was at this point in time in my past life.
Li Jingyang set off for the Northwest, and Lin Rusi knew nothing about the situation there.
But she couldn't bear to leave, and she couldn't bear to watch Li Jingyang leave like that.
No, we have to think of a way!
There's an insect plague in the Northwest, which will inevitably bring with it various diseases.
Moreover, the people there were extremely poor after the locust plague and had no food.
Besides illness, what also comes with it is the distortion of human nature among ordinary people.
Nobody knows what that place in the Northwest will become!