Funing Hall

Zhao Cong walked into the next hall, and the officials who were already silent and serious became even more serious. They stood up together and bowed: "I have seen Your Majesty."

Zhao Cong did not hesitate, walked directly to the first seat, turned around and sat down, and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, sit down."

The next group of people sat down one by one.

"I'm not going to repeat myself, Fulu—"

"Yes."

"In the past three days, you participated in the search with the princess, tell me, what did you find?"

"Yes." Fu Lu knelt on the ground and said, "Three days ago, there were 38 county school students, 21 officials, and 32 noble families in Jiangjia Jinyuan. The rest of the guards, maids, servants, and guards A total of [-] people. The princess personally searched the officials, noble families, and nobles, and the younger ones led the guards in the palace and the princess mansion to search the rest. Before entering the garden, they had been strictly investigated. Most of these people were innocent, and some were small The problem has nothing to do with this matter, and the small matter will be reported to His Majesty alone—"

Zhao Cong nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"The assassin's surname is Sun Mingyong. He was originally a refugee. Where he came from remains to be investigated. He fled to Luoyang two years ago and originally lived in a house where the government resettled refugees. Later, he met his loyal and filial uncle Sun Boxun on the outskirts of the city. Sun Boxun saw his knowledge. Alright, take the initiative to sponsor him to study, send him to the county school, and help him register in Luoyang. Your Majesty, after the assassin was assassinated, he was going to commit suicide. In the future, before biting his tongue, he shouted that he was doing things for the Sun family and his son, because he had already He couldn’t speak, and the little ones couldn’t ask questions. But after he woke up, although he was blind, he could still write after three days of treatment. This is a confession written by himself.” Fu Lu bowed his head and offered the things.

Zhao Cong rolled his eyes in disgust: "Let your lords have a look." He didn't look at it.

"Yes." Fu Lu handed the confession letter to Zhao Kelu first, and Zhao Kelu read it carefully, and it was indeed the student's own handwriting.Just now when they were waiting here, someone had already shown them the calligraphy of the student surnamed Sun. Because the student surnamed Sun was covered in injuries all over his body and his eyes could not see, the words written at this time were very messy, but the beginning and the end of the pen were all the same. .Indeed, one can tell at a glance that it was written by the same person.

The superior explained the reason why he did what he did, saying that the Sun family father and son wanted him to do this, and only blamed His Majesty, but did not tell him the specific reason.He also said that Uncle Zhongxiao was his benefactor and he had to do it. This statement is very false, but once it is written, it is evidence.Finally, there is a monogram written by Sun Yong himself.

This is really ironclad evidence. At that time, more than 300 people in the venue were all witnesses. What they saw with their own eyes, coupled with his quick confession, the Sun family did have previous convictions and was full of motives.Zhao Kelu thought to himself, the Sun family is coming to an end, and they can't turn over even if they want to.

He passed the confession to other people to read, and everyone present passed it to read one by one, and after reading them all, he returned them to Fu Lu.

Fulu said again: "Your Majesty, there are all personal and physical evidence, and the knife in the pen of the assassin was a gift from Sun Boxun, and it was forged in a shop in Luoyang City. The little one took someone to check it himself, and asked the shopkeeper, This is true. At that time, a servant of the Sun family went to buy five knives. The assassin used two of them that day, and the younger one took people to search the Sun family and the county school, where a student surnamed Sun lived I found one in my house, and the other two were from Sun's house." After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the little eunuch presented three other knives, sharp and thin, with a cold silver light, similar to the knives of that day. exactly the same.

Zhao Cong nodded, and the little eunuch showed the knife to the others again.

Fu Lu kowtowed and knelt on the ground.

Zhao Cong looked down at his injured left hand.

There was silence in the hall again. After everyone had looked at the knife, Zhao Cong raised his head and asked, "Do you have anything to say?"

The money merchant came out and cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, there are all the witnesses and material evidence. Although the Sun family has made great contributions to the founding of the country, it is also the Empress Dowager's natal family, but if you dare to act like this, I think it should be a death penalty!" Many others also agreed.

There was also a servant standing up and said: "Your Majesty, although the evidence is convincing, I'm afraid we have to go back to Kaifeng to discuss it again. Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, we have never executed any honorable person. Taizu—"

Zhao Cong interrupted him coldly: "Since the founding of the country, this is the first time someone dared to assassinate the emperor."

The servant's legs softened and he knelt down on the ground.

The money merchant also bowed his head and remained silent.

There was still some discussion, but now it all stopped.It was only then that everyone remembered how His Majesty had arbitrarily written an imperial edict to Lixin's successor just now.

Zhao Cong asked again: "Is there anything else you want to say?"

No one dared to speak anymore.Besides, the evidence is indeed too conclusive. The civil servants pay attention to the rules in everything, and they are not pleading for the Sun family, but just asking for a standard.But His Majesty's appearance of disregarding the norms, they simply turned a blind eye, not daring to provoke His Majesty again.

Seeing that no one spoke anymore, Zhao Cong made a conclusion: "Except for Sun Boxun's title of loyal and filial uncle, Sun Boxun and Sun Feng's father and son will be executed immediately, and the rest of the Sun family men will be exiled, and the woman and married daughter will not be punished for the time being." Zhao Cong spoke very fast, it can be seen He had already made up his mind, and he had no intention of hiding himself in front of his courtiers. From now on, he would only do what he really wanted to do.

After he finished speaking, he asked again, "Do you have any objections?"

Everyone shook their heads honestly.

"Have you heard everything?"

"Yes."

Zhao Cong got up quickly: "The ban on Jinyuan was lifted, and the Sun family and his son were brought back to Kaifeng for disposal. If you adults are willing to enjoy the spring scenery of Jinyuan, you can stay here. I just let you rest. If you don't want to, go back to Kaifeng by yourself. .”

Qian Shang immediately asked, "When will Your Majesty return?"

Zhao Cong frowned, and replied: "Let's discuss again." He had to wait until Xiao Shiyi was able to take the boat before leaving.

"Yes."

Zhao Cong walked out, and when he reached the door, he suddenly turned his face, and said to Fu Lu behind him: "That assassin, take him back to Kaifeng mansion together."

"Yes."

"Take it back, I'll stab it for fun." After Zhao Cong finished speaking, he smiled softly, then turned around and strode away.

"..."

Everyone was so frightened and dumbfounded that they couldn't say a word.

When they came back to their senses, His Majesty had left.They looked at each other in blank dismay, are you okay to play?This is something that only those tyrants who didn't treat people as human beings would do in a long time ago. They valued etiquette the most in the Song Dynasty, how could they be like this...

But none of them dared to say anything. If they went deep, they didn't blame the officials. They were almost assassinated. Who would be happy?It's okay to be angry for a while, but it's really too inconsistent with the former His Majesty.

No matter what, they all knew that after this incident, no one would have a good time in the future.Your Majesty was only soft on the face at first, and I am afraid that this face will disappear in the future.This time the evidence was so conclusive that most of them believed that the Sun family was responsible for the incident, and now they all blamed the Sun family.

The news of Sun's family being dealt with, along with the lifting of the ban, spread like this.

Zhao Cong was not afraid of losing face, so the news of his assassination spread together. When the common people heard that the Sun family dared to assassinate even the officials, they all scolded him, saying that he deserved to be executed, and that His Majesty did not Ling Chi.The Sun family is notorious now that they are outside.

When the news spread, the palace guards of Kaifeng Mansion got the news and immediately sealed up the Sun family and arrested all the men of the Sun family.The door plaque of Sun's house had also been smashed down, and people came to their house every day to yell and throw things.The guards were indifferent, let them scold and throw them away.Now the door of Sun's house is closed tightly, with all kinds of dirt on the door, and the front door is very dirty.

Xiao Tang's official position is not enough, he did not go to Luoyang, and now he is also supervising this matter.

He stood in front of the Sun's house, watching this scene, feeling rather sad in his heart.His Majesty often spoke to him, and he could guess that it might not be the Sun family who did it this time.But the Sun family's heart is too cruel and heavy, His Majesty tolerated them for too long, this time it is also expected.He put away his sighs, his face turned cold, and he brought people in again, and they would search the Sun's house again.

After Zhao Cong dealt with these matters, once the ban was lifted, how could Zhao Kelu and others really stay in Jinyuan to enjoy the spring scenery?They returned to Kaifeng from Luoyang one by one.

As soon as Zhao Congde arrived in Kaifeng, he immediately went to Sun's house to take a look. When he arrived, he happened to see the forbidden soldiers moving out of the mansion.The guards waved her mercilessly and threw her out. She was thrown against the door, and immediately spit out a mouthful of blood. She supported the door and wept.

Zhao Congde originally came to watch a good show, so he couldn't help swallowing when he saw it this way.

The guard raised his eyes and saw him, but he just said hello: "I have met the prince." After saying that, he carried his things around him and left.

Zhao Congde also didn't care about the negligence of these banned soldiers, he just looked at Mrs Yu, pampered and pampered for many years, she was still a noble wife yesterday, only one day...

Imperial power is really enviable, but for one day, it can make people go to heaven, and it can also send people to hell instantly.Yu was crying, and when she saw Zhao Congde, her eyes lit up, and she wanted to come to him, but she couldn't walk anymore, so she could only crawl on the ground.Zhao Congde suddenly came back to his senses, turned around and left immediately.

His heart skipped a beat, imperial power was enviable, but it was also really terrifying.

He was not present when Zhao Cong discussed with the officials about the Sun family.

But when he heard that Zhao Cong didn't even want to take a look at Sun Boxun, he found out the reason, and when he got the evidence and sentenced them to death, he didn't believe it.Zhao Cong is his cousin, he was originally the son of the county prince's mansion just like him, and he will be the prince of the county in the future when he succeeds the prince.

When Zhao Congfu was born, he still loved his seventh brother very much.

He claims to be the son of the eldest son in the family, and looks down on the younger brother who is the son of the concubine.At that time, there were only three county princes in Song Dynasty, they were Wei County King, Anding County King and Hui County King.Needless to say, Zhao Kelu, the King of Huijun, had a high-ranking appearance since he was a child, and he has always been a master. He is older than him, and he often teaches him and asks him to study. Zhao Congde has a headache when he sees him.

In Zhao Cong's eyes, the king of Anding County was of noble status, and belonged to the same lineage as the late emperor.And when he was young, Zhao Cong was exquisite in ice and snow, and was more beautiful than a little girl.He had no younger brother to love, so he often went to see Zhao Cong.At that time Zhao Cong was not in good health, he was very proud and determined to cultivate a younger brother who was close to him, so that his younger brother could rely on him in the future.

But who knows that after a few years, the two of them will be very different.

Only then did he realize that the descendants who were not the first emperor's direct relatives could also be emperors.

But why is it the weak Zhao Cong?He, Zhao Kelu, or his son Shiyuan, who is older than Zhao Cong, which one is better than Zhao Cong?Why is it the three-year-old Zhao Cong who can't even speak completely?Is it just because Zhao Cong has a nobler blood and identity than them?

We are all descendants of Taizu, so what is the difference?

Dissatisfaction is sometimes so inexplicable.

These years he had not been going well, and someone pushed him, so he became more and more dissatisfied.

Until the moment he met Yu Shiqian, he still longed for imperial power in his heart.After seeing too much, he was a little scared.If he missed one time, how should Zhao Cong deal with him?

Zhao Cong seemed to have really changed.

He was also really scared.

He thought of Zhao Cong's words about bringing the assassin back to stab the assassin for fun, and thought of what others said about Zhao Cong blinding the assassin's eyes with his own hands, his face turned pale, and he almost didn't even get on the horse.The second butler helped him onto the horse and asked him what was wrong, but before he could speak, he whipped his whip and left.He just wanted to be far away from the Sun family, even further away.

Empress Dowager Sun lay there for a whole day before slowly opening her eyes.

She looked at the top of the bed in confusion, and gradually flashed back to the previous scene in her mind, and she immediately shouted: "Come on!"

But no one answered her.

"Come on!" She yelled again, and sat up propped up, tearing open the curtain indiscriminately.

Footsteps finally sounded outside, Sun Xiaoyu walked in slowly, walked to the bed, did not look at her, just bowed her head and said: "Aunt."

"Father, brother, they—how long have I been lying down?" The Queen Mother Sun was already a little incoherent.

"Auntie, you've been lying down for a whole day, and it's nighttime now, how hungry is Auntie?"

"Father and elder brother, they, they..." Empress Dowager Sun stared at Sun Xiaoyu, "Why don't you look up at me?"

Sun Xiaoyu paused for a while, looked up at her, and said softly: "Aunt, Your Majesty has ordered the execution of Daddy and Daddy."

Sun Xiaoyu's voice was flat, as if talking about other people's affairs, and her eyes were even more calm.She was so calm, so calm that Empress Dowager Sun thought what she said was false, not only dully but also asked: "What did you say?"

"Auntie, Daddy and Daddy sent someone to assassinate His Majesty. The evidence is overwhelming. They have been ordered to execute and returned to Kaifeng for execution. Several houses in the family have been sealed, all the men are exiled, and the women are not guilty for the time being."

"You're talking nonsense." Queen Mother Sun didn't believe it.

"Auntie, it's true." Sun Xiaoyu remained calm.

The Empress Dowager Sun lifted the quilt and was about to get out of bed, but she couldn't get out of bed at all. Her body was still not well, and when her eyes went dark, she fell back on the bed again.Sun Xiaoyu leaned forward lightly, covered her with a quilt, and said, "Auntie, you should accept the reality earlier."

"Reality?" Empress Dowager Sun turned to look at her, and suddenly stretched out her hand to slap her across the face, "Reality? The reality is that you don't care about your family, your parents, and hug his Zhao family's thigh? Are you willing to marry?!"

Sun Xiaoyu reached out to touch her face, lowered her head and asked, "What does Auntie think is reality?"

"I'm going to see Zhao Cong! I'm the Empress Dowager, I'll put down my body and beg him! I can save my father and brother's life!" Empress Dowager Sun said and wanted to get out of bed again.

Sun Xiaoyu suddenly laughed, and Empress Dowager Sun looked at her in surprise.

Sun Xiaoyu smiled and said, "Auntie, before they started working, did they ever worry about you? About me? About our so-called daughters of the Sun family? And why did they ever worry about mother and the poor women who married into the Sun family?"

"For a family, everyone is prosperous, and everyone is damaged."

"Auntie, why haven't you woken up yet? Daddy and Daddy have always wanted glory. In their eyes, we are nothing."

"I'll beg Zhao Cong!" The Queen Mother still wanted to get out of bed.

"Auntie!" Sun Xiaoyu called her sharply, "Wake up! Who is he? He is not a child who was raised under your knees when you were young, and was deceived by you and our Sun family! He is the real Emperor of Song Dynasty! He Everyone's life and death are in the palm of his hand! Whoever he wants to die must die! Even if he is innocent, who would dare to say 'no'?! Why don't you say such a simple truth? Understand, Daddy and Daddy don’t understand either?! You dare to call him by his first name! What is he in your eyes? The Zhao family is a heavenly family, what about us? We are just ordinary people! People like us can obviously live in peace Why do you only think about confrontation?!"

Sun Xiaoyu shed tears: "You don't respect him, but you are unable to bring him down, why bother us? When you were young, you told me that His Majesty is not to be feared, but when you are old, you still tell me that he is not to be feared. The duke has been demoted to be a loyal and filial uncle, you are still like this—"

"This matter was not done by my father and elder brother! They were killed by others!"

"Auntie! So what if they did what they did? Over the years, how have you ever respected His Majesty? What have you done to him, do you remember? How many times have you tried to kill him? I have heard it, heard everyone Daddy wants you to kill him! He hates you, Daddy and Daddy, and our Sun family! Why do you seem to be sensible, but are always so naive?! The Sun family must die! Back then, if you thought of us more, the Sun family Why is it here now?" Sun Xiaoyu stood in front of her and refused to let her go out, "You all want the highest position, my mother, my brother, and I just want to live a peaceful life!"

After listening to her words, Empress Dowager Sun was stunned for a moment, but she still wanted to get out of bed.

Sun Xiaoyu pushed her back to the bed, her eyes were red, and said indifferently: "Your Majesty, accept your fate, my mother and I still want to live a good life. When I marry Zhao Ting, I will take my mother to Songzhou to live in peace. Even if my brother is exiled , I will also make Yinzi people take care of him all the way. Niang Niang, you continue to be the queen mother in the palace, you, let the Sun family go!"

After Sun Xiaoyu finished speaking, she shed tears again.

Empress Dowager Sun also cried, all she asked was to help the Sun family, why did it end up like this.

She never thought that one day, her father and brother would go ahead of her in this way, but she was helpless.Why did the child who was talking to her with red eyes become what he is now?She never really harmed him!

And who sent the assassin?Zhao Congde said that he would send people to tamper with the boat, causing Zhao Cong to drown, and then blame the concubine Shizi and the Jiang family.This matter failed, who is the person who assassinated Zhao Cong now?She didn't believe that her father and brother could do such a thing.Who hates them so much and wants to harm their Sun family like this?

Empress Dowager Sun was already unwell, and her mind was extremely messed up at this moment. She still wanted to ask Zhao Cong, but Sun Xiaoyu firmly pressed her down and refused to let her go.While she was moving, Sun Xiaoyu simply struck her hard on the back of the neck, she fainted again, and the room was quiet.

In the yard not far from them, Zhao Cong was staring at Zhao Shiqi drinking medicine.

Zhao Shiqi didn't want to drink it: "Bitter."

"How can medicine be sweet? Drink it." Zhao Cong frowned.

"Your Majesty feed me."

"...Drink it yourself!"

Rantao smiled on the side.

"When I was young, Your Majesty fed me medicine, but now..." Zhao Shiqi bowed his head in frustration.

Zhao Cong had a headache, Rantao Zhiqu got up and said, "Maidservant, go outside and watch." She smiled and left, and as soon as she left, Zhao Shiqi stretched out his hand to hold Zhao Cong's hand.

"Aren't you tired of crooked?" Zhao Cong avoided his hand, "Drink the medicine!"

Zhao Shiqi was shocked: "Your Majesty, it's only been a day since we communicated with each other, and you think I'm tired?"

"..." Zhao Cong couldn't say that he was a little embarrassed, could he?But seeing Zhao Shiqi like this, he had no choice but to say, "No..."

"Your Majesty despises me."

"I haven't."

"Yes, otherwise, why didn't His Majesty feed me medicine?"

Zhao Cong was helpless: "I hurt my hand, how can I feed you medicine?"

"Just feed me like the day I passed out."

"..." Zhao Cong's hand stopped.

Zhao Shiqi laughed immediately: "Don't blame Sister Rantao, she threatened me severely that day!"

Zhao Cong was a little embarrassed, he lowered his head and took the medicine bowl from the bed, stuffed it into Zhao Shiqi's hand, and said, "Drink it quickly!"

"Drink, drink, I'll drink!" Zhao Shiqi picked up the bowl and raised his head to drink, "It's just that there are some things to do before drinking."

"Huh?" Zhao Cong looked at him in surprise, the injury on Zhao Shiqi's back was still early, and most of the time he still had to lie on his stomach.But Zhao Shiqi's body is indeed very strong. After laying on the ground for a day, he was able to sit for a while without opening his wounds. He was kneeling on the bed right now, but his back was still not straight.

Seeing Zhao Cong looking at him curiously, the corner of his mouth curled up, and he leaned over to approach Zhao Cong.

Zhao Cong subconsciously retreated a little.

Zhao Shiqi laughed softly, bent over, leaned his upper body forward, and just tilted his head on Zhao Cong's shoulder.

Zhao Cong was worried that he would touch the wound, so he looked back at him, and his chin touched the tip of his nose.Zhao Cong wanted to move away, but Zhao Shiqi stretched out his hand to pinch his chin, pressed it down slightly, raised his head, and kissed him.

Zhao Cong looked at him and blinked.

Zhao Shiqi smiled again, and slightly moved away from his lips. Between the lips, he looked into Zhao Cong's eyes and said softly, "Your Majesty, close your eyes."