At this moment, the dignified Prince Xiu of An Guojun has been thrown into Tingwei's prison by Ma Xin for nearly a month. There was no interrogation and no one came to see him. Just like when he came here, Tingwei Ma Xin treated him with courtesy and offered kind words. They said they would release him soon, but within a few days they turned against him and mercilessly threw him into death row.
Young Master Xiu's face was ashen now. He calmed down and understood that something terrible must have happened within the imperial court. Someone wanted to frame him. His Majesty had already made it clear that he wanted to pass on the throne to him, but how could his Majesty suddenly listen to the slanderous words of a traitor and send him to prison? ?
Until now, Gongzixiu can't figure out why even after racking his brains. What went wrong? Even the auxiliary minister, General Zuo Yang Lin, has never come to Dalao to visit him. Where is Prime Minister Huo? Why is there no one there? Why is all this happening?
Just when Gongzi Xiu was still confused, there was a sound from outside the prison. Gongzi Xiu listened carefully and smiled bitterly. He saw an elderly warder in his sixties walking outside the prison, carefully carrying the food box and putting it away. In the prison, a pretty good-looking meal was laid out.
To be treated like this in such a ghost place can be regarded as special care from Tingwei Ma Xin.
The cell was a private room with relatively good conditions and was relatively clean and tidy. Gongzi Xiu raised his eyes and glanced at the jailer. He wanted to talk to him for a while, but he smiled bitterly and shook his head to stop this useless effort.
The above are really doing a great job. This old warder is basically a deaf-mute. He can't even find someone to talk to. He is just afraid that he will find someone to bring some news to the outside world. It can be said that he has completely isolated Young Master Xiu here. , It’s hard to fly with wings, and only the deaf-mute old jailer comes to deliver three meals a day, and he doesn’t see anyone at all on weekdays.
Young Master Xiu sighed. We are like rice and steel. No matter whether we can live tomorrow or not, we have to eat now. He took the food and ate it slowly and gracefully. After the meal, the old warder started to clear away the dishes and put the food in for him. He silently exited the cell, locked the cell door, and turned around to leave.
The old jailer carried the food box and walked dozens of steps to an iron gate and handed his waist tag inside. After the jailer confirmed that it was correct, he opened the iron gate from the outside and let him pass. He also had to go through three iron gates in this way. Only then can one really get out of the prison. It can be seen that the prison of Tingwei is really guarded and guarded, and it is difficult to fly without wings.
After drinking and eating, Gongzixiu started another day of daze and random thoughts. He didn't know when he would be the end of the world, and he had no idea why the emperor suddenly ordered him to be locked in prison. It all happened so suddenly that he was caught off guard.
He thought of his past, when he was the unofficial heir to the empire as Lord An Gui. Masters from all walks of life, both inside and outside the court, came to befriend and cling to him like crucian carp crossing a river. But now, he was imprisoned with just one casual word from the emperor. Don't know where the road ahead is?
Is this the power that I have been pursuing? With Tianxian in his mouth, life and death, all in the emperor's mind, he smiled bitterly. He never thought that after all the mechanisms were exhausted, how could he end up in this situation?
Just when Young Master Xiu was thinking wildly, several more people came outside the prison. Young Master Xiu listened attentively and then quickly sat upright. He finally waited, and someone finally remembered that there was this poor Young Master like him in this corner where no one noticed.
I saw three strong jailers coming, all of them with fierce looks, dragging shackles and chains in their hands. The leader was an official from Tingwei Mansion. Young Master Xiu's heart sank when he saw this.
Young Master Xiu said: "What crime did I commit? That I should be chained? According to the laws of Jin Dynasty, I am a descendant of the clan, and I have the title of king. If I am not convicted, no one can lock me."
When the official of the Tingwei Mansion heard this, he sneered and said: "Mr. An Guo...oh no! You are no longer Lord An Guo. There is an order from above to lock you up and go to the front hall to listen to the order. Then you will naturally know that you are." What’s the reason? Let’s do it.”
Gongzixiu knew that there was no point in arguing with them. They were just minions who were ordered to enforce the law. He sighed and had no choice but to accept his fate and put on the shackles and take him to the front of the hall to meet the mastermind behind all this. Even if you die, you will be a wise man.
Young Master Xiu was escorted by three jailers through the many checkpoints in the prison. He dragged his heavy anklets and carried wooden shackles to the lobby of Tingwei Mansion.
At this moment, in the hall of Tingwei, in the middle are the censor Zhongcheng Gao Zhong, Tingwei Ma Xin, Tingwei's subordinate officials, and several eunuchs from the palace who came to announce the decree, standing in front of the hall.
Seeing Gongzi Xiu being brought, Gao Zhong first asked: "Gongzi Xiu, do you know your crime?"
Gongzixiu was asked inexplicably, "Knowing the crime, what crime does he know?"
Young Master Xiu said in a deep voice: "Master Gao, I don't know what crime I committed, how can I plead guilty?"
Gao Zhong didn't answer. With a wave of his hand, an official from the Tingwei Mansion held the file and placed it in front of Young Master Xiu himself. Young Master Xiu was shackled and couldn't move, so he had to bend down and look at the crimes listed in the file. He felt huge in his heart. Shocking, why didn't he expect that this Chen Guzi rotten sesame thing would be revealed again?
Young Master Xiu was confused, hadn't it been more than three years since the former prince's incident? Why is it being pulled out again now? Moreover, there were too many crimes that he had never even heard of that were directly imposed on him. He felt something was wrong. He definitely couldn't admit this crime. If he did, he would never be able to turn around in his life.
Young Master Xiu then thought about it. No matter how he thought about the series of actions in the palace, he felt that there was something vaguely weird in them. No, this was not right.
Gongzixiu raised his head and looked at the presiding officer's position and said: "Master Tingwei, Master Gao, how is this possible? This is a trap. There must be some villain behind this who is slandering me. I want to see my father, and His Majesty Shengming Zhuzhao will never do it." You will be deceived by villains’ slanderous words.”
When Tingwei Ma Xin heard this, he showed a trace of sympathy but said nothing.
Gao Zhong, who was sitting next to Ma Xin, said sternly: "Master Xiu, you still haven't confessed your guilt? Come and bring someone to prove it."
Young Master Xiu understood at a glance that it was Zhongcheng Gaozhong who was here to hear his case on behalf of the court, and Ma Xin, the real supervisor of the court, had become a foil.
Before Gao Zhong finished speaking, dozens of disciples who had previously defected to Gongzi Xiu were dragged in from outside the hall. When the disciples saw their former master, they also lowered their heads in shame. It was they who, in order to survive, had to do anything except for some things that really happened. Most of the so-called charges against Gong Zixiu were fabricated out of thin air after being tortured to extract confessions.
When Gao Zhong saw this, he snorted coldly. The guests at Lord An Guo's residence in the hall were so frightened that they had no choice but to come forward and accuse Young Master Xiu of his crimes. Only the guest Wei Man knelt on the ground and said nothing.
When Young Master Xiu saw that the people who had once clung to him were so cruel, he laughed bitterly and cursed angrily: "You rats, I ask myself how I treated you so badly, but today when they see me in trouble, they actually add insult to injury in front of me. , do you still have a conscience?"
After being scolded by Young Master Xiu, all the disciples lowered their heads in shame.
Wei Man, the retainer, sighed and said: "Master, these people are just trying to survive, and they are beaten to death. They do it as a last resort. Don't blame me, Master."
Young Master Xiu saw that Wei Man was being tortured so hard that he looked like a human being. If he hadn't opened his mouth to speak, he wouldn't have recognized him for a moment.
Young Master Xiu dragged his shackles forward and said tremblingly: "Sir, how could they treat you so cruelly?"
Young Master Xiu turned his head and shouted at Gao Chong: "Master Gao, there must be some misunderstanding. Everything in this file is framed by villains. I want to see General Zuo, I want to see the Taiwei, and I want to see the Prime Minister. , they are the auxiliary ministers designated by His Majesty personally, they will not sit idly by and ignore..."
Wei Man smiled bitterly, shook his head and said, "Master, I'm afraid you will never see them again."
Upon hearing this, Gongzi Xiu was stunned on the spot and said to himself: "No, how is this possible? How could they just sit idly by and ignore it? Why on earth is this?"
After just a cup of tea, Yang Lin, the left general of Yicheng Marquis, and Yang Yan, the Marquis of Wucheng, were also detained in court with their hair disheveled.
When Gongzi Xiu saw his uncle and father-in-law with their hair disheveled and no longer as majestic as before, his heart felt like falling into an ice cave. He understood everything. This was to uproot their An Guojun faction and there would never be a chance to stand up again. This would be the end of the world. It's hard for anyone to do anything.
Young Master Xiu came up to Er Yang and said in a sad tone: "Uncle, father-in-law."
Yang Lin glanced at Gao Zhong bitterly and said: "Pearls are covered in dust, loyal people are in trouble, and traitors are now high in the temple. God, why don't you open your eyes and see, this world is so muddy, there is no place for us. land……"
Yang Yan raised his head and cursed at Gao Zhong: "Gao Zhong! You are such a thief. Your Majesty was only temporarily deceived by traitors like you. When Your Majesty wakes up, traitors like you who seek the country will definitely not end well."
Hearing this, Gao Zhong sneered and said, "Then we'll see. Before that, I'll send you two to take a step forward."
Young Master Xiu said in a deep voice: "Master Gao, I can plead guilty, but I have a condition before confessing. I want to see Your Majesty. As long as Your Majesty gives you the right words to convict me, I will die without regrets."
Hearing this, Gao Zhong sneered in his heart, "Want to see the late emperor?" I’d better send you to meet you underground!
Gao Zhong said: "Your Majesty knew that Long Yan was furious after you participated in the former prince's rebellion, and he didn't want to see you. You and other rebellious officials and traitors should just obey your orders!"
Gao Chong winked at the eunuch in the palace.
The eunuch hurriedly stepped forward and announced the decree: "Young Master Xiu, Yang Lin and Yang Yan are imprisoned and kneel down to listen to the decree."
When Young Master Xiu heard this, his heart trembled. He understood that these people would never give them any chance to make a comeback. If the emperor was still conscious or alive, things like today would never happen.
The eunuch said: "The edict said: I was really angry when I first heard that Prince Xiu actually participated in the conspiracy to murder Prince Ni. After careful investigation by the Tingwei, Prince Ni was forced to fight against Prince Ni in the 31st year of the reign of Emperor Tong. There was actually a hidden reason. You didn't think about it at the time. Kuang Zheng was admonishing the prince, but he actually plotted to kill his brother. I was deeply saddened by these actions. After three rounds of discussion by Tingwei, he deprived the prince of the title of king, removed the clan status and demoted him to a commoner before he could discuss the crime. It is appropriate for him to Chenghou General Yang Lin conspired with An Guojun..."
When Gongzixiu heard this, he was already out of his mind. He didn't hear a word of what was said after that. Once he knew the imperial edict, it meant that the coffin was sealed. Everything was over, and they could never turn around again...
