Xiang Nan was immediately called into the palace.
"What is the sin of contradicting the Holy One in public, criticizing the Holy One, and inviting favors directly? Speak for yourself!" Qianlong said angrily as he sat on the throne.
"Behead according to the law!" Xiang Nan replied.
"Okay, write it down yourself." Qianlong nodded and said, "What is the crime if you hear what is said in the gossip and catch the wind and shadow? You can tell it yourself."
"Behead according to the law!" Xiang Nan replied again.
"Okay, in that case, please do it yourself." Qianlong nodded.
"Thank you for your grace, Ji Xiaolan is gone!" Xiang Nan stood up and walked out of the Meridian Gate.
"..." Qianlong was shocked when he saw it.
He didn't want to kill Xiang Nan, but he just wanted to frighten him into admitting his guilt, begging for mercy, and bending down, so he just stepped down and spared his life.
But I didn't expect that Xiang Nan was so straightforward that he ran outside the Meridian Gate himself.
"Hey, this is Ji Xiaolan!" Qianlong said helplessly.
He couldn't kill Xiang Nan, especially not like this. If Xiang Nan is really killed for gardening, how much infamy will he leave behind?
But Xiang Nan had already gone to the Meridian Gate. If he let it go so lightly, who would be afraid of him as the emperor in the future? If the emperor loses even his dignity, then who else can he rule?
Therefore, he hurriedly summoned six ministries and nine ministers to discuss the matter.
…
He Shen and Shang Rong entered the palace together.
"Sir, will something happen? Ji Xiaolan's piece of treasure revealed all our debts." Shang Rong asked worriedly.
"Don't be afraid. How can you always repair a garden without spending money?" He Shen waved his hands and smiled, "We have already settled the accounts, and it is useless no matter how much he checks. Didn't the previous censor Hong Derui also get fined? Quyang has cut the stone, what are you afraid of?"
"That's right, sir." Shang Rong couldn't help but feel relieved when he saw He Shen being so calm.
…
After all the officials gathered in the south study room, Qianlong announced to them that Ji Xiaolan would be executed.
"Although Ji Xiaolan has made extraordinary achievements many times since he entered the court. He has resisted the border, repaired books, and investigated cases...but he is also arrogant and arrogant based on his talent, has no superiority, and has repeatedly contradicted me.
If I kill him all, it won't be enough to extinguish the fire in my heart. Don't try to persuade me, don't try to persuade me! "Qianlong sat on the throne and said with a big mouth.
None of the officials present were fools.
Although the emperor said he didn't need to persuade him, he actually wanted them to persuade him and give him a step down so that he could pardon Ji Xiaolan.
However, they had no idea whether to cooperate with the emperor or not, but they all looked at He Shen.
Seeing He Shen standing there in silence, they all lowered their heads and remained silent.
He Shen naturally didn't want to save Xiang Nan.
Although Xiang Nan made an agreement with him as a gentleman, he never caused any trouble to him. But Xiang Nan's existence always felt like a lump in his throat and a light on his back.
Just like this time Xiang Nan wrote a poem to reveal the truth about the construction of Wanchun Garden, which brought him a certain threat.
Because although the garden was built under the supervision of Shang Rong, a large part of the money Shang Rong was greedy for was actually filial to him.
Now Xiang Nan turned over the account and pushed Shang Rong onto the stage. Once something happens to Shang Rong, he will naturally not be able to escape his involvement.
So he had been looking forward to Xiang Nan's death. Now Ji Xiaolan finally went to the guillotine, and the emperor was going to chop off his head. It was too late for him to be happy, so how could he plead for Xiang Nan.
"Oh, you don't have anything to say?" Qianlong was stunned for a long time. Seeing that everyone was silent, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, "Okay, since you don't even care about our long-term friendship as colleagues, then I have no choice but to kill him. Pass the decree, Execution at three quarters noon!"
Hearing what he said, He Shen felt secretly happy.
…
After Xiang Nan was detained at the Meridian Gate, he was dragged off his official clothes and tied to the guillotine.
"Hey, when is it?" He looked up at the sun and asked.
"Master Ji, it should be three o'clock in the morning." The executioner replied.
"Well, it's almost time to eat. Go and prepare some food and wine for me." Xiang Nan urged.
"Master Ji, I haven't prepared this for you. Just bear with it, you won't be hungry until later." The executioner was embarrassed.
"Absurd! That person knew that he would die sooner or later when he was born, so he still had to eat!" Xiang Nanshen scolded.
"Okay, okay, I'll prepare it for you right now. No matter what, I, a living person, can't argue with you, a dying person." The executioner said hurriedly.
After a while, the executioner brought two dishes. One spicy stir-fried diced chicken, one fried double crispy in oil, plus a pot of old wine.
"Well, this diced chicken is overcooked. Before putting the diced chicken into the pot, you should simmer it with dough powder and white pepper for a while so that the flavor can be absorbed." Xiang Nan took a bite, curled his lips and said, "As soon as you taste it, you can It’s not Dongxinglou’s food.”
"You are an expert." The executioner said with admiration, and then handed the wine bowl to Xiang Nan's mouth.
"Huh, lotus white~" Xiang Nan said with a smile when he heard it, and then took a sip, "Pfft! It's watered down! I say executioner, it's so unconscionable to give fake wine to a dying person."
"No, Master Ji." The executioner quickly denied.
"Forget it, forget it, no more wine." Xiang Nan commanded, "Come on and order some food. Don't give me diced chicken, give me some pork belly."
"Master Ji, I really admire you!" the executioner sighed, "I have beheaded so many prisoners on death row. Every one of them who went to the guillotine was crying, dejected, and lost their souls.
But you are not afraid at all. You should eat, drink, talk, and smile when you should. You don't look like you are dying at all! Okay, you are such a man! "
"Haha, you said I don't look like I'm going to die at all, then I definitely won't die." Xiang Nan said with a smile, "After all, there is no wise king in this world who can kill the minister who directly remonstrated. Come, pick up the food, pick up the food !”
…
While Xiang Nan was eating and drinking leisurely on the guillotine, Du Xiaoyue broke into the Cining Palace with sweating profusely.
When Xiang Nan left in the morning, he told her that if she didn't come back at noon, she would go to the palace to find the Queen Mother.
So after Xiang Nan left, she kept staring at the time. By noon, Xiang Nan had not returned.
Du Xiaoyue hurriedly entered the palace. After entering the palace, she heard from the eunuch that Xiang Nan was tied to the guillotine and was about to be beheaded because he had disgraced the emperor while visiting the garden.
This made her even more anxious, and she hurriedly ran into Cining Palace, crying and begging the Queen Mother for help.
When the Queen Mother heard that the emperor wanted to kill Ji Xiaolan, she couldn't help but be stunned, "It's unprovoked, why did the emperor want to kill Ji Xiaolan?"
"Queen Mother, sir, you annoyed the emperor because of the gardening." Xiaoyue cried, briefly telling the whole story of the future.
When the Queen Mother heard this, she nodded.
She did know about the emperor's garden construction. But I don’t know, spending so much money and digging up people’s ancestral graves is indeed a bit excessive.
"Mr. Ji is indeed a good official who can ask for orders from the people and speak out when he is wrong." She sighed, "Okay, I'll help you!"
