Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 1069: Chapter 117: Prince Zheng’s Evidence of Guilt (Part 2)

The emperor seemed to be extremely patient, reading slowly page by page. But for the ministers kneeling below, this was nothing short of torturing them with cruelty.

They each knelt on the ground, their heads pressed against the cold surface, trembling all over.

For the ministers kneeling on the ground, every breath felt like an eternity. They didn’t know how many years had passed when they heard a loud "bang" as the emperor closed the ledger in his hand. Their hearts twisted sharply in an instant.

The emperor stood up, walked to the front, and glanced at the ministers on the ground. He chuckled softly, "Ha! You truly surprise me."

It’s over, this tone of the emperor... The ministers felt their scalps explode, their hairs standing on end.

"You all have some real skill, going to Annan to conduct business and stir up trouble, and causing such a commotion." The emperor said with a half-hearted smile, "Does Great Zhou not sustain you, do you have to go to Annan to earn money? Or did I mistreat you, not granting your stipends?"

The ministers kneeling on the ground said fearfully, "We deserve to die ten thousand times!"

"You knew how to exploit loopholes, huh? Great Zhou officials are forbidden from conducting business, so you go to Annan to do business." The emperor said with a smile, "In that case, I’ll send you to Annan."

These words in the ears of the ministers were akin to banishment.

"Forgive us, Your Majesty! Forgive us, Your Majesty! Forgive us, Your Majesty!"

"You are blameless; I am at fault; I mistreated you." The emperor said mockingly, "I can’t even make you stay in my Great Zhou."

"We deserve to die ten thousand times; we beg for your forgiveness!" The more the emperor spoke, the more afraid the ministers became. Many were already crying out of fear.

"Prince Zheng."

Hearing the emperor call him, Prince Zheng’s body trembled more fiercely.

"Fa... Fa-Fa-Father..."

"You certainly have some skill." The emperor’s tone suddenly turned icy, "Murdering citizens, abducting women, treating lives like weeds, seizing land, stealing people’s belongings..." As he spoke, a gloomy haze spread over the emperor’s face, "Indeed, you are a good son of mine!"

"Fa..." Prince Zheng was so scared he couldn’t utter a word.

The emperor walked over, to Prince Zheng’s side, and kicked him to the wall.

With a thud, Prince Zheng slammed into the wall, letting out a painful groan.

The ministers, witnessing this scene, were scared out of their wits.

Over the years, Prince Zheng had become weak due to excessive indulgence, not taking care of his body. The emperor’s kick knocked him down, and he lay there for ages without response.

The emperor walked over and kicked him several more times.

Prince Zheng’s miserable cries echoed through Zichen Hall, causing all the civil and military officials to wince in pain.

Prince Zheng lay on the ground, arms wrapped around the emperor’s leg, crying out, "Spare my life, Father! Spare my life, Father! Spare my life, Father!"

"When you were torturing those people to death, why didn’t you spare them?" Another kick from the emperor made Prince Zheng curl up like a shrimp on the ground. "You beast, taking pleasure in murdering others!"

"Ah! Ah! Ah..." Prince Zheng’s cries grew increasingly miserable.

No one among the civil and military officials dared plead for Prince Zheng or attempted to stop the emperor.

The emperor knew well not to kick Prince Zheng to death.

Prince Zheng ended up getting his face covered in blood from the beating.

Prince Jing didn’t dare to turn his head to look at Prince Zheng’s wretched state. Prince Zheng’s piercing cries sent chills down his spine. Though they had been disobedient since childhood, and had been beaten by their father, never had he seen their father so relentless.

Prince Wei felt delighted in his heart. If possible, he would have liked to step up and kick a few more times.

Prince Zheng passed out from the beatings.

"Sun Kui, splash water to wake this beast up."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Seeing Prince Zheng unconscious, the emperor seemed unwilling to let it go, and the ministers grew increasingly fearful.

Sun Kui brought a basin of cold water and splashed it forcefully on Prince Zheng’s face. Moments later, Prince Zheng awoke from his coma. The emperor ceased kicking him.

The emperor walked over to Duke Anyang’s side, looking at him coldly.

Duke Anyang felt the emperor’s icy gaze on him, and his body involuntarily stiffened. He wanted to say something, but couldn’t utter a word.

The emperor withdrew his gaze and looked toward the Court Martial, saying, "Examine the evidence against Prince Zheng, report back within three days. Once verified, deal with it according to the law."

The Court Martial quickly responded, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Princess of Annan, I will deliver justice for you."

Princess of Annan: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Investigate Duke Anyang, Marquis Xuanping, Duke Zhen, and others as well." The emperor glanced at the other ministers, "Also, investigate everyone mentioned just now by Princess of Annan, with Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu assisting."

Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu responded respectfully, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Investigate Prince Han’s funding of Prince Zheng."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"First drag this beast away and throw him into Heavenly Prison." The emperor added another instruction, "Don’t let him die for now."

These final words caused shivers down the civil and military officials’ spines.

The emperor glanced at the ministers like quails, saying with a forced smile, "You indeed surprise me, if I don’t repay this surprise properly, I’d feel guilty."

The civil and military officials kept bowing their heads, crying out, "We are guilty, beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness!"

The emperor said no more, directly turning away from Zichen Hall.

Sun Kui hurriedly shouted, "Dismissed!"

The ministers kneeling had nobody who rose. Their legs had long given out in fear, their bodies drained of any strength.

Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu were the first to stand, then calmly walked out of Zichen Hall.

After a while, Prince Jing managed to stand up. His legs and feet were still a bit weak, almost causing him to fall.

As soon as he stood, he saw Sun Doudou enter with two eunuchs, cleaning up the bloodstains left by Prince Zheng.

Seeing the pool of blood left by Prince Zheng and recalling the emperor’s words not letting him die for now, Prince Jing felt chilled all over.

The ministers helped each other as they staggered out of Zichen Hall, with many collapsing just outside the hall.

The father-son duo from Duke Anyang Mansion didn’t know how they walked out of the palace; when they came to their senses, they were already in the carriage heading home.

"Father, we’re finished." Duke Anyang Mansion’s Princely Heir said, full of despair.

Duke Anyang feigned calmness, saying, "We’re not finished yet; there’s still hope."

"Father, leaving other things aside, just the matter of forging weapons in Annan alone is a great crime; the emperor will not spare us."

"There must be a way out." Despite his inner panic, Duke Anyang forced himself to stay calm. "Not just us, Duke Zhen Country Mansion and Marquis Xuanping’s Mansion also forged weapons in Annan. Furthermore, we didn’t bring the weapons back to Great Zhou, it doesn’t count as treason, the emperor won’t execute us."

"What father says is true; we forged weapons for sale in Annan, not brought back to Great Zhou, so the emperor can’t label us as traitors for that."

"The title of Duke Anyang might not be retainable, but the Wang Family should be spared." Duke Anyang understood well; this time they might narrowly escape death, but they’ll surely shed a layer.

"If we can protect the Wang Family, that’s good." Duke Anyang Mansion’s Princely Heir felt relieved, "I’m afraid Prince Zheng cannot be saved."

"If he can’t be saved, then he can’t be saved." Duke Anyang had completely given up on Prince Zheng.

"Father, the emperor was so enraged earlier, will he kill Prince Zheng?"

"A tiger doesn’t eat its cub, the emperor will degrade Prince Zheng to a commoner, imprison him, but won’t take his life."

"Is it really so?" Duke Anyang Mansion’s Princely Heir recalled the emperor’s relentless kicking of Prince Zheng in Zichen Hall and thought the emperor might not spare Prince Zheng. "I fear the emperor might kill Prince Zheng."