After the Crown Prince made his position clear, the remaining courtiers who were still watching suddenly bent their backs like waves of wheat blown by the wind, shouting the word "advocate" in all directions. Even the King of Yu and the King of Huai flinched for a moment.

, he said something in a low voice and stood in the queue for admonishment at the foot of the stairs. Among the entire hall, only one guest from Daliang remained in the same place, watching all this with eyes as cold as ice and snow.

If it were just the commotion among the ministers, Emperor Liang still had some confidence that he could suppress them, but at this moment, facing Jamel Xiao's fierce gaze, he began to feel a little panicked.

Because he understood his son's feelings for Prince Qi and the Lin family, when he was at an absolute disadvantage, he would argue vigorously regardless of gains and losses. Now that conclusive evidence has appeared, Jamel Xiao certainly refused to give up.

If he doesn't suppress this son, he will not be able to stabilize the current chaotic and out-of-control situation. But after thinking about it, Emperor Liang suddenly realized that he had nothing of weight in his hands that could control a prisoner with great political achievements.

The crown prince.

For the old emperor who had a cold nature, Jamel Xiao's unexpected growth was far more shocking and unacceptable than the truth just revealed by Princess Liyang, so he gritted his teeth and wandered around the palace, wanting to

Find some support.

The old ministers, the new ministers, the royal family, the harem...the expression he hoped for could not be seen on the faces of everyone. Even the gentle and gentle Concubine Jing, her eyes were so bright at this moment that he could not look directly at them.

After occupying the supreme position and being a loner for decades, Emperor Liang finally tasted the feeling of being isolated and helpless. More importantly, he can no longer veto all objections as forcefully and brutally as he did back then.

.

After some drumming, the hall gradually became quiet, but the power of silence contained in this quietness made the emperor feel more stressed than the chaotic shouting just now. Because this was obviously no longer an impulse, not an impulse.

The ministers who simply went with the flow and calmed down still stood in the position of admonition, and no one showed any intention of retreating.

Emperor Liang knew that since things had developed to this extent, no matter how long the stalemate continued, there would always be only one outcome.

"I...according to all the ministers..."

The old emperor spat out these words weakly, and Jamel Xiao's heart was suddenly agitated, but he immediately controlled himself and did not express it externally. He just glanced at Cai Quan quickly.

"Since His Majesty has approved the retrial of Chi Yan's case, shouldn't the candidate for the chief trial also be invited to be judged by the Holy Spirit?" the Minister of Punishment bowed respectfully.

"There will be no discussion of court affairs on this occasion," Emperor Liang refused softly, "...the candidate for the chief judge will be decided another day."

"Your Majesty, this matter is too big to be delayed. Since it has already happened today, why bother to reschedule it?" Zhongshu Ling Liu Cheng continued, "I just thought about it. The candidate for the chief judge is of great importance. He must be highly virtuous, loyal and selfless.

, and must be shrewd and meticulous. I’m afraid it’s difficult for one person to take on such a big responsibility. It would be better to choose several more people to preside over the trial together.”

"Master Liu's words are very true," Shen Zhui said immediately, "I recommend Prince Ji."

"I recommend you to be a Marquis!" Mu Qing's voice was still loud.

Faced with the numerous recommendations, Emperor Liang forcefully closed his aching eyes. In fact, it didn't matter who would be the chief judge. As long as Xiao Jingyan was still there, the future outcome of Chi Yan's case would be clearly visible, even if it was

As the Ninth Five Lord, I am afraid I am unable to stop it now.

In the end, King Ji, Marquis Yan and Ye Shizhen, the chief minister of Dali Temple, became the candidates with the highest support for the chief judge. Emperor Liang gave in due to the sudden feeling of fatigue in his heart and all approved. When the three men who shouldered the heavy responsibility knelt down and worshiped

When receiving the order, Xiao Jingyan, who had always been very stable, suddenly felt a little hot in his throat and involuntarily turned his eyes to Mei Changsu.

Mei Changsu still remained silent. In the court room that was churning like a pot of boiling water, he was as quiet as if he didn't exist. But if you look carefully, you can find his pair of black and bottomless eyes.

, has been staring intensely at the old emperor with a hunched body on the imperial steps, as if he wanted to penetrate the decayed and weak shell and pierce into his strong, vicious, and self-centered past...

But Emperor Liang did not feel the gaze of this guest. He was shaking his gray beard and hair, and stood up tremblingly to escape from this hall that made him breathless. The prince and courtiers still knelt down respectfully when he left.

, but the feeling in the heart of the Supreme Emperor is completely different from when he looked down at his ministers before. This difference is deep in his bones. The more deeply he feels it, the more words he has to describe it.

Concubine Jing stood up with Emperor Liang as usual, but as soon as she stretched out her hands to support him, Emperor Liang pushed her away, leaning only on Gao Zhan's shoulder, and boarded the dragon chariot alone. For

Concubine Jing didn't care about this rejection. A faint smile appeared on her lips, and she calmly took another chariot back to the inner palace.

On the small kang table in the emperor's chamber, the unfinished chess game in the morning was still placed as it was, with not a single piece moved. This was the first thing Emperor Liang saw when he staggered in. He suddenly became angry and overturned the game.

On the chessboard, black and white jade chess pieces were flying everywhere, and a few of them even hit his own face, causing a faint pain on his skin.

After the birthday ceremony, father and son fought again... But what else can they fight now? No matter what the outcome of the chess game was, the moment he had to go against his own will and succumb to the prince and the courtiers, he had given up and admitted defeat.

.

The Chi Yan case was the biggest knot between father and son. Emperor Liang already knew that, but what he didn't expect was that there were so many truths behind this case that even he didn't know.

Unexpectedly, thirteen years later, all this would resurface, just like the resentment of the dead, insisting on refusing to return to peace and rest.

Emperor Liang suddenly shuddered and shrank involuntarily. He was about to call Concubine Jing, but stopped abruptly.

The roars that came from the side corridor before leaving in the morning flashed back to the old emperor's mind for some reason at this time. He patted the table and shouted loudly: "Come here! Summon the Yue Concubine! Quickly summon the Yue Concubine to see you.

!”

The emperor is still the emperor, and the decree is still implemented quickly. Before a moment, the Yue Concubine was ushered into the palace. Now she has lost her grace and looks like a haggard old woman, but in a pair of graceful eyes,

From time to time, a cold light flashed out. As soon as she saw Emperor Liang, she immediately rushed towards him, and her first words were to say repeatedly: "Your Majesty, I want to report secretly... secretly report..."

"Concubine Yue," Emperor Liang pinched her chin and raised her whole face, "What do you want to report? Is it Li Yang's sudden attack in Wuying Palace today?"

"I want to report secretly to Prince Jing...Prince Jing has some evil plans..."

"You are in the palace, how do you know about Jingyan?"

"It was Zuo Zhongcheng, Mr. Dongfang, who said..." Concubine Yue said eagerly, a little incoherently, "His niece came into the palace... and told me... Mr. Dongfang is loyal to the prince, and being loyal to the prince means being loyal to your majesty.

…”

Emperor Liang frowned, and it took him a long time to realize that the prince she was talking about was referring to Xiao Jingxuan, who had been dethroned, and his face suddenly darkened.

"Prince Jing has been summoning courtiers, non-stop, many... Mr. Dongfang has heard the news... But His Majesty is not going to court, and he cannot see Your Majesty. He can only think of my concubine. He is the only one who can think of me for so long.

Concubine... As long as Prince Jing falls, the prince can come back... Mr. Dongfang is a loyal minister, the prince will not treat him badly, and your majesty will not treat us badly. We are the first accusers and the first contributors. You must treat Jing

The king was cut into pieces, and the prince was brought back... Xuan'er is the prince. I have made great contributions in defeating Prince Jing's conspiracy. Mr. Dongfang also supports Xuan'er. Please restore the prince, restore the prince!"

Later, Concubine Yue's original gloomy expression became extremely excited. Not only did she speak in a high-pitched and high-pitched voice, but there was also foam hanging from the corners of her mouth, which frightened Emperor Liang. Perhaps, like the Lord Dongfang, His Majesty the Emperor had not seen her for a long time.

As a concubine, he never thought that the once magnificent concubine would be in such a state now. Her original shrewdness and agility were gone, leaving only her paranoia and hysteria. Even if she

Everything she said was true, and her madness was not false. Realizing this, Emperor Liang began to violently throw her away, but the harder she fell, the tighter her grip became, and her nails had almost penetrated Emperor Liang's hand.

The pain in his flesh made him shout loudly: "Someone! Take her down! Take her down quickly!"

"Your Majesty... Prince Jing has conspired against me, and I am the first to do so... please reinstate the crown prince..." Concubine Yue shouted as she was dragged out in a panic by the servants. Emperor Liang felt his hands and feet were cold, and there was a burst of light and darkness in front of his eyes.

For a while, he couldn't help but lean on the soft pillow, closing his eyes and gasping for breath. Gao Zhan hurriedly brought the soothing tea soup, patted Emperor Liang's chest and rubbed his back, and drank it down.

Emperor Liang felt pain in his chest, he could not lift his breath, and his limbs were numb. Thinking about what Concubine Yue said just now, he felt angry and helpless. So far, what if he knew about it? He even cheered up to deal with it.

Neither the physical strength nor the mental strength...

"Your Majesty, do you want to call the imperial doctor?" Gao Zhan asked in a low voice.

"Summon...go and summon..." In any case, life is the most important thing. The more breathless he was, the more frightened Emperor Liang felt. Fortunately, the imperial doctor hurried over and made a careful diagnosis, saying that it was caused by the floating Qi and blood.

Since he didn't have any serious symptoms, he prescribed some medicine and ate it in a hurry. Then he felt a little more peaceful and took a bath to fall asleep.

I don't know whether it was the effect of the concoction or the fact that Emperor Liang was old and didn't bother, but within a quarter of an hour, he had fallen asleep. Gao Zhan knelt on the corner of the bed for a while, and when he heard no sound, he got up gently.

He glanced at the bed a few times, curled up and retreated quietly, step by step to the side door, ducked and slipped out silently.

Outside the side door is a long cloud-top folding corridor. Concubine Jing is still standing gracefully under the corridor, her clothes are fluttering, her sleeves are full of wind, her eyes are clear and peaceful, and she has no special expression. Gao Zhan is ten years away from her.

He stopped a few feet away and stared at the empress who was gradually rising to the top without any struggle. As she watched, the manager of the Sixth Palace always lowered his eyebrows and had a blurry look on his face for the first time.

He showed an expression, one of secret determination.

Gao Zhan knew that the time had come to clearly choose his final stance.

"Your Majesty, this is Zuo Zhongcheng Dongfangzhi..." He approached behind Concubine Jing and whispered such a simple sentence. After finishing speaking, he curled up and waited for the result without moving.

Jing Fei's bright eyes moved slightly, and she just said a faint "Hmm" without saying anything else. However, the tight lines on Gao Zhan's face had obviously relaxed a little. After bowing deeply and saluting again, he

He followed the original path back to the dormitory.

Emperor Liang on the couch still maintained the same posture as before, but his breath became more and more disordered. After a while, he began to stir, his head rolling back and forth on the pillow, cold sweat dripping from his forehead, and his hands hanging in the air from time to time.

He grabbed it twice and murmured in his mouth.

"Wake up Your Majesty, he's having a nightmare again." Concubine Jing appeared in the palace at some point and gave the order gently.

Gao Zhan responded quickly, got up, leaned over the bed, and gently shook Emperor Liang's arm.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty!!" After shouting more than a dozen times, Emperor Liang suddenly seemed to be shaken by something. He sat up suddenly and stared blankly ahead, sweating profusely.

"What did your Majesty dream about again?" Concubine Jing gently wiped the old emperor's sweat with a plain handkerchief and said softly, "This time it should not only be Concubine Chen, but also others, right?"

Emperor Liang's whole body trembled, and he waved her hand away with all his strength, and said angrily: "You still dare to come to see me? I have treated you mother and son with such kindness in vain. You actually have ulterior motives and are deliberately trying to overturn Chi Yan's case! I am really blind.

I'm so blinded that I favor such an unfaithful and unfilial person like you!"

"Let's call it our deliberate efforts," Concubine Jing said calmly, "but one thing must be clear to Your Majesty. The reason why Chi Yan's case was overturned and cleared was that besides our deliberate efforts, there is another more important reason."

"What, what's the reason?"

"The truth. The truth is what it is." Concubine Jing's eyes were as if they were tangible, piercing directly into Emperor Liang's heart. "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. As long as you don't want to admit the facts disclosed today, of course no one can force you to do so."

You can't do it. But even if you are the emperor, there are always things you can't do. For example, you can't influence the conclusion of people's conscience in the world, you can't change the comments of future generations, and you can't stop those old people who come to you in dreams...

"

"Stop talking!" Emperor Liang's complexion was sallow and he was trembling all over. He held his forehead with both hands, screamed and fell backward, gasping convulsively on the pillow.

Concubine Jing stretched out a cool hand, gently rubbed it in front of Emperor Liang's eyebrows, and whispered: "Your Majesty, when it comes to loyalty and filial piety, Lin Shuai cannot be said to be unfaithful, and King Qi cannot be said to be unfilial. Jing Yan has always regarded them as

As a role model, Jingyan will never do anything they didn't do back then, so please don't worry, Your Majesty."

Emperor Liang slowly let go of the hand covering his face and looked at Concubine Jing steadily: "Do you dare to promise?"

"If Your Majesty really knew Jingyan, he would not ask for a guarantee from me." Concubine Jing's lips always maintained a faint smile, but her eyelashes were lowered, making it difficult to see her eyes clearly.

"What Jingyan wants is nothing more than truth and justice. If Your Majesty can give it to him, why should he be suspicious of other places?"

Emperor Liang weighed the matter blankly for a long time, and his eyes were fixed on Concubine Jing's gentle face for a long time. Finally, he finally let out a long sigh and murmured: "...The matter is over...it's up to you.

…I won’t say anything else…”

(Going out, taking a day off tomorrow)
Chapter completed!