Chapter 118 Punishment

In the court, everyone was trembling with fear, and many of them were still in grief, but they were forcibly summoned here.

Emperor Wu sat on the throne, and everyone could see the surging anger hidden between his brows.

The crown prince and the fifth prince were both in the palace, they lowered their heads, and I don’t know what they were thinking.

Ning Shanzhi’s forehead was already sweating. Because of Han Xu, the development of this incident had long exceeded what they had planned before.

If they followed their plan, Han Luoling would be killed, Han Xu would die, and the fifth prince would take the blame, and the crown prince, the instigator, would bravely rescue the emperor at the critical moment and make great contributions.

But in the end, Han Luoling did not die, and Han Xu did not die either. Instead, the crown prince’s side suffered heavy losses, and Wu Ji was directly killed.

The most important thing is that Wu Ji wanted to kill Han Luoling.

Although Wu Ji had been beaten to death by Han Xu when Qin Ling and Emperor Wu arrived, and the prince had never left the carriage, anyone who was not a fool could think that it was the prince who was behind the scenes.

Emperor Wu looked at the prince, then at the fifth prince, and finally at the civil and military officials.

Whoever his eyes fell on felt like being stared at by an ancient beast, and cold sweat ran down his back.

"Qin Ling!" After a long silence, Emperor Wu spoke expressionlessly, and the first person he called was Qin Ling.

Qin Ling fought bravely in the whole incident and led the Tiance Army to defeat the beast tide, which was a great contribution.

However, he knocked Han Luoling unconscious.

"I am here!" Qin Ling had taken off his armor, and a cloth shirt revealed his strong muscle lines. He walked to the center and knelt in front of the palace.

"Do you know your crime?"

"I know my crime, please punish me, Your Majesty." Qin Ling did not have any emotional fluctuations, as if he had already prepared himself mentally.

The officials were in a complicated mood. If they were to say who had been with Emperor Wu the longest and who was the most loyal to him, it would definitely be Qin Ling.

When Emperor Wu was still a prince, Qin Ling had been by his side, going through life and death, and almost lost his life several times to save Emperor Wu.

This time, Qin Ling had to knock Han Luoling unconscious for the sake of the overall situation. In the eyes of everyone, this was not incomprehensible.

This was a loyal and brave act and should not be punished. Even if he was punished, he would only say a few words to show off.

However, Emperor Wu said: "Since you know your crime, I will spare your life for your loyalty for many years. From now on, you will no longer be the commander of the Tiance Army, and you can go home to retire."

After Emperor Wu finished speaking, the hall was silent.

Unexpectedly, just because Qin Ling knocked Han Luoling unconscious, Emperor Wu directly dismissed him.

A loyal minister who had been with him for decades and went through life and death countless times, is actually not as good as a concubine?

"Your Majesty, please don't!"

"Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Soon, seven or eight officials came out to plead for Qin Ling.

Among them was Hou Qian, the Minister of War. He led the military and had a comradeship with Qin Ling. He couldn't bear to see this comrade end up like this.

Emperor Wu looked at these ministers with cold eyes and said, "Stand back for me. If you plead for him again, you will go home with him to retire."

The people who pleaded just now immediately stopped talking. Only Hou Qian still looked at Emperor Wu with stubborn eyes.

Qin Ling said, "You don't have to plead for me."

After that, he kowtowed to Emperor Wu and said, "I am a guilty minister. I bid you farewell. Long live His Majesty! Long live the Great Wu!"

After that, he stood up and left the hall without looking back.

Everyone looked at his back and couldn't help feeling sad.

A generation of loyal ministers ended up so sadly because of a concubine.

Sad, pitiful, lamentable.

But Emperor Wu did not give them more time to feel sad, and then read out the next name.

"Ning Shanzhi!"

When Ning Shanzhi heard that it was his turn, his legs were a little weak, and he forced himself to kneel in the center.

"I am a guilty minister!"

"Your Ministry of Rites will be responsible for the spring hunting affairs, and see what good things you have done."

"I know my crime!" Ning Shanzhi said, "Please spare my life, Your Majesty!"

"Spare my life?" Emperor Wu said, "When did I say I wanted your life?"

"Your Majesty?" Ning Shanzhi was happy to hear this, but before he could laugh, he heard Emperor Wu continue to say: "I think such a big thing may not be planned by you alone, there must be accomplices."

"Come on, take Ning Shanzhi to the sky prison and interrogate his accomplices!"

As soon as Emperor Wu finished speaking, several figures appeared from all directions, and Ning Shanzhi was controlled before he could move.

These warriors who attacked were all dressed in black clothes, with a short sword on their backs and a red dragon emblem embroidered on their chests.

They were the feared Xuanyi Guards.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Wu dispatched the Xuanyi Guards directly.

Ning Shanzhi's body suddenly went limp, and he was so scared that he couldn't even speak, and was dragged out like a dog.

The prince's face turned even paler. No one could keep his mouth shut under the torture of the Xuanyi Guards.

After dealing with the two ministers, Emperor Wu did not rush to name the ministers, but looked at the three princes below.

He said: "The purple crystal unicorn was killed by me personally."

"I found this from its mouth."

After that, a jade pendant was thrown out of Emperor Wu's hand, fell on the carpet, rolled a few circles, and stopped just in front of the fifth prince's toes.

"Father, your son, your son killed a young purple crystal unicorn, but I didn't expect..." The fifth prince knelt down at once and explained quickly.

Emperor Wu stopped him from continuing.

He said: "You can kill the young purple crystal unicorn, which proves that you have made a lot of progress this year. I am very pleased."

"However, you did not consider the consequences. If you did not leave this jade pendant, the adult purple crystal unicorn would not track you down and would not want to kill the royal blood for revenge."

"So, your carelessness triggered a beast tide, putting everyone in danger, especially your brother."

Everyone saw the jade pendant and suddenly realized.

The jade pendant belongs to the fifth prince, so it naturally has his aura. Through the aura of the fifth prince, the purple crystal unicorn can judge the crown prince and the third prince who also have royal blood, so it will focus on taking care of the three of them.

"I punish you to face the wall in the Imperial Academy for three months and reflect on your mistakes."

"Your son obeys the order and thanks your father." The fifth prince breathed a sigh of relief. Facing the wall in the Imperial Academy for three months is not a serious punishment.

It seems that Emperor Wu still cares about his son, and in the whole thing, people who are sensible know that the fifth prince was also calculated.

"Step aside."

"Yes."

The fifth prince stepped aside and stood still, looking much more relaxed than before.

"Xiuqi, do you have anything to say to me?"

The prince was shocked and immediately knelt on the ground, suppressing his panic and said to Emperor Wu: "I don't know what your father is talking about?"

"You, really don't know?"

"I really don't know."

"Aren't you going to give me an explanation about Wu Ji? Aren't you going to give my concubine an explanation?"