Chapter 83: The crime is even more serious, Lingchi

Wang Chengen stepped forward to take it and then placed it in front of Chongzhen.

Chongzhen flipped through it briefly and sneered, his eyes full of murderous intent, "I really underestimated you. I didn't expect that you have only been the Duke of Chengguo for seven or eight years, and you can let go of such a bloody case!"

"Even the bandits in Shaanxi can't do as much evil as you!"

As he said this, he threw the booklet at Zhu Chunchen's head.

"What else do you have to say?"

As Zhu Chunchen's hands were bound by wooden shackles, he could only kneel on the ground and open the booklet in a very awkward posture.

After reading only a few pages, he collapsed to the ground with a deathly pale face.

"Your Majesty, this must be a frame-up by someone! This, this, this, this has nothing to do with me. It must have been done by my subordinates. I really don't know!"

Chongzhen sneered, his eyes bloodshot as he said, "You dare to quibble when you are about to die. Do you think someone is setting you up to falsely accuse you?"

"Then do you know that someone filed a complaint with the emperor today, accusing you of occupying the people's coal mines and forcing others to hand over the coal warehouses?"

Zhu Chunchen raised his head suddenly. He never dreamed that his downfall would be due to such a "small matter"!
"I have ordered Shi Fenglai to convey my order to you, asking you to return the coal mine and stop disturbing the people. What about you?"

Chongzhen became more and more angry as he spoke. He came out from behind the imperial desk, pointed at Zhu Chunchen and cursed: "Not only did you disobey the imperial order, you even sent assassins to kill people in revenge! You have no respect for the emperor and your father, and you are lawless!"

As Chongzhen finished speaking, several big Han generals came in at the right time, bringing with them the people who had tried to assassinate Wang An, as well as the manager Zhu Wuneng who had already been arrested.

Several people were escorted to the palace and were already trembling with fear. When they looked up, they saw the legendary emperor staring at them with a ferocious face. They were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground.

Chongzhen pointed at these people and said angrily: "The witnesses are here, what else do you have to say?"

When Zhu Chunchen saw these people, he knew that he had failed. He turned pale and could not make excuses.

But the unwillingness in my heart is like a flood and a beast!
It was obvious that the other party was just an ordinary citizen, while he himself was a hereditary duke, his status was so noble!

He had merely occupied two of his coal mines, so why was the other party so bold as to come and file a complaint?

Emperor Chongzhen clearly valued him very much, so why would he care about this matter?

How could the young man I sent to kill and silence the witnesses be caught by such a coincidence?

Okay, okay, even if I have solid evidence this time, is it really that serious?
I am the ninth Duke of the Kingdom, and I have devoted my life to the great people! Just because of this incident, are you going to kill me?
Just when he was at a loss for words, Emperor Chongzhen had already returned to the imperial desk. He glanced at the officials sitting in the court with a bloodthirsty look and said:
"As a duke, you have received the grace of the country for generations, but you have no intention of repaying the country and being loyal to the emperor. Instead, you have committed all kinds of evil, plundered, bullied men and women, and killed people. You also deceived the emperor and disobeyed his orders. How should I sentence you?"

The officials sitting in the court of the three courts all shuddered when they heard this, and they looked at each other, knowing that the emperor was furious.

Wang Zaijin, the Minister of Justice, was the highest-ranking official present, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Your Majesty, Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen is extremely guilty. The charge of deceiving the emperor and disobeying his will is enough to punish him with death!"

"I think that in order to set an example, we should execute this man who has no respect for his king and father and confiscate his property!"

"Hmm?" Chongzhen snorted in dissatisfaction, "After committing such a heinous crime, is the only punishment to be confiscation of property and execution?"

Wang Zaijin's forehead immediately broke out in a thin layer of sweat. He knew that Chongzhen felt that the punishment was not severe enough, so he immediately added: "Perhaps the female relatives can be sent to the Jiaofang Bureau, and all the males can be sent to the frontier for garrison!"

Chongzhen shook his head and said dissatisfiedly: "As the saying goes, a merciful man cannot command an army. As the Minister of Justice, you should be strict with the law. Otherwise, how can you deter the villains in this world?"

After saying this, without waiting for Wang Zai Jin to come up with a more appropriate sentence, he said hatefully: "Such a person who has no king or father, and his family and nine clans have already aroused public indignation. If we can't catch them all in one fell swoop, I'm afraid we won't be able to explain to the people of the world!" The three officials sitting in the court and Zhu Chunchen looked up at Chongzhen in horror.

Amid the horrified and shocked gazes of the crowd, Emperor Chongzhen said coldly: "The chief culprit Zhu Chunchen will be beheaded in public, and all nine clans will be exterminated!"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you cannot kill me!" Zhu Chunchen ignored Wang Chengen's fierce gaze and crawled towards Chongzhen desperately.

Chongzhen sneered and asked, "Why can't I kill you?"

Zhu Chunchen used up his last bit of courage and gambled everything on it, saying, "My ancestor was a hero in the Jingnan Rebellion. Emperor Chengzu granted him a certificate of immunity from death. He will not be executed unless he is guilty of treason!"

Chongzhen frowned and looked at the official sitting in the court.

The Dali Temple Minister Cao Sicheng said with a stiff face: "Your Majesty, this is true. Anyone who holds a death-free certificate can be exempted from death once, unless the crime is a serious crime of treason."

After getting the confirmation from the Chief Justice of Dali Temple, Zhu Chunchen, who was lying on the ground, suddenly had his eyes filled with joy of surviving a disaster.

However, the next moment, Chongzhen pointed to the book on the ground that recorded the evidence of Zhu Chunchen's crime and said, "Since there is an iron certificate of immunity from death granted by Emperor Chengzu, we, the descendants, should abide by it."

"But... Cao Sicheng, you said that the Iron Certificate of Immunity from Death can only save you from death once, right?"

"Just count how many times there are in this booklet that will kill him."

"This..." Cao Sicheng was stunned.

Can this still be done?

Zhu Chunchen wailed even more, "Your Majesty, you are cheating, Your Majesty!"

Chongzhen glared at him coldly and said, "Insulting the emperor is a more serious crime, and the punishment is death by slow slicing!"

"If he doesn't have his feet cut for three days and three nights, he will die," Chongzhen looked at the three officials sitting in the court, "choose someone from yourselves to take his place on the execution ground!"

There were two more thumps, and Cao Sicheng and Chen Yangmei knelt on the ground in panic. "Your Majesty, please rest assured that after the skin of Zhu Chunchen is removed, he will be alive and well!"

When Zhu Chunchen heard such horrifying words, he was so frightened that his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

Chongzhen ignored everyone and strode away with Wang Chengen.

It was not until Chongzhen had been gone for a long time that Wang Zaijin and others stood up tremblingly. They looked at each other and saw fear in each other's eyes.

Oh my God, when the emperor gets angry, he's really scary.

…………

The next day, Wang An, who was feeling uneasy at home and ready to run away with Yun Zhao at any time, suddenly heard shouting outside the door.

With doubt in his heart, he quietly opened the door and looked outside under the protection of Sanming's silent guard.

I saw countless ragged people running around the city, laughing and playing, looking very happy.

Wang An didn't know what was going on. He looked around and saw that there didn't seem to be an ambush. He walked out of the door, grabbed a neighbor, and asked, "What are you doing?"

(End of this chapter)