si-mexico Chapter 152 He Hong's Death
Chapter 152 He Hong's Death
Lin Yi stepped out of the gate of the imperial prison. The dazzling sunlight made him squint. Just as he came to his senses, he heard the news that He Hong had committed suicide by biting his tongue. It was like a thunderclap exploding in his ears. His heart suddenly tightened and he thought to himself that something was wrong. He turned around without hesitation and ran back to the prison.
When the jailer saw Lin Yi coming back, he was about to salute, but Lin Yi passed by like a gust of wind and went straight to He Hong's cell.
However, this time, several guards blocked their way with their guns drawn.
"Commander Lin, you can't go in anymore." Guard A said in a deep voice.
Lin Yi glared at him: "Why are you stopping me, Commander?"
Guard B replied, "The Emperor of Zhao has ordered that no one is allowed to enter without permission."
Lin Yi's heart sank, knowing that things were becoming increasingly difficult.
At this time, inside the palace, Emperor Zhao heard the news and was trembling with anger. He slammed the memorial in his hand to the ground, and the papers on it scattered all over the floor. He roared, "Bring Commander Lin to me! Now!"
Eunuch Zhao was standing aside, watching the furious Emperor Zhao. He was secretly worried about Lin Yi, so he quickly responded and retreated with his body hunched.
When Lin Yi was brought to the main hall, the atmosphere inside was so oppressive that it was suffocating.
Emperor Zhao sat on the dragon throne, trying his best to suppress his anger. His face was terribly gloomy. He asked, "Commander Lin, how do you explain He Hong's death?"
Lin Yi was filled with regret and helplessness. How could he have imagined that He Hong would commit suicide by hitting his head against the wall after his visit. This was clearly intended to put him in the spotlight.
However, his conversation with He Hong involved the secrets of the Crown Prince and the Chu Palace, and he could not reveal a single detail. His face was as pale as paper, and he could only bite the bullet and respond: "I am guilty. I only went to visit Lord He, and I really don't know why he suddenly committed suicide."
"You don't know?" The Zhao Emperor laughed in anger. "How can I explain to the world if you claim I don't know?"
He Hong was originally convicted of thunder punishment, and Emperor Zhao decided to publicly execute him in order to appease the people. Now He Hong was forced to death in the imperial prison, and the scapegoat was gone. Was the prince going to be put in danger?
When Emperor Zhao thought of this, he gripped the armrests tightly with both hands, his knuckles turned white and his face turned ashen. The Lin family had been implicated in the affairs of the King of Chu, but fortunately they were protected by Concubine An, Concubine Rong and the Queen Mother. Lin Yi's action undoubtedly angered Emperor Zhao again.
Emperor Zhao's eyes blazed with fire as he shouted, "Come here, draft an imperial decree! Lin Yi forced a court minister to death, defied imperial authority, and acted recklessly. He is dismissed from his position as commander of the imperial guards and exiled to the frontier, where he cannot return without an imperial decree. The Lin family is guilty of poor parenting, and the title of Marquis Lin Ding is stripped. The entire Lin family is exiled to the frontier, where they cannot return without an imperial decree. Concubine An condoned her family's reckless behavior and is unworthy of her position. Effective immediately, she is demoted to the rank of Concubine Jieyu and must move out of Changchun Palace..."
When Lin Yi heard the decree, his body swayed, but he could only kowtow silently to express his gratitude. He knew that it was useless to defend himself at this moment, and he only hoped that he would have the opportunity to find out the truth and clear his grievances in the future.
Emperor Zhao was furious, with new and old grudges intertwined in his heart. He immediately launched a comprehensive reckoning with the Lin family. The punishment order was like a sharp blade. Not only did it strip Lin Yi of his position as the commander of the imperial guards and exile him to the border, it also stripped him of his title of Marquis Lin Ding, causing the entire Lin family to be implicated and sent to that remote place together.
Concubine An in the palace was also affected and was demoted two levels, from the noble position of concubine to the position of imperial concubine.
At this moment, Lin Yi woke up from his dream and understood He Hong's deep and sinister plan.
He used his own life as a pawn and cleverly brought down the Lin family, leaving the eldest prince and Concubine An without their right-hand men.
Looking back to the past, the Chu family collapsed first, and now the Lin family has fallen as well. From then on, the eldest prince could no longer compete with the crown prince in the fight for the throne.
Lin Yi's face was as dejected as death, as if his spine had been pulled out. He was mired in despair and felt that he had become the eternal sinner of the Lin family.
In Changchun Palace, when Concubine An heard the sad news, she was leisurely sipping tea from a glass cup. The glass cup slipped from her fingertips in an instant, and made a crisp shattering sound on the ground, just like her broken heart.
Her eyes were wide open, filled with shock and confusion, and her body swayed. If the maid had not been quick to support her, she would have almost collapsed to the ground.
"What's going on?" Concubine An's voice trembled as she shouted at the maid beside her.
The maidservant was already pale with fear, and tremblingly reported everything she had heard.
After hearing this, Concubine An's delicate body trembled with anger, her eyebrows raised, and the anger in her beautiful eyes seemed to devour everything around her.
"The old villain He Hong is so sinister and cunning that he actually dared to use such a vicious conspiracy for the prince! I have been planning for a long time and taking every step carefully, but I still fell into his trap. How can I swallow this anger!" She gritted her teeth and squeezed out the words from between her teeth, sharp and piercing.
"And that idiot Lin Yi! I had high hopes for him. I wanted to use him to overturn the Chu family's case and consolidate the Crown Prince's position. But who could have imagined he would be so reckless, dragging the Lin family into this abyss of no return? He's truly foolish!"
In a rage, Concubine An kicked the sandalwood table beside her, causing it to fall to the ground with a loud bang, and the tea set on the table was smashed into pieces.
Concubine An was raging with rage, almost to the point of madness. Her originally beautiful face was distorted by anger, and the veins on her forehead bulged out like winding little snakes.
Her slender and tender fingers dug hard into her palm, and bright red blood flowed out and dripped onto the smooth ground, like a bunch of sad and beautiful red lotuses.
"Empress!" The maid was so frightened when she saw this that she screamed and hurried into the inner room to get medicine.
After the maid left, a cold light flashed in Concubine An's eyes, and a fierce look appeared on her face. She gently raised her hand towards the beam and made a decisive gesture of wiping her neck.
In an instant, the black shadow on the beam flashed by and disappeared into the invisible world like a ghost, leaving behind only the mess in the room and Concubine An's heart full of resentment and unwillingness.
"Your Majesty, the imperial edict is on the way and will arrive soon." The palace maid Xiao He said softly in Concubine An's ear with a worried look on her face.
Concubine An seemed not to hear and continued to sit on the couch with a blank look in her eyes. Her mind was still immersed in the shock and pain of the sudden change that had befallen the Lin family.
Xiao He had no choice but to call a few maids, force Concubine An to get up, and dress up.
Only when the cold handkerchief was wiped across her face did Concubine An come back to her senses.
At this moment, the eunuch's shrill and drawn-out voice came from the palace gate: "The imperial edict has arrived, Concubine An, receive it."
Concubine An felt as if her legs weighed a thousand pounds and her feet were weak. If two palace maids had not rushed forward to support her, she would have collapsed to the ground.
She was mechanically supported and walked towards the palace gate. After kneeling on the ground, she took a deep breath and barely suppressed the panic and fear in her heart. She said in a trembling voice: "Your concubine... accepts the order."
Eunuch Zhao unfolded the bright yellow imperial edict and glanced at Concubine An lightly. A trace of pity unconsciously appeared in his eyes. He raised his voice and read out the cold and ruthless order in the imperial edict. Every word was like a heavy hammer, hitting Concubine An's heart again and again.
After announcing the decree, Eunuch Zhao did not dare to linger any longer. He just said softly, "Empress Concubine, the Emperor has ordered that all items in Changchun Palace that exceed the regulations of one's position cannot be taken away. Please pack them up as soon as possible and don't make things difficult for our family." After that, he hurried away with a group of attendants.
Concubine An knelt on the spot for a long time without getting up. Her heart was filled with bitterness and despair. She had fallen from the extremely noble position of a concubine to the lowly position of a concubine. This drop in status was like falling from the clouds into a quagmire.
The confiscation of her family's property and their exile was like a sharp blade that cut her heart into pieces. She knew very well that her support in the harem had collapsed. In the days to come, she was afraid that she could only struggle to survive in this deep palace under the cold eyes and bullying of others.
But even so, there was still a faint flame of unwillingness flickering in the depths of her eyes. However, in the face of this cruel reality, that flame seemed so weak that she wondered if it could still ignite a little light of hope.