Qi Huaiyang was still outside the class, so he simply walked up to Deng Ying, stood with his back to Jintai, and bowed his head: "Today, you are allowed to defend yourself, but you are not allowed to speak nonsense."
Deng Ying lowered her head and said, "Yes, I understand."
Qi Huaiyang coughed lightly and asked in a clear voice, "When was the fake edict written?"
Deng Ying raised his head and said calmly, "On the third day of the tenth month of the fourteenth year of Zhenning, Zhang Wentong, the director of the Imperial Hospital, gave Your Majesty acupuncture. Your Majesty's legs and abdomen were cramped, and his breathing was uneven. The director then submitted the pulse case to the Empress. At midnight, the director gave Your Majesty acupuncture again. During this time, Your Majesty was temporarily conscious, but he did not say anything, nor did he personally look at the draft submitted by the Cabinet that day. He used the draft that day as a proxy for the Imperial Household Department to write the red. The record in the Daily Records is true up to this point."
"What happened next?"
Qi Huaiyang opened the file and read, "The Daily Records record that on the fourth day of the tenth month of the fourteenth year of Zhenning, Your Majesty got up and slept freely, stood in front of the imperial desk in the east, and approved the imperial edict."
Deng Ying responded: "This paragraph is false. It was changed at the instruction of the Imperial Household Department."
"What nonsense!"
"The palm print."
Yang Lun shouted: "He hasn't finished yet."
After that, he turned to Deng Ying: "Deng Changchen, please continue."
Deng Ying replied, "Yes." He continued, "Since the beginning of autumn, your majesty's health has been deteriorating. The cabinet has submitted several petitions to appoint a crown prince, but your majesty has never approved it. Until your majesty's death, your majesty has never asked the cabinet about the appointment of a crown prince. After the six palaces were banned from attending to the sick, the eldest prince was also punished for his mistakes and was not allowed to approach the Yangxin Palace again. The cabinet ministers were not allowed to enter without the emperor's order. The only people who were close to the eunuchs in the palace were the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Household Department, so..."
He looked at Yixian and said, "In the beginning of October in the fourteenth year of Zhenning, I conspired with Yixian, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, to forge a will and privately stamp the imperial seal, nominating the second son of the emperor, Yi Jue, as the successor emperor."
The ministers were in an uproar.
Yang Lun had no choice but to raise his voice: "Please be patient, everyone."
The Left Supervisor Censor turned to Yixian and shouted angrily: "Forging the imperial edict is a disaster to the foundation of the country and destroys the reputation of the late emperor. Such a person who has committed such a serious crime has no right to stand before me now."
After he finished speaking, he bowed his head and kowtowed to the ground. "Your Highness, I request that the eunuchs who hold the seal of the Imperial Household Department, Yixian, and Deng Ying, as well as their followers, be removed from their posts and put in prison. They should be handed over to the Three Departments for investigation and prosecution to clarify their heinous crimes and comfort the spirit of the late emperor."
Yixian said: "With these words, you gentlemen are going to disobey the late emperor's will and kill us to vent your years of hatred? Who is really destroying the foundation of the country? The two queens will make the wise decision."
As he spoke, he took a step forward and looked at Deng Ying: "This man had a close relationship with Yang Wan, the head maid of Chengqian Palace, but he forged a will and supported the emperor's second son as the heir. My lords, is this man justifiable? Why did he admit to a capital crime?"
"yes."
Deng Ying responded and raised his hands that were originally pressed on the ground. He straightened his back, knelt and stood up, and the torture instruments on his body made a sound as he moved. He did not look at Yixian, but looked towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony and said calmly: "Why should I admit my death penalty?"
After these words were spoken, the uproar of the ministers gradually died down.
This sounds like a self-question, but it also sounds like a rhetorical question piercing an unknown place.
Under the golden platform, the cabinet ministers headed by Yang Lun stood silently on the east side, while the people of the Imperial Household Department huddled in fear on the west side. Their positions were clear, and a war between them was imminent. And there was only one person between the two sides. At this time and place, he stood upright, but there was no trace of sadness on his face from beginning to end.
Who forced him to this point
No one under the golden stage could answer.
However, that rhetorical question that pierced the uninhabited place seemed to have turned into a cold arrow, coldly approaching the spines of all the officials.
The Left Supervisor looked at Deng Ying, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked, "The Imperial Household Department asked, how do you defend yourself?"
Deng Ying nodded and smiled, then bowed down again, "I admit I am guilty, and I will not argue otherwise."
"you… "
"His heart deserves to be put to death!"
Yixian stamped his feet and trembled, "You deserve to be killed. His Majesty clearly left a will, but you tried to cover up His Majesty's will, so that his will could not be fulfilled. Deng Ying, Deng Ying..."
Yixian raised his hand and pointed backwards, "Your Majesty's funeral is not complete yet, his soul... is still here! An evil slave like you deserves to be torn into pieces!"
"Yixian!"
Yang Lun called him by his name and stepped forward to say, "If you have anything to say, go to the Sansi Hall and say it. From now on, the cabinet will draft a new will on behalf of the late emperor according to the regulations, and the fake will submitted by you, the Silijian, will be sealed and abolished according to the law."
Yixian raised his head and said: "How dare you abolish the last emperor's will!"
After he finished speaking, he turned around and knelt down in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, saying loudly, "I beg you to send the eunuch Deng Ying, the governor of the East Factory, to the Imperial Prison and hand him over to the Northern Pacification Office to be questioned for his serious crime of slandering the late emperor, disrupting the government, and endangering the foundation of the country!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Lun also lifted his robe and knelt down beside Deng Ying, raising his voice and saying, "The eunuch who holds the seal of the Imperial Household Department, Yixian, has refused to seal the false edict, ignored all officials, and roared at the Golden Terrace. I request that he be punished with a cane in court!"
The requests from both parties were simultaneously conveyed into the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and no one in the audience of the Golden Stage dared to speak.
The struggle between civil officials and eunuchs has a long history, but because the previous emperor favored He Yixian during his reign, the Tongjia case led to the tragic death of more than 80 people. Since then, although there have been occasional conflicts between the cabinet and the Silijian, the undercurrents are turbulent, but the struggle has never been brought to the surface. Today is the first time that Yang Lun publicly requested that the Silijian seal be beaten in court. After the request was received, no female official from the Shangyi Bureau appeared in the Taihe Hall.
Deng Ying looked sideways at Yang Lun beside her, and heard him say softly, "It's not too reckless, is it?"
Deng Ying did not respond immediately. He turned around and looked at the floor tiles in front of him.
“Not really.”
After a long time, Zhang Min, a female official of the Imperial Court, finally walked out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Then the Empress Dowager's imperial decree came from the hall - approving what Minister Yang had said, ordering the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department to be stripped of his official robes and beaten with a stick ten times in court, and the eunuch in charge of the Eastern Depot, Deng Ying, to be removed from his post and handed over to the three courts for joint trial. The cabinet was to draft a new imperial decree from now on to honor the late emperor's virtue.
As soon as he finished speaking, Xi Yixian's knees went weak and he staggered forward a few steps before being forced to his knees by the Jinyiwei soldiers. His official robe was immediately stripped off. Two Jinyiwei soldiers pulled his arms forward and immediately dragged him to the side of Deng Ying. Two torture sticks pressed down his legs, and Xi Yixian was immediately unable to move.
Yang Lun stood up and signaled the Jinwu Guards to lift Deng Ying and take her aside.
Yixian turned to look at Deng Ying and said in a hoarse voice: "You can obviously live with me..."
Deng Ying lowered her head and said, "I don't want to live with the eunuch party."
"Stupid! Ah..."
The cane fell heavily, and Yixian's body tilted upwards, then fell down again.
Although Deng Ying did not show any emotion, he could not help coughing twice. The Jinwu Guard tightened the torture instrument on his hand, signaling him not to move rashly.
At the same time, the ministers behind Deng Ying relaxed their nerves, and several imperial censors raised their arms and cursed, "This is the most satisfying thing!"
Yixian lost consciousness amidst the scolding and teasing, his lower body was covered in blood, and his legs and feet were cramping.
The scholars stepped back, and the ministers' cursing became louder. Some of these people had been persecuted by the Imperial Household Department, while some, although not persecuted, had been frustrated in officialdom because they had offended the eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department. At this moment, they all wanted to vent their anger, and their words became more and more sharp and incisive.
Deng Ying quietly endured the noise behind him. He did not have any hatred towards Xi Yixian.
Looking back two years ago, he had been treated like this before, so he understood that the fate of the man in front of him was his own fate.
It was difficult for him to explain clearly at the moment. His only emotion at that moment was the real fear of criminal responsibility, which was suppressed under his reason.
He couldn't help but raise his head, let out a long breath, and tried to calm himself.
Yixian was dragged up by the Jinwu Guards and dragged all the way to Duanmen.
The last great debate at the Jintai in the late Zhenning period came to an end. Qi Huaiyang walked back to Deng Ying and said, "Let's go."
Yang Lun said: "It's okay for me to walk him a few steps."
Qi Huaiyang nodded and said, "He can't go out through the Duanmen or the left and right side gates."
"Which door are you going to take?"
"If you are crying at Xihua Gate, go through Donghua Gate."
Yang Lun replied: "It's okay."
Deng Ying was being escorted forward. He could not walk fast, and Yang Lun could not stop his pace. After walking a short distance, he had to say, "You are walking too fast."
"What? Oh..."
Yang Lun deliberately slowed down his pace and walked a little uncomfortably.
Deng Ying said: "You don't have to torture me. If you have anything to say, just say it during the trial."
"Shut up."
Deng Ying smiled and said, "Yang Zixi, I'm fine. I will survive."
"Um."
After Yang Lun said "hmm" this time, he didn't say anything else.
In front of the Donghua Gate, Yang Wan was leaning against the palace wall, waiting with her arms folded. She was dressed in mourning clothes, all white, with only a silver hairpin on her head. She was not wearing any makeup, but she did not look haggard. Instead, she had a kind of cold and elegant demeanor.
When he saw Deng Ying approaching, he walked towards them and smiled at both Yang Lun and Deng Ying.
"Can I have a word with him?"
"Wan Wan..."
"Don't say anything. I'm begging Master Qi."
After saying that, he squatted down and saluted Qi Huaiyang, "Don't worry, sir. He won't dare to act presumptuously while I'm here."
Yang Lun glared at Yang Wan, then turned sideways and said to Qi Huaiyang: "Give me some face."
Qi Huaiyang smiled and said, "Okay."
After saying this, he raised his hand to signal the officers from the Ministry of Justice to let go and stand back on guard.
Yang Wan walked closer to Deng Ying with her hands behind her back and raised her head: "Squat down."
Deng Ying held up the torture device in her hand and squatted down on her knees. Yang Wan walked behind Deng Ying. Deng Ying didn't look back, but asked in a gentle voice, "Do you want to squat lower?"
Yang Wan asked: "Does your foot hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt."
"You can squat a little longer then."
"good."
Yang Wan raised her hand and gently held Deng Ying's hair.
"Wanwan, what are you doing?"
"I'll help you tie your hair."
"No, I..."
"After you go there, you won't be able to wash your hair for a long time. Don't you think it's dirty to leave it loose?"
"yes."
He subconsciously agreed to Yang Wan, "Then Wanwan, tie it tighter."
Yang Wan smiled and said, "Just squat down and don't worry about how I pierce you."
"good."
Deng Ying didn't say anything else.
The wind at the city gate blew up Yang Wan's sleeves. Yang Wan pulled out one hand, tucked her hair around her ears, and said to Deng Ying, "Deng Ying, although we have never been husband and wife, can we make a promise to each other?"
"Promise what?"
Yang Wan held Deng Ying's hair, took off her hairband with her backhand, and said softly: "No matter if I, Yang Wan, have money in the future, no matter what kind of illness Deng Ying has in the future, I will take care of Deng Ying for the rest of my life."
"I...what am I saying?"
Yang Wan smiled and said, "Let me teach you how to say it."
"Um."
"I say one sentence, and you say one sentence."
"good."
"Don't worry about me, Deng Ying."
"Don't worry about me, Deng Ying."
"How much I dislike myself."
"How... I don't like myself."
"As long as Yang Wan likes me."
"As long as Wanwan... likes me."
"I will live well."
"I will live well."