These followers of the Grand Tutor were already frightened, knowing that even if they left now, they would be held accountable later, so they simply knelt forward together, defended their innocence, and begged the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
In this way, all kinds of well-intentioned and affectionate words came one after another, accompanied by heartbreaking cries, which made the emperor frown.
Murong Jie waved his hands, signaling the imperial guards to drag all of them out first, leaving only Master Liang alone.
Zi'an also helped the empress dowager out, and Murong Jie watched in the hall.
The emperor looked at the wooden face of Taifu Liang and asked, "Taifu, how do I treat your Liang family?"
Liang Taifu seemed to be completely hollowed out, as if his soul did not exist. He simply nodded woodenly and said, "Your Majesty has bestowed upon me your grace."
"Why?" The emperor shook his head, his voice indescribably cold and chilling, "You are my father-in-law!"
Liang Taifu's eyes gradually regained focus, and he smiled bitterly, "Yes, the emperor treats me very well. The rewards he gives me every year are the best among the dukes and marquises. He uses me in government affairs, but so what? Although I am the emperor's father-in-law, I am also a dog in front of the emperor."
"Dog?" The emperor seemed to not believe him. "You said you acted like a dog in front of me?"
"Isn't it? He comes when called and goes when dismissed. What else is he but a dog? The emperor would never treat the people of the Murong family like this. No matter how much he favors me, I am still just an outsider."
"So, you support the crown prince to ascend the throne in order to control the government and bring everyone to your side to be your dogs?"
Liang Taifu said: "The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. I have nothing to say. Your Majesty, if you want to kill me or chop me up, it is all up to you!"
The emperor sneered, "What qualifications do you have to say that the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit? How profound do you think your scheme is? How mature do you think your deployment is? How comprehensive do you think your strategy is? Who do you think you are? I have seen your ambition a long time ago. Do you know why I have not touched you and have always been afraid of the Xiao family? Because, no matter how ambitious you are, you will not be able to achieve anything. The Xiao family has no ambition, but the Xiao family has the capital to rebel, so what qualifications do you have to say that the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit? Even if you succeed, you will not be the king, because, in this court, who can you beat? You can't even beat King Nan Huai, but you lost, just as you said, you are a dog. That's right, you are now a stray dog!"
The emperor's words were full of contempt and disdain, which made him more uncomfortable than killing him.
He looked embarrassed, anger rising in his eyes, "I was just fooled this time."
"Why did you get fooled and not others? Prince Nan Huai was forcing the emperor to abdicate with you, so why did he leave? Go out and look at the palace gate now. Who is still guarding you? Marquis Wu'an has already left, Qian Kun has been arrested, and half of the soldiers have left. I am not afraid of a mediocre person like you, and I don't take you seriously at all. I watch you jumping around like a clown. You can't hurt me at all, but you add to my fun."
Taifu Liang sneered, "Since the emperor thinks so highly of Prince Nan Huai, then wait for Prince Nan Huai to do something that I cannot do."
"Prince Nan Huai is another clown, and after today, many forces in the court will target him. There is no need for me to take action at all." The emperor sneered.
Taifu Liang was startled. "Your Majesty, do you want to let the people outside go?"
"Why not let them go? I cannot ask all the civil and military officials in the court to be loyal to me. Besides, they can become the sharpest knives, stabbing Prince Nan Huai's heart fiercely." Besides, there is a saying in this world that goes, "Retribution will be settled after the autumn."
Taifu Liang's heart was filled with huge waves, "Your Majesty is patient and tolerant, I am ashamed of myself." However, he did not believe that all this was planned by the emperor, it must have been Murong Jie, the cunning fox.
He looked with complicated eyes at Murong Jie who was sitting in a corner. He supported his forehead with his hand and seemed a little bored.
"How does the emperor intend to deal with me?" There was finally a crack on the wooden and calm face of Taifu Liang, and his voice changed slightly.
"Don't worry, I won't execute you. I want you to live well." The emperor had a vicious smile on his face.
Taifu Liang knew that the emperor would never let him off easily and would probably think of ways to torture him.
The Grand Tutor said nothing more and waited for the Emperor's decision.
The emperor called Eunuch Lu and said, "Draft an edict!"
Eunuch Lu stepped forward, "Your servant is here! Your Majesty, please summon us!"
The emperor looked at the tutor and said, "Since you want to support the prince so much, I will give you a chance."
He raised his head and looked at Eunuch Lu. "Draft an imperial decree to depose the crown prince, demote him to a commoner, and move him to Xia'an Street. The Grand Tutor will be cleansed, retain the title of Grand Tutor, and serve Murong Qiao until he passes away. Order people to keep a close watch on him, and the monthly expenses will be paid by the palace."
The master raised his head suddenly, his face grim, "You..."
"Then, how should the Liang family be dealt with?" Eunuch Lu asked respectfully.
"Investigate. If you find anyone who rebelled with Grand Tutor Liang, kill them and take back all the fiefs of the Liang family."
The Master's legs went weak, "You might as well kill me!"
"You can't kill him, you can't kill him!" The emperor sneered and continued to instruct Eunuch Lu, "To prevent the Grand Tutor from committing suicide, cut off his tendons. He can only be killed, but not committing suicide. Just watch and see."
"Yes!" replied Eunuch Lu.
Taifu Liang laughed wildly, "Your Majesty is trying to force me to death. It would be better to just grant me death. Why can't I rebel against this unjust and incompetent monarch? This world should have belonged to my Liang family. If I hadn't been deceived this time, the Murong family's kingdom would have changed hands sooner or later."
He had been planning and calculating for many years, winning over many of his allies and ministers, all waiting for the crown prince to ascend the throne.
He didn't expect it, he really didn't expect that he would fall into the trap so easily. All the time and effort he put into planning was of no use at all.
This time, he was really caught off guard.
"How dare you say such things? Do you have any shame? What ability do you have? King Nan Huai just spread a rumor and framed you. You are so stupid, how can you have the nerve to say such things?" Murong Jie said coldly.
"It's not Prince Nan Huai, it's you, it's you Murong Jie!" The Taifu's eyes were emitting sparks, and he wished he could tear Murong Jie to pieces on the spot.
Murong Jie smiled, "Okay, okay, it's me. Do you feel better when I say this?"
He stood up and walked in front of Taifu Liang. "You are useless now. I am not afraid to be honest with you. Nan Huai Wang himself never intended to deceive you. He just spread rumors on purpose to make the emperor lose the support of the people and prevent the emperor's son from ascending the throne legitimately, so that he would have a chance to compete for the throne. But I didn't expect that you foolishly got involved. Now you have lost to Nan Huai Wang, and you still insist that you lost to me. You are deceiving yourself. It would be easy for me to get rid of your Liang family and the prince. When I deposed the queen, I could have directly deposed the prince. Why wait until now to go through so much trouble and use the emperor's reputation as bait?"
The Grand Tutor's face turned pale. He knew he shouldn't believe what Murong Jie said, but what he said was closest to the truth because Prince Nan Huai, who had agreed to force the emperor to abdicate, had deserted the battlefield.
"If you still don't believe me, go ask Sun Fang'er. She knows all the inside stories!"
Taifu Liang's body trembled slightly. He really couldn't accept losing to that brat Prince Nan Huai. He had never taken him seriously!
(End of this chapter)