novelAbuy Chapter 19 If only the whole family could be executed!
Chapter 19 If only the whole family could be executed!
At Zhu Houzhao's command, agents from the Eastern Depot immediately went to arrest Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling.
Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Zhang was struck dumb, her eyes widening in shock.
She had come to request Zhu Houzhao to return the power to issue salt permits to her two younger brothers.
Unexpectedly, this angered Zhu Houzhao, who directly ordered her two beloved younger brothers to be arrested, imprisoned, and sentenced to death.
The stark contrast terrified her, and she pleaded desperately, "No, please don't!"
"Zhao'er, I beg you, please don't! He's your own uncle!"
Zhu Houzhao looked at Empress Dowager Zhang with a cold expression and no emotion in his eyes.
"So what if he's the emperor's maternal uncle? Does that give him the right to do evil and persecute the people?"
"No matter who comes today, they cannot save them, I say so!"
Zhu Houzhao's attitude was very firm, leaving no room for negotiation.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Empress Dowager Zhang was so angry that she couldn't catch her breath and fainted the next moment.
Immediately, gasps of surprise rang out from all around, and everyone rushed forward to help the unconscious Empress Dowager Zhang.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong? Please don't frighten me!"
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has fainted! What should we do?"
"Quickly, fetch the imperial physician! Quickly, fetch the imperial physician!"
"..."
Zhu Houzhao looked at the unconscious Empress Dowager Zhang and said calmly, "Send the Empress Dowager back to Cining Palace and summon the imperial physician to examine her."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
With Zhu Houzhao's permission, the eunuchs and maids of Cining Palace breathed a sigh of relief and led Empress Dowager Zhang back to Cining Palace.
After Empress Dowager Zhang was sent away, Zhu Houzhao looked at Empress Dowager Wang on the other side and spoke with a mocking expression.
"Grandmother, are you here to plead for your two younger brothers as well?"
Empress Dowager Wang was startled and quickly waved her hand, saying, "Your Majesty has misunderstood. I just wanted to come and see you. Although you are busy with state affairs, Your Majesty should still take care of your health."
"The emperor has a cabinet, a directorate of ceremonial, and civil and military officials in the court. He can delegate many tasks to them, so the emperor doesn't have to do everything himself..."
"I am relieved to see that His Majesty is doing well, so I will return now."
Empress Dowager Wang quickly distanced herself from the matter and impatiently left the Qianqing Palace with her own eunuchs and maids.
"Grandmother, please take care. I won't see you off."
"Your Majesty, you may go about your business. Do not worry about me."
Zhu Houzhao watched as Empress Dowager Wang and her entourage left, his eyes narrowing slightly.
These relatives of the emperor couldn't resist jumping out and causing trouble, could they?
But he doesn't have the energy or the hands to deal with them yet.
Just then, Liu Jin ran over with a fawning expression and began kowtowing to Zhu Houzhao.
"This old servant is very grateful to Your Majesty for saving me. If it weren't for Your Majesty's help, my backside would probably be covered in welts again."
Zhu Houzhao glanced down at Liu Jin, then turned and walked back into the hall: "Stop patting yourself on the back, but you did a good job this time."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. It is all what this servant should do."
Liu Jin was overjoyed to receive Zhu Houzhao's praise, feeling as if his bones had become lighter.
……
Inside the Eastern Depot, the Eastern Depot agents delivered the order to arrest Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling to Cao Zhengchun.
The previously lazy Cao Zhengchun immediately perked up.
"Eastern Depot agents, listen to my command! Pack your bags immediately and accompany me to arrest the man!"
"Yes, Your Excellency!"
Soon, Cao Zhengchun mustered three hundred men and immediately led the Eastern Depot agents to attack the residences of the Marquis of Shouning and the Earl of Jianchang.
This time, Cao Zhengchun was ordered to arrest a marquis and an earl.
Thinking of their illustrious status, Cao Zhengchun couldn't help but lick his lips excitedly.
Cao Zhengchun was not afraid of handling major cases or offending people. The higher the official rank and the more prestigious the status of the criminals he captured, the more excited he became.
What Cao Zhengchun feared was that he would be forever dealing with those minor cases, causing the court and the emperor to forget that he, Cao Zhengchun, was still a force to be reckoned with!
Soon, Cao Zhengchun arrived at the Shouning Marquis's residence and stood outside the main gate.
Cao Zhengchun made a sudden move, and the solid wood door was instantly shattered.
"Arrest Zhang Heling!"
"yes!"
Hundreds of agents from the Eastern Depot rushed into the Marquis's residence, immediately eliciting screams from the crowd.
Everyone in the mansion, from the Zhang family members to the maids and servants, was terrified by these vicious agents of the Eastern Depot.
Aside from screams and people running away in panic, the Shouning Marquis's residence was thrown into chaos.
Soon, the agents of the Eastern Depot found Zhang Heling in the backyard, enjoying himself with his newly acquired thirteenth concubine.
After being arrested, Zhang Heling was momentarily bewildered, but once he came to his senses, he flew into a rage!
"Who are you? How dare you arrest me?!"
"Do you even know who I am? How dare you arrest me?!"
"Which department are you from? Get your superior to see me!"
Cao Zhengchun appeared slowly with a sinister smile: "Of course we know who you are, Marquis Shouning, Zhang Heling. When we in the Eastern Depot investigate cases, we never arrest the wrong person."
"Cao Zhengchun!"
Marquis Shouning's expression changed in surprise, but he quickly regained his composure and roared, "Do you know who I am? You still dare to arrest me?"
"I order you to release me immediately, or I will go to the Empress Dowager and His Majesty and lodge a formal complaint against you!"
Cao Zhengchun looked at Zhang Heling with a sneer and shook his head repeatedly: "Zhang Heling, Zhang Heling, you're about to die and you're still so arrogant."
"Guess who gave the order for me to arrest you, sir?"
Zhang Heling's expression froze, and he uttered two trembling words: "Your Majesty..."
"Oh, right."
Cao Zhengchun smiled broadly, then his face turned icy cold: "Take him away!"
"Yes, Your Excellency!"
Zhang Heling was so frightened that his legs went weak. If he hadn't been held back by the Eastern Depot agents, he probably would have collapsed to the ground.
Zhang Heling never expected that when he left the palace this morning, he was still confidently waiting for Zhu Houzhao to restore his power to issue salt permits.
But in the afternoon, instead of receiving Zhu Houzhao's order to reinstate his salt permit, he was met by agents from the Eastern Depot who came to arrest him.
Moreover, judging from Cao Zhengchun's attitude, Zhu Houzhao seems to have decided to kill him.
Thinking of this, Zhang Heling was utterly terrified and immediately shouted, "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"
"Cao Zhengchun, you falsely conveyed the imperial edict! You deceived your superiors and concealed the truth!"
"I want to see His Majesty! I want to see the Empress Dowager!"
"Let me go! Let me go!"
"..."
Zhang Heling's shouts grew weaker and weaker as he was dragged out of the Shouning Marquis's residence by the Eastern Depot agents.
The Zhang family members, maids, and servants throughout the mansion watched this scene with trembling fear. Some cried and wailed, but no one dared to stop the Eastern Depot from taking Zhang Heling away.
Those who obstruct the investigations of the Eastern Depot shall be executed!
Cao Zhengchun also left the Shouning Marquis's residence. Before leaving, Cao Zhengchun looked back at the Shouning Marquis's residence and felt a sense of regret.
He brought so many people, but only captured Zhang Heling, which is a bit of a waste.
"If only we could execute Zhang Heling's entire family," Cao Zhengchun thought with some disappointment.