Chapter 446: Let’s All Perish Together
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Empress Jia couldn’t bear it.
In the end, she turned her head away.
Upon seeing this, the Emperor felt slightly relieved.
“Present the evidence. Bring the witnesses here as well,” he said.
Song Que’s eyes flickered.
“Yes, Your Majesty!” he replied loudly.
Then, he turned to look at the captain of the Palace Guards.
Before long, the material evidence and witnesses arrived.
The Emperor looked at the various letters and flipped through a few accounts ledgers. He became extremely incensed inwardly.
He looked at Jia Kun again and saw him lowering his head and kowtowing repeatedly, appearing to be trembling with guilt. The Emperor then made a decision in his heart.
Very soon, Wang Cheng and Yun Kuan, the two guys who had been rescued by Qin Xiaoyao earlier, appeared.
The two of them walked up to stand behind Song Que and then knelt down to pay their respects to the Emperor.
“Your humble subjects Wang Cheng and Yun Kuan hereby pay their respects to the Emperor. Long live the Emperor.”
The Emperor glanced at the two of them and gestured for them to rise.
Then, he quickly asked the witnesses for their statements.
Wang Cheng was the first to answer.
“More than two months ago, Lord Jia Kun took a fancy to Embroidered Clouds Settlement where our Wang and Yun clans live. He sent people to ask us for this place, but the price they offered was not even comparable to the price of barren land.
“Our Wang and Yun clans’ ancestral homes and ancestral halls were all located in Embroidered Clouds Settlement, so naturally we didn’t want to leave.
“At that time, the person who came to our door threatened us, saying that they would make us regret it.
“After that, just barely three days later, masked men riding horses came to our Embroidered Clouds Settlement.
“Those people killed everyone they saw. They did not even spare the old and the young.
“After killing the people, they even set fire to the entire Embroidered Clouds Settlement, burning the whole place down completely.”
Wang Cheng’s eyes became red-rimmed, and his tears and nose snot all flowed out.
“Back then, the two of us happened to be out and were lucky enough to escape the calamity.”
The Emperor frowned.
“Even so, it doesn’t prove that this matter was committed by Lord Jia Kun,” he said.
It wasn’t that he wanted to protect Jia Kun, but the testimony of these two people was indeed not enough to convict Jia Kun of the crime of contract killing.
Yun Kuan stepped forward.
“Your Majesty is wise and perceptive! Indeed, what Wang Cheng said is not enough to convict Lord Jia Kun.
“Your subject here has other evidence.”
The Emperor raised his eyebrows.
“What other evidence do you have?” he asked.
Yun Kuan kowtowed and continued, “When the two of us returned to Embroidered Clouds Settlement, it was already a swathe of scorched land.
“After that, we found the waist token left behind by those villains in the ruins.” After saying that, Yun Kuan took out a waist token from his pocket.
The Emperor glanced at the eunuch beside him.
The eunuch immediately went to retrieve the waist token.
When the Emperor received the waist token, he saw that there was a large “Jia” character printed on it.
Yun Kuan frowned when he saw the Emperor looking at the waist token.
He continued, “This waist token is enough to prove that the one who ordered people to slaughter the more than 500 inhabitants of Embroidered Clouds Settlement was Lord Jia Kun!” Yun Kuan pointed at Jia Kun angrily.
“No… it wasn’t me,” Jia Kun quickly denied the allegation.
When he heard this, Yun Kuan felt even more resentful.
“Who else could it be if not you?
“After the incident at the Embroidered Clouds Settlement, the whole settlement was assigned to Lord Jia’s residence in less than a month.”
Yun Kuan didn’t wait for Jia Kun to continue defending himself and kowtowed to the Emperor once again.
“Both of us are certain that the destruction of the Embroidered Clouds Settlement has something to do with the Jia family. After that, we reported it to the government office in the capital.
“To our surprise, the prefectural magistrate did not dare to offend Lord Jia Kun. After learning both of us had lodged a complaint about this matter, he ordered the two of us to be thrown into prison that same day.
“He even interrogated us to see if we had any accomplices and wanted to hand us over to Lord Jia Kun for punishment.”
At this point, Yun Kuan looked at Qin Xiaoyao gratefully.
“It’s all thanks to Marquis Xiaoyao’s help. She saved us and agreed to help us seek justice.”
After saying that, Yun Kuan looked at the Emperor agitatedly and kowtowed to him again.
“Your Majesty, please seek justice for us commoners and the more than 500 people who died tragically in the Embroidered Clouds Settlement!”
After hearing all this, the officials were in an uproar.
The incident had happened not far from the outskirts of the capital. It was a horrific massacre of the whole village, involving the lives of more than 500 people.
Lord Jia Kun had actually grown so brazen.
When the Emperor heard this, he was also furious.
He had long known that his brother-in-law was overbearing and had done many outrageous things that were out of line.
However, he never thought that this fellow would actually commit such a major crime.
While the Emperor was hesitating about whether he should make a judgment immediately, he saw Qin Xiaoyao looking at him.
Her gaze was somewhat icy and mocking.
The Emperor got a shock. Then he finally made up his mind.
“From today onward, Jia Kun’s title as a Lord will be stripped, and his residence will be searched and all items confiscated,” he said.
He further added, “Men, throw Jia Kun into the Imperial Prison and choose a day to… execute him.”
Jia Kun’s expression changed drastically.
He hurriedly begged for mercy.
He not only begged the Emperor but also Empress Jia.
The Emperor was originally worried that Empress Jia would plead with him.
However, after waiting for a while, he did not hear Empress Jia say anything.
He felt relieved. At the same time, he felt gratified at the Empress’s understanding of the bigger picture.
When he saw this, Jia Kun was extremely terrified.
He struggled to escape from the hands of the Palace Guards, but he was unable to tear himself away from the two strong Palace Guards.
“Your Royal Highness, Your Royal Highness! I’m your elder brother!
“Younger Sister, save me! Save me!”
Empress Jia remained silent.
“Jia Ruxue! You’re so ruthless! So ruthless!” After not hearing Empress Jia plead for him, Jia Kun finally exploded and called out Empress Jia’s full name.
“Song Que, Marquis Xiaoyao! The one who ordered Shen Hongyu to frame the Song family and kill the Liu family was not me, but Empress Jia!
“Hahahaha! Didn’t you guys want revenge? If you have the ability, go after her!” Jia Kun didn’t care anymore and shouted loudly.
If he was going to die, everyone could all go to hell together with him.
The moment he said this, everyone fell silent.
On the dais, the hands in the sleeves of Empress Jia were clenched tightly into fists.
The Emperor beside her had a look of panic on his face.
“Shut him up!” he ordered sternly.
It was the most ideal outcome for things to end with Jia Kun.
He did not want the fire to burn his beloved Empress.
The Palace Guards did not listen to the Emperor and stopped in their tracks.
“Hahahaha…” When he saw this, Jia Kun laughed maniacally again.
“Your master still wants to hear me speak. Take me back!” he said to the two Palace Guards.
The two Palace Guards looked at each other and then turned to look at Qin Xiaoyao.
Qin Xiaoyao glanced at the pale-faced Empress Jia up on the dais and nodded at the two.
Only then did the two Palace Guards move. They dragged Jia Kun back like they were dragging a dead dog.
Under the fearful gazes of the Emperor and Empress Jia, they flung Jia Kun onto the ground.
Jia Kun didn’t cry out in pain and sat up straight instead.
Just as he was about to speak, he heard the Emperor’s reprimand.
“Jia Kun, how dare you!
“Your Jia clan and you are where you are today all because of Empress Jia.
“You actually want to slander Empress Jia now. Aren’t you afraid that I will settle the score with your Jia family?” This was considered a threat.
Jia Kun wasn’t afraid when he heard that. Instead, he turned around and looked at the Emperor and Empress Jia mockingly.
“Hmph! So what if you settle the score with us? It’s better for all of us to die together so that I won’t have to go to hell alone and be lonely,” he proclaimed like a madman.
As he spoke, Jia Kun looked straight at Empress Jia.
“Your Royal Highness, I am also curious to know if the Emperor will abandon you for the sake of the country today.”
Empress Jia frowned deeply..