nucmednet Chapter 378 Exile
Chapter 378 Exile
When Lin Wuchen heard Third Master Xie say that the man was in the hall, he stopped.
The other people in the hall were also confused and didn't know who the old man was talking about.
It was the middle-aged man behind Mr. Xie San who reacted quickly. He quickly glanced at the people in the hall, then walked into the crowd.
Grabbing Su Yuanqing's collar, he dragged him to the center of the hall.
"To reply to the emperor, this man is the one who bumped into my third uncle this morning."
The middle-aged man who spoke was Xie Le'an, the son of Marquis Zhenbei. He had been teaching at Jinling Academy with Master Xie San.
Su Yuanqing was kicked by Xie Le'an and fell to his knees on the ground.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I didn't mean to offend you. I was blind and didn't recognize the great man. Please don't take me seriously. I was also furious when I saw my grandfather's grave being dug up."
Emperor Xuande did not know Su Yuanqing, so Shen Zhixiu explained it to him.
"Your Majesty, this is the second young master of the Su family. He drank with two friends this morning and reminisced about his deceased grandfather. The three of them went up the mountain to pay homage and discovered that the Su family's ancestral grave had been dug up."
Emperor Xuande looked at Su Yuanqing with a sullen face. He thought that he deserved to be put to death just because he spoke rudely to him and offended Marquis Zhenbei.
Moreover, he knew the time when the Xie family held funerals and burials. According to Third Master Xie, it should have been dark when they met Su Yuanqing.
But according to Su Yuanqing, he and two friends went up the mountain to worship after drinking in the morning, so the time doesn't match.
Emperor Xuande didn't say anything, but Third Master Xie suddenly spoke.
"When you met us, it was still dark. Who would go up the mountain to worship at that time?"
"Also, you said you didn't know our identities and didn't mean to offend us. If we were really just ordinary people, I'm afraid we would have been harassed by you today."
"Can the children of the Marquis' Mansion insult and beat the people at will?"
Third Master Xie's calm and deep eyes glanced at Su Chengye indifferently. If you look closely, you can see a bit of disappointment in his eyes.
He recalled that when the old man of the Su family was still alive, although the Su family was also on the decline, it was not as bad as it is today.
There is a saying in the countryside: When a weasel gives birth to a mouse, each generation is worse than the previous one.
Sensing the look in Mr. Xie's eyes, Su Chengye immediately turned away, not daring to look him in the face. In his heart, he cursed Su Yuanqing to death, wondering how many troubles he had caused outside.
At this moment, Su Yuanqing hesitated and could not answer the question from Third Master Xie.
Shen Zhixiu lost his patience and walked to Emperor Xuande and whispered a few words.
After Emperor Xuande nodded, Shen Zhixiu glanced at the crowd in the hall, pointed at Young Master Liu and Young Master Li standing at the back and said, "Aren't you two going to testify for Second Young Master Su? Come forward, I have something to ask you."
No matter how dumb these two people were, they had probably figured out what was going on by now.
Young Master Li regretted it deeply. He had a beautiful day with Su Yuanqing in his arms. Why did he drink with Su Yuanqing and go to the mountains? Now that the incident has come before the emperor, he just hoped that it would not affect his father's career.
Young Master Liu was in a trance, and he didn't think about his father's career. His father was just a legal advisor in Shuntian Prefecture, and he had no career to speak of.
The two men knelt in the middle of the hall, not daring to look up.
Shen Zhixiu acted like a judge in the Ministry of Justice, and in just a few words he found out what happened in the morning.
After several confrontations, it was confirmed that Su Yuanqing had gone up the mountain by himself in the morning.
Afterwards, Feicui also returned from the Su family, and brought back Su Yuanqing's personal servant.
The servant confirmed that Su Yuanqing left early before dawn and took a shovel with him. The servant could also confirm that he bought the deer bone skewer the night before.
The truth about the Su family's ancestral tomb being dug up was finally revealed: it was Su Yuanqing himself who dug it.
Su Chengye looked at Su Yuanqing in anger, rushed up and kicked him first.
"You are so audacious, you evil creature."
He never expected that this kid would dare to dig up his ancestors' graves.
Su Yuanqing was unable to dodge and crashed into a high table on the side.
The plum vase with flowers on it fell down and hit the prince directly on the shoulder.
The prince screamed in pain and covered his shoulder.
Su Xiangling quickly stepped forward to support the prince, "Your Highness, are you okay? Where did it hurt? Let me take a look."
The prince lowered his eyebrows, covered his shoulder where he was hit, and looked up at Su Xiangling.
If she had not sworn that this was a good way to make the Lin family give up the medicinal materials business, he would not have rashly left the palace to make decisions for the Su family.
Now, the Su family is not reliable, causing him to be scolded by his father.
I'm going back to the palace today, and I don't know what my father will say.
Su Xiangling was also feeling bitter, secretly cursing her brother for being a hopeless case. How could he not seize such a good opportunity?
Su Yuanqing was kicked by Su Chengye and felt extremely regretful at this moment. If he had been braver and not bumped into someone else's coffin, or apologized and left with a humble look, he would not have been exposed.
Emperor Xuande glanced at the chaotic hall impatiently and spoke in a deep voice.
"Su Yuanqing... as a son of a marquis, he committed such a treasonous act. His crime is unforgivable."
"For the sake of the generations of loyalty of the Su family, I will spare your death sentence. You will be exiled to Mobei and will never be allowed to return to the capital."
"The Su family has no way of educating their children, and the Marquis of Pingning will be fined one year's salary."
Having said that, Emperor Xuande glanced coldly at the Crown Prince and Su Xiangling.
Su Xiangling noticed Emperor Xuande's cold gaze and subconsciously covered her belly with both hands. Even though she was not pregnant yet, this action could remind Emperor Xuande that she was still pregnant.
It was not known whether Emperor Xuande wanted to return to the palace to make further decisions, or whether he really cared about the baby in Su Xiangling's belly. He hesitated for a moment and said nothing.
Afterwards, Shen Zhixiu was ordered to send someone to write down the details of what happened and post it. The people had the right to know the truth, and it was also to restore the reputation of the Lin family.
Hearing that he was going to be exiled, Su Yuanqing was so frightened that his face turned pale. He knelt on the ground and begged for mercy loudly, but was then covered by the mouth and nose by the Dragon Guards and taken away.
Su Chengye and Su Chengyan did not even dare to beg for mercy. The emperor did not strip the Su family of their titles, which was already a favor.
Su Qingyu and Su Shunci also looked gloomy. Although one of them was married and the other had severed ties with the Su family, they would also lose face if Su Yuanqing did such a thing.
At this moment, both of them had only one thought in their minds, which was to hope that Li Yunzhou would be able to reorganize the Su family after returning to Beijing.
After dealing with this matter, Emperor Xuande returned to the palace, accompanied by Master Xie San and Shen Zhixiu. The prince did not dare to stay any longer, and followed behind with Su Xiangling in disgrace.
Su Yuanqing was taken away by the Dragon Guards and handed over to the Ministry of Justice. The two young masters who testified for him were frightened, and when they saw that no one was pursuing them, they fled for their lives.
Seeing this, Su Chengye and Su Chengyan also prepared to return to the Su family. Su Chengyan suddenly looked much older. The second house only had this one son, so why was he suddenly exiled?
I originally thought that after today's matter was settled, my son would be able to inherit the Su family's title. But in the end, not only did he not get the title, but he also lost his life.