"Your Majesty has arrived—" The eunuch shouted in front of the heavily guarded prison, and the soldiers standing guard knelt with their spears on their knees.

A thin official walked out of the gate of the Heavenly Prison with the hem of his official robe, knelt down on his knees and shouted: "Fang Wen, the warden of the Heavenly Prison, greets Your Majesty!" ”

Zhao Jun gave birth to the horse and walked in front of Fang Wen and raised his hand: "Flat!" ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Junsheng said: "Take me to meet Yuan Gao, Pan Changan, and Zou Ruhai!" ”

"The ministers obey the order, please come with your majesty!"

Under the guidance of the warden Fang Wen, Zhao Junsheng and a group of imperial guards walked into the prison.

The prison was only completed last year, and the prison part inside it was in a dark and damp environment because there was no sunlight all year round, except for the dark and damp, it was still clean, and the prisoners who were locked up here were either relatives of the emperor or high-ranking officials, and there was no ordinary person.

Compared to the harsh environment of the former dungeon renamed the dungeon, this place is quite good.

Zhao Junsheng said as he walked: "Go see Zou Ruhai first!" ”

"No!"

When he arrived at the cell where Zou Ruhai was being held, Fang Wen asked the jailer to open the door, and the jailer used the key to open the chain on the door, pushed open the cell door and walked in and shouted: "Prisoner Zou Ruhai, get up!" ”

Zou Ruhai opened his eyes, and a man wearing a purple robe, a jade belt around his waist, and a golden crown walked in, his eyes widened suddenly, and after reacting, he got up with a bone, and crawled several meters away with his hands and feet on the ground and knelt in front of Zhao Junsheng.

"The criminal minister Zou Ruhai has seen Your Majesty, Your Majesty is blessed!"

Zhao Junsheng observed the situation in the cell with his hands behind his back, in addition to being dark and damp, it made people feel cold, if they stayed here for a long time, they were afraid that it would be easy to get sick, and Zou Ruhai had been locked up here for almost half a year.

Zhao Junsheng said: "Zou Ruhai, get up, raise your head!" ”

"No, no!" Zou Ruhai trembled and got up, although he stood up, but the whole person seemed to be cowering.

Zhao Junsheng only saw that Zou Ruhai was so thin that he was described as withered, almost only the bones were left, he knew that the food in this prison was actually not bad, but a high-ranking official like Zou Ruhai fell to this step, and the previous situation was a heaven and a hell, it must be that he couldn't eat or sleep every day, and the torment was the most torturous, and it was not surprising that Zou Ruhai became the ghost he is now.

Zhao Junsheng said: "Zou Ruhai, the case between you and Yuan Gao and Pan Changan has been clarified, if you just do nothing and wait for death in the position of the servant of the Criminal Department, but what you did is simply the opposite of your original ambition and high spirits!" You say, what is it that makes you like this? ”

Zou Ruhai knelt on the ground again, crying bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, the minister is guilty, the crime deserves death, the minister has lived up to His Majesty's high hopes, the beast still knows how to be grateful, and the minister is not as good as the beast!" ”

Zhao Junsheng waved his hand: "Don't say these useless!" ”

"Yes, yes! In the final analysis, the minister's will is not strong enough, he failed to control himself, the culprit is Yuan Gao, the minister was just a small palm of the criminal department, Yuan Gao used his official position and money to win over, so that the minister obeyed his orders, the minister was unwilling, and he was even more disdainful, but he accidentally suffered from his calculations, and he got the handle, this old thing was tempted by official position and money, and the minister ······ The minister has sunk since then, and the so-called thought of heaven and hell is talking about people like sinners! ”

Zhao Junsheng asked, "Have you ever regretted it?" ”

Zou Ruhai tears rained down, "In the past six months, whenever it is quiet in the dead of night, the minister often thinks of his youthful ambition and high spirits, and remembers what he has done in the past, bit by bit, I really regret not being at the beginning, if the minister refuses him, he may lose his official position, and he has long lost his career, and he will not cause so much harm to the court, and there will be no such sin, let alone being in prison today!" ”

Zhao Junsheng said: "With your crime, the killing is light!" Today in the court, the entire investigation process of the case was announced, and most of the ministers thought that it should be dealt with severely, when peeling and cramping! ”

Zou Ruhai was so frightened that he collapsed on the ground, and his mind was completely confused. For the vast majority of people, death is frightening, but it is even more frightening to die without a body.

For the ancients, the punishment measures for death row prisoners were also severe, and giving poisoned wine or white silk was the lightest punishment in the death penalty, because a whole corpse could be kept; The first killing is second, and then the torture of peeling and cramping, getting into the oil pot, and cracking the car; Finally, there is the category of a thousand cuts, and the more brutal the execution, the heavier it is considered.

Zhao Junsheng squatted in front of Zou Ruhai and sighed: "Reading in the monarch and minister, you write a letter of repentance, write down your entire mental journey and regret during this time, and I will leave you a whole corpse!" ”

Zou Ruhai was pardoned, and kowtowed again and again: "Thank you, Your Majesty, Your Majesty is kind and reinvented, the criminal minister must write well, and write out all the truest feelings and remorse to warn future generations!" ”

Zhao Junsheng stood up and instructed the warden: "Prepare more food for him these days, and there must be wine and meat for every meal!" If he's done, you'll send it to you! ”

The warden promised: "Obey the order!" ”

Zhao Junsheng turned around and walked out of the cell, and the warden immediately followed and brought it in front.

After a while, he came to the door of the cell where the imperial envoy Pan Changan was imprisoned, and the jailer opened the cell door and shouted: "Pan Changan, Your Majesty has arrived!" ”

Pan Changan snorted, quickly got up from the bed board and knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "The criminal minister has seen Your Majesty, Your Majesty is blessed with Jin'an!" ”

Pan Chang'an, he has one more word than Pan An's name, but he can't be compared at all in appearance, Pan An is a peerless beautiful man, but he is a bad old man, he also looked very cold when he was young, his appearance can not be described as fierce, although his appearance can also frighten many people, his appearance is the kind with evil, ordinary people will feel scared at a glance, his appearance can naturally deter ghosts and gods.

Zhao Junsheng asked, "Pan Changan, are you guilty?" ”

During this time, Zhao Ping came to interrogate him twice in three days, and from the interrogation process, he knew that Zhao Ping had found out about him and Yuan Gao, Zou Ruhai and others, so when Zhao Junsheng asked him this, he knew that there was no need to cover it up.

Pan Changan knelt down and cried: "Your Majesty, the minister is guilty, and the minister deserves death!" His Majesty handed over the Imperial Historical Observatory to the minister, and placed high hopes on the minister, but the minister failed to live up to His Majesty's expectations, the minister is a sinner, and the crime is unforgivable! The minister only asks for a death, please give the minister a death by your majesty! ”

Zhao Junsheng angrily reprimanded: "I handed over the Imperial Historical Observatory to you, expecting you to help me supervise the central government and various local officials, how much trust do you have? It's a good thing that you didn't deal with the ministers and officials who oversaw me, but you also used your power for personal gain, collaborated with them to manipulate the promotion of officials, and greedy for money and food, but as the chief official of the Imperial Historical Tower, you violated the law! You say to yourself, 'How should I put you to death?' Will it tear your car apart, or will it fry you in a frying pan? ”

Pan Changan trembled with fright, "Your Majesty······ Your Majesty, the minister does not dare to pray for a living, please ask Your Majesty to give the minister a good time, even if the minister is dead, he will thank His Majesty for his kindness! ”

Zhao Junsheng snorted coldly: "Hmph, it's not so easy if you want to die happily, I give you a chance, you write a letter of repentance to me with your heart, if you don't write it with your heart, it's not your true inner thoughts and feelings, I will peel you and cramp the grass, if it can warn future generations, I will give you a whole corpse!" ”

"Yes, yes, the minister must write well, write with heart, write his own experience and thoughts in the process, and serve as a warning to future generations!"

Zhao Junsheng turned around and walked out, and the warden led the way in front, and soon arrived at the cell where Yuan Gao was being held.

Yuan Gao is the same as Pan Changan, they are different from Zou Ruhai, Zou Ruhai has been in prison for more than half a year, and Yuan Gao and Pan Changan have only been isolated and examined for more than half a month, after all, the place where they live during this time is quiet, the environment is pleasant, but they have lost their freedom, they can't do anything, and nothing else, the two of them were detained here from the place of isolation and censorship by Zhao Junsheng in the morning, and their bodies are still very clean.

Yuan Gao saw the cell door open, and the two jailers were the first to enter, followed by a few armor soldiers, and then Zhao Junsheng walked in, he was stunned for a moment, and then bowed down indifferently: "Old minister, see Your Majesty!" ”

Zhao Junsheng looked at Yuan Gao, turned his head and instructed the warden: "Go and prepare some wine and food, hurry up!" ”

"No!" The warden agreed, and immediately pulled over a jailer and ordered: "Go and prepare, be quick!" ”

"Yes, yes!"

Zhao Junsheng walked slowly around the wall of the cell with his hands behind his back, and said as he walked: "This cell is well repaired, but the ventilation and lighting effect are not very good, and the prisoner is easy to get sick after living for a long time. ”

Yuan Gao said: "Your Majesty is joking, the old minister is now a prisoner, life and death are controlled by His Majesty, what can you do if you don't want to?" ”

When Zhao Junsheng heard this, he turned around and walked to Yuan Gao's side and shouted: "You just stayed outside and didn't do anything, and life and death are also controlled by me!" ”

Yuan Gao was silent.

Zhao Junsheng turned around, "Back then, I thought, how to say that everyone is a relative, from the perspective of relatives, you should help me look at this country, my country is stable, and your Yuan family can also be prosperous and rich for generations, the Zhao family, the Hua family and the Yuan family sit in the same boat, the emperor of the Zhao family is the captain, and the people of your Hua family and the Yuan family are sailors and helmsmen, but you are good, but you are secretly scuttling the boat!" You want money, and the money and rewards are enough for your family, but what can money do for a powerful man like you? You tell me, what is the use of money for you, Jiuqing? ”

Yuan Gao said: "The money and rewards are indeed enough for the minister's family to wear old snacks, but as soon as the minister dies, things will be different, and the minister can't ignore the descendants!" ”

Zhao Jun turned around violently and said loudly: "If the descendants are all Adou who can't be supported, even if you give him gold and silver, he will be empty, and he will lose you in a few years, and in the end they will still be poor!" If future generations are ambitious and promising, even if you leave nothing to them, they will still be able to get ahead!

You're thinking about future generations, aren't you? I didn't let you get your wish, and I ordered to kill them all and kill the three clans! ”