Lu Zhen was naturally in the palace, and he did not participate in today's court meeting, just because he had more important things to do. At this time, he had reappeared in Nangong.

In this rather empty hall with few pieces of furniture, he stood with his hands down, his eyes burning on Zhu Qizhen, who was pale as paper and trembling, who had already collapsed to the ground, whispering something in his mouth, but he couldn't even hear Lu Zhen in front of him.

Next to the two of them, there were more than a dozen people in brocade clothes, and all of them looked a little strange and hesitant, because what they were going to do next was the most difficult thing in the world - to send the original son of heaven of the Ming Dynasty, the brother of the current emperor, and the current emperor to Huangquan Road!

As Lu Zhen judged before, when Zhu Qiyu calmed down from the shock and learned that his imperial brother was still alive, he did not hesitate to make this decision, which was extremely cruel in the eyes of many people. But in fact, as a rebellious conspirator such as Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng, death is indeed his only choice. Because if success or failure is reversed, as an elder brother, he will never let go of his younger brother, and history has already given the answer.

It was only because of the fear in his heart that Zhu Qizhen did not dare to commit suicide even if he knew that the matter was defeated, so in the end, this errand was handed over by the emperor to Lu Jin, the most trusted person. Of course, this matter must be carried out in secret, and no one must let others know, because once it is leaked out, let the subjects outside the palace know that even the Emperor Taishang will be the rebel of today's son, and it will cause a lot of damage to the Son of Heaven and the entire Daming Society, which no one wants to see.

Therefore, when Lu Zhen entered the palace to meet the Son of Heaven earlier than the ministers and reported the news that everything in the outside world had been calmed down, Zhu Qiyu, who was originally depressed, suddenly reached out and grabbed his hand, and said: "Lu Qing, I still have one of the most important things to entrust to you, and I hope you don't let me down." ”

"Your Majesty, please say, the minister will do his best." Lu Jin hurriedly replied in a deep voice, in fact, he had already vaguely guessed in his heart what the emperor wanted to do for himself.

Sure enough, I only heard the emperor say: "He is still alive, he should have died early, but he has survived until today." In the past, I could have allowed him to live because of that brotherhood, but now, when he did such things, I didn't want to see him anymore. It's just that, after all, this is a matter of reputation in the palace, and if outsiders know that he actually did such a thing, it will inevitably disgrace the ancestors, so ......" Because of the anger in his heart, Zhu Qiyu didn't even want to mention his brother's name anymore, and only referred to him with the word "he".

"I understand. The minister thought that the Emperor Taishang was actually loyal to His Majesty. Lu Jin's mind turned quickly, and he quickly gave an explanation: "Cao Jixiang rebelled in the palace, and he wanted to hold the Emperor Taishang hostage to order the ministers. As a result, when he led his troops into the South Palace, the Emperor Taishang resolutely refused to agree to conspire with him. In the end, under the persecution of the thief, the Emperor Taishang could only commit suicide in the South Palace with his will to die. ”

After the emperor heard his words, he was stunned at first, and then a rare smile appeared on his face: "Yes, it was because he refused to conspire with Cao Jixiang and other thieves that he was martyred, and I also felt deeply heartbroken." After saying this, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

Over the years, Zhu Qizhen has always been a piece of heart in his heart, and whenever he thinks of the other party, he always feels a burst of threat and uneasiness. After all, the other party is the former lord of the Ming Dynasty, after all, the other party is more qualified to be the emperor than himself. Even if in the past few years, his throne has become more and more solid, and finally even the crown prince has been established, even if the other party has been imprisoned in the palace and can hardly contact anyone in the outside world, but he is still full of vigilance against his imperial brother.

But he couldn't kill one of them, because he couldn't afford to kill his brother, and he was even more afraid of leaving a bad reputation of coveting power and abandoning humanity in the history of Qing, so he could only endure it. It can be said that Zhu Qiyu was sick when he was only in his thirties, in addition to not being accustomed to heavy government affairs and the sudden death of the prince, this heart disease also accounted for a large proportion.

Today, the Emperor was furious and didn't care too much about it, and only wanted to kill the biggest threat. And now, Lu Jin's proposal made him know that there was a more perfect way to solve this scourge, which made his whole mood feel much better.

After a while, the emperor nodded: "Then everything is up to Lu Qing, you can take him to Nangong." ”

"Obey the order!" Lu Zhen saluted again, and then quietly retreated.

When the ministers entered the palace to see the driver, Lu Zhen had escorted Zhu Qizhen back to the South Palace, and then left only some henchmen by his side, and told the emperor's meaning truthfully to the other party who was already trembling with fright: "I hope that the emperor will die to prove his innocence!" ”

Faced with such a situation, Zhu Qizhen was so frightened that he cried, even if those brocade guards had already put the five-foot white silk in front of him, they didn't see him make any moves. Fortunately, Lu Zhen was still a little patient, but he didn't force too much, just waited quietly on the side, waiting for the other party to make a final decision.

But after waiting left and right, he still didn't see Zhu Qizhen take any action, so he finally became a little impatient: "Emperor Taishang, the matter has come to this, this is the most decent result for you and for my Ming, and I hope you don't embarrass your ministers and do the most unbearable thing." ”

"You ......" Zhu Qizhen's eyes flashed with fear, his body shrank back suddenly, and the voice in his mouth finally became louder: "I don't want to die...... Can you go and talk to the emperor about it, as long as he spares my life, even if I am demoted to a commoner, I am willing, I just beg him to spare me......" As he spoke, he struggled to kneel down and kowtow to Lu Zhen and beg for mercy.

It's just that his action was blocked by Lu Jin's quick outstretched hand: "The emperor can't be like this, and the minister can't afford such a big gift." After a pause, he said in a somewhat solemn tone: "Emperor Taishang, I knew why I had to do it today, when you promised those thieves to take this step, you should have thought that it would be such a result." Please also think about it, if someone else treats you like this, can you spare him from dying and relegate him to a common man with peace of mind? Even if you do, your identity won't change much. ”

"I ......" Zhu Qizhen actually knew very well in his heart that he had already buried the disaster of killing himself when he tried to get Wei Guogong to lead troops into Beijing, and this time he naturally cut off all the back roads. But the desire for life still made him make the last struggle: "Lu ...... Lu Qing, you were also my courtier at the beginning, aren't you afraid of being charged with killing the king? How innocent I am, I actually fell from a dignified emperor to such a field today......" said, sorrow came from it, and I cried loudly.

His attitude actually made the brocade guards on the side show unbearable expressions, thinking that a few years ago, he was still the master of the Great Tomorrow, but now he is about to fall to the point of being forced to commit suicide. If it weren't for Lu Jin's prestige here, these people would have been unable to help but plead for him.

But Lu Jin's eyes flashed, and his face showed anger: "Emperor Taishang, there are some things that the ministers don't want to say directly, but since you still think you're right at this time, then I can only offend." You are to blame for the fact that you are where you are today. It was you who listened to slander and mistakenly believed Wang Zhen and other traitorous villains, so that you not only lost the throne, but finally lost your life! ”

Zhu Qizhen was suddenly shocked when he said this, and a look of surprise quickly flashed on his face, but then, as if he had thought of something, his expression darkened again, and his head drooped down.

Now that they have opened their mouths, Lu Zhen simply stopped hiding and tucked away, and completely opened his words: "Think about it a few years ago, my Ming Dynasty was in its prosperous era, the people in the court and the central government were surrounding, and there were hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers and horses, the world was peaceful, and the Tartars did not dare to attack. But in such a prosperous world, it was completely ruined because you insisted on going your own way, and you had to follow the example of Taizu Taizong's personal conquest. You are not only stubborn and self-serving, but also gullible slander, actually obeyed Wang Zhenzhi's words and used troops indiscriminately, and finally ended up in the defeat of Tumubao, countless soldiers and officials died under the Tartar knife, and even made my Ming fall into the verge of destroying the country.

"It was when today's son stepped forward at this critical juncture and turned the tide that I was able to save my Ming Dynasty. But after your return, the Emperor not only did not think about your own mistakes, but tried to collude with those traitors several times to try to regain the throne. Have you ever thought that this would be fair to Your Majesty? As early as last year, after your attempt to bewitch Wei Guogong to rebel was revealed, His Majesty could get rid of you. It was only because of brotherly affection that he didn't start.

"But it's good that you, in such a situation, you still don't want to be grateful and repentant, but you have intensified it, and colluded with Cao Jixiang and others to try to launch a palace change. In our eyes, you are really the biggest sinner and the greatest calamity of my Ming Dynasty, and you must be eliminated for the sake of the stability of the world. And the benevolence of the Son of Heaven, thinking of brotherly love, allowed you to commit suicide, and also gave you a fate that refused to cooperate with the traitor and died generously, which is the greatest grace to you and the best destination for you. Do you still want to live in the world at this time? ”

As he spoke, a trace of murderous intent flashed in his eyes: "The words have been spoken, if the Emperor still refuses to commit suicide, then I can only do it for me as a courtier!" As soon as he said that, two brocade guards strode up, gesturing to wrap the white silk around his neck. After listening to Lu Jin's words, the Jinyi guards had a completely different perception of Zhu Qizhen, and they had a lot of disdain and hatred.

Hearing these words, Zhu Qizhen's face became more and more ugly, but his body no longer trembled: "It turns out that I have made so many mistakes over the years, and I am indeed to blame for ending up in the field I am today!" As he spoke, he staggered to the ground and barely got up from the ground.

Then, after a little hesitation, he came to the tray, stretched out his still trembling hands, picked up the white silk, and said slowly and bitterly in his mouth: "I really deserve to die, as soon as I die, the emperor will no longer have to worry, no one in the world will rebel, I really should die to atone for the mistakes I have committed for many years......"

As he spoke, he threw the long white silk over the beams of the hall, took a chair, placed it underneath, and stepped forward. When he finally put his head into the knot, he asked with some concern: "What are you going to do with him?" ”

"Don't worry, as long as you are gone, Your Majesty will not embarrass the former prince." Lu Zhen took a half step back slightly, and replied with a somewhat complicated expression.

"That's good, then I'll ...... Rest assured......" With a long sigh, Zhu Qizhen finally let go of the hand pulling the rope sleeve, and with a kick of his feet, the person was already suspended in the air by the white silk.

After a few moments, his face was purple, his eyes bulged, his tongue stretched out, and his body twitched violently, and his legs kicked wildly......

But this situation did not last long, and soon, he no longer had the strength to struggle, and his body slowly stiffened, and finally hung completely on the white silk, becoming a soulless corpse.

Seeing that this former great tomorrow finally took his last breath, Lu Zhen unconsciously let out a long sigh of relief. At this time, he didn't know whether he was happy or sad. There is only one thing he can be sure of, that is, history has completely changed with the suicide of this person in front of him, and there can no longer be the era name Tianshun.

He has defended the sky and changed his mind!