"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your wise judgment and for clearing Zheng'er of all charges," Feng Linyuan said, bowing deeply with cupped hands.
Feng Linche frowned slightly and was about to speak when the Marquis of Gaochang, who had been silent on the ground after prostrating himself, suddenly interrupted, "Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, when has there ever been a decision that was not wise? When Your Majesty investigates a case, he never wrongs an innocent person, nor does he ever let a villain go unpunished!"
The meaning of the Marquis of Gaochang's words was crystal clear. Today, Feng Linche had to give him an explanation no matter what.
After all, if Feng Linche had followed the step that Bai Sheng had offered and delayed the case, in the end, he would surely have to find a scapegoat to take the blame for Feng Jingyang.
But now, with both human and material evidence in hand, and Feng Jingyang even admitting in person that he had killed Zheng Yan, regardless of whether there were other hidden secrets behind this case, the enmity between Feng Jingyang and the Marquis of Gaochang's mansion was irreconcilable.
The Marquis of Gaochang and the Princess of Pingyang knelt in the main hall like this. No matter how much Bai Sheng and the people from the Grand Tutor's mansion pleaded, they remained motionless and silent.
Stubbornly and persistently, they confronted Feng Linche.
Gradually, Bai Sheng and Grand Tutor Zhao gave up trying to persuade them. The entire main hall fell into complete silence.
Feng Jingyang couldn't help but tremble all over. Concubine Zhao hugged him tightly, tears streaming down her face.
Everyone turned their gazes to Feng Linche, waiting for him to make a decision.
On one side was his own legitimate son, and behind him was the Zhao family's Grand Tutor's mansion, which was used to counterbalance the prime minister, the Chu family. For both public and private reasons, Feng Linche wanted to save Feng Jingyang.
But on the other side was the Marquis of Gaochang, who held the military power of four hundred thousand troops and had just lost his only beloved daughter.
Based on his understanding of the Marquis of Gaochang, he couldn't be sure that if he didn't give them a satisfactory result today, the Marquis of Gaochang wouldn't take a desperate chance and secretly assassinate Feng Jingyang.
He couldn't afford to offend either side. At this moment, Feng Linche's heart was surely in turmoil.
Bai Zheng watched coldly from the side. She saw Feng Linche pursing his lips tightly, his face cold and solemn. After a long while, he suddenly reached out and picked up a wine cup on the table in front of him. A hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.
As the wine cup he was holding got closer and closer to his lips, just as his lips were about to touch the cup and he was about to take a sip of wine.
"Villain!"
Suddenly, Feng Linche roared angrily. At the same time, his expression changed, and he fiercely threw the wine cup on the ground.
The crisp sound of "dong dong" echoed in the main hall. The wine cup rolled on the golden brick floor, and the wine splashed everywhere, scaring some timid women in the hall to tears.
Looking at the wine cup that had rolled to his feet, Feng Jingyang was so shocked that he instantly stopped trembling.
Feng Linche stood up straight and quickly stepped forward to stand in front of Feng Jingyang. Seeing this, Concubine Zhao quickly let go of her son and threw herself at Feng Linche, about to plead tearfully, "Your Majesty..."
"Get out of the way!" Feng Linche waved Concubine Zhao away mercilessly. Then he lifted his foot and kicked Feng Jingyang, who was completely unprepared, to the ground.
"You villain! Who told you to do such a thing!" Feng Linche roared angrily, his eyes bloodshot. "Who is Yan'er? She is your fiancée who grew up with you since childhood! She was truly devoted to you. She stepped back again and again for you and didn't even hesitate to risk her life. But what did you do?"
Feng Jingyang lay on the ground stupidly, letting Feng Linche's feet kick him again and again without dodging.
Concubine Zhao cried and threw herself on him, protecting Feng Jingyang tightly. She sobbed to Feng Linche, "Your Majesty, Yang'er is not such a person. There must be other hidden secrets behind this. Please, Your Majesty, investigate clearly!"
Feng Linche was so angry that his face turned purple. "What other hidden secrets could there be? This villain watched Yan'er get seriously injured with his own eyes. Instead of saving her, he just left her there? Where is your conscience! Over the years, I've spent so much effort teaching you to be a man who stands upright and values love and righteousness. Have you fed all that to the dogs?"
Feng Linche's outburst of anger soon had an effect. The ministers in the hall, who were initially too scared to react, began to plead for Feng Jingyang one after another. "Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince is still young. He was just scared out of his wits when he encountered such a thing. It's understandable that he didn't handle it well."
"Your Majesty, please calm down. Miss Zheng has passed away. The living are the most important. The Fourth Prince is of noble status. Now that he has received Your Majesty's lesson, it can be regarded as a punishment."
"Yes, Your Majesty. And Miss Zheng even pulled out the blade with her own hands to protect the Fourth Prince before she died. It shows that she had already forgiven the Fourth Prince. Your Majesty, please, for Miss Zheng's sake, spare the Fourth Prince this time."
As more and more people pleaded, Feng Linche's anger finally gradually subsided.
He retracted his foot and took a deep breath. Out of the corner of his eye, he clearly saw the still straight figures of the Marquis of Gaochang and the Princess of Pingyang kneeling there.
He closed his eyes and finally made up his mind. "This villain can no longer be kept."
Saying this, he turned around and no longer looked at Feng Jingyang. His hoarse voice was full of dejection and exhaustion. "From today on, the Fourth Prince shall be imprisoned in Nanxun Hall. He shall not leave without an imperial edict."
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, married princes would all have their own mansions.
Although the mansion of the Fourth Prince, Feng Jingyang, had already been built, since he had not yet married Zheng Yan, he had not officially left the palace and still lived in his own bedroom, Nanxun Hall.
In the history of the Great Zhou Dynasty, only one prince had been imprisoned in his mansion for life and was not allowed to leave until his death because he had launched a rebellion.
Now, upon hearing Feng Linche's order, Concubine Zhao immediately let out a hysterical scream. "No—Your Majesty, there are other hidden secrets in this matter. Yang'er is innocent. Your Majesty, you can't imprison him..."
"He has done such a wrong thing. How can he still have the face to show up in front of everyone!" Feng Linche flew into a rage and pointed at Feng Jingyang and shouted, "If I didn't think there were other hidden secrets in this matter, would I still spare this villain's life? When I find out the truth, if it turns out that this villain is the only one responsible, I will be the first to kill him to avenge Yan'er!"
After saying this, Feng Linche walked up to the Marquis of Gaochang, bent down, and helped the still kneeling Marquis of Gaochang up. "It's my fault for not teaching my son well. I'm sorry for Yan'er..."
The Marquis of Gaochang had been holding back his tears all this time. Hearing these words, he finally couldn't hold it back any longer, and tears streamed down his old face.
Together with the Princess of Pingyang, he slowly stood up following Feng Linche's hand.
A long - drawn - out battle was temporarily quelled under Feng Linche's sudden outburst of anger and the order of imprisonment.
After watching this drama, Bai Zheng couldn't help but want to clap for Feng Linche.
To be able to come up with such a perfect solution in such a short time and turn a situation that seemed doomed was truly remarkable. As an opponent, Feng Linche was definitely a powerful one.
The death of his beloved daughter had already created an irreconcilable enmity between the Marquis of Gaochang's mansion and Feng Jingyang.
So, this imprisonment by Feng Linche seemed like a punishment on the surface, but if you thought about it carefully, who could be sure that it wasn't Feng Linche's way of protecting his son in disguise?
If he really wanted to imprison him for a long time, it would be more convenient to throw him into the already completed mansion of the Fourth Prince.
But if he wanted to protect Feng Jingyang from being assassinated by the Marquis of Gaochang's mansion, where could be safer than the imperial palace?