Chapter 533 534 [Beheading at the Meridian Gate]
Xiang Nan was immediately called into the palace.
"Contradicting His Majesty in public, pointing fingers at His Majesty, seeking favor directly, what crime? Say it yourself!" Qianlong sat on the throne angrily.
"Behead according to the law!" Xiang Nan replied.
"Okay, write it yourself." Qianlong nodded and said, "If you hear rumors and gossip, what should you do? Say it yourself."
"Behead according to the law!" Xiang Nan replied again.
"Okay, since that's the case, then please do what you want." Qianlong nodded.
"Thank you for your kindness, Ji Xiaolan is gone!" Xiang Nan stood up and walked outside the Meridian Gate.
"..." Qianlong was shocked when he saw it.
He didn't want to kill Xiang Nan, but he just wanted to scare him, make him confess his guilt, beg for mercy, bend over, and he would just fall off the donkey and spare his life.
But I didn't expect Xiang Nan to be quite straightforward, and he ran out of the Meridian Gate by himself.
"Hey, this is Ji Xiaolan!" Qianlong said helplessly.
He couldn't kill Xiang Nan, especially not like this. If he really wanted to kill Xiang Nan for the sake of repairing the garden, how much infamy would he have left behind?
But Xiang Nan has already gone to Meridian Gate. If he let it go so lightly, who would be afraid of his emperor in the future. If the emperor loses even his prestige, who else can he rule over?
Therefore, he hurriedly summoned the six ministries and nine ministers to discuss this matter together.
…
He Shen enters the palace with Shang Rong.
"My lord, nothing will happen, right? Ji Xiaolan's counting of Laibao has leaked our bottom line." Shang Rong asked worriedly.
"Don't be afraid. Is there any garden that doesn't cost money?" He Shen waved his hand and smiled, "We have already settled the account, and it's useless to let him check it. The previous imperial censor Hong Derui was fined. Qu Yang has chiseled stones, what are you afraid of?"
"That's right, my lord." Seeing that He Shen was so calm, Shang Rong couldn't help but feel relieved.
…
After hundreds of officials gathered in the South Study Room, Qianlong announced to them that Ji Xiaolan would be executed.
"Although Ji Xiaolan has made extraordinary achievements since he entered the court, such as rejecting borders, repairing books, and investigating cases... But this person is also arrogant about his talents, has no respect for the king, and has repeatedly contradicted me.
If I kill him at all, it will not be enough to extinguish the fire in my heart. Don't persuade me, don't persuade me! "Sitting on the throne, Qianlong said with his big mouth curled up.
All the officials present are not fools.
Although the emperor said that there is no need to persuade him, he actually wanted them to persuade him to give him a step down so that he could pardon Ji Xiaolan.
However, they had no idea whether to cooperate with the emperor, but they all looked at He Shen.
Seeing He Shen standing there silently, they all lowered their heads and remained silent.
He Shen naturally didn't want to save Xiang Nan.
Although Xiang Nan made an agreement with him as a gentleman, he never caused any trouble for him. However, Xiang Nan's existence always made him feel like a thorn in his throat and a thorn in his back.
Just like this time Xiang Nan wrote a poem to reveal the truth about the construction of Wanchun Garden, which brought him a certain threat.
Because although the garden was built under the supervision of Shang Rong, in fact, a large part of Shang Rong’s greedy money is filial to him.
So he was actually looking forward to Xiang Nan's death. Now that Ji Xiaolan is finally on the guillotine, the emperor is going to behead him. It was too late for him to be happy, so how could he intercede for Xiang Nan.
"Oh, you have nothing to say?" Qianlong was stunned for a long time, and seeing that everyone was silent, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, "Okay, since you don't even read the love of colleagues for many years, then I have no choice but to kill him. Pass the decree, Execution at 3:00 noon!"
Hearing what he said, He Shen was secretly pleased.
…
Xiang Nan was taken to the guillotine after being detained at the Meridian Gate.
"Hey, what time is it?" He looked up at the sun and said.
"Master Ji, it should be three o'clock." The executioner replied.
"Well, it's almost time for dinner, go and prepare some wine and food for me." Xiang Nan urged.
"Master Ji, this is not prepared for you. Bear with it, you won't be hungry later." The executioner asked.
"Ridiculous! That person knew from birth that he would die sooner or later, so he still had to eat!" Xiang Nanshen scolded.
"Okay, okay, I'll prepare it for you right away. What's the matter, I, a living person, can't argue with a dying person like you." The executioner hurriedly said.
After a while, the executioner brought two dishes. A spicy stir-fried diced chicken, a fried double crisp, plus a pot of old wine.
"Well, this diced chicken is too old. Before putting the diced chicken into the pot, you should simmer it with dumpling powder and white pepper powder for a while, so that it can taste." Xiang Nan took a sip, curled his lips and said, "Once you taste it, you can eat it." It's not Dongxinglou's food."
"You are an expert." The executioner said in admiration, and then handed the wine bowl to Xiang Nan's mouth.
"Hmph, lotus white~" Xiang Nan said with a smile when he heard it, and then took a sip, "Pfft! Mix it with water! I say executioner, it's too heartless to drink fake wine to a dying person."
"No, Mr. Ji." The executioner quickly denied.
"Forget it, forget it, stop drinking." Xiang Nan directed, "Order again, don't get me chicken, get me a pork belly."
"Master Ji, I really admire you!" The executioner said with emotion, "I have beheaded so many death row prisoners. All those who went to the guillotine were crying, dejected, and lost their souls.
But you are not afraid at all, you should eat, drink, talk, smile, you don’t look like you are going to die at all! OK, you're a man! "
"Haha, if you say that I don't look like I'm going to die, then I definitely won't die." Xiang Nan said with a smile, "After all, there is no emperor or sage in this world who beheads a minister who directly advises you. Come on, add vegetables, add vegetables !"
…
While Xiang Nan was eating and drinking leisurely on the guillotine, Du Xiaoyue broke into the Palace of Compassionate Ning, sweating profusely.
Xiang Nan told her before leaving in the morning that if she didn't come back at noon, she would go to the palace to find the queen mother.
So after Xiang Nan left, she kept staring at the time. At noon, Xiang Nan did not come back.
Du Xiaoyue hurried into the palace. After entering the palace, she heard from the **** that Xiang Nan was tied to the guillotine for beheading because he displeased the emperor while visiting the garden.
This made her even more anxious, and hurried into the Compassion Palace, crying and begging the Queen Mother for help.
When the queen mother heard that the emperor wanted to kill Ji Xiaolan, she couldn't help being taken aback, "For no reason, why did the emperor kill Ji Xiaolan?"
"Queen Dowager, sir, you annoyed the emperor because of the garden repair." Xiaoyue cried, and briefly told the story of the future.
The Queen Mother nodded upon hearing this.
She knows about the emperor's gardening. But I don't know, it's really too much to spend so much money and dig up the ancestral graves of the common people.
"Mr. Ji is indeed a good official who can ask for orders for the people and speak out when he makes mistakes." She said with emotion, "Okay, I will help you!"
(end of this chapter)