My husband is pure and has few desires, but I gave birth to three children in a row

After a long while, the emperor finally spoke: "Have you all confessed your guilt?"

The Minister of Justice nodded, took out two confession letters from his pocket and raised them above his head with both hands. Immediately, a eunuch came forward to take them and presented them to the emperor.

The emperor looked at the two confessions, in which the Third Prince and Deqing Grand Duke confessed to colluding with pirates, robbing passers-by and merchant ships, raising private soldiers, secretly mining, and colluding with the garrison. They also signed and sealed them.

These things were all expected. After all, Wei Yong brought back the complete chain of evidence.

If the three officials don't even know how to open their mouths and eat even when food is right in front of their mouths, then they can all die.

The emperor pushed the two confessions aside and looked at the civil and military officials below with a puzzled expression: "Since the evidence is conclusive, how should the Third Prince and Queen Deqing be dealt with?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the court, which had been eerily quiet, immediately became buzzing like a beehive.

Everyone ignored their image and started whispering to each other.

Some were filled with righteous indignation, feeling that the Third Prince and Grand Secretary Deqing were unforgivable and should be severely punished.

Some people also think that after all, the Third Prince is the emperor's biological son, and Deqing Daxue is also of royal blood. Since they admitted their guilt so well and so readily, they should be given a lighter sentence.

The imperial censors jumped out one after another, threatening to impose severe punishment. Princes who broke the law were guilty of the same crime as common people. The actions of the Third Prince and Grand Secretary Deqing were tantamount to treason, and they should be executed.

There were also nobles and royal family members who advised the emperor to win people over with virtue. They were all flesh and blood, and the royal family did not have the tradition of killing children. Even if they committed such a heinous crime, they would be sent to the imperial mausoleum and imprisoned for life.

There were also officials who had dealings with the Third Prince and Grand Empress Deqing in the past. Now they kept their tails between their legs, not daring to breathe, let alone speak.

He was afraid that if he wasn't careful, he would be caught with a weak link and be labeled as one of the Third Prince and the Deqing Grand Duke.

The Third Prince and Grand Princess Deqing are of royal blood, so they are able to survive.

But the connections and subordinates of the Third Prince and Lord Deqing probably didn't have such good luck.

If you were forced into it at this time, you would be dead.

Of course, there were also a few old ministers who stood calmly outside the crowd without saying a word.

After arguing for a long time, they still couldn't come to any conclusion.

The emperor was not in a hurry. He asked to discuss the matter again at tomorrow morning's court session and then announced the adjournment of the court session.

As soon as the court was dismissed, the Minister of Punishments, the Minister of Revenue, the Chief Justice, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and several other trusted ministers were summoned to the imperial study.

It was as warm as spring in the imperial study.

As soon as he entered, he found a seat and asked the eunuch to serve tea.

Each of them held a cup of tea and drank it silently with their heads down.

After the emperor reviewed the basic memorials, he spoke again, "My Lords, what are your opinions on the conspiracy between the Third Prince and Grand Duke Deqing?"

Everyone rolled their eyes involuntarily. You labeled it treason as soon as you opened your mouth. What other opinions can we have?

However, these ministers present here did not have much friendship with the Third Prince, and their relationship with Grand Duke Deqing was even worse.

After all, the power under Deqing tycoon was quite strong before, and he also robbed a lot of the benefits that Deqing tycoon had intended for his own people, so naturally he disliked the tycoon.

It’s just that the Deqing people were protected by the emperor before, so they could only blame themselves for their bad luck.

Now that the crime of treason against the Deqing leader is established, it is understandable that we should take advantage of the opportunity to trample on him.

After all, the Third Prince is the Emperor's biological son. Even though people are calling for his death and treason now, they are still father and son. Who knows, he might come back one day.

If they were too harsh on the Third Prince now, who knew if he would come back in the future? What if he held a grudge?

Therefore, everyone knew what was going on without having to look at each other.

All they talked about were the punishments for Grandmother Deqing, such as being demoted to a commoner, having her princess's mansion raided, and Grandmother Deqing's husband, sons, and grandchildren exiled or executed.

Anyway, he never mentioned how to deal with the third prince.

We have been together for so many years, and we are all old foxes.

The emperor knew very well what these people were thinking.

I cursed inwardly, calling them all old rascals.

The fate of the Deqing gang was first determined.

The Grand Princess of Deqing was demoted to a commoner, and the princess's mansion was confiscated and turned over to the emperor's private treasury.

The princess of Deqing, her husband, and her three sons were all executed.

The whole family, including Deqing Daxue, was exiled thousands of miles away to the northwest.

The officials of the Deqing Grand Secretary were asked to provide a list of names, and they would be investigated according to the list. Those who were demoted would be demoted, those who were exiled would be exiled, those whose property would be confiscated, and those whose honors and titles would be stripped away.

The main point is to rather kill someone by mistake than let him go.

At this point, the Deqing Dachao faction, which had been so powerful for two dynasties, was doomed to collapse and disappear.

After discussing how to deal with the Deqing rioters, everyone pretended to be dead again.

It was as if they were not the ones who had just been arguing with great enthusiasm about whether the grandchildren of Deqing Grand Secretary should be exiled or all those over ten years old should be executed.

The emperor waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave.

But he managed to keep the Minister of Lanzhou.

Those who were pardoned looked at Minister Lan with sympathy and quickly slipped away.

After everyone had left, the emperor spoke: "Lan Qing, what do you think should be done with the Third Prince?"

Minister Lan was speechless. He is your son, and you ask me?

After a moment's thought, he said seriously, "Earlier in the court, Lord Zhou said that the Third Prince protested his innocence, saying that raising private soldiers was not for treason, but to have a way out. I believe that Your Majesty and His Highness the Third Prince have been father and son for many years after all. It's possible that someone instigated this situation."

"Your Majesty, why don't you go meet the Third Prince in person and hear his side of the story before making any decisions? Otherwise, if there truly is a misunderstanding or some other reason that has wronged His Highness the Third Prince, this would be a good opportunity to clarify things."

"Furthermore, father and son are natural and blood is the same. Your Majesty, as both a father and a ruler, must be careful and cautious."

Minister Lan deliberately omitted the part in the Third Prince's original words about his failure to seize the position, and only mentioned that it was not for treason.

Although he knew in his heart that this was just the Third Prince's last statement to win the emperor's sympathy, he also knew that the emperor knew it very well.

You have raised private soldiers and mined private mines. You have committed every act of treason. And in the end, you say you are not plotting treason?

Do you think everyone is a fool?

It's just that the emperor's intention is that he wants to punish the third prince to give a warning to his other sons. He also wants to leave a reputation of kindness in history books and doesn't want to be branded as a murderer.

As a subject, it is natural to serve the emperor.

He went to see the third prince. If the emperor wanted to kill the third prince, then naturally the third prince would be placed under house arrest in the palace and would not repent.

If there is any mercy, it is that the Third Prince is under house arrest in the mansion and he regrets it.

Life or death, isn't it all up to the emperor to decide? His words were just a fig leaf for the emperor.

These words really touched the emperor's heart.

He is the father of the third brother, the emperor first, and then the father.

As an emperor, he would never allow anyone to covet his throne and power.

As a father, to be honest, he did not have much fatherly love for his son, a young, strong and threatening son who coveted his throne and power. Instead, he was more defensive and vigilant.

Just like the wolf king in a wolf pack, he is gradually getting old, and a younger, stronger male wolf appears in the pack, eyeing his position.

Not wanting to face his own aging and old age, he was even more jealous of his son's youthful physique and energy.

In the emperor's current mind, these sons are no longer sons, but plunderers who want to seize his throne.

It's the enemy!