The abandoned concubine who transmigrated woke up shouting "Long live the widow!"

The emperor sat in the seat of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, who was already kneeling beside the ministers.

Everyone knelt down in unison and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" three times.

"Rise!" The emperor's deep voice echoed in the hall.

"I have heard the entire court hearing. The witnesses and physical evidence are all there. Although what Princess Zhan said makes sense, it is not enough to overturn all the evidence. The dragon robe is real, and that alone is enough to make Jing Zhiyuan lose his head!"

Jingxue closed her eyes briefly. She knew the emperor was right. Without punishing Jing Zhiyuan, the people would not be satisfied, and the majesty of the emperor could not be challenged.

In this era, if you make a dragon robe, it means you want to be the emperor. No one would believe you don't want to usurp the throne!

"Jing Zhiyuan, I, considering your past sacrifices for Bei Ye and your defense of the border, hereby spare you the extreme punishment of being torn apart by five horses. I will grant you a pot of poisoned wine, a white silk ribbon for your family, and your body will be taken back by the Princess Consort of Zhan!" The Emperor said almost word by word.

At this moment, Ye Muchen stepped forward, and Ye Musi followed.

Several more people stepped out from the ranks of ministers, including the Duke of Ningguo, Qin Jing's father, the Duke of Anguo, and Prime Minister Zou. They all knelt down to plead for Jing Zhiyuan.

"Your Majesty, please have mercy!"

Prime Minister Zou even pleaded with a sob in his voice, "Your Majesty, please forgive Jing Zhiyuan's mistake in his momentary lapse of judgment, considering the great contributions he has made to the country! After all, he is the War King's father-in-law!"

Jingxue: Damn it! The Emperor is such a powerful father-in-law! Even at a time like this, he still can't resist dragging Ye Muchen into this mess!

The emperor completely ignored their pleas and looked at Jing Zhiyuan, saying, "Jing Zhiyuan, what else do you have to say?"

Jing Zhiyuan kowtowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I still maintain that I have never committed any treason or rebellion. If Your Majesty still remembers my small contribution, please spare my family. I thank Your Majesty for your grace!"

Before the emperor could speak, several more people knelt down. Li Wenqing loudly proclaimed, "Your Majesty, his family must not be spared! Since ancient times, the crime of treason has required the extermination of nine generations of relatives. Although Jing Zhiyuan did not have nine generations of relatives, his family cannot be forgiven! That would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains. We must eradicate the root of the problem to demonstrate the strictness of the laws of Beiye!"

Jingxue clenched her fists tightly. You old third wheel, you just wait!

Hu Yucheng also said, "What Jing Zhiyuan did is intolerable under the law! If Jing Zhiyuan and his family are not punished, we will kneel here forever!"

The emperor looked at the two groups of people kneeling below and said, "Fuhai! Draft the decree as I just said, carry out the execution in three days, and announce it to the world!"

Li Wenqing and the others shouted loudly, "Your Majesty is wise!"

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review saw the Emperor stand up and was about to announce, "Court adjourned!"

Jingxue knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please wait a moment, I have something to say!"

The emperor glared at her, then sat down again. "Does Princess Consort Zhan have anything else to say?"

Jingxue took out the pardon from her bosom and held it high. "Your Majesty, this is the pardon you bestowed upon me. You said it could be used three times. I would like to ask, do you still keep your word?"

"Of course it counts, a monarch's word is law!" the emperor said with a stern face.

"Then may I use this gold medal to save the lives of my father, mother, and younger brother?"

The emperor remained silent, but the ministers began to discuss among themselves.

"Since when did Bei Ye have a get-out-of-jail-free card? Really?"

"What makes her so special that she has a get-out-of-jail-free card? And she can use it three times?"

……

The Emperor looked at the ministers below who were discussing amongst themselves, and coughed lightly. "Princess Consort Zhan once saved the Empress from a difficult childbirth with her superb medical skills, and the First Prince was also saved at the same time. Therefore, I bestow upon her a gold medal that grants her immunity from death. The gold medal was only recently made, and I haven't had a chance to announce it in court yet!"

"I have decided that from now on, any official or commoner who has made great contributions will be granted a pardon from death as a sign of imperial grace!"

The Emperor continued, "Princess Consort Zhan, if you use the immunity token to save your family of three, then I will take it back. Have you thought it through?"

Jingxue: Wasn't this all a trap you set? You better not beg me next time!

"Your Majesty, I have made up my mind!"

After Jingxue finished speaking, she presented the pardon to the eunuch, and Eunuch Fu stepped forward to take the brocade box.

The emperor raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ye Muchen, thinking to himself, "It's all for you! I guess this girl won't easily share any good ideas she has in the future."

"In that case, Jing Zhiyuan may be spared the death penalty, but he will not escape punishment. Imprison Jing Zhiyuan's entire family in the Lengyan Palace within the Imperial City. He may bring four servants with him, but all other household slaves shall be sold off, and the proceeds shall go into the national treasury," the emperor said.

The old ministers all knew that Lengyan Palace was located in the southeast corner of the palace. It was built many years ago for a hostage from the Dongyu Kingdom. Later, the hostage committed suicide in Lengyan Palace, and the palace has been left idle ever since.

Jingxue: Alas! The imperial family is the most ruthless! This saying is absolutely true.

Jingxue had no choice but to kneel down again. "Your Majesty, my mother is pregnant and unable to take care of my young brother. May I take him back to my residence to raise him?"

Ye Muchen also knelt down. "Your Majesty, please grant her request, considering that Princess Zhan once offered her the salt-making method!"

Emperor: Didn't I already reward her with two thousand taels of silver for the salt-making recipe? Why are you bringing it up again?

"Granted!" With that, the emperor turned and left with Fuhai.

After Jingxue expressed her gratitude, she stood up and was about to say a few words to Jing Zhiyuan when a constable came and took her away!

At this moment, Mavru Sihai, who was kneeling on the ground, said, "My lord, what should this servant do?"

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review sat back down in his chair. "Witness Lu Sihai has rendered meritorious service in reporting this matter. His status as a slave shall be removed, and he shall be rewarded with fifty taels of silver!"

"Thank you, Your Excellency!" Lu Sihai kowtowed and followed the yamen runner to complete the formalities.

"Court adjourned!" the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review shouted, slamming his gavel.

As people began to leave one after another, Li Wenqing was extremely frustrated. He reached for the silver note, intending to tear it up, but found nothing in his pocket!

That Princess Consort of War is a real vixen! I must get my hands on her and punish her severely!

Jingxue thought of Xiaoman and Lixia's families and said to Ye Muchen, "Do you know where my servants are kept?"

"I will take you to fetch your brother first, and then I will inquire about the whereabouts of the servants."

Jingxue nodded, and Ye Musi whispered to her, "Third Sister-in-law, you have 75 servants in your household. How do you plan to arrange them?"

"If they're willing to come with me, I'll buy them all!"

"Then you and Third Brother go pick up your younger brother. I'll go ask about the servants for you. We'll meet at the gate!"

"Thank you, Fourth Prince!" Jingxue nodded.

"You're too kind, Third Sister-in-law!"

Ye Muchen and Jingxue arrived at the back of the prison and saw Jingze standing at the door with a yamen runner, his dirty little face still wet with tears.

Seeing Ye Muchen and the other person approaching, Jingze ran over and hugged Jingxue's leg, crying again, "Elder sister, they took Mother away, and Father and Mother are imprisoned. Will I never see them again?"