Dugu Jingyao is reborn as Li Chu's beloved

Chapter 429: Relief of All Positions

Although Dugu Jingyao did not attend the execution in person, she was deeply worried about any unexpected incidents. To this end, she secretly sent Si Jian to the scene to closely monitor the progress of the incident.

After the beheading was complete, Si Jian hurried back to the Prince of Guangping's mansion and reported everything he had seen and heard to Dugu Jingyao. He described with eloquent and vivid detail how An Lushan had arrogantly and relentlessly shouted before his execution, his imperious demeanor as if he had completely disregarded his impending death. As the executioner raised his blade and struck, blood splattered everywhere, a scene so horrifying and bloody it was truly gruesome.

Li Ruo and Liu Jingyue, sitting nearby, felt their emotions oscillate like a rollercoaster as Si Jian recounted his story. Initially, they managed to maintain composure, but as the story progressed, their faces grew paler, their heartbeats racing. Finally, upon hearing the moment An Lushan's head and body were severed, their reaction mirrored that of everyone else present: an involuntary gasp.

Liu Jingyue sighed with lingering fear, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. I'm so glad I didn't go to see it in person! If I had, I'd probably be haunted by nightmares all night long."

Li Ruo nodded in agreement. Although she had seen many people being caned or whipped before, often leaving their skin torn and bloody, she couldn't help but shudder at the thought of someone's head being torn off, and an indescribable fear welled up in her heart.

Dugu Jingyao was relieved after confirming that nothing untoward had happened. Looking at the frightened expressions of Li Ruo and Liu Jingyue, she said, "Alright, alright, Si Jian, please stop talking. It would be bad if Ruo'er and Yue'er were frightened!"

Si Jian then shut up and said, "Yes, Princess."

In order to divert the attention of Li Ruo and Liu Jingyue, Dugu Jingyao suggested that everyone play the game of pitching pots together, and the maids quickly set up the pitching pot equipment.

Li Ruo was the first to pick up the arrow feather. Her eyes were still a little frightened, but she tried to concentrate and throw it into the pot, but unfortunately it was a little off.

Seeing this, Liu Jingyue patted Li Ruo's shoulder to comfort her, then tried throwing herself and unexpectedly hit one. Everyone cheered softly.

Dugu Jingyao also joined in with a smile. She was very skilled and hit several shots in a row, which gradually livened up the atmosphere.

Li Ruo was encouraged and adjusted her state to throw again. This time she successfully hit the target and finally a smile appeared on her face. The atmosphere became lively.

An Lushan and his men were beheaded, and their clans were exterminated. The matter came to an end, and the prince and Li Chu began to prepare to deal with the Yang family.

The next day, the Crown Prince and Li Chu were ready to start with Yang Guozhong. However, Yang Guozhong was deeply trusted by the Emperor, so dealing with him was not easy.

So during the morning court session, Li Chu wrote down all the information he had collected before and handed it to the emperor.

Sure enough, although the emperor was very fond of Yang Guozhong, he was very disappointed after seeing all the charges. He even wondered if he was really old and foolish. The people he trusted were all those who were greedy for power and money?

Yes, after all, no matter how old he is, he is still the emperor. As long as he is in power, he will not allow others to challenge his authority.

The emperor slammed the memorial shut, his face gloomy enough to drip water, and called out in a deep voice, "Yang Guozhong!"

Yang Guozhong didn't know what kind of memorial Li Chu had handed to the emperor, but seeing the emperor's expression, he felt something was wrong. However, he couldn't refuse, nor could he show his worry on his face. He could only step out calmly and say, "I wonder what your majesty wants me to do?"

The emperor no longer treated Yang Guozhong with such kind words as usual, but today was different. He said sternly, "Kneel down!" and then threw the memorial in his hand directly at Yang Guozhong. Yang Guozhong felt a little pain, but he dared not say anything. He could only kneel down and pick up the memorial.

He read the contents of the memorial, and the emperor asked, "I trust you so much, yet you do such a dirty and filthy thing! Are you worthy of my trust?"

The more Yang Guozhong looked at it, the more panicked he became. Other things were fine, after all, how many powerful officials in the past dynasties were completely free of greed? Furthermore, he believed that although the emperor was old, he was still very sharp and perceptive. He must know some of what he had done, otherwise he would not dare to do it again.

The subsequent content went beyond the emperor's bottom line. For example, he used the teahouse he opened to collect intelligence, resell imperial tea through the teahouse, and secretly cultivate confidants...

Yang Guozhong's forehead was covered with cold sweat, and he kowtowed in defense, "Your Majesty, this is a false accusation. Someone must have deliberately murdered me!"

The prince snorted coldly and said, "Hmph, false accusation? You deny it completely." Then he exchanged a glance with Li Chu.

Li Chu understood and bowed to the leader, saying, "Your Majesty, the crimes listed above are not groundless. I have evidence."

Upon hearing this, the court fell silent. The officials were all waiting for the emperor's instructions. After all, one or two of the emperor's trusted people had betrayed him. No one knew what the emperor would do this time, whether he would confiscate their property and exterminate their clans like he did with Shi Siming and An Lushan.

Although the emperor knew that Yang Guozhong had gained a lot of benefits through his trust and Yang Yuhuan's favor, he could turn a blind eye as long as he did not form a clique for personal gain and engage in burning, killing and looting. However, who knew that these people were all ungrateful and could not be tamed. The emperor was extremely heartbroken at this time.

At this time, the prince stood up and said respectfully: "Father, Yang Guozhong formed a clique for personal gain. Not only did he plunder the people's wealth, he also tried to control the government and threaten the foundation of our Tang Dynasty. I hope your majesty will make a wise decision!" After that, he knelt down and kowtowed.

Then Li Chu and his courtiers who were dissatisfied with Yang Guozhong's daily behavior all knelt down and kowtowed in agreement: "Your Majesty, please show us your talents!"

Yang Guozhong did not believe that he had evidence, and glared at Li Chu fiercely: "Your Highness, please do not slander me."

Seeing that he was still arrogant even when his death was imminent, Li Chu rushed forward and said, "Grandpa Emperor, my grandson's evidence is outside the palace. Show it to me and we'll know if it's slander or not!"

The emperor pondered for a moment, knowing that Li Chu would not cause trouble without reason. Thinking of Yang Guozhong's usual arrogance, he had made up his mind. However, he treated Yang Guozhong differently from An Lushan and Shi Siming. After all, he had met a confidant in his old age, so he didn't want to upset Yang Guifei.

He paused for a moment before speaking, "Yang Guozhong, no matter what the truth is, you've exploited my trust and done so many things that go beyond your authority. You've betrayed the trust that I and the Imperial Concubine placed in you. Effective immediately, you are dismissed from all your positions and confined to your residence. I'll make a judgment after further investigation!"

Hearing this, Yang Guozhong collapsed to the ground as if struck by lightning. He was unwilling to accept this, but since the emperor had not yet issued a death order, it meant that the emperor was unwilling to do so and there was still room for maneuver.

After figuring it out, Yang Guozhong straightened his posture, knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Lord!"

However, the Crown Prince and Li Chu understood that this matter could not be accomplished in one go, so they were not in a hurry. At least they wanted him to resign from his position first, which would be the first step in clearing up the court.

The two of them also stopped and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty is wise!" Then the others echoed, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Gao Lishi saw that the emperor seemed unwell, so he said loudly: "My dear ministers, if you have something to report, please stand up. If not, please leave the court!"

No one said anything, so Gao Lishi shouted again, "Dismiss the court!"

The people below said, "Farewell, Your Majesty!"

After the emperor left the hall, the court officials left. When the prince and Li Chu passed by Yang Guozhong, Yang Guozhong said in a rather provocative manner: "Your Highnesses, don't waste your time. Your Majesty will not touch me so easily."

The Crown Prince and Li Chu paused, listening to his confident words with a scornful smile. The Crown Prince said, "Don't worry, His Majesty is only holding you back now. If you continue to trap yourself like this, it will be hard to predict the future."

Yang Guozhong smiled and said, "If that's the case, I'll wait and see."

The Crown Prince and Li Chu ignored him and left the hall. Yang Guozhong did not take it seriously, thinking that they had not completely overthrown him, so they said such words.

He dusted himself off and left the hall.