"The cause of the fire can be found."

Song Yanjun shook his head. He was in a hurry to put out the fire and did not bother to investigate.

Emperor Cheng De's thin lips pursed into a straight line, revealing boundless coldness.

At this time, Zuo Shiwen, Minister of the Ministry of Justice, grabbed a man by the collar and walked over from behind the crowd. Ru Bing's face was full of solemnity. It is no wonder that others gave him the title of the Iron-faced King of Hell.

"I am here to see you, Your Majesty."

Zuo Shiwen walked up to Emperor Cheng De, roughly threw the person in his hand to the ground, and bowed his hands.

"Zuo Aiqing, no courtesy." Emperor Cheng De said, and then his eyes fell suspiciously on the man on the ground: "Is this?"

Zuo Shiwen said expressionlessly: "Back to the emperor, I just investigated the cause of the fire and saw this man sneaking away, so he immediately caught him. Although he spoke harshly, I could only rely on a few words to

The analysis revealed that it was this person who was drinking in the school.

After being drunk, he accidentally knocked over the candle, and the fire burned the tables and chairs with the strong alcohol and spread all the way. He woke up halfway and found the fire and escaped, but a pillar fell down and crushed his leg.

When he tried his best to escape, the fire was already out of control."

After saying that, he glared at the Minister of Dali Temple angrily, his eyes full of disgust.

As the Minister of Dali Temple, it is his duty to investigate the cause of the fire, but this guy didn't care at all and his ability was too poor.

Emperor Cheng De's gaze was sharp, and it fell on the man like a sharp dagger. His whole body was filled with the coercion of an emperor, which was breathtaking: "Raise your head."

The man was so frightened that his legs were already in severe pain from being pressed by the pillar, but at this moment, he clearly felt that compared to being stared at by the emperor, the pain in his legs could be ignored.

The man slowly raised his head, revealing a dark face.

Emperor Cheng De frowned, who knew this dark person?

"Who are you?"

"Wei...wei minister Xiao Muheng." Xiao Muheng was lying on the ground, his body trembling with fear. Emperor Cheng De's eyes were like an invisible big hand, strangling his throat tightly, making him fear that he was on the verge of death.

.

Someone in the crowd started whispering.

Emperor Cheng De looked at Xiao Muheng with cold eyes: "Are you on duty tonight?"

Xiao Muheng replied with a trembling voice: "Yes... I am a lower official."

Bang——

As soon as he finished speaking, Emperor Cheng De raised his leg and kicked him: "You bastard, you are the Imperial College's Imperial College, and you dare to drink here."

The Imperial Academy offered wine and wanted to plead for Xiao Muheng. This was the son-in-law of Prime Minister Liu and the Imperial Academy where Prime Minister Liu arranged for him to go. However, when he met the cold eyes of Emperor Cheng De, he could not say anything.

Forget it, forget it, protecting yourself is the most important thing.

Xiao Muheng drank and set the Imperial College on fire. There was no way he could take this lightly. There was no need to put his own future on the line for him.

Emperor Chengde glared at Xiao Muheng with an angry face, and said sternly: "You neglected your duties and burned down the Imperial College. Someone comes, pull him out and chop him up."

Xiao Muheng was shocked when he heard this: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I know I was wrong. Please spare my life. Please spare my life."

He kowtowed and begged for mercy in panic.

Emperor Chengde snorted coldly and waved his hand behind him indifferently. Immediately, the imperial guards stepped forward, grabbing Xiao Muheng and dragging him out.

At this time, an official stood up and said: "Your Majesty, it is the Chinese New Year right now and it is not appropriate to kill a living being. Although Mr. Xiao's crime is unforgivable, I would like to ask Your Majesty to allow him to make meritorious deeds."

He is Liu Xiang's man. He doesn't know whether killing Xiao Muheng will cause Liu Xiang to lose his right-hand man. But today, if the emperor wants the emperor to kill Xiao Muheng because of the fire in the Imperial College, it is undoubtedly an invisible slap on Liu Xiang's face.

, let Liu Xiang lose his face in the future?

Emperor Chengde looked at the Minister of Punishment and sneered: "What do you think of your beloved?"

This sneer fell on the ears of the Minister of Justice, causing a chill to rise up in the soles of his feet for no reason, and he shivered violently. He subconsciously wanted to retreat, but he gritted his teeth and held back, and said respectfully: "Big mistake.

Now that it has happened, even if Master Xiao’s head is cut off, the Imperial College will still be destroyed by fire. It is better for the emperor to fine Master Xiao to pay to rebuild the burned school to relieve the emperor’s worries.”

Xiao Muheng quietly cast a grateful glance at the Minister of Justice.

It's just a fine, it's just a drop in the bucket for him. With the Xiao family's background, he can rebuild a new country and build a capital.

Thinking about this, Xiao Muheng hurriedly kowtowed to Emperor Chengde and apologized: "Wei Chen knows that he deserves to die for his crime, but I am willing to rebuild the Imperial College. I beg the emperor to give Wei Chen a chance to change his ways and to have mercy on him."

Emperor Chengde looked at Xiao Muheng condescendingly, his cold eyes filled with ink, showing no emotion.

The air became quiet for a moment, and even the sound of everyone's breathing became heavier in their ears. An invisible pressure fell on everyone, making them dare not breathe.

After a long time, Emperor Cheng De's cold voice rang out: "Qi Aiqing's words are right. The New Year is coming soon. It is a good day with a new year and a new atmosphere. It is really not suitable to kill people and see blood. However, Xiao Muheng can be spared the crime of death and cannot escape the crime of living. According to my decree, he will be removed from office.

He will be deprived of his official position and demoted to a white body. He will not be allowed to be employed for life. He will be responsible for eighty years and fined ten million taels of silver to rebuild the Imperial College."

hiss--

Some people in the crowd couldn't help but gasp.

Ten million taels...

We can build two Imperial Colleges.

No matter how rich the Xiao family is, they can't withstand such trouble.

The Minister of Punishment's face suddenly stiffened, and he hesitated to speak. Emperor Chengde did not give him a chance to speak and said: "If Qi Aiqing is reluctant to give him money, I have no objection to you taking the responsibility for him."

"The humble minister dare not, but the emperor is wise."

The Minister of Justice quickly raised his hands and agreed.

Just kidding, being able to intercede for Xiao Muheng when the emperor was so angry was already the most benevolent and righteous thing to do. Was he crazy before he opened his mouth to bear the punishment for Xiao Muheng?

Anyway, Xiao Muheng's life was saved by him, and he also had an explanation for Liu Xiang himself.

As for whether Xiao Muheng would rather be beheaded or spend ten million taels to appease the Holy Wrath, it has nothing to do with him.

"Huh." Emperor Cheng De snorted lightly and glanced at everyone: "What about you, do you feel dissatisfied?"

Everyone hurriedly bowed their heads and said, "Your Majesty is wise, and I admire you all."

Can you object?

It's not the people from the Liu Party who don't care about Xiao Muheng's life or death. Anyway, he is not related to them and dares to drink in the Imperial College. He is looking for someone to blame for his death.

As for the Liu Party members, no one dared to speak again after learning from the mistakes made by the Minister of Punishment.

No matter how fearful they were of Prime Minister Liu's majesty, they would never be able to drain their wealth for Xiao Muheng.

The emperor has made it clear that he will severely punish Xiao Muheng, and if he speaks out against it, not only will he not be able to change his mind, but he will most likely put his own future on the line. From now on, the emperor will definitely remember you as a person and will definitely give you a small gift.

Shoes to wear to death.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I know I am wrong and I am willing to be beaten and punished. Please don't let me go. Please be merciful and spare me." When Xiao Muheng heard Emperor Chengde's punishment, his mind went blank and his face was blank.

All the blood faded, and he suddenly came back to his senses, begging for mercy in a panic.

The emperor demoted his official position and took away his fame. From then on, he could no longer serve as an official in the court, and he could no longer carry out his grand plans. After working hard for so many years, he had nothing.

And the ten million taels will make him bankrupt.

Without his official position, his fame, and his family property, he was undoubtedly a loser to Prime Minister Liu. Without his glory and wealth, he could no longer be an extremely human minister. Xiao Muheng felt like his head was buzzing and he was on the verge of collapse.

.

Emperor Chengde was unmoved by his grief: "If you don't want to, then take him out and chop him down."

Now that I know how to beg for mercy, I will be done with it long ago.

When you drink in the Imperial Academy, are you thinking of straw?

"Your Majesty, you don't want it..." Xiao Muheng regretted it and cried in fear: "I accept my punishment, I accept my punishment."

Emperor Cheng De said to the Imperial Guards with a cold face: "Pull him out and beat him at the gate of the Imperial College. Give the Xiao family three days to raise 10 million taels, otherwise I don't mind ransacking his house."

Boom!

In the end, Xiao Muheng couldn't stand the stimulation anymore. In addition, he was too much affected by the thick smoke and the injury on his leg could not be diagnosed and treated in time. His eyes went black and he fainted.

The deputy commander of the Royal Forest Army was stunned for a moment: "Your Majesty, this..."

People are already dizzy, do we still need to fight?

Emperor Cheng De glared at him: "If you faint, give me a beating."

"yes."

The deputy commander received the order and hurriedly directed his men to carry the person to the gate of the Imperial College.

The imperial guards were more cruel than the young eunuchs in their torture. Even a man would lose half his life after eighty strokes.

On the way, Xiao Muheng woke up from the pain, wailed a few times, and then fainted from the pain.

Led by Emperor Chengde, accompanied by several officials, countless fire-fighting soldiers and government officials, they stood at the gate of the Imperial College and watched Xiao Muheng being executed.

After the fight, Emperor Cheng De glanced at everyone one by one with warning eyes, and said in a deep voice: "This time I will be gentle and give you a chance. Each of you has tightened your skin for me. Who will do it next time?"

If you dare to burn down any place, you won't be fined, just wait for your head to be moved, and you should weigh it carefully to see how many heads you have that I can chop off."

Everyone raised their hands and responded: "I will obey the emperor's teachings and must be strict with myself."

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－

Time is running out and I don’t have time to code 1,000 more words. I’ll code more tomorrow.
Chapter completed!