The next day, Shangguan Yi, Wang Fusheng and others were escorted to the court for interrogation. Under the auspices of Xu Jingzong, the interrogation went smoothly. Shangguan Yi saw that all his former colleagues looked arrogant and arrogant, and he felt even more regretful.
, it is precisely because of this that he did not confess anything during the court hearing, thinking that he would not be convicted of any crime just based on such a trial.
Unexpectedly, the subsequent result surprised him, because when the sentence was announced, Xu Jingzong actually announced that the reason why he wrote the edict to abolish the empress was not because of the holy order, but to participate in a rebel gang and deliberately provoke the emperor to depose the empress.
.
When this rebel gang was pulled out, even he was surprised, because the participants in this gang included Shangguan Yi, the eunuch Wang Fusheng and others, and the mastermind turned out to be the deposed prince Li Zhong!
"Just because we served King Liang, we say that we are treason against him. Hey, when King Liang was the crown prince, you Xu Jingzong also flattered you a lot. So, can you be considered a rebel?
As the saying goes, if you want to impose a crime, why bother? I, Shangguan Yi, will die when I die, so to be slandered by a villain like this is really intolerable."
But having reached this point, what can Shangguan Yi do even if he can't bear it? He has no chance to defend himself to the emperor, not to mention that the power is in the hands of Empress Wu. Even if he stood in front of the emperor, it would have no effect.
What if we are given a chance to plead our case now?
And it is even more unrealistic to expect colleagues to help redress grievances. Several prime ministers in the government, including Sikong Li Ji, have always remained neutral. Although left prime minister Liu Xiangdao and right prime minister Dou Dexuan are upright, it has only been one day since the abolition incident to the sentencing.
Given the time, these two people might not have time to plead with the emperor, so what if they plead? Will the emperor offend Empress Wu who has just reconciled with him because of them? And the rest of the people are all Xu Jingzong's remnants, these people are not
It is already rare to add insult to injury, and it is even more impossible to plead for him.
Therefore, Shangguan Yi now has no hope of survival. He also understands this very well. In fact, he has nothing to fear about death. The only thing he feels sad is that because of his stubbornness, he has brought harm to the entire family.
Disaster came, because it was written in the verdict: Shangguan Yi was convicted of rebellion, all the men in the family were executed, and the female family members were removed from the Yeting Palace and became slaves.
"My son tried hard to persuade me at first, but I didn't listen. I brought this disaster on myself. I pity my son in his prime, but he has to accompany me to death. I pity my infant granddaughter Wan'er even more.
, I became a slave just because of my stubbornness. Alas, in the next life, I, Shangguan Yi, will definitely just be a free scholar and will never get involved in government affairs."
In the death row, Shangguan Yi's eyes were dull and his hair was disheveled. He had long lost his original high spirits, and what was on his face was only endless regret.
After a long while, Shangguan Yi turned his attention to his son Shangguan Tingzhi, who was in the same cell, and said slowly: "Zhi'er, if my father had listened to your advice, this disaster would not have happened. Do you have any doubts in your heart?"
Blame me?"
But I saw Shangguan Tingzhi kowtow and say: "What my father did was all for the sake of the world, and it was all done by a man. It's too late for my son to admire me, so how dare I have any resentment?"
"But being a father has affected you, causing you unreasonable disasters. You have accompanied your father to death for no reason. Your wife and daughter have all disappeared from the Yeting Palace and become slaves. Poor Wan'er is still in her infancy, and she is like a pack of wolves there.
Surrounded by the ordinary Yeting Palace, I wonder how her mother and daughter can survive?"
"This is also the fate of his mother and daughter. How can he blame his father...ah?" Before Shangguan Tingzhi could finish his sentence, he suddenly made a frightened voice.
"Zhi'er, what happened?"
Although father and son were face to face, it was really dark in the prison, and Shangguan Yi was too old to see what happened. He only heard the cry from his son. He taught his son very strictly, and his son was always calm and composed.
It was precisely because of this that his son's sudden cry made him even more worried.
Shangguan Tingzhi could only hear a helpless smile and said: "Father, I didn't expect that my child doesn't have to wait until tomorrow. It's better to be haunted by evil spirits now, so as not to suffer the pain of that knife in the execution ground and leave the body incomplete."
"Huh? What do you mean? Encountered an evil ghost? Hey, I never thought that we, gentlemen, who have cultivated a great and upright spirit, would encounter an evil ghost. I don't know if the sky has no eyes, or what we have done is contrary to heaven and morality?" Shangguan?
Hearing this, Yi even smiled bitterly and sighed loudly.
But at this moment, I suddenly heard a low voice: "None of the above, there is no other reason. Traitors and sycophants are running rampant in the court. When the emperor is weak, the chickens will wake up in the morning, the demons will dance in disorder, the good will be wronged, and the world will be filled with resentment."
, our Tang Dynasty is destined to face a disaster."
"You, who are you? Could it be that you were born as a star and came to the mortal world, and you want to make some disciples?" Upon hearing this, Shangguan Yi suddenly felt that his grievances had finally found a place to vent, and he quickly knelt down on the ground and cried sadly.
: "Please ask the Immortal to be kind-hearted and save the dog and his family. Shangguan Yi is under the nine springs, and he also has five inner thoughts."
At this moment, Shangguan Tingzhi suddenly heard hesitantly ask: "I heard this voice, Mo, could it be that the King of Zhou is coming?"
Shangguan Yi was startled when he heard this, and then angrily said: "Nonsense, what is the identity of King Zhou? He is also the son of Empress Wu, how could he come to this death row? Even if he came, he would go through the main gate of the prison. How could you come from underground?
Are you crazy? Why don't you apologize to the immortal immediately?"
But he heard the voice say again: "Mr. Shangguan, what your son said is true. Xiao Wang is Li Xian. The reason why we can see you two this time is to ask an expert to dig a tunnel and sneak into the prison secretly.
The time is urgent to rescue the two of you from prison. I don’t have time to go into details. Please leave with Xiao Wang as soon as possible.”
The person who came tonight was none other than Li Xian. The excavation of the tunnel camp for Shangguan Yi and his son was naturally his plan. In fact, a few years ago, Li Xian had used excuses to visit all the prisons in the capital and silently remembered it.
Knowing the location of those prisons, and relying on Li Xian's tomb robbing skills in his previous life, as long as he remembered the location of the prisons, he could dig tunnels quickly and accurately to rescue the people in the prisons.
Of course, there is another main reason why Li Xian was able to get here in time, and that is to use his connections to find out where Shangguan Yi and his son were detained. Otherwise, no matter how good Li Xian is in digging tunnels, he would probably not be able to find Shangguan Yi and his son.
It would take a whole night's work, and given Empress Wu's determination to get rid of the father and son quickly, it would be difficult for Li Xian to find the father and son before they were executed.
What's more, there are many prisoners in the prison. If a prisoner is disturbed by this, not only the father and son cannot be saved, but also Li Xian himself may be in trouble.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for rescuing me. My father and my son were able to escape this time only because of Your Majesty's strength. From now on, I will just work like a cow or a horse, and it will be difficult to repay Your Majesty's kindness. Father, I'll leave as soon as possible. Don't disturb me."
Jailer." When Shangguan Tingzhi saw that Li Xian actually rescued him in this situation, he was naturally very grateful and quickly took Shangguan Yi's hand and prepared to leave here.
However, he saw that Shangguan Yi did not move at all, and just asked: "Your Majesty, I have a question to ask, and I hope that your Majesty will tell you the truth. I wonder if the rescue of your Majesty this time is based on the wishes of the Holy One, or on your own initiative?"
"To be honest, this is Xiao Wang's own decision." Although it was in the dark, Li Xian's eyes were already used to seeing things at night. Seeing the seriousness on Shangguan Yi's face, he knew that he could not hide it from him.
, I had no choice but to tell the truth.
But Shangguan Yi's face, which was full of hope, suddenly turned gloomy, and he said with a wry smile: "Xiaguan already knew that this matter was definitely not the work of His Majesty. Haha, His Majesty's fear of that person has already penetrated into his bones. Yesterday's incident
The good opportunity has been wasted, let alone today? Your Majesty, Shangguan Yi would rather die in an honorable manner than live an ignoble existence. If Your Majesty shows mercy, please take my son out with you. From now on, my son will remain anonymous and will no longer be involved in worldly affairs.
Marrying a wife and having children will also extend the lineage of my Shangguan family, and next to that, I will be extremely grateful to you."
At this time, Shangguan Tingzhi was shocked by his father's words. He quickly shed tears and said: "What did my father say? Now that life is ahead of me, how can I give it up? My father is an important minister in the court and is famous all over the world. What's more, although the Holy One is cowardly,
I am also a nostalgic person, thinking that as long as my father escapes from prison, it is difficult to predict whether the Holy Father will regret it in the future and will be reused again. By then, my father will definitely be able to display his ambitions again, so why bother making unnecessary sacrifices?"
But Shangguan Yi slowly shook his head and said: "I am already sixty years old. Even if I escape, how many more years will I have to live? What's more, I have lived an upright life. How can I be such a person who lives an illegal life? What's more, I am in prison.
If my son escapes, although Empress Wu will be angry, she will not search everywhere. Once my father escapes, this person will definitely order a thorough investigation. At that time, the King of Zhou will be the one for him, and he may not be able to care about it. If my father is implicated,
My benefactor, King Zhou, how can you feel at ease as a father? My son, there is no need to persuade you. You are young now. In the future, you will remain anonymous, marry a wife and have children, and let your son study hard. You may not have the opportunity to get ahead. If Empress Wu is no longer in power, you can
To vindicate my father."
"But father..."
"No need to say any more, I have made up my mind." Seeing his son trying to persuade him again, Shangguan Yi quickly lowered his face and shouted: "If you don't listen to me, you are unfilial. Whether the Shangguan family can be revived depends on you two.
To shoulder this important responsibility is to endure humiliation and survive. Do you understand me?"
"No, I promise. If the child is unfilial, the father will cherish it. Please rest assured, father, the child will definitely complete the important task of reviving my Shangguan family." Shangguan Tingzhi burst into tears, but seeing that his father was very determined, he had no choice but to give up.
After agreeing, he kowtowed to Shangguan Yi again, and then found the tunnel entrance under the guidance of Li Xian, and then turned around and left step by step.