Fei Yanzhang turned his head away, looking toward the empty doors of the Imperial Study.
The heavy thuds of the bastinado continued to echo in his ears. He turned back to look at his good friend lying prone on the long bench.
Their eyes met. Ye Liangyu was shaking his head, while Fei Yanzhang clenched his jaw, his eyes full of defiance.
As he pondered, the defiance vanished, melting into a resolute pool that surged up within him.
He shouted loudly toward the room, Prince Qi is the Emperor's son, but the people of Dongzhao are the Emperor's subjects! Prince Qi used potatoes, which concern the very survival and prosperity of our people and the state, to make a deal with Shuobei. This is tantamount to disregarding the lives of countless citizens and the fate of Dongzhao itself. I implore Your Majesty to weigh which is more important and make a swift decision!
It was like a sudden clap of thunder that left everyone paralyzed with shock.
Dongfang Shaoting instinctively covered Fei Yanzhang's mouth, trying to stop him from saying anything more suicidal.
It was a threat, a naked threat.
Fei Yanzhang's words were effectively forcing the Emperor to choose between Prince Qi and the people of the world.
To shield the former would mean the Emperor cared nothing for the countless subjects of Dongzhao, that the people of the world could not compare to his own son.
Would he still be fit to be the Emperor then?
But if he chose not to protect him, according to imperial law, the crime Prince Qi committed was punishable by death.
Once the common people learned the truth, even if he were spared execution, he would have to be severely punished. At the very least, he would be stripped of his royal status and reduced to a commoner to preserve the imperial dignity.
No matter how he chose, it boded ill for the Emperor.
Bang!
A massive crash suddenly erupted from within the Imperial Study, causing the very ground to tremble.
Eunuch Zhao returned to the Imperial Study in a panic, only to find that the imperial desk, which had previously sat before Xiao Chengjing, was now toppled glaringly at the bottom of the steps. Memorials and documents were scattered all over the floor.
Looking up, he saw a face flushed red with absolute, hair-raising fury.
He had never seen the Emperor so angry. Even years ago, when Prince Qi and Prince Ying had stirred up factional struggles in the court and threatened the imperial power, he had never been like this.
Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, Fei Yanzhang, has offended the imperial majesty. Punish him with fifty strokes of the cane!
Xiao Chengjing gritted his teeth, driven utterly mad with rage.
He was the Emperor, the Son of Heaven. Anyone who dared to oppose him had to die.
With weak legs, Zhao Yande stumbled out of the Imperial Study to announce the decree.
Hearing the sentence of fifty strokes, everyone was stunned.
It was well known that both Ye Liangyu and Fei Yanzhang were civil officials. While thirty strokes might leave a man with his life, fifty strokes would undoubtedly kill him.
How was this any different from outright executing Fei Yanzhang?
As the thirtieth stroke fell, Ye Liangyu, who was barely clinging to his last breath, heard that Fei Yanzhang had been sentenced to fifty strokes. He spat out a mouthful of blood and instantly fainted.
Teacher! Song Qiming's eyes nearly split open in anguish as he rushed over and fell to his knees.
Seeing that Ye Liangyu had lost consciousness, he hurriedly pulled a medicine bottle from his robes, opened it, and stuffed a black life-saving pill into Ye Liangyu's mouth.
Seeing the lower half of his teacher's body covered in blood, Song Qiming was on the verge of tears.
He had rushed to the palace the moment he heard the news, but he was still a step too late.
How could the Emperor be so cruel? Wasn't his teacher the one he valued most?
The guilty went unpunished, while those who offered loyal counsel were beaten.
A tyrant. He was simply a tyrant.
Just as Song Qiming hoisted Ye Liangyu onto his back, Fei Yanzhang was pressed down onto the long bench.
When Song Qiming realized what was happening, he froze completely.
Wasn't beating his teacher enough? Now he was going to beat Lord Fei too? Was Xiao Chengjing planning to kill them all?
With two third-rank officials severely punished in succession, the others no longer dared to make a sound.
How many strokes? a wavering voice drifted from Song Qiming's lips.
Fan Guanshan pressed his chapped lips into a thin line. Fifty strokes. Twenty more than Ye Liangyu.
Song Qiming turned his neck stiffly, his pupils trembling uncontrollably.
The beating began. As the wooden plank slammed down onto Fei Yanzhang's body again and again, he seemed to see the making of another Ye Liangyu.
