Perhaps fearing that Emperor Chengjing's health wouldn't hold until the New Year, or not wanting to prolong matters, Pei Yao quickly and decisively dealt with King Ming and Empress Li's people by the end of October.
Those who needed to be executed were executed, those who needed imprisonment were imprisoned. The less guilty were demoted or dismissed, and those still useful were reassigned and monitored.
However, the key figures wouldn't die quickly. Their crimes were numerous and would be publicly announced before sentencing.
This time in prison had already left many mentally broken, resembling the walking dead.
Those with weaker minds even committed suicide, while the stronger ones, despite their resentment, had accepted their fate and awaited death quietly.
But some, like King Ming, neither dared to die nor accepted their fate.
Initially, he cursed Pei Yao endlessly. After being beaten by the jailers, he started begging humbly, hoping to meet Pei Yao and escape execution.
Of course, Pei Yao ignored him, and King Ming grew twisted.
Locked in the same cell with Princess Consort Liu and Fang Pei, he vented his frustrations on them.
He beat and scolded them, especially after learning about Fang Cien's identity and actions. He blamed Fang Pei and her family, treating her even worse.
He beat her, denied her food and water.
The prison was damp and dark, with poor food. Such conditions were unbearable.
Fang Pei, already weak from a miscarriage, couldn't handle this sudden change. Witnessing her brother Fang Zhanming's death had broken her emotionally. Now, tortured by King Ming in prison, she finally snapped one night.
Fang Pei grabbed a hairpin, aiming to stab King Ming, but he noticed and retaliated.
In a fit of rage, King Ming nearly turned Fang Pei into a pincushion with the hairpin until the guards, alerted by the noise, intervened.
Why were they alerted this time when they usually ignored King Ming's daily beatings of Fang Pei?
It was because Fang Hongshen, in the cell diagonally opposite, called for help.
Initially angry at Fang Pei's ineffectiveness, Fang Hongshen, who had doted on her for years, couldn't bear seeing her tortured.
He wanted to stop it, but being confined, he was powerless except to shout.
As Fang Pei ceased struggling under King Ming's brutal assault, Fang Hongshen felt his world collapsing.
"Dead," one guard said after checking Fang Pei's pulse.
The other guard frowned, "Wrap her in a mat and throw her out. Report to the superiors. Such a nuisance, disturbing our rest at night."
No one cared about their infighting.
They dragged Fang Pei's body out while Fang Hongshen desperately clung to the cell bars, shouting,
"Please, let me see my daughter one last time, just one look!"
"What for? You'll be joining her soon enough. You can see her all you want then!"
A guard snapped back, dragging the body away.
King Ming, holding the bloody hairpin, wiped the blood from his face and laughed chillingly, like a demon from hell.
Seeing this, Princess Consort Liu was terrified, spending the night cowering in a corner, unable to sleep.
The next day, she grabbed a guard bringing breakfast, claiming to have a secret for Pei Yao and asking for a single cell in exchange.
King Ming was furious, but the guard, hoping for a reward, quickly moved her.
A Ministry of Justice official personally recorded her statement, and a detailed report reached Pei Yao.
This turned out to be a valuable gift.
Princess Consort Liu revealed King Ming's hidden wealth.
Under Empress Li's guidance and with the Li family's help, King Ming embezzled significant wealth while ostensibly building a tomb for Emperor Chengjing's mother, hiding it in her tomb.
This fortune funded his private army.
Additionally, Empress Li's supposed charity for widows—a nunnery—was actually a brothel, her money-making operation.
The women there, publicly seen as devout Buddhists, were secretly trafficked or bought young girls forced into prostitution.
Many officials, King Ming's allies or hopefuls, frequented this nunnery, indulging in debauchery and bribery.
Pei Yao, seeking a broader justification to eliminate King Ming without appearing fratricidal, found the perfect excuse.
Claiming ancestral tomb construction while conducting vile acts under a religious guise, King Ming and Empress Li had sealed their fates.
Pei Yao sent teams to seize the assets from the tomb and nunnery, rescuing many girls.
The news spread quickly, inciting public outrage. People hurled insults, rotten eggs, vegetables, and even filth at King Ming's mansion.
Responding to public sentiment, Pei Yao persuaded Emperor Chengjing to depose Empress Li, who was given poison.
As for King Ming, his fate was sealed. Pei Yao scheduled his execution, along with Liu Minghe and other key offenders, including Fang Hongshen, in three days.
While the news reached the Eastern Palace, Fang Yun was enjoying bird's nest soup on her couch.
"Enough of this death talk; Cefei is eating," Yanwei reminded, nudging Yuanhe.
Yuanhe, wincing, bowed and apologized. "Forgive me, Cefei. I just thought you'd want to know the latest news."
"It's fine," Fang Yun smiled, handing her bowl to Qingrong. "Half my life is tied to the Fang family. It's only fair I send him off properly."
Qingrong, concerned, said, "You're pregnant. It might not be safe to go."
"Even if I wanted to, His Highness wouldn't allow it. You go for me. You grew up with me. Seeing you is like seeing me," Fang Yun said, wiping her hands.
Qingrong nodded solemnly.
After informing the front courtyard, Qingrong arrived at the Ministry of Justice prison before Fang Hongshen's last meal.
"Why are you here?!"
Seeing Qingrong, Fang Hongshen, filled with anger, clung to the cell bars, glaring fiercely.
Qingrong, calm and composed, bowed slightly. "I come on behalf of Cefei to bring you food and wine."
Seeing the food box in her hands, Fang Hongshen's eyes burned with rage.
"What, you won't even let me have a last meal? Doesn't she fear retribution for being so heartless!"
YOU ARE READING
The Beloved Concubine of the Eastern Palace (book 2)
RomanceAuthor: Huatang Xiuge Translator: Me (Xiaobai) 东宫掌娇 Upon entering the Eastern Palace, Fang Yun lived cautiously, burdened by the label of a substitute bride and daughter of a traitor. She knew well that, as a daughter of low birth, she had been cas...
