Chapter 42

A sudden, urgent "thump-thump" sound erupted at the entrance of the Sihe Academy.

"Is this the residence of Lord Su?!"

"Open the door! We know someone is inside!"

Su Qiao walked forward with a look of confusion.

He peered out through the crack in the door.

Embroidered Uniform Guard!

They were all Embroidered Uniform Guard!

There were at least a dozen of them.

They had completely blocked off his front gate!

Has Old Zhu finally realized and decided to kill me?!

Thinking this, Su Qiao couldn't help but feel a surge of joy in his heart.

Su Qiao opened the main gate himself, straightened his black gauze cap with a serious expression, and shouted loudly,

"Indeed, this is the..."

Before Su Qiao could finish, the Embroidered Uniform Guard grabbed Su Qiao entirely and tossed him into the carriage behind.

40, Su Qiao: I want the death penalty, not Indefinite!

The group of Embroidered Uniform Guard paid no heed to Su Qiao, who was tossed about and dazed inside the carriage.

The moment they threw Su Qiao into the carriage,

the Ma Bian in their hands began to whip the horses' rumps fiercely.

The "crack-crack-crack" sounds did not cease.

Carriages in this era had no shock absorbers.

Su Qiao, sitting in the carriage, could clearly feel it.

This carriage never had both wheels touching the ground at the same time!

"Slow down!"

"No, I am in a hurry, but not this much of a hurry!"

Along the way, the Ma Bian in the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard almost whipped up sparks.

A journey that originally took two quarters of an hour was forced to be completed in less than one quarter of an hour.

By the time Su Qiao was dragged out of the carriage,

Su Qiao felt that if it had been any later, he would have been back to drinking tea.

Su Qiao, who had struggled to climb out of the carriage, had not yet come to his senses before he was directly carried into the Qianqing Palace.

And at this moment, in the great hall,

Zhu Yuanzhang was quietly observing Su Qiao, who had been thrown onto the ground.

"Su Qiao, I ask you, did you tell me that Yunwen cannot control the ministers?"

Hearing this, Su Qiao immediately felt joy rise to his eyebrows.

He shouted solemnly and loudly,

"Reporting to Your Majesty, yes!"

Huang Zicheng, hearing this, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang excitedly and said,

"Your Majesty, did you hear that? He admitted it! He, Su Qiao, admitted it!"

"This is the crime of deceiving the monarch, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang glared fiercely at Huang Zicheng.

Only then did Huang Zicheng reluctantly shut his mouth.

Zhu Yuanzhang observed Su Qiao, hesitated for a long time, and then, gritting his teeth, looked at Su Qiao and asked,

"Then I ask you, if a future ruler of our Great Ming were truly to be hollowed out by the court ministers, what should be done?"

The moment these words were spoken,

Huang Zicheng, Watching Qi Tai, Zhu Yunwen, and Su Qiao all froze in place, stunned.

Su Qiao's heart was even more overwhelmed, like ten thousand horses galloping.

Just kill me if you're going to kill me!

Why does Old Zhu have so many questions!

Are you asking a hundred thousand whys?!

Zhu Yuanzhang saw Su Qiao's face freeze.

He immediately slapped the table with a palm.

"I am asking you a question! What is this attitude?!"

The moment Zhu Yuanzhang spoke these words,

Su Qiao's eyes lit up even more.

He simply stood his ground, neck stiff, locked in a standoff with Zhu Yuanzhang.

Even a fool could see that Su Qiao was challenging Zhu Yuanzhang.

Huang Zicheng's eyes were wide as saucers, and he looked at Su Qiao, stammering,

"Su Qiao, you, Your Majesty, this..."

Su Qiao could barely hold back his laughter.

So getting beheaded by Old Zhu is this simple!

If I had known this, I wouldn't have said so much nonsense!

Zhu Yuanzhang's face grew gloomy as he stared fiercely at Su Qiao and asked,

"I am asking you: if a future ruler were hollowed out by court officials, what then?"

Su Qiao kept a stony face, saying not a word.

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression darkened again; he stared fiercely at Su Qiao and said,

"Do you truly think my temper is made of mud?!"

Huang Zicheng and Watching Qi Tai also fell silent at that moment.

Any normal person could see it.

Old Zhu had truly stirred up murderous intent.

Killing intent permeated the entire great hall.

"Bang!"

Zhu Yuanzhang slapped the imperial table before him and roared hoarsely,

"Someone come!"

"Strip Su Qiao of his official robes! Drag him out through Wumen..."

Hearing this,

a glint suddenly appeared in Su Qiao's eyes.

Listen!

What a beautiful sound!

After all my trouble these past days,

I can finally go back.

Just as Su Qiao was reveling in his wonderful future,

Zhu Yuanzhang angrily cursed,

"Demote him to commoner status, never employ him again, and exile him to Yunnan!"

"Yes!"

Two Embroidered Uniform Guards walked in, yanking the black gauze cap right off Su Qiao's head.

Su Qiao was completely numb.

Wait.

Why exile him to Yunnan?!

Jin Ling, though not so great,

was still far better than Yunnan!