newbobooks Chapter 278 Chapter 278 Morning Morning
Chapter 278 Chapter 278 Morning Morning
Chapter 278 Chapter 278 Morning Morning
Even after returning to Shuntian Prefecture, changing into his official robes for the morning court, and sitting in the sedan chair on his way to the palace, Feng Ling was still unable to recover from the shock.
The reappearance of "Drunken Lotus Leaf" is the best way for the Wan Ku Sect to announce their return to the world. Seven years ago, the storm they stirred up almost caused this kingdom to fall. If measures are not taken to suppress them this time, the Wan Ku Sect may be even more difficult to deal with than it was seven years ago.
This case was already incredibly complicated because of the involvement of the Crown Prince, and now with the addition of the Wan Ku Sect, it's likely to become even more perplexing.
Judging from the account books, this case is definitely related to the Crown Prince. That lecherous old man Zhao Chengde is clearly one of the Crown Prince's men. The Crown Prince would never be so foolish as to send someone to poison Zhao Chengde and take the case upon himself. That means there are other forces involved in this case, and this force is very likely the Wan Ku Sect.
But why is Wan Ku Men involved in this case? Is it targeting the Crown Prince? Or do they have ulterior motives?
With the Crown Prince gone, who benefits the most?
Although the Third Prince possessed half of the Tiger Tally, enabling him to mobilize troops in the capital, he was upright and honest, and would never resort to such underhanded tactics. The Fourth Prince's sudden appearance in court yesterday was indeed unexpected, and his purpose in bringing Zheng Yan back to the palace was not entirely pure. However, before obtaining the account books, he was unaware that such a significant secret was hidden in this case, and that he could also be removed from the list of suspects. The Sixth Prince, on the other hand, had never been involved in this case from beginning to end.
Besides, who else?
A name suddenly flashed through Feng Ling's mind, and his gaze sharpened as he slowly sat up straight.
Could it be him?
The sedan chair slowly came to a stop, and a voice called out from outside: "My lord, we have arrived at Feique Gate."
Feng Ling snapped out of his daze, got up, lifted the curtain, stepped out of the sedan chair, carefully straightened his official robes, and then strode quickly toward the palace hall.
As usual, the emperor arrived a little late for the morning court session today, but this was his usual routine, and the officials were used to it. While the emperor was away, they huddled together and whispered among themselves. Although they were not standing too far apart, it was still clear that they were divided into distinct factions.
For a moment, the hall was filled with the sound of hushed conversations, but if you listened carefully, you would find that their topic of conversation was closely related to the great fire that had been set off in the south of the city that night.
"The fire last night was really fierce. I have never seen such a big fire in the capital. With the autumn hunt just around the corner, I wonder if this is a good omen."
"Which house was burned down? Were there any casualties?"
"I heard that the fire last night was put out by the Shuntian Prefecture, the Capital Patrol Guard, and the Xuanjia Army together. After the fire was extinguished, the Shuntian Prefecture dug out a lot of corpses from the fire!"
"Oh dear! This is terrible!"
"you do not say!"
……
Chunyu Yang, Chunyu Jing, and Chunyu Shan stood on either side of the main hall, a short distance apart, listening to the whispers behind them. Each of the three wore a different expression.
Suddenly a smile spread across his face. Chunyu Jing turned to look at Chunyu Yang on the other side and asked:
"Did you sleep well last night, Third Brother?"
Chunyu Yang replied calmly, "It's acceptable."
"Third Brother is indeed very persevering. He spent the whole night putting out the fire and still managed to come to court. I really admire him," Chunyu Jing sighed.
Chunyu Shan waved his paper fan and said with a smile, "Third Brother trains soldiers all year round and never sleeps more than two hours a day. Naturally, he is incomparable to ordinary people like us."
Chunyu Jing sneered inwardly, but his smile remained unchanged on his face:
"Zize, how are you doing with the task your father entrusted to you? Presiding over the autumn hunt is no simple matter. You have rarely been involved in politics these past few years, so it's inevitable that you'll be a bit rusty. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask your fourth brother for guidance."
Chunyu Shan smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Fourth Brother. With the Left Prime Minister's guidance, there haven't been any problems. Fourth Brother, you only need to look forward to this autumn hunt in Xingzhou; it certainly won't disappoint everyone."
Disappointment? Chunyu Jing sneered inwardly. Just wait until then, and you'll know what disappointment truly means.
Having taken in the turbulent undercurrents of various factions in the main hall, Gongsun Zhan, standing below the dragon throne, sighed inwardly and shook his head almost imperceptibly.
Although the people are currently living in peace and the world is at peace, the factions within the court are numerous and the people are not united, which is probably not a good sign. The ancients were right to say that we should be mindful of danger even in times of peace.
A sharp gaze fell upon him, and then Gongsun Zhan heard Shi Zhenghan say:
"Why is the Left Prime Minister shaking his head? Has he encountered some difficulty?"
Gongsun Zhan smiled and replied, "It's nothing. I was just wondering if His Majesty is feeling unwell since he hasn't come yet."
"I heard that your precious granddaughter wanted to break off her engagement with the Ouyang family in front of His Majesty, saying that she wanted to learn medicine to pray for her mother's health. I wonder how your daughter is doing now? Has she recovered?" Shi Zhenghan said with a smile.
"My daughter is much better now, thank you for your concern, Lord Right," Gongsun Zhan said.
"Speaking of which, I really envy the Left Prime Minister," Shi Zhenghan sighed. "Whether it's his daughter or granddaughter, they have both grown up to be so outstanding and are deeply favored by His Majesty. Looking at the entire Great Xia, I'm afraid no one can match such good fortune. If your daughter had entered the palace as a concubine back then, she would surely have shone brightly in the harem and been deeply loved by His Majesty."
What talk of luck and favor? Gongsun Zhan could easily hear the sarcasm in Shi Zhenghan's words. Not wanting to argue with Shi Zhenghan at this moment, he simply smiled and did not reply.
Just then, the chief eunuch Li Decai entered the hall and loudly proclaimed:
"The Emperor has arrived——"
The people in the hall immediately abandoned their relaxed and lazy attitude, returned to their original positions, straightened their faces, and knelt down in unison, lifting their robes and calling out:
"Welcome, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Amidst cheers, the emperor slowly walked to the high throne. After he was seated on the dragon throne, he raised his hand and said:
"Everyone loves you."
A chorus of "Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty!" echoed from inside the hall. Only then did they stand up and stand in a respectful row with their hands at their sides.
Princes were not required to kneel before the emperor during the morning court session. Therefore, Chunyu Yang, Chunyu Jing, and Chunyu Shan stood to greet the emperor. Every time Chunyu Jing stood below the stage and watched the emperor appear amidst cheers and receive the worship of the crowd, he felt his blood boil and his resentment and desires became even more intense.
Just wait, soon he too will be standing on it, receiving the worship of these people!
"Report what we have discussed today. Be concise and to the point, and don't waste your breath on me."
The emperor gently rubbed his temples as he addressed the assembled officials below.
After a moment of silence, everyone began to report to the emperor, starting with the Ministry of Revenue, followed by the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, as well as the Imperial Medical Academy and the Censorate.
The emperor approved what needed to be approved, rejected what needed to be rejected, and for those that were still controversial, he allowed them to submit their memorials first and put them aside for later consideration.
What surprised everyone was that today, no matter which department made a proposal to allocate funds, the emperor did not ask any questions and approved them all.
What's going on? Why is the Emperor being so agreeable today? Could it be that there's some happy occasion in the harem?
Feng Lingben, having heard Gongsun Zhan's suggestion, did not intend to bring up Zhao Chengde's case during the morning court session. However, seeing that the emperor seemed to be in a good mood, he steeled himself, stepped forward, and bowed, saying:
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."