Chapter 27: Hypocritical Imperial Court

Just after Song Huaixi finished the second plate of dessert, the emperor appeared at the palace banquet with Concubine Xiao.

All the ministers quickly stood up and knelt down to pay their respects.

Song Huaixi also put down the cake in his hand and knelt down to salute.

"My dear ministers, please stand up. Today is New Year's Eve. I am celebrating with you all."

The emperor's voice came from the throne on the high platform.

Following the emperor's order, a group of singing girls immediately rushed into the hall. The eunuchs also lined up in two rows and served food to the ministers one by one.

Concubine Xiao sat next to the emperor, looking at Zhao Fangye and then at the prince.

A hint of a smile of success flashed across her beautiful eyes.

She raised her delicate hand and poured wine for the emperor, saying softly, "Your Majesty. Speaking of which, this is the first time that Prince Ning has attended the New Year's Eve palace banquet. Fortunately, I reminded Your Majesty, otherwise Prince Ning would have had a boring New Year's Eve."

The emperor glanced at Zhao Fangye who was sitting in the audience and sneered, "My beloved concubine is kind-hearted and doesn't mind Prince Ning's offense, but my beloved concubine's kindness may not be appreciated by others."

"Your Majesty, please don't say that. I am half the elder of Prince Ning. The last time I entered the palace, I must have offended His Royal Highness Prince Ning because of my inappropriate behavior. I have always regretted it and was afraid that I would never have the chance to make amends. Fortunately, Your Majesty agreed to my proposal, and I am relieved."

There was a sense of guilt in Concubine Xiao's words, but she deliberately mentioned the last time Zhao Fangye broke into Zhiluo Palace and beat a palace maid to death with a stick.

Thinking of this incident, the emperor became even more displeased with Zhao Fangye's insolence. If anyone dares to break into Zhiluo Palace, I will beat all the palace maids to death.

Are you going to lead your troops to the Qianqing Palace next time?

Thinking of this, the emperor slammed the wine glass in his hand heavily on the table.

Zhao Fangye holds the military power in the northwest, which has always been a major concern for him.

Seeing that he was angry, Concubine Xiao hurriedly apologized, her voice delicate and full of fear.

"Your Majesty, what happened? It's all my fault for saying something irrelevant on New Year's Eve, which made Your Majesty angry."

Turning his head to look at her charming and worried face, the emperor calmed down a little: "My beloved concubine, please get up. How could I be angry with you?"

The ministers below are all shrewd people, so they are naturally speculating about what is happening above.

There was singing and dancing in the palace, and the ministers were toasting each other.

Receiving Concubine Xiao's gaze, the prince suddenly stood up, walked to the center of the hall and knelt down, and the singing girls around him retreated one after another.

The lively atmosphere came to an abrupt end.

The ministers also stopped toasting and stared at the figure of the prince in the center of the hall with bated breath.

The emperor frowned, his face gloomy, his narrow eyes flashing with cold light, staring closely at Zhao Jingshuo who was kneeling in the hall, his voice low and majestic: "What do you mean, Prince?"

"Suo'er, what are you going to do?"

Looking at Zhao Jingshuo in the center of the hall, Concubine Xiao covered her mouth with her delicate hands and pretended to be surprised, "Today is the New Year's Eve palace banquet. It's not too late to talk about anything later."

"Father, Mother, today is the New Year's Eve palace banquet. I shouldn't disturb everyone's interest. But the situation is urgent and I have to speak."

Song Huaixi raised his head from the crowd of delicious food and looked at Zhao Jingshuo in the center.

He still remembered him in Qimenglou that day. He was a bad guy!

Pointing at him, he turned around and asked Zhao Fangye, "What is that bad guy doing? Is he going to dance too?"

All the singers in the hall disappeared, leaving only Zhao Jingshuo kneeling in the center. Song Huaixi didn't understand what he was saying and looked confused.

Listening to his question, Zhao Fangye couldn't help laughing: "Huai Xi is right, he is just a clown."

"Ah? What's ugly? Is he really ugly?"

Song Huaixi didn't understand even more.

Touching his earlobe, Zhao Fangye picked up a piece of Ruyi Yunsu for him and said, "Don't pay attention to him. Don't you like pasta? The chef is the only good one in the palace. Try it."

"Okay!" Song Huaixi stuffed the Yunsu into his mouth and chewed it slowly, squinting his eyes comfortably.

It’s so delicious. Zhao Fangye still remembers that he loves pasta.

In the hall, Zhao Jingshuo made an impassioned speech: "Father, today is New Year's Eve. We are enjoying fine wine and delicious food, but the people in the northwest thousands of miles away are suffering."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the ministers began to discuss. Why are you talking about the Northwest out of nowhere?

"The northwest is the fief of King Ning..."

"Yeah, what does this have to do with the prince..."

The emperor's expression became visibly serious, and he looked solemnly at the crown prince below: "What do you mean by this, crown prince?"

Seeing that the time was ripe, the prince took out a stack of letters from his arms and spoke excitedly to the emperor and the court officials.

"Father, Prince Ning Zhao Fangye has established a separatist regime in the northwest. He has raised soldiers and recruited troops. A prince actually has tens of thousands of soldiers. Where does this put the emperor's majesty?"

"What's even more heartbreaking is that King Ning imposed taxes on the people in order to support these soldiers. The people are living in misery."

After that, he handed the letter to the eunuch in charge beside the emperor: "This is the statement of the local people. Please read it. I hope you will take back the military power of Prince Ning, severely punish Prince Ning and give justice to the local people!"

The emperor took it and glanced at it quickly. Each piece of paper showed the sufferings of the people.

But the emperor didn't care how the people lived, he was even somewhat happy about it.

Gao Xing finally had an excuse to take back the military power from Zhao Fangye. If he had not been needed to lead troops to resist foreign enemies, he would not have allowed Zhao Fangye to command his own troops.

Even if he was called back to the capital, he still felt uneasy.

He can only feel at ease if he holds the military power firmly in his hands.

Throwing the letter in his hand to the ground, the emperor angrily slammed the table and said, "Prince Ning! Do you have anything else to refute?"

The ministers were also surprised by his behavior and looked at Zhao Fangye.

Leaning back in his chair, he faced the emperor's questioning. Zhao Fangye was not afraid at all, and there was sarcasm in his eyes.

The entire imperial court is so hypocritical.

Zhao Jingshuo couldn't stand his careless and arrogant look, so he stepped forward and angrily shouted, "How dare you! Your father is asking you a question! You are defying the majesty of heaven. Are you planning a rebellion?"

When such a big hat was put on, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense.

Song Huaixi was frightened by this scene, and his hands shook so much that the pastry fell to the ground without even caring.

Holding Zhao Fangye's hand tightly, the nanny was right, there really was someone who wanted to bully Zhao Fangye.

Under the table, Zhao Fangye gently patted his hand and smiled to comfort him.

Zhao Fangye stood up, walked past Zhao Jingshuo, and looked straight at the emperor.

His tone was indifferent: "So what if it is? So what if it is not? Your Majesty just wants to find an excuse to take away the military power, right?"

The emperor, whose thoughts were exposed, became furious.

He suddenly picked up the wine glass on the table and threw it at him, shouting, "How dare you!"

All the ministers knelt down hurriedly: "Your Majesty, please calm down..."

The wine glass shattered at his feet. Zhao Fangye stroked his clothes that were wet with wine and looked at the emperor with a calm face.

At this time, several old officials of the prince's party also began to speak out: "Prince Ning is so arrogant and rebellious, please ask Your Majesty to take back Prince Ning's military power immediately."

"I second the proposal! Prince Ning has his own army and I'm afraid it will be detrimental to the country..."

"Prince Ning is arrogant and rebellious. He has a large army and ignores the suffering of the people. Is he planning to rebel?"

Several ministers spoke one after another, and put one hat after another on Zhao Fangye's head.

I was afraid that he could still turn over.

Seeing this scene, the Crown Prince and Concubine Xiao's eyes were filled with joy, and they looked confident of victory. Without the military power, he wanted to see what ability Zhao Fangye had to compete with him.

If I can eliminate the biggest worry in his father's mind, he will only trust me more.

The prime minister looked at Zhao Fangye standing in the hall with a normal expression. Drinking the wine slowly.

Seeing him so leisurely, the ministers of the Prime Minister's faction also calmed down.

However, Minister Song, who was sitting farther away, was a little anxious. If the prince is in trouble, Huai Xi will definitely have a hard time.

Besides, he felt that King Ning would not do something like enslaving the people.

Although he held the position of Shangshu, he had no real power. Therefore, there is no standing in line. Even though he seemed to be taking sides at this moment, he still stood up and walked firmly to the hall and knelt down.

"Your Majesty, Prince Ning recovered the northwest and resisted foreign enemies. He is a key minister of our dynasty. Even if he made mistakes, it may be out of helplessness. It is not appropriate to jump to conclusions based on a few letters of unknown origin."