Chapter 69: Disobedience

After the Queen stopped acting up, the palace banquet proceeded as planned.

When Emperor Yongping saw that they had almost finished eating, he wanted to take Chu Qinshu with him and leave first. The court officials would feel more relaxed after he left.

"Ah~ Che~"

Just as he was about to stand up, a deafening sneeze was heard from the table.

Such a situation is a disrespect to the present.

The people who sneezed wanted to get away with it, but they were sitting in a very conspicuous place and could not get away with it at all.

"My grandson was rude, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

The ones who stepped out and knelt were Duke Xuan and his eldest grandson Luo Yongsen.

"Ah~che~~, ah~che~~, ah~che~~"

Luo Yongsen wanted to follow his grandfather in apologizing, but he sneezed several times as soon as he opened his mouth.

The tables near them were so frightened that they quickly reached out and protected their own tables with their wide sleeves.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I didn't do it on purpose. Please allow me to take my grandson away first."

Duke Xuan was so frightened that his legs went limp. He had no skills to begin with, let alone handle such a big scene. He just wanted to escape and not continue to embarrass himself in front of everyone.

"Is it a joke to lose your manners in front of you?"

When the Minister of Rites Ma Xiuli saw Emperor Yongping glance at him, he immediately stood up and stepped forward to solve the problem.

Today's palace banquet was originally under the charge of the Ministry of Rites, and if something went wrong, he, as the head of the ministry, could not shirk his responsibility.

Regarding the misconduct in front of the enemy, the punishment can be heavy or light, but there are rules to follow, so it is not a big deal.

"Master Ma, my grandson didn't do it on purpose. Can you please let him go?"

Duke Xuan didn't see the look that Emperor Yongping gave Matthew Li, and thought he was deliberately making things difficult for him.

However, there was nothing wrong with the Ministry of Rites handling this matter, and he had no better solution for the time being except to plead for mercy.

Although Emperor Yongping was not a petty person, the fact that he was being disrespectful was related to the reputation of the royal family.

And the sneeze just now was so loud that it scared his lucky granddaughter.

When the little body trembled, his heart trembled with it.

"Duke Xuan, according to etiquette and law, how can I let your grandson go?"

As a minister, Ma Xiuli should punish Luo Yongsen according to the rules in front of Emperor Yongping and all the court officials.

Sheng Anguo's crime of indecent behavior could be punishable by flogging at the very least or death at the most serious.

Of course, if one does not want to be punished, he can also be stripped of his title or demoted to a lower position.

"This......"

Duke Xuan was speechless and looked at the Queen for help.

If the matter was handled impartially, he knew that his eldest grandson would be severely punished.

But his daughter is the queen and the aunt of his eldest grandson, so she will not ignore him.

"Your Majesty, you see, this was not done intentionally by Sen'er. He may have caught a cold and couldn't help it. Why don't you let him go this time?"

The Empress lived up to Duke Xuan's trust and really pleaded with Emperor Yongping for mercy.

But she spoke so softly that only a few people could hear her.

"Even if he had caught a cold, who allowed him to enter the palace?"

When Emperor Yongping heard that Luo Yongsen had caught a cold, he hurriedly covered Chu Qinshu's face with a swaddling cloth.

Colds can be transmitted from person to person. Once you are infected, it will take more than 357 days to recover and you will also suffer.

He couldn't let his dear granddaughter suffer that.

"Lord Ma, the Queen said that the young master of Duke Xuan's mansion has caught a cold. Why don't you take him away quickly to deal with him? Do you want all the children who come to the banquet today to catch a cold?"

As soon as Emperor Yongping reprimanded Ma Xiuli, Duke Xuan and Luo Yongsen, who were kneeling on the ground, trembled in fear.

Even Matthew Li couldn't help but frown.

The Ministry of Rites organized a full-moon banquet in an effort to win the favor of the Eastern Palace, but they didn't expect that the Duke Xuan's Mansion would do something like this.

How can you go out to a banquet if you have a cold? He was really pissed off.

The same goes for the Queen. If she can't say anything nice, then don't say anything. It will only cause more trouble.

"Yes, I will have them taken away for punishment."

As Matthew Li spoke, he signaled the eunuch to come over and take the people away.

Unexpectedly, Luo Yongsen spoke.

"Your Majesty, Uncle Sen'er didn't catch a cold. Sen'er just went to play on the ice with the Eighteenth Prince and Cousin Xuan for a while and got frozen."

Luo Yongsen couldn't remember what kind of punishment he would receive for his misconduct, but he knew he couldn't be dragged out.

His image as the top boss in Beijing cannot be ruined like this.

Besides, with so many people going to the lake to skate, why was he the only one to be punished?

If there is to be punishment, it should be that everyone is punished together.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I will take him with Master Ma to be punished."

When Duke Xuan heard him call Emperor Yongping "Uncle the Emperor" in public, he felt overwhelmed.

It's fine to call someone this in private, but you must never call them this in public.

If I had known this would happen, I would have taken him away and whipped him sooner.

Why does he feel that the more he pleads for mercy, the more serious his crime becomes?

Matthew Li glanced at Emperor Yongping and saw that his face was as dark as ink, so he didn't dare to let anyone go forward to drag Luo Yongsen.

"You went on the ice? Which ice rink did you go on?"

Emperor Yongping looked at Luo Yongsen and asked.

His granddaughter was one month old and he didn't want anyone to get killed.

He ordered the imperial guards to guard every part of the palace early on, especially places where there were safety risks for children, and he dispatched more personnel.

Unexpectedly, these kids still took advantage of the opportunity.

"To answer your uncle's question, it's at the Bi Bo Lake in Yu Garden. The ice on the lake is thick, perfect for skating."

When Luo Yongsen heard Emperor Yongping asking him a question, he thought that the emperor was concerned about him, so he replied happily.

"Did you lead the way? Or did the Eighteenth Prince lead the way? Or was it someone else who led the way?"

Emperor Yongping asked again, this time with a slight smile on his face.

He suspected that this was a conspiracy by the Queen, whose purpose was to cause a death so that people would say that his granddaughter was unlucky.

"To answer your Majesty...it was Wang Zixuan who said it snowed a few days ago and the ice was thick, so we followed him."

Luo Yongsen lied fluently, but when Duke Xuan quietly pulled his collar, he did not dare to call Emperor Yongping "Uncle Emperor".

"You are such a young boy, you are talking nonsense. How can my great-grandson be such a naughty person?"

The speaker was Wang Zhenyue, the former general of Wuwei. He was sixty-five years old this year and had been stationed in the northern border town for nearly thirty years.

He has been back in Beijing for seven years and out of office for three years, but the power of 200,000 troops is still in the hands of his son, the current General of Wuwei.

When Emperor Yongping was young, he went to the army for training and served under him. The two of them were old buddies with a deep relationship.

"General Wang, please don't be anxious. Since you mentioned the young master, let's hear what he has to say."

Seeing that he was still so easily angered despite his age, Emperor Yongping hurriedly tried to comfort him.

"Don't be afraid, Xuan'er. Just tell the truth."

Wang Zhenyue nodded to Emperor Yongping, then looked at his great-grandson Wang Zixuan who was kneeling beside him, signaling him not to be afraid.

"Your Majesty, I, Prince Xuan, pay my respects to you. Long live the emperor."

Wang Zixuan walked into the hall neither humbly nor arrogantly, knelt down to perform a great ceremony, and then greeted.

After Emperor Yongping told him to stand up, he stood up and told the whole story of the Yu Garden from beginning to end.

"Eighteen, is what the young master of the Wuwei General's Mansion said true?"

After listening to what Wang Zixuan said, Emperor Yongping looked at Luo Yongsen's trembling little body and he knew what was going on.

But he did not confirm with Luo Yongsen, but looked at Chu Chengzhao with a smile.