Kong Ne trembled with fear. Confucius was their ancestor, but the Kong family could not accept living in poverty like their ancestor.

Zhu Yunying looked at Kong Ne with a mocking expression and said, "It seems that you have indeed forgotten Confucius's earnest teachings. With such unworthy descendants, I am ashamed for Confucius!"

That's a really harsh statement. It's practically mocking Confucius and questioning the character of the entire Confucius family!

In the past, some stubborn civil officials might have stood up and demanded that the emperor retract his statement, which would have been an insult to Confucius, something that scholars throughout the land could not tolerate.

However, given the emperor's current rage and Kong Ne's guilty conscience, along with the recent turmoil in the court, many people feel the need to keep a low profile and observe the political climate before making any moves.

Zhu Yunying made the final decision, feeling it was about time. "Issue the imperial decree: Yang Jing of the Ministry of Justice, Bao Zhao of the Court of Judicial Review, and Deng Wenkeng of the Censorate, the three of you will conduct a thorough investigation of this case. Regardless of whether it pertains to the direct lineage or collateral branches of Confucius, any illegal acts will be severely punished!"

Many people realized that this matter was indeed very serious. The heads of the three judicial departments had personally come forward, which was almost second only to the emperor's personal trial. This was definitely not a small case.

Zhu Yunying looked down at Kong Ne and said, "If I were you, I would resign immediately! Such immoral conduct only brings shame to Confucius! With a family like yours, how dare you call yourself the head of all civil officials in the land, how dare you hold the rank of first-grade official!"

Having said this, Zhu Yunying didn't give the other ministers a chance to react and simply turned and left.

This left many civil and military officials somewhat bewildered. In truth, many prominent families have a few dissolute descendants. But what exactly had the Kong family done to provoke such a furious reaction from His Majesty?

Or to put it bluntly, given His Majesty's words, even if Kong Ne desperately wanted to remain an official, he would have no choice but to obediently resign. If he had any backbone, he might as well have simply drunk poison or swallowed gold, at least maintaining a semblance of dignity.

This is not just a matter of losing face; it could very well bring shame upon the entire family. This is no small matter, and it's certainly not something to be complacent about.

Whether it was the Kong family who wronged Kong Ne, or Kong Ne who wronged the Kong family, is now a matter that is somewhat difficult to determine.

The emperor had already stormed out of court in a rage, and now many people were starting to ask questions. As for Kong Ne, although he was the focus of discussion at this point, many people were now avoiding him like the plague.

It is obvious that Kong Ne and his clansmen must have done something that the emperor could not accept, and the emperor's few words were enough to show that there were no morally corrupt people among the Kong clansmen. Kong Ne, as the 'clan leader', was naturally to blame.

Even if many people are the same as Kong Ne in private, they still have to maintain a certain 'grace' on the surface and not appear too greedy, otherwise it will affect their reputation.

Right now, everyone is only concerned with how to handle the title of Duke Yansheng. Perhaps it's really going to be returned to the true direct descendant of Confucius. Or perhaps, His Majesty the Emperor will begin to demote the title of Duke Yansheng.

In a good mood, Zhu Yunying was quite pleased. The matter had indeed been handled quite well, which put him at ease. He had been holding this banner for a long time, and it was time to finally put it to the test.

Seeing that Zhu Yunying was in a good mood, Wang Chengen whispered, "Your Majesty, tomorrow is the Imperial Noble Consort's birthday."

Zhu Yunying nodded and then said, "Go to the storeroom and get a few pearl flowers. We're not good at wooing women, so this is all we can do."

Knowing how to please women isn't because Zhu Yunying is a stereotypical straight man. Rather, it's because someone of his status genuinely doesn't need to consider pleasing or flattering them; he has that kind of confidence.

As for birthdays, Zhu Yunying only remembered the birthdays of his imperial grandfather and grandmother, as well as the birthdays and posthumous anniversaries of his parents.

Speaking of Zhu Yunying's closest relatives, their birthdays are generally in the second half of the year. So, he's relatively 'free' in the first half. As for these dates, Wang Chengen and others are more diligent in remembering them and will remind Zhu Yunying in advance.