This censor is too old to take a beating

Chapter 56: This Censor is Too Old to Take a Beating

Chu Huaibei felt that there was no need to bring too many people. If the emperor really wanted to attack her in Fengjing, it would be useless even if he brought all his personal soldiers back. Two thousand people could not withstand the imperial guards camp of tens of thousands of people.

Unless the emperor went insane, she would definitely be able to return to the north safely.

Except for resting at the post station at night, I spent the whole day on horseback. It seems that being an angel is not easy...

Ten days later, they arrived at the post station outside Fengjing. The silent angel specifically instructed Chu Huaibei: "Your Majesty, you will go to the palace to see the emperor tomorrow morning. You should rest well tonight."

"Thank you, angel, for your advice." Chu Huaibei understood. This person was asking her to dress appropriately tonight, wash and change, and wear court clothes to meet the emperor tomorrow morning.

She scrubbed and washed herself clean, but looking at the murky water in the bucket, she felt that she was indeed not very clean. Special circumstances often occurred in the North, and it was normal to not be able to bathe for several days. She was used to it and did not find it uncomfortable. Only in the palace could she bathe as she pleased.

The angel left a message, saying that the city gates would open at 3:00 AM tomorrow and they could enter the city.

No wonder she reminded herself to rest early. She was indeed up early, having people get up at five in the morning. Chu Huaibei told her guards to pay attention to the time of getting up tomorrow. Also, while they were waiting outside the palace gate, they should not respond to any provocations from anyone and wait until she came out of the palace to deal with it.

"I obey your orders!" The personal guards also had a bad impression of the imperial court, and felt that coming to Fengjing was like being in a dangerous place.

The next day, Chu Huaibei woke up on time at the hour of Yin, washed and dressed, and went downstairs to meet Angel. Fortunately, Angel had a conscience and let him have breakfast before setting off.

The post station was not far from the city gate, so to show respect to the emperor, they didn't gallop their horses, but let them trot slowly into the city. When they arrived at the city gate, it was still a quarter before the hour of Mao, and the entire team stood quietly outside the city gate, waiting.

Chu Huaibei saw that many people were already queuing outside the city gate. Some were pushing carts, some were carrying two baskets on their shoulders, and some were pulling large baskets. They were all fruits, vegetables, chickens, ducks and eggs produced from their own fields, waiting to go to the West Market to sell them in exchange for some silver.

She also saw many snack stalls pushing special carts carrying pots and pans. She didn't know what they sold. When she had time, she would definitely take a good look around Fengjing. This was the ancient emperor's capital and the most prosperous place in a dynasty.

“Dong...Dong...Dong...Dong...”

With three deep, powerful drum beats, the city gate slowly opened. When the gate was only wide enough for one person, the gate captain shouted, "Line up and pay your fee to enter the city. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be treated as a thief."

When the gates were fully opened, the angel took out the token and pointed it directly at the gate captain's face. The gate captain was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and shouted, "Welcome the angel into the city!"

Then he got up and made way, allowing Chu Huaibei and his group to enter the city first. Not until the last horse stepped into the city gate did the city gate captain regain his former spirit and spirit and began to shout at the people.

The emperor forbade galloping horses, so everyone followed the angel, controlling their horses to a slow trot. People were already walking on the street, some carrying empty baskets to buy groceries, others pushing carts to sell breakfast. The aroma was so strange it made Chu Huaibei hungry. The angel had only allowed them to eat dry biscuits that morning...

They arrived at the Meridian Gate at about 2:15 AM. The angel took Chu Huaibei in through the east gate. The personal guards watched the prince enter the palace and waited outside the east gate.

After entering the door, they walked and left the horse outside. Chu Huaibei followed the angel all the way without any obstruction. Although the angel was not tall, he walked quite fast. Chu Huaibei needed to walk fast to keep up with him.

In his previous life, this speed would have been comparable to race walking. He sighed again: not everyone could do the work of serving in the palace, let alone do it well.

The angel led the King of Zhenbei to the entrance of Hongwu Hall. After everyone in the hall had quieted down, he led Chu Huaibei into the hall. He knelt in the middle of the path left by the ministers and reported, "Your Majesty, King Chu Huaibei of Zhenbei has been summoned to an audience."

"Your Majesty, I, Chu Huaibei, pay my respects to you. May Your Majesty live long and healthy." Chu Huaibei knelt on one knee and saluted the emperor.

"My dear, please don't be polite. It's a long journey and I'm sorry for the hard work."

The emperor's voice was calm and gentle. It was the first time he heard it, and it sounded similar to the tone of a good man in his previous life. It sounded strangely pleasant, Chu Huaibei commented inwardly.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your consideration." Chu Huaibei stood up and looked up at the emperor openly.

Well, he is probably in his forties, and his face and voice match. Although he is not handsome, he is quite attractive and has a gentle and elegant look.

Today, Chu Huaibei wore a court robe with four-clawed pythons, and tied up her hair with a crown. She was 1.78 meters tall, which was not considered short in a court full of men. The python crown made the top of her head stand out higher than others, which made her look more imposing.

Years of martial arts training made her stand with an upright posture. In addition, she had just finished a war and the murderous aura in her body had not yet completely subsided, making Chu Huaibei look like a sword drawn from its sheath.

While the emperor was observing her, the standing ministers were also observing the Prince of Zhenbei. Compared with her father, the old Prince of Zhenbei, the young man was much sharper.

Chu Huaibei remained calm under the scrutiny of dozens of eyes. If they wanted to look, they could look. It wouldn't hurt him to look.

"Your Majesty, I have a petition to impeach the Northern Zhenwang, Chu Huaibei!"

The censor Su Jian stepped out, bowed, and then spoke loudly.

As soon as the censor finished speaking, everyone immediately withdrew their gaze from Chu Huaibei, their eyes watching their noses, their noses watching their hearts, and their ears perked up to listen to Su Yushi's attack. This Su Yushi was notoriously difficult to deal with, and today he was the one who spoke first.

The emperor looked at the ministers in the hall, each of whom was preoccupied with his own thoughts. He was in no hurry to speak, but continued to look at the Prince of Zhenbei for a while. Seeing that he was calm and composed, and still had the mind to stare at Su Yushi up and down, young people are always more impatient.

"What did Censor Su report? The Prince of Zhenbei just won a victory for Daxia and is a pillar of the country. Does Censor Su have any solid evidence to impeach him?" The emperor spoke slowly, his tone still calm.

When Su Jian saw that the emperor finally responded, he straightened his back and looked straight ahead.

"I didn't witness what I'm reporting, but rather heard it from someone I heard! There have been many rumors lately that the Prince of Zhenbei privately forged weapons, relying on them to repel the Mongolian army! Privately forging weapons is a serious crime of treason! This cannot be tolerated lightly!"

Chu Huaibei walked to the side of Su Yushi with one hand behind his back. Su Yushi looked old and had wrinkles all over his face, but his voice was full of energy. This group of people was quite interesting. They actually found such an old man. It made it difficult for her to use her iron fist. If he punched her, she would be half dead. She had no interest in killing people.

"Censor Su, can the crime of treason be determined based solely on rumors? I have granted you the power to monitor all officials, so you must be cautious when reporting rumors. This is a matter of great importance. Without solid evidence, how can you casually damage the reputation of a minister?"

The emperor did not expect that Censor Su would directly pin the crime of treason on the Prince of Zhenbei, and his tone was a little fluctuating.

"Isn't it Su Yushi? I'm asking you, do you have any concrete evidence? Even a little bit will do."

Chu Huaibei walked around Prosecutor Su and asked questions with a relaxed look.

"I don't have any solid evidence yet, but as long as Your Majesty orders a search, we will definitely find something." Prosecutor Su looked certain.

"Alright, go ahead and search. If you can't find anything, I'll report you for slandering an official appointed by the imperial court. You're almost ready to retire and yet you've already lost your integrity. If you're stripped of your official robes, I wonder if you still have the nerve to live on."

"As the Censor-in-Chief, I am not afraid of threats!"

Chu Huaibei saw that he looked so righteous that he might even throw his head against the pillar and die in court. He wondered who had spread the false news to the old man.

"Your Majesty, I have not made swords, nor bows and arrows, nor armor, nor anything related to horses. I have already brought the magical weapons that Censor Su mentioned, and they are waiting outside the east gate."

Chu Huaibei didn't want to argue with the old man anymore, so he asked them to send someone who could handle a beating next time so that she could beat up the court officials in public.

"Okay, bring it in." The emperor signaled Eunuch Quan to bring the things in.

On his return to Beijing, Tianshi asked how to transport the weapons without delaying the journey. Chu Huaibei thought about it and personally disassembled the three weapons into pieces, each carrying a portion on his horse. He left the main frame of the kerosene throwing vehicle untouched, as it was too large and difficult to carry. He only took the throwing part and a can of kerosene. He had the Ministry of Works make the main frame; it was a very simple thing.

Soon, Eunuch Quan and several young eunuchs pushed three carts and stopped outside the Hongwu Palace.

"Your Majesty, everything is here." After saying this, Eunuch Quan stepped back and stood beside the emperor with his head bowed.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to restore the weapons." Chu Huaibei touched the tools in her arms, and she knew that this must be the case.

"I agree."

The emperor looked at the pile of things and found it difficult to associate them with what he had seen on the drawings before.

The court officials' eyes followed Chu Huaibei's movements, and then they saw that the cabinet ministers and the six ministers all turned to the door, with their butts facing the emperor. Others also became bolder and turned around. They also wanted to see what this magic weapon looked like.

Chu Huaibei walked quickly to the side of the cart, took out the tools from his arms, picked up the iron pieces and began to assemble them. Everyone saw King Zhenbei's hands flying up and down at an extremely fast speed. In just two cups of tea, he had assembled two weapons. They recognized one of them as an enlarged version of a bow and arrow, and they couldn't tell what the other one was.

After the installation was completed, Chu Huaibei put the tools back into his arms and went into the palace to report: "Your Majesty, I have already installed the other one. I suggest that the Ministry of Works make the main frame now. The main frame is too large, so I didn't bring it with me for fear of wasting time."

"Yes, I was inconsiderate. My dear minister, you are absolutely right. Follow me to the martial arts arena."

The emperor couldn't wait to see how powerful the weapon was.

"Your Highness obeys your command."

The emperor led the way, followed by the three ministers. Chu Huaibei followed behind them, looking at the three elderly men in front of him and then guessing their names. Before coming, her mother had given her a list of officials who could attend court and asked her to memorize it.

The list only had names and brief descriptions, but no portraits, which made it difficult for Chu Huaibei to match the names with the characters. She suggested that they should just draw a stick figure of each person and stick it on the list, which would be much more convenient.

However, with the current freehand painting style, the people in the paintings all look the same, making it difficult to tell them apart. It's a pity she can't sketch, otherwise she could develop new painting techniques. The first to benefit would probably be the detectives. The more similar the suspects are, the easier it is to find them. Unlike today's abstract paintings, they are difficult to recognize even if they are casually disguised.