Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Everyone started arguing with me~
Chengming Hall was actually the imperial study, where Mu Congmo handled memorials every day.
What came towards him was an imperial desk piled with official documents that needed to be processed by Mu Congmo. Behind the desk was still a luxurious dragon throne, and behind the dragon throne was an exquisite screen separating the inner room prepared for the emperor to rest. Mu Congmo did not like others to appear in his private territory, so no outsiders had entered until now.
The screen is embroidered with a thousand miles of rivers and mountains. The majestic ink-colored mountains and rivers are vividly displayed on this small screen, thereby demonstrating the emperor's identity as the master of the mountains and rivers and his supreme authority. This screen has been passed down since the founding of Daliang.
Below the imperial desk were several black sandalwood chairs. If you looked closely, you would find that they were carved with extremely delicate patterns. These chairs were prepared for the emperor to give seats to his ministers.
When the ministers entered the hall under the guidance of Eunuch Hu Xian, this was the scene they saw. Mu Congmo was sitting on the upper seat in a bright yellow dragon robe. Due to the rule of not looking directly at the emperor's face, no one could see the expression on his face. They could only feel the low pressure in the hall.
Mu Congmo's mind had already drifted to Jizhou at this time. He just wanted to deal with Prince Huai and Duke Han as soon as possible, hoping that these people could understand his expression and act accordingly. Otherwise, there would be nothing wrong with replacing someone in this official position.
"Your Majesty, we are honored to see you. Long live the emperor." Everyone knelt down to pay their respects to Mu Congmo, but Mu Congmo did not come to his senses at this time and left them alone for a cup of tea.
By the time Mu Congmo discovered the person coming into the hall, the people kneeling on the ground were already covered in cold sweat. The aura around Mu Congmo was too cold. Everyone's thoughts were in turmoil, and they were unsure of the emperor's thoughts. They were a little nervous for a while.
"My dear ministers, please stand up. Hu Xian, please allow the gentlemen to sit down." It was not until Mu Congmo spoke up and exempted everyone from the formalities that the stones in the hearts of the few people fell. They were afraid that their own problems would cause dissatisfaction to the emperor.
Under the guidance of Hu Xian, everyone took their seats one by one. In Daliang, the right was the most honorable seat. Because Fan Zizhuo had worked hard and made great contributions, he sat at the front seat on the right side below Mu Congmo. Even Prince Cheng, a member of the royal family, had to show him courtesy.
On the right side, according to their distance from the imperial desk, are: Prime Minister Fan Zizhuo, Censor Han Xiujing, and Supreme Court Minister Shi Chengji.
On the left are: Prince Cheng of the Zongzheng clan and Minister of Justice Pang Fa.
Han Xiujin, in charge of the Imperial Censorate and renowned among the people for his virtue, and his advanced age, naturally outranked Pang Fa. The Supreme Court Justice, however, held the lowest rank among the officials, and as a martial artist, he didn't care about such trivial matters.
After everyone was seated, Prime Minister Fan Zizhuo spoke first. He was the oldest and highest-ranking person among them, so it was reasonable for him to speak first.
"Your Majesty suddenly fainted during the morning court today. We, your humble servants, were extremely worried. We were concerned about your Majesty's health, but we were also afraid of disturbing your recuperation. Now that your Majesty has just woken up, you have summoned us to discuss matters. This is truly a great blessing for the country. But we hope your Majesty will put your health first and not overwork yourself." Fan Zizhuo first expressed his concern for Mu Congmo's health, then praised the emperor's diligence as a great blessing for the country, and finally advised Mu Congmo to take care of himself.
If such words were spoken to ordinary people, there would be no mistake. But to Mu Congmo now, it sounded very noisy.
"As a monarch, all affairs of the world depend on me. If I want to be free from the work, the only thing I can do is to abdicate and let others take my place. I wonder which prince the Prime Minister has his eyes on? Or do all the gentlemen present here have the same idea?" Mu Congmo chuckled and spoke, not realizing how much shock his words had brought to everyone.
No one dared to continue sitting on their chairs. The moment Mu Cong finished speaking, everyone knelt on the ground and shouted, "We dare not."
Although there was nothing wrong with what Fan Zizhuo said, if Mu Congmo looked into it in detail, he would find that it was disrespectful to the emperor and even a sign of rebellion.
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably. Fan Zizhuo had originally wanted to continue reminding Mu Congmo about taking a concubine, but now, even if he had a thousand courage, he dared not speak again. The current emperor's mind was truly difficult to guess. If the daughter of an ordinary minister rashly entered the palace, one wrong step would drag the entire family into hell.
Among them, Prince Cheng's body was shaking the most violently. He was the only one present who was a member of the royal family and the uncle of the current emperor, so he was naturally qualified to succeed the throne. Even if he had no such intentions, if the emperor was suspicious and would rather kill someone by mistake than let him go, then he would have no chance of survival.
The late emperor was cruel and ruthless, and extremely suspicious. He witnessed his brothers and sisters perished one after another at the hands of the late emperor. In the end, he was the only one left. If not for this, he, a man without any talent and whose mother's family was not outstanding, would not have been able to take the position of Zongzheng. Perhaps it was because of this that he was able to survive the late emperor's hands.
Mu Congmo didn't have the patience to continue playing the game of harmony between the monarch and his subjects. "Get up, everyone. I don't blame you."
Even though Mu Congmo said this, everyone was still terrified and didn't dare to relax. They didn't dare to disobey Mu Congmo, so they stood up as he said and continued to sit down.
After this incident, no one dared to speak casually anymore. Didn’t they see that even the carefully crafted words of a thoughtful person like the Prime Minister could cause the emperor’s displeasure?
The atmosphere in the hall was utterly silent, reaching a freezing point. Mu Congmo lost his patience and spoke, breaking the strange atmosphere. "Prince Huai colluded with the Demon Lord and wantonly murdered the people in Jiangnan. The Demon Lord was defeated by the Moon Lord, who arrived from Yunliang Qianchi, and taken back. Prince Huai realized his plan had been exposed, so he rebelled. Duke Hanguo Zheng Xiuyuan secretly colluded with him and conspired with him to do this."
Mu Congmo's words were like thunder, shattering the tranquil atmosphere. Although everyone had anticipated that this incident would be more serious, they had not expected it to involve two venerable individuals, a prince and a duke. Even though they had been mentally prepared, they were still quite frightened.
"Prince Huai has also secretly increased taxes in the Jiangnan area to raise his own soldiers. Duke Han of Korea sent people to open the city gates last night, preparing to cooperate with Prince Huai to seek the throne." Mu Congmo continued, not caring about the expressions and psychological endurance of the crowd.
Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to do, so they all turned their eyes to Fan Zizhuo, signaling him to speak. However, Fan Zizhuo had learned from his mistakes and tried his best to reduce his presence after the experience, so naturally he would not speak at this time.
Mu Congmo looked at everyone present with a cold gaze, his tone filled with sarcasm: "You gentlemen usually argue endlessly over trivial matters in the court, but why are you all silent today? Hmm? Could it be that you all favor Prince Huai and think he is more suitable to sit on the throne than I am?"
Seeing Mu Congmo being accused of such a blaming act, the crowd could no longer remain silent. Han Xiujin, the Imperial Censor, stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that even if the Prince of Huai is truly guilty of treason, he should be convicted by a joint trial of the three courts. Even if Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, empty words are useless. You must provide evidence, otherwise you will not be able to convince the public."
The others saw Han Xiujing being so stubborn and felt a little gloating, but at the same time they also admired his courage.
Mu Congmo was not surprised by this. He knew very well that Han Xiujing was a stubborn and old-fashioned person. Moreover, he had asked the Shadow Dragon Guards to secretly collect evidence in order to eliminate Prince Huai and Duke Han in one fell swoop.
"The rebel army of Prince Huai was intercepted by the eldest grandson of Duke Wei, Shen Ze, who captured Prince Huai. General Shen is waiting outside the palace gate now. You may as well meet him." Mu Congmo had already taken control of the overall situation, and there was absolutely no room for error in this matter.
"As for the crimes committed by the Prince of Huai in Jiangnan, the Shadow Dragon Guards will collect and organize the evidence." Mu Congmo continued, but he was not speaking to the people present. "Come here, bring the evidence up for everyone to see. By the way, bring General Shen and Miss Man up here."
With the sudden appearance of the Shadow Dragon Guard, a yellowed account book suddenly appeared in Hu Xian's hand. It was the one that Man Ziling had secretly hidden.
Hu Xian handed the account book to everyone for circulation. The account book recorded in detail how the King of Huai secretly accepted bribes and increased taxes in Jiangnan.
After everyone had finished watching, anger appeared on everyone's face, some of it was genuine, some was false.
At this moment, the eunuch who had received Mu Congmo's order came in and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, General Shen and Miss Man are here."
"Xuan." Mu Congmo was very frugal with words.
As Mu Congmo finished speaking, a man and a woman came in under the guidance of the eunuchs, and knelt down together to pay their respects to Mu Congmo. Mu Congmo waved his hand and exempted the two from the formalities.
"Ms. Man, please tell me how you told me about the injustice of your family today, in front of all of you." Mu Congmo spoke briefly and directly stated the purpose of summoning Man Ziling.
Man Ziling thought that her father's injustice had finally been redressed one day, so she suppressed her excitement and recounted what had happened that year.
"According to what you said, the account book we just checked was written by your father?" Pang Fa, the Minister of Justice, asked after hearing this.
"In reply to your question, sir, this account book was indeed written by my father." Man Ziling replied.
Then, the young Minister of Justice showed a trace of regret on his face and sighed, "If this man were still alive, Daliang would have another pillar of talent."
Meanwhile, Han Xiujin stared intently at Shen Ze, who was standing beside him in silver armor. His expression was extremely serious, and he said solemnly, "General Shen has just arrived in the capital, and may not be aware of the rules. Generals must remove their swords and armor before appearing before His Majesty. Wearing armor before His Majesty is a crime."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone around looked at Han Xiujin, their eyes filled with confusion. Shen Ze had indeed performed a meritorious service in saving the Emperor, and His Majesty would surely reward him generously for the sake of General Shen, Duke of Wei. In time, he would become a rising star in the capital. It was unwise to offend him at this critical juncture.
But Han Xiujin seemed not to notice the strange looks on everyone's faces, and continued, "General Shen, do you have a personal edict or imperial decree from His Majesty for sending troops? If not, then sending troops without permission is the second crime."
If someone secretly raised their eyes at this moment, they would be able to see the gloomy face of the emperor on the dragon throne.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
