Jiuzhu discovered that Prince Qi was looking at her.
She put down her chopsticks, met his gaze, and blinked innocently.
His family's evil deeds and crimes have nothing to do with her, and there's no point in glaring at her.
"Fourth brother..." Prince Chen noticed that Yun Yanze was looking at Jiuzhu, and stood up to mock him.
"Your Highness, there is no need to plead for the Fourth Prince." Ming Jinghai, who had been drinking silently, stood up and interrupted the Prince: "The country has its own laws, and the family has its own rules. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
Emperor Longfeng raised his hand to stop Prince Chen from speaking: "Du Qing, I know you value feelings, but you cannot let your emotions get the better of you today."
Concubine Su Gui gently put her hands on Emperor Longfeng's shoulders and said, "Your Majesty, you know Du Qing's character. He always values family relationships the most. He has been staying in the palace lately, so how could he know what is happening outside?"
Prince Chen shut his mouth and took a step back.
He understood that he had no right to speak tonight and that he was overstepping his authority.
Yun Yanze withdrew his gaze and knelt on the ground, "Father, your son...your son..."
He could not speak a complete sentence and cried mournfully. Even the most hard-hearted person could feel his pain and helplessness. However, what the Zheng family and Lady Zheng had done was truly unforgivable.
"Minister Yang." After Ming Jinghai blocked the Prince of Chen, he did not seem to stop. He walked up to the dazed Minister Yang and said, "Just now you asked my niece what the difference is between the lotus roots in Lingzhou and those in the capital. Now I will answer you."
“No matter where the lotus root comes from, it is still lotus root. It doesn’t matter whether the threads are long or short, as long as it tastes good.” Ming Jinghai rolled up his sleeves, scaring Minister Yang so much that he took a step back.
Others roll up their sleeves just to scare people, but Ming Jinghai is really good at fighting.
Seeing him like this, Ming Jinghai sneered: "Just like all of us colleagues here, as long as we are loyal to His Majesty, care about the people of the world, and perform our duties faithfully, then we are good officials. Do we still have to distinguish where our ancestral home is, the south or the north?"
"Minister Yang, as an official appointed by the court, you have accused Your Majesty without knowing right or wrong, which is disloyal. You only speak up for the injustice of the Prince of Qi, but ignore the people who were persecuted by the Zheng family, which is inhumane. May I ask Minister Yang, how can you be an official if you are so disloyal and inhumane?" Ming Jinghai pointed at everyone present and said, "Today is the day for us to reunite, but Jingzhou got the evidence but did not expose it in court. When Your Majesty learned that the imperial concubine and the prince were almost assassinated, he suppressed his grief and kept it secret. Why?"
"It was to give everyone a peaceful and beautiful New Year's Eve, so that the emperor and his subjects could enjoy themselves and have a happy reunion. But you have ruined all of this. Don't you feel any guilt in your heart?"
Minister Yang was choked by Ming Jinghai's continuous accusations and was speechless. Perhaps because Ming Jinghai was too powerful, or perhaps because he was shocked by the numerous crimes committed by the Zheng family and Concubine Zheng, Minister Yang knelt down in front of Emperor Longfeng.
"Your Majesty...I know I am guilty." Minister Yang apologized in a daze, although he didn't know where he went wrong for a moment.
"Your Majesty." Ming Jinghai glanced at Minister Yang who was kneeling on the ground: "Although Lord Yang has no bad intentions, he is impulsive and cannot distinguish right from wrong. The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of taxation throughout the country, and officials must be careful and cautious. Therefore, I think that Lord Yang's personality is not suitable for serving in the Ministry of Revenue."
The Minister of Revenue's face changed slightly. He hesitated for a moment and prepared to go out to plead for Minister Yang, but when he saw that the emperor seemed to be somewhat moved by Ming Jinghai's words, he gave up the idea.
Ming Jinghai is now the Minister of Personnel and is deeply trusted by His Majesty. There is no need for him to offend Ming Jinghai for the sake of a subordinate in his department.
"Jinghai, where do you think Lord Yang should be assigned to work?" Emperor Longfeng did not look at his son kneeling in front of him, but asked Jinghai patiently.
"As I recall, the Lingzhou Tongpan is old and resigned not long ago. Since Lord Yang is curious about the lotus roots in Lingzhou, let him take over as Lingzhou Tongpan." Ming Jinghai bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please fulfill Lord Yang's curiosity."
Good guy, he was demoted from a third-rank assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue to a sixth-rank magistrate. Even the old lady in the vegetable market couldn't bargain so harshly.
"Okay." Emperor Longfeng nodded: "After the New Year, Lord Yang will go to Lingzhou to take up his post."
"Lord Yang, why don't you thank His Majesty?" Ming Jinghai bowed and said loudly: "Your Majesty is considerate of me. You are curious about the customs and people of Lingzhou, so I sent you to Lingzhou. It's a pity that you are not considerate enough to His Majesty. It's really a pity."
"Brother, Lord Yang is drunk." Ming Jingzhou took over the conversation: "Your Majesty, it is inevitable that one will lose his composure when drinking too much. Please have mercy on him and send someone to take Lord Yang back to rest."
From now on, he probably won't have the chance to attend a palace banquet again.
After Minister Yang was taken away, the two Ming brothers looked at Prince Qi who was kneeling on the ground and crying, and they both returned to their seats.
The rest will be left to Your Majesty.
The hall was too quiet, so quiet that Jiuzhu felt embarrassed to pick up something to eat with her chopsticks.
She secretly said to Xiangshen: "Aunt, Prince Qi just glared at me secretly."
So he must be acting now. How can a truly sad person distract himself from others?
Xiang Jun smiled. The imperial city was filled with people performing plays.
The Prince of Qi's voice had already become hoarse from crying. After Emperor Longfeng had read through the evidence presented by Ming Jingzhou, he looked down at his crying son and said, "Fourth Brother, are you aware of what the Zheng family and your mother did?"
"Father, I... Although I was unaware of the situation, I was negligent in discovering it and failed to do my duty of persuading others. I am guilty." Yun Yanze felt someone kneeling beside him. He looked up at Sun Caiyao who was kneeling with him, then quickly retracted his gaze and kowtowed heavily to Emperor Longfeng: "Father, I am unworthy of the position of a prince. Please strip me of my title."
What a good move of retreating to advance. What the Zheng family and Zheng Lanyin have done can no longer be covered up. It is better to lower their posture. They can also gain a reputation for correcting mistakes and being brave enough to take responsibility.
Concubine Su chuckled, her eyes moving, and she understood the treacherous concubine's seductiveness perfectly: "No matter how high or low your title is, you are still His Majesty's child. Your Highness the Fourth Prince, please get up quickly. Your beautiful face has been knocked like this. How sad your Concubine must be to see it."
She bent down, helped Sun Caiyao up from the ground, and gently held her hand: "Fourth Prince's Consort, when you go back, accompany the Fourth Prince well and make sure he doesn't feel too sad."
Concubine Su's hand was very soft, but Sun Caiyao felt that the one holding her hand was a beautiful snake.
The smiling woman in front of her and the mad Concubine Su in her dream who made all the princes look humiliated kept intertwining and changing in her mind. The fear in her heart grew infinitely. If there were no people watching around, she would have almost pulled her hand out.
When the others saw Concubine Su Gui called Yun Yanze "the Fourth Prince" without any hesitation, they sighed in their hearts, fearing that the title of the Fourth Prince might not be kept.
It is truly lamentable that such a talented and virtuous prince was implicated to this extent by his maternal grandparents and his mother.
But the officials who supported Yun Yanze did not give up. As long as His Majesty did not say the title of "Fourth Prince", there was still room for easing the situation.
"Your Majesty." Concubine Su let go of Sun Caiyao's hand and looked at Emperor Longfeng with a smile: "Please let the Fourth Prince get up quickly. The most urgent task is to settle the guilt of the Zheng family and Concubine Zheng."
Shen raised her lips slightly. With just one sentence, Concubine Su had completely screwed Concubine Zheng and her gang. As expected of a woman who could be a favored concubine, she was ruthless when it came to dealing with her enemies.
It seems that Concubine Su will not stop unless the Zheng family and Concubine Zheng are punished tonight.
That's right, if she was Su Meidai, she wouldn't miss such a good opportunity. Their family helped her build the stairs, and if she didn't know how to step on them, that would be a real problem.
Emperor Longfeng held Concubine Su Guifei's hand and looked down at Yun Yanze: "Fourth Brother, you really don't know anything at all?"
"I don't know."
"Okay." Emperor Longfeng closed his eyes and wrapped Concubine Su Gui's hand in his own palm: "Liu Zhongbao, help the Fourth Prince up."
The words "Fourth Prince" coming out of his mouth were tantamount to sentencing Yun Yanze to death.
A prince who had grown up and married became a prince alone. This was the emperor telling the world in a straightforward manner that he had given up on him.
“Your Majesty.” Several officials from the Ministry of Revenue, as well as those who had a favorable impression of Yun Yanze, all stood up and said, “Your Majesty, please think twice!”
"Yan Ze." Emperor Longfeng ignored these ministers: "They asked me to take back my order. What do you think I should do?"
Yun Yanze clenched his hands into fists, and knelt down with red eyes: "Your Majesty, I am not fit to be king. I beg you to grant my wish."
"I will grant you your wish." Emperor Longfeng looked at the ministers who were begging for mercy, and said indifferently, "I will grant the request of my son. Do you want to interfere in the affairs between us father and son?"
The ministers knew that the Fourth Prince was doomed.
"I dare not."
"The Zheng family has committed many evil deeds, too numerous to list. If they are not punished, it will not be enough to appease the anger of the people." Emperor Longfeng said: "The head of the Zheng family will be beheaded as a warning to the public. All descendants of the Zheng family will be enslaved. Children over the age of twelve will be exiled to a place 3,000 miles away. They will not be allowed to return to the capital for the rest of their lives, and their three generations will not be able to leave slavery."
"As for Lady Zheng..." Emperor Longfeng sighed, "After midnight tonight, I will give her a white silk."
“Father!” Yun Yanze opened his eyes wide in astonishment, knelt before Emperor Longfeng, hugged his legs and said, “Father, please have mercy and spare my mother’s life.”
"There are more than ten people who died at the hands of your mother, one of whom was your sister's mother." Emperor Longfeng put the evidence presented by Ming Jingzhou into Yun Yanze's hand and said, "How can you let me forgive her?"
On the throne, a princess sitting in the back was crying with her face covered. She lost her mother very early. The maid who served her said that her mother died of illness not long after giving birth to her. She always thought that her mother died of illness because of giving birth to her, but she didn't expect that it was Zheng who killed her.
While others had their mothers by their side, she did not.
When others are sad, they have their mother to comfort them, but she doesn’t have that.
Even her wedding to her husband was arranged by Concubine Su.
How difficult it is for a child without a mother to live in the harem? How could Yun Yanze, a prince who has both a mother and a maternal family, know?
She raised her head and looked at Yun Yanze hatefully. All this was caused by his mother.
"Fourth Imperial Concubine, please accompany the Fourth Prince for a walk outside." Concubine Su Gui comforted Sun Caiyao considerately: "If you have any difficulties in the future, it will be the same if you come to me."
Yun Yanze held the yellowed evidence in his hand and walked out of the hall in a daze in front of everyone. A strong wind blew, and the evidence flew all over the sky and scattered everywhere.
He suddenly came to his senses and reached out to grab it fiercely, but the evidence had already been blown away, and how could it fall into the hall with the cold wind as he wished.
No one dared to look at the things on it, and no one dared to reach out to pick them up.
One of them fell on Jiuzhu's desk, and she stretched out her hand.
Xiangshen opened her mouth, wanting to stop her, but when she saw that she had already taken the paper in her hand, she swallowed her words.
[In the 20th year of Xian De, Concubine Wang gave birth to a daughter. Because of a dispute with Zheng...]
"Ming County Lord." Yun Yanze stood beside Jiuzhu, holding a handful of yellowed papers in his hand. "Thank you for picking this up for me. Please return it to me."
Jiuzhu looked up at him. His hair was messy, there were spots of mud on his sleeves, and his face was paler than paper.
She looked down at the thing in her hand, her eyes quickly passing over it.
【Zheng was filled with deep hatred and killed him.】
At this moment, she felt that the paper was as cold and creepy as accumulated snow. The paper floated down her fingertips, swirled in the air, and fell at Yun Yanze's feet.
In the eyes of everyone, she was intentionally humiliating Yun Yanze.
"County Lord." Sun Caiyao walked to Yun Yanze's side, bent down and picked up the yellowed paper: "It's cold in winter, County Lord, don't let your hands get frozen. It's okay if you drop something, but it would be inappropriate if you accidentally hurt yourself."
Yun Yanze took the yellowed paper from Sun Caiyao and said in a deep voice, "Let's go."
Walking out of the hall, he was trembling all over. He crumpled all the evidence into a ball and turned to Sun Caiyao who was following him and said, "You go back with the servants first. I want to walk by myself."
"Your Highness, I will accompany you..."
“No need!” Realizing that his tone was a bit harsh, Yun Yanze looked apologetic: “Cai Yao, I just want to be alone for a while, can you go back first?”
"Okay." Sun Caiyao agreed reluctantly, but she also knew that at this moment, His Highness did not want her to follow.
Yun Yanze walked all the way west until he saw the plaque of Qianyi Pavilion, then stopped.
On both sides of the door plaque, red lanterns flickered. He stepped onto the steps and heard his mother's scolding coming from inside the house.
He stopped and listened quietly.
Gradually, he calmed down and turned to leave, but he saw Bai Shao walking out of the room with her face covered.
"Your Highness." Bai Shao saw Yun Yanze standing at the door and hurriedly bowed to him: "Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will go and inform the master now."
“No need.” Yun Yanze called her and saw the red and swollen slap marks on her face. He was silent for a moment: “Why are you the only one here? Where is Hongmei?”
Bai Shao shook her head and said nothing.
Yun Yanze noticed that her hair was a little messy, and even the silk flowers were crooked, and guessed that the slap her mother had given her must have been very heavy: "Tomorrow I will ask Mother Concubine Su for mercy and let you serve in Zhangliu Palace."
"Master, here..."
Yun Yanze didn't answer her, turned around and left, soon disappearing into the night.
Behind him, his mother's scolding could be heard again.
In the darkness, Yun Yanze wiped a tear from his eyes and walked away.
Bai Shao covered her face, listening to her master's unwilling shouting and cursing, with a vague terrible premonition in her heart.
Two hours later, she saw the powerful eunuch appear in Qianyi Pavilion holding a white silk, and finally understood why His Highness looked so ugly, and why His Highness asked her to go to Zhangliu Palace.
Listening to the eunuch reading out His Majesty's oral order, Bai Shao stared blankly at her master who was crying and laughing, wondering in a trance why things had come to this point.
"I want to see your majesty, I don't believe it!" Zheng Lanyin pushed away the powerful eunuch who was approaching her. When a person is extremely crazy, his strength is unimaginable: "This is all Su Meidai's conspiracy, your majesty can't kill me!"
"It is I who wants to kill you. It has nothing to do with others." Emperor Longfeng walked into Qianyi Pavilion. The two of them had not had a good conversation for many years. He looked at her as if he was looking at a stranger.
"One day of marriage means a hundred days of grace, Your Majesty." Zheng Lanyin cried bitterly, "Why are you so cruel to me?"
"Do you still remember the saying that husband and wife are birds of the same forest, but they fly away separately when disaster strikes?" Emperor Longfeng looked at her and said, "If I were heartless and unrighteous, there would be no Concubine Ning in the palace when I ascended the throne."
Zheng Lanyin looked at him in fear, kicking her legs and backing away: "No, it's not me, I didn't say that back then. Your Majesty, I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong. Please, spare me, I don't want to die, I really don't want to die."
She did say this to her parents more than a decade ago.
"Lan Yin, have you really decided to cooperate with us from the inside and outside to take control of the palace? Will you regret it?"
"Why should I regret it? Husband and wife are birds of a feather, but they fly away separately when disaster strikes. Moreover, he was not the one I originally liked. If it were not for the benefit of the family, why would I have to endure this injustice?"
"I know you married into the palace for the sake of the family. As a woman, you had no choice." Emperor Longfeng sighed, "Under the imperial power, you and I were both pawns at that time. I don't want to embarrass you."
"But you are wrong too much." Emperor Longfeng closed his eyes and said, "I am the one who favors Meidai and Duqing. If you hate someone, hate me. If you can turn into a fierce ghost after you die, come find me."
Having said that, he turned and left.
“Yun Yixing!” Zheng Lanyin screamed, “You are just luckier than your third brother! You are just luckier than him!”
"You are right." Emperor Longfeng stopped and turned to look at her: "I am luckier than all the other princes, so I am the final winner."
"No, no." Zheng Lanyin's eyes widened, her teeth chattering, "It's you, it's you..."
Emperor Longfeng glanced at her and put on the cloak that Liu Zhongbao handed over: "Let's go."
"Your Majesty." Liu Zhongbao asked with a smile, "Where are you going?"
"You old man, of course you should go to Mingyue Palace." Emperor Longfeng sat on the dragon chariot: "On New Year's Eve, you should be with your family. Call Du Qing as well. If he doesn't come, this year's New Year's money will be gone."
"Your Majesty, it may take some time for His Highness to return to Mingyue Palace. I just saw His Highness accompanying Lord Ming County towards the direction of Suzaku Gate."
Emperor Longfeng smiled slightly and said, "Let him be."
After all, when a son grows up, he is no longer under the control of his father.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu looked ahead and said, "The Suzaku Gate is in front of us. My father and mother are waiting for me outside. You should go back quickly."
"I know that the Suzaku Gate is ahead." Prince Chen snorted with a smile: "Look up."
Jiuzhu looked up and heard a bang, followed by beautiful fireworks exploding in the air.
The fireworks lit up her face red, and she watched without blinking: "Your Highness, did you set these off especially for me?"
"Every year on New Year's Eve, the palace would set off a fireworks display after midnight, which could be seen from many places in the capital."
"Oh." Jiuzhu nodded. It turned out that it was not released for her.
"Those are not, but these are." Prince Chen raised his hand, and the eunuch accompanying him brought up a pile of firecrackers.
"The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year, and the spring breeze brings warmth to the Tusu Festival." He picked up a firecracker and placed it on the ground: "Ming, little pig, light this firecracker to usher in the new year. May everything go well for you, and may you be happy and free from worries."
He tied the firecracker's tinder to a long stick and handed it to her: "Here, try it."
Jiuzhu was excited but also a little scared. She stretched out the stick tremblingly and tried to light the fuse of the firecracker. However, it kept shaking and could not be lit for a long time.
"Never played with firecrackers before?"
Jiuzhu shook her head: "I haven't played it before."
Seeing that she was not very good at this, Prince Chen gently held her wrist and said, "I'll teach you. Once this firecracker is lit, we'll run. Remember?"
"Yeah!" Jiuzhu nodded and stared at the fuse as if facing a powerful enemy.
laugh!
The fuse was lit, she threw down the tinder, grabbed the Prince and ran away.
"Don't be afraid." Prince Chen opened his cloak and wrapped Jiuzhu's head and face in it.
Bang!
The firecrackers exploded, bringing up a burst of light.
"It worked!" Jiuzhu poked his head out from his cloak and pointed happily at the place where the firecracker exploded: "What a loud sound."
"Is it fun?" Prince Chen looked at the girl who was almost leaning in his arms and laughed.
"It's fun." Jiuzhu pulled his sleeve and said, "Your Highness, let's order another one, okay?"
"Okay." Prince Chen picked up the tinder from the ground and handed it to her: "You light it yourself this time."
"Hmm." Jiuzhu blew on the fire stick a few times, lit it, and then lit a firecracker with trembling hands.
This time, she lit the fuse by herself, then let out a howl, turned around and ran towards where the King of Chen was standing without thinking.
Looking at the girl running towards him, Prince Chen opened his cloak again.
The girl threw herself into his arms.
Smiling, he wrapped her in his cloak again, and the sound of firecrackers exploding was like the beating of his heart.
"Your Highness, go order two too." Jiuzhu pushed him: "Go quickly, go quickly."
Prince Chen held up the fire stick and said, "I can light three firecrackers at once. Do you want to see?"
"Yes." Jiuzhu took three firecrackers and placed them together. After hesitating for a moment, he took one back and turned to look at him: "Your Highness, why don't you light two? Three is too many."
"Little pig, are you looking down on me?" Prince Chen walked up to her and put the firecrackers away: "Stand further away, I'll show you what it means to be a master at lighting firecrackers."
Jiuzhu ran away with a clatter, covering her ears: "Your Highness, you must be careful."
Prince Chen waved his hands nonchalantly, quickly lit three firecrackers, stood up and looked at Jiuzhu.
Three firecrackers rang out in succession. Jiuzhu put down her hands that were covering her ears. She looked at the handsome man standing in the fireworks and whispered to herself, "Your Highness... is so handsome."
"What did you say?" Prince Chen walked to Jiuzhu and found that her face was a little red.
She shook her head violently: "No."
"You're glancing around like that, looking so guilty, and you haven't said anything yet?" Prince Chen poked her cheek with a smile: "Ming Xiaozhu, do you think I'm easy to deceive?"
"No, no." Jiuzhu covered her face to prevent King Chen from poking her. Seeing that she could not escape, she finally threw herself into his arms.
Boom, boom, boom.
This is not the sound of firecrackers, it is the sound of your highness's heartbeat.
Jiuzhu raised her head from his arms, her eyes sparkling: "Your Highness..."
She wanted to say, your heartbeat is so loud.
"Little fool." The Prince laughed, his laughter was gentle and clear, as if peach blossoms were blooming all over the mountains.
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