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, you don't have to help the Fourth Prince plead for mercy." Ming Jinghai, who had been sipping wine, 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 today's matter cannot be emotional."
Concubine Su 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 retracted his gaze and knelt on the ground, "Father, your son...your son..."
He could not utter a complete sentence and his crying was so mournful that even a hard-hearted person could feel his pain and helplessness. However, what the Zheng family and Concubine 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 fibers 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 need to distinguish between where our ancestral home is, the south or the north?"
"Minister Yang, as an official appointed by the court, accused Your Majesty without any reason, which is disloyalty. 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 our reunion, 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. What is the reason?"
"It was all for the sake of giving everyone a peaceful and beautiful New Year's Eve, for the emperor and his subjects to enjoy themselves and have a happy reunion. But you ruined all of this. Don't you feel any guilt in your heart?"
Minister Yang was so choked by Ming Jinghai's continuous accusations that he couldn't say a word. Perhaps it was because Ming Jinghai was too arrogant, or perhaps he was shocked by the numerous crimes committed by the Zheng family and Concubine Zheng, Minister Yang knelt down in front of Emperor Longfeng with a plop.
"Your Majesty...I know my crime." 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 evil intentions, he is impulsive and cannot distinguish right from wrong. The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the taxes of the whole country, and officials need to be careful and cautious. Therefore, I think that Lord Yang is not suitable for serving in the Ministry of Revenue with such a personality."
The Minister of Revenue's expression changed slightly. He hesitated for a moment and was about 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 the 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 Ming Jinghai patiently.
"I remember that the Lingzhou Tongpan was old and had just submitted a letter of resignation. Since Lord Yang is curious about the lotus roots in Lingzhou, let him take over as the Lingzhou Tongpan." Ming Jinghai bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, please fulfill Lord Yang's curiosity."
Wow, he demoted a person from a third-rank assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue to a sixth-rank assistant 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 and said, "Your Majesty, drinking too much is bound to make people lose their composure. Please show mercy 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 food with chopsticks.
She secretly said to Xiang Juan: "Aunt, Prince Qi just glared at me secretly."
So he must be acting now. How can a person who is truly sad and upset be distracted by others?
Xiangjuan smiled. The ground below the imperial city was full of people performing.
Prince Qi's voice had already become hoarse from crying. After Emperor Longfeng had read through the various evidences presented by Ming Jingzhou, he lowered his head to look 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 failed to find out and failed to persuade him. 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 to Emperor Longfeng: “Father, I am unworthy of the position of a county 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 of admitting mistakes and correcting them and being brave enough to take responsibility.
Concubine Su chuckled, her eyes moving, and she understood the seductiveness of the concubine 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 distressed your concubine must be to see it."
She bent down, helped Sun Caiyao up from the ground, and gently held her hand: "Fourth Prince Consort, when you go back, accompany the Fourth Prince well and don't let him be too sad."
Concubine Su's hands were very soft, but Sun Caiyao felt that the one holding her hand was a beautiful snake.
The woman with a charming smile in front of her and the crazy Concubine Su in her dream who made all the princes look humiliated, kept interweaving and changing in her mind. The fear in her heart grew infinitely. If there were no people watching around, she would almost have pulled her hand out.
When the others saw Concubine Su calling Yun Yanze "the Fourth Prince" without even a moment's hesitation, they sighed in their hearts, thinking that the title of the Fourth Prince might not be kept.
It is really sad 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 the corner of her mouth slightly. With just a few words, Concubine Su had completely trapped Concubine Zheng and her gang. As expected of a woman who could be a favorite concubine, she showed no mercy when dealing with her enemies.
It seems that Concubine Su will not give up unless the Zheng family and Concubine Zheng are punished tonight.
That’s right, if she were Su Meidai, she would never miss such a good opportunity. Her family helped her build the steps, but if she didn't know how to step on them, that would be a real problem.
Emperor Longfeng held Concubine Su's hand and looked down at Yun Yanze: "Fourth Brother, do you really not know anything at all?"
"My son, I don't know."
"Okay." Emperor Longfeng closed his eyes and wrapped Concubine Su'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 was transformed from a prince into a prince without a son. This was the emperor's straightforward way of telling the world 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 in a cold tone: "I will grant the request of a son. Do you also 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 mention. If we do not punish them, 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 public display. All descendants of the Zheng family will be enslaved. Children over the age of twelve will be exiled 3,000 miles away and will not be allowed to return to the capital for the rest of their lives. Three generations will not be allowed to leave slavery."
"As for Concubine Zheng..." Emperor Longfeng sighed, "Give her white silk tonight after midnight."
“Father!” Yun Yanze opened his eyes wide in shock, knelt down in front of 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 royal stage, a princess sitting in the back was covering her face and crying. She lost her mother very early. The nanny who took care of her said that her mother died of illness shortly 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 to accompany them, she did not.
When others are sad, they have their mothers 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 survive in the harem? How could a prince like Yun Yanze, 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." Imperial Concubine Su comforted Sun Caiyao considerately: "If you have any difficulties in the future, you can come to me and find me."
Yun Yanze held the yellowed evidence in his hand and walked out of the hall in a daze in full view of everyone. When the wind blew, all the evidence flew into the sky and scattered everywhere.
He suddenly came to his senses and reached out to grab it in a panic, but the evidence that had already flown away could not do as he wished and fell into the hall with the cold wind.
No one dared to look at what was on it, and no one dared to reach out to pick it up.
One of them fell on Jiuzhu's desk, and she stretched out her hand.
Xiangjuan opened her mouth and wanted 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 Lady." Yun Yanze stood beside Jiuzhu, holding a handful of yellowed papers in his hand. "Thank you, County Lady, 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 what she was holding in her hand, her eyes quickly scanning over it.
[Zheng was deeply resentful 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 everyone's opinion, she was intentionally humiliating Yun Yanze.
"County Lady." Sun Caiyao walked to Yun Yanze and bent down to pick up the yellowed paper. "It's cold in winter, County Lady, 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 behind him and said, "You go back with the servants first. I want to walk by myself."
"Your Highness, I will accompany you..."
“No need!” Yun Yanze realized that his tone was a bit harsh, and he looked apologetic: “Caiyao, 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 swayed. He stepped onto the steps and heard his mother's scolding coming from the house.
He stopped and listened quietly.
Gradually, he calmed down and turned to leave, but saw Bai Shao walking out of the house 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."
“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 flower was crooked, and guessed that the slap that Concubine Mother gave her must have been very heavy: "Tomorrow I will ask Concubine Mother 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 voice of cursing and shouting 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.
After 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 His Majesty. I don't believe it!" Zheng Lanyin pushed away the strong 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's me who wants to kill you. It has nothing to do with others." Emperor Longfeng walked into Qianyi Pavilion. The two hadn't had a good conversation for many years. He looked at her as if he was looking at a stranger.
"A day of marriage brings 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, forgive me, I don't want to die, I really don't want to die."
More than a decade ago, she did say this to her parents.
"Lan Yin, have you really decided to cooperate with us from 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. When disaster strikes, they fly away separately. 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've made too many mistakes." Emperor Longfeng closed his eyes: "It was me who favored Mei Dai and Du Qing. If you hate someone, hate me. If you can turn into a ghost after you die, come find me."
After saying 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 Liu Zhongbao handed over: "Let's go."
"Your Majesty." Liu Zhongbao asked with a smile, "Where are you going?"
"You old thing, 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, you won't get any lucky money this year."
"Your Majesty, it may take some time for His Highness to return to Mingyue Palace. I just saw His Highness accompanying Princess Ming towards the direction of Suzaku Gate."
Emperor Longfeng smiled and said, "Let him be."
After all, a grown-up son 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 the gate. 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 sky.
The fireworks lit up her face, and she watched without blinking: "Your Highness, did you set these off especially for me?"
"Every year after midnight on New Year's Eve, the palace will set off a fireworks display, which can be seen in 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.
"A new year has passed with the sound of firecrackers, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tusu." He picked up a firecracker and put it on the ground: "Ming, little pig, light this firecracker and it will be the new year. May everything go well for you, and may you be happy and free from worries."
He tied the firecrackers 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 with the lighter, but it kept shaking and didn't light up for a long time.
"You've never played with firecrackers before?"
Jiuzhu shook his head: "I haven't played it before."
Prince Chen saw that she was not very good at it, so he gently held her wrist and said, "I'll teach you. Once the firecrackers are lit, we'll run. Remember?"
"Yeah!" Jiuzhu nodded and stared at the fuse as if facing a great enemy.
laugh!
When the fuse was lit, she threw down the tinder, grabbed Prince Chen 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 of 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 tinderbox from the ground and handed it to her: "You light it yourself this time."
"Hmm." Jiuzhu blew at the fire starter a few times, lit it, and went to light the next firecracker with trembling hands.
This time, she lit the fuse by herself, then let out a howl, turned around and ran towards where King 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.
He smiled and wrapped her in his cloak again. The firecrackers exploded like the sound of his heart beating.
"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 put 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 withdrawn firecrackers in place: "Stand 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 hand 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 this, 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 fool?"
"No, no." Jiuzhu covered her face to prevent King Chen from poking her. Seeing that she couldn't avoid it, she simply threw herself into his arms.
Boom, boom, boom.
This is not the sound of firecrackers, but the heartbeat of His Highness.
Jiuzhu raised her head from his arms, her eyes sparkling: "Your Highness..."
She wanted to say, your heartbeat is so loud.
"Little fool." Prince Chen laughed, his laughter was gentle and restrained, as if the whole mountain was filled with peach blossoms.
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