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◎Since ancient times, scholars have died for remonstration and warriors have died for battle. This has been their duty◎
"Yes, Cui Zhicong."
Fu Hua had never been so angry. He had gone against everyone's opinion and given Cui Zhicong enough face, but he was still played like this.
This indisputable fact was before him, forcing him to take action this time. He had treated their family so well, yet he dared to abuse his power openly.
Now Cui Zhicong was criticized and became a huge joke. He was the king of a country, but he was fooled by a cousin of his concubine.
"Where did he die?" Fu Hua asked.
The young eunuch stepped forward tremblingly and reported, "Your Majesty, he is in the Ministry of Rites."
"Let him die right here!"
The young eunuch was in a dilemma. The sun was setting and dusk was approaching. "Your Majesty, after all this time, I'm afraid the palace gates will have to be locked."
The corners of Fu Hua's mouth immediately drooped, his face turned ashen, and he was filled with suppressed anger. The whole room instantly became gloomy, as if it wanted to swallow everything.
He paced with his hands behind his back, taking each step slowly, his head lowered, and was very angry.
He suddenly stopped in front of the desk and swept all the writing brushes and ink onto the ground, staining the edges of his robe with ink.
This was the first time Rong Qianyu had seen him so angry, and no wonder. Cui Rumei was like the moon in the sky, the flesh and blood of his heart. They had been together since he was still the crown prince, and despite their arguments over the years, Cui Rumei's position had always been the most special.
She was the most important person in his heart, and being toyed with by someone like her was not something he could easily get over. Over the past two or three years, he had clearly noticed that Cui Rumei seemed to have changed a lot, but his youthful friendship still made him choose to trust her, only to be slapped in the face time and time again.
Rong Qianyu knew that this was not enough. Their relationship was deep, and it would take some time for Cui Rumei to completely fall out of favor.
Fu Hua has always liked to believe what he believes. It takes time to interrupt and reshape his thinking.
"Your Majesty, please calm down." Rong Qianyu walked over and said.
"Call Cui Rumei over to me!" Fu Hua was so angry that his face turned pale.
"yes!"
"Just tell her to come quickly, no need to tell me what it is! She's really going to rebel. I dote on her so much... bitch!"
The young eunuch hurried to leave, but Rong Qianyu stopped him with a look. "Your Majesty, please reconsider. Perhaps Concubine Ke is unaware of this matter. If Your Majesty rashly summons her here, what will the entire palace think? Wouldn't that sever their future ties?"
Fu Hua didn't expect Rong Qianyu to persuade him. He came to his senses in an instant and almost became too eager for quick success.
It was hilarious. The woman he had doted on for years, the one he had once wanted to make his queen, was actually behaving so clumsily. Looking at Rong Qianyu standing beside him, comparing the two, this queen was the least of his worries, unlike Cui Rumei who only caused trouble.
He saw each of his wives as useful, each possessing a unique quality that, when combined, made him his ideal wife. Gentle, charming, courageous, beautiful, sensible, and easy to control—this was his ideal.
But when women with these qualities come together, he always feels overwhelmed and distracted. The charming ones are hard to control, the ones who are too easy to control are not pretty enough, the pretty ones are not tactful, and the tactful ones are not gentle.
He sat on the dragon throne somewhat wearily. Many recent events had made his headache even worse.
This was a disease inherited from his ancestors; the previous emperor died in this way, so he was extremely cautious and unwilling to do anything that required more thinking. However, he was still annoyed by these troubles.
"I heard that it was your idea to build a temple and sculpt a golden statue for the princess. Why did you change your mind in the end?"
Rong Qianyu explained, "It was indeed I who first came up with this idea, but unfortunately time was short, and I was afraid that a hasty decision would be disrespectful to the deceased Princess's spirit, so I had to settle for the next best thing. That day... Cui Zhicong came to my palace to pay his respects, and coincidentally, Pan'er entered the room with Buddhist scriptures. Cui Zhicong then asked me about this matter, and I answered and explained the whole story."
At that time, she had decided to use Buddhist scriptures to celebrate the empress dowager's birthday instead, so she talked a few more words with Cui Zhicong, so that he later went to Concubine Ke and told her about this matter, which became Cui Rumei's gift at the birthday banquet.
Fu Hua had once doubted Rong Qianyu's motives in this matter, but this statement was perfect.
"Get up." He helped Rong Qianyu up.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Let's go and invite Concubine Ke!" Fu Hua said to the young eunuch.
The young eunuch didn't dare say much, just told Cui Rumei to go as soon as possible, without saying anything else. Cui Rumei vaguely felt that something was wrong, but she still tried her best to remain calm.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you, Your Majesty, and to Her Majesty the Queen."
Fu Hua had calmed down considerably. He didn't ask about Cui Zhicong, but instead asked about An'er, "How is An'er today?"
Cui Rumei was stunned for a moment, then said cautiously, "Okay, he's been able to roll over recently. Children grow up so fast, they change every day."
"Is it hard on weekdays?"
She lowered her head, as if expecting something, and answered cautiously, "It's not hard, it's just that Your Majesty doesn't come as often as before..."
"If I hadn't come, didn't your brother look for you?"
When asked this, Cui Rumei's eyes flickered and her whole body trembled unconsciously. She already knew what Fu Hua was going to ask, "Brother often writes to me, thanking Your Majesty for your trust and saying that I will do my best..."
"Kneel down." Fu Hua said coldly.
Cui Rumei didn't say much and just knelt down when she was asked to.
Fu Hua ignored her and turned to talk to Rong Qianyu: "This matter must be suppressed. The palace examination is coming up soon. If those students knew about this, I'm afraid there would be a big mess."
Rong Qianyu replied, "But I'm afraid the tree wants to be still but the wind doesn't stop. This plan isn't a good one."
"Your Majesty, what happened? I am so frightened that I beg Your Majesty to explain it clearly!" She coughed lightly a few times and then crawled on the ground. She looked so weak that any man would not be able to bear the sight.
But this time Fu Hua was determined to rebuke him, "Do you know that your brother is selling official positions?"
Cui Rumei lowered her head and said nothing, just kept crying.
"You don't know?" Fu Hua lowered his eyes and saw a red coral bracelet on her wrist. "Your red coral beads are really nice. Where did you get them?"
Rong Qianyu also took a look and said, "I think Ruoyu also has a red one like this. It's really beautiful."
The speaker may not have meant it, but the listener took it seriously. Fu Hua was extremely perceptive at this moment. "Min Fei also has it?"
Rong Qianyu smiled shyly, "Your Majesty, you know that I only recognize gold and jade, and cannot distinguish anything else. Concubine Min's piece is also red, so it might be agate or red sandalwood. I told her not to be extravagant."
These words were deliberately said to Cui Rumei. The two of them colluded with Cui Zhicong. To put it mildly, it was greed for money and bribery, and to put it seriously, it was interfering in state affairs.
It was to let her know that Rong Qianyu already had evidence against them, and whether she reported it or not, she had already strangled her weak spot.
"I just met the student recommended by your brother."
"I wonder if Your Majesty is satisfied..." Cui Rumei asked timidly.
"They were just dragged away by the guards. Each of them will be given fifty lashes of the cane, and their descendants will never be allowed to take the imperial examinations again."
"Your Majesty, perhaps... it's just that my brother didn't recognize people clearly, and it wasn't intentional!"
Cui Rumei's face suddenly turned pale and she lost her pretentious look. She knew that this was a big mistake. She crawled to Fu Hua's feet, pulled his dirty dragon robe, and begged for mercy.
"I will investigate this matter and deal with it severely. It's best if you don't get involved." Fu Hua said as tears welled up in his eyes. He really didn't want to face this moment. "Don't see An'er for the time being. I don't want to see you either."
A tragic drama was unfolding in the palace, and the students outside the palace were already outraged. The first to bear the brunt of the charge were the Imperial College.
Ji Wuzheng was one of the best students in his class, from a well-off family, yet a man of exceptional integrity. When word of Guan Fuzhi's case reached the Imperial Academy, he was the first to step forward and organize his classmates to strike and protest.
Standing among the crowd, he looked particularly dazzling, with his long sleeves fluttering in the wind, full of vigor and vitality, giving off the air of a lone minister.
"Classmates, why are we pursuing a career in government and studying so hard? It's for the stability of the people and the eternal stability of our country. Since ancient times, scholars have died admonishing and warriors have died fighting. This is our duty!"
Countless students responded, and the scale grew rapidly.
"Today, Your Majesty is incompetent, the harem is interfering in government affairs, officials are accepting bribes, and innocent people are being wrongfully killed. As students of the Imperial Academy and the Imperial College, we, as disciples of the Emperor, cannot sit idly by and allow treacherous officials to oppress the people!"
Another student beside him leaped onto the platform, "We want Her Majesty to hear our voices. If these scum are not eliminated, there will be no peace in the country!"
There were also voices of objection from the crowd, "We haven't figured out Guan Fuzhi's situation yet, what are you doing?"
Ji Wuzheng retorted, "Guan Fuzhi's today is our future. We stand up today for the sake of the thousands of students from poor families. You can choose not to go, but you can't stop us. Even if we die, it's worth it to leave our names in history!"
The streets were gradually filled with crowded crowds. People swarmed in from all directions. The tide was surging, and it was as unstoppable as a mighty army.
Everyone was keeping an eye on the palace examination, but this huge mistake happened.
A large crowd gathered in the open space in front of the Imperial College. The students were shouting at the top of their lungs, running around and yelling, blocking the scene completely.
Ordinary people don't care about politics, but today's incident is closely related to everyone. Gradually, more and more people joined in, and the crowds gathered around, and the applause and cheers rose and fell, deafening.
Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. This is truly concrete now. The imperial examination is the only chance for ordinary people to bring honor to their families, but it was ruined by these short-sighted people.
All the students were indignant, but there were also some who did not want to make a big deal out of it, so they tried their best to persuade them, but their voices were too quiet and no one paid any attention.
"We are just some weak scholars. How can we compete with the Jinyiwei Imperial Guard? Wouldn't it be a waste of our lives?"
This is true, but if this matter is raised high and then let go lightly, it will only cause endless disasters in the future. Young people should not stand by and watch, especially when this matter concerns the vital interests of every student.
Ji Wuzheng jumped off the platform and stood among the crowd. "If I shrink back from self-reflection, even if there are tens of thousands of people, I will still go!"
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