Chapter 15 Does the noise have to be so realistic?
The hall was filled with silence.
The ministers, holding their tablets, looked at each other in confusion, unsure how to react. Dali Temple Minister Lan Xiwu took two steps forward and knelt, raising his hands high above his head, and said loudly:
"Minister, accept the order!"
Emperor Shengde ignored the mob that was eager to try but unable to speak, and gave Lan Xiwu a solemn instruction:
"Thank you for your hard work, Lan Qing. I hope you will put aside the other cases on hand for now and focus on apprehending the Yue Kingdom spies. If you find any clues, please report them as soon as possible."
"Your Majesty, I will obey your orders and live up to your expectations!"
Afterwards, Emperor Shengde gave a wink to the eunuch beside him, who immediately understood and said in a choked voice:
"Your Majesty has ordered that a state funeral be held for Duke Jingguo today as a token of our condolences. Ministers, if you have any matters to discuss, please report them. If not—"
Imperial Censor Xirang took two steps forward, holding his tablet, and interrupted him righteously, staring intently at the ruler on the throne:
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."
"Please speak, Mr. Xi."
"Forgive me for speaking frankly. Years after I resigned, Your Majesty is still so hasty in ending things. Initially, that soldier used the marriage certificate to falsely accuse General Shen of treason. True, the Yue King's seal on the marriage certificate was genuine, but Your Majesty, without scrutiny, blindly believed it and made a final conclusion on General Shen's treason. Thus, you fell into the trap set by the Yue Kingdom and nearly killed Her Royal Highness Princess Jialing. General Shen, willing to endure the stigma, repaying evil with kindness, secured Her Royal Highness Princess Jialing's safe return to Sheng, but he himself passed away. Now, before General Shen's body is even cold, you wish to confer a posthumous title and dismiss the matter, just as you did with the old Duke? The Shen family has been loyal and righteous for generations, and all because of Your Majesty's mistrust, you have destroyed a pillar of Sheng. This is truly disheartening to the people of the world. Now, Your Majesty, instead of reflecting on yourselves, is trying to silence the public with a state funeral. Is this the behavior of a wise ruler? I—"
Murong Fei, the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple, couldn't wait to interrupt him: "Lord Xirang, Your Majesty is the true Dragon Emperor. His every word and action is blessed by Heaven. How can we have any say in his words? Your Majesty has issued new policies and allowed us to express our opinions. This is not to condone us to speak nonsense and commit crimes! Your Majesty, I request that Lord Xirang be severely punished to set the record straight!"
"I second the motion."
"I second the motion."
"I second the motion."
…
Emperor Shengde sighed twice in succession and shouted sternly:
"Everyone, do you have nothing to do? Are you collecting court salaries every day just to please me and provoke quarrels with your colleagues? If you are tired of the comfortable life in Shengdu, you can return to the countryside. I will not keep you! And you, Xirang, you are considered an old man in the court, but why are you still so tactless and giving people a chance to talk? In this case, I will fine you half a month's salary. During this half month, you will stay in seclusion in the palace to reflect on your mistakes. Do you have any objections?"
"Your Majesty..." Xirang puffed out his beard and glared, his wrinkled, round face flushed red, and the atmosphere was tense for a while.
The eunuch on the stage winked and lowered his voice to hint:
"Master Xirang, please don't be ungrateful and thank me quickly."
Xirang stood up and was about to speak, but Lan Xiwu, the Dali Temple Minister who had just received the order and had not yet returned to his seat, grabbed the back of his neck and kowtowed with him:
"Lord Xirang is currently unable to change his mind. Your Majesty, please prioritize the dragon's health and refrain from anger. I will go down and offer some guidance. I beg Your Majesty's permission."
"Go down."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." Lan Xiwu stood up and dragged Xirang, the stubborn old boy, out of the hall.
Although the state funeral ceremony was complicated, Emperor Shengde knew that it was pointless to delay the matter any longer, so he immediately sent people to invite Empress Yuan and the ministers and royal relatives, and then led the ministers to preside over the state funeral ceremony outside the main hall.
Outside the main hall, a wisp of smoke was emitted from the purple gold incense burner.
"It has been said for a long time that Commander Shen was innocent. Alas, it's a pity that he died young."
"After all, the world is unpredictable and the heart of God is unpredictable!"
"Before it was the old Duke, and now it's Marshal Shen. How tragic!"
…
Dali Temple Junior Secretary Murong Fei stepped forward and shouted:
"Since you want to look up to this pillar of our dynasty, why do you want to hide it? Isn't that disrespectful?"
Murong Fei's words were so convincing that the ministers behind him gradually began to complain.
The eunuch's voice became increasingly sharp as he spoke:
"Silence! Silence! It's not your place to speculate on His Majesty's decree. The Moon Nation is brutal, venting their anger by torturing and killing the Duke, leaving him beyond recognition. His Majesty was kind and didn't want to tell you, wanting to let the Duke pass away in a dignified manner. But you pressed him. What is your crime?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I didn't know this. I--" Murong Fei knew he was guilty, so he suddenly bent down, curled up on the ground, and knelt for a long time, but his eyes kept glancing in one direction from time to time.
Emperor Shengde said: "Alright, today is a state funeral, and the Dali Temple Minister has left first. I don't have time to deal with you. Go back to the Dali Temple and reflect on your mistakes. Come back tomorrow to apologize!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After Murong Fei retreated, Empress Yuan, the fourth Princess of Jinghe Qi Ling, Prince of Yuyang Qi Ye, and Princess Xiangning Qi Tian arrived one after another. However, Empress Yuan found a reason to imprison Qi Xin in Kunhe Palace, and no one knew what happened.
Qi Xin just saw a eunuch whisper something in his mother's ear. Although his mother looked normal, she quickly left with the eunuch, saying that she was helping her father to handle important matters and would be back soon.
I just returned to Shengdu yesterday, and there is no auspicious festival today. Apart from my homecoming banquet, what other important matter could there be that requires the mother of a country to attend in person?
Even if it is such a solemn occasion, how can you just go and come back?
This was probably a lie from my mother, and nine times out of ten, I thought it had something to do with me.
She felt uneasy in Kunhe Palace, pacing back and forth, almost wanting to rush out of the palace.
However, her mother did have a trick up her sleeve and let Xing'er keep an eye on her.
As for Xing'er, she had never expected that a personal maid in the deep palace could have such skills.
I tried to escape several times, but was stopped each time. Before my martial arts were crippled, I could have been evenly matched. But now, my bow, lost in a fit of anger, had been left at the Ningbei camp. With nothing to my name, how could I possibly leave this palace?
Qi Xin simply calmed down, straightened the hem of her newly changed skirt, picked up the tea tray, took a sip of the Maojian tea Xing'er had just poured, and said with her chin propped up:
"Xing'er, come and sit down."
Xing'er stood up straight, looked at her warily, and said, "I dare not."
"I'm really scared because my mother is not here. I just want to chat with you. Is this not allowed?"
"Your Highness, if you have anything to say, just tell this servant directly. There is no need to do this."
"Okay, okay, look at you. You act so pretentious all day long. I'm tired of you. I heard that you're from my mother's family and that you were recommended by her to enter the palace?"
"Yes."
"No wonder. Then, where did you learn this set of martial arts?"
"I have obtained this through decades of hard training in my home outside the palace."
"Oh, my mother is indeed so far-sighted. For her, this is not only a confidant, but also a secret guard. How wonderful!"
"Your Highness is the Empress's own flesh and blood. Everything the Empress does is for Your Highness's benefit. How could Your Highness misunderstand Her intentions like this? The Empress is the most kind person in the world. She has long sought a job for me outside the palace to make a living. However, I know all too well how difficult it is for the Empress to manage the household affairs. That is why I worked so hard to learn this martial art and then asked to enter the palace to serve the Empress."
"What a pair, a wise master and loyal servant."
"Your Highness, please don't tease me. I know that for a long time, you have always blamed the Queen for being indifferent to the world and unable to protect you. But how could you know how much the Queen has done for you in secret? Your Highness thinks that since you were a child, you have been banished to the cold palace many times, why didn't the Queen lend a hand? It was to conceal your tracks and help your Highness to survive in the cold palace and learn the skills to protect yourself. Otherwise, your Highness would have found it difficult to even leave the Moon Kingdom alive, let alone -"
"Were you saved by Duke Jingguo Shenyu?" Qi Xin picked up where she had left off, and suddenly realized something. He took advantage of the opportunity to grab her shoulders, shaking her and staring at her:
"Tell me, why don't you dare mention him? What happened today is related to him, right? Mother asked you to imprison me here because she was afraid I would be there in person, right? And now, this matter has exceeded my tolerance, and Mother wants to fool me through it, right?"
Xing'er slumped over and let her do whatever she wanted, but her expression remained unmoved. She replied calmly, "I don't know."
Qi Xin felt a surge of heat rising from the soles of her feet, flowing along her various vital energy channels, and rushing straight to the upper court. She pulled out the jade and pearl hairpin that her mother had personally pinned on her yesterday, pressed it against the bulging veins in her neck, and shouted angrily:
"Don't come over here!"
Xing Er spread out her hands and fingers, as if to stop him, and said soothingly:
"Okay, I won't come over. Your Highness, please don't hurt yourself."
"Get out of the way! Don't make me say it a second time!"
"Your Highness, please don't make the Empress worry. If you go out like this, others will notice the clues of your red pupil pattern. Your Highness!"
Qi Xin said no more and approached the palace gate step by step. At the same time, he increased the strength of his hands and penetrated the tip of the hairpin into his skin half an inch.
Xing'er noticed the blood flowing down the hairpin and wanted to take it away, but she was afraid of accidentally hurting her, so she was distracted for a moment.
At this moment, Qi Xin slipped out of the palace gate without hesitation and ran towards Taiqing Palace.
She entered through the side door and found that the hall was empty. She then went out through the main door and was faced with the huge crowd of court officials outside the hall. She had a clear view of the whole scene.
Green smoke was still rising from the purple-gold incense burner in the center. Four attendants were carrying a long, gilded couch. The person on the couch was motionless, tightly covered with a silk blanket, and was about to be sent to the purple-gold incense burner for cremation.
Since Emperor Shengde and Empress Yuan had their backs to her, Qi Ling was the first to notice her and loudly announced her presence:
"Sister, why are you so late? I'm so ashamed of Duke Jingguo's life-saving grace. The whole country has come to pay our respects. Sister, you should act according to the occasion!"
Qi Xin was struck by lightning:
who?
Shen Yu?
Master?
Impossible, impossible!
He handed himself over to the Imperial City Army yesterday, so how come he is gone today?
How could a big shot like him die so easily?
This is absolutely impossible!
Qi Xin rushed over without thinking, wanting to lift the silk carpet to confirm it, but was stopped by the Imperial City Army's hygienists. She couldn't stop wailing:
"Let me go, let me go!"
Emperor Shengde could no longer endure it and shouted with gnashing teeth:
"The country has lost an important official, and the people are mourning. As the eldest princess, you were absent first, and now you are disregarding respectful etiquette and causing a scene here. How can this be disgraceful?"
Qi Xin only felt that there were countless mouths moving, but he could not hear anything and could not get any closer.
As she struggled, she saw an overly familiar little golden locket hanging down from the gilded couch:
That one, a small gold lock engraved with a pattern of peace and good fortune, inlaid with rubies and green pines, with a "Yu" character inlaid in the center!
Not only she is familiar with it, I'm afraid the entire Dasheng is familiar with it.
It was specially made for him by the old Duke when he was one month old. He had been carrying it with him since he was a child. Although she didn't see it when they first met, after she knew that he was Chen Yu, he no longer concealed it and always tied it around his waist.
How could others easily obtain such a personal item?
So this person, this person is——
Qi Xin let the power of the blood pill surge in his body, broke free from the restraints, and rushed forward desperately.
The author has something to say:
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ps——
You might think Xiaojiu's blood pill is a good thing, coming in handy at crucial moments. But that's not the case. Not only does she face the constant risk of assassination and kidnapping, but she also faces the possibility of the blood pill itself backfiring (not yet covered) or a conflicting reaction (not yet covered). So, to find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next episode!
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