Chapter 1012 Autonomy
Bai Shan refused without a second thought, "I won't go, and you can't go either."
Seeing how determined he was, Manbao asked, "Why?"
Bai Shan said, "I want to know why the emperor suddenly asked us to file a complaint during the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
"Didn't the letter say that the Mid-Autumn Festival, a festival of family reunion, is more likely to move the people of the world," Man Bao said, "He will make the decision for us then."
Bai Shan said, "I don't believe him."
Manbao was stunned and asked in confusion: "Why?"
"Because he's the emperor," Bai Shan said. "He ascended the throne when the late crown prince was seriously ill and both the late emperor and the late crown prince preferred the third prince. Manbao, not everyone in the world can do what we say. Even if they have the ability to do it, they don't have the will to complete it."
Mr. Zhuang beside him nodded slightly.
Bai Shan said: "I will never give our lives to someone we have never met, especially if that person is the emperor."
Mr. Zhuang nodded repeatedly, coughed lightly, and said, "Since you've decided not to go, then burn this petition and pretend you don't know anything about it. You have to go and knock on the drum yourself. If you don't, even if he gets angry, he can't do anything."
Manbao scratched his head and nodded.
Bai Shan's face looked very unhappy. There were many things that were not easy to say in front of the gentleman. Perhaps Mr. Zhuang also knew this, so he found an excuse to go out and give them the space.
As soon as Mr. Bai Shandeng left, he couldn't help but frown and said directly: "We were tricked by the emperor."
Manbao blinked and asked, "Are you talking about our trip to Beijing?"
Bai Shan nodded. "Originally, I thought he wouldn't bring up this matter until after the Empress Dowager's Thousand Years' Celebration at the earliest, or even until the beginning of next spring. We'd have six months to plan, first get a clear understanding of the situation in the capital, then gather our strength and make a name for ourselves. We'd find a chance to report this to the Emperor through the drum, so we could use it as a warning. But now it seems he's planning to bring it up during the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Manbao thought for a moment and said, "That's not right. Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunion. Can't we wait until after Mid-Autumn Festival to discuss anything?"
Bai Erlang on the side said: "What happened?"
Bai Shan was silent, frowning as he thought, "The Imperial Academy has been peaceful these past two days. I haven't heard of anything happening."
The three of them looked at each other and became a little worried. It was because their foundation was not stable and they could not get a lot of information.
Manbao thought for a moment and asked, "Will Yin Huo know? After all, his father is the Jingzhao Yin."
Bai Shan: "He is a sick young man. Although he knows more than us, he probably doesn't know the confidential matters."
Manbao: "What about Feng Zongping? His grandfather was the Minister of Justice."
Bai Shan lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying, "I'll take some snacks to see him tomorrow."
Bai Shan opened the petition and took a look. He had not read it before because he was short of time. Now when he read it, he did not feel sad, but angry.
He slowly crumpled the petition into a ball and threw it into the brazier to burn.
This petition not only mentioned his father, but also Manbao's parents. It was equivalent to a petition written for both of them.
To file a complaint with the Emperor, one must first be beaten with fifty sticks. Even if the Emperor showed partiality, even if he and Manbao split the punishment equally, the blows they received would still be no less severe. He wasn't the only one to say that, given his youth, a blow like that would either kill him or cripple him. As for Manbao, she was even weaker than him. She had always been a weakling, even a needle would hurt her.
Bai Shan pushed the clutter on the desk aside and tore off a large piece of paper to reply to Lord Wei, "Both me and Manbao are only sons. We have no control over our own lives and dare not act on our own. If we beat the drum to report the incident, we will be flogged fifty times. As an only son, if you don't take care of your health, it is unfilial. Neither me nor Manbao wants the rest of the family to worry about this."
Manbao rolled his eyes, took out the pen in his hand, and added at the end: "Please, Lord Wei, please intervene. We are willing to file a complaint in front of the emperor."
Manbao wants to write, you can't let the heroes shed blood and tears and then cut off their descendants, right?
But thinking about it, she realized that this was a threat and an attempt to seek credit, so she endured it.
Bai Shan looked at the two obviously different handwritings and was too lazy to copy them again. After drying them, he sealed them in an envelope and gave it to Daji, asking him to deliver it to Lord Wei.
After Bai Shan saw him leave, he turned to Man Bao and said, "Before, they always said that this matter was not urgent and that they needed to investigate slowly. They would release this matter after they had solid evidence and were well prepared. So we couldn't be too high-profile, and we couldn't even associate with Madam Tang. Since they asked us to file a complaint during the Mid-Autumn Festival, it's obvious that they don't intend to cover up for us anymore. In that case, why don't you find a time to meet Madam Tang?"
"You mean to ask her about the upstairs?"
Bai Shan said, "I think Madam Tang is very powerful. Even though this is a court matter, she should have some way of knowing it."
Manbao thought about it for a moment and nodded: "Okay."
Bai Jilang raised his hand, "How can I help you?"
"Yes," Bai Shan said, "Please help us keep an eye on the news and see if there are any rumors or news about us out there."
Bai Shan said, "Since they've even prepared a complaint for us, they probably won't just let it go. But when rumors spread, the person being rumored is always the last to know, so we need you to keep an eye on it for us."
Bai Erlang immediately agreed, "Don't worry, I have a lot of friends at Taixue now. By the way, when Zhang Jinghao went to school yesterday, he showed up with a bruised face. Many people privately speculated that we were the ones who beat him up. Does that count?"
"Well, you figured it out pretty quickly."
"Of course. As soon as Zhang Jinghao came to school, my good friends came to ask me if we had fought."
Manbao asked, "What did you say?"
"Of course I said no. I'm not stupid," Bai Erlang said. "I said we left the stables with Yin Huo and went home. We've already exposed the whole thing. Everyone knows what kind of person he is. Why would we fight him again? If he's injured, anyone would guess it was us. Why bother?"
Manbao and Baishan gave him a thumbs up.
After everyone assigned their tasks, Bai Erlang realized something was wrong. "Manbao and I both have things to do, so what are you going to do?"
Bai Shan said, "I'm going to take a walk around the Imperial College. By the way, starting tomorrow I might not go home with you guys after school. Bai Er, you should come back with your eldest cousin from now on, or ask Gao Song to send you another car."
Looking at Manbao again, Manbao said, "Forget it, don't make any arrangements for me. Jishiditang is not far from here anyway. I can walk back and take a stroll along the way."
Bai Shan thought that the sun was not very strong now, so he nodded and said, "Then be careful."
Manbao nodded, "At least the King of Yizhou doesn't know our identities yet, so we are safe."
She asked Bai Shan curiously, "What are you going to do starting tomorrow?"
Bai Shan lowered his eyes and said, "We must always work hard for our lives, our parents, and other relatives and friends."
Although the possibility was very small, he also wanted to grasp that possibility and take control of his own destiny. He looked up at Manbao and her. They didn't want to put their lives on the scale just because of someone else's words, and their life or death would not be decided by themselves.
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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