Chapter 1014 Advice
For three consecutive days, Bai Shan brought them special snacks from Mianzhou and Yizhou. He quickly became familiar with five or six classmates in the class, and went to two poetry gatherings with them after school, where he got to know classmates from other classes.
At this time, Wei Zhicai entered the palace and told the emperor, "Your Majesty, they dare not be unfilial."
The emperor took a while to understand what was going on. He was speechless for a long while. "I dare not be unfilial, but do I dare to be unfaithful?"
Lord Wei said sternly, "Your Majesty, you have gone too far. Even though they did not refuse, I would have reprimanded them. Your Majesty, since you are aware of their grievances, why not summon them to the Taiji Hall for questioning? Then they can present their complaint to Your Majesty."
The emperor was silent for a long time before he said, "I can ensure that they survive the beating. Let them file their complaint before the Mid-Autumn Festival."
"Your Majesty," Lord Wei lifted his robe and knelt, shouting, "You cannot disregard the lives of the Third Prince and the Crown Prince for their sake. You have a fatherly heart, so why don't you think about Bai Qi and Zhou Yin in the afterlife? They are also your fathers."
"How dare you!" The emperor slammed the table in anger and shouted, "Wei Zhi, you dare to spy on the inner court. Do you believe I will execute your entire clan?"
"The Eastern Palace is the foundation of the country, not the inner court. These past few days, the Crown Prince and the Third Prince's people have been attacking each other in the court. Your Majesty, I am not deaf or blind. It's not just me who knows this. Who in the entire court, civil and military, doesn't know this? Who hasn't heard this?"
The emperor looked very unhappy, clenched his fists and said nothing.
Wei Zhi stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty suspects that the Prince of Yizhou is sowing discord, so he wants to expose this matter early. However, Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and soon it will be the Queen Mother's Thousand Years' Celebration. Will it be of any use to complain at this time?"
The emperor said, "This is a matter for the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, and the Censorate."
Wei Zhi choked for a long time, and could not help but stiffen his neck and said, "In short, I cannot force these two children to die. If Your Majesty insists, then please issue an order for them."
Wouldn't issuing an edict be equivalent to telling the Queen Mother that he had known about this matter for a long time, and even that he had discussed it with others to find a solution?
Not only could he not let the Queen Mother know, he couldn't let anyone else in the world know. Otherwise, how would the world look at him?
Wei Zhi saw his chest heaving with anger, and vaguely felt a sense of urgency. He quickly pointed at the attendant who was kneeling in the corner and almost invisible, and said, "Your Majesty, aren't you afraid that future historians will scold you for doing this? Those are two lives, and two children at that."
The attendant raised his eyelids and glanced at Wei Zhi indifferently, then lowered his head and continued writing: "Wei Jiandi: Are you not afraid of future historians..."
The emperor also glanced at the attendant, feeling a pang in his heart. He said unhappily, "I've already said it, they won't die. The people who were sent to beat the sticks were those I arranged in advance. It's just a formality. What happens after beating the drum and entering the court is the same as what happens after going to the court to file a complaint directly before the emperor. I will send people to protect them when the time comes. I dare not say anything about other places, but who dares to kill them under the emperor's feet?"
The emperor angrily asked, "Why don't you all believe me? Am I the kind of person who doesn't keep his word?"
Wei Zhi bent down and asked, "Your Majesty, why won't you let them come before the Emperor to file their complaint?"
"Wei Qing, are you truly ignorant, or are you pretending not to know?" The emperor said, "This is beneficial to the overall situation."
He sighed and said, "I summoned them specially. When the Queen Mother asks about the matter later, it's hard to believe she doesn't know. If she then asks me about my crimes, I won't blame them. But what about them? But by beating the drum to report them, the Queen Mother will see that they are determined to die, and she won't go to them to question them."
Wei Zhi sneered in his heart, it would be strange if he believed him.
The emperor's words are all lies.
Wei Zhi remained silent and refused to agree. When the emperor pressed him, he simply pulled him aside and started a long lecture, explaining to him what a benevolent monarch was and what it meant to love the people.
Now it was the emperor's turn to have a headache. After finally getting rid of Wei Zhi, the emperor returned to the queen's palace in a rage and kicked a chair that was blocking his way away. As a result, the chair flew away, but his toes also hurt badly.
The queen rushed out from the inner room with a pale face, covered her lips and coughed a few times, then quickly stepped forward to support the emperor and quickly sent someone to call the imperial physician.
The emperor waved his hand and said, "It's nothing serious, it just hurts a little."
Seeing the queen's pale face, he helped her sit on the couch and sighed, "Is your heart pain better? Do you want to ask the imperial physician to see you again?"
The Queen forced a smile and said, "I'm feeling better now. It's nothing serious. What is your Majesty so angry about?"
"It's Wei Zhi, that old bastard. One day I'm going to kill him."
The Queen laughed and said, "Your Majesty, you're talking nonsense again. Lord Wei is a pillar of the country. Didn't you tell Dalang that good ministers are hard to come by? It's fine if you don't treat Lord Wei well, but why are you speaking such angry words like a child?"
"Do you know what that old man just said to me?" the emperor said angrily, "He was just about to point his finger at me and call me a tyrant..."
Then he recounted what happened today.
The Queen thought for a moment and then said seriously, "Your Majesty, Lord Wei did the right thing. Everyone is a parent. Parents love their children in the same way. Just like how the Queen Mother loves the King of Yizhou, and how I love Dalang, Sanlang, and Chengyue, their parents must love them too. If they knew they were in danger, I wonder how heartbroken they would be."
The Queen said, "Furthermore, their parents were heroes who sacrificed their lives for their country and their people. Saving only this one child will only cause their elders and family members even greater heartache. Asking them to beat the drum to report the incident is like asking them to put their lives on the line. Not only Lord Wei, but even I, Your Majesty, feel that this is too harsh."
"I will arrange for the right people. I will just raise the board high and lower it gently. What could be the problem?"
The Queen said solemnly, "I'm not afraid of a thousand things, I'm afraid of one. My love for my son can't withstand the possibility of a single mishap. If something goes wrong..." The Queen paused and said, "I've seen the club used to inflict punishment. It's as thick as a man's thigh. The executioner has immense strength. A skilled soldier can leave the skin intact but rupture internal organs with one blow. Not to mention their relatives, even a stranger like me would be heartbroken. You just said those two children were only twelve or thirteen years old?"
The emperor stopped talking.
The Queen sighed and said, "My son has committed a sin, and now he has to pay for it with the lives of two innocent people. I will never be able to rest in peace."
"Zi Tong, you, you are...ah, fine, fine, I won't let them beat the drum now, okay?" The emperor was so angry that he stood up and took two steps, but his big toe throbbed with pain. He felt that today was particularly unlucky, so he simply sat down on the couch again and said, "But they will file a lawsuit sooner or later. If I don't beat the drum, the whole world will hear about it, and I will find it difficult to stop the empress dowager."
The next update will be around 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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