Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Does your hand hurt?

Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Does your hand hurt?

"That's what happened."

Liu Xi, the Chief of the Imperial Household, interrogated the Crown Princess and the palace ladies, and then told all the ministers the whole story in court.

The emperor looked at the officials below with a sullen face, and said nothing.

The fathers and grandfathers of several female family members involved in the incident all arrived at the Fengtian Palace, including the Minister of Revenue Zheng Shanghe, the Left Governor of the Military Governor's Office Shi Heng, the Minister of Public Administration Yao Hou, the Minister of Rites Kong Yunjie, and the last one was naturally the Left Governor Cheng Mingyu.

Although the Minister of Rites Kong Yunjie and the Left Commander Shi Heng were not in the same camp on normal days, today, since both of their children were victims, they naturally stood on the same side.

After hearing what happened, Lord Yao knew that his daughter could not escape the blame today, and the best way to reduce the crime was to throw all the blame on Cheng Yian. He took the lead in attacking Cheng Mingyu.

"Your Majesty, the eunuch just said that my daughter was tripped by the girl from the Cheng family, and then a quarrel broke out. It can be seen that the instigator today is Cheng Yian."

He then turned to Cheng Mingyu and snorted coldly, "It is said that Mr. Cheng is strict in managing his family. If your own daughter is like this, the rest of the girls in the Cheng family can be compared to him."

Cheng Mingyu always faced the emperor, raised his sleeves and bowed upwards, and asked the eunuch for the seal.

"May I ask, Master Liu, do you have any evidence to prove that my daughter has killed the girl from the Yao family?"

Liu Zhangyin smiled and said, "No, the Zheng family girl said no, and the Shi family girl said it seemed like she saw it, but there is no clear evidence."

"Since there is no clear evidence, Lord Yao's empty accusation is a false accusation."

Yao Hou curled his lips, lifted his robe and pointed at Shi Heng, "General Shi's daughter saw it with her own eyes, how can she wrongly accuse your daughter?"

At this time, Zheng Shanghe interrupted.

"But my daughter is sure that she never saw the Cheng family girl take action," said Minister Zheng firmly, "and she would never lie."

Yao Hou ignored him and continued to argue with Cheng Mingyu, "If your daughter hadn't blocked my way for no reason, how could my daughter have fought with her?"

"Then I have to ask you, Lord Yao, about this." Cheng Mingyu turned around slowly and retorted, "What kind of family tradition does the Yao family have that would allow their daughter to commit atrocities against the other female relatives at a palace banquet?"

This is what made Yao Hou most angry. "You are talking nonsense. It was clearly your daughter who committed the crime and injured three girls on the spot. We all saw it."

Cheng Mingyu almost laughed out loud, "Then according to Lord Yao, should my daughter stand there and be beaten by your daughter?"

Yao Hou choked.

Cheng Mingyu said rudely, "You just want to stir up trouble, but you also hope that others will not fight back. You blame others even though you are not as skilled as them. It seems that the Yao family has all the reasons in the world. With Lord Yao teaching his daughter like this, it's no wonder that your daughter gets beaten again and again."

Yao Hou's face turned purple with anger, "You..."

"Lord Yao..." Cheng Mingyu straightened his robe slowly and looked at him calmly, "My daughter is helping Lord Yao to teach his daughter. Should Lord Yao send some money?"

"Cheng Mingyu, you are simply..." Yao Hou was so angry that he wanted to poke Cheng Mingyu's face with his finger. Zheng Shanghe suddenly rushed over, covered his palm and pressed it down, and whispered in his ear,

"Master Yao, calm down. The last official who yelled at Master Cheng in the court was whipped 100 times by the princess and has not yet left the house. Please take it easy..."

Yao Hou's arrogance suddenly deflated, he was unable to breathe and his old face turned red.

However, Yao Hou had been in the officialdom for many years, so he soon calmed down, waved his sleeves,

"What about the slap in the face? At first, you could say it was just a minor fight between two girls, but then your daughter used violence in court, which is an undeniable fact."

Cheng Mingyu said expressionlessly, "This deserves a beating even more."

"You..." Yao Hou's blood rushed up again, but he held back his anger when he remembered Minister Zheng's instructions. He said with restraint, "Sir Cheng, you are the Left Du Lushi, the head of the Censorate, but you allowed a woman to commit a crime. You are simply breaking the law knowingly!"

When Cheng Mingyu heard the words "knowingly breaking the law", he laughed. He seldom laughed, but when he laughed his eyebrows and eyes became sharper, and the elegance of a distinguished official in the past reappeared on his face.

He ignored Lord Yao and bowed to the emperor at the top.

"Your Majesty, according to Article 13, Clause 4 of the Great Jin Code of Rites and Ceremonies, anyone who unreasonably denounces an official appointed by the imperial court and disrespects the emperor will be flogged 100 times and sent to the frontier if he denounces an official of the fourth rank or above; and will be flogged 50 times and dismissed from his post and never employed again if he denounces an official of the fourth rank or below."

"According to Article 1, Clause 8 of the Great Jin Code of Rites and Etiquette, anyone who insults the emperor's reputation will be beaten to death!"

Yao Hou and others were confused by Cheng Mingyu's lecture on laws.

"What do you mean?"

Cheng Mingyu said solemnly, "Your Majesty, Lu Xusheng is a second-rank deputy governor appointed by you personally, and he is in charge of nine border towns. Yao Hou's daughter insulted and called the commanders of three armies executioners and murderous demons. She also attacked the officials of the imperial court without reason, which meets the crime of Article 13, Clause 4 of the Ceremonial Ordinance. He should be flogged 100 times and sent to the border."

"The second one implies that Your Majesty has appointed people who are not upright. Anyone who insults Your Majesty's reputation should be killed!"

Every word Cheng Mingyu said was cold and ruthless, and struck Yao Hou's heart like a note of death. His knees went weak, and he fell to his knees, trembling and crying out his injustice to the emperor.

"Your Majesty... my unfilial daughter is so outspoken that it is unforgivable. I will not defend her, but it was just a joke between two girls. How can you take it seriously? Even if she had ten times the courage, she would not dare to insult Your Majesty's reputation."

Cheng Mingyu glanced over, his handsome face as cold as frost, "Are you kidding? Lord Yao, do you know what will happen if your daughter's words are spread to the border? Not only will it chill the hearts of the soldiers who are fighting bloody battles, but it will also make the soldiers mistakenly think that the emperor has no sympathy for them. The consequences are hard to estimate."

Throughout the dynasties, there have been many cases of border troops rebelling.

The emperor on the throne had a gloomy look on his face.

Minister Zheng looked at Lord Yao with sympathy and thought to himself, who else could you arm wrestle with? Why do you have to arm wrestle with Cheng Mingyu, a 17-year-old who overwhelmed the Northern Qi scholars with his eloquent tongue. Who do you think you are to confront him?

Yao Hou knew that he would only bring disgrace upon himself if he continued to defend himself, so he immediately prostrated himself and cried.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. Your Majesty, please forgive me. I failed to teach my daughter well..."

Seeing that Yao Hou was defeated, Shi Heng, who had not spoken a word, suddenly glanced at Cheng Mingyu.

"Master Cheng, even if Yao's daughter was wrong, your daughter was right to beat her in public?"

"This is the imperial palace. Even if the Yao family daughter made a mistake, she should be reported to the emperor and the empress dowager for punishment. What does it mean that your daughter exceeded her authority? When there is no one in the imperial palace, it is your daughter's turn to take charge of the situation? Or have you, the Cheng family, never taken the master of the palace seriously?"

After all, Shi Heng was not Lord Yao, so he grasped the key point at a glance.

If it were someone else, they would definitely be frightened by Shi Heng's big hat.

But what kind of person is Cheng Mingyu? How could he not know what was going on when he knew this was the key to his conviction?

This Zuodu Lushi, who was once known as the most handsome man in Dajin, suddenly smiled and bowed to Shi Heng.

"General Shi, the eighth article of the last volume of the "Da Jin Law" says: All Da Jin citizens have the responsibility to safeguard the honor of our Da Jin. You can do whatever you want. The border soldiers who protect their homes and the country are the pillars of Da Jin. General Shi is the left general of the governor's office, the leader of all the generals. If someone insults your soldiers as murderous and crazy executioners under your nose, I think you will be very angry.

We will not hesitate to protect it.”

"I personally thought that anyone would question my daughter, except you, the head of the Five Armies of the Five Armies Commandery."

He emphasized the word "can't", like the sound of striking a drum, clear and firm.

When it comes to using the law to suppress the situation, Cheng Mingyu does so without hesitation, and when it comes to appealing to the emotions, Cheng Mingyu does not hesitate either.

When Shi Heng heard his last sentence, he sighed and retreated without saying anything.

He was not afraid of not being able to distinguish Cheng Mingyu. He was worried that if today's events were made public, it would discourage the soldiers of the five armies and make it difficult for him to lead the troops.

After Shi Heng retreated, the last person left was the Minister of Rites Kong Yunjie. He had always been at odds with Cheng Mingyu, so he stepped forward and pointed at him, saying,

"Cheng Mingyu, according to what you said, your daughter is right?"

This time Cheng Mingyu did not argue with him, but raised his sleeves and bowed solemnly to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I may have acted impulsively, but please forgive me for protecting her husband. She is young and hates evil, and doesn't know how to be tactful. I still need to teach her carefully. In addition, that slap seemed unnecessary, but I think it was necessary. I won't have to worry about it after this slap."

Cheng Mingyu's words have two meanings.

First, the emperor treated Lu Xusheng as his own son, and the daughter-in-law protected him, which made the father-in-law feel at ease and would not blame him.

Secondly, only after Cheng Yian vented his anger on the spot did Lu Xusheng stop. After the death of King Nankang, a saying spread in Northern Qi: "If you want to offend someone, you must offend Lu Xusheng." If he was unhappy, it would be equivalent to the border troops being unhappy. The emperor now had to compete with the crown prince and the queen mother, and the military morale could not be disturbed.

This is also the reason why the Crown Princess did not report to the Queen Mother and passed the hot potato to the Emperor.

If the emperor handled it well, at best it was because of internal strife among the imperial party; if he handled it poorly, it was because of disloyalty and disloyalty.

Hit the snake at its most vulnerable part, and Cheng Mingyu hit it very accurately.

How could Kong Yunjie just watch Cheng Mingyu slip by like a loach? When he was about to make a decision, the emperor above shouted,

“That’s enough!”

Kong Yunjie had no choice but to pinch his nose and shut his mouth.

The emperor glanced at Cheng Mingyu slowly and laughed very softly.

He and Cheng Mingyu have been king and subject for nearly twenty years. This is the first time he sees a hint of philanthropy in Cheng Mingyu, a hint of protectiveness.

It's rare.

"Alright." The emperor put his hands on his knees and gradually calmed down. "Today's incident originated from the daughter of the Yao family. Yao Yiqing, you almost made it impossible for me to get off the stage today."

Yao Hou immediately kowtowed desperately, "I am guilty."

The emperor saw that he had a good attitude in admitting his fault, so he calmed down a little. "I order you to personally go to Xusheng's house and apologize for your crime. This is the first thing. Second, you must fine Yaohou Mansion for three years, deprive him of his right to protect you, and take your daughter back to teach her a lesson. If you do it again, I will take away your title!"

Deducting an official's salary would not be painful, because it was not much to begin with, and officials of the Jin Dynasty did not live on salaries. But deducting a marquis's salary would be a huge blow. The court would give the marquis's mansion a fixed quota every year, including monthly, festival and annual allowances, and the amount was not small. In addition, there were also quotas for hidden officials. If the son of the family failed the imperial examination, he could become an official through hidden means, ensuring that he would have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of his life. Otherwise, why would so many officials fight hard for the title of marquis and the title of nobility?

Yao Hou scolded his daughter in his heart for being a fool, then accepted the order with tears in his eyes.

"In addition, your mansion's three-year allotment will be used as military funds to make winter clothing for the border troops."

The emperor's move was not bad.

The Minister of Revenue, Zheng Shanghe, nodded immediately and said, "I accept your order."

"As for the other girls, although there are reasons for their actions, they have violated palace rules. I order you to take them back and give them a good lesson, and also fine them for half a year. Do you have any objections?"

The emperor obviously wanted to smooth things over and get the matter over with.

"We thank God for His grace."

Zheng Shanghe and Cheng Mingyu's annual salary was less than two hundred taels, and less than one hundred taels in half a year, which had nothing to do with the itching.

Governor Shi and Kong Yunjie did not care about these salaries. After all, they had suffered a loss and lost face, and they did not win the battle, so they felt a little aggrieved.

After leaving Fengtian Hall, several officials were ordered to go to Taiye Lake to pick up people.

Marquis Yao walked the fastest, wishing he could drag his daughter out of the palace immediately. Governor Shi, Minister Kong and others followed closely behind him. As for Cheng Mingyu, he was called by the seal-holder to ask about an official matter.

Yao Hou followed the palace maids and strode to Guanghan Palace.

When they arrived at Guanghan Palace, the rest of the female members of the family had left the palace, except for the girl involved in today's incident, who was standing under the corridor basking in the sun with her own thoughts.

In the afternoon, the clouds dispersed, revealing a vast blue sky. The setting sun shone brightly, creating a circle of light in front of the steps.

The girls sat in the room for too long and felt the room was stuffy, so they all came out to get some fresh air.

Cheng Yian and Zheng Ying stood at the east corner of the corridor, while Yao Yuzhuang stood alone at the west corner.

Shi Feiyan and Kong Zhen moved to a tree on the side.

It seems that everyone is getting a little anxious from waiting.

When Lord Yao saw his daughter leaning against the pillar with her face covered in a trance, he was so angry that he started to scold her from a distance.

"You evil creature!"

"He can cause trouble wherever he goes!"

"You have done a lot of harm to others. Not only have you ruined your own reputation, but you have also ruined your brother's future and caused the Marquis's Mansion to suffer!"

Yao Yuzhen had an elder brother who was made the crown prince, and a younger brother who was also a playboy, so she was counting on their protection.

Yao Hou scolded her while striding forward to grab Yao Yuzhen. Seeing her father's cannibalistic look, Yao Yuzhen hid behind the pillars in fear.

"Daddy..." Tears rolled down her cheeks.

I thought my father would be concerned about her injury, but I didn't expect him to start scolding her right away.

Seeing Yao Hou reaching out with his broad hand to grab her wrist, Yao Yuzhen burst into tears and begged,

"Dad, please speak politely. This is the imperial palace..."

Yao Hou was so angry that he laughed. He pulled his daughter down the stairs, let her stand in the sun, and scolded her, "You also know that this is the imperial palace? You can't discuss the biggest issues outside the palace. Why are you making trouble in this palace?"

Yao Yuzhuang's face fell to the ground, hesitating and pointing in the direction of Cheng Yian.

"Dad, don't blame your daughter, it's Cheng..."

"Shut up, what kind of person are you? As a father, I don't know. I tell you, from now on, you will reflect on your mistakes behind closed doors and go to the temple to copy sutras every day. When your father's anger subsides, you will leave the temple."

Yao Yuzhuang's face turned pale and her body swayed like an autumn leaf, about to fall.

When the girls saw Lord Yao's posture, they all secretly thought that something was wrong.

When he looked up again, he saw several officials in black robes approaching him, and his heart suddenly sank.

It’s over, the fathers are here to call for punishment.

Shi Feiyan was usually such an arrogant person, but when she saw her father looking at her with a cold face, she began to tremble.

"Daddy..." She was still relatively calm and reluctantly bowed to Shi Heng.

Shi Heng came to her, and although he did not roar as loudly as Yao Hou, his expression was not good either.

"Today I asked you to come to the palace to pray for blessings, why did you get involved in the dispute? Have you forgotten everything your father taught you?"

Shi Feiyan knew her father's temper very well. If she did not do what he wanted, he would punish her severely. She quickly defended herself.

"Daddy, I saw them fighting so hard and was afraid of upsetting Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess, so I went to break up the fight, but I was pushed by someone by accident," she said pitifully, rubbing her waist. "My waist is bruised and my elbow is also scratched. It still hurts."

Shi Heng glared at her and said, "You deserve it!"

Shi Feiyan didn't dare to argue and quickly lowered her eyes.

Kong Zhen knew her grandfather's temper well. When he came up to her, she apologized very straightforwardly. Kong Yunjie, on the other hand, was at a loss for words. He just snorted and said, "I won't make this an exception next time."

Zheng Ying felt much better. The father and daughter talked quietly. Zheng Shang and the others did not ask, but just said in a gentle voice,

"Go home with Daddy."

Zheng Ying looked at the lonely Cheng Yian and felt hesitant.

Cheng Yian forced a smile towards Zheng Ying.

"It's getting late, and you didn't eat much just now, so go back quickly."

Looking at the expressions of these fathers, she knew that the emperor was angry. She was now very glad that she was not Cheng Mingyou's daughter, otherwise she didn't know what would have happened to her.

Whenever she got into an argument with someone outside when she was young, he would always scold her without knowing the truth when he came back.

She felt wronged and dared not say anything.

Which child doesn't depend on his father in his heart? Even if he makes a mistake, he still hopes to be comforted by his father.

With his eyes slightly drooped, he was staring at the sparkling water outside the forest in a trance, when suddenly a voice came from the shadow in front of him.

“An An…”

Cheng Yian raised her head suddenly, only to see Cheng Mingyu walking quickly towards her. His figure was like a tall and vigorous green pine, as if he had appeared from the woods. Even though he walked fast, his shoulders did not sway, his knees did not shake, and he was still very graceful.

Cheng Yian's nose suddenly felt sore. Even Minister Zheng was reprimanded, so he could not escape the blame.

Without waiting for anyone to come to him, Cheng Yian immediately knelt down in front of him.

"I'm sorry to trouble you."

It was these gentle and docile words that hurt Cheng Mingyu's heart. He stepped onto the stairs in two steps.

"Silly child, what nonsense are you talking about?

If you are wronged, Daddy is worried about you, so why would you think it is troublesome?"

He looked at her carefully again and saw that her palm-sized face was pale in the winter sun. Perhaps because of the cold wind, her lips were a little black, and her dark almond-shaped eyes were slightly watery and filled with shame.

Cheng Mingyu felt extremely distressed and asked her calmly, "An An, did they hurt you?"

If Cheng Yian is injured, then this matter is not over yet.

Cheng Yian shook his head, "No..."

Cheng Mingyu saw her with her hands behind her back and frowned, "Which hand did you use to hit me? Let Daddy take a look, does it hurt?"

Before Cheng Yian could react, the Yao family father and daughter next door twitched their lips and glared at him.

"Cheng Mingyu, don't be so rude after getting an advantage."

Cheng Mingyu ignored him and insisted on looking at Cheng Yian.

Cheng Yian blushed and held out her little hand, then shook her head gently at him.

“It doesn’t hurt…”

Cheng Mingyu saw that her palm was clean and white with no obvious marks, and his expression relaxed, "That's good, come, Daddy will take you back home."

He raised his sleeves and pointed forward, protecting Cheng Yian as he walked down the stairs.

"Did you have lunch?"

"I ate some..."

"Are you full?"

Cheng Yian didn't say anything.

Cheng Mingyu said,

"Daddy will take you to Sifang Restaurant for another meal."

Yao Yuzhen and Shi Feiyan were dumbfounded as they watched the father and daughter leave. They had been waiting for someone to punish Cheng Yian, but not only did no one come, but the father even seemed to want to comfort him.

They are all biological fathers. The other father is not only a good father, but also a good supporter of his daughter. Thinking back to the sentence "Did it hurt?", Shi Feiyan wanted to cry.

Cheng Yian didn’t know whether she was in pain or not, but she was in a lot of pain.