The dispute in the court continued, and even lunch was not served, which naturally alarmed the Queen Mother in the harem.

A eunuch walked over quickly and saw Lu Yunqi standing outside the hall, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute him.

"Is it not over yet?" he asked in a low voice, "The Queen Mother is worried."

"We have to wait about another hour." Lu Yunqi said.

The eunuchs absolutely regarded his words as an imperial decree, and responded by thanking him again.

"Then I will prepare the meal in an hour." He said, turning to leave, and then thought of something, "Also, Lord Lu, I heard that you have invited Doctor Jiang?"

Although Jiang Youshu from the Imperial Hospital is not as popular as before, the Queen Mother still trusts him very much.

Jiang Youshu went to Beizhen Fusi and did not return for several days. Of course his family became anxious, because it involved Lu Yunqi, and they did not know whether it was the emperor's will. They did not dare to report it directly to the empress dowager, so they asked the eunuchs around the empress dowager to find out first.

Lu Yunqi nodded.

"I don't know if Wu Tai, the prison guard brought here from Fuzhou, has a pre-existing illness and is in a state of exhaustion," he said. "In order not to delay the interrogation and investigation, we'll ask Imperial Doctor Jiang to help."

The Fuzhou Supervisory Army Wu Taijun was involved in corruption, and it was said that Duke Cheng was also involved. This was a serious matter, and the eunuchs knew about it. Upon hearing this, they did not dare to ask any more questions.

No one dared to ask further questions to find out whether Wu Tai really had an old illness or was sick from being beaten, not to mention whether he was really sick or just pretending to be sick.

"I understand." He said with a smile, "It's mainly because I haven't seen him in the palace for a few days, and I'm afraid that he will delay the Empress Dowager's medication."

"Li Changhai from the Imperial Medical Hospital learned from the former president Sun Jing and is very good at taking pulses." Lu Yunqi said.

The eunuch understood what he meant and was somewhat surprised.

I don't know how much Li Changhai spent to get Lu Yunqi to recommend him. It's not easy to make Lu Yunqi owe him a favor.

Moreover, this favor can be said to be given for free. After all, those who can enter the Imperial Medical Hospital know each other well and have real medical skills. Many times, they just lack the opportunity to be recommended.

"I understand." The eunuch said with a smile.

As he said this, he heard a crackling sound in the hall, as if something was falling.

The emperor was furious again. The eunuch retracted his head, gestured to Lu Yunqi, and ran away quietly.

Lu Yunqi watched him leave, then turned around and walked into the hall with a blank expression.

Zhu Zan knelt in the middle.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent..." he said aggrievedly.

Before he could finish his words, the emperor took out a memorial from the box in front of him and threw it at him.

"This is about Zhu Shanyan's mistake in the military plane." He said angrily.

He picked up another one and threw it at Zhu Zan.

"This is because Zhushan was deceitful and unfaithful."

"This is to report that you and your son intercepted military funds to expand the mansion."

One book after another was thrown at Zhu Zan.

Zhu Zan knelt there motionless, allowing the memorial to hit him on the head, shoulders and face.

The emperor seemed tired after smashing all the boxes, panting and pointing at the two boxes.

"See? These are all impeachments against you," he said. "I trusted you and suppressed these. What's the result? How did you repay me? My face is swollen because of you."

"Your Majesty, it's the gold thief..." Zhu Zan wanted to clarify seriously.

The emperor was even more annoyed.

"Was it the gold thieves who slapped me in the face? Wasn't it you and your son who slapped me?" he shouted, "You guarded the Northland and let the gold thieves come and go freely. Are you still so proud of yourself?"

If it were any other minister, he would simply say that he was guilty when the emperor scolded him, and then defend himself later. But since Zhu Zan had entered here, if anyone said something about him, he would definitely say something back.

"Your Majesty, that is not what I meant. I am innocent." Zhu Zan said again.

The emperor glared in anger and kicked a wooden box, causing the memorials inside to fall to the ground.

"You are wronged? You have your own troops, you have seized military supplies, you have avoided fighting, you have delayed, you have lied about military intelligence, you are wronged? I am also wronged." He shouted, "No wonder the northerners say there is an emperor in the south and a Duke of Cheng in the north, you are really amazing."

These words were really serious. The ministers present dared not pretend that they did not exist any more and they all knelt down to beg the emperor to calm down.

"That's not what I meant." Zhu Zan's voice rang out again. "That sentence means that the people of the Northern Land are grateful for the emperor's grace. They say that because of you, Your Majesty, my father is here, and the Northern Land is safe."

Very good, this explanation is perfect, worthy of Zhu Zan. The ministers present looked at the person kneeling on the ground with complicated expressions.

The emperor was so angry that he laughed.

"You bastard, according to what you said, the unrest in the North is all my fault?" he cursed.

"How could that be? Your Majesty, you have misunderstood again..." Zhu Zan shouted.

The emperor raised his foot and kicked over another wooden box.

"I am not mistaken. The North is in turmoil now, and the people are dying. This is the reward you and your son have given me..." he shouted.

Zhu Zan suddenly took a step forward, knelt down, and kowtowed heavily, his voice drowning out the emperor's scolding, and then raised his head again.

"Your Majesty, please return to the Northland immediately. I will definitely give you Zheganda's head to kick around!" He said in a loud voice, "If I can't do it, I will give you my own head to kick around."

The Emperor looked at him for a moment.

"I don't like playing football." He shouted, "What's the point of having your head!"

Ning Yan took a step forward.

"Your Majesty, please allow Duke Cheng to make up for his crime and make meritorious contributions. Duke Cheng has not yet defended himself and has personally led troops to pursue the gold thieves. Please give him a chance." He bowed and said.

As he spoke, seven or eight other officials stood up and offered their persuasion.

The emperor was still angry and finally sighed as he looked at these officials.

"Where is Lu Yunqi?" he shouted.

Lu Yunqi, who was standing at the end, stepped forward in response.

"Draft an edict." The emperor said, and the eunuch beside him bowed hurriedly.

"If you can't get Zhe Ganda's head, let the Jinyiwei bring your head to me." The emperor continued.

The eunuch wrote quickly and held the imperial edict high in the air.

"Appreciation!" he shrieked.

Lu Yunqi stepped forward and took it.

"I obey your command," he said.

After saying this, the emperor's face turned pale and he was panting. It was obvious that he had exhausted his mental and physical strength. He turned away with a wave of his sleeves.

"Resign."

The ministers bowed their heads and shouted "Long live the emperor!" one after another, and Zhu Zan's voice was mixed in.

"Your Majesty, what about me?" he shouted, standing up and looking at the emperor who was about to leave.

The emperor looked at him coldly.

"You? Just go to the city's shepherd's office to raise horses, or else you'll get scared when you can't defeat the gold thieves." He said, then walked away in a huff.

Zhu Zan was unwilling to accept the defeat and tried to catch up, but was stopped by Ning Yan.

"Your Highness, this cannot be possible," he said sternly.

Zhu Zan glanced at him, bowed to him, turned around and strode out.

The officials in the hall also left one after another, and Ning Yan walked out while talking in a low voice with his colleagues.

"Lord Ning."

A hoarse voice called from behind.

Ning Yan stopped and turned around, and saw Huang Cheng sitting in a chair.

His official hat was still on his knees, his white hair was disheveled, and he looked a bit wolfish, but his eyes were cold.

"The fall of Hejian Prefecture is such a big deal, but in your eyes, can it be used as a redemption?" Huang Cheng said slowly.

Ning Yan saluted him.

"Sir Huang, changing the commander in chief during a battle is a big taboo," he said sincerely.

Huang Cheng's mouth corners raised and a smile appeared on his face.

"You might as well just say that as long as the gold thief is here, Duke Cheng will be here too," he said.

Ning Yan looked serious.

"Sir Huang, I didn't say that," he said, "but everyone knows how important Duke Cheng is to the North, and your Majesty is wise."

Yes, the emperor is wise. The fear brought by the gold thieves who looted the capital has not dissipated yet, so he is frightened and does not dare to touch Duke Cheng at this moment.

Huang Cheng lowered his eyes and seemed too exhausted to speak.

Ning Yan glanced at the eunuchs around him.

"Take good care of Mr. Huang and let him rest." He instructed.

The eunuchs responded with "yes" and watched Ning Yan and the others walk out.

Huang Cheng was the only one left in the huge hall. When the eunuchs suspected that he had fallen asleep or fainted and were about to call the imperial physician, Huang Cheng raised his head and stood up.

"Don't even think about it." He said calmly.

The eunuchs were confused.

"What did you say, Master Huang?" they asked.

Huang Chengchong smiled at them.

"It's nothing. I'm old. Sorry for causing you so much trouble." He said kindly, and put his hand on the hand of a eunuch. At the same time, a string of turquoise on his wrist slipped into the eunuch's hand.

The eunuch smiled immediately and held Huang Cheng steadily.

"Master Huang, you are embarrassing me." He said with a smile, and urged the other eunuchs, "Go, bring the sedan chair to the master. This is what His Majesty has agreed to."

The eunuchs responded yes.

Huang Cheng was slowly and leisurely supported by the eunuchs as he walked out.