Chapter 189 Summoning Lin Lan and others
The palace was quiet and solemn. Even though they hadn't seen the emperor yet, the people from the Upper Six Village were so frightened by the majestic atmosphere that they dared not breathe.
They followed the eunuchs with their hands and feet tied. Before they came, the guards had told them not to look around. How could they dare to look around? They didn't even dare to raise their heads.
After finally entering the hall, several people's hands and feet were shaking.
The eunuch stopped, and Lin Lan and others also stopped and stood quietly.
I don't know how long it took, but suddenly I heard a sharp voice in my ear, "The Emperor has arrived."
Their hearts skipped a beat and they fell to their knees.
Emperor Jingxuan paused for a moment, then walked up the steps as if nothing had happened and sat on the dragon throne.
His eyes swept over everyone in the hall, and finally landed accurately on the little girl on the left.
"Are you Lin Lan?"
Hearing her name, Lin Lan subconsciously raised her head, then remembered the instructions of the guard leader, and quickly lowered her head again, so that she didn't even see what Emperor Jingxuan looked like, she only caught a glimpse of the bright yellow dragon robe on him.
She quickly replied, "My name is Lin Lan."
Emperor Jingxuan laughed, "Don't be nervous. I summoned you here just to ask some questions. Tell me what Chao Chao was like when you first met her. What did she say to you? Also, before Chao Chao left, you had the most contact with her. Tell me what she said and did. "
"Yes, it's Your Majesty." Lin Lan was very nervous, her voice trembling a little, "I first met Chao Chao two years ago. In fact, it was Chao Chao who helped me first at the beginning."
When Chaochao first arrived at the Hu family in Shangliu Village two years ago, Hu Fulai and Zheng were very kind to her at first. They even took her around the village to let the villagers know that they treated Chaochao as their own daughter. They hoped that when Chaochao's family came to find her, they would be able to give them more benefits. Therefore, she had good food and supplies at that time.
On the contrary, Lin Lan, who was still in the old Lin family at that time, was treated like a cow and a horse by the old man and old lady Lin who favored boys over girls. She worked more and ate less. Chao Chao saw that she was so hungry that she kept drinking water, and gave her the coarse flour steamed bun in his hand.
By the way, at that time, Chaochao actually told her that she couldn’t drink raw water.
But she couldn't explain why she couldn't drink it. Later, Chao Chao's life was difficult, so she didn't care about raw or cooked water. It was good enough for her to fill her stomach with water.
In fact, Emperor Jingxuan knew all these things.
As soon as Liang Wei arrived at Shangliu Village, he had already learned in detail about how Lin Lan and the others were getting along with Chao Chao. These had already been compiled into a book and sent to Emperor Jingxuan as quickly as possible.
Now he listened to it again, just to see if there was any missed information.
Unfortunately, there was no difference between what Lin Lan said and what he received.
Emperor Jingxuan was a little disappointed. After Lin Lan finished speaking, he saw that the emperor didn't say anything, and he suddenly became a little uneasy.
Fortunately, Emperor Jingxuan quickly waved his hand and called on others to come forward to respond.
Everyone was talking about daily life. Liang Wei's memorial could not possibly explain all the details clearly, so there were some things that Emperor Jingxuan did not understand.
But the more he listened, the more his brows furrowed, and the more disgusted he felt when he looked at Hu Fulai and his wife kneeling behind him.
How could these two greedy, stupid, and bad bastards have met Chao Chao first? If it had been any one of Lin Lan and the others who had picked up Chao Chao, the little girl wouldn't have had to live such a hard life. Perhaps, they would have been able to realize Chao Chao's extraordinary origins earlier and report it to the authorities.
The county magistrate of Huaiping County is Gao Hongfei. With his ability and insight, he might have sent Chao Chao to the capital two years ago. Their Daqi might have changed a long time ago.
At least, Emperor Jingxuan believed that he could have lifted the maritime ban two years ago.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Emperor Jingxuan looked at Hu Fulai and his wife with icy cold eyes.
Perhaps the aura he exuded was too terrifying, and Grandma Zhou, who was replying, stopped talking and began to sway uncontrollably.
Emperor Jingxuan could only suppress his inner resentment and said to her, "Don't be afraid, old lady. You have done a great job. If it weren't for you, Chao Chao wouldn't have persisted until now, wouldn't have waited for the awakening of Ah Shan, wouldn't have seen the sky curtain, and it would have been impossible for me to know about the high yield of grain and other things that benefited the people of Daqi. I remember your contributions, and so do the people of Daqi. Very good, I will reward you handsomely later."
Lin Lan and others were a little surprised. It was the first time that the emperor spoke so much to them, and he was so approachable.
They suddenly felt less nervous.
Mr. Guo led everyone to express gratitude.
Emperor Jingxuan saw that it was getting late and wanted to keep them in the palace for dinner. At this moment, Cao Qing walked quickly to his side and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother knew that Miss Lin Lan and others had entered the palace, and wanted to invite them to have a talk."
Emperor Jingxuan raised his eyebrows and immediately thought of the women's college that the Queen Mother was preparing.
He nodded, "Since the Queen Mother has summoned you, you can take them with you."
However, although the women in the harem can go, it is difficult for the men to follow.
Therefore, Cao Qing took Mr. Guo, Lin Tian Dashan and others to the side hall next door to drink tea and eat snacks, while Lin Lan and other female relatives were led to the harem by the nanny.
Suddenly, only Hu Fulai, Zheng, Jiang Lao San and Kuangzi were left in the hall.
The hall was eerily quiet. The four people felt as if the gazes from above their heads could freeze them to death. The cold wind blew in, and they couldn't help but shiver violently.
Before Hu Fulai and Zheng came, they felt that there was nothing to be afraid of. The emperor was obviously going to punish them. No matter how much they said, it would be useless. The worst that could happen was death. Anyway, their beloved son was like this, and they no longer had anything to care about.
But when they really faced the majestic emperor, they no longer had any backbone left and wished they could hide themselves so that the emperor could not see them at all.
Emperor Jingxuan sneered, and suddenly a faint voice sounded, "Did you hear what Lin Lan and the others said just now? Is there anything else you want to say?"
Jiang Lao San was the first one who couldn't help himself. He crawled forward two steps and kowtowed several times. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please spare my life. I, a commoner, know that I am wrong. As long as Your Majesty spares my life, I will do anything. Please give us a chance to atone for our sins."
His words made the other three react, and the sounds of kowtows rang out one after another.
"Your Majesty, please spare my life. We can use our merits to atone for our crimes. Your Majesty, please spare my life."
Emperor Jingxuan watched them kowtow, and when they were almost done, he asked coldly, "How do you want to atone for your sins?"
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