"Since they know they're wrong, why don't you let them leave?"
"The honor we have earned by entering the imperial court is the result of years of hard work. You just casually pull two people into the palace. Do you even care about us?"
"We'll deal with the punishment later. Now, get them out!"
"..."
Bai Qingyuan pressed his advantage, his momentum unstoppable.
"Grand Tutor Bai is absolutely right. You two should leave now!"
"..."
The two people stood up, lowered their heads, and left.
At this moment, Jing Zhe cupped his hands to Emperor An and said, "Your Majesty, I have another matter to report!"
"explain!"
"I intend to abolish the current affairs department of the newspaper, and at the same time, abolish the current affairs section of the newspaper!"
"..."
Upon hearing this, all the ministers gasped in shock.
Although they usually like to chat about interesting stories in the entertainment and lifestyle sections, they are not stupid. They know that the newspaper's survival depends on the current affairs section—because its most fundamental task is to act as Emperor An's mouthpiece.
If it weren't for the current affairs section, it's uncertain whether Emperor An would have even agreed to start the newspaper in the first place!
Jing Zhe's decision to cancel so easily is incredibly frivolous! Emperor An would probably be the first to disagree!
As expected, Emperor An frowned after hearing this and said coldly, "Give me a reasonable explanation! If you can't give me a good one, no matter how well your newspaper does, I will not let you off easily!"
His tone didn't sound like he was joking; it seemed Emperor An was genuinely angry.
Bai Qingyuan sneered from the side: Let your arrogance come, you'll suffer the consequences one day!
"Your Majesty, the current affairs section is named 'Current Affairs' because it naturally covers the major events happening in the court. That's why I brought two members from the current affairs department here, hoping they would take notes. Your Majesty should know that these members would never even dare to think about attending court, let alone go to court. It took me a lot of effort to persuade them to come!"
As she spoke, she glanced at Bai Qingyuan: "But Grand Tutor Bai is very dissatisfied with this. He criticized them in front of all the officials. Who would dare to enter the palace after this? So let's just cancel the current affairs section!"
"..."
Upon hearing this, Bai Qingyuan felt as if he were sitting on a wax figure.
Because he noticed that the way Emperor An looked at him had changed!
"The current affairs section cannot be canceled!"
Emperor An set the tone first: "If the current affairs section is canceled, then this newspaper is not worth publishing!"
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
All the ministers immediately bowed and said in unison.
The story was abruptly ended right at the beginning; who could bear that?
Emperor An pressed his hand down: "The people's will is clear, the newspapers cannot stop, and the current affairs section must continue! I grant permission. The current affairs department of the newspaper shall send someone to the palace to attend court every day, write a draft after court, submit it to Zhu Sheren for review, and then return it to the newspaper for revisions to form the final draft!"
As he spoke, Emperor An glanced down at the table and asked, "Where is Zhu Sheren?"
"Your Majesty, my second sister is ill and did not come today."
Emperor An nodded without giving it much thought, but Zhu Tong gave Jing Zhe a strange look, wondering how he could have fallen ill overnight when he went out yesterday.
"In that case, go and invite the two of them back quickly!"
After Emperor An finished speaking, Jing Zhe did not move, but looked at Bai Qingyuan: "Grand Tutor Bai, the one who tied the knot must untie it, so I will have to trouble you to make a trip, otherwise they will not dare to come back!"
"..."
Seeing that Bai Qingyuan didn't move, Jing Zhe sighed and muttered to himself.
"Sigh, maybe we shouldn't do it..."
"..."
"Grand Tutor Bai, you may go out for a moment!"
"Yes, we can't stop publishing newspapers; we should uphold our style!"
"You, surnamed Bai, didn't even bother to find out what happened and just yelled at people and drove them away. What's wrong with asking you to go and invite them back? You call yourself Bai? You might as well be surnamed Hei!"
Yu Sheng has a fiery temper, especially since there was an interview with him in the second issue of the newspaper. How could he possibly be calm at that moment?
With everyone chiming in, Bai Qingyuan, already feeling overwhelmed, was further exacerbated by Yu Sheng's shout. He pulled up his pants, ready to retort.
"Grand Tutor Bai, go!"
At this point, a single sentence from Emperor An completely silenced him.
Helpless, Bai Qingyuan dragged his aged body out...
Heh, trying to mess with me?
Jing Zhe sneered and glanced at Su Xinping.
Su Xinping had never attended court before, so how could he have known that the court would be so tense and turbulent?
Jing Zhe glanced at her again, and she couldn't help but shiver, feeling a sense of dread...
...
A long time passed, but Bai Qingyuan still hadn't returned.
Emperor An and the others grew anxious and urged Sui Shouren, "General Sui, go and take a look!"
Sui Shouren accepted the order and soon returned with the two commune members and Bai Qingyuan. Bai Qingyuan's face was as pale as his surname, frighteningly white, as if he were about to die.
After Sui Shouren explained, everyone realized that the two members had slipped away very quickly, and Bai Qingyuan had only caught up with them at the newspaper office. Worried that Emperor An would have to wait too long, he dared not stop and ran all the way back…
Back in the imperial court, Bai Qingyuan was panting like a dog, no longer having any intention of picking a fight with Jing Zhe.
"Alright, let's begin the morning court session!"
Because members of the Ministry of Personnel were present, Emperor An guided his ministers in explaining many of the most basic policies of the An Kingdom, making it easier for the members to take notes.
After saying all this, it is time to offer advice.
"His Majesty!"
At this moment, Su Xinping was the first to step forward.
Not only was Emperor An surprised, but the other ministers also had similar expressions. Although Su Xinping had a special status and was allowed to enter the palace, he had hardly attended court since Emperor An summoned him to Jingzhou under the pretext of "accompanying the Crown Prince in his studies."
Perhaps they lack interest, or perhaps they're trying to avoid suspicion?
So his sudden appearance today has sparked speculation among everyone.
"It's Xinping! What brings you here?"
I had originally planned to call Jing Zhe over today to arrange things for the future, but Su Xinping's appearance was unexpected.
"Your Majesty, my nephew has been in Jingzhou for some time now and has not returned to Jinxi. Because I have been frequently corresponding with my family recently, I am extremely homesick. Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesty's permission to return to Jinxi to visit my relatives!"
After Su Xinping finished speaking, Emperor An remained silent.
The reason Su Xinping was summoned to Jingzhou was under the pretext of "accompanying the Crown Prince in his studies," but in reality, it was out of fear of the rise of the Prince of Jin. As a result, the Prince of Jin became much more obedient.
Later, Su Xinping also finished studying with the Crown Prince, but Emperor An never told him to go back, and Su Xinping never brought it up himself, so he stayed in Jingzhou.
It seems everyone knows that "accompanying the Crown Prince in his studies" is a pretext; the real purpose is to keep Su Xinping behind to blackmail the Prince of Jin.
But no one said it out loud; they all pretended not to know.
Recently, the Prince of Jin has become more active again.
If we let Su Xinping go back now, what if Prince Jin has other ideas?
However, even though everyone knows that she doesn't want Su Xinping to go back, she has to refuse him without showing it, which is not easy.
Therefore, Emperor An was in a very difficult position.
————
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
