Xie Yun wanted to bring up Yong Wang's past actions, but he couldn't say anything at this moment.
The emperor raised an eyebrow. "Ah Jun."
Zhao Shu obediently bowed, "Uncle, Ajun is here."
"Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. Who told you that?" The emperor, the supreme ruler, is usually suspicious. Such a question may well be a test. The reason he dotes on this younger brother, besides being born of the same mother, is also because Prince Yong is quite dissolute.
Zhao Shu looked up and smiled sweetly, "All patriots in the world should know this, especially the pillars and key ministers of the court. They should always advise the Emperor to think more about the people. Am I right, Fourth Emperor? As members of the royal family, the last thing we should do is poach our relatives."
Prince Rui inwardly spat, "Why is this little girl dragging me into this?" But on the surface, he actually looked proud, "Nineteenth Brother has done a good job of raising his daughter. Ah Jun is absolutely right."
"Hmph, what a sly fox," Zhao Shu thought to herself.
"Of course, my daughter Ajun has truly worried herself sick over me. She's incredibly filial. She even apologized to Qingge just now. To expect an apology from my son after only a couple of glances? How shameless! She even lied to me, calling me a guest. There's clearly something going on. Humph, a guest! I feel so aggrieved. Under heaven, all land belongs to the king, and all soldiers belong to the king. I am the dignified Prince Yong, yet I can't even protect my own daughter. My royal brother, my mother, I know I was wrong. From now on, if anyone dares to bully my daughter Ajun again, I will definitely fight back!"
Though the words are absurd, they are piercing to the heart.
The Duke of Ningguo knelt down with a thud. "Your Majesty and Empress Dowager, I have failed in my duty to educate my son. Please punish me." He almost burst into tears. He didn't even have the face to ask the princess to apologize. Moreover, his fifth son was contradicting himself, one moment expressing resentment at having his wife taken away, the next acting like a guest.
"Outrageous!" The Empress Dowager was furious. Suddenly, all the officials remembered that although Prince Yong was absurd, he was the Emperor's own brother and the Empress Dowager's own son. No matter how absurd Prince Yong was, he felt he was in the wrong and did not complain. He did not care when he was beaten. As a man, he felt that a woman had been harmed and would hit her a couple of times, but he could still turn a big matter into a small matter and a small matter into nothing, saying that it was a matter between men.
Now, with the Empress Dowager furious and the Emperor's face ashen, they finally remembered that he was a prince.
The situation has escalated from a matter between men to a case of disregard for the proper order of ruler and subject and the imperial family. This is not a good situation. If we insist on advising them, wouldn't we be contradicting ourselves? How could we then have the face to use the principles of morality, ethics, hierarchy, and etiquette to restrain the emperor in the future?
I'm afraid we'll just have to swallow this bitter pill.
It's not a big deal to have a quarrel with the prince on ordinary days, especially when the prince doesn't care. But when everyone thinks the prince is easy to bully and they escalate their behavior, then death is not far away.
As soon as the arrogant remark fell, all the civil and military officials immediately knelt down, begging the Emperor and Empress Dowager to calm their anger. The Emperor, with a cold face, said, "Xie Yun and Wang Kuanqi have failed in their parenting, and their descendants have spoken rudely and insulted the royal family. They are suspended from their posts and sent home to educate their children. The Ningguo family has failed in their parenting, and their descendants have insulted the royal family. They are demoted to the second-rank Ningguo Marquis. The Changting Marquis has failed in his parenting, and his rude remarks have resulted in a three-year salary deduction. The rest of the officials will be punished in the same way as the Changting Marquis. Court adjourned!"
The emperor was furious. He helped the equally furious empress dowager up, summoned Prince Yong and Zhao Shu, and left in a huff.
The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment, especially Xie Yun, Wang Kuanqi, and the Marquis of Ningguo. The three of them were almost in tears. The Marquis of Changting was a little better off, as he was only fined a salary. People like them had long since stopped relying on salaries to make a living.
Even if I'm in a bad mood, I still have to congratulate Marquis Zhiyuan, Chen Jianbin. It's so disgusting.
Zhao Shu followed the angry Empress Dowager and Emperor to Cining Palace. Prince Yong followed silently behind, like a young wife who had made a mistake and wanted to be forgiven by her parents. The imperial physician also followed silently behind.
"Hahahaha, Nineteenth Brother, this beating wasn't for nothing, hahahaha, you didn't see how angry Xie Yun and Wang Kuanqi were."
The emperor laughed heartily and pinched Zhao Shu's nose. "A-Shu is clever. Tell me what you want, and your imperial uncle will grant it to you."
Zhao Shu said shyly and embarrassedly, "I was dragged out of bed by the maid before I had a full night's sleep. Your Majesty, please let me go back to sleep. Look, I have dark circles under my eyes." As she spoke, she pointed to her eyes, and the Emperor saw that they were indeed dark.
Prince Yong looked as if something had happened, wondering why his elder brother was so happy that he had been beaten. Did his brother no longer care about him? As he thought about it, he felt even more aggrieved. He had made a mistake again, but he dared not complain.
When the Empress Dowager saw her son like that, she was even angrier. In the past, when palace servants reported that he had been bullied, they would summon him to the palace to inquire, and this child would cover for others. It really infuriated her.
"Nineteen," the Empress Dowager called out in a muffled voice.
"Mother, I will never dare to do it again, please don't be angry." Prince Yong immediately knelt down and apologized. Zhao Shu looked at Prince Yong like this and had a headache. He was smart, but she couldn't figure out what he was thinking.
"Nineteenth Brother, it's good that you know you're wrong. We are the imperial family, we can't be too weak. You did very well today. Give him a beating first, then ask your elder brother for help. Hahahaha." The emperor patted Prince Yong's shoulder and laughed heartily again.
The emperor also hated those powerful families with a passion, and today, taking advantage of the situation, he eliminated Xie Yun and Wang Kuanqi, which was very satisfying. He was in a great mood and bestowed a lot of gifts upon them.
The Empress Dowager felt both heartache and helplessness, but also had to be happy for the Emperor. In the end, she said nothing, gave out a large number of rewards, treated Prince Yong, and then allowed the two to leave the palace.
Back home, Prince Yong was still in a daze. He pulled Zhao Shu aside and asked, "Ah Jun, where did you learn that saying, 'Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king, and all soldiers belong to the king's subjects'? Now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense."
Zhao Shu had no choice but to yawn. "My mother told me in a dream that Father, A-Jun is sleepy and needs to go to sleep. Father, please rest early."
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