Chapter 58 Heard a Story
The Double Ninth Festival.
The doors and windows of Ningxiangju are decorated with bright yellow dogwood trees in full bloom.
It was as quiet outside as ever.
Ningxiangju was bustling all day long, and only became quiet when the moon reached its zenith.
The next day at 11:00 AM.
An eunuch bowed at the bedroom door and whispered, "Your Majesty, it's time to go to court."
There was no movement in the bedroom.
The eunuch didn't dare to urge him, and after a long while, Murong Jin finally came out.
The eunuch lowered his head, not daring to look at his expression, for fear that he would lose his life for disturbing the emperor's interest.
Tinglan, Changan and others also bowed and waited on the side.
Murong Jin didn't look angry at all, but rather contented and happy. He glanced at Tinglan, Changan, and the others and said, "Bring me some steamed cakes for breakfast."
Tinglan and the others were stunned for a moment before they quickly responded and rushed to the kitchen to wrap some steamed cakes left over from yesterday and brought them to the eunuch beside Murong Jin.
Only then did Murong Jin leave Ningxiangju and return to Chengping Palace where he lived.
Gao Bin had been waiting outside the palace gate for a long time. When he saw him come back, he asked the eunuchs to bring water for him to wash and change his clothes.
"Your Majesty has been so cheerful these past two days, would you like to have something to eat this morning?"
Gao Bin advised.
Murong Jin straightened his robe sleeves and nodded: "I packed some steamed cakes, you can have some too."
As he was speaking, a eunuch brought the re-steamed cakes to the table.
The steamed cake was cut.
The solid ingredients inside are exposed, the aroma is fragrant and makes people's mouths water.
Murong Jin handed a piece to Gao Bin: "Try it, it's a specialty of Yanzhou."
Gao Bin took it blankly, watched Murong Jin finish a piece, and then he took a bite himself slowly.
Murong Jin now understood how Luo Fu felt when she asked him to eat. He looked at Gao Bin and asked, "How is it?"
Gao Bin swallowed the food in his mouth and looked at the emperor he had watched grow up with a smile, his eyes moistened: "Very good, very good!"
Murong Jin was dissatisfied with his reaction and said, "Tsk, why are you crying?"
"This servant is so happy." Gao Bin wiped his eyes with his sleeve and couldn't help but persuade, "Your Majesty is so fond of Concubine Luo, so let her sleep with you. You should have a child, and the country needs an heir. Only then can the former dynasty and the harem be stable."
Murong Jin's face darkened: "Gao Bin, you know I don't want any offspring."
Gao Bin naturally knew about it, but he never mentioned it before. But now that Concubine Luo was here, things were different.
"Even if Your Majesty doesn't want an heir, you should still think about Concubine Luo. Women always want to be mothers. With an heir, the country will be stable, and Concubine Luo will have no worries."
He knew that Murong Jin liked Luo Fu, so he only talked about Luo Fu.
Sure enough, although the emperor didn't say anything after hearing this, his expression softened.
Gao Bin knew that the emperor had heard it, so he said nothing more and helped him rinse his mouth and wash his hands before going to court.
Murong Jin went to court based on his mood, so no one thought anything was wrong when he didn't attend court for two days.
At the court meeting, in addition to the daily military, political and financial situation, Prince Duan was actually brought out.
Prince Duan was the second son of the late emperor and Murong Jin's second brother.
The previous emperor had twelve princes, and besides Murong Jin, only he survived in the capital.
There must be a reason why he survived.
That is because he is dull in nature. Sometimes he cannot understand if the words are a little roundabout.
He himself was aware of his own limitations and just wanted to be a prince quietly, never getting involved in the military or political affairs of the court.
It's rare that he is impeached.
Murong Jin became more interested as he listened to the censor below him say, "Your Majesty, Prince Duan allowed his slave to commit a crime, severely injuring someone, and even shielded his crime by refusing to hand the criminal over. This has incurred the wrath of the people. I beg Your Majesty to make a wise decision."
Everyone knows that emperors can kill each other. Although this kind of thing is small, it can also cost the life of a prince.
Even if the emperor did not kill him, he would let the relevant government departments decide.
If Prince Duan offends someone, he can't expect to stay out of it.
The ministers were accustomed to waiting for the emperor to issue an order to kill or hand the case over to the government office for disposal.
Unexpectedly, the emperor said to the eunuch beside him, "Go, bring Prince Duan and his servant here."
The ministers were surprised. Was he going to conduct the trial personally?
The censor and the Minister of Revenue looked at each other, both feeling uneasy.
The arrival of Prince Duan shows that the whole story is nothing special. The important thing is that the emperor's temper is unpredictable, and I'm afraid he will be injured.
But no one dared to stop it.
The matter of Prince Duan was only briefly mentioned at the end of the court meeting, but I didn't expect that he would have to be tried in person.
The court fell silent for a moment.
Murong Jin leaned on the dragon throne and waited patiently.
Soon, Prince Duan came trotting over, following the eunuch.
Prince Duan was a plump man, and he was panting like a bellows as he jogged all the way here.
There was another person following behind Prince Duan.
He was about thirty years old, not very tall, but very strong. Even though Prince Duan was panting so hard, his breathing was not disordered at all.
I think it was the servant who committed the crime in the street.
"Your Majesty, I am here."
Prince Duan didn't care about anything and just ran to the front and bowed his head.
The servant behind him also knelt down, not daring to raise his head.
Murong Jin said, "The censors have impeached you for allowing your slave to commit murder. Tell me what happened."
Although Prince Duan was dull, the eunuchs had specifically requested the servant who had beaten someone and seriously injured him to come. Even if he was dumb, he would have known why he was asked to come.
He quickly explained, “Your Majesty, this is not my servant’s fault, it’s the fault of Minister Hu’s son.
My servant was from Yanzhou. He joined the army at the age of 18, leaving only his old father and eldest sister at home.
Hu Man, the son of Minister Hu, had once been to Yanzhou for a trip. He rode his horse and kicked the old father of my servant, causing serious injuries. Many people saw it at the time and surrounded him to prevent him from leaving. He revealed his identity to intimidate people and then left.
In order to treat his father's illness, the family used up all their savings, but he still couldn't be cured. In the end, his eldest sister sold herself to bury his father.
When he returned, his family was broken up and his elder sister was nowhere to be found.
After hearing the whole story, he came to the capital to seek an explanation. However, before he could do anything, the people around Hu Man rushed over and beat him.
He was hit so many times that he had no choice but to fight back, and only then did he injure one of Hu Man's servants."
Prince Duan finished explaining the whole story and concluded, "Your Majesty, I believe my servants did nothing wrong, so when they came to me to ask for them, I refused to give them to them."
Minister of Revenue Hu Yong had sweat on his forehead and did not dare to speak.
It doesn’t matter who is right or wrong in this matter. What matters is the emperor’s mood and attitude.
He didn't dare to speak rashly before the emperor made his attitude clear.
Murong Jin didn’t feel anything about this kind of thing, but he did have feelings for Yanzhou.
So he directly sentenced: "Hu Man, be executed, Hu Yong dismissed from office."
Upon hearing this, Hu Yong collapsed to the ground, but still didn't dare to make a sound.
The servants kneeling behind Prince Duan were overjoyed and kept kowtowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty! Your Majesty is wise!"
After hearing the story, Murong Jin also became annoyed and looked at the ministers: "Do you have anything else to say?"
The ministers hurriedly said in unison: "We have nothing to report."
Murong Jin stood up, went back to Chengping Palace to change clothes, and went to Ningxiangju.
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