Lin Qingfeng arrived at the main gate and said to the guards at the gate, "Is the Prime Minister still here?"
The guard whispered, "Indeed, they're all kneeling there, and no matter how we plead with them, they won't budge. Won't the General come out to see them?"
Lin Qingfeng said, "The General is busy right now."
He stepped out of the palace gates. Outside, officials in court robes knelt in neat rows of ten, ten rows in total. Leading them was the current prime minister. Everyone was completely silent, as if they wouldn't rise until they succeeded that day.
The imperial edict of abdication had already been issued, and everyone had come with it, waiting for Wei Jingzhuo to receive it. They had used the same method to force Wei Wuji to ascend the throne before, and this time they were using the same trick even more skillfully.
When the Prime Minister saw him come out, he quickly said, "Guard Lin, does the General refuse to see us?"
Lin Qingfeng coughed, thinking that his lord was holding his wife, and he dared not move. But he couldn't say this openly to the ministers, lest it appear that his lord valued women more than his ministers, and wouldn't he be branded a tyrant before even ascending the throne?
He was not entirely stupid; he rolled his eyes and said, "Prime Minister, my lord has caught a cold and is recuperating indoors. The doctor said he shouldn't come out and be exposed to the wind."
The prime minister rose shakily and said, "It turns out it's just a cold, nothing serious."
He turned around and said, "Everyone has misunderstood. It is the General who has fallen ill. Let's go inside and visit the General."
The officials all stood up, and the Censor-in-Chief said, "We all thought the General was missing, but it turns out he has caught a cold. We can go in and visit him. As long as the General agrees, things will be much easier."
Just as everyone was about to go inside, Lin Qingfeng inwardly groaned. He hadn't expected that his attempt to come up with a reason would backfire so badly. He quickly stopped them, saying, "My ministers, our lord is ill and should not see anyone."
The Censor-in-Chief, who was walking at the front, glared at him and said, "Who are you to dare to obstruct a high-ranking official?"
Lin Qingfeng thought to himself, "If such a large group of you rushes in, you'll definitely wake up the mistress. Then the lord will chop off my head!" He steeled his heart and blocked the entrance, saying, "Prime Minister, please forgive my rudeness. The General has not said he wants to see you all. Please wait outside."
The soldiers on either side immediately rushed forward, forming a human wall to block the way in.
The Prime Minister said, "Gentlemen, please wait. Since we have come to invite the General to ascend the throne, and we also want to inquire about his health, we should indeed inform the General first."
Everyone had been following the Prime Minister's lead, but upon hearing his words, they had no choice but to remain where they were. The Prime Minister said to Lin Qingfeng, "Guard Lin, please convey our message that we have all learned of the General's illness and wish to visit him at his residence."
Lin Qingfeng said, "I will go now. Please wait in the living room, ministers."
After Lin Qingfeng left, the Prime Minister addressed the assembled officials, saying, “The General is such a wise man; how could he not know that we have come to earnestly request him to ascend the throne? If we were to rest in the reception hall, it would appear insincere and lacking in decorum. Everyone, please wait outside the residence.”
Everyone rushed out of the palace and stood at the gate to continue waiting.
Lin Qingfeng went inside for a full quarter of an hour before coming out. He said, "General...cough...can't speak. Why don't you all go back and rest first, and come back tomorrow?"
The Prime Minister stroked his beard and said, "Does the General perhaps think we are not sincere enough?"
One of the ministers, an impatient one, said, "Isn't this enough? We've been here since noon, and an hour and a half has passed. The General still refuses to see us. Even if we come tomorrow, I'm afraid the result will be the same."
Another minister interjected, "Gentlemen, you are too hasty. When we invited the Second Prince to ascend the throne, we knelt until late at night. Now, an hour and a half is far from enough. If the General were to agree, wouldn't that make him seem too lenient?"
Lin Qingfeng thought to himself, "You're all making wild guesses here. The lord is just afraid of waking the mistress, so he refuses to move."
The Prime Minister stroked his beard and said, "What you say makes sense. I am an old man who serves the country and its people. I should set an example for you all." After saying this, he knelt down first.
With him taking the lead, everyone immediately knelt down again.
Lin Qingfeng was anxious when he saw the ministers kneeling down again. Although the weather was warmer, many of the ministers were middle-aged or elderly, especially the prime minister. What if he had to kneel down and suffer a sudden relapse of his illness?
He turned his head and saw several imperial physicians carrying medicine chests standing beside the various sedan chairs. He hadn't expected the Prime Minister to be so experienced, even having doctors prepared.
Since there was a doctor taking care of her, he didn't need to worry. He first ran back to see if Su Wan had woken up. Seeing that she hadn't, he ran out again to see if the ministers were still kneeling.
They made five or six trips back and forth. A patrol team arrived from the other side of the street, led by General Mingwei Meng Ruliu.
Since returning to the capital, Meng Ruliu has done nothing but lead the Imperial Guards to maintain order in the capital and has also brought his mother and other family members back to their old residence.
Her colleagues in the capital were all very surprised when they learned she was a woman. There was no precedent for a woman holding office in the Great Jin Dynasty, and no one knew what to do. Wei Wuji was the most straightforward, saying that once her third brother ascended the throne, he could handle it.
Seeing a large group of people kneeling at the entrance of the Prince's mansion, Meng Ruliu was curious. She rode her horse closer, dismounted, and approached the Prime Minister, asking, "Greetings, Your Excellency Prime Minister. What are you doing here?"
The Prime Minister said, "So it is General Mingwei. We are here to earnestly request the General to ascend the throne. The General will not come out to see us."
Meng Ruliu said, "How long have you been kneeling here?"
The Censor-in-Chief said, "They've been kneeling for two hours."
Meng Ruliu, known for her outspokenness, frowned and said, "This is utter nonsense. We are all important ministers of the Great Jin Dynasty, and there are so many matters to be dealt with in the court. How can the General allow all of you to waste your time here? I will go in and find him now, and have him come out to see you all."
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