The Imperial City of Shangjing, the Golden Palace.
During the morning court session, there were about fifty civil and military officials, all dressed in court robes and lined up neatly on both sides. Standing at the front on the right was the Prime Minister, the head of the civil officials, and at the front on the left was Meng Ruliu, the commander-in-chief of the military officials.
The Prime Minister, holding his ivory tablet, glanced at Meng Ruliu across from him out of the corner of his eye. The latter had dark circles under her eyes, clearly having not slept all night, and her head was bowed, looking as if she were about to cry.
The Empress being abducted and disappeared by a giant eagle would be a huge event in any country, let alone the fact that His Majesty and the Empress are deeply in love.
Putting everything else aside, every emperor, upon ascending the throne, would first select a large number of concubines. But Your Majesty, after ascending the throne, did not consider taking any concubines at all. Just from this, one can know that Your Majesty is devoted to the Empress.
Today is the first morning court session since the Empress disappeared. Everyone is trembling with fear and dares not breathe. There are so many people in the Golden Palace, yet it is so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Since His Majesty ascended the throne, His Majesty has governed the country effectively, earning the respect of his ministers and the support of the people, and no major incidents have occurred. With such a sudden and significant event, no one knows whether His Majesty will be enraged and unleash a furious rage.
We are all ministers who came from the reign of Emperor Kangping, and we all know the lessons of that time. Emperor Kangping would throw things at his ministers if he was in a bad mood. Your Majesty is young and strong, and full of martial virtue. If you were to throw things at people, I guarantee that you would kill them all.
Thinking of this, sweat trickled down the Prime Minister's ears. Although he was old and could withstand the cold and kneeling for long periods, what if he were hit by the imperial seal…
"His Majesty has arrived!" a eunuch at the door shouted.
Almost everyone shuddered simultaneously. Those who hadn't bowed their heads quickly looked down at the tablets in their hands, while those who were already bowing lowered their heads even further. Officials without tablets simply bent their knees, lowering their heads by three inches.
The sound of footsteps rang out between the two rows of ministers, and they walked unhurriedly to the throne.
Meng Ruliu and the Prime Minister simultaneously raised their tablets and knelt down, saying, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" The officials behind them also shouted "Long live the Emperor!" and knelt down to pay their respects.
"Rise, my beloved ministers," Wei Jingzhuo's icy voice rang out in front of the crowd. "Issue my decree. If any official has something to say, speak up now."
The Prime Minister was a veteran minister who had served three emperors. He could tell that His Majesty's voice was indeed different from usual. Although it was usually cold, it wasn't always so thoroughly so. This time, the voice was, to put it nicely, frigid; to put it bluntly, like an icy blade. It felt as if anyone who dared to speak would be stabbed and bleed profusely.
He glanced at the five memorials on his tablet, swallowed hard, and decided to keep quiet for now.
The eunuch relayed Wei Jingzhuo's words.
No one dared to utter a sound, all glancing at their colleagues out of the corner of their eyes. With His Majesty in a fit of rage, they wanted to see who would be the first to step forward and bear the brunt of his fury.
Wei Jingzhuo said calmly, "My dear ministers, you usually have many memorials to submit during the morning court. Why are you all silent today?"
No one dared to answer; it was like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water—whoever spoke first would be doomed.
Seeing this, Meng Ruliu gritted her teeth, stepped out of the line, knelt down, and said, "Your Majesty, I am guilty."
Upon seeing Meng Ruliu plead guilty, the Prime Minister quickly stepped forward, lifted his court robes, and knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, the Empress's disappearance is the fault of this old minister's negligence."
When the General and the Prime Minister took the lead in apologizing, the officials of the Three Departments panicked.
The Empress has gone missing, and those in charge of security and punishment are certainly responsible. Now the General and the Prime Minister are kneeling and begging for forgiveness, and they're still here watching the spectacle—do they want to die?
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review reacted the fastest, immediately kneeling behind Meng Ruliu and the Prime Minister. Feeling that wasn't enough, he banged his forehead against the ground with a loud thud, saying, "Your Majesty, I am also guilty."
The Minister of Justice and the Censor-in-Chief also rushed forward, knelt down with a thud, and kowtowed even louder than the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Upon seeing this, the other ministers immediately knelt down, even the Minister of Works knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
Everyone knows that the Empress's disappearance has nothing to do with the Ministry of Works, but since everyone else is kneeling, it would be too conspicuous for him to stand there, which would be perfect for His Majesty to catch him and interrogate him.
In the blink of an eye, all the ministers knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
Wei Jingzhuo glanced at the kneeling ministers and said to the Minister of Works, "Minister Sun."
The Minister of Works, bewildered by his own bad luck in attracting the Emperor's attention, trembled and said in a trembling voice, "Your subject... Your subject is here."
"What is the connection between the Empress's disappearance and the Ministry of Works?"
The Minister of Works nearly fainted on the spot. His department was mainly responsible for the construction of the emperor's temporary palaces, as well as the approval and construction of temporary palaces, post stations, and official roads throughout the country. How could something so primarily related to housing and road construction be connected to the Empress's disappearance?
He dared not refuse to answer, and racked his brains to come up with a barely plausible explanation.
"Your Majesty, yesterday Your Majesty issued an order to find the Empress's whereabouts. There are many roads in the country... but none of them are smooth enough, which affects the speed of the horses and delays the search for the Empress. It is all my fault."
Wei Jingzhuo then looked at the Minister of Rites: "Minister Xu, what is your crime?"
With the Minister of Works leading the way, the Minister of Rites had already prepared his words in an instant, saying, "The people are not enlightened, and most of them cannot understand the documents issued by the government. This is within my jurisdiction, and I feel deeply ashamed before Your Majesty."
Wei Jingzhuo smiled slightly and said to the assembled officials, "I will not ask any further. All of you may rise. The Empress's disappearance has nothing to do with you."
The emperor's words are law, and his word is as weighty as gold. With this statement in place, it was clear that His Majesty had not taken his anger out on the ministers because of the empress's disappearance. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.
Only Meng Ruliu did not get up, and sobbed, "Your Majesty, it's all my fault. I failed to stop the giant eagle from taking away the Empress."
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