The person who came in was a eunuch in blue. He looked young, with lively eyes and eyebrows. He was Pan Hai's apprentice.
Pan Hai frowned and glared at the blue-robed eunuch.
What kind of place is this? Who are the people serving here? You have to keep your composure even if the sky falls.
After all, he is young and inexperienced.
At this time, the eunuch in blue clothes could not care less about his master's dissatisfaction, and as soon as he came in, he reported: "Your Majesty, the Prince of Xiang wants to see you."
Emperor Jingming was stunned when he heard this.
King of Xiang?
Isn't it the Eighth Prince's wedding today? Could it be that he remembered it wrongly, and the Eighth Prince was not crowned the King of Xiang?
Emperor Jingming couldn't help but look at Pan Hai and asked in a deep voice, "Is today the wedding of the King of Xiang?"
Asking this question made Emperor Jingming feel quite sad.
In ordinary people's homes, the parents-in-law would have accepted their son and daughter-in-law kneeling to them at this time, but in the royal family he could only read memorials in Yu's study.
He can only drink this cup of daughter-in-law tea tomorrow morning.
Although he has many children and his wife's tea is no longer rare, it is one thing to want it or not, but drinking overnight tea is too tasteless.
Pan Hai was also stunned at this moment, but he hid his surprise in his heart. When he heard Emperor Jingming's question, he immediately replied, "Yes."
Emperor Jingming felt relieved when he received a positive answer.
It’s over, it’s over. After the palace banquet that day, something strange happened again!
"Where is the Prince of Xiang?" Emperor Jingming raised his voice and asked.
The eunuch in blue clothes said cautiously, "Prince Xiang is kneeling outside on the stone steps..."
"Let him roll in!"
Soon, Prince Xiang knelt before Emperor Jingming.
Emperor Jingming looked at Prince Xiang carefully.
Compared to the princesses who were raised in the harem and rarely seen, he was very familiar with his eight sons.
The bastard in front of me is indeed the one who is supposed to get married today!
"Give me a reason why you are here."
The Prince of Xiang had a shiny golden brick on his forehead and could not control his anger: "Father, please punish me. I cannot get married today."
Emperor Jingming slammed the table and said, "What's going on? Raise your head and tell me!"
The King of Xiang hesitated for a moment before looking up, his eyes filled with tears.
Emperor Jingming was stunned.
The little bastard actually cried? Why would a grown man cry when he encountered such a thing?
Thinking of this, Emperor Jingming forgot to vent his anger and just waited for Prince Xiang to explain.
Of course, the King of Xiang could not cry like a woman. His red eyes were filled with grievance and anger: "On the way to the bride's reception, Zhu Ziyu stopped the carriage and tried to snatch the bride away... He said that he and Miss Cui were in love with each other, and his son drew his sword to steal her away..."
When the King of Xiang talked about this, he trembled all over.
Is there anything more humiliating than having a green hat on your head watched by millions of people?
What happened today was a great shame and humiliation, he will never stop until he has avenged himself!
It was true that he had disobeyed the emperor's will, but if he swallowed his anger and brought Cui Mingyue into the Prince of Xiang's Palace just to obey, he would never be able to hold his head up for the rest of his life.
His best choice was to make a prompt decision and abandon that bastard to come to the palace to apologize.
He was betting that his father could empathize with his own son's experience.
No, any man can understand his choice.
Prince Xiang glanced at Pan Hai inadvertently and added in his heart: Any half man would do that.
Pan Hai was puzzled by this look.
Emperor Jingming had already stood up: "Is this true?"
The prince's bride was snatched away by someone during his wedding... I wouldn't even dare to write that in the storybook!
Emperor Jingming covered his chest and had difficulty breathing.
Pan Hai was so frightened that he asked in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"
Emperor Jingming waved his hands and said, "Pan Hai, go and tell Han Ran to find out what happened today and report back as soon as possible."
Han Ran is the commander of the Jin Lin Wei. Although he and Pan Hai are on an equal footing, Pan Hai can serve the emperor closely, unlike the Jin Lin Wei who needs to report to the emperor, make secret reports, or wait for a summons.
With this gap between them, Pan Hai naturally gained the upper hand over Han over time.
The prince's wedding today is a big event, and Han Ran had already sent his men to watch the streets. Although the people from Jinlin Guard did not stand up after Zhu Ziyu appeared, they reported the situation to Han Ran early.
Emperor Jingming didn't have to wait long before he saw Pan Hai and Han Ran walk in.
"I have seen the emperor——"
Emperor Jingming was impatient and interrupted Han Ran: "How?"
Han Ran quickly glanced at the King of Xiang who was kneeling not far away, a trace of sympathy flashed across his eyes, and he bowed his head and said: "Reporting to the emperor, the King of Xiang is getting married today, and he was stopped by Zhu Ziyu on the way to the wedding..."
Hearing that Han Ran's words were not much different from those of the King of Xiang, Emperor Jingming flew into a rage and slammed the dragon table: "How did Zhu Deming discipline his son! It seems that his position was demoted in vain!"
Zhu Deming was originally the Right Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple. Although his rank was not high, he was considered a well-known figure among the numerous officials in Beijing.
However, when Zhu Ziyu's scandal came to light, Emperor Jingming demoted him from the Right Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple to the fifth-rank Temple Secretary, and he suddenly became an insignificant minor official.
When it comes to cheating his father, Zhu Ziyu does it quite well.
"Reporting to the Emperor, Zhu Ziyu has been expelled from the Zhu family."
In an era when clan law was more important than royal law, expulsion was a very severe punishment.
The person who was expelled from the family no longer had any family to rely on, and no matter what he did in the future it would no longer have anything to do with the family.
Emperor Jingming paused.
Now that he has been removed from the list, he naturally cannot blame the Zhu family anymore.
After a moment of silence, Emperor Jingming calmed down a little and asked, "Do the people really think that the Prince of Xiang stole my love?"
The kneeling King of Xiang gritted his teeth secretly.
A sword that steals love?
It’s not like he was kicked in the head by a donkey!
Han Ran glanced at the King of Xiang from the corner of his eye and replied, "Those common people love to follow the crowd. Zhu Ziyu didn't care and raised the long banner and shouted randomly, so many people believed it, and even said--"
"What?"
"It's so pitiful that Zhu Ziyu and Miss Cui, a pair of lovers, were ruthlessly separated..."
Prince of Xiang, as a man, I can only help you up to this point.
The King of Xiang was so moved that he almost cried, and had to lower his head to hide his emotions.
Commander Han was very chivalrous today.
His father, the Emperor, has always cherished his reputation and does not want to be called a villain who breaks up lovers in the eyes of the common people...
Emperor Jingming was silent for a long time, then he said, "Pan Hai, summon General Cui Xu and Princess Rongyang to the palace—"
Before he could finish his words, a eunuch came to report that Princess Rongyang wanted to see him.
"Royal brother, please do something for my sister..." Princess Rongyang rushed in and paused when she saw Prince Xiang kneeling on the ground.
"I'm listening. Speak slowly if you have anything to say."
Princess Rongyang had naturally prepared a complaint when she came to complain, and the focus was on the fact that Prince Xiang ignored the overall situation and abandoned Cui Mingyue.
After she finished her complaint with tears in her eyes, she saw that Emperor Jingming closed his eyes and remained silent. Princess Rongyang could not help but urge him, "Brother, Mingyue has been taken back to the general's residence by Cui Xu. What do you think we should do with Mingyue?"
"It's just right to take him back to the General's Mansion."
Princess Rongyang was stunned for a moment, and then she heard Emperor Jingming say leisurely: "Since Mingyue and Zhu Ziyu are a pair of lovers, I will not be a bad person and grant them a marriage."