Another half month passed, and still no rain fell.
The earth was cracked, crops were dying, and countless people knelt in the fields crying and praying for rain.
The rumor that the heavens warned the Crown Princess that she was a demon concubine and that this was the cause of a severe drought in the capital was spreading like wildfire.
Yu Jin would get angrier every day because of these news.
"There are actually people gathering to petition, asking the Eastern Palace to divorce the Crown Princess? This is so stupid!" Yu Jian slammed the table and kicked the small stool away.
The palace maids serving in the room were so angry that they dared not come out.
Jiang Si glanced at the maids and said gently, "All of you go out."
The palace maids hurriedly retreated as if they had been pardoned.
The sun was shining brightly outside the hall, and one could feel the burning heat in the air.
A maidservant looked worried and whispered to another maidservant, "What do you think we should do with the Crown Princess? Will she really be——"
"Don't talk nonsense. Outsiders may not know, but we do. Your Highness has deep feelings for the Crown Princess. How could he listen to rumors and make the Crown Princess sad?"
The maid bit her lip and said, "But Your Highness also has times when he cannot help himself. Didn't the censor bump into the pillar..."
Ah Man stood on the jade steps, put his hands on his hips and cursed: "You've eaten too much, what are you doing? If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tear your mouths off!"
Ah Man and Ah Qiao are now female officials of high rank, and are also the favorites of the Crown Princess. How could these palace maids dare to provoke them? When they saw the ferocious Ah Man appear, the palace maids immediately scattered.
Ah Man spat, turned around with a dark face and walked to Ah Qiao's side, angrily saying: "I am really pissed off. It's fine if outsiders talk nonsense, but these little hooves dare to gossip too."
Ah Qiao smiled and said, "They are also worried about the Crown Princess. Why are they so angry?"
"I am just worried about our master. Why aren't you anxious at all?"
Ah Qiao said calmly: "I believe the master has a way. You forgot, that's our master——"
Ah Qiao had only said half of her words when Ah Man inexplicably flashed through a picture: it was a dark and windy night, and the master was holding a kitchen knife and sneering at the bottom of a certain unlucky person...
Ah Man let out a long breath, as steady as a mountain.
Aqiao is right, that is their master.
Inside the house, Jiang Si was also trying to persuade Yu Jian: "We've already expected this, so just calm down and don't use a small stool to vent your anger."
Yu Jin's face turned pale: "I didn't expect those people would dare to say anything. Even an ordinary citizen dares to talk about you."
Jiang Si disagreed: "People's words are scary. Countless people have been ruined by rumors. We are not controlled by rumors. Instead, we use rumors to eliminate the root of the problem. After this storm, no one will be able to slander our reputation again."
Yu Jin was persuaded reluctantly, and a eunuch from the Yangxin Palace came and asked him to come over.
Yu Jin hurried to Yangxin Palace, and his eyebrows jumped as he entered the open room.
All the six ministries and nine ministers are here.
Seeing him come in, all the ministers greeted him: "Greetings, Your Highness."
Yu Jin walked in and bowed to Emperor Jingming: "I wonder why your father has summoned me here?"
Emperor Jingming was in a state of panic, but when he saw Yu Jin coming over, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and tried to speak in a gentle tone, "Regarding the affairs of the Eastern Palace, the ministers have some ideas, and I have summoned you to listen."
When the ministers heard this, they all wanted to roll their eyes.
Your Majesty is exaggerating. They are devoted to the country and the people, and have no intention of harming the Eastern Palace.
Yu Jinfeng glanced at the ministers and asked calmly, "Well, I wonder what you gentlemen think of the Eastern Palace?"
His temperament was rather cold, and his bright eyes seemed to have been immersed in ice and snow. Those who were swept by his eyes felt a chill on their backs, and no one dared to speak for a moment.
The prince is a bit scary. Before he was crowned king, he dared to fight with other princes. He even beat up the former prince...
When Emperor Jingming saw this scene, he almost got angry.
When these guys came against him, they quacked like ducks in the vegetable market, so why did they get scared when it was the prince's turn?
Emperor Jingming was so angry that he simply called out his name: "Minister Gu, didn't you make a suggestion just now? Why didn't you say anything when the crown prince arrived?"
Minister Gu secretly thought that the emperor was very cruel, and faced Yu Jin's cold gaze, and said with a stiff upper lip: "I think the rumors about the Crown Princess cannot be allowed to continue, and we need to find a proper solution as soon as possible."
"Does Minister Gu have any proper solution?" Yu Jin asked calmly.
Minister Gu glanced around and said, "People are saying that the Crown Princess is a demon concubine who has come to the world, which is why there is a severe drought in the capital—"
"Wicked concubine?" Yu Jin became furious after hearing half of the sentence. He slapped the golden pillar with his palm, and the whole house seemed to be shaking.
Minister Gu was like a cheering duck whose neck was strangled and his body was stuck in the shell.
Emperor Jingming said with a dark face: "What are you shooting? Don't forget that you are the crown prince!"
When he was the crown prince, did he dare to slam the pillar in front of the Minister of Personnel? This is just a bunch of nonsense!
Taking a glance at the palm print left on the golden pillar, Emperor Jingming sighed silently.
It's no use taking his place, my hands hurt for nothing...
"Your Majesty is right. Minister Gu, please continue."
Minister Gu looked up at the sky.
What are you talking about? He wants to live two more years.
The ministers raised their sleeves to wipe their sweat.
Can’t afford to offend... The prince only uses his fists and not his brain. What will he do when he becomes the emperor in the future?
To be precise, what can they do?
Yu Jin glanced at everyone and said with a smile, "If you all have nothing to do, I won't disturb you from discussing matters with my father. The Crown Princess has been disturbed by rumors recently and is in a bad mood. I will go back to accompany her."
When Minister Gu heard this, he was so angry that he was no longer afraid.
In front of everyone, the prince actually said that he wanted to go back to accompany the princess. Was this to show his deep love for her? No, this was to provoke these important officials.
Such unhealthy tendencies must not be encouraged!
"Your Highness, if the rumors persist, I'm afraid they will endanger the stability of the East Palace—"
Yu Jin's tone remained calm: "So I want to hear what Minister Gu thinks."
Minister Gu took a deep breath and said, "The best way is to demote the Crown Princess to a concubine and choose someone with outstanding character as the Crown Princess—"
Yu Jian kicked out, directly knocking Minister Gu to the ground.
Looking at the old minister lying in front of him, Emperor Jingming suddenly wanted to laugh for some reason.
What do you think? He knew that if he targeted the seventh brother's wife, the seventh brother would fight to the death, but these old guys wouldn't cry until they saw the coffin.
After this moment, Emperor Jingming was furious: "What nonsense! Minister Gu is the pillar of the court and the country. How can you kick Minister Gu?"
Yu Jin knelt down and said, "My son is wrong."
Emperor Jingming said in a stern tone: "What's the point of admitting your mistakes? What if you kick Minister Gu to death? Come, send the prince to the clan house to reflect on his mistakes!"
The ministers who came to their senses hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please think twice!"
The prince was sent to the clan house for reflection before he even had a chance to settle down. Do they think it's good enough?
Following suit was Minister Gu.
Would he still have the face to let people know that the prince was sent to the clan court for reflection because he kicked him?