Chapter 474 (First Update)
This matter has become too big a fuss and has had a very bad impact. Even if it's just to save face, Grand Tutor Zhuang will definitely go to the emperor to impeach Marquis Xuanping.
But is Marquis Xuanping afraid of his impeachment?
The memorials impeaching Marquis Xuanping in the Imperial Study were piled up like mountains. His shameless acts were simply too numerous to list. He hadn't committed murder or arson, so he couldn't be sentenced to a heavy punishment, but he did one disgusting thing after another, enough to make people so angry that they would be driven to the brink of death!
These things aren't capital offenses; at worst, they'll just get a hundred or two hundred lashes.
After the battle, you'll be a hero again!
Marquis Xuanping rode away in Xiao Heng's carriage, leaving Grand Tutor Zhuang and his grandson as the laughingstock of the street.
Originally, he intended to give Xiao Liulang a hard time, but unexpectedly, he was the one who was put in a hard time by Marquis Xuanping. Grand Tutor Zhuang had never been so humiliated in his life.
The Zhuang family and the Xuanping Marquis's mansion have been at odds for a long time. While it's common for them to break off relations, it's rare to see them escalate to this extent. Is this just a matter of breaking off relations? This is like tearing off their underwear!
Prince An was truly wronged.
Today's events were not his idea. Although he did feel a sense of superiority, he was ultimately implicated by Grand Tutor Zhuang.
His initial glory of entering the cabinet was completely ruined by the Marquis of Xuanping's show of force, and today's humiliation will likely become a dark chapter in his life.
Marquis Xuanping escorted Xiao Heng to the Hanlin Academy. Along the way, Marquis Xuanping tried countless times to speak to his son, but Xiao Heng's words, "I didn't sleep last night," silenced Marquis Xuanping.
Marquis Xuanping had been holding back all the way, and only when Xiao Heng opened his eyes and was about to get out of the carriage did he ask, "What have you been doing? You haven't slept all night?"
"Something's up," Xiao Heng said.
Marquis Xuanping: ...Do you think I don't know you have something on your mind? What is it? Tell me!
You can't get angry with your son.
The more enjoyable it was to bully Grand Tutor Zhuang, the more miserable it was to be bullied by his son.
Before Xiao Heng's accident, Marquis Xuanping held an absolute dominant position in the father-son relationship. Four years later, their positions had been reversed.
"How about I ask you for leave?" Marquis Xuanping said.
"No need," Xiao Heng said calmly as he stepped off the carriage.
Marquis Xuanping followed him down.
He had never compared them carefully before, but today, for some reason, he suddenly glanced at the top of his son's head and realized that his son was so tall that he was almost taller than him.
He's a military officer, and he's been rolling around in the mud since he was a child, so it's only natural that he'd grow tall. This kid hasn't done anything, and I've never seen him running or jumping around, so how come he's grown so fast?
Just as Xiao Heng was about to enter the Hanlin Academy, Marquis Xuanping noticed that his walking posture was strange.
He's a survivor of the battlefield. Apart from his face, there's not a single part of his body that's intact. He's probably suffered more injuries than Xiao Heng has ever fallen. Can't you tell that his limp is different from before?
He asked, "Is your foot better?"
Xiao Heng paused in his steps.
"Really?" Marquis Xuanping looked at him with delight.
Xiao Heng still didn't intend to pay him any attention.
Marquis Xuanping sighed, "Do you hate me that much? Are you blaming me for being too busy investigating the case to rescue you from the fire? Or are you resenting me for not noticing the existence of that group sooner, forcing you to go into hiding and flee to a distant land?"
Straight men never seem to get to the point when it comes to apologizing, which can drive people so angry they could dig a vegetable patch out of the ground with their toes!
Xiao Heng entered the Hanlin Academy with a cold face and without looking back.
Marquis Xuanping was completely bewildered. Why was he angry again?
Chang Jing drove his carriage to the vicinity.
Marquis Xuanping sighed as he boarded the carriage. Leaning against the side of the carriage, he said with a look of utter despair, "Chang Jing, I'm so pitiful. Xiao Heng doesn't acknowledge me. I'm going to become a lonely old man."
What Marquis Xuanping meant by those words was, "Quickly say, 'You're not old! You're in your prime! You can still look your best for another twenty years!'"
Unexpectedly, Chang Jing fell into deep thought.
After a long pause, Chang Jing said seriously, "It's okay, I'll smash the basin for you if you die."
Marquis Xuanping: "..."
After practicing medicine intensively for a day and a night, Gu Jiao was carried by Xiao Heng to the west room and fell into a deep sleep.
Perhaps it was because she wasn't used to sleeping in unfamiliar beds, or perhaps it was because the bed had a scent that she liked and found comforting, but she slept until the afternoon.
Just before she was about to wake up, she had a dream.
She dreamt of a boundless sea, upon which lay a battlefield where a fierce battle raged. Marquis Xuanping stood atop a wrecked warship, wielding a long sword and clad in black iron armor, fighting on the blood-soaked deck.
Ahead lies an island, behind lies a city.
Gu Jiao had never been to that city, but in her dreams she could still call out its name—Nanhai City, a small city in the southernmost part of Zhao Kingdom.
As for that island, it was originally part of South China Sea City, but it was occupied by pirates at sea.
The purpose of Marquis Xuanping's trip was to wipe out the pirates and reclaim the island.
This pirate incident is not simple, because just as Marquis Xuanping was heading south to suppress the pirates, bad news came from the border of Zhao State—the remnants of the previous dynasty colluded with Chen State, Tang Yueshan was defeated, and Princess Ning'an was captured.
In order to rescue Princess Ning'an, the old Marquis ventured into danger alone, but unfortunately fell into a trap set by remnants of the previous dynasty.
After losing three border cities in succession, the emperor was furious and immediately summoned Gu Changqing, who was far away near Fengdu Mountain, back to the capital, ordering him to reorganize the Gu family army and march north to attack the enemy.
Before the army could even set off, news arrived from the border that Gu Chengfeng and the old Marquis had both died.
It turned out that after learning that his grandfather had been arrested, Gu Chengfeng secretly left the capital and went to the border alone, intending to rescue his grandfather.
He is Feishuang, so stealing someone from the enemy camp should be a piece of cake for him.
But something went wrong along the way, and he was discovered by remnants of the previous dynasty and shot to death by a hail of arrows.
The enemy cut off his head and hung it on the city wall along with the old marquis's head.
This was a premeditated trap.
The border region was bitterly cold, and the two men's heads hung on the city wall for a whole month without showing any signs of decay. The old marquis watched his grandson being shot to death by a hail of arrows right before his eyes, and he died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
A pair of frozen, bloodshot eyes were filled with anger and despair.
Even though Gu Changqing had prepared himself mentally on the way here, seeing such a scene with his own eyes, seeing his younger brother and grandfather's heads hanging and insulted, still made his blood boil, and he spat out a mouthful of blood in front of everyone!
Gu Changqing eventually recaptured the border, slaughtered the remnants of the previous dynasty, and annihilated the Chen army.
However, the price was his legs, and the loss of 100,000 of the Gu family soldiers, 80,000 of whom never returned. These brave young men, their heroic souls now resting on the frontier.
Because of the extremely vivid dream, Gu Jiao didn't immediately realize she was sleeping in Xiao Heng's bed when she woke up. She sat on the edge of the bed in a daze for a while, and the little tuft of hair on her head stood up again.
The events in the dream occurred six months later.
However, given the previous experience of the Twin Blades Sect capturing Xiao Heng, Gu Jiao dared not guarantee that the events she dreamed of would not come to pass.
She didn't know why it was earlier than planned.
Sometimes she felt that her dreams were premonitions, but recently she suddenly had a strange feeling that they were things that had actually happened.
She experienced those things, but then forgot them.
This conjecture is so bold, even absurd, that she said it might just be her imagination.
She suddenly remembered that time traveler from the Yan Kingdom, wondering if he or she had a similar experience to her.
It would be great if I could ask him in person.
Forget it, now's not the time to think about that. Let's think about what happened in the dream.
If my guess is correct, then the most important question right now is whether the tragedy of the Gu family and their 100,000 soldiers will come sooner than expected.
...
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"
The emperor was reviewing memorials in the imperial study when Eunuch Wei rushed in.
"What's all this fuss about?" The emperor frowned and glared at Eunuch Wei.
Eunuch Wei is a senior servant of His Majesty; he should have stopped being so unruly.
Eunuch Wei was in a bad mood. He didn't want this to happen either, but this time it was really serious!
He reported, "Your Majesty, Marquis Xuanping has bullied Grand Tutor Zhuang, and Grand Tutor Zhuang has come to you to complain!"
The emperor frowned: "Grand Tutor Zhuang?"
Has Marquis Xuanping dared to bully Grand Tutor Zhuang?
To be honest, he didn't have a good impression of Grand Tutor Zhuang. The Zhuang family was extremely powerful, and while Grand Tutor Zhuang outwardly showed him great respect as the emperor, it was unknown how many times he had secretly sabotaged him.
Regardless of the circumstances, Grand Tutor Zhuang was a veteran of two dynasties, a key minister, and also the elder brother of Empress Dowager Zhuang, making him his nominal maternal uncle.
The emperor still summoned him to the imperial study.
Grand Tutor Zhuang was a scholar, and scholars are known for their sharp tongues. He launched into a lengthy and eloquent accusation, vividly portraying Marquis Xuanping's lawless and bullying behavior of publicly humiliating court officials.
The emperor thought to himself, "How could I not know that Marquis Xuanping is a tyrant?"
What use is it for you to come to me?
Even I am no match for him in being a tyrant.
Grand Tutor Zhuang understood that the emperor favored Marquis Xuanping, but what could he do? The emperor couldn't be so biased that he forgot the rules.
Grand Tutor Zhuang said earnestly, "Your Majesty, this is right under the emperor's nose, yet he dares to commit such a violent act, showing no respect for Your Majesty's dignity. I wonder how he will trample on the royal family's honor in the future!"
These words are practically saying that Marquis Xuanping's achievements overshadow the emperor's, and that if he dares to bully the emperor's uncle today, he will dare to sit on the emperor's head and run wild one day!
If the late emperor were to hear these words, it would surely cause unforeseen complications.
But the emperor was not the former emperor, so he didn't have that many doubts. Besides, in his view, this was just the way Marquis Xuanping was. If Marquis Xuanping were to stop being arrogant and domineering one day, then he wouldn't be Marquis Xuanping anymore.
"Summon Marquis Xuanping to me!"
The emperor said solemnly.
The people on the street all saw it with their own eyes, and he, as the emperor, could not simply sit idly by.
Soon, Eunuch Wei brought Marquis Xuanping into the palace.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty."
The first thing Marquis Xuanping said when he entered the imperial study was to admit his crimes. He then confessed to his bullying of Grand Tutor Zhuang and Prince An in the street.
This series of bizarre actions completely baffled Grand Tutor Zhuang!
He had considered that Marquis Xuanping might rely on the emperor's favor to deny it to the death, or he might shift the blame onto him, saying that Marquis Xuanping had used his status to suppress Xiao Liulang first, and that he had only stepped in to help when he saw injustice.
But Marquis Xuanping actually accepted it!
"Ahem!" The emperor cleared his throat. This Marquis Xuanping really does—always manage to push the boundaries of people's perception of him.
Oh well, you'll get used to it. This guy's shameless, what's there to be afraid of admitting?
If you don't admit it, you'll get a hundred lashes; if you admit it, you can get half the punishment.
The emperor had long since given up on treating Marquis Xuanping. In earlier years, he had thought that this man was a highly regarded official of the court, and that his every word and action was related to the reputation of the court and the face of the emperor. But gradually, the people's criticism of Marquis Xuanping was only directed at him personally and did not extend to the court, so the emperor became too lazy to bother with it.
The emperor looked at Marquis Xuanping and said in a serious tone, "Considering your upright attitude and willingness to admit your guilt, I will have you receive fifty strokes of the cane. In addition, I will deduct half a year's salary."
Marquis Xuanping's face darkened.
A beating is acceptable, but a salary deduction is not!
Grand Tutor Zhuang was also dissatisfied with the result. The Zhuang family's reputation had been utterly humiliated by Marquis Xuanping, and yet His Majesty only punished them with a small deduction of their salary and a few strokes of the cane.
The Marquis of Xuanping is extremely wealthy; what is half a year's salary to him?
As for the beating, he was a martial artist, so beating him was like tickling him!
Grand Tutor Zhuang was so angry that his face turned ashen, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
Marquis Xuanping walked out calmly, glanced at Grand Tutor Zhuang, and clicked his tongue in disapproval, saying, "How old are you? Still breastfeeding? You still want to complain."
Grand Tutor Zhuang: "...!!"
(End of this chapter)
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