Marquis Jing'an was absolutely furious.
He never imagined that one day someone would dare to speak ill of his son like that.
As he made his request, Marquis Jing'an glanced at the Vice Minister of Rites, his military aura pressing down on him without hesitation. His words were equally merciless: "Your studies have been neglected. The Four Books and Five Classics, the principles of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame have all been wasted. Since that's the case, it seems you have no ability to become a civil official. It would be better to hand you over to me for some training, so that you don't end up walking the streets all day looking like a male prostitute from some brothel during the daytime!"
Emperor Xuande: "..."
Vice Minister of Rites: "???"
courtier:"……"
Emperor Xuande, sitting at the head of the table with his expression obscured, was naturally the source of no one's shock.
It is true that the Marquis of Jing'an was a military general, but he was not one of those military generals who were illiterate and had little literary cultivation. He was the heir of the Marquis's mansion from a young age, and even when the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion was in decline, it was still a mansion that others could not aspire to.
...So how could he, in front of the court officials and even the emperor himself, compare the younger generations of his colleagues to male prostitutes at the Nanfeng Pavilion?
Listen to what kind of talk this is! Is this something that can be said in the imperial court?
In fact, Emperor Xuande was also somewhat angry after hearing Prince Ping explain what had happened.
Under the emperor's nose, there are such dissolute young men who disregard the law and order, and the woman they are talking about is Jiang Xuelin, who is about to marry into the royal family and marry his own nephew. How can this not enrage people?
Regardless of whether those spoiled brats were drunk or what, now that this matter has been brought up, it absolutely cannot be left like this; otherwise, where is the dignity of the royal family?
Moreover, reputation is such an important thing for a woman; it can be fatal!
It's no wonder that Zi'an lost control so much that he actually uttered such vulgar words in court, comparing those纨绔 (wan ku, spoiled brats) to male prostitutes at Nanfeng Tower in front of the court officials, the elders, and even the emperor himself.
The other ministers were also shocked that Marquis Jing'an could say such a thing, and were speechless for a moment.
Everyone in the court knew how much the Marquis of Jing'an doted on his only daughter. Although some pedantic people disapproved of Jiang Xuelin's behavior, they wouldn't dare to provoke him.
After a moment of silence, the Vice Minister of Rites finally reacted, his face turning red with anger, and he could barely speak. Pointing at the Marquis of Jing'an, who was still staring at him intently, his voice trembled, "Vulgar and obscene!"
When the Marquis of Jing'an uttered such words in court, the reputation of the Vice Minister of Rites and his son were completely ruined. For a civil official who cared about his reputation, this was a devastating blow.
However, in response to his anger, Marquis Jing'an merely sneered.
This makes you angry?
His daughter was perfectly fine and hadn't offended anyone, yet she was being gossiped about like that. Why couldn't it be the same when it happened to him? The minister, who had originally had a good relationship with the Vice Minister of Rites, immediately withdrew his foot from the indiscriminate attack by the Marquis of Jing'an, whose face was contorted with rage.
At this point, Marquis Jing'an had gone berserk.
They were genuinely worried that if they stepped forward to offer advice, their sons would be branded as male prostitutes at brothels.
Don't say it's impossible!
That's absolutely possible!
—If you think it's nothing, then I suppose it's not a big deal that your son and grandson are called male prostitutes at the Nanfeng Pavilion, right? Well then, after I get off court, I'll have someone spread the word about it for your son and grandson!
Who would dare to confront them head-on at this moment?
What wouldn't a vulgar military officer dare to say? Besides, it was indeed that the illegitimate son of the Vice Minister of Rites who spoke rudely first, and anyone who heard it would frown.
“Your Majesty, Prince Ping is right. The Crown Prince should not only not be punished, but should also be rewarded. Moreover, those people did not just slander women; they should be severely punished. Please let me train them. Some people cannot teach their children and grandchildren and will cause trouble when they go out. It would be better if I trained them and restored peace to the capital.”
From beginning to end, no one mentioned Jiang Xuelin's name, nor did they explicitly state that the woman who was framed was Jiang Xuelin. If they had said it, it would have created a complete feud, and the Jing'an Marquis's mansion would have been determined to fight to the death.
The Imperial Censor Qian, who had previously impeached Fu Hanlai, also stepped forward to support Marquis Jing'an.
His impeachment of Fu Hanlai wasn't directed at anyone in particular, so now that he knows what those troublemaking brats said, he'll naturally turn his criticism towards them and let Fu Hanlai off the hook.
"Your Majesty!" Upon hearing this, the Vice Minister of Rites also stepped forward.
"Silence!" A voice, devoid of emotion, came from the head of the table. "Is my council hall some kind of marketplace for you ministers? What kind of order is this, all this noise and commotion!"
He then agreed to the request of the Marquis of Jing'an.
This is really outrageous. Moreover, the Jiang family girl is practically a member of the royal family. For the sake of the royal family's dignity and reputation, she cannot be treated lightly.
Those spoiled elders were confined to their homes to reflect on their mistakes, while others were punished, with the Vice Minister of Rites being demoted.
—His situation was the most special. He was an official in the Ministry of Rites, but the younger generation in his family had no basic manners or morals. Naturally, the punishment would be more severe.
King Ping said something very true: "Cultivate oneself, regulate one's family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world." If you can't even regulate your family, what else can you do?
After getting what he wanted, the Marquis of Jing'an still exuded a chilling aura after leaving the court. He stared coldly at the former Vice Minister of Rites, then left without looking back.
The relationship between civil and military officials is inherently delicate. Normally, when civil officials face military officials, the civil officials would naturally side with them. But today's events are truly hard to predict, and it's rare that no one has gone up to comfort Lord Huang.
This matter is truly excessive for the sons of Lord Huang.
On their way home from court, almost every minister was telling themselves that they must discipline their children when they got back, and that they must not do anything they shouldn't. They couldn't afford to be caught in the crossfire when they saw that Emperor Xuande and Marquis Jing'an were about to take the opportunity to deal with the纨绔 (playboys) all over the streets.
In the evening, Marquis Jing'an returned home, still feeling the chill. As soon as he entered the main courtyard, he saw Jiang Xuelin looking at the dowry with a helpless expression.
There was no other way; her mother practically wanted to give her half of the Jing'an Marquis's mansion as her dowry.
Upon seeing Marquis Jing'an return, Jiang Xuelin's eyes immediately lit up. "Father, you're back? Mother, it seems Father has something to discuss with you. I won't disturb you any longer; I'll come to see you again tomorrow!"
After saying that, he couldn't wait to run off with his servants, as if some ferocious beast was following behind him.
Looking at his carefree daughter, and recalling the events that had transpired in the court during the day, Marquis Jing'an felt an overwhelming surge of anger.
"What has happened to you, my lord?"
The moment you get back you have this expression. What serious thing happened?
"Madam, I have something to tell you. You should pay attention from now on. If anyone mentions this to you, don't hold back. Just curse them back and tell them which family they belong to. I'll investigate their entire family thoroughly!"
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