Chapter 109: Morning Court Incident
Aunt Hong raised her hand and said, "Fenfen, go and guard the gate. If the master comes back, inform me immediately."
The maid Fenfen lowered her head and responded, then retreated.
Aunt Hong turned to look at another maid, Fangfang, and said, "Fangfang, help me change my clothes and wash up. Let's go to Qingfeng Courtyard and wait for the old lady to get up."
Fangfang responded and stepped forward, took the clothes and helped Aunt Hong get dressed.
At this time, a carriage slowly stopped at the palace gate, and Lan Zhenrong limped out of the carriage.
Lan Zhenrong looked at the guards at the palace gate, and when they looked at him with strange eyes, he felt a little regretful. At this moment, a loud voice suddenly rang out: "Lan Zhenrong!"
Lan Zhenrong paused and lowered his head.
Yun Yongan strode over with a look of displeasure on his face. "Lan Zhenrong, I called you, why didn't you respond? What are you looking at?"
"Brother-in-law!"
Yun Yongan frowned, "Huh? Why are you acting weird this morning? Look up."
Yun Xiancang, the old patriarch of the Yun family, also noticed Lan Zhenrong's abnormality.
He said in a deep voice, "I saw you limping from a distance just now. What happened? Did you fall and get hurt?"
Lan Zhenrong stammered, "Father-in-law, I didn't fall and got hurt. I was... beaten up."
Lan Zhenrong felt very ashamed. He slowly raised his head and saw that his nose and face were bruised and his eyes were black. It was simply unbearable to look at.
Yun Yongan was shocked. "You... Lan Zhenrong? Who did this? That's too cruel!"
Lan Zhenrong gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know. I woke up this morning and it was like this."
Yun Xiancang's eyes grew deep. Lan Zhenrong was the Marquis of Wuguo Mansion and the son-in-law of the Duke of Huguo Mansion. Who on earth had humiliated him like this?
"How can you attend court in this state? It's a disgrace." Yun Xiancang's voice was filled with anger. "Go back and get a doctor. I will explain the situation to the emperor and let him make the decision for you."
Lan Zhenrong nodded and whispered, "My son-in-law was blinded by anger and wanted to go to court to let the emperor make the decision."
Yun Xiancang narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this. "Yun Jin," he turned to Yun Jin beside him and said firmly, "Go back and find out who is targeting the Wuguo Marquis Mansion."
Yun Jin responded.
The servant carefully helped Lan Zhenrong and was about to step into the carriage when he suddenly heard a burst of hurried footsteps approaching from afar.
Carriages came closer and closer. After getting off the carriages, people greeted each other when they saw their close friends. Suddenly, many ministers focused their eyes on Lan Zhenrong's slightly embarrassed face. For a while, there was a lot of discussion at the palace gate.
"Oh, isn't this Lord Lan? Why does he look like this today? Has he been taught a lesson by the Hedong Lioness at home?" A minister said jokingly, his words full of ridicule.
Another person echoed, "Although the Marquis's wife comes from the Duke of Protectorate's Mansion, she is very gentle and virtuous. Could it be that the Marquis got drunk and made a mistake, angering the wife and even alarming his brother-in-law?"
"Huh? Don't you know that the Marquis's wife is paralyzed in bed?"
"What?"
Many people looked at Lan Zhenrong, Yun Xiancang and others with some confusion.
Lan Zhenrong was filled with hatred. Who spread the news that Yun Qing was paralyzed in bed?
Bai Xianzhe stepped forward with a serious expression, his tone questioning, "Lan Zhenrong, what are you talking about? Yesterday, my son was beaten up by your daughter for no reason, and today you are acting like this again. Could it be that your daughter was also responsible?"
Lan Zhenrong was stunned when he heard this: "Why do you say that, Prime Minister?"
Bai Xianzhe snorted coldly, "My son's injuries are serious. Could it be that everyone in the Marquis' Mansion has learned this 'violent' skill?"
Lan Zhenrong also got angry. He was already angry, and now Bai Xianzhe was making fun of him.
The Crown Prince intends to pull the Duke of Protectorate's Mansion and the Marquis' Mansion into the Crown Prince's camp. My father-in-law doesn't want to take sides too early, so he remains neutral. His Marquis' Mansion and the Duke of Protectorate's Mansion share the same fate, so naturally they both listen to his father-in-law, the Duke of Protectorate. In order not to offend the Crown Prince, my father-in-law lets Yun Jin be on good terms with the Crown Prince on the surface.
But Bai Xianzhe always suppresses him on weekdays, and it is even more inexplicable that he likes to talk now.
"Prime Minister, there's no need to be sarcastic. Just speak frankly if you have something to say!"
Bai Xianzhe obviously didn't want to say any more, and angrily threw his sleeves, "Humph! Let's go to the Emperor and discuss this!"
After saying this, he strode away, leaving the ministers who had come to the court looking at each other in confusion, with doubts in their hearts.
Seeing this, Yun Xiancang frowned and whispered to Yun Yongan beside him, "It's getting late, let's go into the palace first."
Yun Yongan snorted coldly, his face full of disdain: "This old bastard Bai Xianzhe, relying on the fact that the Queen is his sister, has become even more disdainful of our Protectorate Mansion."
Lan Zhenrong had already been seen by many ministers at this time, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and limp into the palace to attend court.
As the morning light began to break, the atmosphere outside the Fengtian Hall was already solemn.
The red walls and golden tiles looked even more solemn under the morning sun. Inside the hall, ministers entered one after another and stood still.
The scene at the palace gate just now caused many officials to whisper to each other, their eyes full of curiosity and speculation.
At this moment, a sharp voice broke the silence of the hall: "The Emperor has arrived!"
With this shout, the ministers straightened their clothes, knelt down in unison, and shouted: "Long live the emperor!" The sound echoed in the hall, deafening.
The emperor strode to the dragon throne and sat down, his eyes piercing as he scanned the ministers below.
"Everyone, please stand up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Seeing this, Eunuch Fu, the chief eunuch of the imperial palace, sang out loudly, "I have a petition to submit!"
Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Bai Xianzhe strode out, bowed, and said in a steady and powerful voice: "Your Majesty, I have something to report!"
The Emperor tilted his head slightly, "Oh? What does the Prime Minister want to report?"
Bai Xianzhe took a deep breath and said, "I am suing the Marquis of Wu for allowing his daughter to commit murder. In order to protect his daughter, the Marquis of Wu did not hesitate to stage a self-torture scheme in order to gain the upper hand over me."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the hall, and the ministers looked at each other and talked a lot.
Upon hearing this, Marquis of Wu, Lan Zhenrong's face suddenly changed. He stepped out of the line, trembling, and knelt on the ground. "Your Majesty, I am wronged! I had no idea what the Prime Minister meant by letting a woman commit a crime. The injuries on my body were caused by thieves who broke into the Marquis' mansion last night."
After the thieves entered the house, they beat me without asking any questions. I don't know who I offended, and they wanted to take revenge on me like this.
Bai Xianzhe snorted coldly, his eyes like knives, staring directly at Lan Zhenrong: "Lan Zhenrong, don't look away and talk about other things. My son is still lying in bed and can't move. Isn't this your daughter's doing?"
The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, "Prime Minister, is Jinli injured?"
Bai Xianzhe bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, the one injured was my illegitimate son Jinbao."
Upon hearing this, the emperor turned his gaze to Lan Zhenrong and the corners of his mouth twitched.
Lan Zhenrong in front of him had a bruised and swollen face. He didn't look like he was trying to perform some kind of self-torture trick. Instead, his face was very similar to the prince's, with bruises and swelling. However, the prince had a broken rib and was still recuperating in bed.
The emperor pondered for a moment and then slowly said, "Lan Zhenrong, have you found the thief from last night?"
Lan Zhenrong looked embarrassed and lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, no."
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