However, Luo Kejin suddenly shoved him.
"Stop right now, or our people are coming."
As they spoke, the two immediately huddled together again, looking ahead into the distance.
Meanwhile, ahead, Gu Jingchun was walking upright, followed by several soldiers and Li Yunba, who was pulling the cart with all his might.
The ministers were shocked to find Gu Jingchun there.
Situ Qinghe, in particular, frowned almost immediately.
"Nonsense!"
He muttered a low, angry rebuke.
"How could Your Majesty be so reckless? On such an important occasion, with such an opportunity for competition, how could Your Majesty allow a woman to participate? Wouldn't this make the Great Qi think that our Great Cheng has no one left?"
"This is a disgrace to our Great Cheng!"
Situ Qinghe grew angrier as he spoke, but Luo Kejin refused to listen.
Although Gu Jingchun is no longer their daughter-in-law, Luo Kejin still likes her very much and protects her.
Even though it was her own friend who said that about her, Luo Kejin couldn't stand it and immediately retorted, "You're talking nonsense!"
"Have you wasted all the books you've read over the years?"
"When did you start looking down on women?"
"Why is it that women are incapable? Why would people laugh at them?"
"Don't you even look at her? Do you think she's an ordinary woman? Do you think she's a normal person?"
"If she weren't capable, why would His Majesty have sent her to the competition?"
"Don't forget, she personally presented the weapon in court back then?"
But Situ Qinghe remained unmoved and immediately said:
"So what?"
"Do you really think that a weapon designed by a woman like her can compare to the Great Qi?"
"It's not that I look down on women, but this is about fighting a war, and it concerns our Great Cheng's weapons. Tell me, why would a woman like her get involved?"
At this point, he suddenly remembered something.
"Does His Majesty intend to use this opportunity to promote Gu Jingchun and build her reputation?"
"If that's the case, then I'm very disappointed in our Emperor. He actually favors a woman to such an extent that he doesn't even care about the dignity of our Great Cheng and lets her run wild."
"This is absolutely outrageous! No, I must stop His Majesty. We absolutely cannot let His Majesty continue down this wrong path."
Thinking of this, Situ Qinghe immediately turned around to find Shen Hechuan.
However, someone else had already knelt down in front of Shen Hechuan before him.
Because it's outdoors.
Therefore, the ministers of Dacheng and Daqi were very different.
As a result, the people from Daqi only saw a woman kneeling in front of Shen Hechuan, but they couldn't hear what they were saying.
Situ Mingji had been pleading for a long time before Situ Qinghe finally agreed to bring her over.
After she arrived, she remained completely hidden, saying nothing and attracting no attention from others.
I've always been a suitable, invisible person.
However, the moment Gu Jingchun stepped out, she knew that her chance had come.
So she immediately turned around and knelt down in front of Shen Hechuan.
"His Majesty--"
Situ Mingji did not lower his voice, so the moment he spoke, he immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.
Shen Hechuan, whose gaze had been fixed on Gu Jingchun, frowned slightly upon hearing Situ Mingji's voice and casually asked a question.
"What's wrong?"
However, his gaze remained fixed on Gu Jingchun in the distance.
Situ Mingji gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and said:
"Your Majesty, I beg you to reconsider your decision to allow Gu Jingchun to participate in this competition, even at the cost of my life."
Upon hearing this, Shen Hechuan finally turned his gaze away from Gu Jingchun and glanced at Situ Mingji, who was kneeling.
Situ Mingji seized the opportunity and immediately continued speaking.
“Your Majesty, I know that you only have Miss Gu in your heart.”
"Moreover, we want to take this opportunity to help Miss Gu gain some fame, so that Miss Gu can enter the palace in the future in a natural way."
"However, this competition, which concerns our two countries, is a major event and even more so, it concerns the confidence of our Great Cheng. We must not treat it lightly."
"If you allow Miss Gu to represent Dacheng in the written test, how will Daqi view us? They will think that Dacheng has no one left, that we would send a woman to participate!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Hechuan frowned even more deeply.
Back when Gu Jingchun presented those weapons in court, Shen Hechuan specifically mentioned that the ministers should keep their mouths shut and not let the news get out.
To avoid alerting the enemy and causing alarm on the Qi side.
Therefore, it is understandable that Situ Mingji did not know that these weapons were designed by Gu Jingchun.
Although Shen Hechuan did not agree with or like her statement, he did not speak ill of her or take his anger out on her.
Instead, he lowered his voice and said, "You don't know the whole story, so I don't blame you. Now, you should step back. After the competition, you will surely know the whole story."
Because Shen Hechuan planned to reveal to the public that Gu Jingchun had personally designed these weapons after the competition ended.
However, Situ Mingji was determined not to get up. Instead, he kowtowed and continued:
"Your Majesty, honest advice is hard to hear but beneficial. If you insist on doing this, it may cause dissatisfaction among the ministers and tarnish your lifelong reputation!"
Now, Shen Hechuan was somewhat displeased.
"My wisdom is beyond your comprehension; I have no need to remind myself of it. Now, drag this out."
Shen Hechuan was also a bit angrier this time. Situ Mingji dared not disobey, but he did not stop talking.
“Your Majesty, even if you wish to punish me, I will still speak out.”
Your actions, disregarding the dignity of our Great Cheng Dynasty and paving the way for Gu Jingchun to gain fame, will, even if successful in the end, provoke discontent and resistance from ministers and the people, Your Majesty.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Hechuan frowned even more and ordered someone to cover her mouth before taking her off.
However, after she left, the ministers began to gossip about it.
Situ Qinghe also stepped forward and cautiously advised:
“Your Majesty, although my daughter was a bit rash, she made a good point. Your actions in paving the way for Miss Gu to gain fame will indeed arouse the dissatisfaction of the ministers. I urge Your Majesty to reconsider.”
Shen Hechuan is very irritable right now.
Gu Jingchun was standing under the blazing sun, and the competition was delayed.
But Situ Qinghe just kept babbling on and on.
Therefore, Shen Hechuan directly rebuked him.
"Minister Situ, didn't you see Gu Jingchun's abilities in court that day?"
Upon hearing this, Situ Qinghe was momentarily stunned.
“Your Majesty, I know that Miss Gu has some skills, but this is, after all, a weapon in a competition. It is really against the rules for a woman to participate.”
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