Upon hearing Prince Jing's words, the Emperor pondered for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Haha, Prince Jing, you look strong and healthy now, why are you in such a hurry to go home and retire?"
A perceptive minister nearby quickly stepped forward and called out:
"Your Highness, please reconsider!"
"Prince Jing, the lost territory has just been recovered, and the army cannot be without your leadership!"
"Yes, Prince Jing, the people need you!"
Prince Jing originally intended to hand over the tiger tally himself, and the emperor would simply accept it. However, he did not expect that after the emperor said this, several fools would actually speak up for him. After these few words, the tiger tally could not be kept for even a day.
Upon hearing the words of his ministers, the emperor's face darkened, and he secretly noted down the names of these men before turning his gaze to Prince Jing.
Prince Jing also felt the emperor's oppressive aura, so he quickly stepped forward and knelt down.
"Your Majesty, please withdraw the Tiger Tally. I am now old and no longer fit to shoulder great responsibilities. I only wish to spend my remaining years with my family."
The emperor did not rush to respond to these words. Instead, he stared intently at Prince Jing, as if trying to see through him. At this moment, everyone in the hall also sensed the subtle atmosphere and lowered their heads, not daring to speak.
Prince Jing knelt on the ground, holding the tiger tally aloft with both hands, as if he wouldn't get up until the emperor accepted it. After a long while, the emperor finally burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, good, good, good. Since Prince Jing doesn't want to take charge of military affairs and wants to be a leisurely prince in the capital, then I will grant your wish!"
With that, the emperor waved his hand, signaling the eunuch beside him to retrieve the tiger tally.
When Prince Jing saw that the emperor had finally accepted the tiger tally, a weight was lifted from his heart.
The emperor smiled and glanced at Prince Jing.
"Rise."
Prince Jing then stood up and moved to the side.
Ning Zixuan watched as his father handed over the army he had managed his entire life to the emperor, and he naturally understood his father's reluctance.
However, Ning Zixuan also understood that his father wanted to protect himself. If he did not take this opportunity to hand over the tiger tally to the emperor, the Jingwang Mansion would likely face difficulties in the future.
Ning Zixuan glanced at the Prince Jing's suddenly aged figure, sighed softly, composed himself, and then stepped forward to kneel before the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report!"
Seeing this, the emperor glanced at Ning Zixuan with interest. Ning Zixuan usually did not attend court meetings. He preferred to spend most of his time in the shops making money and had little interest in court affairs.
The fact that he now took the initiative to say that he had something to report surprised the emperor. Could it be that he was anxious because Prince Jing had just handed over the tiger tally?
Thinking this, the emperor frowned slightly, then leaned back and glanced indifferently at Ning Zixuan kneeling below.
"Just tell me what it is."
Ning Zixuan took out the account book that Qiu Yue had given him earlier and handed it to the eunuch along with the evidence he had collected over the past few days.
"Your Majesty, I have recently discovered that there is corruption in the court and that buying and selling official positions is rampant. I urge Your Majesty to take a look."
Upon hearing this, the emperor's eyes widened slightly. He looked at Ning Zixuan kneeling below and waved his hand, saying:
"Please rise."
He then took the booklet and the evidence of buying the official position handed to him by the eunuch and examined them carefully.
At this moment, the officials in the hall began to discuss in hushed tones. In fact, this matter had been going on for years, but for the sake of maintaining the balance of power in the court, the officials had all turned a blind eye.
Furthermore, with the Lin family's considerable influence and Prince Jing as their backer, no one dared to say anything.
No one expected that the person who came forward to report this was Ning Zixuan, but it seems that only he would dare to do such a thing.
While the crowd below was engaged in lively discussion, the emperor suddenly slammed the booklet he was holding onto the table, then glared angrily.
"Good, good! If it weren't for the Crown Prince reporting this today, I wouldn't have known you were so audacious as to buy and sell official positions!"
At this moment, Minister Lin and the officials who had traded with him trembled with fear, cold sweat pouring down their foreheads.
The emperor surveyed the crowd and said in a deep voice:
"How dare you!"
As he spoke, he slammed his hand on the table, startling all the officials into kneeling down.
Although Prince Jing was unaware of what had happened, he never expected that Ning Zixuan would take the initiative to care about court affairs during his year-long absence. Normally, he would not have bothered with such trivial matters.
Prince Jing once had a lot of headaches about his ethereal son, fearing that when he got old, no one would be able to support the Prince Jing's mansion.
Because he didn't want his son to be bullied by dogs after his death, he thought it better to hand over military power now so that the emperor would remember his good deeds and leave a way out for the Prince Jing's family in the future.
Prince Jing was very pleased to see Ning Zixuan's righteous and awe-inspiring appearance.
Ning Zixuan glanced at the emperor's expression, then spoke:
"Your Majesty, I have brought another witness to the palace today. Do you remember the Sun family, who were wiped out overnight?"
The emperor looked intently at Ning Zixuan standing below, pondered for a moment, and then nodded slightly.
"The booklet I just gave you was protected with the lives of more than a hundred people in the Sun family."
The emperor looked down at the book in his hand and unconsciously clenched his fist a little tighter. He still remembered that Minister Sun was an upright and good official back then.
Later, Minister Lin and several officials suddenly brought some evidence of Minister Sun's crimes, saying that he held a high position but did not serve the people or the emperor sincerely.
Instead, he used his power to amass wealth. At the time, the evidence was conclusive, and the emperor, in a fit of anger, dismissed him from his post and sent him back to his hometown.
But on the eve of their relocation, they were suddenly attacked, and all of their more than one hundred family members were killed overnight. The emperor was also saddened for a long time when he learned of this.
Seeing Ning Zixuan bring up the old matter again, I never expected that Minister Sun was actually wronged. He had actually risked the lives of his entire family to protect this booklet.
He couldn't control his feelings of guilt towards Minister Sun's family and his anger towards Minister Lin.
So the emperor slammed his fist on the table again and roared:
"Minister Lin, it's come to this point, aren't you going to say a few words? Is this booklet what you've wanted all these years?"
As he spoke, the emperor threw the booklet in his hand at Minister Lin's face.
"You actually went so far as to distort the truth before me in order to cover up your crimes, causing more than a hundred people in the Sun family to die tragically because of your selfish desires!"
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