Huang Pian opened the booklet with trembling hands, but after reading only one page, she immediately dropped it on the spot and kowtowed repeatedly to the Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty! Please forgive me! Please forgive me!"
"Forgive? If I forgive you, what will happen to these people? What will happen to the girls whose purity you have defiled? What will happen to the girls who committed suicide because they lost their purity? Huang Pian, you have committed countless heinous crimes! How dare you beg for mercy now?" If it weren't for his status as the emperor, he reckoned he would have given Huang Pian a good beating by now!
"Drag him away! Lock him in the death row! Execute him in the autumn!" The Emperor glared at Huang Pian and said irritably!
"Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me!" Huang Pian's cries continued, causing the Emperor to feel annoyed once again.
"Sew his mouth shut! Stop him from making any more noise!" These were the last words Huang Pian heard before she lost consciousness.
The emperor and his entourage of four walked out of the government office, while the prefect was still trembling with fear.
The Emperor glanced at the Prefect and said irritably, "You are the Prefect of Shengjing, yet you act as an accomplice to evil and a henchman of the wicked. Since that's the case, I will have you fined for half a year. You stay here and reflect on your actions! If everyone were as afraid of the powerful as you, what kind of Prefect would you be!"
Upon hearing this, the prefect felt a great sense of relief. Although he had been severely reprimanded by the emperor, at least his official position had not been affected. So be it if his salary was docked; it was what he deserved! The prefect knelt on the ground and saw the emperor off.
"How is your daughter, Jiang Wenxi?" Sitting in the carriage, the Emperor looked at Jiang Ling with a serious expression and asked.
Jiang Ling immediately knelt on the ground and replied, "Your Majesty, you are blessed with great fortune and have protected Jiang Wenxi. Wenxi is recovering quite well!"
"What good fortune? It's just that my old eyes are failing me and I didn't see clearly that such a thing had happened in Shengjing. I have failed the people!" The Emperor shook his head helplessly and muttered to himself.
“Your Majesty, this matter has nothing to do with you. You are already busy with countless affairs of state, how could you possibly know about such a trivial matter?” He Shunsu looked at the Emperor and comforted him repeatedly.
"Alas, Third Brother, you don't understand. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. The common people are our foundation! If this foundation is not stable, how can we consolidate our rule?" The Emperor sighed heavily.
Hearing this, Jiang Ling's heart stirred. A ruler who could sympathize with the people was definitely a good ruler.
Although that's what she thought, she couldn't show it. Instead, she was considering whether she should avoid suspicion.
"Your Majesty, Third Prince, how about I go out and travel with Xiao Hai so as not to disturb your discussion of state affairs!" Jiang Ling said.
"It's alright. You're bold and resourceful, so you can help me think of a way to solve this current problem!" The Emperor waved his hand, gesturing for Jiang Ling to sit down.
Jiang Ling frowned, but dared not look at the Emperor. She glanced at He Shunsu, who also looked helpless.
Because of Jiang Ling's status, she didn't take the initiative to ask.
"The Showa Nation was originally our vassal state, paying tribute and submitting to us year after year. But now they have rebelled and want us to become their vassal state. Two days ago, their envoy sent us a guqin called the Spider Silk Qin. This guqin is no different from an ordinary guqin, except that the strings are different. The strings are shaped like spider silk, hence the name Spider Silk Qin. They said that if someone in our country can play this guqin, their country will continue to pay tribute and submit to us year after year!"
"But if they fail to make it work, don't blame the Showa nation for being ruthless and invading our country!"
The emperor recounted the matter with a worried expression.
"Hmm? This is just like a scene from a crosstalk performance I heard before." After listening to the Emperor's account, Jiang Ling began to think about similar scenes from crosstalk performances she had heard before.
After Jiang Ling finally recalled the entire scene, a smile gradually appeared on her lips.
She looked at the Emperor and He Shunsu and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is easy to handle! I already have a brilliant plan!"
"What?"
The Emperor and He Shunsu both looked at Jiang Ling with surprise.
Jiang Ling didn't want to keep them in suspense, so she cleared her throat and told the Emperor and He Shunsu her proposed solution.
After the countermeasures were explained, the Emperor and He Shunsu were completely stunned and clapped their hands in unison.
The Emperor praised Jiang Ling highly.
Seeing this, Jiang Ling pressed her advantage, saying, "Your Majesty, may I have one more thing to say?"
The emperor was delighted to have a solution and waved his hand, saying, "Speak, and I will pardon you!"
"I wish to be the one to play the Spider Silk Harp. My purpose in doing so is to make the Showa envoy back down!"
After a few seconds of contemplation and exchanging glances with He Shunsu, the Emperor nodded and said, "Alright, I grant your permission! But Jiang, if this matter fails, I will punish you!"
Jiang Ling nodded confidently, "Your Majesty, please wait and see!"
Huang Pian was temporarily imprisoned in a death row cell, and Prime Minister Wang was also imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court. As for Ye Feng and the others, they were all released.
Before Jiang Ling could reunite with her two children, she was summoned to the imperial city by He Shunsu.
After a series of meticulous arrangements, Jiang Ling waited with some excitement for the moment when the plan would be implemented the next day.
The next morning, the court officials stood on both sides, and the Showa envoy walked into the Imperial City with an air of arrogance.
"Your Majesty, the three-day agreement has been reached. If Your Majesty has not come up with a solution, then don't blame us for being ruthless!" The Showa envoy said to His Majesty.
The Emperor suddenly burst into laughter, then slammed his hand on the dragon throne with a "smack," pointed at the Showa envoy, and shouted: "You are a vassal state, yet you have such a big mouth. If I really send troops to suppress you, it will probably give you a bad reputation for bullying the weak. Since that's the case, I will make you admit defeat!"
"It's just playing the spider silk harp! Someone! Bring the harp!"
After giving the order, He Shunsu, dressed in eunuch's clothes, carefully presented the Spider Silk Qin, and Jiang Ling, disguised as a village woman, also came in.
She first bowed to the Emperor, then sat down at the zither. As her fingers danced, melodious music flowed out, beautiful and pleasing to the ear, lingering for days. Before long, Jiang Ling suddenly changed the strength of her playing, and the zither became a chaotic mix of sounds, like pearls falling onto a jade plate. The sound was plaintive and poignant, making everyone feel inexplicably sad!
When the music ended, the Imperial City was completely silent. After a long while, the Showa envoy was the first to react. He rushed to the silk zither and exclaimed, "This...this is impossible!"
As he spoke, he reached out and touched the strings, but the strings snapped the moment his fingertips touched them.
"You! You! Who are you?!" The Showa envoy stared wide-eyed at Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling smiled faintly and said, "I am just a country woman, Your Excellency need not know too much about me!"
"No! No! Impossible! You absolutely cannot be a country woman! You are so familiar with music, it's impossible! You must be some pampered lady or young lady in disguise!" The Showa envoy clearly did not believe it.
Jiang Ling stretched out her fingers and continued to explain, "My lord, my hands are covered in calluses. How can you tell that I am a pampered person? Or do the pampered ladies and young ladies on your land also need to work in the fields and have calloused hands like me?"
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