111. Punishment

Rong Se and Liang Shenyu had just come out of Yun Zhi's house, and before they could return home, they received a summons from the palace.

"My nephew's recent thoughts are a bit dangerous."

Rong Se leaned back in the carriage, stroking the hand warmer, narrowing his eyes slightly with a forced smile.

Ever since the establishment of the Xuanji Camp, Rong Jing wanted to get his hands on government affairs. He often held banquets in the palace to invite court officials to show the emperor's grace, but in fact he was just getting to know the court officials.

Now they dare to summon him into the palace.

"It's probably because of Xi that Cao Lun got anxious," Liang Shenyu said. "The Cao family is looking for a woman of the right age to enter the palace. The new emperor has not selected any beauties, so I think he will directly appoint concubines and empresses. When your majesty gets married, it will be time to bring up the old matter and let the emperor rule the country personally."

Rong Se had also heard about this matter. If the person sitting in that position was not Rong Jing, he would have wanted to return the power back as soon as possible.

But when she heard that Rong Jing was going to get married, her expression became subtle for a moment.

After all, in the original novel, Rong Jing was deeply in love with Liang Shenyu, and he resisted the pressure from court officials and refused to make her his concubine and marry her. As a result, it has come to this... The plot line has almost completely collapsed.

Seeing his strange expression, Liang Shenyu asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Rong Se came back to his senses and shook his head gently, "I was just wondering what my good nephew was going to do next."

The words in the book are just words, and when these characters become real flesh-and-blood people, they will take different paths due to their own experiences and personalities. For example, Rong Jing, who is obsessed with Liang Shenyu in the original work, is actually selfish and hypocritical, and Dingbei Hou, who is supposed to be a true gentleman, is secretly plotting heresy and rebellion.

In the side hall of Zhaoyang Palace, Rong Jing was waiting here, dressed in the emperor's regular clothes with bright yellow embroidered dragon patterns.

Rong Se came in and saw that Cao Lun was sitting in front of the hall, and next to him stood a young man in a military robe. Rong Se had seen that young man several times before. It was Cao Xun, a new official who had just taken office. Cao Xun was quite handsome, but his eyes always revealed calculation, and he looked at everyone with ill intentions, and was very fawning to Cao Lun.

He is a person with evil intentions who is good at flattery.

When Rong Jing saw Rong Se, he said gently, "The emperor's uncle is here, come on, let him sit down." After that, he looked at Liang Shenyu and said with a smile, "Shuyun has also come, please sit down with him."

Rong Se didn't give him a good look, and naturally he wasn't polite either. He sat down with the hand stove in his hand.

"Stop talking nonsense, Emperor." Rong Se said calmly, "What do you want from me?"

Having said that, he glanced coldly at Cao Xun.

Only then did he notice that half of Cao Xun's cheek was bruised and slightly swollen. This injury was probably caused by Xiao Mufeng, but Rong Se pretended not to see it and stared at him for a while until Cao Xun's eyes avoided his gaze unnaturally, then he withdrew his cold gaze.

Rong Jing and Cao Lun exchanged a glance, then said slowly, "I came to look for my uncle because of the conflict between the imperial guards and the Xuanji camp today. Although Xiao Mufeng is the son of a county duke, he is too presumptuous. He beat up his colleagues in the streets of Jinjing. My uncle has always been impartial and fair in enforcing the law. Why did he protect Captain Xiao this time?"

Before Rong Se could say anything, Liang Shenyu said with a cheerful face, "Your Majesty, according to the laws of our dynasty, if a civil official is beaten, he shall be punished with 50 strokes of the cane and a six-month salary deduction. If a military official is beaten, he shall be punished with 30 strokes of the cane and a three-month salary deduction. If there is a reason, the case will be decided later. Both Master Cao and General Cao are not civil officials, and Master Cao has no achievements. General Cao and Commander Xiao fought in the street because of an argument. "We cannot accuse Captain Xiao of beating his colleagues just because he is not as skilled as others, not to mention that there may be other hidden reasons. According to Captain Xiao, if the two Caos had not been disrespectful to his deceased mother, this would not have happened. Our Great Jin prides itself on being a country of great etiquette and filial piety. Captain Xiao had no choice but to beat his deceased mother. I would like to ask why Commander Cao took the man directly to the Xuanji Camp and ordered him to be caned 80 times?"

Well-organized and well-reasoned.

Liang Shenyu spoke at a moderate pace, but at the end he suddenly became stern and his gentleness faded away. He stared at Cao Xun sharply, without a trace of smile, and questioned him word by word.

"General Cao, could it be that the Xuanji Camp does not follow the laws of the Great Jin Dynasty and has its own laws?"

The uninjured half of Cao Xun's face had turned horribly pale.

Liang Shenyu rarely showed this aggressive side. He usually acted like the son of a nobleman, elegant and gentle, just like an exquisite and luxurious ornamental sword with a scabbard plated with gold and inlaid with jade. But once it was unsheathed, it became sharp and blood-stained and filled with murderous intent.

On the battlefield, he could scare off the Hun generals with just a roar, and the enemy troops would become morale-destroying when they heard his name.

Even the wide-sleeved long gown he was wearing could not conceal his iron-blooded and fierce appearance.

Cao Lun, who had been in power for decades, could not stand the pressure. He breathed faster and said in a deep voice, "Marquis Dingbei, you are too kind. Since you are a minister of our dynasty, you will naturally abide by the laws of the Jin Dynasty."

"If that's the case." Liang Shenyu's eyes moved between Rong Jing and Cao Lun, and he spoke clearly: "Then what's wrong with what the prince did? It's Xuanji Camp. If the prince hadn't ordered to rescue Captain Xiao today, wouldn't Captain Xiao have been caned for nothing?"

There was a charcoal fire burning in the room. Rong Se put down the hand warmer and untied his cloak. Cao Xun was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, and his collar was soaked.

"I dare not." Cao Xun leaned over and said hurriedly.

"The order was given by General Cao." Liang Shenyu said coldly, "I have already done it, so why should I be afraid? Your Majesty and Lord Cao, do you still want to seek justice for General Cao?"

Rong Jing choked.

Naturally, he did not want justice, but wanted to take the opportunity to weaken the imperial guards. However, before he could even say anything, Liang Shenyu scolded him. Now he was unable to say anything.

Finally, Cao Lun said with a sullen face: "The Xuanji Camp has just arrived, so it is inevitable that there will be conflicts with the Imperial Guards. I do not know the inside story today, so I summoned the prince to tell the truth, so as to avoid any rifts between colleagues in the future. If we are officials in the same court and there is discord, it will be detrimental to the country."

"Well said."

Rong Se sneered, "Since it's for the truth, His Majesty, when he saw me, he defended me and Captain Xiao. Also, I know that the wife of Lord Cao is the legitimate daughter of the Duke's Mansion, but if her biological mother's family had not violated the law, their property would not have been confiscated. To put it bluntly, Mrs. Cao is also the daughter of a criminal. But Master Ling insisted on making things difficult for Captain Xiao. When the Japanese king punished him with house arrest, it seemed to be of no use at all."

Cao Lun's face changed, and he stood up suddenly and said, "Your Highness, this is a matter of the court, why do you have to involve my family affairs?"

"Lord Cao also knows how to distinguish between public and private matters."

Rong Se sarcastically glanced at Cao Xun and said, "Since we want to handle this matter impartially, then fine, Commander Xiao will be punished, but Commander Cao is still standing here. Commander Cao, go to the Imperial Guards and receive the thirty canes yourself."

Cao Xun almost stumbled and immediately looked to Cao Lun for help: "Sir..."

"Lord Cao."

Liang Shenyu interrupted Cao Xun, and his eyes like a beast swept over him, saying calmly: "Since it was Master Cao who provoked General Cao first, he should be punished. Master Cao has no official status, so it's fine, but General Cao will be punished alive, not to mention——"

"General Cao has ordered Captain Xiao to be caned. This is an act of presumption. Thirty canes are given. The prince is showing mercy because this is your first offense. Captain Cao, please don't be ignorant."

Seeing that Rong Jing and Cao Lun were both silent, Cao Xun knew that he could not escape the beating, so he dared not say anything else and had to kneel down to thank the Regent Prince for his grace.

"Cao Xun, Xiao Mufeng, each of them will be fined three months' salary."

Rong Se gave the order calmly, then glanced at Rong Jing, whose expression was not as gentle as before, and said, "This is fair, so that my nephew won't accuse me of partiality."

Rong Jing forced a smile and said, "The emperor's uncle is strict and fair."

"Of course." Rong Se took back the hand warmer that was not yet cold, stood up slowly, and said perfunctorily with a smile: "I heard that Lord Cao is looking for a suitable empress for the emperor. They are all going to get married. You must be more cautious and prudent in the future. If you wrongly accuse Captain Xiao today, I am afraid that it will hurt the hearts of the court officials in the future. How can I feel at ease to return power to Your Majesty?"

It’s almost like saying it bluntly: you are too incompetent, you can’t take back the power, so just give up.

Seeing Rong Jing's even uglier expression, and the look of admitting his mistake by forcing a smile and saying "It's my fault for not thinking it through enough", Rong Se was in a good mood, a smile appeared on his lips, and he raised his chin to Cao Xun.

"Let's go, Commander Cao. I have nothing else to do. I will go with you to the Imperial Guards Office to watch the execution in person."

Cao Xun was so frightened that he turned pale and almost couldn't walk.

Rong Se said he wanted to watch the execution in person, so he personally watched as Cao Xun was escorted to the Imperial Guards Yamen. The Xuanji Camp and the Imperial Guards had been in conflict many times in recent days, and when they saw the other side's commander being brought in, their eyes suddenly became hostile.

"Go ahead." Rong Se said, and then whispered, "Thirty strokes of the cane. Beat them as hard as you can. Just don't let him die."

He knew the capabilities of the Imperial Guards. Thirty strokes of the cane were enough to kill a person. But if Cao Xun died in the Imperial Guards' office, it would be difficult to explain.

The two executioners looked at each other and said in unison: "We understand."

Looking at Rong Se's eyes again, it was fear before, but now it has turned into respect.

Xiao Mufeng had a cheerful personality and was not arrogant. He got along well with everyone in the Imperial Guards Office, and the Imperial Guards did not dislike this generous, responsible and informal nobleman.

They had all heard about the conflict between Xiao Mufeng and the Xuanji Camp today, and they all knew that after beating the two men from the Cao family, Xiao Mufeng realized that he was in trouble and voluntarily allowed himself to be taken away by the Xuanji Camp. Fearing that he would implicate the patrolling imperial guards, they did not allow them to take action and only ordered them to quickly inform the governor.

Now the prince personally brought the governor of Xuanjiying to be punished, which was obviously to vent Xiao Mufeng's anger. In the eyes of the imperial guards, Rong Se was not the cold-blooded regent, but a master who truly treated his subordinates as human beings.

Rong Se was a little confused and turned to ask Liang Shenyu: "Why are they looking at me like that?"

Liang Shenyu hummed softly, leaned over and chuckled softly.

"Because you're nice."

Pure and gentle, frank and upright.

The cleanest person in this dirty world.