In the court
The emperor sat high on the dragon throne, his usually gentle face now terribly gloomy, and he threw the memorial in his hand onto the hall.
"How do you explain this, Governor Liu?"
Liu Ren knelt in the hall, flipping through the memorials and shouting his innocence: "I did not do such a thing. Someone is slandering me for corruption. I beg Your Majesty to investigate."
It hit the ground with a dull sound of thud.
A sneer sounded from above, and Liu Ren's heart sank. He didn't expect that his daughter would be disgraced after giving birth to a prince and not even being canonized.
The little prince is also missing, but His Majesty actually wants to vent his anger on him. He is really... a tyrant. It's so disheartening.
Emperor Gan gave a wink and dragged the man away.
He said sternly, "In consideration of your hard work and great contributions in the past, I will not hold you accountable this time. You will go to Li County for three years and make up for your mistakes."
"If you do well, you can return to Beijing in three years. If not... you don't have to come back in this lifetime. Come on, drag it away."
When Liu Ren heard this, he was dragged away crying.
The court officials looked at each other and frowned, not understanding what was wrong with the emperor and why he started going crazy for no reason.
Emperor Gan turned his head and looked at Jiang Baichuan with an indifferent expression: "The general has just returned to the capital. When you plan to host a banquet for guests, don't forget me. I haven't left the palace for a long time."
Jiang Baichuan's heart tightened, and he walked out and knelt in the hall: "In reply to your Majesty, the date is set at noon three days later. If your Majesty is available, I will be more than happy to help you."
"...Ha, the great general has made great military achievements and hasn't returned to the capital for many years. Naturally, I must attend this first banquet."
Listening to the forced smile, Jiang Baichuan felt a tingling sensation on his back. What on earth had happened to make him lose his composure like this in the imperial court?
Emperor Gan was absent-mindedly flipping through the memorial, his eyes a little vague.
The young eunuch whispered a few words in Jinzhong's ear, then slowly stepped aside, lowering his head and not daring to look.
Jin Zhongxin raised it and leaned over to whisper a few words: "Your Majesty, Taoist Zhang said he wants to leave the palace to find some medicinal herbs. Do you think it's okay to let him go?"
"We've searched Concubine Li's palace, but we couldn't find the little prince. We only found Aunt Peilan's body, which was already burnt."
"The longevity pill... I'm afraid it can't be made?"
Emperor Gan felt panicked when he heard this. He subconsciously raised his hand to touch his hair and felt extremely anxious. If there was no longevity pill.
His heart felt heavy with congestion and he spat out blood.
A cry of surprise came from above.
The court officials subconsciously raised their heads and saw the emperor vomiting blood. They stared in disbelief as the man was carried away and the court dispersed.
After leaving the hall, he whispered, "What's going on? Your Majesty has always been in good health, why did he suddenly vomit blood, and in the court?"
"Could it be that something happened in the harem again?"
Jiang Baichuan, his son and his two sons passed by, listened to their words, and walked out without stopping.
After getting on the carriage, Jiang Ziang let out a long breath, his heart pounding: "Dad, big brother, this morning court is too painful, my legs are numb."
"Boss, you've heard about what happened last night, right? Do you have any guesses?"
"...Well, Dad, have you noticed that His Majesty has more white hair on his temples and more fine lines on his face. It's as if he's aged several years overnight."
Jiang Ziang looked at this and that, completely bewildered: "Dad, big brother, are you all right? Why did His Majesty go to court this morning? It's normal for him to be like this at his age."
"Besides, Concubine Li is disfigured and insane, and she burned down two palaces last night. Your Majesty, it's normal for you to be upset and vomit blood. People age quickly when they worry."
Jiang Baichuan looked at his naive second son, and the corner of his mouth twitched: "Second son, your brain has grown all the strength. Let people see you stupid, and don't open your mouth to prove that you are stupid."
Jiang Ziang: “……?”
Jiang Ling took out the small piece of paper, looked at the words on it, and a smile of understanding appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"As expected, His Majesty vomited blood not because of Concubine Li, nor because of the burned palace, but because of the disappearance of the Tenth Prince."
"Yes, I think so too. But given His Majesty's temperament, why would he care so much about the Tenth Prince and even be so angry? It's really strange."
Jiang Baichuan always felt that there was something else going on here, but he couldn't remember it for a while, and a look of distress appeared on his face.
Jiang Ling's expression was calm: "It's not difficult to find out about this matter, but we have to wait a little longer. If I can meet Mo Xiaotong once, perhaps I can understand what's going on behind the scenes."
"There's no rush for this matter. Let's first think about the banquet and the issue of military power."
"Your Majesty has been keeping an eye on Dad today. I'm afraid he's thinking about the issue of military power. Let's discuss it in detail after we return and see what to do."
Jiang Baichuan nodded: "Well, have you found the whereabouts of the third brother? He hasn't returned in over a year. I hope he didn't get into trouble while he was away."
Jiang Ling looked at the awkwardness on his face and said with a smile, "It's okay, the third brother is smart, it won't be that easy for him to get into trouble."
"Maybe he will be back before entertaining the guests."
"Hmm? You know his whereabouts."
"yes."
Jiang Baichuan heaved a sigh of relief. It was good that the useless guy was okay. After all, he was his biological son. No matter how angry he was, he would not let him die.
With a stern face, he said, "Find him and bring him back as soon as possible. Don't let him run around anymore. Also, since you're the eldest brother now, please discipline your younger brother."
"Stop hanging out with those bad friends, and avoid going to gambling dens and brothels. He's already not very smart, and if he's led astray, he'll cause trouble and bring disaster to the family."
Jiang Ling pursed her lips and smiled, then said softly, "Okay, I understand."
The carriage slowly stopped outside the mansion. The three of them got off the carriage and went directly to the backyard. After paying their respects to the old lady, they prepared to leave.
The old lady smiled and took out a booklet and handed it over. "Don't rush to leave. Check the list to see if there's anything missing. There's still time to add it now."
After reading it carefully, Jiang Baichuan asked in confusion, "Mother, is Xinrou doing well in the Prime Minister's Mansion? How is her son-in-law treating her? With that old fox father-in-law around, I'm afraid..."
"Oh, she's doing well, so you don't have to worry. But you said His Majesty would be coming, didn't you?"
"Yes, I just mentioned it at the morning court today. I don't understand why Your Majesty suddenly wants to come, but since you asked, I can only agree."
The old lady seemed to be thinking about something, then smiled and said, "That's good. This will save us a lot of trouble. Ling'er stays, and the rest of you can go out."
Jiang Baichuan was a little confused. He was the biological son, so why did his mother only leave behind her grandson and not let him stay as well?
"Mother, why don't you let me stay too?"
"Nothing, just chatting. You have a lot to do since you just came back. Go and take care of your official business early."
"Okay then, I'll go first."
The room quickly fell silent, and the old lady lowered her voice: "Ling'er, do you know why Grandmother asked you to stay here?"
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