Upon hearing the news that his father, King Liu Xinwu, had arrived, Liu Ziyu, who had been slumped in his chair looking dejected, suddenly perked up. He jumped up from his chair and rushed out of the room to greet King Liu Xinwu.
At that moment, the first thought that came to Liu Ziyu's mind was to ask his father to plead with the emperor to spare Hu Dalin and the others' lives, no matter what!
"Father, you've arrived!"
Soon, Liu Ziyu met his godfather Liu Xinwu on the first floor of the inn.
Um!
Liu Xinwu nodded, but his expression was not good.
He waved his hand and said to Liu Ziyu, "I knew you hadn't left the capital yet. Let's go upstairs and talk!"
"Father, this way please—"
As he spoke, Liu Ziyu personally led the way, guiding Zhao Wang Liu Xinwu to the top-class room in the inn, and then hurriedly told his men to serve tea.
After the father and son settled into the top-class room at the inn, Liu Xinwu slowly sipped his tea and casually asked, "Ziyu, you've heard about what happened in court today, haven't you?"
"Father, I have heard about it!"
Liu Ziyu dared not hide anything and immediately knelt down in front of Liu Xinwu, pleading, "Father, please save Hu Dalin and the others!"
"These men, Hu Dalin and Xiong Kai, are all valiant generals under my command, who have rendered great service to the Tang Dynasty. Yet now they are to be executed by His Majesty."
"Father, I beg you, please put in a good word for them with the Emperor, at least spare their lives!"
"Otherwise, if I return to Wuzhou, I won't know how to explain it to their families!"
Bang!
With a sharp crack, Zhao Wang Liu Xinwu smashed the teacup in his hand, shattering it into pieces, splashing the steaming tea all over Liu Ziyu.
Liu Xinwu scolded him with exasperation, "Ziyu, Ziyu, how can you still be so muddle-headed even now!"
"Not to mention that the Emperor would never listen to your godfather and spare Hu Dalin and the others' lives, even if the Emperor were to give your godfather face, your godfather would never dare to ask the Emperor for mercy!"
Liu Xinwu continued, "Do you know what crimes Hu Dalin and his accomplices committed?"
"Let me tell you—hiding weapons, breaking into the palace at night, and killing someone in the street—the person he killed was Wu Feng, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, who had just been granted the title of Earl of Guangling in the Tang Dynasty;"
"Use your pig brain to think about it. Which of the crimes committed by Hu Dalin and his accomplices doesn't warrant a death sentence?"
"I've also heard that last night, Hu Dalin and his gang, fueled by alcohol, galloped wildly and recklessly through the Lantern Festival in Jinling City. There's a thick stack of memorials from the civil officials impeaching them!"
Liu Xinwu became more and more agitated as he spoke, and it was clear that he was genuinely angry.
Finally, Liu Xinwu simply stood up, pointed at Liu Ziyu's nose, and cursed, "You still have the nerve to say that? I wonder how you're going to explain this to Hu Dalin and the others' families when you get back!"
"Then how do you expect your father to explain this to the Emperor, to the family of the deceased Earl of Guangling, Wu Feng, and to all the civil and military officials who want to impeach Hu Dalin and the others?"
"Father, I..."
After being berated by his adoptive father Liu Xinwu, Liu Ziyu, whose mind had been clouded by his eagerness to save people, seemed to clear up. He knelt on the ground, raised his head, and looked at his adoptive father Liu Xinwu with a wronged expression.
Just now, he was desperate and grasping at straws, so he begged his adoptive father to plead with the emperor on his behalf.
Only Liu Ziyu knew why Hu Dalin and his group had drunkenly broken into the palace gates at night, causing such a huge mess that ultimately led to their execution three days later.
Eh—
Liu Xinwu sighed, looking at his adopted son Liu Ziyu kneeling on the ground with a mixture of love, hate, and anger.
He's almost forty years old and has no cunning or scheming at all. How can he possibly carry the banner of the civil and military officials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun after he passes away?
After sighing, Liu Xinwu continued, "Ziyu, answer your father honestly: were you the one who instigated Hu Dalin and his gang to break into the palace gates and commit violence at night?"
"Father, I am innocent!"
Liu Ziyu vehemently denied it, saying, "Your subject would never do such a thing, but—"
Liu Xinwu glared at him, his imposing manner radiating authority even without anger, and said, "But what? Speak!"
Liu Ziyu gritted his teeth and recounted the entire incident to his adoptive father, Liu Xinwu, saying, "Father, after learning that I was only granted the title of Earl of Wuyi, Hu Dalin and the others felt wronged for me and wanted to speak out on my behalf."
"So, after drinking, he wanted to go to the palace to ask the Emperor for an explanation, and that's how the rest of the story happened!"
"you--"
Upon hearing Liu Ziyu's answer, Liu Xinwu was furious and pointed at Liu Ziyu's nose, unable to speak for a long time.
Today, after learning about Hu Dalin and his group breaking into the palace gates at night in the imperial court, Liu Xinwu concluded that this matter must be related to his adopted son, Liu Ziyu, and he was right.
Liu Xinwu said helplessly and angrily, "You, why didn't you stop them back then? If you had stopped them, things wouldn't have turned out like this!"
Liu Ziyu replied with a wronged expression, "Father, I tried to stop them, but I couldn't stop them at all!"
"In addition, I was in a bad mood yesterday, so I drank a little too much. When Hu Dalin and the others broke into the palace at night, I was drunk and passed out in the inn!"
snort!
Liu Xinwu snorted coldly and immediately exposed Liu Ziyu's lie: "Bullshit, if you really wanted to stop them, wouldn't you have been able to stop a few of them?"
"In my opinion, you are clearly unhappy because the title you were granted was too low, and you want to take this opportunity to have the drunken Hu Dalin and his men plead your case before the Emperor."
"Who would have thought that Hu Dalin and his companions would commit such a terrible disaster!"
Exposed for his lie, Liu Ziyu stiffened his neck, stubbornly meeting his adoptive father Liu Xinwu's gaze. His tone was filled with resentment as he spoke, word by word:
"Father, tell me honestly, with the great contributions I have made to the Tang Dynasty, do I only deserve to be granted the title of Earl? And the lowest-ranking of the thirty-six Earls of the Tang Dynasty?"
"Does this mean that I, your son, do not even have the right to speak out for myself after suffering injustice and unfair treatment?"
"Is it true that if Hu Dalin and his group hadn't caused trouble while drunk, I would have silently endured all this injustice and grievance?"
Overcome with emotion, Liu Ziyu roared, his eyes red, "If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have chosen to serve Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin when I was stationed in Wuzhou City—"
Snap!
Before Liu Ziyu could finish speaking, he received a resounding slap across the face.
The thunderous shout from Liu Xinwu still echoed in his ears: "Shut up!"
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