zChapter 795 - The Cost of Opposing the Ninth Lord (1/2)
The Cost of Opposing the Ninth Lord
“Old seventh.” The Emperor was exhausted, as he looked at the officials that were still kneeling on the ground with wounds covering their bodies. He felt an urge to push all of these people into the lake, but he could not. He could only ask Xuan Tian Hua: “Say, how should this matter be handled?”
Xuan Tian Hua, however, insisted on not giving him an answer, only telling him: “You are the emperor. You should be clearer on what to do than son.”
“You mean that it can only be done the way an emperor would handle it?” The Emperor looked at Feng Yu Heng with a bit of despair… To act as an emperor, he could not push away all of these officials for the sake of a girl. Among the people kneeling, there were lowly fourth and fifth ranked officials, but there were also the minister of the Board of Punishments and the minister of the Imperial Court of Justice. If he was to push aside these people today, news of it would spread around the capital. The word would be that the Emperor only favored the ninth prince and only has the son of Imperial Concubine Yun in his heart. Further, he favored the future ninth princess to the heavens. For the sake of letting Feng Yu Heng have a position in the palace, even officials like the minister of the Board of Justice and the minister from the Imperial Court of Justice would be pushed back. He even used a branch to hit people. His reputation as the ruler would be completely ruined.
The Emperor closed his eyes, and his heart trembled with anger; however, it was at this time that Xuan Tian Ming spoke up, saying: “You won’t let my wife meddle with things? You won’t let her enter the palace? That’s great! This prince really must thank my lords! Over the years, this prince has always been wondering why the daughters from other families could spend their days going around and buying accessories or clothing. They either spend their days having fun or eating out, or they just spend their time sleeping lazily at home or think about how to get a handsome husband. The lives that they live really are easy. But why does this prince’s wife need to spend her days worrying about the country’s matters? The Hundred Herb Hall that was opened in the capital does not sell as much medicine as it gives out, and it suffers a monetary loss each month. It’s all because A-Heng said that she wants to share Father Emperor’s burden. The size of Da Shun is large, and she can’t possibly concern herself with all of it, but when it’s in the capital, she wants to do all that she can to share Father Emperor’s burdens. But my lords have said it. Hundred Herb Hall does not need to remain open. In the future, she won’t need to worry about the matters of the country. This prince really must thank my lords for this. You have freed A-Heng.”
As he spoke, he sincerely bowed to these officials then winked at Feng Yu Heng without being noticed. He then continued: “From this day forward, Imperial Daughter Ji An will be enjoying her days idly in her manor. The Hundred Herb Hall in the capital will no longer be open for business. When idle, she will go out for a stroll and spend some money on accessories. In the future, she will no longer enter the imperial palace. Un, it will be settled like this.” After saying this, he smiled toward Feng Yu Heng, “Dear wife, what do you think?”
Of course, Feng Yu Heng had to give him face, thus she immediately smiled and said: “I was thinking of doing this long ago! Tomorrow, this imperial daughter will go and have them close Hundred Herb Hall.”
The two sides had expressed their attitudes, and the officials kneeling on the ground all let out a sigh. The mission handed down to them by His Highness the eighth prince had finally been completed. Although there had been numerous complications in the middle, in any case, this was the outcome that His Highness the eighth prince wanted. As for the two people that had suddenly been killed, they really did not know who had done it. In their hearts, they wondered, it should not have been His Highness the eighth prince, right? But the situation had not been investigated clearly. Nobody could speak wildly. They could only speculate internally.
The Emperor did not know what sort of plot the two were hatching, but Xuan Tian Ming’s words left him with many feelings. Thinking about it, indeed, the young misses of other families lived quite freely, but A-Heng lived a much more difficult life. Although she was not lacking in money and never lacked for nice things, compared to the contributions that she made to Da Shun, it was far too little. Moreover, the girl had gone onto the battlefield with old ninth, and she had put forth her utmost to gain territory for Da Shun. Now that she was going to be pushed away, how could he endure it?
The Emperor looked at Feng Yu Heng; however, he did not know what he should say. He just stayed frozen in place until Feng Yu Heng bowed to him then took the initiative to say: “A-Heng thanks Father Emperor for the years of doting love, but from this day forward, I fear that I will no longer be able to come into the palace to visit Father Emperor. Father Emperor’s health is not great. Please take care.”
With just a few words, tears nearly fell from the Emperor’s eyes. Although he still felt that old ninth was using some set of tricks on these damn old geezers, he still could not bear to watch these children be bullied, but what could he do? The law did not punish the majority, and the ruler could not use his power to deal with so many officials; moreover, he was clear in his heart that these people had the support of old eighth. This child had always been wanting to compete with him to see who had the ability to ascend the throne. He was their father and had to provide each child with an equal opportunity. The imperial family was meant to be like this. He definitely could not act willfully and only think of old ninth. If he did, even if old ninth did ascend the throne, it would be denounced, and people would say that he relied on his relationship with Imperial Concubine Yun to ascend the throne. He could not allow his most-beloved son to be spoken of like this. As for old eighth, as long as he was not like the late old third, who attempted to usurp the throne. As for the competition between the princes, just let them compete. He also wanted to see who exactly had the ability to settle the world!
“Governor.” The Emperor pointed at the two corpses and said in an exhausted voice, “Immediately begin investigating the cause of their deaths. You must be sure to find the true culprit. We will be keeping an eye on this case. Do not disappoint Us.”
Xu Jing Yuan quickly kneeled in front of the Emperor and expressed himself: “Would Your Majesty please be at ease. A satisfactory conclusion will be brought forth within ten days!”
This was a boast from Xu Jing Yuan. The case would be solved within ten days. His family members wiped away some sweat on his behalf.
The palace banquet came to an unhappy end, and just as everyone was preparing to bow then disperse from the palace, someone summoned the courage to mention: “Your Majesty, this sort of thing happened in the palace, and it happened on the first day of the new year. It’s a big matter that is extremely unlucky. It also shows that the security in the palace is not secure. The imperial guards must not shirk responsibility.”
Once these words came out, Xuan Tian Ming immediately shot a cold look. There was a large group of the imperial guards that he had led. Was this not a direct attack on him? His brow moved slightly; however, his arm was held back by Xuan Tian Hua, as Xuan Tian Hua quietly whispered into his ear: “Keep calm, they came here with support. That something happened in the palace was also very clear for all to see. You cannot avoid responsibility for this. It would be better to let them be and see what sort of outcome they will bring about.”