pappabearbooks Chapter 82 Liu Feng: Why not take revenge? Are you going to keep them around to breed during the New
Chapter 82 Liu Feng: Why not take revenge? Are you going to keep them around to breed during the New
Chapter 82 Liu Feng: Why not take revenge? Are you going to keep them around to breed during the New Year?
In the Imperial Study, several portraits were pressed down by a white jade paperweight on the Emperor's desk.
Emperor Yankang stared for a long time before raising his head: "Since we can't find out the identities of these people, then investigate the one who escaped."
Dai Quan bowed and replied, "Yes," and was about to put the portraits away when the eunuch on duty rushed in in a panic: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has arrived..."
Before Emperor Yankang could speak, the Empress Dowager stormed in, her face frosty and her eyes fixed on the Emperor.
Emperor Yankang remained silent for a moment, then stood up, stepped forward, bowed to the Empress Dowager, and slowly said, "You may all leave."
Dai Quan acknowledged and left, closing the door behind him.
"Are you planning to poison me too?!"
The Empress Dowager was very excited when she spoke, and her voice even changed tone.
Emperor Yankang remained calm: "What makes you say that, Mother?"
"Besides you, who would dare to lay a hand on your uncle's family?" The Empress Dowager's chest heaved violently, almost roaring, "Your uncle's son is not even five years old! How could you be so heartless!"
Emperor Yankang did not respond. Instead, he turned around, picked up the portraits from his desk, and handed them to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was slightly taken aback: "What is this?"
Emperor Yankang's tone remained calm: "Yesterday, the Directorate of Ceremonial received news that someone deliberately incited those military dependents to storm the Duke of Cheng'en's residence, trying to stir up trouble in the imperial family. The people from the Northern Garrison went to the Ministry of Justice and happened to witness the murder and cover-up."
""
"Really?" The Empress Dowager was skeptical.
Emperor Yankang casually tossed the portrait back onto his desk and said indifferently, "Empress Dowager can send someone to inquire. All the jailers on duty last night in the Ministry of Justice's backyard are dead."
Seeing that the Emperor didn't seem to be lying, the Empress Dowager's anger subsided somewhat, and her tone softened: "Your uncle has had a hard life since childhood, suffering countless hardships. Later, he finally managed to make some money through business, only to be caught up in your struggle for the throne... Even if he didn't achieve anything, he certainly endured hardship, right? Even putting all that aside, he just lost his son... Please, have some pity on him and forgive him this time, okay?"
Emperor Yankang said calmly, "The emperor is subject to the same laws as the common people."
"You..." The Empress Dowager's chest heaved as she choked on her words, and after a long pause, she finally spoke again: "Have you read your uncle's confession?"
"I haven't seen it," the emperor answered readily.
Why don't you watch it?
"avoid arousing suspicion."
The Empress Dowager felt a pang in her chest. "You're the Emperor, why are you avoiding any suspicion?"
A sudden, bad feeling washed over her: "Where's your uncle's confession?"
"It's been sent to the cabinet."
"Why send it to the cabinet?" The Empress Dowager didn't react for a moment.
Emperor Yankang did not hide anything: "I will issue a public notice in the official gazette, informing the six ministries, the nine ministerial offices, and the entire country."
The Empress Dowager was not one of those ignorant, sheltered women.
Back then, what methods didn't they use to sow discord between the retired emperor and the deposed crown prince? She immediately realized, "He's your own uncle! How could you do that!"
Emperor Yankang said calmly, "That's precisely why I'm waiting for him to submit his confession himself."
The Empress Dowager's expression changed: "You, you sent people to arrest your uncle again?"
Emperor Yankang did not reply.
The Empress Dowager panicked and quickly went to the door to pull it open, but the door was locked from the outside.
She angrily pounded on the door, shouting, "Open the door! Open the door now! You bunch of lackeys..."
"After cursing for a long time, there was no response from outside the door."
The Empress Dowager turned around abruptly, "Tell them to open the door!"
Emperor Yankang had already sat down on the dragon throne. "Mother, please rest here for a while."
"You...you unfilial son!" The Empress Dowager felt a sudden darkness before her eyes, her body went limp, and she collapsed.
In late autumn, the outskirts of Beijing are desolate, with withered vines entwining old trees, and crows perching on the old trees, creating a scene of lonely autumn.
"Wow—wow—"
—
Suddenly, the crow took flight with a clatter, squawking wildly, and disappeared into the depths of the woods.
The sound of horses' hooves came from the end of the official road, and more than thirty riders galloped toward the capital.
It was Liu Feng and his group who had returned from Datong.
Upon seeing the Deshengmen gate tower in the distance, Liu Feng's weary face finally broke into a smile: "Finally back!"
According to the rules of the imperial court, once an imperial envoy returns to the capital, he must immediately go to the palace to meet the emperor, no matter how late it is.
Unfortunately, the emperor was in the middle of a meeting with several cabinet members, so Liu Feng had no choice but to wait outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Having traveled a long distance, Liu Feng was utterly exhausted. After waiting for more than half an hour without even a sip of tea, he could no longer stand. He walked to the stone steps, sat down, leaned against a pillar, closed his eyes to rest, and unknowingly fell asleep.
As the sun was setting, the tightly closed palace doors slowly opened.
The Grand Secretary and several cabinet ministers were talking as they walked out when they were suddenly interrupted by a soft snoring sound. The group looked in the direction of the sound.
That "bloodshed caused by a bowl of rice" had already made Liu Feng famous among civil servants, and everyone knew him. Naturally, the cabinet members also recognized him.
Liu Feng's sleeping posture was extremely unsightly; he was sprawled out against the pillar with drool hanging from the corner of his mouth.
One of the cabinet ministers scoffed disdainfully: "The dignity of the court has been completely disgraced by these crude and vulgar men."
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A cabinet minister chimed in, "The upright officials from the Censorate, the Hanlin Academy, and the Imperial Academy are preparing to jointly impeach him."
"What about the matter concerning the prefect of Datong?" another cabinet minister asked.
"It wasn't just that. He also indiscriminately slaughtered innocent people in Datong City, massacring more than thirty gentry and wealthy households in one go, making him even more brutal than the Tartars outside the Great Wall..."
""
"People like this are not fit to serve in the court; the reputation of the court is ruined by people like them."
"Exactly. The will of the people is the foundation of a nation; how can we allow it to be destroyed like this!"
The Grand Secretary frowned and said in a low voice, "Enough! Aren't you ashamed to argue with a junior?"
He paused for a moment, then said, "Instead of wasting your time on this, you should think about who should succeed you as Minister of Justice."
After speaking, he walked away.
The faces of the people speaking turned pale and then flushed.
Given their status, they shouldn't have uttered such words. But they simply couldn't suppress the anger in their hearts. That tragedy not only humiliated the civil officials, but also cost them countless students, former subordinates, and even close friends and relatives.
Their hatred for Liu Feng was far from insignificant.
The group followed, and one of them stopped and gave a cold snort as he passed Liu Feng.
Just as he lifted his foot to take a step forward, Liu Feng's left leg, which had been slightly curled up, suddenly stretched out diagonally, and his toes hooked onto the other man's foot perfectly.
With a scream of pain, the man staggered and fell heavily to the ground, his forehead hitting the ground and blood streaming down his face. He lay on the ground, groaning in agony.
This scene was witnessed by Dai Quan, who had come out to summon Liu Feng to an audience. He glanced at Liu Feng, who was fast asleep in a different direction, suppressed a laugh, stepped forward to help him up, and ordered the eunuch to quickly send him to the Imperial Hospital.
Once everyone had walked away, Dai Quan stepped forward, lightly nudged Liu Feng's leg with his foot, and said irritably, "Alright, stop pretending!"
Liu Feng stretched, yawned, opened his eyes, and feigned surprise, "Inner Minister..."
'
He hurriedly stood up and bowed.
"You little rascal, you really won't take a loss even a little bit. Come on, come inside with me."
Dai Quan had actually come out of the West Warm Pavilion long ago and heard every word of what was said. However, he didn't want to embarrass everyone, so he hid in the shadows until everyone had left before showing himself.
Liu Feng followed with a smile. Why not settle a score later?
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