Breaking the Current Stalemate
The next day, Prince Rong's estate.
Early in the morning, Jing Rong changed into his court attire and prepared to enter the palace.
Before he left, Ji Yunshu pulled him back and reminded him, "Your hand is injured. You must be careful."
"Okay."
"Although I don't know much about court matters, I must be careful and not make a single mistake."
"Okay."
"If there's a betrayal, you must promise me to protect yourself and come back safely."
She wasn't a sentimental person, but she had imagined many possibilities in her mind, and almost all of them were bad.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that her worries were groundless.
Jing Rong held her hand tightly and smiled.
"You are so worried about this prince. Even if this prince is really besieged by the court officials, I will definitely save my last breath to come back to see you. I won't …"
"Don't talk nonsense!" She covered his mouth, her brows tightly knitted.
Jing Rong's brows relaxed. He removed her hand from his mouth and looked down at her worried eyes.
He said seriously, "Yunshu, you must believe in this prince."
She pursed her lips, sighed softly, and nodded.
"I believe in you."
"Good."
Lu Jiang, who was beside the carriage, reminded him, "Your Highness, it's time to enter the palace."
He nodded and patted Ji Yunshu's head. Then, he boarded the carriage and left.
Ji Yunshu chased after him for two steps and stopped. She watched as the carriage went further and further away, becoming more and more blurry …
Not long after, it started to drizzle.
She stood at the door, unwilling to take a step.
Wait!
Wait for him to return.
Jing Rong's carriage slowly moved forward in the light drizzle. The rain only stopped when they reached the south gate of the palace.
She had just gotten off the carriage when she bumped into Jing Yi.
Enemies on a narrow road!
The two looked at each other and entered the south gate together.
Walking side by side!
The guards at the palace gates were all dumbfounded. At this point in time, who didn't know that the relationship between Prince Rong and Prince Yi was extremely sensitive? How could they not be dumbfounded when two people who were on opposite sides were actually walking side by side?
After entering the palace gate, the two headed towards the Throne Room.
On the way …
In the end, it was Jing Yi who spoke first.
He looked straight ahead and curled his thin, cold, and sinister lips. As he walked, he said, "I didn't expect that you would still come to the capital."
"Surprised?"
"Accident! But that's to be expected. "
"I have to thank you for sending assassins to kill me. Otherwise, the assassins would not have been killed in the Supreme Court, and Father would not have thought of summoning me back to the capital."
Hmph!
Jing Yi's eyes darkened and he laughed again, "So what if you won by a step? Now that the situation in the court has been settled, the position of Crown Prince is already in my pocket. Even if you return to the capital, you can only watch helplessly as I am promoted. "
How arrogant!
Jing Rong's expression remained indifferent. He looked straight ahead and replied, "The final outcome is still unknown. You believe that the situation in the court has been settled, and now that I've returned to the capital …" He suddenly stopped and tilted his head to continue, "I've come to disrupt your so-called situation."
At the same time, he smiled.
Ugh!
Jing Yi's expression froze slightly.
Unexpectedly, Jing Rong reached out and helped him straighten the slightly wrinkled collar of his court robe. His lips curled into a sinister smile as he said, "Repeatedly plotting to murder the Prince's brother, inciting the court officials, and instigating the Crown Prince to besiege the palace and commit regicide. Just these three crimes alone would not be enough to clear your life's sins, even if you were imprisoned in the imperial prison for the rest of your life."
Ugh!
Jing Yi felt as if something was stuck in his throat. For a moment, he couldn't say a word.
Seeing him like this, Jing Rong's lips curled into a sinister smile. Then, he swung his hand and let go of Jing Yi's collar.
The already wrinkled collar became even more wrinkled.
He turned and walked away.
After a while, Jing Yi also realized that he had been ambushed.
He waved his sleeves forcefully.
He could only quickly chase after Jing Yi.
Inside the throne room.
All the civil and military officials had already gathered.
The two of them entered one after the other, only a step behind each other.
The court officials glanced at Prince Rong, who had just returned to the capital, and looked at each other.
After a short while, they all paid their respects. "We pay our respects to Prince Yi/Prince Rong."
The two of them didn't speak. Both of them had a solemn expression as they stood on the left and right sides of the hall.
Behind them, the murmurs of the crowd could be heard.
They couldn't hear it clearly.
It was probably related to Jing Rong's return to the capital.
On the high platform of the throne room, Zhang Quan stood on the left side of the dragon throne and shouted, "Begin the court session."
Immediately after, Qi Zhen Emperor came out from the door on the left side of the platform. He was dressed in a dragon robe and wore a dragon crown. Despite his advanced age, he still looked majestic.
He lifted his robe and sat down.
Everyone paid their respects. "Long live Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty."
Qi Zhen Emperor raised a hand. "My beloved subjects, please rise."
He rose.
Qi Zhen Emperor glanced at Jing Yi, then at Jing Rong, before turning his attention back to the crowd.
Finally, his gaze fell on Ji Li.
"War Secretary Ji."
He called out.
Ji Li stepped forward and stood in the middle of the hall.
"This subject is here."
"Your duty is to protect the capital and the palace. If there are rebels and traitors, you don't need to ask for permission from Us. You can directly send troops to suppress them. But how do you explain what happened outside the city yesterday?"
He questioned.
Ji Li glanced at Jing Yi, then immediately retracted his gaze. "This subject knew that Prince Rong had entered the capital, so I sent troops to stop him."
"Only to stop him?"
"Your Majesty has spoken that Prince Rong cannot return to the capital until we find the missing disaster relief funds. However, this time, Prince Rong entered the capital without Your Majesty's imperial edict. As the War Secretary, it is my duty to send troops to stop him. However … Your Majesty's imperial edict has yet to arrive. In addition, Prince Rong insisted on entering the capital. This subject had no choice but to give the order …"
"What order?" Qi Zhen Emperor was overbearing, his eyes fierce.
Ji Li lowered his head and slowly said, "Kill without mercy!"
Bang!
Qi Zhen Emperor was furious.
He slapped the dragon table in front of him harshly.
"When did We give you the order to 'kill without mercy'? The one who entered the capital is a prince that We have personally conferred. "
His voice was as loud as a bell.
It echoed in the hall.
The people below were silent.
Qi Zhen Emperor's face turned red with anger. He continued, "Even if he wasn't a prince, you can't 'kill without mercy' the order he has the Late Emperor's edict in his hands."
"This subject knows his mistake, but I didn't know whether the edict in Prince Rong's hands was real or fake. I was afraid that something else would happen, so I gave the order. If Your Majesty wishes to punish me, this subject is willing to accept punishment."
Just as he finished speaking, Jing Yi said, "Imperial Father, War Secretary Ji is at fault for issuing the edict hastily, but it was also for the sake of the Imperial City and Imperial Father. Moreover …" He glanced at Jing Rong, "Prince Rong is fine. I beg Imperial Father to spare War Secretary Ji this once."
Then —
All the officials echoed.
"We beg Your Majesty to spare War Secretary Ji this once."
A bunch of lackeys!
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