A dignified voice came from behind. Yi Jianming stiffly turned his head. The moment he saw who it was, a great panic rose in his heart.
He couldn't help but start to regret. Why did he bring those people from the Zhao family in? Why did he acquiesce when they proposed to deal with Jiang Huaiqing? He only thought that the aristocratic families could hold up the sky in the capital, but forgot that there was imperial power above the aristocratic families. The one who could decide everyone's fate was not the aristocratic families, but the real master of Da Huan — — Shang Junlin.
Seeing Yi Jianming's increasingly ugly face, the other people finally realized the seriousness of the matter. After calming down, they suddenly realized that they had said a lot of things that they shouldn't have said.
They all knelt down in panic.
Shang Junlin glanced at the minister beside him and walked to Shen Yu's side. He said in a deep voice: "This is the outstanding son of an aristocratic family you were talking about, Official Yi?"
There was an inexplicable sarcasm in his voice.
The questioned official's face turned red and then white. He hurriedly knelt down and begged for forgiveness: "It's my fault for not teaching him well. Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
Official Yi and the other aristocratic family officials were just discussing with Shang Junlin about this year's examination. Other than Fang Jiayi's matter, of course they wanted to seek the best interests for the aristocratic families. Who would have thought that before the discussion reached a conclusion, the son of an aristocratic family with the best results had an accident?
Official Yi almost vomited blood in his heart. Yi Jianming was carefully cultivated by the Yi family. Not only did he not become the champion, but he also had such an accident. He could be considered as a waste. His Majesty had always been afraid of the aristocratic families being too powerful, so he had always supported the commoners to balance the power of the aristocratic families. Now, his Majesty had heard such words with his own eyes.
He had heard it with his own ears, but there was no chance to remedy it … No, it wasn't really heard with his own ears. After all, those words didn't come from the mouth of an aristocratic family's son. The truth was still to be discussed.
After thinking this through, Official Yi looked in the direction of the person who had just spoken. Other than Jiang Huaiqing, there was also a handsome young man.
The lower half of the young man's face was covered by a fan, only revealing his delicate eyebrows.
Feeling his gaze, Shen Yu looked over. His eyebrows curved, but there was no smile in his eyes.
Official Yi was in a trance for a moment, but he suddenly realized that this young man was none other than Shen Guijun who had left the palace with His Majesty.
Why was he with Jiang Huaiqing? What was his relationship with Jiang Huaiqing?
A series of questions flooded into Lord Yi's mind. He didn't dare to think too deeply about whether what happened today was a coincidence or a trap set up in advance.
Shang Junlin's tone was cold. "Indeed, they need to be disciplined. Today, at the Qionglin Banquet, they even dared to make a move on the Tanhua of the imperial court. In the future, when they enter the imperial court and have more power in their hands, won't they do more things that they shouldn't?"
"I know my mistake."
"Student knows his mistake."
"Since you know your crime, then you can't be exempted from the punishment you deserve. Otherwise, wouldn't the world say that His Majesty is biased towards the aristocratic families? Where is the dignity of Your Majesty and the aristocratic families? "Shen Yu hooked Shang Junlin's finger with his hand hidden under his sleeve." Your Majesty, don't you agree? "
"Guijun is right. Today, we are both here. Otherwise, no one would know that the Tanhua was bullied. Official Yi, why don't you tell us, what is the punishment for threatening and humiliating an official of the Great Huan Dynasty?"
It seemed that His Majesty wasn't going to let this matter rest. Official Yi and the kneeling aristocratic family officials felt defeated. They didn't have time to care about the poor children and the female officials. How to prevent His Majesty from taking advantage of this opportunity to punish the aristocratic families was the most important thing!
Only now did Young Master Zhao and the others realize how big of a mess they had made.
Young Master Zhao's face turned pale. The Zhao family had always relied on the Yi family. If Yi Jianming was implicated because of him, or even if all the aristocratic families were implicated, his family would be finished.
"Your Majesty, I was the one who did this. It has nothing to do with Young Master Yi. Your Majesty, please understand!" Young Master Zhao made up his mind and kowtowed a few times, taking all the blame on himself.
"I was the one who admired Young Master Jiang and wanted to get to know him. After being rejected, I was angry and spoke without thinking. This really has nothing to do with Young Master Yi."
The rest of the people also reacted and took the blame on themselves.
Seeing that there was room for manipulation, the aristocratic family officials looked at each other while Shang Junlin's gaze fell on the aristocratic family members.
One of them opened his mouth and said, "Your Majesty, please investigate the truth of the matter."
Shen Yu smiled coldly, "Does this official mean that I would slander Young Master Yi? Not to mention that I don't know Young Master Yi and have no enmity with each other, I am also from an aristocratic family. Why would I lie? "
Shen Yu knew that these people wouldn't admit to their crimes obediently. In order to minimize the losses, he had to find a few scapegoats. Thus, during the argument just now, he intentionally or unintentionally led these people to talk about Yi Jianming. Otherwise, why would he waste so much time talking to these people?
Jiang Huaiqing sensed his intentions. The two of them cooperated and got some information out of him.
"This official doesn't dare."
"I think you are very daring. 'It's not easy to survive in the officialdom', 'So what if you're third in the imperial examination? You don't have any foundation in the capital. How far do you think you can go?' These words were said by Yi Jianming himself. Does he really know nothing about it? Do you believe it? "
Shen Yu put down his fan and leaned on Shang Junlin, "Your Majesty, take them away first. Don't ruin the Qionglin Banquet. When the banquet is over, punish them accordingly."
"What do you think?" Shang Junlin looked down at the officials kneeling on the ground.
"This official accepts the decree." What could be said had been said. What else could they say? Fortunately, it was dealt with after the Qionglin Banquet, which gave them time to respond.
"Alright, all of you may rise."
The guards came to take Yi Jianming and his group away. Shang Junlin took Shen Yu and left. Jiang Huaiqing followed behind them.
The remaining officials looked at each other. They didn't immediately follow. Instead, they gathered together and discussed in low voices.
"Say, do you think today's incident was an accident?"
"This question is no longer important. Whether it was an accident or a coincidence, it has already happened. Moreover, His Majesty saw it. After all the previous incidents, do you still think that His Majesty is an easy person to deal with?"
"We didn't send His Majesty a person to restrain him. We sent him a helper into the palace!"
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's think about how to deal with this matter." Lord Yi interrupted them.
"Let's first talk to the two officials in the Cabinet and see what's going on."
"I originally thought that Jiang Huaiqing was easy to deal with. I didn't expect him to be in contact with His Majesty. Tell your people not to lay a hand on him unless you have a complete grasp of the situation. Some lessons should be learned once," Lord Yi instructed.
"Yes."
On the other side, He Chengyu received the news. He apologized to the people he was talking to and hurried over.
"Huaiqing, are you alright?" He Chengyu looked at Jiang Huaiqing from head to toe. He was relieved when he saw that Jiang Huaiqing was fine.
"I'm fine. His Majesty and His Majesty are here. No one can hurt me." Jiang Huaiqing allowed him to look at him. Seeing that he was worried, he comforted him.
"I shouldn't have let you go alone …" He Chengyu was very upset. If he had followed, those people wouldn't have dared to lay a hand on Jiang Huaiqing.
"I'm really fine. His Majesty and His Majesty are both here." Jiang Huaiqing pointed to the front.
He Chengyu let go of Jiang Huaiqing's arm and bowed to the two people not far away. "Greetings, Your Majesty and His Majesty."
"No need to be so polite." Shen Yu pulled Shang Junlin over and joked, "I see you guys together all day long. When I saw Huaiqing today, I was curious why you weren't with him."
"I didn't pay attention for a while and was separated by the crowd. Thank you for helping Huaiqing."
"In fact, we also have to thank him. If it wasn't for today's incident, who knows how long your appointment would have been delayed. This time, if the aristocratic families want to protect Yi Jianming and themselves, they will have to make some concessions." Shen Yu didn't expect that things would take such a big turn for the better in such a short time.
When they reached the intersection, the two sides separated.
"Brother Chengyu, you don't want me to move. Are you worried that the aristocratic families will lay a hand on me?" After this incident, Jiang Huaiqing thought deeper.
"That's just one of the reasons." He Chengyu admitted. "Huaiqing, you don't have to think too much. What I said to you before wasn't an excuse. The real reason is that I'm used to living with you."
"I didn't think too much. It's just …" Jiang Huaiqing sighed. "Forget it. I'll have to trouble Brother Chengyu during this time."
"Huaiqing, you don't have to feel pressured living with me. Because of my family, they won't dare to lay a hand on me. After this incident, they won't dare to act rashly."
He Chengyu suddenly stopped and faced Jiang Huaiqing. He said in a low voice, "As the eldest son of the family, I've been taught that I have to bear the responsibility of the family in the future. Because of the heavy workload of school, my younger brothers and sisters were also ordered not to disturb me. Every time they wanted to get close to me, they would be quickly called away by the elders. Getting along with Huaiqing has been one of my wishes since I was young."
Jiang Huaiqing unconsciously followed He Chengyu's words and imagined the scene of the young He Chengyu wanting to get close to his younger brothers and sisters but unable to do so because of the heavy responsibility on his shoulders. His heart softened and he went forward to hug He Chengyu.
"If Brother Chengyu doesn't mind, you can treat me as your younger brother in the future."
He Chengyu's body stiffened. He slowly put his hand on Jiang Huaiqing's back and said in a hoarse voice, "… Okay."
The Qionglin Banquet officially began. Shang Junlin held Shen Yu's hand and walked to the main seat. He said a few words of encouragement and then started the banquet.
With Shang Junlin present, whether it was the officials or the reserves who were about to enter the officialdom, everyone was nervous. Shang Junlin also knew that everyone would be restrained if he was here. After the normal procedure, he left with Shen Yu.
After they left, the atmosphere gradually warmed up.
There were not many people outside. Shen Yu held Shang Junlin's hand and walked slowly along the path.
"Your Majesty, don't you think that He Chengyu pays too much attention to Jiang Huaiqing?" Shen Yu felt that Shang Junlin was euphemistically saying this. "Huaiqing didn't feel anything wrong at all."
"Their affairs should be handled by them. A Yu cares about them, so why not care more about me?" Shang Junlin treated Jiang Huaiqing differently because of Shen Yu. He didn't care about the relationship between the officials.
"Your Majesty, how else do you want me to care about you? Ask about your well-being every day? Greet you in the morning and evening? "
"That's not necessary." Shang Junlin suddenly stopped and pulled Shen Yu into his arms. "A Yu just needs to pay less attention to others."
Shen Yu was caught off guard and bumped into Shang Junlin's arms. She smelled the ambergris on Shang Junlin's body and said with a smile, "Then I'll think of Your Majesty every morning, noon, and night, okay?"
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