The moment King Shou spoke, some of the officials in the imperial court knew that something was amiss.
Most of the people involved in Li Yi's case were from the Old Party. Even if King Shou didn't want to reopen the case, he couldn't speak to a peak master of Fu-lu School like this.
Among the Six Sects of Dao, only Fu-lu School and Xuanzong were located in Great Zhou. Xuanzong was located in the east, and there weren't any powerful enemies in the east of Great Zhou.
However, things were different in the north. The Country of Demons and the Hades Domain were both located in the northwest. The Ancestral Court of Fu-lu School was located in the north, intimidating the Demon Country and the Ghost Domain. It was a solid barrier at the border of Great Zhou.
Without Mount Baiyun, the Demon Country and the Ghost Domain could easily invade Great Zhou.
No matter what, the imperial court couldn't become enemies with Fu-lu School.
At the back of the hall, Zhang Chun had already opened his mouth. However, when he heard King Shou speak, he swallowed the words that were already in his throat.
Hyun Jinko didn't look at King Shou. Instead, he swept his gaze across the officials and asked, "Is this the attitude of the Great Zhou court?"
King Shou had a look of disdain on his face. Just as he was about to continue speaking, he was pulled back by two officials beside him. "Your Highness, be careful with your words!"
The attendant opened his mouth, but he couldn't say the words he wanted to say to delay the matter.
King Shou's words left the imperial court with no way out.
Now, even if the imperial court didn't want to investigate, they had to.
If the imperial court really didn't care about Fu-lu School's request, wouldn't that mean that they didn't care about Fu-lu School at all? The deterioration of their relationship with Fu-lu School would be even more serious than the turmoil in the imperial court.
In the imperial court, no one's position was irreplaceable. They just had to pay a price.
However, the position of the Fu-lu School was truly irreplaceable. Without the Fu-lu School, there was no way the imperial court could send three Seventh Realms, close to ten Sixth Realms, and countless Fifth and Fourth Realms to hold the fort in the northwest region. This would drain most of the imperial court's manpower …
The Imperial Court was completely silent. Hyun Jinko spoke again, "If this is the intention of the Great Zhou court, then I will return to Mount Baiyun and pass on the court's intentions to Senior Brother Sect Leader."
A moment later, Shangguan Li walked out from behind the curtain and said, "Hyun Jinko, you have misunderstood. This case is of great importance. I would like to ask you to wait for two more days. After the imperial court has discussed this matter, we will give Fu-lu School an answer …"
Hyun Jinko said indifferently, "In three days, I will return to Mount Baiyun. In these three days, I will wait for the imperial court's reply."
With that, he cupped his fists at the Empress again and left.
From behind the curtain, the Empress said in a dignified voice, "Fu-lu School cannot be disregarded. The three provinces will discuss this matter together. Within two days, inform me of the results of the discussion."
The Head of the Secretariat and the Head of the Minister of High Affairs said in unison, "Yes, Your Majesty …"
Standing outside the curtain, Shangguan Li's voice resounded through the hall. "Dismissed."
The officials left the hall in order. On the way back to the Imperial Clan Temple, one of the Imperial Clan Officials said, "Your Highness, you were too impulsive. How could you scold Fu-lu School …?"
Prince Shou snorted and said, "What's wrong with Fu-lu School? How dare the Fu-lu School order the imperial court? Are they trying to rebel?"
The Imperial Clan Officials shook their heads and didn't say anything else.
Fu-lu School had existed for thousands of years. Before the Great Zhou, there was already a Fu-lu School. They had a rich foundation that outsiders couldn't imagine. Even if the imperial court was in chaos, they couldn't make enemies with Fu-lu School.
The Imperial Clan Officials sighed. How could he expect Prince Shou to understand these things? The reason why Prince Shou could be in such a high position was because he was the younger brother of the previous emperor and a member of the Xiao royal family. Other than watching opera and drinking tea, he didn't know anything else.
If it wasn't because of his identity, the words he said in the imperial court caused a major turn of events that the imperial court didn't want to see. The new and old parties could make him die without a burial ground.
Zhang Chun walked behind Prince Shou and said, "Your Highness, last night, I found a tael of tea cakes at home. Tomorrow, I'll give you half a coin …"
Prince Shou said, "Half a coin? Zhang, are you trying to dismiss a beggar?"
"Then it's one coin. There's only one coin left …"
"One tael of tea cakes left after a night. Are you going to eat it like grass?"
…
Minister Province, Minister Office.
Minister Zhou Jing sat on the main seat. There were three people sitting on either side of him. They were the head of the secretariat and two attendants.
The four people in this room were the highest officials of the three provinces. They were also the leaders of the Great Zhou's ministers.
Minister Zhou took a sip of tea and said, "His Majesty asked us to discuss this matter. My three lords, please tell us your thoughts."
The left attendant stroked his long beard and said, "How could Li Yi's daughter be the disciple of the Fu-lu School's headmaster? This matter is too strange. They shouldn't have investigated earlier or later. Why did they have to investigate now? This is too much of a coincidence …"
The right attendant said, "There's no point in talking about this now. This matter could have been dealt with, but Prince Shou's impulsiveness angered the Fu-lu School. If this matter isn't handled well, the Fu-lu School will hate him. That would be bad. But if they really want to investigate, it's fine if there's no problem. If there really is a problem, there will be a storm in the imperial court …"
Minister Zhou looked at the head of the secretariat and asked, "Elder Yan, what do you think?"
Of the four people, the head of the secretariat had been through three dynasties. He was the most senior.
The head of the secretariat thought for a while and said, "The two attendants have said so much about the stability of the imperial court. Have you thought about what if Assistant Minister Li was really wronged?"
The left attendant sighed and said, "The bigger picture is more important …"
The head of the secretariat said slowly, "Indeed, the bigger picture is more important."
When the head of the secretariat said this, the three people in the hall fell into silence.
The left attendant and the head of the secretariat were not talking about the same big picture.
Compared to the injustice Li Yi had suffered, the stability of the imperial court was more important.
Compared to the stability of the imperial court, the relationship with the Fu-lu School was more important.
The imperial court was temporarily in chaos, but it would eventually return to stability. If the relationship with the Fu-lu School was broken, no matter how stable the imperial court was, it would not be able to create a powerful ally like the Fu-lu School out of thin air.
After a long silence, the left attendant said helplessly, "Investigate …"
The right attendant sighed and said, "We can only do this …"
…
A day later, the three provinces gave a reply to Li Yi's case.
The Fu-lu School was a friend of the Great Zhou. The imperial court attached great importance to the reasonable request of the Fu-lu School. The three provinces discussed and decided that the Supreme Court and Zongzheng Temple would work together to investigate the case of Assistant Minister Li Yi of the Ministry of Personnel.
Regarding this, the Imperial Secretariat had already drafted an imperial edict, and it had been reviewed and approved. Because the case of that year involved the officials of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Justice was purposely avoided. Usually, this kind of matter would go through the procedures of the three provinces. It would take at least half a month for there to be a result. This time, all the procedures were completed in one day. It was enough to show the sincerity of the imperial court toward the Fu-lu School.
This was something that could not be helped.
Prince Shou had spoken rudely to the head of the Fu-lu School in the imperial court. This had already pushed the relationship between the imperial court and the Fu-lu School to the brink of danger. If they did not do their best to make up for it, it would be difficult to heal the animosity between the two sides.
Zongzheng Temple, the prison.
Li Qing looked at Li Mu with some astonishment. She asked, "When did I become the Headmaster's disciple?"
Li Mu explained, "If you did not have such an identity, the imperial court would not have paid too much attention to you. However, this is not entirely a temporary measure. When you get out of here, you will become the Headmaster's disciple."
Li Qing shook her head. "Why would the Headmaster accept me as his disciple …"
Li Mu said, "He has to accept you even if he doesn't want to. Now, everyone knows that you are his disciple. When the time comes, when you return to Mount Baiyun, you will have to attend the disciple recruitment ceremony …"
Li Qing did not understand. "But why would the Headmaster do this?"
Li Mu rubbed his nose and said, "When you were not here, a lot of things happened … In short, now that I am also a second-generation disciple of the Fu-lu School, the Headmaster still has to give me face."
Li Qing looked at him for a long time before she came back to her senses. She asked, "Then, then, do I have to call you Martial Uncle?"
Li Mu smiled and said, "This is nothing. Thinking about it, I am also Hanyan's Martial Uncle. Don't we also … In short, we can call each other our own. In the future, in front of the Headmaster and several heads, you can call me Martial Uncle. When there is no one, I will call you Boss …"
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