The supervising imperial censor of Shandong Province, Liu Huanyi, hurriedly rushed to the famous Zuo Shun Gate. 'Plop!' he knelt down on the ground. Looking at the Palace, he shouted in a loud voice, "The Emperor is tyrannical, the Emperor is tyrannical!"
The Zuo Shun Gate had been renamed Huiji Gate and was built in the 18th year of Yongle. It faced Donghua Gate and was the place where the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty met with the people in the palace. In other words, officials who entered the palace on business and those who had to leave the cabinet all came and went through this gate.
When Imperial Censor Liu rushed over with his robe tucked in, the officials entering and exiting the palace did not pay much attention to him. Looking at his expression, they knew that it was an urgent matter. But then again, when were these imperial censors not noisy? If someone failed to hold back and let out a silent fart during morning court, they would seriously impeach that person. But they did not know who this Elder Liu was going to sue today and what kind of trivial matter it was.
Although the civil officials seemed to be united to the outside world, there were actually many factions within. The Imperial Censors were not as prestigious as they claimed to be. The civil officials of other factions did not have a particularly good impression of these people who specialized in writing and glib tongues. Sometimes, they would make fun of these poor and unreasonable Imperial Censors.
But kneeling outside the Zuo Shun Gate and shouting "the Emperor is tyrannical" immediately attracted the interest of the officials. The officials who were supposed to enter the door and were about to leave did not leave. They surrounded him in an instant. An Feian, the Minister of Examinations of the Ministry of Appointments, asked in surprise, "Elder Taoist, what happened? Why are you so angry?"
Liu Hengyi's old tears flowed down and he kowtowed and shouted, "The Emperor is muddleheaded, muddleheaded and tyrannical! The Emperor disobeyed the laws of his ancestors and wanted to take the daughter of a vassal as a concubine. This is the first crime! The ruler of a country did not care about the safety of the country and lusted after women. This is the second crime! This woman was already engaged. In order to take her as his own, the Emperor framed her husband. This is the fourth crime! Using public property for private purposes and disregarding the laws of the country. This is the fifth crime … "
Who was the best at making up charges? It was not a litigator like Lawyer Li, but a censor. Liu Hengyi broke one matter into several, and in one go, he talked about seven or eight things, causing the officials to be shocked and angry. Assistant Minister of Works Zha Mingzhe interrupted Liu Hengyi's words. "Old Taoist, please speak clearly. What did the Emperor do?"
…
Wan Li trembled in anger at Ye Xiaotian. For a moment, he didn't know what to do with Ye Xiaotian.
"How dare you! How dare you deceive the emperor? Come! Drag him out and execute him at the Meridian Gate! "
If this kind of phrase was used in an era of supreme monarchical power, such as the Great Qing Dynasty, where everyone under the heavens was a slave, it could still be used. However, if the Great Ming Dynasty wanted to execute an official, they had to go through legal procedures, and the Emperor could not casually kill someone.
However, the Emperor was still the Emperor. Although the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty was more miserable than the Emperors of other dynasties, it was only relatively speaking. He couldn't fight against the entire group of civil officials who could bite an elephant to death like ants, but he still had a lot of ways to deal with a single official, such as — caning.
It was just that Emperor Wan Li was so angry with Ye Xiaotian that he was dizzy and didn't think of this point. He didn't expect that Xu Boyi, who was eavesdropping in the corridor, would think of it. Xu Boyi pushed down his hat and tiptoed to enter the hall. Just as he reached the door, a blue-robed person suddenly flashed to the side and blocked him outside.
Xu Boyi raised his head and saw San De Zi slightly curling the corners of his mouth. He looked at him with contempt and coldly said, "The Emperor has decreed that no one is allowed to enter!"
Xu Boyi smiled apologetically and said, "Third Gong-gong, this criminal is bold and dared to deceive the Emperor. As a servant, how can we continue to watch?"
San De Zi slightly raised his eyebrows and said, "What? You're just an ordinary Imperial Traveling eunuch. Do you want to meddle in politics? "
Xu Boyi felt helpless. Why did he have to run into a jealous master at a time like this? Right now, Xu Boyi only wanted Ye Xiaotian to die. If he could directly warn the Emperor, it would naturally be better. However, San De Zi obviously couldn't pass this hurdle. The other was someone who had served Emperor Wan Li since he was young. His status was far inferior to San De Zi. Helpless, Xu Boyi could only answer, "How could this lowly one dare? It's just that as a servant, I can't bear to see my master being humiliated. Third Gong-gong, this person has no respect for the Emperor and should be killed! His Majesty is also very angry. Why didn't you think of … beating him with a wooden plank? "
"En?"
San De Zi was about to scold him, but his words were suddenly stuck in his throat. He opened his eyes wide and looked at Xu Boyi. The corners of his mouth slightly revealed a smile. "En! Not bad, you're still smart! "San De Zi waved his horsetail whisk and gestured to the two sides. He then turned around and entered the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Two little eunuchs stood in front of the door and blocked Xu Boyi's path.
"Your Majesty, please quell your anger. Your Majesty, please drink some tea to calm your breathing."
San De Zi walked into the palace and saw that the Emperor was so angry that his face was pale. He was like a fish that had been fished out of the water and was panting in vain. San De Zi hurriedly walked over and attentively brought the teacup in front of Wan Li. He dipped his index finger into the teacup and dipped it into the tea. Then, he quickly wrote two words on the imperial desk: "Flogging".
"En?"
Wan Li noticed his actions. When his gaze fell on the two words "Flogging", his eyes immediately lit up. He glanced at San De Zi approvingly and then suddenly looked at Ye Xiaotian. He sneered and said, "We already knew that the Southwest people were arrogant and conceited and had no respect for the Emperor. However, after seeing you today, we finally understand how savage you all are! Guards, Ye Xiaotian has been disrespectful to us. Drag him out of the palace and flog him twenty times! "
"This servant obeys the imperial decree!"
San De Zi had served Wan Li since he was a child. As he bowed to receive the imperial decree, he secretly gave Emperor Wan Li a meaningful look, indicating that he had completely understood the Emperor's meaning. Immediately after, he walked to the entrance of the palace hall and summoned the palace guards to drag Ye Xiaotian away.
Twenty strokes of the cane could make a person completely fine, allowing them to stand up, pat their buttocks, and walk home on their own. It could also make a person's flesh rot and be carried home to recuperate for at least half a year. If they wanted someone to die, it was easy. The Embroidered Uniform Guards who used the cane were specially trained and knew how to use Yin energy. As long as the eunuch in charge of punishment gave a hint, they could beat the person to death with a few strokes of the cane.
San De Zi summoned the palace guards to drag Ye Xiaotian away. He immediately summoned the eunuch in charge of punishment and the Embroidered Uniform Guards to come to the palace to await further orders. At first, Xu Boyi thought that he would be the eunuch in charge of punishment. When the time came, he would reveal his identity to Ye Xiaotian and see his remorseful and hateful expression. He did not expect that San De Zi would get in the way, and the position of the eunuch in charge of punishment would be changed.
However, Xu Boyi was really unwilling to only hear the news of Ye Xiaotian's death later. With a shameless face, he said to San De Zi, "Xiao Zai entered the palace late, I have not seen the cane punishment. Would Gong-gong take Xiao Zai to broaden my horizons?"
San De Zi said in his heart, "You entered the palace late? I entered the palace when I was seven years old, I have not seen the cane punishment! "
However, he naturally would not reveal this kind of cowardice to Xu Boyi. The idea of the cane punishment was Xu Boyi's idea, and the one who had the Emperor's favor was him. When San De Zi looked at Xu Boyi again, he did not dislike him as much. There were a total of eight eunuchs in charge of punishment. In reality, they were all just decorations. The one in charge was the eunuch in charge of punishment. Thus, he was not worried that Xu Boyi would steal his limelight again. He smiled faintly and said, "If you are interested, then let's go together and take a look!"
Xu Boyi was overjoyed. He quickly bowed and said, "Many thanks for Gong-gong's guidance!"
San De Zi glanced at him. As he walked forward, he lectured, "Xiao Bai, you are quite diligent in your work, and you are also clever. As long as you understand the rules, I will naturally support you. The rules in the palace are strict. The most annoying people are those who do not know when to advance or retreat, and those who do not understand propriety. Do you understand? "
Xu Boyi nodded his head and bowed. "Xiao Zai understands, xiao Zai understands!"
The place where the punishment would be carried out was outside the Zuo Shun Gate because that gate was the boundary between the outer court and the inner court. Using punishment to kill people naturally could not be carried out in the inner court. Killing a person upon seeing blood was taboo. Even commoners were afraid of buying or renting a house where someone had died, much less the imperial family. In reality, the boundary between the inner and outer court was the Palace wall where the Zuo Shun Gate was located. That Palace wall had more than one gate. Once one passed through that Palace wall, one would be outside the inner court. However, the other gates were normally closed, so one could only leave through the Zuo Shun Gate.
The general of the Brocade Guards had been urgently transferred over. He received Ye Xiaotian from the Palace Hall General and gathered a group of eunuchs. They all rushed toward the Zuo Shun Gate.
…
The supervising imperial censor of Shaanxi Province, Li Boxian, pulled Xia Yingying and rushed into the censorate with a roar. The official at the door of the censorate saw a bride holding a shining dagger in her hand and couldn't help but jump in fright. He wanted to go forward and stop them, but when he saw that the person pulling her into the yamen was the supervising imperial censor of his own yamen, Sir Li, he couldn't help but stop in his tracks.
Li Boxian completely ignored him and pulled Xia Yingying into the gate like a gust of wind. The official at the door thought for a moment and ordered a few bailiffs to guard the gate. He followed them in. He had never seen such a strange sight in his life. How could he not be curious?
The censorate was the highest supervisory organization of the court and one of the three departments of justice. It was actually a very serious legal organization. However, unlike the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate directly dealt with outsiders, so the yamen didn't have the feeling of strict discipline. Especially behind the second courtyard, there were pavilions, terraces, and pavilions. It was similar to Hanlin Garden.
The imperial censors usually did not stay in their own rooms. Other than wandering around in search of topics to increase their reputation, they spent most of their time here sipping tea, chatting, and reciting poems. The so-called clean stream not only referred to the fact that most of the officials were incorruptible and righteous. At the same time, it also represented that they were very idle.
At this time, next to a flower pond in the second courtyard, there were a dozen or so imperial censors sitting in the veranda, chatting and laughing. The moment Li Boxian and Xia Yingying entered, they attracted their attention. Xia Yingying's red dress was too eye-catching. She wore a phoenix coronet and a red cape. It was the standard attire of a bride. Not to mention that she was incomparably beautiful, even if she was ugly, she would still attract everyone's attention.
There was a stone platform in the veranda, surrounded by five stone stools in the shape of plum blossoms. A few imperial censors were sitting in the veranda, chatting. Seeing Li Boxian walk over with an incomparably beautiful bride, the imperial censors all stood up and looked at them in surprise. One of them could not help but ask, "Brother Li, you … what are you doing?"
Li Boxian's face was as dark as still water. He did not answer. He let go of Xia Yingying's wrist and strode over. With one step, he stepped onto the stone stool. With another step, he was on the stone platform. Standing on the stone platform, he raised his arms and shouted to the imperial censors who had gathered around, "My fellow colleagues, the country has been nurturing scholars for two hundred years. We will fight to the death for justice. Today is the day!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
