Going to morning court was a very troublesome matter. Usually, one could lie in bed until eight o 'clock. If one wanted to go to court, one had to wake up at six o' clock.
Li Yi had never been interested in going to court.
Unfortunately, the old emperor had announced yesterday that he could not be absent from today's morning court. Whoever asked for leave would be recorded in a small booklet. It was said that a minister who was seriously ill was brought into the palace by eunuchs. At this moment, he was sitting on the chair in front.
Waking up late would ruin the morning, and waking up early would ruin the day.
The consequence of waking up early was that he had to lean against General Xue's pillar for a while. He missed the bed in the Dew Hall. There was still some time before the morning court began. If he had known earlier, he would have gone to the Eldest Princess's place to lie down.
"Boy, don't stand out during the morning court. This matter is not something you can interfere with." General Xue patted his shoulder and warned him.
Li Yi yawned and opened his eyes. "Don't worry, Old Xue. I won't say a word today. I'll just lean against here and wait for the court to end."
"I'm serious this time." General Xue frowned and said, "This time, His Majesty asked the Divination School to investigate the accounts. Although you are not to be blamed, don't expect the court officials to remember your good deeds. This matter has become too big. Don't get yourself into any more trouble."
"I know." Li Yi said seriously and continued to lean against the pillar to nap.
Today's morning court session was a one-man show for the old emperor. No one could interrupt him.
In the golden hall, other than a certain person leaning against the pillar and a few ministers who were given a seat because of their health, all the court officials stood quietly in their seats. Some had sallow faces and some had sunken eyes. It was obvious that they had not lived well these past few days.
There were even some who seemed to have been sucked out of their spirits. They were extremely dispirited and looked up from time to time with eyes full of fear.
Emperor Jing arrived an hour later than the appointed morning court time. It was not until Li Yi had caught up on his sleep that he saw him slowly walking out from the back of the hall accompanied by Changde.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Emperor Jing sat on the dragon throne and the court officials bowed. Hundreds of people spoke in unison.
"No need for formalities." Emperor Jing raised his hand. There was no special expression on his face as he said, "Does anyone have anything to report today?"
It was silent below. Everyone knew that the accounts had been checked and the Emperor would definitely fly into a rage at the morning court. Many officials in the court would not be able to safely hang their heads on their necks. However, at this moment, the Emperor's calm attitude was really puzzling.
Before figuring out the situation, who would dare to speak at this time?
At this moment, an imperial censor stood up, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I accuse Chen Lisen, Qin Feng, and Cui Xixin of the Divination Academy of abusing their authority for personal gain. They relied on Your Majesty's trust to deliberately cover up the guilty officials during the accounts investigation a few days ago, disrupting the public's view, and attempting to deceive Your Majesty …"
As soon as these words came out, several people in the court immediately became gloomy.
However, many people were slightly stunned. They knew that Chen Lisen, Qin Feng, Cui Xixin, and the others had helped the imperial censor to investigate the accounts. They were the ones who had uncovered the corrupt officials that His Majesty had dealt with previously. However, they only knew about this matter and did not know that these people had actually done something to cover up …
These playboys were really bold and presumptuous. Did they really think that they could do whatever they wanted just because they had families behind them? It should be known that if this matter was investigated further, it would be a crime punishable by death. The crime of deceiving Your Majesty was a crime that could not be punished!
The imperial censor named Chen Lisen and the others and then singled out the officials who had been covered up one by one. Many people in the court began to have strange expressions on their faces.
This was really covering up. They had actually let off all the officials who were in the King of Shu's faction, but not a single one of the other factions had been left out. These playboys were even more daring than the elders in their families …
At this moment, an official stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Cui Xixin and the others are only students of the College and not officials of the imperial court. They were working for the imperial court and were plotted against by villains. Regardless of what happened, they did not deserve to die …"
Although this official was also in the King of Shu's faction, he did not belong to the families behind these 11 people. He also had no connection with the officials who had been covered up. At this moment, only he could stand up and speak for these 11 people.
"Please show mercy, Your Majesty!"
"Please show mercy, Your Majesty!"
…
…
After the Imperial Censor finished speaking, several more people stood up to plead for mercy for these people. There was only one reason, and that was to prevent this matter from being classified as deceiving the Emperor. Otherwise, not a single one of these people would be able to escape. In fact, there were even two families with small numbers of people who would not be able to continue.
"Although the 11 of them have done meritorious deeds, their merits do not make up for their mistakes. They have sacrificed their work for personal reasons and covered up for their friends … Since they are not officials of the imperial court, from today onwards, these 11 people will be expelled from the College of Divination. The imperial court will never hire them again!" Emperor Jing finally spoke, which made many people feel relieved.
Never hiring them meant that they could only be playboys waiting to die in the future. They would never be able to enter the imperial court as officials. Although this result was still cruel, at least they could keep their lives.
For big families like the Cui family, the Chen family, and the Qin family, the future of a collateral descendant was not a big deal.
Of course, it was different for Lord Zeng of the Ministry of Revenue. If he could not give birth to an outstanding son with his wife, the Zeng family, which had struggled so hard to climb up, would end with his generation.
"Cui Yunkan, the County Magistrate of Wang County, Chen Qing, Tian of the Department of Granaries …" Emperor Jing named the names of the officials who were covered up by them one by one and said in a low voice, "Order the Intelligence Department to arrest these people and bring them back to the Ministry of Justice within one day."
Not only did they not cover up the officials, but they also got themselves involved. The King of Shu's faction was really unlucky these days. If the King of Shu could return to the capital one day, who knew how many officials loyal to him would be left?
"Does anyone have anything else to report to the Emperor?" After a series of orders, Emperor Jing sat back on the Dragon Throne and asked everyone.
Naturally, no one said anything.
At the same time, many people had a glimmer of hope in their hearts. If no one else reported to the Emperor, then — would today's morning court session end here?
If so, didn't it mean that the Emperor would let bygones be bygones?
Thinking about it, this case involved a wide range of people and almost covered the entire imperial court. How could the Emperor arrest everyone? If so, how many officials would be able to stand here tomorrow?
Many people secretly breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts. They should have thought of it earlier, should have thought of it earlier …
The law did not punish the masses. Although the current situation of the Jing Kingdom could not be considered as having internal and external troubles, it was not very good either. Moreover, the Emperor's body could not hold on for too long. According to the Emperor's character, the most important thing was to ensure the stability of the imperial court. How could he do such a radical thing at this time?
This time, he probably just wanted to arrest a few examples to deter them. Unfortunately, this lucky thing happened to the officials of the King of Shu's faction.
These days, they really should not have been so worried …
"Since everyone has nothing to say …" Emperor Jing stood up from the Dragon Throne and said, "Then, let me say a few words!"
His face suddenly darkened and he said coldly, "Come, arrest the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, Chen Bo, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Feng Yuan, the director of the Du Branch, Han Ying … for me!"
Emperor Jing called out a total of nearly ten people's names. In the crowd, these people, who had just relaxed, suddenly tensed up. They looked up and their faces instantly turned pale …
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