Li Qitian's face was as calm as water, not saying anything.
However, Duke Chang had clearly come prepared. Pang Xiao had become a despicable person in his words.
However, when Chang Guogong impeached Pang Xiao, the content of his impeachment was nothing serious. Even if he was convicted, he could turn a blind eye to it. Obviously, it was not as shocking as the ten major crimes that Li Qitian fabricated when he came prepared.
Just as Duke Chang spoke, an imperial censor came out.
Ban Xing bowed and added with righteous indignation.
"Your Majesty, Prince Zhongshun was not only arrogant and disrupted the order of the capital, this official learned that it was already late at night when Prince Zhongshun's consort returned to the capital. She did not observe the curfew and forced the city gate officials to open the city gates to let her in. Prince Zhongshun's consort relied on nothing more than Prince Zhongshun. For a woman to be so arrogant, it can be seen how Prince Zhongshun normally is! "
When one person spoke, many imperial censors immediately came out to echo.
For a moment, the imperial court was in chaos. Everyone was filled with anger, full of righteous indignation, as if Pang Xiao had committed the most heinous crime of raping and pillaging.
Li Qitian's forehead was already vaguely bulging with veins. However, under the imperial court, according to etiquette, the officials could not raise their heads to look directly at the emperor's face. Therefore, these people continued to impeach without understanding.
Li Qitian gritted his teeth in hatred.
Of all the times to impeach, they chose this time to impeach. Right now, the public opinion in the capital was flourishing. Could he punish Pang Xiao? If he punished her, wouldn't it give people a reason to criticize him and make people think that he, the Son of Heaven, treated a meritorious official harshly?
However, if he didn't punish her, first, there was such a good opportunity in front of him. Second, it was equivalent to indirectly exonerating Pang Xiao. In the future, if he wanted to use these reasons to impeach Pang Xiao, it would be slapping his own face.
No matter how he thought about it, he was the one who was at a disadvantage. He didn't have a loyal subject who could understand his intentions. What was the point of having these things that were only pleasing to the eye but not to the eye?
Li Qitian waited for Minister Du to finish speaking before he suppressed his anger and said coldly, "This matter needs to be investigated."
Xiong Jinshui was standing closest to the Emperor, so he naturally saw Li Qitian's twitching mouth and the bulging blue veins on his forehead. Fearing that Your Majesty would be affected by the Dragon Power, Xiong Jinshui hurriedly stepped forward and shouted while the officials were still in shock at the Emperor's reaction.
"Submit a memorial if you have one, withdraw if you don't!"
This meant that the emperor's "pending investigation" was enough to end the impeachment.
Li Qitian's reaction was out of everyone's expectations, but no one dared to say anything at this time. Chang Guogong could only tactfully retreat for the time being.
Qin Yining and Pang Xiao soon heard about what happened in the imperial court.
"Your Majesty must be in a bad mood right now."
"That's right. He has long wanted to punish me for my crimes, but he has never succeeded. Earlier, when he ordered people to impeach me, the old officials of Beiji, represented by Chang Guogong, all held a wait-and-see attitude. Now that public opinion is at its peak, it's the most inappropriate time to impeach me. Yet, it happened here. "
Qin Yining couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. Li Qitian must be dying of anger right now.
"Wang Ye.
Yes, Magistrate Liu is here. "
Ji Yun, who was outside the door, reported.
Pang Xiao smiled, took off his soft boots, and got on the heated kang bed. Qin Yining pulled a brocade blanket over him and covered him with it, then took a dark purple soft pillow for him to lean on.
Magistrate Liu entered the room and first greeted him with proper etiquette. Then, he respectfully went forward to take his pulse as a matter of routine.
If it was at the beginning, Pang Xiao would still be a little weak from the long journey. Now that he had recuperated, he was even more energetic.
Magistrate Liu couldn't help but secretly rejoice that Your Majesty only arranged for him to treat Wang Ye. If he occasionally sent someone to check on him, wouldn't he be exposed? Your Majesty would probably skin him alive!
"Wang Ye's body …" Magistrate Liu hesitantly looked up at Pang Xiao.
Pang Xiao covered his mouth and coughed twice.
Magistrate Liu immediately understood and said, "Wang Ye's body hasn't fully recovered, and his old injuries won't recover in a day or two. Please don't overwork Wang Ye and take care of himself."
Pang Xiao nodded.
Qin Yining worriedly asked, "Magistrate Liu, please consider the prescription carefully. Is Wang Ye alright?"
Magistrate Liu said calmly, "Wang Ye is fine, but you still need to follow this humble one's prescription."
Qin Yining nodded and politely escorted Magistrate Liu out to write the prescription.
After he left, the husband and wife looked at each other and burst into laughter.
Just as the two were discussing what to eat for dinner, there was a sudden rush of footsteps outside the door. Bing Tang quickly walked in and said, "Wang Ye, Wang Fei, Duke Ding has come to visit."
"Ah Lan?" Pang Xiao sat up in surprise.
In the few days he had been back, no one had come to visit, whether it was his former colleagues or comrades. The wang fu was deserted, and he deliberately didn't renovate the residence. If it wasn't for the occasional few servants walking around, the wang fu would be no different from a haunted house.
He didn't expect that the first person to come, and the only one who dared to come, was still Ji Zeyu.
Qin Yining said with emotion, "At that time, Imperial Censor Dai Lin took advantage of the mourning hall in our house to bring people to block the door and cause trouble. If Duke Ding hadn't arrived in time, who knows what would have happened. Now that you are sick, and he is the first one to come, we must not disappoint him. "
Pang Xiao nodded and stood up to greet him with Qin Yining.
Not long after, he saw Ji Zeyu, who was tall and beautiful but cold as ice, wearing a light blue shirt with arrow sleeves and a cloak with a gray mouse collar on his shoulder, walking toward him.
"Ah Lan." Pang Xiao smiled and walked down the steps to greet him.
When Ji Zeyu saw Pang Xiao, a smile appeared on his originally expressionless handsome face. The corners of his lips curled up slightly. "Zhixi."
He looked at Pang Xiao from head to toe. "Are you feeling better?"
"I'm fine." Pang Xiao held Ji Zeyu's wrist and said with a smile, "We brothers haven't seen each other for a long time. How have you been? "
Ji Zeyu looked at Pang Xiao with a smile, then nodded at Qin Yining and followed him up the steps into the main room.
Qin Yining smiled and went to prepare tea and refreshments. He left the room for the two brothers to catch up.
Ji Zeyu took off his cloak and threw it on a chair. He and Pang Xiao sat on either side of the kang table to warm the kang.
Pang Xiao held the pot and poured a cup of tea for Ji Zeyu.
"Have you been in the capital all this time? Has Your Majesty arranged any other tasks for you? "
Ji Zeyu picked up the teacup and took a sip. He shook his head and said, "No. But it doesn't matter. The way things are now is good. You, on the other hand. "
Ji Zeyu looked at Pang Xiao's rosy cheeks and high-spirited appearance. He couldn't help but laugh, "It seems that your old illness isn't very serious. You should stay in the fu to recuperate. Don't go out to stroll around. If Your Majesty sees your rosy cheeks, he'll be so angry that he'll fall ill. "
It was rare for Ji Zeyu, a man of few words, to say so many teasing words in one breath. Pang Xiao laughed heartily and said, "Ji Lan, you're still the same after not seeing you for so long."
Ji Zeyu saw that Pang Xiao was so cheerful. He originally wanted to comfort Pang Xiao but didn't say anything. He only asked, "You should know that Shang Chuan led a group of imperial censors to impeach you, right?"
"Yes, I already know." Pang Xiao didn't hide the fact that he always paid attention to the news of the imperial court.
Ji Zeyu said, "You should also take precautions early. Your Majesty hasn't done anything now, but it doesn't mean that he won't do anything in the future. I heard that you and Shang Chuan had some irreconcilable enmity in the past. Let's start from the bottom. Even when we attacked Beiji, we did it according to official business. We never did anything excessive. How could we have any enmity with Shang Chuan? "
Pang Xiao laughed, "Even if there was enmity in the past, Da Zhou's imperial court has been established for eight years. No matter how many enmities there are, they can't win against time. Now that everyone is living a stable life, why would he look for trouble for no reason?"
Pang Xiao thought for a while, then leaned closer to Ji Zeyu and whispered, "Don't worry, I have my own plans."
Seeing Pang Xiao's confident look, Ji Zeyu's worried heart relaxed a little. Then, he said in realization, "I knew it. Your wife isn't a domineering and impulsive person. On the contrary, she is very cautious. She actually sent Shang Zhihua back with a plank. There must be something else going on."
When Pang Xiao heard Ji Zeyu's evaluation of Qin Yining, he felt relieved and laughed again.
Ji Zeyu was also affected by Pang Xiao's laughter. He said with a smile, "Forget it. Since you have your own plans, I won't ask anymore. If there's anything you want to do, just order someone to inform me. I have nothing to do at home anyway. "
Pang Xiao's gaze deepened, "So, you can do anything?"
Ji Zeyu was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "Of course."
His words seemed to have made some kind of promise.
Pang Xiao and Ji Zeyu looked at each other and smiled. The two of them then talked about their lives after they parted. Although they didn't directly talk about politics, it was obvious that their opinions were still the same as before.
Qin Yining had already prepared a table of food and came over to invite the two of them to take a seat. He didn't stay for long and casually ate two mouthfuls. Then, he excused himself and left, leaving the two of them alone.
Ji Zeyu and Pang Xiao didn't pay attention to the rule of not talking while eating. They chatted while eating.
"How are you going to deal with your impeachment today?" Without waiting for Pang Xiao's reply, Ji Zeyu sneered again, "Those Imperial Censors are like mad dogs. They're useless, but they don't let go of others. While you're fighting on the battlefield and sweating for the country, they're still enjoying themselves in the land of women! Now they want to get rid of you after you've outlived your usefulness! "
These words weren't just directed at the Imperial Censors, but also at Li Qitian.
Pang Xiao patted Ji Zeyu's shoulder comfortingly and filled his wine cup, "Let's not talk about these troublesome matters. If they want to impeach me, then let them. Your Majesty won't immediately sentence me to death anyway. As long as I'm alive, there's nothing I can't overcome. "As he spoke, he clinked his cup with Ji Zeyu.
The two of them happily drank their cups. Pang Xiao then continued, "I plan to wait and see. I want to see what the people in the court think about this matter. It's rare to have such a good opportunity to test real gold. "
"You plan to pretend to compromise first?"
"Yes." Pang Xiao smiled, "Even a man like me faints. It's not that difficult to admit defeat."
Ji Zeyu smiled, "Don't say that. When I heard that you fainted, it really gave me a fright. We've suffered injuries and lost a lot of blood over the years. If some old illness relapses, it won't be a joke. You and I aren't teenagers anymore. Now that we're standing up, we should also think about recuperating. "
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.
