Chapter 9 The Emperor's Confession
That night, Han Ruzi really waited for a big event.
Han Ruzi was sitting on the edge of the bed, and two eunuchs were arranging his hair, as if the emperor had to maintain his dignity in his dream.
The two eunuchs were both in their thirties, they seldom spoke, and they were meticulous when serving the emperor. Han Ruzi just lied to them once yesterday, and he felt a little guilty, so he smiled at them and said "thank you". The two glanced at each other, looking very nervous, immediately bowed back, and stood a few steps away with hands down. They could not rest until the emperor lay down and fell asleep. One stayed on the couch inside the room, and the other stood guard outside. .
At this moment, Zuo Ji came, without anyone notifying him, he pushed the door straight in, as if he was the owner of the room, and after he came in, he didn't speak, just wandered around, looked everywhere, went around half a circle, and finally stopped on the bed in front of the door.
The two eunuchs knelt down immediately, and Han Ruzi looked up at the Queen Mother's attendant, realizing that the matter had been exposed, and it had been exactly a whole day since he wrote the "Secret Edict" last night.
Zuo Ji stood for a while before bowing and saluting, then stood up and said, "Your Majesty has disappointed the Queen Mother."
Now that the matter was over, Han Ruzi didn't want to say anything, and even hoped that the Queen Mother would depose him in a fit of anger.
"What did His Majesty write on the note?" Zuo Ji asked, his tone was not harsh at all, but kind and curious.
Han Ruzi still didn't speak.
Zuo Ji sighed, "Your Majesty is the master of the world, you can do whatever you want, but your majesty also bears the greatest responsibility for the world, every word and deed of your majesty will have an immeasurable impact, if the upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked, your majesty A small move may destroy the foundation of Great Chu. The Empress Dowager asked me to remind Your Majesty: The Great Chu is left by the ancestors, not Your Majesty alone."
"I never thought that the Great Chu River was mine." Han Ruzi finally spoke, and the two eunuchs who were kneeling on the ground crawled lower, almost touching the floor.
Zuo Ji sighed again, and turned to the other two eunuchs, "You guys served His Majesty last night?"
"Yes..." The two eunuchs trembled from voice to body.
"It's none of their business." Han Ruzi got off the bed and stood barefoot.
"It's just His Majesty's idea?"
"It's all my idea." Han Ruzi didn't betray the East Sea King.
Zuo Ji smiled, and the door of the Nuan Pavilion opened again. The first person entered was Jing Yao, the supervisor of the Central Division, followed by the King of the East China Sea. As soon as the king of Donghai changed his domineering attitude, he shrank his hands and feet, and before he entered the room, he said loudly: "I don't know anything. He made me pretend to wrestle. I have to obey the emperor's order. I will do anything else." I no longer know."
Jing Yao looked at Zuo Ji, Zuo Ji said: "Your Majesty also said so."
The King of Donghai breathed a sigh of relief, "You still don't believe me? Even if I want to collude with the minister, I can't afford to choose the Minister of Rites."
Jing Yao knelt down to the emperor, Zuo Ji stepped aside.
"Your Majesty, please put the country and the country as the most important thing." Jing Yao said.
"Okay." Han Ruzi felt that things were not too bad.
"What did Your Majesty write on the note?" Jing Yao asked the same question as Zuo Ji.
"Haven't you already seen it?"
"This matter requires two comparisons, and we hope to get His Majesty's personal statement."
Donghai King pointed at Jing Yao, "Ha, you are lying, you haven't got the note yet!"
Jing Yao turned his head to take a look, and the King of Donghai immediately shut up.
Han Ruzi pondered for a moment, "I am the emperor, so I don't have to answer your questions."
Zuo Ji followed and knelt down, and the King of Donghai cast a approving look at Han Ruzi, and suddenly found that Jing Yao was still staring at him, so he hurriedly knelt down too, and the emperor was the only one standing in the room.
"I implore Your Majesty to understand the Queen Mother's painstaking efforts." Jing Yao continued to exert pressure.
Han Ruzi still refused to disclose the contents of the note, he wanted to see how powerful his emperor really was. The king of the East China Sea also wanted to know, his eyes swept over Jing Yao and Zuo Ji.
Jing Yao kowtowed his head respectfully, got up on his knees, and said in a low voice, "Come here."
Four eunuchs entered the room sideways, startling the king of Donghai, "Do you dare to arrest the emperor?"
The target of these four people was not the emperor, but the two unlucky bastards lying on the ground trembling, who picked them up and dragged them outside the house.
"Jing Gong, forgive me!" The two knew who to ask for mercy.
"As I said, it has nothing to do with them." Han Ruzi was taken aback.
Jing Yao knelt there without moving, the usual harmony turned into blackness, and this time he remained silent.
Not long after, screams came from outside the window, which looked extremely bleak in the middle of the night.
Han Ruzi took a step forward, "Please tell the queen mother, please forgive me for being reckless, and let those two people go, I will tell you the contents of the note."
The King of the East China Sea frowned, not daring to intervene, Jing Yao kowtowed again, "Your Majesty is not wrong. It is normal for Your Majesty to ignore certain rules when he is first taking the throne. It is all to blame for the ignorance of those two lowly slaves who did not serve His Majesty with due diligence. , the crime is unforgivable. The matter of the note will be discussed later."
The screams outside became louder, and after a while, there was only the dull sound of sticks hitting people.
Zuo Ji stood up, spread the paper and rubbed the ink himself, then turned around and said, "Please rewrite the contents of the note again, Your Majesty, so that we can report back to the Queen Mother."
Han Ruzi didn't refuse anymore. With a pale face, he already knew how great the "emperor's power" is. He walked to the table barefoot, picked up a pen and prepared to write, and Zuo Ji who was beside him said softly: "The queen mother is kind and gentle, and I will forgive your majesty." , Your Majesty, please stop disturbing the Empress Dowager with selfish intentions, the country is experiencing troubled times..."
Han Ruzi put down the ink-stained pen, turned around and said, "I want to see the Queen Mother."
Zuo Ji was taken aback, "Seeing the Queen Mother? Why?"
"Because I haven't seen the Queen Mother in person since I entered the palace, and I have to explain this matter to the Queen Mother in person."
"Your Majesty sees the Queen Mother every morning." The smile on Zuo Ji's face stiffened.
"No, I just bowed down to the Empress Dowager's bedroom, and I have never seen the Empress Dowager's true face."
"It's all the same. The Queen Mother is in the bedroom, feeling unwell and unable to see outsiders..."
"I'm not an outsider. You said that the Queen Mother is my only mother. I think so too. We are mother and son, and you and Duke Jing are outsiders. It's not too much to ask for mother and son to meet each other."
Kneeling at the door, King Donghai let out a chuckle. He had experienced the emperor's ability to use what the other party said to counterattack, so it was not surprising at all, but Zuo Ji was suddenly speechless. He did not expect that the usually dull emperor suddenly Become articulate.
Zuo Ji's face changed again and again, and he turned to look at Jing Yao.
Jing Yao stood up, despising this eunuch who was favored by sex in his heart, but he didn't show the slightest disgust on the surface, but nodded to him tacitly, expressing that everything was under control.
The old eunuch walked slowly in front of the emperor, glanced at the white paper on the table, "Does Your Majesty feel wronged for those two eunuchs who were punished?"
"Since it is an unforgivable crime, what can I say?" Han Ruzi said calmly.
The King of Donghai also stood up, watching the scene with great interest, wondering how long the emperor's stubbornness could last.
Jing Yao sighed softly, "Does Your Majesty still trust the ministers outside? This old slave has served four emperors, let this old slave tell His Majesty the truth: ministers have their own interests, they call the emperor and ministers in their mouths, what they think in their hearts But it's a lie. Arrest a minister at random and throw him into a prison. Within three days, he will be able to reveal a series of gangs. These people fight for life and death in the court during the day, and talk to each other at night when no one is around. There is only one, who deceives the saints and fishes in troubled waters. Behind every Qin chapter and every generous statement, there is an ulterior purpose hidden. While impeaching dissidents, they will always subtly praise the same party. Today you recommend me, Tomorrow I will promote you. Eunuchs are humble, but we have no dissent, and there is no possibility of dissent. The Queen Mother and Your Majesty are our only backbones. Without you, we are not as good as dirt."
Zuo Ji repeatedly nodded in agreement, and the King of the East China Sea winked with disdain. Han Ruzi said, "The matter is not as serious as you think. I just passed a note to the Minister of Rites, and there is nothing on the note that you are worried about."
The old eunuch put a hand on the emperor's shoulder, which was not very respectful, but he felt that he had the qualifications, and sighed again, "We will deal with the matter of the note, don't worry, let it ferment for a few days first, if Yuan Jiuding If he is smart, he will hand over the note tomorrow—preferably today, but he’s not that smart—if he doesn’t hand it in all the time, we’ll see how many ministers he can gather. Maybe this is an opportunity to borrow This is to get rid of a group of treacherous officials in the court."
Han Ruzi's throat was a little clogged. The last thing he wanted to see was someone suffering because of him, but the current situation was beyond his control. "Confession" could only be used to show his obedience. No matter what he did, the eunuch would not Use all excuses to attack the minister.
The king of the East China Sea smiled flatteringly and said: "Mr. Jing has a great plan to catch big fish with a long line..." He shut up, so as not to offend the emperor and tell all the truth.
"Who is the 'we' that Duke Jing said just now?" Han Ruzi asked.
Jing Yao's complexion changed, the young emperor was still so stubborn at this time, a bit beyond his expectation.
Zuo Ji laughed twice, "Of course the 'we' Jinggong said refers to the Queen Mother and Your Majesty. Your Majesty wrote the contents of the note again, just to show that Your Majesty is sincerely filial to the Queen Mother, and is not thinking of another mother." Zuo Ji Putting away his smile, he asked Jingyao, "Has Miss Wang moved?"
Jing Yao nodded.
Han Ruzi felt extremely angry, and a bottom line in his heart was touched, but instead of shouting, he picked up a pen and quickly wrote four words on the laid paper.
The other three looked at the same time, and the King of Donghai said blankly: "The emperor is crazy." Zuo Ji smiled and shook his head, "Your Majesty has failed the Queen Mother's hard work." Jing Yao's face became more gloomy, "Is Your Majesty joking?"
"I'm not kidding, this is..." Before Han Ruzi finished speaking, another person came in outside.
Yang Feng, who hadn't shown up for a long time, finally appeared, and even the superficial politeness was omitted, instead of kneeling and kowtowing, he just bent slightly, "Let's stop here."
Zuo Ji snickered, Jing Yao looked at Yang Feng coldly, "Why did Yang Gong say that? We are acting according to the Queen Mother's order, how can we stop here casually?"
Yang Feng took out a small paper bag from his sleeve, "Here is the original, the Queen Mother has already read it, it's not a big deal."
Both Jing Yao and Zuo Ji were taken aback, and the King of Donghai was even more shocked. The emperor asked the ministers for help with a secret edict, but it was not a big deal!
Jing Yao came over, took the paper bag, stared at Yang Feng suspiciously for a while, and then opened the paper bag, showing a surprised expression after just one glance, Zuo Ji walked over, looked very embarrassed after reading it, King of the East China Sea Unable to bear curiosity, he came between the two eunuchs and read the words on the note.
The original document brought by Yang Feng had the same four characters written on the white paper on the table: I want to eat meat.
(seeking collection and recommendation)