Before dawn, the ministers from various mansions were already neatly dressed. Some took sedan - chairs carried by servants, some rode horses, and some sat in palanquins. They all headed to the same place, the imperial palace, without prior agreement.
The current emperor of the Great Qi was Shang Luoze, a twenty - two - year - old man who was the legitimate son from the Eastern Palace. He was the late - born son of the former emperor. This year was the sixteenth year of his reign, and he was in his prime, full of youthful vigor.
As the lord of the Great Qi, Shang Luoze could sleep a bit longer than the court officials every day. But today, he got up earlier than anyone else.
As usual, the young emperor sat on the dragon throne. The officials knelt down and shouted long live the emperor, and then the emperor allowed them to rise.
After a heated debate on the policies to be implemented, the court fell into an eerie silence. But Shang Luoze suddenly felt excited.
He straightened his aching back and casually placed his forearms on the armrests of the dragon throne. Then the emperor of the Great Qi spoke.
"The affairs of the state have been discussed. Now, shouldn't we talk about Fang Qinhu?"
The ministers exchanged silent glances and instinctively lowered their heads, not daring to answer.
Shang Luoze was not at all surprised. A look of understanding flashed across his eyes. He directly fixed his gaze on the first person in the queue.
"Uncle Regent, how do you think I should deal with Fang Qinhu?"
Shang Mozheng, the Regent of the Great Qi, was the younger brother of the former emperor and the uncle of the current emperor. His status was second only to the emperor. Not to mention other things, at least half of the officials in the court were somehow related to him.
Hearing the emperor's call, a middle - aged man in his forties or fifties in the queue calmly stepped forward.
As he moved, the four - clawed golden dragons on his official robe seemed to be menacing.
"Your Majesty, Fang Qinhu deserted his post during the battle of Zongyang, which led to the great defeat of our Great Qi by the Southern Chu. Now he has even become a bandit and dared to kidnap the King of Jing. I think he should be sentenced to death as a warning to others!"
"I don't think Uncle Regent's punishment is appropriate."
Before the voice faded, Shang Luoshu lazily walked forward and saluted the emperor above.
"Your Majesty, I think there may be other hidden reasons for the battle of Zongyang.
Back then, Fang Qinhu was a sixth - rank military officer. I don't believe such a person would desert in battle."
In the Great Qi, military officers had to have real military achievements to be promoted. Fang Qinhu was able to rise from an ordinary soldier to a sixth - rank position, which showed his bravery on the battlefield.
It was hard to imagine that such a person would desert in battle.
"Brother - in - righteousness is right."
Hearing the answer he wanted, the smile on Shang Luoze's face deepened.
But that was not enough!
"What does General Mingwei think?"
As a fourth - rank military officer, Zhu Chengjie was also qualified to attend the court, but his position was a bit far back.
"Your Majesty, I, I think, I..."
Zhu Chengjie swallowed nervously and kept glancing in the direction of the Regent. He really couldn't answer this question.
It was he who reported that Fang Qinhu had deserted back then. If he agreed to the emperor's investigation now, wouldn't it mean that he had lied back then?
This was the crime of deceiving the emperor!
As if sensing the pleading look from the person behind him, the Regent gave a light cough and was about to bow and speak again. But before he could utter a word, the emperor's warning came first.
"Uncle Regent, I have been an adult for two years."
Sixteen years ago, the former emperor passed away. Shang Luoze, who was only six years old, ascended the throne, and the era name was Xuanming. At that time, Shang Mozheng, who was just a prince, was appointed as the Regent by the former emperor, which meant to assist the emperor in governing the country.
No one expected that this assistance would last for sixteen years. During this period, Shang Mozheng took advantage of his position to control the court. It was not until two years ago.
At that time, the emperor had just come of age. The Regent should have handed over the power both emotionally and rationally.
For this reason, Prime Minister Lu joined the scholars all over the country to submit a petition. Finally, Shang Mozheng had no choice but to compromise and return the power. However, even now, most of the Great Qi was still under his control.
"Xi'er, see if you like these?"
Now that her daughter's health had recovered, Mrs. Lu finally felt relieved. So she began to arrange for servants for Lu Yinxi.
"As long as it's chosen by mother, I like it."
"You're just sweet - tongued!"
As the mother and daughter were talking, they walked out of the room and into the yard. The maids, servants, and young servants were lined up in four rows. When they saw the two masters coming out, they immediately knelt down and saluted.
"Greetings to the madam and the fourth miss."
Everyone had a smile on their face, afraid of offending the masters.
"Get up."
The young girl deliberately put on a serious face and scanned everyone's face. Oh, there seemed to be a familiar face?
Not paying much attention to it, Lu Yinxi casually picked two girls as her head maids, arranged tasks for the rest, and then let them disperse.
Mrs. Lu watched all this without saying a word. It was not until the servants had left that a smile appeared on her face.
"Why did you choose these two as your personal maids?"
"Didn't mother choose them for me?"
Lu Yinxi pointed at the purses on their waists and said with a smile, "I can recognize the stitches of the tassels."
"You little rascal!"
Mrs. Lu affectionately tapped her forehead, feeling extremely satisfied.
She originally wanted to directly arrange these two beside her daughter, but she also wanted to respect Yinxi's opinion, so she chose this way.
"Now that you have maids, you have to manage the affairs in this yard by yourself from now on."
"Got it, mother. Don't worry!"
After seeing off Mrs. Lu, Lu Yinxi took the two head maids back to the inner room and casually leaned on the beauty's couch. The smile on her face just now disappeared.
"Tell me, what can you two do?"
Mrs. Lu must have chosen these two as her personal maids because they had some outstanding abilities.
"I'm Hongmei. I can read some characters and do some needlework."
"I'm Hongrui. I know some basic martial arts and can make pastries."
Goodness, one was good at literature and the other at martial arts. That's exactly what she wanted.
"From today on, you are my people. As long as you are loyal to me, I won't treat you badly."
"Yes, miss."
Inside the Prime Minister's Mansion, Lu Yinxi got the maids she liked. In the imperial court, the confrontation between the emperor and the Regent was coming to an end amidst the undercurrents.
"Since Uncle Regent has no objections, can I make my own decision?"
Without waiting for the Regent's response, Shang Luoze said, "Lin Zihan, the deputy minister of the Supreme Court, listen to the order."
"I'm here!"
A young man walked out of the queue. He was wearing a fourth - rank official robe. He had handsome features, which was very pleasing to the eye.
"Deputy Minister Lin, I'll leave the investigation of Fang Qinhu's case to your Supreme Court. You must find out the truth."
"I will follow your order."
"Dismiss the court!"
Amidst the shrill voice of the eunuch, the emperor left, and the officials left the court in an orderly manner.
Shang Luoshu bowed to the Regent ceremoniously, then flicked his sleeve and turned around, leaving gracefully.
At the palace gate, it was still Chen Guang who came to pick him up today. The man silently got into the carriage. After the carriage had driven for a while, he casually asked,
"Is everything arranged?"
"Don't worry, my lord. I've arranged everything."
"What about Zhoukou?"
This time, Chen Guang didn't answer, which showed that things were not going smoothly. The man didn't blame him but just said, "Keep looking. If it doesn't work, expand the scope."
"Yes."
It was already noon, and the sun was a bit glaring. A snow - white pigeon flew out of the Prime Minister's Mansion and gradually disappeared from sight.