manynovel Chapter 119 Like father, like daughter!
Chapter 119 Like father, like daughter!
Li Yuanke held her close, feeling completely relaxed and at ease. "Mmm."
He closed his eyes and stroked her back gently, like petting a cat.
Shen Shixi cleared her throat and began to sing a song she had heard many times in her past life: "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!"
For people of this era, Shen Shixi's "Happy Birthday" was a far cry from the original, but Li Yuanke heard a different kind of charm in it, as if it had been sung by billions of people and had its own divine quality.
Shen Shixi fell into a deep sleep before she could finish singing the last note.
She simply couldn't take it anymore.
Li Yuanke was not asleep. By the dim light, he looked at the person in his arms. His fingers ran through her hair, and their hair intertwined on the pillow. He placed a kiss between her eyebrows.
There will be a grand court assembly early the next morning.
Li Yuanke hadn't slept well and got up reluctantly. While Lan Ying was combing his hair, he dozed off in front of the dressing mirror. When he left the palace gate, he would have tripped over the threshold if Li Fude hadn't been supporting him.
He dozed off for a while on the imperial carriage and drank a strong cup of tea before he became more awake. Sitting on the dragon throne in the Taiji Hall, he felt that every minister's face was so repulsive.
Today was supposed to be a discussion about the punishment of the Duke of Wei's mansion. Xue Ju had colluded with the enemy and lost Tianfei Pass, and there should have been a verdict. But somehow, the discussion veered off to the matter of Shen Shixi beating up the Prince of Jin and his wife at yesterday's birthday banquet.
Li Yuanke immediately perked up.
This matter cannot be concealed, nor can the censors be silenced.
Moreover, Princess Jin is a member of the Pei family. How could the Pei family possibly let such a good opportunity slip by?
Just like Shen Shixi would never let go of the Pei family if he got the chance.
This time, the two Imperial Censors representing the Pei family were Fan Liu and Cui Xuanwei, and Fan Liu was the first to speak.
"Your Majesty, at yesterday's birthday banquet, I heard that Consort Yuan assaulted Prince Jin and his wife. Is this true?"
Shen Xianzhang came today. Fortunately, although the emperor made him resign from his post, he retained his official position. Otherwise, he would not have been able to attend court today.
Last night, after the palace banquet ended, the news spread far and wide.
It's mainly because it's too sensational.
It's already quite blatant for a palace concubine to assault someone, but to assault a prince and his wife, and even cripple them, is truly outrageous.
No wonder the censor impeached him first thing this morning.
Everyone pricked up their ears, waiting to hear what the Emperor had to say.
Li Yuanke could not evade the question: "On the Emperor's birthday, the Prince of Jin and his wife were extremely disrespectful to me. Consort Yuan's actions were to protect me."
The ministers were all stunned. What could they say?
That seems to make a lot of sense!
Prime Minister Pei gave a wink, and Cui Xuanwei quickly stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty, while Consort Yuan was acting in your best interests, it's still inappropriate to strike someone in such a public setting!"
The emperor was clearly displeased. "Then, according to your suggestion, what should we do? Reason with the Prince of Jin? In your opinion, as a member of the royal family and the eldest son of the late emperor, he doesn't even understand the proper relationship between ruler and subject, and needs my Consort Zhao to teach him what it means to be a ruler and subject?"
Prime Minister Pei couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, no matter what, Prince Jin is Your Majesty's elder brother, and Consort Yuan's actions are insubordination..."
Shen Xianzhang rushed forward, "Then according to Prime Minister Pei's logic, should His Majesty and Consort Yuan also have to step down and pay their respects to Prince Jin and his wife? No wonder, although the Pei family is a family of great wealth and honor, they are not a family of scholars and poets, and they have long been ignorant of etiquette. It is simply ridiculous that they could utter such rebellious and absurd words!"
Prime Minister Pei was furious, but he suddenly realized that he couldn't do anything to Shen Xianzhang. Although he was the prime minister and could manage all the officials in the court, could he really manage Shen Xianzhang, who had resigned from his post?
Shen Xianzhang has resigned from all his jobs and is focusing all his energy on running the school. What good would it do if he forced the emperor to dismiss Shen Xianzhang from his position as Left Vice Minister?
With other people's daughters in the harem, it would be very easy for him to seduce the emperor if he wanted to.
"Minister Shen, watch your words! Is that what I meant?" he said angrily.
Shen Xianzhang sneered, "If that's not what you mean, then what do you mean? Huh? How is Consort Yuan being disrespectful? Consort Yuan is the Emperor's concubine. So what if Prince Jin is a prince of the highest rank? If he has rendered meritorious service to the country, it is wrong for Consort Yuan to disrespect him. Does a prince who just loafs around expect Consort Yuan to kowtow to him?"
"How could you say such a thing? Prince Jin was personally appointed by the late Emperor, the legitimate son of Empress Wenzhen. How dare you insult a prince!" Prime Minister Pei was so angry that his beard trembled.
Shen Xianzhang was also using his daughter's words from yesterday to scold people; otherwise, he really wouldn't have thought of coming here now.
Even though he tossed and turned all night, rehearsing the verbal battles in court hundreds of times, he found that things weren't going as he had expected at all.
In fact, it was an established rule that the royal family would enjoy sustenance, but Shen Shixi put forward this view, and people at the time could not refute it.
"Your Majesty, Consort Yuan has assaulted a member of the imperial family. This is outrageous..." Fan Liu saw that Prime Minister Pei was losing ground, mainly due to Shen Xianzhang's unreasonable arguments. He tried to steer the argument back on track.
"What do you think of this?" Shen Xianzhang glared at him coldly. "The Prince of Jin is a member of the imperial family, so let me ask you, Consort Yuan is His Majesty's concubine, what is she then?"
What a joke! Even if Shen Shixi were just a lowly concubine returning home, the old lady of the house would still have to bow deeply to her, because once she belonged to the royal family, she would be the emperor.
Fan Liu was so angry that he uttered such a paradox.
Clearly, arguing is something that really tests one's talent.
Shen Xianzhang, an upright scholar, was able to win arguments with his colleagues in the court, with his arguments standing firm, his evidence comprehensive, his thinking quick, his tone forceful, and his manner imposing. This was all thanks to his daughter, Shen Shixi.
Over the years, he and his daughter have been through countless battles of wits and courage, and he has finally been tempered by experience.
Of course, Shen Xianzhang couldn't have been fighting alone.
Although Grand Tutor Shen is no longer with us, he still has many students and old friends.
Back then, when the emperor was vying for the throne, his biggest rival was the Prince of Jin.
At this moment, who would dare not stand up and speak up for Consort Yuan?
Otherwise, what if the emperor thinks they are loyal to the Prince of Jin?
As for the fact that the Prince of Jin and his wife were crippled by Consort Yuan, that's no big deal. Aren't they still alive? Aren't they still recovering?
So what if he was the late emperor's legitimate son? He's not the current emperor.
Therefore, the saying "when people leave, the tea cools" is a very real thing.
The imperial court had practically turned into a marketplace.
Seeing that things were hopeless and that reasoning wouldn't work, Cui Xuanwei resorted to shouting, "Your Majesty, I beg Your Majesty to execute Consort Yuan! She is a wicked concubine who has brought ruin to the country! As a palace concubine, she has not upheld the virtues of a woman, causing discord between Your Majesty and the Prince of Jin. If one day this calamity arises within our own walls, my Great Zhou... oh dear..."
Shen Xianzhang rushed over, grabbed his beard, and roared, "You old bastard, you dare to make my daughter die? I'll fight you to the death today!"
He grabbed Cui Xuanwei by the beard and slammed him against the golden dragon pillar, making it clear that he would kill him if he didn't make a move. The courtiers immediately fell silent, watching the scene before them in horror.
Shen Xianzhang's eyes were wide open like copper bells, his face contorted with rage, looking as if he wanted to devour Cui Xuanwei. Cui Xuanwei was completely terrified.
"Quickly, pull them apart!" Li Yuanke shouted as he stood up.
Like father, like daughter!