After that, everyone immediately stepped onto the steps of Qianqing Palace without much hesitation.
After entering the Qianqing Palace, several people, led by Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet, knelt on the ground and said in unison.
"I bow to your majesty, long live my emperor!"
When Jiajing heard this, after looking at everyone up and down, he spoke slowly.
"Well, everyone, get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After Jiajing finished speaking, everyone stood up from the ground one after another.
Because the earlier incident near Zhengyang Gate was so shocking, Yan Song didn't think about how to report the matter to Jiajing for a while.
While Yan Song was still thinking hard about this, Jiajing's rather plain voice sounded in his ears.
"Tell me, is there anything you need to report to me?"
When Jiajing finished speaking, Yan Song suddenly came back to his senses. After organizing the words in his mind, he spoke carefully.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, this is what happened. Not long ago, near Zhengyang Gate..."
Soon, Yan Song recounted the whole story to Jiajing again.
Seeing that Yan Song's statement was very different from what Lu Fang had previously stated, Jiajing nodded slightly and immediately confirmed it to Yan Song.
"Can I understand that a group of imperial officials had a quarrel in broad daylight near Zhengyang Gate because of their political disagreements, and then it turned into a fight?"
After listening to Jiajing's summary, Yan Song had no choice but to bite the bullet and respond: "Qi... Qi, Your Majesty, you can... think so!"
Unexpectedly, as soon as Yan Song finished speaking, Jiajing slammed the table and cursed angrily.
"It's really unreasonable. These damn bastards, how do they put the face of the imperial court? The imperial court's face has almost been completely disgraced by them!"
"Where do they think this is? This is the Forbidden City, not a place where they can run wild!"
After Jiajing's words fell, everyone didn't hesitate at all. They immediately knelt on the ground and asked Jiajing for forgiveness.
"Your Majesty, please calm down!"
Jiajing did not comment on this, but turned his gaze to Yan Shifan, who was kneeling on the ground, and asked.
"Yan Shifan, tell me, if their behavior is based on Ming law, how should we deal with it?"
Yan Shifan saw Jiajing throwing this question to him in a majestic manner, and his mind suddenly buzzed. After a long while, he came back to his senses and answered shakily.
"...Your Majesty, if we follow the laws of the Ming Dynasty, these officials who gathered to fight would probably be imprisoned and sentenced to at least three years in prison!"
After listening to Yan Shifan's answer, Jiajing looked back and said to himself.
"Three years!"
When Yan Song saw that Jiajing seemed to be interested in this, he suddenly panicked. At this moment, he couldn't care about anything else and quickly begged Jiajing for mercy.
"Your Majesty, Wei Chen feels that this matter was purely accidental. If it is handled according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, wouldn't it be too harsh?"
As soon as Yan Song finished speaking, Xu Jie stood up and admonished Jiajing.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I also think that we should give them a chance!"
"What's more, these people all hold important positions. If we deal with them so simply and crudely, I'm afraid it will cause shock to the government and the public!"
Seeing Yan Song and Xu Jie standing up to plead for these people one after another, Jiajing finally spoke after pondering over his actions for a long time.
"Well, that's fine. Since you two are interceding for them, I'll spare them this time!"
After hearing what Jiajing said, Yan Song and Xu Jie felt relieved and said to themselves.
"Huh~ It's okay. Your Majesty is going to lift it up high and lower it gently. It seems to be fine!"
Just as the two of them were feeling lucky for this, Jiajing seemed to have seen what they were thinking, and then added.
"Although I have pardoned their crimes, this matter is related to the court's face after all. How do you think it should be handled?"
Yan Song and Xu Jie couldn't hear the implication in Jiajing's words. In their opinion, His Majesty meant to quickly come up with a feasible solution and turn this matter over as soon as possible.
Afterwards, Yan Song and Xu Jie patted their chests and assured Jiajing that things like today would never happen again. Not only that, they also proposed to Jiajing that the officials who participated in the fight should be fined three months as a token of appreciation. punish.
Regarding the suggestions put forward by Yan Song and Xu Jie, Jiajing agreed after thinking about it for a moment.
Seeing that the matter had settled, Jiajing withdrew his gaze from Yan Song and Xu Jie and gave instructions.
"Okay, let's leave this matter as it is for now. If nothing happens, you can leave!"
After hearing what Jiajing said, everyone quickly suppressed all the chaotic thoughts in their hearts and bowed to Jiajing.
"As ordered, Your Majesty, I will retire now!"
After that, several members of the cabinet left the Qianqing Palace one after another without staying too much.
The moment he walked out of Qianqing Palace, Xu Jie felt that the invisible pressure that had been surrounding him had completely dissipated. He could only see him looking at the distant scenery and muttering to himself silently.
"Humph, even if you want to fight with me Xu Jie, you are still far behind!"
…
Night falls, Yan Mansion.
Yan Song was seen sitting next to the bookcase, looking at an unknown book in his hand quite intently. At this moment, there was a knock on the door.
Seeing that his thoughts were interrupted, Yan Song couldn't help but show a little impatience on his face. Immediately, he put down the book in his hand and gave instructions.
"Come in!"
When Yan Song finished speaking, there was only a "squeak" sound, and Yan Shifan opened the study door and walked in.
The moment he entered the study, he turned his gaze to Yan Song and bowed.
"Father!"
After Yan Song heard this, he looked away from Yan Shifan and asked instead.
"Tell me, what do you want from me?"
After Yan Shifan got Yan Song's approval and considered his words, he stepped forward and reported to Yan Song respectfully.
"Father, the thing is like this. According to Zhang Runde, after receiving your order earlier today, he summoned Luo Longwen, Yan Maoqing and others to the Ministry of Punishment to discuss ways to deal with Yan Guan."
"Who would have thought that during this process, he, Yan Maoqing, would actually want to escape from the battlefield!"
When Yan Shifan said this, he seemed quite indignant about the matter and suddenly raised his tone.
After Yan Song listened to Yan Shifan's narration, he couldn't help but frown, and then said in a deep voice.
"This Yan Maoqing is really impatient. Why does he think he can be safe and sound for so many years?"
When Yan Song said this, he couldn't help but recall a dream he had when he was seriously ill.
In the dream, he, Yan Maoqing, was also responsible for collecting the salt tax for the imperial court. However, in the process, he, Yan Maoqing, withheld three million taels of silver privately and only gave one million taels to the emperor. This incident angered the emperor. Angry, the curtain of "reducing strictness" was quickly kicked off.
In the end, not only was Yan Shifan taken to the market entrance and beheaded, but he also ended up begging for food in a grave, and finally died of poverty and illness.
It is no exaggeration to say that he, Yan Maoqing, is the culprit who caused his downfall!
Thinking of this, the expression on Yan Song's face suddenly became extremely gloomy, and he secretly made up his mind to nip the danger in the cradle!
Immediately, Yan Song came back to his senses, turned his gaze to Yan Shifan, and gave instructions.
"It seems that Yan Maoqing can't stay here anymore, we have to find an opportunity to deal with him!"
(End of chapter)
