novelden Chapter 539: The First Knife Attacks the Male and Female Protagonists
Chapter 539: The First Knife Attacks the Male and Female Protagonists
"Xuan Ma Chao..."
The eunuch's chanting echoed in the silent court.
All the officials were thinking about this name silently, and they were even more confused about the word "disposal" mentioned by His Majesty. They exchanged glances, but no one dared to speak easily.
Not long after, a chaotic and hurried sound of footsteps was heard outside the hall.
Upon hearing the voice, all the officials subconsciously turned their heads slightly and looked outside the hall.
At just one glance, all the civil and military officials in the court gasped and showed expressions of surprise.
A thin young man walked into the hall slowly. His face had long been destroyed, and the hideous and twisted scars were like vines, crisscrossing and climbing on his skin. It was unbearable to look at. If you look closely, you can see that it was a face reshaped by the burning fire.
Besides being horrifying, it also makes people secretly wonder what kind of miserable things this person has been through.
Ma Chao's body couldn't stop shaking, his face full of fear that he couldn't hide. He was led by the eunuch to Sheng Jingzhan's side. He immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed, shouting in a trembling voice: "I am Ma Chao, the humble servant, and I pay my respects to Your Majesty."
Sheng Jingzhan raised his eyes and saw his terrifying face. His expression remained calm, but for some reason, he felt a strong sense of foreboding in his heart.
His eyes flickered slightly, and then he calmly shifted his gaze back to the emperor sitting high.
At this moment, the emperor raised an elusive smile on his face and slowly asked: "Among all the ministers, has anyone seen Ma Chao's true appearance?"
As soon as these words were spoken, a tense atmosphere instantly filled the entire court.
The officials exchanged glances cautiously, trying to find some clues from each other's expressions. For a moment, the entire court was silent and no one dared to speak in response.
Sheng Jingchen looked calm as he slowly scanned the court, his smile still there, but his gaze made people inexplicably frightened.
He waited for a moment, and seeing no one responded, the smile on his face became even more profound and mysterious, and he slightly side-glanced at Pei Dafu.
Pei Dafu understood what he meant, took out the sweet potatoes he had prepared long ago, and walked in front of Ma Chao.
At the same time, the emperor's gentle voice rang out in the court: "Ma Chao, tell me, where did you get this thing?"
Ma Chao's eyes fell on the sweet potato, and tears filled his eyes instantly. He held up the familiar object with trembling hands. His emotions instantly collapsed, and he cried loudly, "They are all dead, all dead! Er Gouzi, Aunt Wu, they were all burned to death! It was me who killed them all, it was me... who attracted the thieves!"
As he spoke, he was already sobbing.
Upon seeing this, all the officials were shocked and looked at each other. Although they didn't understand why, they could vaguely guess that this person's miserable experience was probably related to someone in the court.
After hearing Ma Chao's words, Sheng Jingzhan's pupils shrank suddenly. At this moment, he had guessed the origin of this person. The following voice confirmed his guess.
Pei Dafu handed the sweet potato to Ma Chao, and then explained to everyone: "My Lords, this man is the crazy scholar Ma Chao who was involved in the arson case in the south of the city, and he is also the first person to discover the new species."
The officials nodded in understanding, each with their own thoughts in mind.
Liu Yang, who was standing among the ministers, was conceited that he could see the emperor's thoughts very well. He stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, even if Ma Chao contributed the new seeds, it cannot offset his crime of burning the south of the city, causing hundreds of innocent people to die in the sea of fire."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Chao jumped up from the ground, his face ferocious, and roared at Liu Yang at the top of his lungs: "I didn't set the fire at all. It was that evil woman who stole my things and burned down my house. I want revenge, I want revenge..."
Pei Dafu on the side also hurriedly interrupted: "Master Liu, this new seed was not presented to the emperor by Ma Chao."
Liu Yang: …
Liu Yang's expression was somewhat awkward. He stole a glance at the emperor who was watching the show, raised his sleeve to wipe the saliva that was splashed on him, and said passionately: "Your Majesty, although it is difficult to tell whether what Ma Chao said is true or false, if the woman did something evil in order to offer this thing, the crime should be even more severe."
Sheng Jingchen waved his hand gently, signaling Liu Yang to return to the ranks of officials. He stared at King Yu below calmly and asked, "King Yu, what do you think?"
King Yu lowered his eyes and answered respectfully, "Brother, I don't know the whole story, but in my humble opinion, merits and demerits should be rewarded and punished clearly. What Ma Chao said needs to be investigated in detail, and his contribution of providing new seeds should also be rewarded."
The emperor nodded, sighed and said, "What King Yu said makes sense. The fire in the south of the city has hidden secrets, and I cannot turn a blind eye to it. I will let you investigate this matter, King Yu!"
Then he said with a slightly embarrassed tone, "Then according to past practice, how should I reward this girl?"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was a huge reaction from below. In an instant, two factions emerged. One faction believed that the emperor should think twice before acting, while the other faction thought that he could reward first and punish later, which would better highlight the emperor's image of being clear about rewards and punishments.
Sheng Jingchen propped up his chin with his wrist, looking coldly at the quarrel below that was like that of shrews in the vegetable market, with a hint of sarcasm overflowing from the bottom of his eyes.
After a while, the emperor finally got tired of it. He raised his hand slightly, and the court returned to silence. He spoke again: "My dear ministers, you are avoiding the topic. There is no need to make any more suggestions. King Yu, come and talk to me."
Officials: ...
Sheng Jingzhan, who had remained silent all this time, had a gloomy look in his eyes, and cursed Leng Mengwan countless times in his heart for failing to do his job well and leaving the murderer alive.
But despite his inner anger, he still maintained a respectful attitude on the surface, slowly lowered his head, and then replied softly: "Brother Emperor, leaving aside other things, just for the merit of filling the stomachs of the common people, I think it is not too much to make this girl a princess of a different surname."
As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a stone that caused a thousand ripples. The entire court was immediately in uproar, and all the officials stared at the person who made the proposal in disbelief.
An old and highly respected official could no longer suppress his anger and rushed out, pointing at Prince Yu and scolding him: "What? Princess? How can Your Highness Prince Yu rely on the emperor's favor to act recklessly and speak nonsense here?"
"How can a princess be conferred casually? As a member of the royal family, you should be well aware of the interests involved. How can you treat the dignity of our royal family as nothing and as a joke? If that woman is really misbehaving and misbehaving..."
These words resonated with countless people, and everyone directed their fire at Sheng Jingzhan, and he became the target of public criticism.
"Alright! Stop arguing!" The emperor stopped them with a sullen look on his face. He was extremely dissatisfied with this endless argument.
All the officials knelt down and shouted in a familiar manner: "Your Majesty, please calm down. We are all thinking about the country and the people."
Sheng Jingchen shouted impatiently: "Pei Dafu!"
Pei Dafu immediately replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, don't be angry! It was my negligence!"
Then, he looked at the officials and said, "Don't be impatient, my lords. Wait until I finish what I have to say before making a final decision."
Everyone:...
Then, Pei Dafu carefully took out a scroll from his sleeve, walked to Ma Chao, slowly unfolded it, and said, "Master Ma, take a look at this woman and see if she is the evil woman who stole your things."
Upon hearing this, Ma Chao immediately looked at the portrait with hatred in his heart, and then his eyes changed, from surprise to confusion, and finally to uncontrollable surprise, shouting: "It's her, it's her, Your Majesty, it's her..."
The officials behind him heard the noise and looked at the portrait. Then, one after another, they showed disbelief. Some even cried out: "How...how is this possible? How could such a little kid do such a wicked thing?"
This reaction aroused the curiosity of others, and they all looked at the portrait. They saw a little girl wearing an Aihu headdress lying on a white tiger and playing.
Everyone is familiar with this woman, and some have even met her several times.
This, this is clearly...the Emperor's favorite nephew---Lin Yining!
It was not until this moment that everyone realized how ridiculous their actions were in the eyes of the emperor!
Pei Dafu looked around and then fixed his gaze on the incoherent man. He continued to ask, "Mr. Ma, did this woman steal your things?"
However, Ma Chao seemed to turn a deaf ear to him. He just tightly grasped the portrait in his hand and anxiously asked: "Eunuch, this little girl, is she still alive? She once helped me and gave me money to buy food!"
Then, with tears streaming down his face, he said to himself, "She must have met with an accident. That evil woman must have seen her bringing her father to look for me. When she found out that I gave the clod of earth to the little girl, she would definitely not let her go..."
Hearing this, Pei Dafu smiled with relief as if the truth had finally come out, and turned to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the fire in the south of the city was not set by Lin Yining. You can rest assured!"
Sheng Jingchen glanced at him sideways, but did not show any pleasure on his face.
He slowly stood up from the dragon throne, stood proudly on the high ground, his cold eyes swept across the ministers like a sharp sword, and said in a deep voice: "In this case, then according to King Yu's words, she will be rewarded for her contribution to the new seed. My dear ministers, what title do you think this woman should be given to highlight her achievements."
There was silence below, and no one dared to influence the emperor's thoughts.
The emperor looked around and saw that no one answered, so he threw the question to Sheng Jingzhan again, saying unhappily: "King Yu, you go ahead!"
At this moment, Sheng Jingzhan's mind was full of thoughts. He calmed down and responded in a deep and powerful voice, word by word: "I think it is more appropriate to confer the title of Princess."
The emperor nodded slightly, expressing his approval: "Approved, pass on my decree, conferring Lin Yining the title of Princess of Le'an, granting her a golden seal and purple ribbon, and a salary of a thousand households. Considering her young age and the fact that she is studying at a girls' school, all matters concerning this conferment will be kept simple for now, and will be discussed later when the conferment ceremony is held."
"Your Majesty is wise!" All the officials knelt down and shouted in unison.
"A bunch of idiots!" Sheng Jingchen cursed in a low voice, then left with a grim expression and without looking back.
Everyone:. . . . . .
——Back to the present——
Pei Dafu finished talking about what happened in the morning court, then turned to look at Xiao Yining. As expected, he saw an expression of admiration on her face. He reminded her, "Princess Le'an, you must thank King Yu very much! King Yu was not feeling well but was still thinking about you. When the morning court was over, he vomited a large mouthful of blood. It was really heartbreaking to see, alas!"
Xiao Yining: ..., she really should thank the male protagonist.
But then again, this male protagonist is really stupid. He was actually led around by his uncle!