C347 The Morning Court Officials Were Kneeling and Begging for Mercy
"What did you just say? Lee Tianyu was wandering in the Pugilistic World? Didn't he already die? Is there something you guys are hiding from me?" Although the general kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything else, the princess noticed the strangeness and asked softly with a frown.
"This. . . Princess, this official can only say that Tianyu is not dead. But I do not know where he is. This matter concerns the life and death of the prince. Princess, please do not tell the Emperor. Otherwise, Qingyun will be guilty of deceiving the Emperor. That Emperor will undoubtedly execute him immediately. " General Qu helplessly shook his head. Drinking wine was indeed a mistake. To actually leak out such a top secret matter, this is a loss to the princess. If it was the Emperor, even he would be implicated.
"Hmph! This Mr Mu actually hid such a big matter from me. When I meet him again, I will teach him a lesson. " The princess said angrily. Back then, she had also asked Qing Yun to save Tianyu, but the result was that she couldn't save Tianyu. Only now did she know that she had been deceived.
"Hehe, the princess should still help. Let's see how the prince can survive this tribulation. Only then will the princess have the chance to deal with him. "
"Sigh! I'm afraid this will be extremely difficult. I'll try my best. After all, I don't wish for anything to happen to the Royal Highness. "
In the blink of an eye, after three rounds of wine and five dishes, the ministers were almost done drinking. All of them were on the verge of collapse and Wan and Princess Jinyu had already left early on. The Emperor looked at the people who were lying down and nodded his head. He ordered Royal Guards and the others to send all the ministers back to their residences while he himself was supported by the eunuchs to go to the Wanxin Pavilion.
The next morning, Qing Yun woke up early and finished washing up. He drank a bowl of porridge and ate some snacks before putting on a python robe. That night, they also drank a lot of wine and chatted happily.
"Your Royal Highness, are you going to the court?" Loong Feng and Loong Yun also got up. Seeing His Royal Highness wearing a python robe, they knew that His Royal Highness was going to court punishment.
"En, all of you should stay at home and watch over the house. I don't know if you can come back after this trip, but no matter what, all of you should not act recklessly. " Qing Yun looked at them and said with a smile.
"Your Royal Highness. . . " Loong Yun still wanted to say something but was stopped by Loong Feng.
"Please rest assured, Your Royal Highness. We will take good care of the house and wait for Your Royal Highness to come back. " Loong Feng let go of Loong Yun and cupped his fists.
"En, then I will leave. " After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the door.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" In the morning court, the Emperor sat upright on the Dragon Throne, and all the ministers immediately knelt down to pay their respects.
"All my close, rise!" The Emperor waved his arm to signal everyone to stand up.
"Prince Mu, didn't you catch a cold? Why aren't you resting at home? Are you done? After the various ministers got up, the Emperor's gaze landed on Qing Yun.
"Reporting to the Emperor, this official had already taken the medicine last night. This morning, he was already much better. " Hearing the Emperor looking at him, Mu Qingyun stepped forward and knelt on the ground.
"En, that's good. Then let's do it fair and square. Mu Qingyun, do you know your crime?"
"This official knows his crime. "
" Do you know what crime you have committed? "
"Underestimating your enemy and making a mistake in your command, causing almost all of Cloud Guardian to die in battle, causing a huge loss. Emperor, please punish him. "
"That's right. Your mistake this time has indeed caused a huge loss to Da Ming. You are the clearest about that Cloud Guardian. Every single one of them was selected from the millions of soldiers. Each of them is brave and good at fighting. Just because of one of your mistakes, they were all killed. What do you think I should do with you?"
"One hundred deaths cannot be forgiven. " Qing Yun calmly cupped his hands and said.
"Ha, it's hard to forgive a hundred deaths. Mu Qingyun, you're right. I originally wanted to kill you. What do you think, my close?" Hearing Qing Yun's words, the Emperor stood up from the dragon throne and took two steps forward to look at the crowd.
"Emperor, please think twice. Although Prince Mu was defeated this time, his crime was not his. If you want to talk about responsibility, we all have responsibility. We didn't think that the enemy would take advantage of this loophole. After finding out our secret, we found out that all of the Cloud Guardian were killed in battle. Even if the prince was responsible, he wouldn't be sentenced to death. Furthermore, the prince had outstanding military exploits. He is a minister of Great Ming who has contributed a lot. " When General Qu heard the Emperor's words, he immediately stood up and knelt on the ground.
"Emperor, His Royal Highness went through all the obstacles along the way. Although the Cloud Guardian was completely wiped out, His Royal Highness's contribution is indelible. With His Royal Highness's prestige, we will directly destroy the Yellow Dragon and finally return victorious. Zhao Gongxun, please reconsider. " The thing that people did not expect the most was that Zhao Gongxun actually stood out to plead for Qing Yun.
"Haha, Mu Qingyun, look, who is the one who pleaded for you? It's him, Zhao Gongxun. As for you, you have never taken a liking to him from the very beginning. It's not good to dislike people. That's not good. But what about now?"
The Emperor was also very surprised that Zhao Gongxun would stand out, but when he saw this scene, he was very happy. This showed that he was a very fair person when it comes to major matters. He would not come to a conclusion just because he had a conflict with the Emperor and add insult to injury.
"Emperor, this official also feels that although Your Highness has done it before, the merits are equal and the merits are greater than the merits. If you behead him, I'm afraid that it will chill the hearts of the soldiers, Your Majesty. " At this moment, Nie Chen also stood out and knelt on the ground as he spoke.
"Who else wants to plead on Prince Mu's behalf?" After hearing their words, the Emperor looked at the officials below and continued to ask.
At this moment, many of the generals also stood out to plead on Prince Mu's behalf. Of course, some did not move and just watched the situation unfold.
"Alright, my close, no need to stand on ceremony. Stand up. Actually, I didn't really order the execution of the prince. You are right. Prince Mu had indeed made great contributions and had a very high prestige among the common people. If I kill him because of this matter, many people would not be convinced and would also think that I am a muddle-headed ruler. The reason why I said that was to see how many people would plead for him. " Seeing that more than half of the people pleading on Qingyun's behalf had already passed, this made the Emperor firmer his own thoughts.
When the people who were pleading for Qing Yun heard this, they let out a sigh of relief. No matter what, His Royal Highness's life could be considered to be preserved. This was already considered very lucky.
"But Mu Qingyun, although I won't sentence you to death, I can't let you go just like that. After all, you have killed so many people. So the death penalty can be exempted, but the crime of living cannot be forgiven. After a few days of consideration, I have decided to take back the title of Pingyun Prince. Degraded to a commoner, and from now on, you are not allowed to take even half a step into the Imperial Court. Also, your descendants are not allowed to become officials. You can accept it. " After saying that, the Emperor looked at Mu Qingyun. There was no expression on his face and one could not tell whether he was happy or angry.
