Chapter 1161: Chapter 1140: Each Family
Minister Feng had just returned ho when he saw his grandson sitting with his legs crossed, reading in his study in an informal manner. Upon seeing him enter, the boy imdiately stood up straight, put away the book, and bowed, saying, “Grandfather.”
Minister Feng asked, “Why haven’t you gone to sleep yet at this late hour?”
Feng Zongping peeked outside and said at once, “How is it late? It has just gotten dark. Grandfather, co, please take a seat. Are you hungry? Would you like to have the kitchen whip up a bowl of noodles for you?”
“You may go. Give the instructions and then head to your room to rest. I have no need for you here.”
“But Grandfather, won’t you tell about what happened in the heavenly prison?”
“Don’t pry into matters that you shouldn’t. I haven’t even started on you. When everyone left today, why didn’t you move?”
When the Empress helped the Empress Dowager to leave, the Princess Consort of Yizhou took a bunch of children and retreated as well. Seeing this, the families of the officials below imdiately followed suit and withdrew. The group of young n on their side also left, not daring to stir the muddy waters.
Only the Fifth Prince, Princess Changyu, and Ji Hao, standing in the middle of the main hall, did not dare to leave. Feng Zongping, there and then, also daringly knelt without moving, resolutely not leaving.
This angered Minister Feng so much that he glared at him several tis. Fortunately, he was sensible enough not to speak out in the main hall. With so many people kneeling, no one noticed him.
“Grandfather, Bai Shan and I are classmates…”
Minister Feng interrupted him, “That’s exactly why you should not inquire about this matter.”
Feng Zongping just stared at him without leaving.
Unable to resist his persistence, Minister Feng finally let out a sentence, “They are locked up together, and as the palace has not issued any decree, they will not suffer for the ti being.”
“How will the palace handle them?”
Minister Feng said, “That will only be known tomorrow.”
Thinking of the two booklets that had been passed around in the main hall today, he slightly smiled and said, “However, they should still be safe for these two days and won’t be taken to court. They are very clever, knowing to submit evidence in court, which spares them from private interrogation.” It also saved the lives of their family mbers.
Otherwise, if they only claid to have evidence but did not present it, not to ntion overnight, even an hour, or a quarter of an hour, their hos and their families would probably have been turned upside down.
Zhou Man presented all the evidence in court, and even the Prince of Yizhou could do nothing but wish to flay her and her family alive, and at that mont, there was no ti for him to take action.
And with so much evidence to go through, it will take a certain amount of ti; the longer it takes, the higher their chances of survival.
As long as these pieces of evidence prove to be true…
Minister Feng glanced down at Feng Zongping and said, “In another two days, your Imperial Academy will end its vacation, right? Go and attend your classes honestly. You are not to ddle in these matters, understand?”
At the sa ti, Old Madam Yin was also sitting opposite to Yin Huo and saying, “You should not go out these next two days. We cannot manage and should not ddle in the affairs of the Bai Family and Doctor Zhou Junior, understand?”
Yin Huo asked, “Grandmother, what is Father doing out of the capital?”
“He has taken His Majesty’s orders to go on patrol and should be returning before long,” said Old Madam Yin gently, “We cannot stir up trouble for him here in the capital. Doctor Zhou Junior is indeed a good person, and if it were sothing else, our family would have helped if we could, but this matter is definitely not sothing we can intervene in.”
Yin Huo said, “Grandmother, our family has no kinship with the Prince of Yizhou, and Father is only loyal to His Majesty. Why can’t we get involved? As long as what we do benefits the country, that should be sufficient.”
“That should be sothing your father deals with. You have not yet taken official duties, and as a woman of the household, my only concern is to take good care of you and your siblings,” replied the Old Madam.
Yin Huo nodded, “I understand now, Grandmother. Rest assured, I will only do what ought to be done.”
However, Old Madam Yin looked at the expression on his face, which seed nonchalant, and felt sowhat uneasy.
Compared to Yin Huo and Feng Zongping, Ji Hao’s situation was not so favorable.
After leaving the palace, he had been kneeling outside Minister Ji’s study. Old Madam Ji visited once, and after finding out what he had done, although worried and anxious, she dared not plead for him anymore, let alone secretly take him back to the inner courtyard as she had done before.
Minister Ji himself was very busy. After bringing his grandson back ho and seeing him kneel down, he imdiately left the house again with a turn of his heel.
He went to the palace for another eting, and it was already dark when he left, hungry and moving sluggishly. He took the opportunity to exchange a few words with so colleagues—no, it was about the case.
By the ti he finally returned ho late at night, under the stars and moon, and saw Ji Hao still kneeling, he didn’t give him as much as a glance, proceeding straight to his work despite his hunger.
He still had to write a morial, think about what to say at tomorrow’s court session, how to answer if the Emperor inquired, and many other matters to consider.
Old Madam Ji glanced at her grandson kneeling outside and held back, but couldn’t contain herself and still whispered advice, “Ever since he fell from the horse, his body has not been as strong as before. We can’t let him kneel like before all night long, especially as the chilly autumn nights could cause him to catch cold.”
“Let him kneel. I think he just doesn’t learn his lesson. What kind of place does he think it is to be speaking recklessly?”
Old Madam Ji said, “I don’t think what he said was recklessness…”
With a “snap,” Minister Ji’s pen dropped, and he stared angrily at Old Madam Ji, “Then tell , which word of his was correct, which sentence should have been said?”
“When Ying Wenhai caused him to fall from his horse all those years ago, the Prince of Yizhou’s estate added insult to injury, which left in a position too hard to speak of. The child just has so resentnt, and besides, what he said wasn’t wrong; people in Yizhou really do have many complaints about the Prince of Yizhou in private…”
“Was he getting back at the Prince of Yizhou? No, he was actually getting back at ! He’s a child and doesn’t understand, but don’t you understand either?” Minister Ji couldn’t help saying, “Where does the Ji Family stand? Our ho is only several streets away from the Prince of Yizhou’s residence. If these affairs were already evident and even a child knew of them, yet I ignored them, whose fault would you think that is?”
Seeing him yell at her, Old Madam Ji’s suppressed anger burst out, and she slamd the table, retorting without courtesy, “It’s the failure of you, the head of all officials! But didn’t I tell you? Didn’t I advise you? Right after I returned to my ho village, I wrote to you saying that our family mbers were disgraceful, colluding with others to seize land from the refugees, and I also told you about the Prince of Yizhou’s tyranny. It was you who didn’t take it seriously, thinking that the Prince of Yizhou was deeply favored, supported by the Empress Dowager, and that reporting it would be a laborious task with no reward. So it was you who didn’t report it, and now you’re blaming the child for speaking the truth!”
Old Madam Ji stood up to leave, but after a couple of steps, feeling that her anger hadn’t subsided, she turned back and spat in Minister Ji’s face, “Let tell you, don’t push the bla for what you and your sons have done onto my grandson. He’s an honest child. If you’re angry, vent it on yourself. Dare to take it out on him again, and see, I’ll take him back to Yizhou tomorrow!”
Minister Ji was so angry that he fell back, “Back to Yizhou again, always Yizhou, you old woman… The place is about to break into chaos, are you going there to seek death?”
“It’s better to die there than to be angered to death by you here!” Old Madam Ji slamd the door open and then shut it behind her. To Ji Hao kneeling outside she said, “Why are you still kneeling? Get up, co with your grandmother to go back.”
Ji Hao, shrinking his neck, cautiously glanced inside the study, and seeing his grandfather had not spoken, he knew once more Grandmother had won. He imdiately got up and accompanied Old Madam Ji, full of indignation, back to the inner courtyard.
Indeed, even if Grandmother conceded, it was only a montary submission.
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