Aoyama

Chapter 300: Small Flag Officer

Chen Ji walked out from the end of the team, passing the Yulin Army, Chen Liqin, Li Xuan, and the Crown Prince, without looking away. Everyone followed his gaze as he slowly walked towards the brightly lit Renshou Palace.

The official from the Honglu Temple looked at the Crown Prince, the Junior Secretary, and the Commander of the Yulin Army who were still waiting for orders outside the palace, and then looked at Chen Ji's back. There was confusion in their eyes, but they could only suppress it silently.

In front of Renshou Palace stands a "Filial Piety and Brotherly Love Monument". The first sentence of the inscription is: Filial piety and brotherly love are the foundation of benevolence.

Chen Ji glanced at the inscription and was in no mood to read further.

Stepping into the palace gate.

The middle-aged man in a dragon robe at the door said slowly, "You should answer whatever His Majesty asks. Don't act on your own and don't deceive the emperor."

This eunuch in the dragon robe has an imposing manner. He does not look like a eunuch, but rather like a prince.

There are only two people in the inner court who can wear dragon robes. One is the eunuch Xu Wenhe, who holds the seal, also known as the inner minister and the poisonous minister; the other is the eunuch Wu Xiu, who has just taken away the power of the inner minister and serves beside His Majesty.

The person in front of me should be Wu Xiu.

Chen Ji bowed and said, "Understood."

He lifted his skirt and stepped over the high threshold. He saw a man sitting cross-legged like a dragon behind the curtain in the hall. A wooden plaque with the Five Thunders Talisman, which had been consecrated by the Taoist temple of Laojun Mountain, was hung on the beams. The 28 constellations were painted on the caisson ceiling above his head. Under his feet were lapis lazuli bricks supplied by the Suzhou Imperial Kiln, on which were carved the Big Dipper.

The moment Chen Ji stepped into Renshou Palace, he felt a tangible imperial aura pressing down on him, suppressing the 550 fires in his body like a candle in the wind.

Not only the fire, but also my body became heavy.

Chen Ji was puzzled. A second-rank official could be immune to magic, but the emperor of the mortal world had a stronger aura of dynasty. Even if he was within twenty steps, his cultivation would be suppressed?
The next moment, the few ice streams in his Dantian swept wildly, coveting the emperor behind the veil. He had this feeling when he met Prince Jing, and it was an instinctive desire that he could hardly suppress.

Not only Emperor Ning, but also everyone in Renshou Palace.

There are two old men sitting on the embroidered cushion on the left. The first one wears a gold foil crown and his name is Lord Xu.

The other one was holding a blood rhinoceros scepter in his hand, Lord Qi.

There are also two old men sitting on the embroidered cushion on the right. The first one is wearing a mutton-fat white jade leather belt around his waist, and his name is Hu Ge Lao.

The other one had completely white hair and a green jadeite leather belt around his waist, and he was Chen Ge Lao.

They all wore red robes.

Almost all the most powerful figures of the Ning Dynasty gathered in this Renshou Palace. Bingliu seemed to be shouting at the top of his lungs inside his body, "Kill them all!"
Kill them all!
At this time, Zhang Zhuo, who was standing behind Lord Xu, winked at Chen Ji. Chen Ji came back to his senses and his mood gradually calmed down.

He bowed prostrate and said, "I, a humble servant, respectfully pray for the health of the Holy Spirit."

Renshou Palace fell silent, and everyone's eyes were fixed on Chen Ji's back, as if they wanted to see through him.

After an unknown amount of time, Emperor Ning behind the veil slowly said, "Stand up and talk."

Chen Ji stood up, lowered his head and replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Emperor Ning stopped talking behind the veil, and the ministers behind the elders held their breath.

Finally, Lord Xu asked slowly, "Chen Ji, you are also a meritorious official who protected the emperor and killed more than a hundred Tiance soldiers, but Hu Junxian didn't mention you in his memorial. Do you two have a personal grudge?"

Chen Ji didn't understand politics, and didn't know whether the question was a good intention or a murderous one. He thought he was just going through the motions, but he didn't expect to be summoned in for "interrogation" alone.

At this time, Zhang Zhuo saw that he did not answer, so he said in a serious tone: "Chen Ji, answer the questions truthfully!"

Chen Ji calmed down a bit and replied, "To the elder, to the Lord Zhang, General Hu and I have no personal grudges."

Zhang Zhuo asked, "Then why did he miss you when he reported his achievements?"

Chen Ji thought for a while and said, "My mentor Wang Daosheng once wrote a letter to General Hu, recommending me to the Guyuan Border Army. General Hu summoned me to the Guyuan city tower to recruit me, but I refused."

Elder Xu asked slowly: "Why do you refuse?"

Chen Ji bowed and said, "Replying to the elder, it's too far from home."

Elder Xu asked again, "Do you know that Hu Junxian teamed up with the Imperial Household Department to use the crown prince as bait to ambush and kill the Tiance Army?"

Chen Ji's heart moved. He thought that the dispute in Renshou Palace just now was probably about the merits and demerits of Hu Junxian and the Guyuan border army.

How should I answer? I should follow Zhang Zhuo's suggestion and "answer truthfully".

Everyone present had their own stance, except Zhang Zhuo who sincerely helped him.

What Zhang Zhuo hinted to him should be what Emperor Ning wanted.

Chen Ge Lao, who was standing by, also said, "Don't be secretive in front of His Majesty."

But Chen Ji thought of the sand-filled city of Guyuan, lowered his eyes and said softly, "I don't know."

Zhang Zhuo said in a low voice, "You witnessed the battle of Guyuan and were guarding beside His Highness, how could you not know? Tell the truth!"

However, at this moment, the clear sound of a copper bell rang out from behind the veil, drowning out all other sounds.

Everyone turned to look. The emperor behind the veil was shaking a Taoist Sanshan bell and said meaningfully, "Zhang Zhuo, don't hint at him anymore."

Zhang Zhuo quickly knelt on the ground and said, "I am just afraid that he will waste your Majesty's time. I beg for your judgment."

Emperor Ning said calmly, "The kid from the Chen family thinks over and over again before speaking, fearing that he will say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, or take the wrong responsibility. He has some of the demeanor of a cabinet elder, and I think he has the potential to be the cabinet's chief minister."

As soon as these words came out, the four ministers on the embroidered cushions immediately fell to the ground: "I hope your majesty will forgive me. I have no intention of shirking my responsibility." Emperor Ning smiled behind the gauze curtain: "All ministers, please stand up. The ground is cold... Summon Li Xuan and Qi to consider."

After the two entered the Renshou Palace, Lord Xu asked, "Do you two know that Hu Junxian and the Imperial Household Department have teamed up to use the crown prince as bait to ambush and kill the Tiance Army?"

Li Xuan and Qi Chenzhuo looked at each other, and Qi Ge Lao said slowly: "Tell the truth."

However, surprisingly, just as Qi Chenzhuo was about to speak, Li Xuan clasped his fists and said, "My Lord, I don't know."

Elder Qi frowned and said, "Qi, please think about it. You can speak."

Qi Chenzhuo hesitated for a moment and said, "I really don't know. I only heard the Tiance Army's commander-in-chief Yuan Zhen say in public that it was the owner of the Longmen Inn who betrayed the prince's whereabouts. This owner used to be a soldier in the Guyuan Frontier Army... but he resigned more than ten years ago."

Hu Ge Lao finally spoke, his eyes were sharp and his voice was hoarse: "Where are the others?"

"died."

Hu Ge Lao nodded: "It is impossible to verify."

Qi Chenzhuo added: "Yuan Zhen was in front of many people..."

Before he could finish, Hu Ge Lao said calmly, "The enemy's one-sided statement."

Qi was speechless after considering it.

Elder Chen stood up tremblingly and bowed: "Your Majesty, please send someone to witness it."

Emperor Ning rang the Sanshan Bell behind the gauze curtain.

The next moment, two Jiefan Guards came in with a scholar in a green shirt and disheveled hair. When Chen Ji saw who it was, he was stunned.

Mr. Feng?
Wait, who is the Bai Long who was wearing the mask when Mr. Feng was detained... Could it be that Mr. Feng is not Bai Long’s true identity?

Chen Ji felt a headache.

But then Elder Xu said calmly: "Feng Wenzheng, who are you?"

Mr. Feng knelt on the ground and replied loudly: "The twelve zodiac signs of the Secret Service Department of the Imperial Household Department are sick tigers."

Chen Ji was shocked. Mr. Feng is a sick tiger?

No, that's not right!

Xu Ge Lao asked again: "Someone reported that you betrayed the crown prince in order to ambush the Tiance Army. Is this true?"

Mr. Feng knelt on the ground and said sadly: "The eunuch acted recklessly and disregarded the life of the crown prince. It is not a pity to die."

Elder Xu concentrated and asked again: "Feng Wenzheng, did anyone instruct you to do this heinous act?"

Mr. Feng replied: "No one instructed me to do so. It was the eunuch who acted on his own initiative."

Xu Ge Lao asked: "Who is the mastermind, you or Hu Junxian?"

Mr. Feng whispered, "The eunuch was the mastermind. He falsely passed on the imperial edict from the inner court to Hu Junxian."

Elder Xu looked across and asked, "What else do you want to say, Elder Hu?"

Hu Ge Lao slowly closed his eyes: "No more."

The emperor behind the veil said calmly, "Draft an order."

Wu Xiu came in from outside the door and ordered two young eunuchs to bring a table, while he sat on the table with a pen.

Emperor Ning said slowly: "The sick tiger in the twelve zodiac signs of the Imperial Household Department, Feng Wenzheng forged the imperial edict of the Imperial Household Department and acted recklessly, but considering his meritorious service in killing the bandits, he was taken to the inner prison and sentenced to death; Guyuan General Hu Junxian was unclear about his duties and was an accomplice, fined three years of salary, demoted from the second rank Dragon Tiger General to the fourth rank Mingwei General, demoted but retained his position, and still served as the General of Guyuan; Guyuan Deputy General Zhou You was also an accomplice, demoted from the third rank Zhaoyong General to the sixth rank Zhaoxin Lieutenant, and was appointed as a thousand households; Guyuan Army..."

After the outer court appointments were completed, Emperor Ning said, "Xu Wenhe, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, was not good at judging people. He will be fined for three years and demoted three ranks. Zhang Zhuo, you should draw up a list of recommendations for the deputy generals and military officers vacant in Guyuan and send it to the palace tomorrow."

Zhang Zhuo bowed and said, "Yes."

Chen Ji knew that the general was an official title, and the second-rank dragon and tiger general was a rank, and they were two different systems. As long as the emperor and the elders were willing, a sixth-rank general could also serve as a general.

But the series of demotions in the inner and outer courts made his brain almost burn out.

He only realized that today the Chen family, the Qi family, and the Xu family joined forces to attack the Hu family. As for the rest, he had to go back and figure it out slowly, or ask Zhang Zhuo and Zhang Xia to answer it for him.

But, Mr. Feng just killed him like that?
Could it be that Mr. Feng was just one of the White Dragon puppets? The other party went to Guyuan as Mr. Feng to take charge of the situation, and from the very beginning, he was planning to show his true colors to the Hu family at this moment?

At this time, Zhang Zhuo bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the guilty officials have been punished, but the meritorious officials have not yet been rewarded."

Emperor Ning stood up from behind the veil and slowly walked towards the depths of Renshou Palace. "The 35 soldiers of the Yulin Army were promoted by two ranks. Li Xuan and Qi Chenjue knew about it but did not report it. Their merits and demerits are offset. I am tired, please leave."

Zhang Zhuo looked at the gradually disappearing figure and asked reluctantly, "Your Majesty, where is Chen Ji? When he was in Guyuan, the crown prince was ordered to promote Chen Ji to the position of Right Guard of the Sixth Rank of the Eastern Palace..."

Emperor Ning paused and said: "You are still young, so you should hone your skills. First, you can serve as a flag officer in the Yulin Army and teach military equipment and martial arts."

Zhang Zhuo hesitated to speak.

In the blink of an eye, the sixth-rank Right Guard became a seventh-rank small flag officer. He looked at Chen Ji, who was standing with his hands hanging down and a calm expression, but in the end he just sighed.

(End of this chapter)