Thief Emperor

Chapter 1017 Three Masters and Three Young Masters
After Zhuo Zhong entered the Taiji Hall, all officials turned their eyes to the eldest son of the Duke of Ying.

Although Zhuo Zhong is the eldest son of Prime Minister Zhuo and the future heir of the Zhuo family, he cannot be called the young master of the Yingguo Mansion, nor can he be called the prince, because Prime Minister Zhuo's title cannot be inherited from generation to generation.

Outside, Zhuo Zhong could only be called Young Master.

This Mr. Zhuo entered officialdom and entered politics in the early years of the Zhangwu period. He still works in the old yamen of Prime Minister Zhuo, and now he has risen to the rank of Langzhong of the Ministry of Works.

It was just that because of the involvement in the case of Mr. Zhuo, after Zhuo Guangrui returned to Luoyang to confine himself, Zhuo Zhong also took leave and stayed at home. He no longer went to work in the Ministry of Works, which meant he was also waiting for punishment at home.

Zhuo Zhong stepped into the Taiji Hall and looked around. He saw all the civil and military officials looking at him.

Those who can stand in the grand court assembly are at least officials of the fifth rank.

The new dynasty inherited the old Zhou system, and the ranks of officials were not high. For example, the six ministers were all third-rank officials. If they could hold the fifth-rank official position, they were already important officials in the court.

Among these officials who were looking after him, many were of the same generation as his father Zhuo Guangrui. They were elders who had watched him grow up in Jiangdong.

Zhuo Zhong took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and took out the imperial seal from the emperor. He held it high above his head with both hands and strode towards the emperor. After he reached the steps, he knelt on his knees and said loudly: "Your Majesty has granted me the imperial seal, which can absolve my Zhuo family of three crimes."

He still held the imperial edict in his hands, but lowered his head deeply, touching his forehead to the ground, and said, "My father, as the chief examiner of this major imperial examination, knows that his crime is unforgivable. He is now waiting for punishment at home, willing to die, and is only waiting for the court to punish him."

"But as a son, I cannot bear to see my father die."

Zhuo Zhong cried and pleaded, "Your Majesty, please, for the sake of the imperial seal and the hard work my father has put in over the years, spare my father's life!"

After saying this, he knelt on the ground, trying to hold up the red seal and iron certificate with both hands, his whole body shaking constantly.

His Majesty the Emperor looked at him silently, expressionless.

In the court, none of the cultural relics officials spoke at this time. They were all watching this scene silently. Many of them were breathing rapidly and were very excited.

Because this scene is important.

At that time, the red-lettered iron certificate was not issued only to Zhuo Guangrui, but more than ten copies were issued in total. For example, Zhou Xu, the former King of Jiangdu, got one for his family.

The Taiyuan Li family who surrendered also received a red-lettered iron certificate.

Others, such as Du Qian, Yao Zhong, and the Xue family, all had a copy.

If it was just a red-lettered iron certificate, the meritorious officials might not take it seriously, but Emperor Li had a good credit, and considering Emperor Li's personal credit, everyone still attached great importance to this red-lettered iron certificate.

Now, it is finally time to test the effectiveness of the golden medal of immunity from death!

Let’s see if this thing can save you from death or guilt!
Emperor Li looked at Zhuo Zhong silently for a long time without saying anything. He just sat back in his seat silently, still angry: "Is it because of this red book that your father dares to be so lazy in doing things?"

Zhuo Zhong said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, my father has admitted his guilt. After this incident, my father voluntarily resigned from his position as prime minister."

"Please, Your Majesty, pardon his death sentence."

The Emperor narrowed his eyes and was about to speak when Du Qian, the Prime Minister, stood up, knelt on the ground, and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, the Emperor's words are as good as gold. At the beginning, Your Majesty and the ministers signed a red-lettered iron certificate with sixteen words on it."

"Let the river be like a belt, and Mount Tai like a mighty sword, so that the country will be forever peaceful, and the Miao people will also be included."

Du Qian lowered his head and said, "It was agreed that except for treason, everyone could be spared from death three times. Now Prime Minister Zhuo is not treasonous, please, Your Majesty..."

“Practice the Old Testament!”

All the officials knelt down and followed Du Xianggong, saying in unison: "Your Majesty, please fulfill the old agreement."

His Majesty the Emperor slowly stood up, then turned his head to look at his two sons standing beside him and asked, "What do you think, Prince?"

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince bowed to the Emperor, and after a moment's hesitation, he finally spoke: "Since Father had made an agreement, it seems... it seems that we should forgive Prime Minister Zhuo's crime."

He was unsure of what his father was thinking, but at this time, he had to follow the thoughts of his ministers, so he seemed a little hesitant in his answer.

Li Yun looked at his eldest son and nodded silently in his heart.

No matter what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince thinks, there is nothing wrong with his answer. At this time, someone really needs to come out and play the good guy.

Emperor Li glanced at the King of Yue but did not speak to him. He just stood up silently, drew out the Emperor's Sword in front of the throne, and strode towards Zhuo Zhong who was kneeling on the ground.

He took the red-lettered iron certificate from Zhuo Zhong's hand with his left hand, held the sword in his right hand, and slashed the red-lettered iron certificate with a sharp sword, leaving a slanting sword mark.

"I heard it seriously."

Emperor Li returned the red seal and iron certificate to Zhuo Zhong and said slowly: "This is the first sword. After the third sword, this red seal and iron certificate will not count."

Zhuo Zhong took the certificate with both hands, looked up at the emperor, tears streaming down his face: "On behalf of my father and the entire Zhuo family, I thank your majesty very much, thank you very much, your majesty."

The emperor looked up at his ministers and said in a deep voice, "There are many people present today who have this iron certificate at home. I, Li Er, keep my word. I gave it to you at the beginning, and it is effective."

"The iron certificate of your family is the same as that of Zhuo's."

His Majesty the Emperor returned to his throne and said in a heavy voice: "This thing can block my Emperor's Sword, but it can only block it three times. You all take care of yourselves." All the officials knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the Emperor once again.

His Majesty the Emperor sat on the throne, looked at the officials who had already stood up, and said, "Prime Minister Du."

Du Qian came out of the class and bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty."

"Zhuo Guangrui was negligent in his duty and neglected his duty. Although he could be spared the death penalty, he must be punished. The Secretariat immediately drafted an order to strip him of his title of Duke of Ying and remove him from his position as Prime Minister. He was ordered to stay in Beijing and reflect on his mistakes."

Upon hearing this, Du Qian immediately understood what Li Yun meant.

If the emperor really wanted to destroy a person's political career, then at this time, he would not let him reflect on his mistakes in seclusion in Beijing, but would send him back to his hometown and never employ him again!
If Zhuo Guangrui stays in Luoyang, he will most likely be reinstated in the future.

Mr. Du also felt relieved.

Zhuo Guangrui's conviction this time was inseparable from him and the Du family, especially his brother Du He.

But Mr. Zhuo remained silent and covered up the matter, which was a great favor to the Du family.

Otherwise, Du Qian might not be implicated, but the Minister of Revenue Du He would probably not be able to escape the crime.

Du He... doesn't have a royal decree!

Du Qian bowed and said, "I obey your command."

His Majesty the Emperor sat on the throne and was silent for a long time before he slowly said, "In addition to this, there are a few more things I want to announce at this grand court meeting."

He looked at all the officials and said, "Now that the prince has grown up and is about to get married, I am very pleased."

"Yes."

His Majesty glanced at the officials and continued, "Du Qian, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat of Jin, is the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince."

"Su Sheng, the Privy Councilor, is the Prince's Grand Tutor."

At this point, he looked at Yao Zhong again and said, "Yao Zhong, you are the Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince."

"Zhao Cheng, the Minister of War, is the Crown Prince's Junior Guardian."

These four official positions were nominally officials of the Eastern Palace. The Prince's Grand Tutor was the prince's teacher, the Prince's Grand Protector was used to protect the prince, and the Prince's Junior Tutor assisted the Prince's Grand Tutor and was his adjutant.

The same applies to the Prince's Guardian.

However, since the time of Wu Zhou, these Eastern Palace officials, the three masters and the crown prince had all become nominal positions. They had no direct contact with the crown prince, let alone the Eastern Palace.

Among them, Du Qian and Su Sheng were promoted to the three princely teachers, both of whom were of the first rank, while Yao Zhong and Zhao Cheng were promoted to the princely junior teacher and the princely junior protector, both of whom were of the second rank.

In a sense, it just raised the status and treatment of these important officials.

Du Qian and the other four all came out of the class, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed to thank the emperor for his grace.

All the officials looked at these four people with envy.

At the same time, some people looked at Zhuo Zhong who was kneeling on the ground and felt emotional.

If it weren't for the imperial examination case, I'm afraid that this time, Prime Minister Zhuo would also be among those who would be awarded the title, and most likely before Prime Minister Yao, and become one of the three masters of the Eastern Palace.

The four imperial edicts of promotion had already been prepared. As the four important ministers knelt down, Gu Chang began to read the promotion edicts on the spot.

Soon, the promotion was completed, and the four of them each held the imperial edict in their hands and knelt on the ground to express their gratitude.

His Majesty the Emperor stood up, glanced at the ministers, and said expressionlessly, "That's all for today. If you have any questions, please forward them to the Secretariat."

After saying this, His Majesty the Emperor walked down the steps. Halfway down, he glanced at the ministers, was silent for a while, and then said, "General Su, Minister Zhao, come to the back hall to see me."

Su Sheng and Zhao Cheng looked at each other, then bowed their heads and said yes.

His Majesty the Emperor, with his hands behind his back, walked down the imperial steps and headed straight towards the rear hall of the Taiji Palace.

Lord Du looked at them silently, then turned to look at Yao Zhong, and finally walked towards Zhuo Zhong, who had been kneeling on the ground for a long time and was unable to stand up.

He reached out his hand to help Zhuo Zhong up, and said with a sigh: "Master Zhuo, take me to your home to meet Prime Minister Zhuo."

Zhuo Zhong shook his head: "Prime Minister Du, I'm afraid my father will never see anyone again."

"It's out of the way."

Du Qian looked back at his third brother, then turned to look at Zhuo Zhong and said silently.

"Whether he sees me or not, I'm going to go there anyway."

(End of this chapter)