Joy of Life: Starting by clinging to the eldest princess's coattails!

Chapter 129 Princess Huang!

The following morning, in Kyoto, at the Taigokuden Hall of the Imperial Palace.

The atmosphere at today's morning court session was somewhat delicate.

Liu Hanjiang, the Minister of Revenue, was holding a thick stack of memorials and reporting on the disaster situation in Huaining Prefecture, Jiangbei.

He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue has roughly investigated the losses from the floods in Jiangbei."

Emperor Qing looked at him and said, "Speak."

Liu Hanjiang straightened up: "The breach in the dike in Huaining Prefecture this time was too large. The floodwaters submerged the farmland and houses of three counties and forty-six villages."

"The city of Huaining was also affected; the city walls on the southwest and southwest sides collapsed, the city was flooded, and the people were displaced."

"Although the Ministry of Revenue has already allocated funds and grain for disaster relief, it is still a long way off to completely solve this problem."

Emperor Qing nodded, his face expressionless.

He remained silent for a few moments, then suddenly spoke: "I've heard that many of the disaster-stricken people north of the Yangtze River have fled to the south, especially to Suzhou. What's going on?"

Liu Hanjiang was just about to respond to this question.

Suddenly, Censor Feng Ming stepped forward from the ranks of the Censorate.

He bowed deeply and said in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, I have a report to submit on this matter!"

Liu Hanjiang frowned.

The others also looked surprised, then adopted a "watching the show" expression.

Everyone in the hall just saw Liu Hanjiang about to speak, but Feng Ming dared to interrupt the Minister of Revenue.

Imperial Censor Feng was very brave today.

Moreover, the Left Censor-in-Chief didn't stop it, as if he thought the Censorate's salary was being paid too promptly.

Despite the gazes of these people, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate remained with his eyes lowered, standing there calmly as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Emperor Qing glanced at Feng Ming: "Speak."

Feng Ming straightened up, took out a memorial from his sleeve, and held it with both hands.

"Your Majesty, I wish to impeach Princess Li Yunrui!"

He raised his voice a little.

"Princess Li Yunrui, as the eldest princess of the royal family, is morally corrupt and has disrupted the established order! Her premarital pregnancy is common knowledge at the Suzhou docks, making her a laughingstock!"

"And now, she's using the three major pharmacies and Qingyutang under her control, under the guise of disaster relief, to win over the hearts and minds of people in Suzhou, plotting something sinister!"

"This is a trampling on the laws and etiquette of my Qing Kingdom!"

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you issue an edict to punish Princess Li Yunrui!"

After he finished speaking, the Taiji Hall fell silent for a few moments.

Emperor Qing sat on the dragon throne, his expression slightly surprised, as if he had just learned of this.

He looked at Feng Ming, his voice turning serious: "Trying to win people's hearts? Plotting something sinister? What's going on?"

Feng Ming immediately cooperated and recounted everything that had happened in Suzhou.

He said that the eldest princess set up soup kitchens outside Suzhou to house disaster victims and hire them as laborers.

He also used the money and grain from the three major workshops and Qingyutang to give generously in Suzhou in order to win people's hearts.

But he didn't mention the dream that the Phoenix Maiden had given him.

After he finished speaking, Emperor Qing's face darkened.

The ministers inside the hall looked at each other.

By now, many people have realized that His Majesty intends to use the Censorate to put a hand on the Princess.

But Liu Hanjiang refused.

Her Highness the Eldest Princess's disaster relief efforts in Suzhou have genuinely reduced the burden on the Ministry of Revenue.

Otherwise, he would be too busy as the Minister of Revenue to stand here and listen to Feng Ming's nonsense.

He disregarded what His Majesty was about to say and stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask Imperial Censor Feng about this!"

Liu Hanjiang's voice was anything but polite.

He turned to Feng Ming, looking directly at him: "What does Her Highness the Princess's disaster relief efforts in Suzhou have to do with winning people's hearts and plotting anything?"

"Even if Your Highness is winning people's hearts in Suzhou, so what's the problem?"

"As the eldest princess of the royal family, isn't the people's support for Her Majesty the same as the people's support for the emperor?"

"Still plotting something? Your Highness is a woman; does Imperial Censor Feng really think that Your Highness's efforts to win over the people of Suzhou are for the purpose of rebellion?"

Liu Hanjiang bombarded him with a barrage of questions, each one barbed.

Feng Ming's face turned red as he was choked by his words.

But he stubbornly continued, "Even so, the princess's affair and premarital pregnancy violate the laws of my Qing Kingdom! Shouldn't she be punished?"

At this point, Liu Hanjiang was no longer in a hurry.

He glanced at Feng Ming indifferently and said in a light tone, "This is not under the jurisdiction of my Ministry of Revenue. You can ask the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of Personnel."

The Minister of Personnel immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, Her Highness the Eldest Princess is a member of the imperial family and is under the jurisdiction of the royal clan. This Ministry of Personnel has no authority to interfere."

He kicked the ball cleanly.

Guo Huai, the Minister of Rites, finally stepped forward at this moment.

He bowed respectfully, his voice steady: "Your Majesty, the Princess's premarital pregnancy is indeed a violation of propriety."

"But—now everyone in Suzhou and among the disaster victims knows that Your Highness is pregnant with a little phoenix girl, a little phoenix girl who saved their lives."

"If the princess is punished now because of this, I'm afraid the people of Suzhou and Jiangbei will not agree."

After Guo Huai finished speaking, he returned to his position without waiting for anyone's reaction.

The Taiji Hall fell silent.

Emperor Qing's expression was somewhat cold.

His gaze swept over Liu Hanjiang and Guo Huai, then over the other officials who had their heads down.

It seems that before dealing with Li Yunrui, we must first replace the people in front of us.

Seeing that the situation remained deadlocked, Prime Minister Su Shenzhi, who was sitting at the head of the right chair, stood up.

He bowed to Emperor Qing and then said, "Your Majesty, regardless of whether the matter of the Little Phoenix Girl is true or false, it is a good thing for the court."

"We might as well go with the flow and acknowledge the Little Phoenix's identity. This would not only win over the people, but it would also be of great benefit to the Jiangbei flood relief efforts."

After hearing this, the coldness on Emperor Qing's face lessened somewhat.

He nodded, his tone softening: "Yes, what Prime Minister Su said makes sense."

He thought for a moment and continued, "In that case, issue a decree to bestow the title of Princess Huang upon the unborn child of the Eldest Princess."

Su Shenzhi immediately bowed: "Your Majesty is wise!"

Immediately afterwards, everyone in the Taiji Hall shouted in unison, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Emperor Qing stood up: "Court adjourned."

After saying that, he turned and left the Taiji Hall.

Eunuch Hou hurriedly shouted, "Dismiss the court!"

Then he hurriedly followed behind Emperor Qing, catching up with him in small, quick steps.

The court officials gradually dispersed.

The Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate found Liu Hanjiang, cupped his hands and said, "Lord Liu, it is my fault for not managing my subordinates strictly, which allowed Feng Ming to offend you. I hope you will forgive me."

Liu Hanjiang glanced at him, a smile on her face, but her tone was indifferent.

"Not at all, Censor Feng was just fulfilling his duty as a censor."

As he said this, he seemed to remember something.

"By the way, due to the floods in Jiangbei, the Ministry of Revenue is facing a shortage of funds. The salaries of the Censorate will likely be delayed."

After he finished speaking, he ignored the reaction of the Left Censor-in-Chief and turned to leave the Taiji Hall.

Those who remained around couldn't help but laugh at the Left Censor-in-Chief's ugly expression.

The Left Censor-in-Chief stood there, his face turning pale and then red. His lips moved, but in the end he said nothing and turned away without saying a word.

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