Chapter 265 People's Petition
After thinking for a long time, the prince said:
"Xi'er is not in the court, so I don't know how deep the water is in the court. Things are far from as simple as you think. Not to mention that there is no sufficient reason, the emperor will not easily re-examine the case decided by the empress dowager. Just to say that the prince of Yan is cruel and ruthless. In order to seize the throne, he can disregard the people of the world. How can he care about your life? Now the whole city is full of notices to arrest you. If you go, it is equivalent to falling into the net. This case is under the jurisdiction of the prince of Yan. I can't intervene without authorization. Once you fall into the hands of the prince of Yan, I am afraid that you will be skinned before you go to the court and forced to write a confession...Xi'er, your life is not yours alone. There are tens of thousands of people in the south waiting for you to save. I will never let you make any mistakes. These days, you can hide here with Li Du and Ouyang Di. I will take care of you outside."
What the prince didn't say was that once the case was brought to court, he would have given false testimony, which would also be a crime of deceiving the emperor, and would be tantamount to leaving a fatal handle for the Prince of Yan. In order to treat the plague, Mengxi would have to meet with the doctors of the Imperial Hospital and the officials in the south. Sooner or later, the emperor would know about this. By then, with the Prince of Yan and the Queen Mother trying to sow discord, even if the emperor wanted to protect him, how could he stop Youyou from speaking out?
Seeing Mengxi's gloomy face, Li Zan followed up and advised:
"Don't be discouraged, Miss Li. There are other solutions..."
"Is there any other solution?"
"There are two other ways to get His Majesty to revoke the imperial decree and send the case back to the Ministry of Justice for retrial, but both are difficult."
"Which two methods? No matter how difficult it is, I will try it!"
Seeing Mengxi like this, the prince looked gloomy, lowered his head and said nothing, only listening to Li Zan saying:
"One is to file a complaint with the Emperor, that is, to beat the drum in front of the Meridian Gate. However, our dynasty stipulates that anyone who beats the drum to file a complaint with the Emperor must first roll on a nail board, be beaten with the board, and then be questioned by the eunuchs. Only if they pass the test can they see the Emperor. Generally speaking, if someone is still alive after rolling on the nail board and being beaten with the board, he or she will have already lost half his life. If the eunuchs are careless during the interrogation, they will catch him or her for 'disturbing the Emperor' or 'making wild remarks', and he or she will still die. In short, this method can be said to be a life-or-death struggle. Unless there is a great injustice, it is better not to take this path."
"What about the other one?"
"The other is a petition by the people. If we can mobilize the people and alarm the emperor, the case will be sent back for retrial . But it is difficult to mobilize in a hurry. If the scale is too small, the King of Yan will regard it as a refugee riot and suppress it forcefully. It will be in vain if it fails to alarm the emperor. It seems simple, but it is actually difficult to climb to the sky."
After thinking for a long time, Mengxi said decisively:
"Okay, let's mobilize the people of Pingyang tonight and launch a petition!"
"Second sister, I'm afraid we may not make it in time."
"Brother, we can't just sit there and wait for death. If we don't try, how can we know that we won't succeed? In the next two days, please go to the prison to make arrangements. Before this case is sent back for retrial, we must save the lives of the Second Master and everyone in Yichun Hall."
"Second sister, although Yichuntang has some prestige among the people, it will take at least ten days or half a month to connect with all the people. I'm afraid that by then..."
"Brother, we won't go door to door to organize the movement, we will hand out flyers!"
“Flyers!”
The prince repeated it in confusion, and everyone in the hall looked at Mengxi.
Oh my god, why are you using modern language? Mengxi slapped his forehead, coughed, and said nonchalantly:
"Oh, just like the government notices, we also wrote them and sent people to post them in the streets and alleys at night, and scattered them in the courtyards of the people. When the people see them, they will definitely tell each other. Maybe within a day, they will be mobilized."
The eyes of the Crown Prince and Li Zan lit up, and the Crown Prince said:
"It's a good idea, but how can I write it so that the people will be moved and spontaneously take to the streets?"
"This requires the help of Master Li's magic pen. Master Li's writing is unparalleled in the world. According to my little sister's idea, we should write like this: the plague in the south can only be cured by the God of Medicine. In this time of national crisis, closing down Yichun Hall and executing the God of Medicine is really disregarding the lives of the people of the world. Once the God of Medicine dies, the spread of the plague will make the funeral bells of Da Qi ring, and corpses will be everywhere... I would like to ask Your Majesty to revoke the imperial decree and seek justice for the God of Medicine. This is just a general idea, and Master Li still needs to consider the wording."
Is it too much to boast? Will the people believe it? But in order to save Xiao Jun, it seems that she has to boast. After Mengxi finished speaking, her face was slightly hot. She looked at the prince and Li Zan unnaturally, afraid that they would say that she was bragging about herself.
Seeing that the prince remained silent for a long time, Meng Xi felt a thin layer of sweat seeping out of his forehead. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the prince suddenly say:
"Okay, let's follow Xi'er's advice. Li Zan, draft the article immediately. After it's finished, mobilize people to copy it immediately. The more the better. Post it overnight..."
After the prince finished speaking, Mengxi continued:
"Brother, Yichuntang has been closed down. I'm afraid the trip south will have to be postponed, but the plague in the south cannot be delayed. Brother, why don't you let the organized doctors and physicians go south first."
"Xi'er is right. I will arrange it right away. I was ordered to go south to look for you. Now that there is an imperial decree saying that you are in Pingyang, my father will also postpone this matter. He must first confirm whether you are in Pingyang or in the south."
After the prince finished speaking, Mengxi murmured:
"Brother, what if the people's petition we organized fails?"
Seeing that the prince remained silent, Mengxi gritted his teeth and said:
"Brother is right. I must not surrender myself to the King of Yan. I beg you to make some arrangements. If the people's petition fails, you can arrange for me to meet the King directly and appeal for the Second Master..."
A trace of melancholy flashed in the prince's eyes. He hesitated for a moment and said:
"No, I have a high reputation among the people. There are strange phenomena in the sky and plague is rampant. The people are already in a panic. At this time, the call made in the name of the God of Medicine will surely be responded to by everyone!"
After the prince finished speaking, he saw Mengxi just looking at him without saying anything. He hesitated for a moment and said:
"Xi'er, don't worry. If the petition fails, I will definitely find a way to arrange for you to go to court with the King of Yan through my father. The Xiao family has helped me a lot in the past two years, and I will not sit idly by."
Seeing that the prince had promised, Meng Xi nodded and said:
"Thank you for your help, big brother. I am very grateful."
Several people discussed the details one by one, and the prince simply used Canghai Cottage as his temporary office. Handwritten edicts with the prince's seal were passed out from Canghai Cottage. Mengxi, Li Du and Ouyang Di were not idle either. The instructions of the God of Medicine were also sent to the various branches of Yichuntang. It was not until almost noon that the prince got up to say goodbye and went into the palace to check his father's attitude.
…
Coming out of the Cining Palace, Emperor Jin frowned and waved his hand to send away the sedan chair, leaving only a personal eunuch to follow. The Cining Palace made him feel suffocated, so he wanted to walk around on his own.
The Empress Dowager and the Prince of Yan actually bypassed him, the monarch, and at this critical moment of employing people, based solely on the confession of a maidservant in the Xiao Mansion, they determined that Yao Shen was guilty of deceiving the monarch and directly issued an imperial decree. At lightning speed, the Xiao family was raided and the Yichun Hall was sealed. It was simply absurd!
After the morning court, when he heard about this, he hurried to the Cining Palace without thinking about it carefully. He waited until the empress dowager woke up with great difficulty. He wanted to reason with her and make her understand that the current situation in Da Qi was plagued by natural disasters, man-made calamities, and plagues, and it was a time when people were needed, especially the God of Medicine. Even if he had committed a heinous crime, he could not be killed at this time. He wanted to persuade the empress dowager to issue another decree to pardon the God of Medicine for the crime of deceiving the emperor and let him make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence.
But upon hearing this, the Queen Mother flew into a rage, and kept asking Emperor Jin whether he hoped that she, the Queen Mother, would die soon. Anything else would be fine, but the God of Medicine had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor by not treating her, the Queen Mother, and the Emperor even wanted to exempt her...
Because she was too excited, the Queen Mother fainted before she finished speaking, which gave Emperor Jin a headache. He could issue an order to revoke the imperial decree, but if there was no proof that the imperial decree was wrong, how would the people of the world see it? He could also discuss the matter in court, but the imperial decree had already been issued, and all those involved in the case would be executed the day after tomorrow. He was afraid that he didn't have time...
Unconsciously, he arrived in front of a palace gate. He looked up and saw the three words "Yonghe Palace". He was startled, frowned, turned around and walked back. Just after taking two steps, he saw Concubine Jing running out with a palace maid. She hurriedly walked a few steps and shouted:
"Long live!"
Emperor Jin's body froze and he stopped unconsciously. He stood there without looking back. At this moment, he did not want to see Concubine Jing.
Concubine Jing took a few quick steps, fell to her knees and said:
"I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and spare the Xiao family!"
Seeing his beloved concubine in tears, Emperor Jin's heart tightened and he said:
"Although I am the Son of Heaven, I cannot overturn my mother's order without reason. The inner palace is not allowed to interfere in the government. My beloved concubine, please do not mention this matter again!"
After Emperor Jin finished speaking, he was about to leave, but Concubine Jing knelt down and crawled half a step, hugged Emperor Jin's legs and begged:
"Your Majesty, thunder and rain are all grace from heaven. All the elders and children of my mother's family have been convicted in an instant. It is not a pity to die. I only ask Your Majesty to be wise. If Your Majesty kills the God of Medicine, Your Majesty's kingdom may not be safe..."
When Concubine Jing said this, she saw two cold rays of light in Emperor Jin's eyes. She was so scared that she swallowed the rest of her words and looked at Emperor Jin.
Seeing that Emperor Jin was about to take another step, she became anxious. Thinking that her entire Xiao family had been convicted, if she didn't fight to the death and speak out today, she was afraid that she would not live long. She gritted her teeth and said:
"Your Majesty once told me that Master Jingyun predicted that the plague in the south could be cured by the Medicine God. It's hard to tell whether the rumor that the Medicine God is the second wife of the Xiao family is true or not. If Your Majesty really killed the Medicine God's disciples and hunted the whole world for the Medicine God, even if the Medicine God has the heart to save the world and pity people, he would not dare to cure the plague. I heard that the villages in the south infected with the plague have already been empty, with corpses everywhere and people in panic. In just a dozen days, it has spread to most of the province. If the court can't come up with a solution, I'm afraid... Your Majesty, I'm risking my life to make a suggestion. Which is more important, the life of the Queen Mother or Your Majesty's country and the tens of thousands of people of Da Qi? Please judge for me."
"My beloved concubine, please get up first. I understand."
Seeing that His Majesty's tone had softened, she knew that His Majesty had listened to her. Concubine Jing also knew that everything should be done in moderation, so she hurriedly thanked him, stood up and stood aside. Just as she was about to invite His Majesty to Yonghe Palace, she saw a young eunuch hurried over, kowtowed and said:
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has come to the palace to request an audience."
"Tell the prince to go to the imperial study."
After looking at Concubine Jing, Emperor Jin turned and walked towards the imperial study. Concubine Jing was about to say hello, but Emperor Jin suddenly stopped, turned around and said:
"The Queen Mother's decree has been announced to the world. Although I am the Son of Heaven, I am also a son of man. I cannot overturn the Queen Mother's decree without reason. However, if someone files a complaint, or if the people petition for the God of Medicine, I can instruct the Ministry of Justice to review the case!"
After Emperor Jin finished speaking, he turned and left. Concubine Jing's eyes lit up and she quickly said:
"I thank your Majesty for your help. I respectfully bid you farewell!"
