Chapter 43: Audience
When Lu Yi was summoned by the emperor, he thought it had nothing to do with him.
Unexpectedly, after the eunuch who delivered the message gave some special instructions, Luo Qingzhou greeted Lu Yi with a smile on his face and allowed Lu Yi to join the team going to Jiuqu Garden for an audience.
Passing Sijifang and one mile north, there is a long bridge across the canal leading directly to the imperial city.
One more thing to add is that Dayin’s imperial city is divided into three parts.
Directly north of the imperial city is the palace city, which needs no introduction.
The area outside the imperial city is divided into two "super-quality" workshops, "Wu Yin" and "Kun Peng".
To the west is Wuyinfang, where the 'traditional' government offices of the Dayinwu Dynasty, including the General's Mansion, the Palace Guards, the Zongzheng Mansion, the Sikoutai, the Taifu, the Shaofu, the Jinwei Mansion, and the Yuwei Mansion, are all located.
To the east is Kunpengfang, where the Prime Minister's Mansion, the Censorate, the Grand Astronomical Bureau, the Imperial College, the Imperial Academy, and in recent years, with the rise of cultural and educational forces, the six new government offices under the Prime Minister's Mansion are all located.
They walked eastward along the southern wall of the palace city and the moat of the palace city, passed through Wuyinfang and Kunpengfang, and passed by a series of solemn and dignified government offices. At the easternmost end of Kunpengfang, they turned north along the canal bank, and walked quickly along the base of the palace city wall for a while, and arrived at the stone bridge that Bai Changkong and others had passed during the day.
Follow the stone bridge across the canal and you will reach Jiuqu Garden.
Lu Yi followed Luo Qingzhou, riding fast horses all the way, and it took them more than half an hour to get from Sijifang to the entrance of Jiuquyuan.
The horses they rode were special horses borrowed from the Imperial Guards, which were mixed with the blood of exotic beasts.
If it were an ordinary war horse or a folk horse, it would take at least half a day to cross the imperial city from Sijifang to Jiuqufang.
Haojing City is too big!
The market town in Haojing City is too big!
It is worth mentioning that Leshan left the team when passing by the south gate of the palace.
He sent one of his deputies to follow the team, while he himself opened the palace gate and went straight into the palace.
After Le Shan left, Luo Qingzhou snorted softly: "Well, the news from the general is not slow either. It's time to report it to the Queen Mother."
When the group arrived at Jiuqu Garden, the sky in the east was already turning pale.
After dismounting at the main gate archway of Jiuqu Garden, Lu Yi followed the group and wandered around in the extremely magnificent Jiuqu Garden for a long time. By the time they arrived at the door of a large hall by the lake, it was already dawn.
A group of young eunuchs were already waiting here.
When Lu Yi and others arrived, the young eunuchs hurriedly led them into a side hall and urged them to take a bath and change clothes. They made themselves look brand new and sprinkled some scented powder and perfume on themselves. After spending nearly half an hour, they finally led the group of people into a main hall.
The moment he stepped into the hall, Lu Yi's heart beat violently.
This is the emperor's residence.
Being able to step in here, he is clearly a little closer to his goal.
"Oh, you're all here? Thank you for your hard work. You all played a role in pacifying Sijifang last night." Laughter suddenly rang out in the quiet hall.
When Lu Yi looked up, he saw Yu Changle, a girl eight feet tall, eight feet around the waist, with a plump, fair and tender complexion, smiling at him, beside the throne at the innermost part of the hall. She was eight feet tall, eight feet around the waist, and had a plump, fair and tender complexion.
Lu Yu straightened his expression, restrained his gaze, lowered his head slightly and appeared very respectful, only glancing around secretly out of the corner of his eyes.
Then, Lu Yi's full attention was attracted by the emperor sitting on the Nine Dragon Throne.
There is no need to describe the appearance of Emperor Yinyuan. He is the best of the best from a royal bloodline that has been passed down for thousands of years. The appearance and temperament of the emperor are both top-notch in the world.
It’s just that the emperor at this moment is a bit of a disgrace to the royal bloodline.
Yin Yuan, wearing a purple-black Kunhuapeng robe, with long hair and obvious dark bags under his eyes, sat crookedly on the throne. On his fair face, the left side was filled with a strange blush, and he looked very excited.
And the right side of his face...
His Majesty the Emperor of the Dayinwu Dynasty had bruises all over the right side of his face, and there were three clearly visible blood marks, stretching from under his ear to the corner of his mouth.
There was a thin layer of white ointment on his face. Even from a distance, Lu Yi could smell an extremely cool and fragrant medicinal aroma that lingered and penetrated his internal organs, making his internal organs extremely enjoyable.
It can be seen that what was applied on Yinyuan's face should be the top-level secret medicine made by the inner court.
The right side of his face was injured. Judging from the scars, he must have been slapped in the face.
However, who would dare to slap the emperor of the Dayinwu Dynasty, the supreme ruler of billions of people, in the face?
Not only Lu Yu, but also Luo Qingzhou, a chief constable from Sikoutai, and Shui Ying, the head of Fengtiaofang, were all stunned on the spot.
The emperor was beaten!
Who did it?
Luo Qingzhou and the captain of the Sikoutai didn't dare to say a word. They lowered their heads obediently, not daring to look too much or look around.
Shui Ying took a step forward, frowned at the emperor, and shouted, "Your Majesty is the ruler of hundreds of millions of people in Dayin. Your safety is related to the country and destiny of Dayin. May I ask why the emperor has become like this?"
As a disciple of culture and education, Shui Ying possessed confidence and boldness that Luo Qingzhou, a member of the royal inner court, and the "hawks and dogs" of Sikoutai could never have. When he saw something unusual happening to the emperor, he dared to rebuke and question him directly.
Yin Yuan's eyes flickered, and he turned to look at a three-legged auspicious cloud tripod next to the throne.
Yu Changle coughed, pointed at Shui Ying and said softly: "Shui Ying, who gave you the courage to yell here?"
Shui Ying raised her head, stared at Yu Changle fiercely and shouted: "Yu Changle, you are the head of the inner court supervisors . If the emperor is in trouble, you are the culprit. You failed to protect the emperor, and you deserve to die."
Yu Changle's round face suddenly wrinkled.
He looked at the emperor's face with a bit of distress.
If this matter got out of hand and was known by the court officials in the outer court, the emperor would be slapped in the face, which would definitely cause countless cultural and educational officials to criticize him, and Yu Changle would become infamous again!
Seeing Shuiying putting the fire on Yu Changle, Yinyuan coughed heavily.
"Okay, okay, it's nothing serious. I was happy yesterday, so I found a steelback bear to wrestle with. I didn't expect that I had been out with Concubine Qi too many times at night, and my waist and legs were sore. I was not careful and got slapped by the bear's paw."
As he spoke, Yinyuan's spirits grew.
He smiled proudly and said, "But I am not a pushover. The steelback bear just slapped me, but I grabbed its vitals with my slap, broke its strength, threw it to the ground, and then broke its neck."
After laughing a few times, Yin Yuan clapped his hands in satisfaction, "I have had four big, plump bear paws stewed since yesterday afternoon. I will have lunch later. You guys from the Qing family should accompany me to have a good drink and a good meal."
"Tsk tsk, the paw of an eighty-year-old steelback bear is so plump and rich. Tsk tsk, it's indescribably delicious!"
Shuiying was stunned .
Lu Yi and his group were also stunned.
Because he was happy, the emperor found a steelback bear to wrestle with?
Although he was hit by a bear paw, the emperor won the wrestling match. He chopped off the bear paw and prepared to have it as lunch today?
Lu Yi felt something was wrong.
Listen to the emperor, what does it mean to "grasp its vital point with one slap"?
This bear has a vital part that can be grabbed with a slap...
Tsk tsk, it’s terrifying when you think about it.
What did the emperor do to the bear?
Shuiying's face gradually turned red, he trembled all over, and suddenly shouted: "Your Majesty, you are in such a state, it's simply..."
Yin Yuan waved his hand lightly: "As for the incompetent emperor, you don't need to tell me, I know it myself..."
Shuiying's red face quickly turned purple, and he almost vomited blood because of Yinyuan's words.
After laughing twice, Yin Yuan tilted his head and squinted at Shui Ying: "I understand. I shouldn't do this kind of thing. As the emperor, fighting with a bear is a bit... a bit unreasonable."
"But, since we are happy and excited, it's okay to let off some steam once in a while, right?" Yin Yuan smiled brightly.
"Why is the emperor so happy!" Shuiying asked this crucial question with a gloomy face.
"Bai Changkong was so angry that he vomited blood yesterday." Yin Yuan opened his mouth and Yu Changle at the side stretched out his hand, wanting to cover his mouth, but was unable to stop him in time.
Yu Changle stretched out his hand, opened and closed his five fingers a few times, then he smiled dryly and retracted his fat palm.
Shuiying looked at Yinyuan in disbelief.
His expression clearly said - 'I know you are a tyrant, but I didn't expect you to be such a bastard'!
Yin Yuan touched his nose awkwardly and said to Shui Ying with a dry laugh: "Okay, okay, I was just joking. I said that I secretly touched the little palace maid's buttocks yesterday and was discovered by Concubine Qi. She was jealous and slapped me. Do you believe it?"
"You definitely don't believe it, so I won't bother explaining it."
"Well, Shuiying, let's just let this matter go."
"Look, Sijifang caught fire and so many people died. As the commander of Fengdiaofang, you didn't do your job well. You are not a qualified commander of Fengdiaofang. Then, what qualifications do you have to accuse me of not being a qualified emperor?"
Yinyuan put his hands on his belly and asked Shuiying very confidently.
There was a gleam in Lu Yu's eyes, he stared at Yin Yuan with wide eyes, and almost applauded - what a powerful question!
Yin Yuan and Yu Changle looked down from above, their eyes sweeping over the faces of the summoned ministers.
The two of them saw Lu Yi's face full of amazement and admiration, and couldn't help but smile at the same time.
Shuiying's body swayed. He looked at Yinyuan, who had a subtle expression on his face, and knelt on the ground with a thud: "Your Majesty, I am terrified... Your Majesty, I am guilty... Your Majesty..."
Yin Yuan waved his hands hastily: "Don't play the trick of begging for my bones. I don't recognize you... If you want to beg for your bones, I will be the one who has a headache in the end. Your teachers and classmates will have to beat gongs and drums at the gate of Jiuqu Garden and bang their heads against the archway. Why bother?"
"As a minister, you receive salary from me every month. You should be soft-hearted. Please don't make things difficult for me, the emperor."
"Let's get down to business. What happened last night? Are all those bastards from Sijifang dead?"
