Volume 2: The Capital, I’m Back Chapter 78: The grudge cannot wait till the next day
"Your Majesty, why did you get up so early today? Why don't you sleep in a little?"
Queen Qian was very surprised. What happened to the emperor? Why did he get up before dawn?
Zhu Qizhen rubbed his sleepy eyes and said, "I have something to do today. I have to go to court in person."
Queen Qian hurriedly stood up and helped Zhu Qizhen put on his clothes, while casually asking, "What is so important?"
"It's hard to explain right now, but it's very important!"
Zhu Qizhen didn't know what to say, because he only saw the earthquake clouds and was not sure whether an earthquake would really occur next.
As a modern man, he originally believed that the so-called observation of celestial phenomena was a scam, but what Beilin said gave him a new perspective.
The ancients had limited technological capabilities, no satellites, no weather forecasts, and could only rely on the most primitive and simple scientific methods, which later generations called observation methods.
A tall building is built from the ground up. Without the large amount of observation data from the ancients as a foundation, modern science would not have been born.
There must be some unusual manifestations before an earthquake, but most people don't notice them.
Outside the window, the sky was beginning to turn pale. Zhu Qizhen looked up towards the northwest. He didn't know when the wavy clouds had turned radial. Although the shape had changed, it was still very regular. This orderly arrangement must be related to some natural phenomenon. It could be a change in the magnetic field caused by crustal activity, or the release of energy waves. In short, it was very unusual.
He became even more certain that what Beilin said was correct.
In this day and age, natural disasters such as earthquakes are deadly to the people and are almost impossible to prevent.
The seismometer invented by Zhang Heng during the Eastern Han Dynasty is said to be able to measure the direction and magnitude of an earthquake, but it is only a post-earthquake measurement and is far from pre-earthquake warning.
If the warning can be effective this time and the losses can be minimized, it can be recorded in history books as a miracle.
Empress Qian looked a little hesitant, and she hesitated to speak again and again. When she saw Zhu Qizhen preparing to leave, she mustered up the courage to say, "Your Majesty, Concubine Zhou..."
Zhu Qizhen turned around and asked, "What's wrong with her?"
" She hasn't eaten for two days and only drank some rice soup. She has lost a lot of weight and looks very haggard..."
The case of Shanxi merchants colluding with the enemy implicated many people, and Concubine Zhou's younger brother Zhou Shou was also involved. Fortunately, his involvement was not very high. The final punishment was that Concubine Zhou's father Zhou Neng was stripped of his title of Earl of Qingyun, all of Zhou's family property was confiscated, and from then on, he was demoted to a commoner.
For this reason, Concubine Zhou came to plead for mercy many times, but Zhu Qizhen avoided her every time.
In his opinion, this case is of great importance and anyone found guilty must be dealt with severely. If someone around him takes the lead in breaking the rules, he must be severely punished to serve as a warning to others.
"You are the master of the harem, you take care of the harem's affairs!"
"Your Majesty!" Queen Qian said in embarrassment, "After all, Concubine Zhou is the prince's biological mother. Can you please..."
"I have already made it clear that I want her to cut off all contact with the outside world because I don't want her to be involved. If she insists on getting involved, she will be punished together with Lord Qingyun!"
After saying this, Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and pushed the door open and left.
Huai En had been waiting outside the door since early morning. He hadn't slept the whole night, his eyes were red, and he kept yawning.
"Your Majesty, the memorials you requested have been found. I wonder..."
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said, "Take them all to the Imperial Study. I will use them later."
"yes!"
At this time, fighting had already broken out in the Fengtian Hall.
Li Shimian first quarreled with Beilin for a few words, and then found that he could not win the argument, so he began to talk about other things, and his words were full of sarcasm and ridicule.
Beilin was a person with a hot temper, so she could not stand such anger. She pointed at Li Shimian's nose and started to curse . Li Shimian wanted to fight back, but he was afraid of losing face in front of the ministers, so he snorted and said, "You are not worthy of being my advisor!"
Generally speaking, when things get to this point, it's tantamount to announcing that the feud between the two people is complete, and it also means the end of this conversation, and they will never have any contact with each other again.
But Beilin was different. She couldn't wait until the next day to have a grudge, so she cursed him right away: "Fuck your mother!"
Li Shimen's old face was so black that ink seemed to ooze out. In anger, he raised his hand and slapped him.
Beilin had been so angry these days that she had no place to vent it, so she rushed towards him, pushed him to the ground, and then turned over and rode on him.
This series of actions dumbfounded the ministers, and Zhu Qiyu was also shocked.
Li Shimen was already 75 years old. If he was beaten to death on the spot, what would happen...
I just heard someone shouting, "Hurry up, someone's been beaten to death!"
Two big Han generals came hurriedly and separated the two men under the command of Yuan Bin.
Li Shimian's hair was a mess, his eyes were red, and he shouted like crazy: "Catch this arrogant guy who has no respect for his superiors!"
Beilin was not to be outdone, she jumped up and down and shouted, "God damn it! God damn it!"
"You, you..." Li Shimian was shaking with anger, pointing at Beilin and saying, "Take him down, take him down!"
Seeing that Li Shimen was so angry, some people immediately stood up and asked Yuan Bin to arrest the man.
Unexpectedly, Yuan Bin said with a straight face: "Belin's coming to the palace is the emperor's order. If you have anything to say, please tell the emperor later!"
Then, the hall suddenly became quiet.
Everyone began to whisper, what did Yuan Bin mean by this, was it the Emperor's will?
Suddenly, a loud voice came from outside the palace: "The Emperor has arrived!"
After hearing this shout, everyone had no time to react. They immediately bowed down and shouted "Long live the emperor".
Zhu Qizhen, wearing a royal robe, walked into the Fengtian Hall, glanced around, and then sat on the dragon throne.
"Everyone, please stand up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Zhu Qizhen looked at Li Shimian and said puzzledly: "Li Qing's hairstyle today... is very strange!"
"Your Majesty, please make the decision for this old minister!"
Li Shimen immediately fell to the ground and burst into tears.
Seeing the miserable state of the old man crying and snotting, Zhu Qizhen felt a little bit unbearable. Then he looked at Beilin who was standing beside him and thought, I asked you to come to the palace to report on things, not to beat anyone!
"What is it?"
"This man spread rumors and misled the people in the Imperial Observatory, and was dismissed by me. Unexpectedly, he not only did not repent, but became even worse and came to the main hall to cause trouble. I wanted to scold him, but he...he..."
At this point, Li Shimen was already in tears. He was a Jinshi in the second year of Yongle, and assisted four emperors. Everyone who saw him would politely call him Li Gong. But today, he was pulled by a fool's hair beard, and even rode on him...
A lifetime of fame, but no integrity in old age!
On the other side, Beilin was already dumbfounded.
Isn’t this Ming Emperor in front of me the...Brother Song whom I met yesterday?
Oh my god, what did I do last night?
Did I drink with someone?
I...what did I say...
