Chapter 256: Detained After Court
Who was it that married the burly, tall, and sturdy sister? It was the man before him.
Almost immediately, the Emperor thought of this piece of gossip.
He managed a myriad of affairs daily and came into contact with too many things.
There were very few things he could actually remember.
Moreover, as he grew older, he had become entirely self-indulgent.
His life as Emperor only truly began after the tenth year.
For the first ten years, he had been conscientious, solidifying his position, matching wits with the officials in the Imperial Court, organizing the external environment, and stabilizing internal unity.
He had kept the common people of the world in his heart.
After the tenth year, everything changed.
It was as if he had a sudden epiphany one day.
He was the Emperor, so why should he be conscientious every day?
If he wanted to eat something good, he would be impeached by a minister.
If he wanted to sleep with a woman, the ministers would submit memorials to admonish him.
They were getting too full of themselves.
The Emperor began his life of debauchery, constantly lowering his bottom line.
Furthermore, he discovered that no one could truly manage him.
He lived according to his own whims.
The five years from the tenth to the fifteenth year were the years of the Emperor’s fastest degradation.
They were also the five years with the most deaths in the Chu Kingdom and the years of greatest turmoil.
Only after nearly causing his own death once did he restrain himself slightly.
After the fifteenth year, he began his life of preserving health and became much steadier.
Of course, he had done all the things a foolish ruler would do during those five years, and perhaps even more absurd things.
Fortunately, the throne had not changed hands.
After embarking on the path of preserving health, he was not as absurd as before, but once a person has lived a life of debauchery and become lax, it is actually difficult to reign it back in most of the time.
In any case, he developed various hobbies.
Apart from state affairs, he was interested in everything else.
Of course, in reality, his suspicious nature had grown heavier.
Ever since he almost died that time, he was highly suspicious of everyone.
However, as long as it was someone he did not suspect, he would be very generous.
At this moment, seeing that among the heads below, there was actually one that was so outstanding and so special, the Emperor, who had wanted to yawn, swallowed his yawn.
He took a few more careful looks at that head.
The eunuch beside him had already considerately presented the information regarding that head to him.
The Emperor had to see so many officials that he certainly could not remember everyone’s name and information.
The eunuch would always considerately have it prepared.
He was even more professional than a professional secretary.
The Emperor opened the introduction page and saw a familiar name: Jiang Changtian, the youngest son of the former Grand Tutor Jiang Bai.
His mother had accused him of being unfilial and lacking brotherly love, and he had been expelled from the family.
He had rebelled and then been granted amnesty.
He served as the Official Rank in Jingzhou.
He was talented, and the public security in Jingzhou was outstanding.
After three years in office, serious crimes had greatly decreased.
The people lived in peace and contentment, and he dealt with the Earthquake and natural disasters quickly and efficiently, with quite effective results, avoiding losses for the people.
The point criticized by his colleagues was that he loved to accumulate wealth.
He would use the birthdays of his younger family members, wife, and daughter to accumulate wealth.
He would celebrate everyone’s birthday in the family every year, and even his son-in-law’s birthday would be celebrated grandly to collect gifts.
Seeing this, the Emperor could not help but want to laugh.
No wonder he was standing with Meng Qingshe.
He was Meng Qingshe’s in-law.
Meng Qingshe never liked to stand in the front when attending court, but the last few times he had squeezed to the front, it was to tell everyone about his two big, chubby grandsons.
Even the eunuch had been pulled aside by him to be educated on the topic twice.
It was quite cruel.
Seeing this man, the Emperor also thought of the previous piece of gossip.
It was rumored that Meng Shaoxia had been attracted to a woman with beauty comparable to Daji, falling in love at first sight, ignoring everything else, staying behind, not even returning home, and insisting on marrying that woman.
If that woman was this man’s daughter, then the gossip might be true.
If a man could be this beautiful, then if it were a woman, wouldn’t she be as beautiful as a celestial being?
The Emperor’s thoughts drifted quite far; he couldn’t remember a single thing about state affairs, but he could recall gossip as soon as it was mentioned.
He must have been pulled up here by Meng Qingshe.
According to his rank, it was impossible for him to stand in the front.
This trip to the capital was for the reallocation of official positions.
The Emperor cleared his throat and said, “Minister Meng, do you have something to report today?”
Meng Qingshe was suddenly called upon and was startled.
He knew it; it was best not to stand in the front, as it was easy to be called upon if one stood there.
“Nothing, nothing. It’s just that my in-law, Lord Jiang, is new here and has never seen the Emperor’s holy countenance, so I pulled him to the front to see the world,” Meng Qingshe said in a loud, resonant voice.
The others:…
Jiang Changtian:… with a look of obedience.
The Emperor: “… Oh!”
He looked legitimately at the young official beside Meng Qingshe.
Although his face was stunningly beautiful, he seemed unaware of it, looking somewhat inferior and nervous.
Jiang Changtian knelt down in a fluster: “Long live, long live, long live my Emperor. Do not blame General Meng; it is because this humble official came from the countryside and has never seen the holy countenance. I wanted to get closer to the Emperor, hoping to see the Emperor’s dragon countenance, so that I could go back and show off to my wife and children. That is why I asked General Meng to bring me to the front.”
The Emperor laughed heartily upon hearing this.
He laughed until tears squeezed out.
It had been a long time since he had encountered such a funny thing.
Someone squeezed to the front, not to impeach anyone, nor to leave his name in history, but actually just to see what he looked like so he could go back and show off to my wife and children.
What an unambitious official.
But the Emperor remembered him.
His wife must be the sister from the same village that Wen Xin said he admired.
Losing to such a man was not a grievance.
Not only was he good-looking, but he was also always thinking of his wife and children.
“Rise, both of you,” the Emperor said with a smile.
Just a moment ago, he had driven away a Prime Minister, made the First Prince reflect in confinement, and silenced the court officials; yet at this moment, he was amiable and kind, speaking affectionately to an official from the countryside.
The officials did not know what was going on.
But with the example of Prime Minister Wang before them, everyone dared not speak or ask.
They just listened to the Emperor amiably answering that official.
They did not know where this greenhorn had come from, but his speech was shockingly straightforward.
He was exactly like Meng Qingshe.
Meng Qingshe had a good father, but what did he have?
When court was dismissed, everyone watched him turn around.
Damn.
He had a face.
This face was cheating.
When attending court in the morning, everyone had their own thoughts and did not bother to look at what others looked like.
After court, when everyone was curious about what he looked like, they looked again.
It was a face gifted by heaven.
All the officials felt a sense of unfair fate and bad luck.
They studied hard and took the civil service exams, only to find that in the end, it was no match for a face.
Everyone else was walking out.
The eunuch actually stopped Meng Qingshe and that official from the countryside.
“Lord Meng, Lord Jiang, please stay behind.”
Meng Qingshe looked depressed.
He knew it; there was no good in standing too far in the front, and he was anxious to go home to see his grandsons.
Those two grandsons of his were so much fun; they had smiled at him yesterday, for a long time.
As a result, he was now being detained, left in the Imperial Court while everyone else had left.
“In-law, don’t be afraid. Follow me, it’s fine. The Emperor isn’t fierce; at most, he’s a bit long-winded,” Meng Qingshe said, worried that his in-law was nervous.
The eunuch:… I don’t have a penis, but I’m not deaf.
Jiang Changtian nodded obediently, smiling even more harmlessly.
He followed the eunuch forward.
The palace walls were magnificent, and the sun was bright.
The morning sun shone on the big trees, and their shadows were reflected on the red walls.
It was an excellent day.
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