When Emperor Jingming called him out, Yu Jin looked bewildered. “Your son does not know.”
“You don’t know?” Emperor Jingming’s anger grew. He pointed at the several officials who had stepped forward. “Did you not hear what they just said?”
Yu Jin lowered his gaze and said calmly, “Your son heard.”
His calmness further ignited the passion of the already agitated officials.
Too arrogant, simply too arrogant. Prince Yan was relying on his status as a prince and not taking them seriously at all.
So what if he was a prince? Even if the Emperor himself wanted to leave the palace, they would still criticize him.
Emperor Jingming sensed the officials’ burning anger. To avoid the inauspicious event of officials hitting the pillars in protest, he hurriedly appeased them, “Gentlemen, please calm down.”
Then he shouted at Yu Jin, “Since you heard, why are you pretending to be confused!”
This damned boy, loving one’s wife is good, but there’s no need to indulge her like this. Couldn’t he be a bit more low-key?
The more Emperor Jingming thought about it, the angrier he became.
Back in the day, he and the Empress, who was then just a prince’s consort, were also affectionate as husband and wife, but they had to be cautious in front of others to avoid offending anyone. This boy was too unrestrained. It was time to teach him a lesson using this opportunity.
Having made up his mind to discipline his son, Emperor Jingming’s expression became even more severe.
“Father Emperor, your son still doesn’t know what wrong he has committed. The officials say that the Duchess not going to pay respects at the Yining Marquis’s mansion is disrespectful and damages the royal family’s reputation. But it’s not that the Duchess didn’t want to go, it’s that she couldn’t go.”
“Couldn’t go?” Emperor Jingming retorted irritably.
Yu Jin nodded, “Yes, the Duchess was unwell and couldn’t go.”
This statement provoked another round of angry outbursts from several officials.
One of them directly questioned, “May I ask what illness the Duchess of Yan is suffering from? According to this humble official’s understanding, a few days before the passing of the First Madam of the Yining Marquis’s mansion, the Duchess of Yan went with her siblings to visit the Old Madam of the Yining Marquis.”
Yu Jin raised his eyebrows, showing a hint of sharpness, “Is the official doubting that this prince is lying?”
“I wouldn’t dare,” the official replied, neither servile nor overbearing, in front of Emperor Jingming.
Emperor Jingming found this quite irritating.
These old fools with nothing better to do, why are they only focusing on the royal family’s private matters? Why is no one mentioning the farmstead in the south that collapsed due to heavy rain?
Looking at his seventh son, who showed no sign of remorse, Emperor Jingming became even angrier.
Couldn’t this boy be more restrained when others have caught him out? They’re all just giving him trouble!
Yu Jin looked quite aggrieved, “Father Emperor, your son is not lying. The Duchess was truly unwell and unable to go pay respects. The Chief Steward of our mansion immediately sent a reply to the Yining Marquis’s mansion. The Marquis’s family didn’t say anything, so why are others meddling?”
Meddling?
Several officials exploded upon hearing this. The one who had questioned earlier became even more excited and directly confronted Yu Jin.
The old Chief Steward of the Yan Prince’s mansion, kneeling to one side, nearly burst into tears.
If he had known it would come to this, why did he bother? He knew there would be a day when Prince Yan would be besieged by officials.
Now his old face had lost all dignity in front of his colleagues.
His old face might not be worth much, but to be demoted or dismissed over such a trivial matter would be a lifelong shame.
The more the old Chief Steward thought about it, the more desperate he felt. Staring at the most agitated official’s opening and closing mouth, a thought suddenly occurred to him: If he jumped up and stuffed his handkerchief into this fellow’s mouth, would that bring some peace?
Reason prevented the old Chief Steward from acting rashly.
Yu Jin listened expressionlessly. When the officials quieted down, he calmly said, “The Duchess was unwell and indeed couldn’t go to the Yining Marquis’s mansion to pay respects. If the officials don’t believe this prince’s words, there’s nothing I can do.”
He looked at Emperor Jingming with an aggrieved expression, “I ask Father Emperor to believe his son.”
Emperor Jingming silently looked up at the ceiling.
He didn’t believe it either…
The lead official then said, “Since Prince Yan insists, why doesn’t Your Majesty send an imperial physician to examine the Duchess—”
“No!” Yu Jin blurted out.
Everyone immediately looked at him with varying expressions.
It seemed Prince Yan’s claim about the Duchess being unwell was indeed an excuse. Now he was about to incriminate himself.
Emperor Jingming’s gaze fixed sternly on Yu Jin.
“Seventh Brother, since the Duchess is unwell, why not let the imperial physician take a look? It would ease Father Emperor’s worries,” the Crown Prince advised with ill intent.
It had become a custom in recent years for other princes to be present when a prince was being impeached.
In Emperor Jingming’s words, this was a “lesson to be learned,” a good opportunity to warn the princes.
Yu Jin glanced at the Crown Prince and said coolly, “Thank you, Second Brother, for your concern.”
The Crown Prince wanted to say more, but after receiving a meaningful look from Yang Deguang, the Minister of Rites, he had to hold his tongue.
Yu Jin solemnly kowtowed to Emperor Jingming, “A good doctor has already examined the Duchess, so there’s no need to trouble the imperial physician…”
Seeing the pleading look in Yu Jin’s eyes, Emperor Jingming’s heart softened a bit.
Could it be that Seventh Son’s wife had some unspeakable ailment?
If so, Seventh Son’s resistance was somewhat understandable.
Hearing Yu Jin’s words, the officials became even more certain that he was guilty and insisted on sending an imperial physician.
Yu Jin suddenly became angry, “Are the officials so idle that they keep harping on this prince’s household matters? This prince is merely idle, and the Duchess is content following me. Whether the Duchess goes to pay respects to her aunt or not is originally just a matter between us as husband and wife. This prince really can’t see how it affects state affairs to warrant such indignation from all of you.”
Damn it, they say a prince who doesn’t act like a playboy isn’t good. When others with good reputations make the Crown Prince uneasy and even the Emperor himself uncomfortable, why are the expectations for him so high?
Yu Jin’s retort silenced the hall.
Emperor Jingming slammed the armrest of his dragon throne, “You insolent fool, shut your mouth!”
How dare he speak such blunt truths on such a solemn occasion.
“The Prince is a son of the Emperor. His every move reflects on the face of the royal family. Naturally, this can’t be considered just the Prince’s private matter,” the lead official retorted after the initial shock.
Yu Jin smiled, “I didn’t realize this prince was so important as to represent the entire royal family…”
Several officials were stunned as if seeing Prince Yan in a new light.
To think someone would dare to argue with officials based on reason in the great hall.
It was known that officials in Da Zhou had the right to present memorials based on hearsay, meaning they could impeach someone without solid evidence. What if the impeachment was wrong?
Well, if it’s wrong, it’s wrong.
It was precisely because such power had been granted to officials since the founding of the dynasty that so many officials had successively and fearlessly remonstrated when emperors erred.
The official’s words have been spoken, what regrets should the official have in death?
This was the integrity of the officials, and also what the emperors were pleased to see.
Therefore, the officials’ impudence wasn’t real impudence, and the emperor’s tolerance wasn’t weakness or incompetence.
A wise ruler couldn’t guarantee that his descendants wouldn’t make mistakes, or even that he wouldn’t make mistakes. The officials’ remonstrations were a kind of constraint on imperial power, fundamentally maintaining the stability of the empire.
Even the Emperor would tolerate the officials, yet Prince Yan dared to confront them directly instead of quietly accepting the criticism.
Prince Yan would have no easy days ahead.
Seeing this, Emperor Jingming felt a splitting headache and said, “Then let the imperial physician go and take a look.”