Pan Hai entered and announced, “Your Majesty, the Minister of Justice requests an audience.”
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jingming immediately felt relieved.
A visit from the Minister of Justice usually didn’t indicate major problems. At least it meant his good-for-nothing sons weren’t involved with the Ministry of Justice, and there were no issues with the Ministry of Revenue or Ministry of Works demanding money.
During today’s court session, the ministers from the Ministry of Works and Ministry of Revenue had nearly come to blows over financial matters.
Recalling that scene made Emperor Jingming’s head throb. Being an emperor wasn’t easy.
“Summon Minister Gao,” Emperor Jingming calmly ordered.
His eyelid twitched, surely a sign of impending trouble, but he felt it wouldn’t be too serious.
Autumn was approaching, and as customary, it was time for another round of executions. However, the Great Zhou Dynasty had always been cautious about capital punishment, with the final decision requiring the emperor’s approval.
Perhaps they had encountered a difficult case and were unsure how to proceed.
As Emperor Jingming pondered this, the Minister of Justice entered.
“Minister Gao, what brings you to the palace at this hour?” Emperor Jingming asked leisurely.
The Minister of Justice bowed deeply and said, “Your Majesty, I have committed a grave error!”
Emperor Jingming sat up straight and reassured him, “Minister Gao, please speak freely.”
Who was he trying to frighten by immediately claiming to have committed an error?
The Minister of Justice glanced at Emperor Jingming, noticing that the emperor seemed relatively calm, and relaxed slightly. Of course, he didn’t dare show any relaxation on his face.
“Today at the Treasure Pavilion, a scandalous act drew a crowd of onlookers. In the ensuing chaos, many people fell down the stairs, resulting in a severe stampede. Three people died, and over a dozen were injured…”
Emperor Jingming’s face showed a hint of anger. “How could such a thing happen? Where are the two culprits, and how have they been dealt with?”
Regardless of how open-minded society might be, illicit affairs have always been unavoidable throughout history. However, incidents where such affairs led to multiple casualties were extremely rare.
Moreover, were those two people out of their minds to engage in such behavior at the Treasure Pavilion?
Although he had never been there, judging by its name, it must be a shop selling precious items.
Were they deliberately trying to get caught?
The Minister of Justice remained silent.
“Minister Gao, why don’t you answer?” The minister’s silence suddenly gave Emperor Jingming an ominous feeling.
The Minister of Justice took a deep breath and reluctantly continued, “Your Majesty, the two individuals involved in the scandalous act at the Treasure Pavilion were… the Crown Prince and his eunuch attendant…”
Emperor Jingming’s mind went blank, and he knocked over the teacup beside him.
The cup fell onto the polished golden brick floor, shattering into pieces.
“Minister Gao, repeat that. What are the identities of those two individuals?”
The Minister of Justice looked at Emperor Jingming intently before lowering his head.
The emperor truly loved to deceive himself. Did this need to be repeated?
However, the emperor’s orders couldn’t be disobeyed. The Minister of Justice sighed inwardly and began to speak, “It was the Crown Prince and—”
“Enough!” Emperor Jingming shouted, closing his eyes and falling silent.
He feared that if he spoke again, he might order the Crown Prince’s execution on the spot.
A suffocating silence filled the imperial study.
The Minister of Justice, no longer young, felt as if his old bones couldn’t endure much more.
Having such an heir apparent made being a minister difficult.
However—glancing at Emperor Jingming’s ashen face and silence—the Minister of Justice felt he could endure a bit longer.
Tsk, tsk. Having such a son and heir made things even more difficult for the emperor.
After what seemed like an eternity, Emperor Jingming finally spoke, “Where is the Crown Prince?”
“The Crown Prince… should have returned to the palace by now,” the Minister of Justice replied uncertainly.
Emperor Jingming immediately ordered Pan Hai, “Tell the Crown Prince to get over here immediately!”
The Crown Prince had slipped back to the Eastern Palace, sighing in relief.
He had managed to return safely despite the close call.
After just a few sips of tea, an attendant came to inform him that the emperor had summoned him.
The Crown Prince went to the imperial study with trepidation. Upon seeing Emperor Jingming’s slightly gloomy expression, his legs weakened.
“Son greets Father Emperor. May I ask why Father Emperor has summoned me?”
“Where did you go today?”
The Crown Prince’s heart raced. Resisting the urge to confess everything while weeping, he forced himself to say, “Son went to observe affairs at the Ministry of Revenue…”
“And after that?”
“After that?” The Crown Prince continued to stubbornly resist, “After that, son returned to the palace—”
Emperor Jingming grabbed the white jade paperweight from his desk and hurled it.
The Crown Prince hurriedly tried to dodge, but the paperweight struck him squarely on the forehead.
The Crown Prince swayed, glanced at Emperor Jingming, and collapsed.
Emperor Jingming was nearly driven to madness.
Although he wanted to beat this good-for-nothing to death, he couldn’t do it. The thrown paperweight had been aimed at the shoulder.
He never expected the Crown Prince to dodge, resulting in a direct hit!
Pan Hai looked at the unconscious Crown Prince on the ground and stammered, “Your Majesty—”
“Summon the imperial physicians!” Having struck the Crown Prince and caused a bloody head injury, Emperor Jingming had no choice but to call for medical attention.
All the on-duty imperial physicians rushed over.
As the physicians treated the Crown Prince inside, Emperor Jingming paced back and forth outside with his hands behind his back.
The Empress, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, quietly asked the Crown Princess, who had arrived earlier, “What exactly happened?”
The Crown Princess shook her head, “Daughter-in-law doesn’t know.”
The Crown Prince had been fine when he left the Eastern Palace, and now he was in this state. What else could have happened but another misdeed?
The Crown Princess had become somewhat numb to such occurrences.
The Empress approached Emperor Jingming, “Your Majesty, how is the Crown Prince?”
The emperor stopped pacing and glanced inside, saying coldly, “He probably won’t die.”
Despite saying this, he felt uncertain inside.
The white jade paperweight was quite hard, and there was a fair amount of blood on the golden brick floor. What if he had killed the Crown Prince?
Heartache, anger, regret… Emperor Jingming felt he had experienced every emotion in this short period.
Afterward, he just felt indescribably tired.
With such a good-for-nothing son, it might be better if he had died; if he survived, there would only be endless anger to deal with.
“How did the Crown Prince—”
“I struck him,” Emperor Jingming no longer had the energy to conceal the truth from the Empress.
Although the officials would cover up the Crown Prince’s actions today, even if they could hide it from the world, he would still know.
Could such an heir protect the empire built by their ancestors?
This was the first time Emperor Jingming had deeply pondered this question.
The Empress was shocked and said softly, “Your Majesty, anger harms the body. Whatever the Crown Prince has done, we can discipline him properly—”
“Today, the Crown Prince engaged in a scandalous act with a eunuch,” Emperor Jingming interrupted the Empress’s consolation.
The Empress: “…”
“Outside the palace.”
The Empress: “…”
“And it drew countless onlookers.”
The Empress: “…”
“The crowd of onlookers caused a stampede, resulting in over a dozen deaths and injuries.”
The Empress held her head in her hands.
Truthfully, the fact that the emperor hadn’t killed the Crown Prince on the spot already showed great fatherly mercy!
At this moment, an imperial physician came out and announced, “Your Majesty, His Highness has regained consciousness.”
Emperor Jingming and the Empress exchanged a glance before entering together.
Upon hearing this, the Crown Princess bit her lip hard and silently followed.
On the bed, the Crown Prince’s head was wrapped in bandages, his gaze confused.
Emperor Jingming approached the Crown Prince and, seeing no reaction, let out a heavy, cold snort.
The Crown Prince blinked and asked, “Who are you?”