EWRN - Chapter 35

Chapter 35: The Consort Selection Controversy (VII)

Heavens, what was all this!

Even the eldest, most composed ministers could not help but reveal their shock. A consort of the dignified ruler of a nation had committed adultery with a lowly commoner! It was simply unheard of! Unprecedented!

"You! You! You! You're spitting venom! You wretched girl, what audacity, daring to fabricate stories to frame me! Your Majesty! Why haven't you dragged this foul-mouthed slave out to be executed!" If Noble Consort Bai had been standing, she would have been stomping her feet in fury! Kneeling on the floor, her eyes looked as if they would split with rage, her venomous gaze wishing it could flay the young palace maid alive just a few steps away and devour her whole!

"You will be silent! When did it become your place, a mere consort, to command me!" Huo Jinyu frowned, displeased.

"This consort has been wronged! I am innocent! Please, Your Majesty, investigate this clearly! This wretched servant wants me dead! That's why she's saying these things!" Aware of her precarious situation, Bai Qing frantically tried to clear her name, then turned to her father beside her and pleaded in a low voice, "Father! Father! Quickly, say something for your daughter! Father!"

At that moment, Prime Minister Bai was also reeling from shock. He was completely stunned. No matter how Bai Qing called to him, he seemed not to hear. It was as if a string had snapped in his mind, leaving him utterly unresponsive.

This was the daughter he had doted on and raised. His daughter had always been gentle, courteous, virtuous, and dignified. How could she possibly commit such an immoral act as adultery? It must be a slanderous accusation from that palace maid! It must be!

Old Prime Minister Bai finally came to his senses. He hurriedly declared in a loud voice, "Reporting to Your Majesty! This old minister's daughter was raised by my own hand. She has always been dignified, virtuous, gentle, and courteous. She is most sensible and could never commit such an immoral act as… as adultery! It must be that wretched servant, harboring malicious intent, who wishes to slander my daughter. I implore Your Majesty to investigate this clearly! Please, Your Majesty, investigate this clearly!" The old minister, usually so arrogant and imperious, prostrated himself on the floor, trembling as he begged for mercy. Huo Jinyu felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

Prime Minister Bai, you never thought you'd see this day, did you? Hahaha.

Huo Jinyu laughed maniacally in her heart, but her face betrayed nothing.

"Palace maid, do you have any proof? Based on your words today, if there is even a hint of falsehood, you will lose your head! You had best think clearly before you speak again!" At this, a minister stepped forward and questioned Bi Luo.

"For this servant to dare stand here today, I naturally have proof!" As she spoke, the head palace maid Bi Luo pulled a stack of letters from her robes and presented them.

Seeing the letters Bi Luo produced, Noble Consort Bai's eyes filled with terror. No! This is impossible! Hadn't she instructed the palace maid to burn the letters every time? That's right, the one she had instructed was none other than the head palace maid, Bi Luo!

Eunuch Wang stepped forward, took the letters, and placed the stack—which Huo Jinyu had already read—on the desk before the dragon throne.

Huo Jinyu put on a show of opening two or three of them. Without really looking, she crumpled them into a ball and hurled it at Prime Minister Bai. As a martial artist, the paper ball struck Prime Minister Bai squarely on the head. The Prime Minister had already sensed something was amiss. Now, struck by the wad of letters, he opened it with a trembling hand. The words he saw nearly made him stop breathing.

Bai Qing was already dying of shame and indignation. When she had carried on her secret affair with Wang Jiachang, she had written many lewd verses and songs. For her own father to see them now… she simply couldn't imagine what he would think.

Nor did she dare to.

Prime Minister Bai's hands trembled, and the ball of paper rolled to the floor. The ministers standing not far from him were itching with curiosity. They desperately wanted to know what was written on the paper.

"Prime Minister Bai, what are your thoughts? Pass these letters to Our beloved ministers. Let everyone judge for me whether I have wronged your Bai family," Huo Jinyu said with a wicked curl of her lips, her intentions malicious.

"Your Majesty! This consort is innocent! I did not write these letters! They were forged by that wretched servant!" Bai Qing, not yet ready to give up, shouted in the middle of the court.

"Silence! This is the solemn hall of the imperial court. How dare a harlot like you cause a scene here! Besides, you haven't even seen the contents of the letters, so how would you know it's your handwriting?" Huo Jinyu looked down from on high, her gaze upon Bai Qing like that of a person looking at the dead.

Hearing the word "harlot," Bai Qing's body trembled involuntarily.

After receiving the emperor's permission, the ministers picked up the crumpled paper from the floor and unfolded it. The expressions on their faces were a sight to behold.

The first minister finished reading, his face slightly flushed, and passed it to the next. The few sheets of paper were passed throughout the entire court, and the ministers began to whisper amongst themselves.

"Heavens, did the dignified and courteous Second Miss of the Bai family really write… this…"

"What dignified and courteous? What kind of person writes such lewd verses and songs?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down, why did you have to say it out loud?"

"Tsk, tsk, look at what's written here."

"Two bodies press close in an embrace, wondrously melding as one. Entwined above and below, pulling each other near; after a kiss, a low cry."

"Heavens, how could it be so… so… shameful!"

"My, you truly cannot judge a book by its cover!" …

Hearing the whispers around her, Bai Qing's face turned green. Her features twisted as she said, "Your Majesty, please see the truth! This consort could never commit such an immoral act!"

Her voice drew the gazes of the entire court, and Bai Qing felt as if she had needles on her back!

"I have no desire to hear another word from you, harlot. Attendants, bring the man in!" Huo Jinyu slapped the desk and commanded.

Outside the hall, two guards escorted a man in green robes inside. When they reached the steps, a guard kicked the back of his knees, forcing the man to kneel on the ground.

When Prime Minister Bai saw that the man was Wang Jiachang, the manager of Emerald Gold Pavilion who had once come to his home to propose marriage, his heart sank. To think he had gotten involved with his daughter behind his back! Prime Minister Bai collapsed weakly to the floor, with no strength left to speak. He was so enraged he felt a mouthful of old blood caught in his throat, ready to spurt out at any moment. The shocks of the day had been too great.

When Bai Qing saw Wang Jiachang, she too was dumbfounded. So the emperor really knew. He had known all along! Yet he chose not to say anything, waiting for the right moment to strike! He wanted to topple their Bai family in a single blow!

If Bai Qing could figure it out, how could Prime Minister Bai not? The emperor had the man ready outside the hall, just waiting to be summoned. If that wasn't proof he already knew, what was? This dog emperor was truly patient, waiting a full three or four months! He had endured until today to finally make his move in court. What a dog! He had even put on such a grand play beforehand. He shouldn't be an emperor; he should be a damn actor in an opera troupe!

Perhaps realizing his official post was lost and the entire Bai family was implicated, Prime Minister Bai turned and swung his hand, landing a heavy slap across Bai Qing's face. "You shameless creature! You've angered this old man to death!"

The sharp "smack" drew the attention of the entire court.

"Father! How could you strike me! I've been wronged! I don't even know that man!" Bai Qing covered her left cheek, looking at her father in disbelief, as if seeing a stranger.

What a fine dog-eat-dog drama. Huo Jinyu watched with delight from the dragon throne, not forgetting to add, "What's this? Could Noble Consort Bai truly be innocent? Then I shall question the manager of Emerald Gold Pavilion." Having watched the show for a while, Huo Jinyu was a bit thirsty. She picked up her teacup and took a few leisurely sips before setting it down. Wang Jiachang knelt on the floor, his legs trembling. When had he ever seen such a grand scene? The most honored person in the entire Great Yuan Kingdom was sitting on the steps directly in front of him!

"Manager Wang, do you know the woman behind you?" Huo Jinyu said slowly.

"I don't, I don't! This commoner knows nothing." Wang Jiachang trembled uncontrollably, his words becoming incoherent.

"Attendants, administer the cane!" Huo Jinyu had seen enough of the play for one day and didn't want to waste any more words with him. She directly ordered the punishment.

Wang Jiachang had thought it through. If he spoke, it was a dead end. If he refused to admit it, there might be a sliver of a chance to live. But he never expected this emperor to immediately order the cane, giving him no opportunity to argue!

"I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll talk! I-I-I'll talk!" Wang Jiachang was usually a young master, with delicate skin and tender flesh. How could he endure a caning? To avoid the physical suffering, he cried out repeatedly.

"Speak," Huo Jinyu said, not wasting a word.

"Th-th-this, this humble one, this humble one and, and the Second Miss of the Bai family are, are old acquaintances!" Wang Jiachang was nearly scared to death. He faced Huo Jinyu's oppressive aura directly, large beads of cold sweat rolling down his face.

"Confess everything truthfully. One strike for every word you get wrong. I have both witnesses and evidence in hand," Huo Jinyu said, tapping the desk.

"This commoner and that Bai Qing are indeed old acquaintances, and… and this commoner and that Bai Qing… have… have… have shared clouds and rain in various places… the, the number of times was n-n-not many." As he spoke, Wang Jiachang actually started to cry. He prostrated himself on the floor, weeping and kowtowing. "This commoner knows his mistake! I know my mistake! I beg Your Majesty to spare this commoner's worthless life this once. It was that vixen who seduced me! I beg Your Majesty to spare this commoner just this once!"

"What nonsense are you spouting?!" Bai Qing's eyes were red with panic, her small face deathly pale, completely drained of color.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant personally witnessed these two consorting on several occasions!" If there was ever a time to add fuel to the fire, Bi Luo's words were it.

"Prime Minister Bai, truly despicable! The two of you, father and daughter, one throws his weight around in my court, while the other secretly consorts with a commoner in the rear palace, making a complete fool of me! Such audacity!" Huo Jinyu slammed her hand on the desk, the massive sound scaring those with guilty consciences half to death.

"Your Majesty. This minister… I request that Your Majesty, for the sake of this old minister's service as a veteran of three reigns, spare the Bai family this once!" Prime Minister Bai decided to plead for the Bai family, no longer caring about his daughter.

"The crime of deceiving the sovereign, the crime against the Seven Grounds for Divorce, the crime of fornication! And your Bai family still thinks it can escape unscathed? Bai Qing is a daughter of your Bai family! Once is a mistake, twice is a pattern, but this is the third time. Even if your Bai family's status reached the heavens, you could not escape the death penalty!" Huo Jinyu said sternly.

"I beg Your Majesty, for the sake of the Bai family's generations of service as officials and our contributions to the thousand-year foundation of the Great Yuan Kingdom, to spare the Bai family this time! It is said that a married daughter is like water thrown out! That Bai Qing is no longer a person of our Bai family! I implore Your Majesty to let the Bai family off!" Prime Minister Bai hardened his heart and spoke ruthlessly.

"Father!" Bai Qing was already frantic with fear. When she heard Prime Minister Bai decide to abandon her for the sake of the family, she let out a shrill scream, then began to gasp for breath, unable to speak another word.

It seemed that regardless of the era, the question of saving the mother or the child always led to all sorts of curious choices.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this minister believes that the Bai family has served for generations. If not for merit, then for toil. This incident was entirely the doing of Bai Qing alone and should be borne by her alone! What Prime Minister Bai said is also correct, a married daughter is like water thrown out." A minister who was on good terms with Prime Minister Bai stepped forward.

"This minister seconds the motion!"

"This minister also seconds the motion!" …

Huo Jinyu thought back to her previous life. When she was pulled down from her divine pedestal, it was this same group of ministers who had gathered to watch her miserable state, just as they were watching Bai Qing today. In this life or the last, these ministers truly were like dogs who couldn't be taught not to eat shit.

In her last life, it was Prime Minister Bai who had assisted the Second Prince in seizing the throne and had her executed by dismemberment by chariots. She could still recall the tearing agony of that pain!

Huo Jinyu's excellent mood instantly plummeted. The Bai family—she would not spare a single one of them. And Bai Qing, who had dared to provoke the gods—she would spare her even less!

"Attendants, draft an edict!" Huo Jinyu's face darkened as she spoke with grim viciousness. "The second daughter of the Bai family, for deceiving the sovereign, for improper conduct, for corrupting morals, and for violating the Seven Grounds for Divorce, is intolerable by law and by the world! She and her adulterous lover shall be subjected to the punishment of drowning in a pig cage! The sentence is to be carried out in two days!" After drafting the edict, Huo Jinyu added, "Strip Prime Minister Bai of his position as Prime Minister! Reduce him to a commoner! The Bai family is to be exiled to Southwestern Dian Prefecture, and their descendants are forbidden from returning to the imperial city for generations!" Having decreed the punishments, Huo Jinyu rose and left the court.

"Court is dismissed!" Eunuch Wang's sharp voice rang out.

The guards dragged Bai Qing and Manager Wang away, leaving a hall full of ministers and the limp form of Prime Minister Bai on the floor.

Huo Jinyu felt a deep unease in her heart. She didn't know what to do, so she headed straight for Jinxiang Palace.

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