Seeing the smile on Ji Jinmo’s lips, everyone shivered. It was widely known that when the Prince smiled, even the King of Hell would tremble.
The officials, who had been impeaching him so loudly moments ago, were now as quiet as mice.
“Your… Your Highness, you were disrespectful in court, disobeying His Majesty, and shaming…”
The official, whose collar was gripped by Ji Jinmo and held him suspended in mid-air, stammered. However, he continued to reprimand Ji Jinmo for his presumptuous behavior. But his stiff neck couldn’t hold on for long, and under Ji Jinmo’s gaze, it softened.
Ji Hong felt his Imperial Uncle was becoming increasingly audacious. Yet, he also understood that only by doing so would the court officials rely solely on him, the Emperor.
How much did he owe his Imperial Uncle!
With this thought, Ji Hong suddenly slammed his hand on the armrest and roared in anger, “Ji Jinmo, you publicly attacked an official in court. Do you still have the law of the land or me in your eyes?”
Ji Jinmo, holding the official, turned to look at Ji Hong. His expression was stern, his face like a block of unthawed ice. Even with a slight upturn of his lips, he exuded a sinister and fierce aura. He leisurely parted his thin lips, his voice sharp, “This subject is merely cleansing the court for Your Majesty and punishing these loose-tongued wretches. Why is Your Majesty so enraged? Unless Your Majesty believes this subject should kowtow and confess guilt for their public accusations?”
“Your Highness, we are not making accusations. Last night, you broke into the Prime Minister’s manor and took away an official’s wife, this…”
“Oh? Minister Wang speaks with such conviction, did you witness it with your own eyes?” Ji Jinmo interrupted him before he could finish, retorting sharply.
Minister Wang was momentarily speechless. Did he see? What the hell did he see? It was late at night, and his residence was not on the same street as the Prime Minister’s manor. How could he possibly see anything?
The reason he impeached Ji Jinmo was that he had received a letter from the Prime Minister early that morning. The letter clearly stated that Ji Jinmo had led troops to surround the South Manor and had abducted Madam Liu, the mother of the future Empress, for the sake of the Princess Consort. If not for this, they wouldn’t have jointly impeached him at the start of the court session.
He just hadn’t expected Ji Jinmo to be so shameless as to refuse to admit it!
“No, it was just…”
“Since Minister Wang did not witness it, why are you babbling nonsense here? Are you perhaps acting on someone else’s instructions and attempting to frame this subject?” Ji Jinmo interrupted Minister Wang again, directly accusing him of framing. Minister Wang took a breath, preventing himself from spitting blood in anger.
“Your Highness, although I did not witness it myself, dare you deny that you led troops to surround the Prime Minister’s manor last night and took away the Prime Minister’s wife?”
Minister Wang’s eyes widened.
“I took her!” Ji Jinmo readily admitted.
“Since Your Highness admits it, why then do you accuse us of framing?” Minister Wang continued his assault, appearing ready to engage in a heated debate with Ji Jinmo in court.
“Do you know why I led troops to surround the Prime Minister’s manor?” Ji Jinmo retorted.
Minister Wang sneered, “Because of the Princess Consort!”
Ji Jinmo nodded, “Correct. Because Nan Zhaoyun held the Princess Consort hostage to threaten this subject!”
Minister Wang: “……”
What nonsense was this? The Prime Minister held the Princess Consort hostage to threaten the Prince?
This explanation didn’t add up!
Minister Wang glanced at Nan Zhaoyun. Seeing Minister Wang’s gaze, Ji Jinmo smirked, “What, Minister Wang didn’t know? Or perhaps certain individuals did not mention the fundamental reason for this subject surrounding the Prime Minister’s manor to you all? Tsk, Minister Wang, you are truly a good pawn, easily manipulated, being poked wherever others wish!”
As he finished speaking, he asked the official in his hand, “And you, what version did you hear?”
The official moved his lips but ultimately remained silent.
The statements from both sides didn’t align. However, Ji Jinmo leading troops into the city without the Emperor’s permission was a grave offense, let alone taking the Prime Minister’s wife. These crimes, if attributed to anyone, were capital offenses punishable by confiscation of property and annihilation of the family. They were merely impeaching him now, their ultimate goal not to punish him, but to rescue the Prime Minister’s wife. Nan Yuan’er was to be brought into the palace soon. For all intents and purposes, they could not allow Madam Liu to fall victim to Ji Jinmo and Nan Shiying’s cruelty.
Thus, an official spoke up, “Your Highness, whether the Prime Minister truly held the Princess Consort hostage is unknown to us. However, the Prime Minister’s wife is a Lady of the First Rank appointed by His Majesty. She is not a servant in the Prince’s manor, so how can you act as if you can execute her at will? Have you taken the law into account? Have you taken His Majesty into account? Such behavior is truly too arrogant!”
“Your Highness, regardless of whether the Prime Minister held the Princess Consort hostage, even if he did, you could have gone to the palace to seek His Majesty’s judgment. Why did you resort to such forceful measures in private?”
“Your Highness…”
The officials spoke one after another, utterly unconcerned with what Nan Zhaoyun had done in this matter, solely focusing on accusing Ji Jinmo. They were, after all, literati who lived by their pens. They were far more eloquent than the military generals, capable of turning white into black and black into white, and calling a deer a horse.
Truly silver-tongued!
“Imperial Uncle, if the Prime Minister truly held the Princess Consort hostage, I would naturally have supported you and the Princess Consort. However, you should not have taken private action. Your actions have incited the indignation of the officials, leading to a joint impeachment. I truly cannot afford to alienate all the officials or let the people of the world believe that royalty can do as they please to protect you…” Ji Hong said, biting his lip after deep consideration, “How about this, Imperial Uncle? As long as you send Madam Liu back to the Nan residence, I will pretend this never happened.”
“Your Majesty, how can you protect the Prince to this extent, Your Majesty…”
“Enough!”
Ji Hong roared, suppressing the discontent of the officials.
This coordination between ruler and minister was quite tacit, a performance of singing and responding that directly blocked all of Ji Jinmo’s avenues of speech.
He could indeed defy the imperial decree, but at that point, no matter how justified he was, he would become in the wrong. Of course, Ji Jinmo might not care about his reputation, but with Da Li at war with Lin Yuan, if rumors spread that he, relying on his military achievements, was threatening the court and His Majesty by using border civilians and a host of generals as leverage, he would lose all popular support.
One must know that the people can support a boat, but they can also overturn it. If he wished to seize the throne, usurpation was his only path. Usurping his nephew’s throne would already invite condemnation from the world. If rumors then spread that he disregarded the lives of the populace for power and status, then even if he eventually deposed Ji Hong from the throne, he would never be able to secure it.
The court officials had been intimidated by Ji Jinmo’s authority for years, never daring to oppose him. However, in the past, no matter how excessive he was, he had never targeted the relatives of officials. But since the Princess Consort entered the manor, he had turned his blade towards the families of officials. Today, the Prime Minister’s relatives suffered misfortune, but what about tomorrow? Would this blade turn towards their wives and children? No one dared to gamble.
The military generals remained silent. They all thought of Qin Qiancheng. Qin Qiancheng had participated in the battle that massacred the imperial forces years ago. After that, he had joined Ji Jinmo’s command. But what was the outcome? Just because his daughter offended the Princess Consort, she died consecutively.
The Prince was so ruthless even to the daughter of his former subordinate. How could they not be filled with dread?