novelSusiti Chapter 133 Civil and military officials dare not attend court!
Chapter 133 Civil and military officials dare not attend court!
Chapter 133: Civil and military officials dared not attend court!
Zhu Houzhao went to bed, but tonight in the capital city, it was destined to be a sleepless night for many.
It wasn't just the concubines in the harem who had trouble sleeping.
With such a commotion tonight, all the concubines in the harem are waiting to see who Zhu Houzhao will summon to his bedchamber.
Will she go to accompany Consort Shu, Li Xianran, who is about to give birth, or will she go to accompany the most favored Liu Ningwei?
Or perhaps, it's Consort Kang, Xia Tianxin, who currently holds the most prestigious position?
Everyone eagerly awaited the arrival of the imperial eunuchs, but none came to deliver the imperial decree to the inner palace.
Within the inner palace, there were countless, heavily guarded Tengxiang Four Guards and Yulin Guards.
Xia Tianxin, Li Xianran, and Liu Ningwei—none of them had fallen asleep yet.
They were waiting for a man who wouldn't come to the harem tonight.
Besides the concubines in the imperial harem, officials in the capital were also unable to sleep.
They heard the screams and cries of agony in the capital, and the sounds of 400,000 troops galloping through the city in a fierce battle.
At this moment, all they could hear was the rustling sound of the corpse being dragged across the ground, and the splashing sound of blood being washed by water.
Li Dongyang sat in his study, not closing his eyes all night.
Outside his study, the household servants were gathered, holding clubs and sickles, guarding him.
His eyes were bloodshot as he stood there, lost in thought, the eerie and terrifying sounds around him seemingly endless.
The fear in Li Dongyang's heart had long since reached its peak.
Because no one knows whether someone will rush into his house at any moment and cause him unexpected disaster.
On the desk in front of Li Dongyang, a suicide note had already been written.
I don't know how much time passed before the eerie rustling sound in my ears gradually disappeared.
Instead, there were various bird calls.
Before we knew it, the sky was already showing the first light of dawn.
Its daybreak.
"My lord, it's dawn; it's time for court."
The study door was pushed open, and Li Dongyang's wife, who had been with him since childhood, stood in the doorway, looking at him with worry in her eyes.
"Is it dawn yet?"
Li Dongyang snapped out of his daze, looked at the light outside the window, and even felt an urge to cry.
Li Dongyang got up and walked out, muttering to himself, "Yes, it's dawn, time to go to court."
Li Dongyang's wife looked at him with tears in her eyes: "Do you really have to go to court today?"
"Can't we not go?"
Li Dongyang gave a wry smile: "Not today."
"I must go to court today, no matter what."
Years of ups and downs in officialdom have taught Li Dongyang a lesson: some things cannot be avoided.
The cleansing action of last night's torrential rain and strong winds in Beijing is not actually over, or rather, it's just the beginning.
The purge that took place in the capital last night will surely continue into the imperial court today.
He was not involved in this matter, he has a clear conscience, and he absolutely cannot be absent!
Soon, the gates of Li Dongyang's residence opened, and Li Dongyang and his coachman slowly moved out of his mansion.
Li Dongyang looked at the streets of the capital, everything was as usual, as if there was no difference from before.
It didn't rain last night, but the streets were still wet.
The air was thick with the lingering smell of blood.
"Let's go to the palace."
Li Dongyang got into the carriage and gave instructions to the driver.
"Yes, sir."
The rumble of the carriage echoed through the capital, sounding desolate and lonely, yet bringing back a long-lost sense of everyday life to the city.
Li Dongyang arrived outside Chengtian Gate, where some officials were already standing.
Strangely, although Chengtian Gate was already open, these officials lingered outside, hesitant to enter.
During this time, Li Dongyang saw several familiar figures.
"Grand Secretary Yang, you're already standing at the door, why don't you go in?"
Yang Tinghe turned around and saw that it was Li Dongyang, then gave a wry smile.
"Prime Minister Li, to be honest—alas."
Yang Tinghe sighed helplessly, "I—I really don't dare to go in."
Yang Tinghe looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't slept all night.
Indeed, given the situation in Beijing last night, who could possibly sleep?
But neither of them mentioned what happened last night.
Li Dongyang comforted him, saying, "There's nothing to be afraid of. As long as you have a clear conscience, His Majesty will never wrong anyone."
"Are you saying you feel guilty?"
Yang Tinghe's expression hardened, and he quickly said solemnly, "Prime Minister Li, you can't joke like that. I, Yang Tinghe, have always acted with integrity; how could I have any regrets?"
"Since we have nothing to be ashamed of, let's go in."
After Li Dongyang finished speaking, he walked straight into Chengtian Gate.
After Li Dongyang went in, Yang Tinghe took a deep breath and followed him into the palace.
With the two of them leading the way, more and more officials began to follow the crowd toward Fengtian Gate.
After last night's purge in the capital, all the officials attending court today were terrified and restless.
As they entered through the Meridian Gate, they cautiously took their places, trying their best to minimize their presence.
But upon arriving at Fengtianmen Square, everyone was horrified to discover that even the eunuchs inside the palace were still working tirelessly, putting in extra hours to clean the palace.
There were no more corpses or bloodstains on the ground, only a wet floor.
Eunuchs were constantly scattering perfume powder in an attempt to mask the stench of blood in the air.
But the overwhelming stench of blood could not be masked no matter what.
So the cleaning last night wasn't just happening in the capital, it happened even in the imperial palace?
The impact of this event was greater than they had imagined.
Among the crowd, several officials looked extremely grim; they hung their heads, their bodies trembling slightly with barely suppressed emotion.
In complete silence, the civil and military officials awaited the arrival of Zhu Houzhao.
Cining Palace.
With the help of a group of palace maids, Zhu Houzhao put on his dragon robe and crown.
He turned his head, looked at Ling Xiaodao who was still fast asleep on the bed, and slightly curled the corners of his mouth.
Ling Xiaodao looked really cute last night.
That anxious yet fearful, apprehensive look on their faces was quite amusing.
"After she wakes up, let her have her meal in the Cining Palace."
Zhu Houzhao turned to the female official beside him and instructed, "The rewards and treatment should be in accordance with those given to Consort Kang. Do not neglect her."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The female official quickly agreed, secretly sighing to herself that yet another new concubine was about to be favored.
That's how it is in the imperial harem; new faces replace the old, and how many can remain in favor forever?
After getting dressed, Zhu Houzhao turned and left Cining Palace, boarded the imperial carriage, and headed towards Fengtian Gate.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
With Liu Jin announcing the start of the ceremony, Zhu Houzhao walked towards the dragon throne beneath Fengtian Gate.
The next moment, all the civil and military officials in the Fengtian Hall square simultaneously bowed deeply to Zhu Houzhao.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Zhu Houzhao sat on the dragon throne, looking down at the assembled officials below.
Today, instead of immediately telling the officials to rise, he scanned them one by one.
Zhu Houzhao's originally expressionless face slowly darkened.
The reason is simple: there are far fewer officials at Fengtianmen Square than before.
"Liu Jin".
"This old servant is here."
Zhu Houzhao, his face grim, asked, "Has the headcount been completed?"
"Your Majesty, please wait a moment, this old servant will go and ask."
After Liu Jin finished speaking, he immediately summoned the eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs in charge of roll call and asked in a low voice, "Where is the list of names for today's roll call? Bring it here!"
"Eunuch Liu, they're all here."
The eunuch in charge of counting the number of people took out a list and handed it to Liu Jin.
He then said in a low voice, "Eunuch Liu, a total of seventy-four officials have claimed illness and taken leave today, and another one hundred and sixteen officials have been absent without cause."
Upon hearing this, Liu Jin felt a chill run down his spine.
Combined, that means that nearly two hundred officials were absent from today's court assembly.
This is no small sum, no wonder Zhu Houzhao's face was so gloomy.
Liu Jin dared not delay and immediately reported the situation to Zhu Houzhao.
When Zhu Houzhao heard that nearly two hundred officials had not attended today's court assembly, his eyes narrowed dangerously.
Zhu Houzhao immediately ordered, "Cao Zhengchun, Yu Huatian, arrest all the officials who are absent today!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian accepted the order, they immediately led the agents of the Eastern Depot and Western Depot to arrest people all over the capital according to the list provided by the Directorate of Ceremonial.
On the quiet streets of Beijing in the early morning, hurried and sharp footsteps once again echoed.
The agents from the two factories had a clear objective: to head straight to the homes of the officials who were absent from today's court assembly.
"When the Eastern Depot (a secret police agency) is investigating a case, bystanders should stay away!"
The agents of the Eastern Depot kicked open the gate and rushed into the residence of an official.
The officials' wives and children, upon seeing the menacing guards, recalled the scene from the previous night and trembled with fear, screaming in terror.
Ignoring all the consequences, the officials rushed into the room and arrested those who claimed to be ill and refused to attend court.
These officials were terrified when they saw the imperial guards break down their doors at home.
"What are you trying to do?!"
"Don't come any closer! I'm warning you, don't come any closer!"
"Let me go! I'm an official appointed by the imperial court. You can't arrest me! Let me go!"
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These officials struggled desperately, but could not escape the fate of being arrested and captured by the imperial guards.
Whether the officials were genuinely frightened into illness by the horrific scene of the previous night or were lying about being sick, they were all captured by agents from the Eastern and Western Depots and sent to the capital.
The streets and alleys of the capital were suddenly filled with officials who had been arrested and brought to the palace.
They were detained by the imperial guards and taken directly to Fengtianmen Square, where they knelt before Zhu Houzhao.
These absent officials saw that the square of Fengtian Hall was filled with kneeling officials, as well as a large number of officials like themselves, who were being escorted into the palace.
Faced with Zhu Houzhao's gaze, they lowered their heads in fear, cold sweat seeping from their backs, their hearts pounding, and their legs feeling weak in waves.
The fears of last night began to wash over them like a tidal wave, leaving them in a state of confusion and unsure of what to do.