Chapter 32 – Punishment (1)
“Ah!”
Startled, Hua Chun subconsciously straightened up. However, since she only woke up, she almost fell from the beam. Yu Wenjie reached out and impatiently grabbed her and said, “Dear Minister, can you act like a man?”
Hua Chun uttered nothing. She also wanted to act like a man, but originally, she was not one. Hua Chun cleared her throat and clasped her hands to the emperor. When she lowered her head, she saw several people in the room, crouched on their knees. Eunuch Qin’s body was visibly trembling, and he didn’t dare to say a word. The guard chief, Huo Zichong, was kneeling beside him.
It was a heavy crime to let the emperor stay on the beam of the hall for a whole night.
Yu Wenjie pushed Hua Chun away and hopped off from the beam with ease. He gently fell on the ground and looked down at them.
“It is all my fault, I’m late!” Huo Zichong arched his hands and cried. Their arrival was too late. The emperor would have died yesterday if he couldn’t protect himself. Hua Chun shook her head, thinking that according to Yu Wenjie’s temperament, the guard chief was likely to be dragged out and killed.
To her surprise, the emperor stood still and did not voice a single sentence of punishment. He only said, “Eunuch Qin, go and prepare breakfast, and then let someone come to serve me. It will be time to go to court.”
‘What? That’s all?’ Hua Chun looked down at him in shock. Why was he so cruel to her?
“Yes,” Eunuch Qin answered and raised his quivering hand to order someone to prepare.
Yu Wenjie was intending to leave, but Hua Chun quickly called out, “Emperor!” She was still hanging on the beam. The emperor didn’t spare her a glance and only said, “There is another hour for the early meeting. Our Minister should try to get down by yourself. You can’t be late.”
Every pair of eyes were stunned. Huo Zichong, his knees still glued to the ground, couldn’t help but lift his head. What a tragedy! Hua Chun trembled and watched the emperor leave along with the crowd. Hua Chun was devastated. She had given him half a bag of dried fish yesterday. Why was he so cruel?
Hua Chun glanced below; the beam was extremely high, it would be impossible for her to jump down. After thinking about it carefully, Hua Chun decided to hold the beam tightly and wait for someone to save her. In any case, there must be someone who would find her absent in the early meeting.
“Emperor,” Walking on the palace road, Huo Zichong said solemnly, “yesterday, the Zichen Hall was locked, and I broke through with some guards, but we had ten people killed or injured. The enemies were thoroughly prepared. There were no wounded or corpses left. All guards in the Zichen Hall have been locked up this morning. ”
“Torture them for truth.” Yu Wenjie said, “Investigate who was the leader.”
“Yes,” Huo Zichong responded.
Meanwhile, Eunuch Qin stared at the emperor’s back. Seeing that he was so calm, he could not help but have doubts. Why was the emperor in a good mood? How could he be in high spirits after being trapped for a night? Besides, the poor minister was punished, left hanging on the beam.
It seemed that he couldn’t understand the emperor’s mind recently. Shaking his head, Eunuch Qin continued to follow the emperor.
After he had breakfast and changed into fresh clothes, Yu Wenjie went to the Xuanzheng Hall directly. When he saw that the first seat was empty, he felt somehow jovial.
Grand Preceptor Tang, Grand Secretary Li, and along with the others, were extremely anxious. They had been waiting for the minister to return to his residence yesterday to discuss the disaster relief once more. Unexpectedly, the minister didn’t appear all night. Now, when they arrived at the court, they did not see the minister either.
Has anything happened? They wondered. Some of the old officials were worried. Seeing the emperor coming, they all knelt down to salute.
Yu Wenjie calmly let everyone get up, and also did not mention the absence of Minister Hua. He immediately began the early meeting. The emperor did not ask, and the other officials did not dare so. Hence, they planned to find the minister after the meeting.
“Is Minister Hua gone?”
When the meeting had finished, He Chang’an was about to walk back to the palace. Unexpectedly, he was stopped by several officials and for a while, they exchanged murmurs. He glanced at these people, nodded with a smile and said, “I know. If I see him later, I will let you know.”
“Thanks a lot.” Grand Preceptor Tang bowed, heaving a sigh before he left with the others.
“Marquis?” The servants around He Chang’an frowned and said in a low voice, “you don’t have to pay attention to it.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He Chang’an turned back and smiled, “It’s just a piece of cake.”
Looking at his face, the servant was stunned. He Chang’an was a very handsome man. It was no wonder how the young ladies in the Yanjing City were all so fond of his appearance. The servant continued to take him to the hall.
“Still on the beam?” Yu Wenjie sat on the dragon chair and asked. Although the emperor didn’t mention a name, Eunuch Qin responded quickly and said, “yes.”
“Shame.” With a snort, the emperor said, “Let Chang’an meet me in the Zichen hall.”
“Yes.”