I'm the Farmgirl You Can't Mess With

Chapter 1274: Court (4)

Editor: Atlas Studios

Qi Xiuyuan had made up his mind to let his brother continue arguing with the ministers. Although Rong Xuan also wanted to sit back and do nothing so that those people could learn a lesson, he was afraid that they would suffocate to death when he saw that a few of the ministers’ faces were already purple and red.

After some thought, Rong Xuan could only take a step forward and interrupt the Minister of Revenue. "Your Majesty, it’s getting late. Why don’t we rest for a while and continue the discussion after everyone takes a lunch break?"

Qi Xiuyuan glanced at him, displeased. Now that the situation was under Haoran’s control, how could he give the officials an opportunity to discuss countermeasures in private after the court was dismissed?

Qi Xiuyuan did not understand what Rong Xuan meant. In his opinion, it was not a problem to go without one or two meals. After all, even the Emperor himself was holding back his hunger.

The corners of Rong Xuan’s eyes twitched. He knew at a glance that the Emperor didn’t understand. He was about to remind him when Eunuch Wan rushed out of the side hall and walked to the Emperor’s side. He whispered, "Your Majesty, Queen Consort Rong has barged into the front hall."

Qi Xiuyuan’s eyelids twitched as he asked, "Why is she here?"

Eunuch Wan lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, "Her Highness heard that King Rong forced an official to death in the hall, so she rushed over anxiously."

"She heard the news before I even ended the court session?" Qi Xiuyuan said meaningfully.

"It’s precisely because of this that Her Highness didn’t barge in. The person who spread the news to her has already been controlled and is now in the King’s Residence. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Qi Xiuyuan glanced at the ministers and said, "Let her in. Considering this matter started because of her, it would naturally be good if she can end this."

Hence, Eunuch Wan straightened his back and called out loudly, "Queen Consort Rong, Madam Mu, has been summoned for an audience—"

The officials were shocked, and so was Qi Haoran. He looked at his big brother anxiously. Why did he bring Ah Ling here now? Wouldn’t this make her the target of public criticism?

Mu Yangling came to the palace in her Queen Consort’s uniform. Earlier at home, when she suddenly heard that Qi Haoran had forced an official to death, she was so startled that she almost rode directly into the palace.

Fortunately, Bowen was beside her at that time. He grabbed her and said, "Sister, it might be true that Brother-in-law flew into a rage and argued with someone at the court meeting, and it might also be true that the official committed suicide. However, how could such news of a major court meeting have reached your ears before it ended? The other party just wants you to panic and do something wrong. They’re making use of you and Brother-in-law."

Although Mu Bowen was also anxious, he was much calmer than his sister. He said, "Since His Majesty and Prince An are present, they won’t let anything happen to Brother-in-law. The reform of the official system was initiated by you, Sister. Even if you want to enter the palace, you have to do so openly and not simply barge into the palace!"

Mu Bowen enunciated each word clearly. "Barging into the palace is a capital offense!"

Only then did Mu Yangling patiently change into the Lady of the Imperial Command uniform and enter the palace in a carriage.

The moment Mu Yangling entered the hall, she swept her gaze across the ground and the pillar. Seeing that there wasn’t any blood on it, she heaved a sigh of relief. Even though Eunuch Wan had already told her that Assistant Minister Lan had been stopped from his suicide attempt, she still had to see it with her own eyes before she could feel at ease.

Mu Yangling looked at her husband worriedly and apologetically. Back then, she’d proposed a reform for two reasons: firstly to stand up for the children, and secondly, she felt that this was indeed a rare opportunity to reform. She did not expect Haoran to get so deeply implicated. If she had known...

Mu Yangling sighed. If she had known earlier, she would still have done this, but she might not have been so aggressive about it.

Mu Yangling walked to Qi Haoran’s side and knelt down. After bowing to the Emperor, she saw Rong Xuan wink at her.

Mu Yangling blinked and followed his gaze to glance at the ministers. She instantly understood that she and Haoran had just offended all the officials present. If she didn’t remedy it now, Haoran would probably really suffer in the future.

Mu Yangling took the initiative to say, "Your Majesty, when I came, I asked the kitchen to prepare some food. Why don’t we let the ministers rest and eat before continuing the discussion?"

Qi Haoran frowned and said gruffly, "Ah Ling, don’t worry about these things. You should go home."

Mu Yangling lowered her head docilely and said, "You’re right, but you haven’t consumed any water or rice for the entire morning and didn’t eat much before leaving the house. I’m really worried."

Some ministers who could not hold it in also tried to persuade Qi Haoran. "King Rong, you oughtn’t reject Her Highness’s good intentions."

"That’s right, that’s right." Everyone agreed. "Look, Her Highness even rushed over personally for you. It’s not good for you to reject her good intentions."

At this moment, no one could recall that Mu Yangling was a tigress and that Qi Haoran was a henpecked husband. Everyone only felt that Queen Consort Rong was too understanding. ’Therefore King Rong, please agree to take a break. We really can’t hold it in anymore!’

Stunned, Qi Haoran glanced at them suspiciously and looked at Qi Xiuyuan hesitantly. "Royal Brother, why don’t we rest for 15 minutes?"

The ministers looked at the Emperor eagerly.

The Emperor: "..."

After a moment of silence, the Emperor nodded silently and said, "Then let’s rest for 15 minutes and get the palace servants to prepare lunch and set up the tables. We’ll discuss while eating."

The officials heaved a sigh of relief, bowed, and quickly left.

Thus, the guards and palace servants outside the hall saw a scene that they would never forget for the rest of their lives—the usually-elegant civil officials sprinted to the lavatory. The generals were too embarrassed to fight with a group of weak scholars, so they could only turn around and briskly stride out, planning to relieve themselves in a side hall nearby. In any case, they were fast.

Only the Left and Right Ministers, Fan Zijin, Qi Haoran, Mu Yangling, and the Emperor were left in the hall.

As the six of them looked at each other, a young eunuch came in and whispered into Eunuch Wan’s ear.

The corners of Eunuch Wan’s mouth twitched as he went to relay those words to the Emperor in a whisper.

When the Emperor found out about the situation outside, he naturally understood why Rong Xuan wanted him to suspend the court session. The corners of his lips twitched as he waved his hand and said, "Extend the rest time for another 15 minutes."

Eunuch Wan held back his laughter and left to pass the message.

Qi Xiuyuan looked at Rong Xuan, then at Yan Du. He asked meaningfully, "Don’t you need to go, too?"

The corners of Rong Xuan’s mouth twitched. He went forward and cupped his hands. "I’ll take my leave."

Yan Du also took a step forward and said loudly, "I’ll take my leave."

Qi Xiuyuan waved the two of them away.

Rong Xuan and Yan Du left together. When they walked out of the hall, Rong Xuan turned around and asked, "Are you not going, Right Minister?"

"No hurry." Yan Du shook his head and looked in the direction of the small garden. With a smile, he said, "Why don’t we walk together? We can go to the side hall. There are fewer people there."

That small garden was for the officials to enjoy when they were not dealing with political matters. As it was just nearby, officials often rested there.

Rong Xuan nodded in agreement.

Yan Du followed him for a while and only said after they were some distance away from the crowd, "Jinyu also thinks that this is a good time to reform?"

Rong Xuan said, "If the administrative system is reformed, it will naturally be a good opportunity to reform the official system at the same time."

In other words, if they wanted to do it, they would implement the reforms at the same time. If not, they would not do either.

Yan Du was silent. He was in favor of administrative reform, but not official reform.

Rong Xuan stood under a pine tree and patted it. "Zishan, if Grand Tutor Yan was still alive, I think he would definitely approve of the reform of the official system. Hasn’t he always had such a wish? I don’t understand why you just don’t agree."