ASTRP -Chapter 69 One by One “Complain” During the Court Session

The atmosphere inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony instantly sank into a heavy, oppressive silence.

After reading his memorial, Feng Qianyong lifted his head—only to be met with several pairs of furious eyes.

???

He looked completely baffled.

Feng Jingge said coldly, “From the looks of Lord Feng, you seem very satisfied with what you wrote in that memorial?”

Feng Qianyong hadn’t even had time to respond when the Minister of Rites suddenly stepped forward.

“Your Highness, I have something to report!”

Feng Jingge replied flatly, “Speak.”

The Minister of Rites immediately said, “In my humble opinion, memorials should concern state affairs. They should not contain meaningless content such as travel notes!”

“Minister’s words are correct.”

“I second!”

“I also second!”

“Memorials concern national affairs—how can they be treated as a joke?”

“Such memorials are no different from waste papers! If they are submitted to the palace, not only do they waste His Majesty and Your Highness’s time in reviewing them, they may also delay truly important matters!”

One after another, the officials began discussing and echoing the Minister of Rites.

Feng Qianyong and the other officials who had been called out immediately panicked and knelt down together, begging for forgiveness and swearing they would never do it again.

Feng Jingge could forgive the others.

But Feng Qianyong—he had to be punished.

There was a saying: kill the chicken to warn the monkeys.

Feng Qianyong was demoted and sent to Yongzhou to serve as a county magistrate.

Yongzhou had beautiful mountains and rivers—perfect for him to continue writing his so-called travel essays.

Just as the matter of “waste memorials” was settled, a white-haired old man suddenly stepped out from among the officials and walked to the front before kneeling straight down.

His action caused a collective change in the expressions of all the ministers.

The Grand Tutor was the first to speak.

“Lord Marquis, what are you doing?”

Feng Jingge’s gaze fell on the old man. She had seen this man in the portrait collection of court officials in Xiao Jinghan’s study.

He was the Marquis of Dingbei, Xu Shan.

His son Xu Qing guarded the border. Previously, regarding the alliance between Xiling and Chen Kingdom, Xu Qing had sent back reports mentioning his son Xu Shu—also known as the infamous “Little Tyrant of the Xu Family.”

This was the first time she had seen him in court.

Clearly, he had come for Xu Shu—and for the punishment involving the palace children.

The Marquis of Dingbei glared at the Grand Tutor, grinding his teeth.

“What am I doing? Grand Tutor, I truly have nothing good to say about you!”

“You were clearly present that day, yet you did not stop it and allowed my precious grandson to be beaten!”

“My grandson entered the palace to serve as the Emperor’s study companion—not to be brought here to suffer punishment!”

“The Empress Dowager governs the inner palace. The position of imperial companion belongs to the Emperor. On what grounds did she strike my grandson? What right did she have?!”

“Your Majesty! Your Highness!! You must give this old man an explanation!!!”

Feng Jingge: “……”

Just as she expected—it was indeed about Xu Shu.

With the Marquis of Dingbei backing him, it was no wonder Xu Shu became the so-called “Little Tyrant of the Xu Family.”

Another official also stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, Your Highness, my son Anhao has always been gentle and reserved. How did he end up getting punished as well?”

The father of Chu Ning also stepped forward.

“Your Majesty… Your Highness…”

Apart from the families of those involved, most officials had no idea what had actually happened.

But from the Marquis’s words, they could roughly guess it involved the Empress Dowager.

Feng Jingge was about to speak when the young emperor beside her suddenly spoke first.

“This matter concerns me. After court, I will invite all of you to the Imperial Study.”

His words were completely within Feng Jingge’s expectations.

The Marquis and the others were slightly stunned, clearly not expecting the Emperor to take responsibility, but they could only agree.

With no further matters, court was dismissed.

Feng Jingge went with the young emperor to the Imperial Study. Just after they sat down, Eunuch Chen reported that the Marquis of Dingbei and the others had arrived.

The four men entered together, bowed, and stood up, all of them looking toward the young emperor, waiting for his explanation.

“The matter began because of me,” the young emperor said. “I fought with them and was injured. After that, my mother saw it.”

Fight?

Except for the Marquis of Dingbei frowning, the other three fathers were stunned, their expressions gradually changing.

“The Empress Dowager was angered. I tried my best to stop her, but I still failed to protect them.”

The Marquis’s brows furrowed even deeper. Something about this didn’t match what his grandson had told him.

“Your Majesty means… Xu Shu hit you?”

Feng Jingge said calmly, “Marquis, take a closer look at His Majesty’s face. You will understand.”

The Marquis stepped forward and carefully examined the young emperor’s face.

No obvious injuries.

But faint traces were still detectable.

His expression darkened immediately.

That brat…

He actually hit the Emperor!

And even lied about it!

When I return, I’ll deal with him properly.

“How dare he even lay a hand on His Majesty!”

The other three fathers instantly understood that their sons had indeed been involved in hitting the Emperor.

Thankfully, they had not argued further in court earlier.

Otherwise, if they had found out in front of all the officials that their children had beaten the Emperor, it would have been an impossible situation to handle.

Feng Jingge calmly tried to ease the tension.

“Marquis, there is no need to be angry. It is normal for children to fight among themselves.”

“This kind of matter should be resolved by the children themselves. Adults interfering would be overstepping.”

The Marquis said sternly, “A ruler is a ruler, a subject is a subject! There is a clear distinction between them. How can a subject lay hands on the Emperor?”

Feng Jingge suddenly asked, “Before Xu Shu entered the palace, did Your Lordship explain why he was coming here?”

The Marquis paused, then frowned and shook his head.

“No.”

She then looked at the other three fathers.

They also shook their heads.

Finally, she turned to the young emperor.

“Ah Yu, did you tell them your identity?”

The young emperor shook his head. “I did not.”

Feng Jingge said calmly, “If one does not even know identity, how can there be knowledge of ruler and subject?”

This…

The Marquis stared at her, his eyes deep and sharp.

The other three exchanged glances.

Under the Marquis’s piercing gaze, Feng Jingge remained calm and composed, showing no emotion at all.

After a few moments, the Marquis withdrew his gaze.

With the cause and effect clarified, there was no reason for them to remain, so they left.

Just as they departed, Eunuch Chen came in again to report.

The Grand Tutor had sent word—Xu Shu and the others were already at Nan Shang Hall. He asked the young emperor to finish reviewing memorials and go over immediately.

Feng Jingge said coldly, “Go directly.”

Eunuch Chen: “?”

The young emperor looked at her in confusion as well.

She said calmly, “Go to Nan Shang Hall. The memorials will be reviewed tomorrow afternoon when I enter the palace—I will do it with you.”

“Thank you, Imperial Uncle!”

The young emperor’s eyes lit up immediately.

He glanced at Eunuch Chen, who understood and quickly followed the emperor out.

Just as they were about to leave the Imperial Study, Feng Jingge suddenly spoke again.

“Wait.”

The two stopped and turned back, both looking at her with confusion.