Zhu Yi stood up at this time, causing all the civil servants to frown.
They could understand that Zhu Yi would definitely be angry after being given such a torment by Liu Chengqing. However, in this situation, with hundreds of civil and military officials and envoys from all over the world, it was good enough to be able to deal with it in such a dignified manner.
The result is.
Although it is said that Zhu Yi has been wronged, firstly, if what Liu Chengqing said is true, then this tiger does have water. Secondly, even if he wants to seek justice, he should wait until he returns to the court to stand up now.
, quite a bit ignorant of the overall situation.
However, since everyone is already standing here, it is of course impossible not to stop him from speaking. After all, even if it is a trial, there is no reason to only listen to one side of the story.
Therefore, after thinking for a while, the emperor said:
"What does General Zhu want to say?"
Under the different gazes from both the civil and military sides, Zhu Yi raised his head and said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that the dispute between me and Mr. Liu is a trivial matter and should not be brought to the imperial court. However, there is indeed a hidden secret about the tiger hunting. Your Majesty gave you the jade Ruyi and the sword, but I dare not accept it. Unfortunately, the imperial edict has been issued.
I cannot meet Your Majesty in person to make my request, so I made this decision. Please forgive me."
After saying this, everyone present, including Wen Chen and Wu Xun, were all shocked and confused.
Wen Chen, on his side, still tended to frown and thought that Zhu Yi was trying to show off, and felt that he was somewhat ignorant. Wu Xun, on the other hand, also felt that Zhu Yi's behavior was inappropriate at this time. After all, how could he do it for himself?
A trap?
However, compared with these people, the one with the ugliest face and the most embarrassed person present was Mr. Liu Chengqing.
So, after a long time of turmoil, he is just a tool being used as a face-to-face tool?
Mr. Liu wanted to jump up, grabbed Zhu Yi's collar and shouted, "Do you know what it means, a scholar can be killed but not humiliated?!"
I am a dignified heir to the Anyuan Marquis Mansion, is this how you tease me?
Of course, this was in front of the emperor, so he did not dare to do so. However, when he looked at Zhu Yi, he couldn't help but feel a little resentful.
You know, even if you don't talk about Zhu Yi taking advantage of him, Mr. Liu is still very embarrassed now.
He, a man who met a tiger and was saved by a group of imperial guards, accepted the reward from the emperor. But in the end, Zhu Yi, the man who actually hunted the tiger, refused to accept the reward.
Isn't this a clear attempt to embarrass him?
Staring at Zhu Yi who was not far away, Mr. Liu had in his mind at this moment, apart from the hatred between the two families, there was another thing between himself and Zhu Yi.
However, at this time, no one was obviously paying attention to Mr. Liu's thoughts, and everyone's eyes were focused on Zhu Yi.
Even the emperor couldn't help frowning and asked.
"Is there a secret? What's the secret? Is it possible that this tiger was not hunted by General Zhu himself, but by the help of the Forbidden Army officers?"
In the second half of the sentence, the emperor was obviously joking.
If the tiger was not hunted by Zhu Yi himself, then it would not have been counted as his prey from the beginning, and naturally nothing would have happened now.
As expected, Zhu Yi shook her head with a wry smile and said.
"Your Majesty has misunderstood. Naturally, I dare not bring the prey hunted with the help of the Imperial Army General to the imperial court. This tiger was indeed hunted by me."
"But Mr. Liu is right. When I met this tiger, it was already injured."
"At that time, when the tiger saw the minister and others, it first pounced on the person and wanted to bite him. The minister shot him in the back with a bow and arrow. I thought that the tiger would become ferocious and continued to pounce on him to fight. Unexpectedly, the tiger was hit by the arrow.
After that, he whined, turned around and ran away."
"After chasing for several miles, I shot another arrow. The tiger was hit by two arrows. It seemed that it could no longer run and fell to the ground. However, what I didn't expect was that when I got closer, I discovered that
The tiger's body is already covered with scars, apart from signs of fighting with humans, it is also very weak."
"That's why I was hunted so easily by me. From beginning to end, except for the danger when the tiger first pounced on me, I didn't put in much effort. The difficulty of hunting was no different from that of an ordinary elk."
as if."
"Therefore, I feel ashamed and dare not accept the name of Tiger Fighting, and I dare not accept your Majesty's reward!"
As soon as the words fell, there was a burst of discussion below.
At the same time, a trace of curiosity appeared on Zhu Qiyu's face and he said.
"I didn't expect that this tiger would hide such a tortuous story. I heard you right. General Zhu meant that when you met this tiger, it had already been injured and was very weak, so you didn't have to worry about it.
No matter how many twists and turns, we hunted it back, but this is it?"
Zhu Yi cupped his hands and said.
"Your Majesty is Holy Ming."
So, Zhu Qiyu turned to Liu Chengqing on the side and asked.
"Liu Qing, General Zhu said that when he met the tiger, the tiger was very weak, but you said that when he met the tiger, it was very fierce and pounced on people. Who should I believe between the two of you?"
Although this was said in a light tone, it was hard to accept.
A trace of cold sweat broke out on Liu Chengqing's forehead, he hesitated for a moment and said.
"Your Majesty, I dare not lie. Although the tiger was wounded by the imperial guards accompanying me, no bows and crossbows were used. The tiger pounced on too fast and did not have time to draw its sword. Several imperial soldiers almost fought with their bare hands.
It forced him to retreat."
"Although the tiger was injured when it escaped, it was not very weak."
If possible, Mr. Liu really doesn't want to say that.
You must know the reason why he and Zhu Yi came to the imperial court.
In the final analysis, he was not convinced by Zhu Yi's limelight, so he used the reason that he encountered the tiger in the first place to accuse Zhu Yi of holding an injured tiger to fake his reputation as a tiger-fighting warrior.
But if he said this now, wouldn't he be admitting that he had not caused any substantial harm to the tiger? On the other hand, thinking about it on the contrary, he was saying in disguise that he was making trouble unreasonably.
However, in front of the emperor, he did not dare to lie and deceive, and his heart was really bitter.
However, hearing what Liu Chengqing said, all the ministers present felt a little confused.
After frowning and thinking for a moment, Zhu Qiyu asked.
"It seems that there is more to the story about this tiger. If you two are telling the truth, then is it possible that during the time between you two meeting the tiger, the tiger also met someone else?
?”
As he spoke, Zhu Qiyu looked not far away and said.
"However, it seems that the people who participated in the spring hunting have almost returned. I didn't hear anyone say that they met this tiger..."
It has to be said that the emperor is surrounded by people with exquisite minds.
Seeing this situation, Wynn consciously reminded him.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince of Xiangling is still in the forest and has not returned yet!"
"The Crown Prince of Xiangling?"
Zhu Qiyu murmured softly, his voice not too high, but it was enough for the people below to hear clearly.
At this time, Wang Tianguan, who had just been reprimanded, stood up again and said.
"Your Majesty, since there is another secret behind this matter, we might as well wait a little longer until everyone returns here and ask questions to understand. It's not too late."
This statement was recognized by most of the people present, especially the group of civil servants. Because of the promise made by the emperor just now, they did not want Zhu Yi to take the first place in the spring hunt.
If the speculation just now is true, then even if the person who got involved is not the Crown Prince of Xiangling, Zhu Fanzhi, but someone else, in the end, the credit for hunting the tiger cannot be fully attributed to him.
Zhu Yi is alone.
At that time, there will be much more room for maneuver.
Of course, some are willing and some are not.
Seeing Wang Wen stand up again, Ningyang Bo Chen Mao also spoke up for the military officials.
"Your Majesty, this tiger may have hidden secrets, but no matter what twists and turns it went through, it was General Zhu Yi who finally brought the tiger back."
"What's more, General Zhu Yi actually could have kept silent about the process of hunting the tiger, but he was willing to give up the reward and report it truthfully. This shows that General Zhu is a loyal and upright minister, and His Majesty deserves to praise him."
While everyone was talking about their own words, Wynn suddenly saw the chamberlain who was responsible for counting the prey walking up again.
This time, his expression was more complicated and difficult to understand, and it seemed as if he was being coerced.
Looking back, there was a strong young man with an excited face behind him. Who could he be if he wasn't Prince Xiangling?
So, Eunuch Huai'en quietly walked down the high platform, came to the chamberlain, bowed his hands first, and said.
"I have met the Crown Prince of Xiangling."
Then, he turned to the chamberlain, who had an obviously bitter look on his face, and asked.
"What's wrong? But what happened that needs to be reported to Your Majesty?"
"Eunuch Huaien, yes, it is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and I would like to ask to see His Majesty."
As he spoke, Wynn noticed that the waiter couldn't help but wink to the side, but he didn't dare to say another word.
Wynn immediately understood that he did not dare to offend anyone. After thinking about it, he turned to Zhu Fanzhi next to him and asked.
"The prince came here to hunt, and he must have gained a lot. It just so happened that His Majesty and all the elders were also guessing who would come out on top, between the prince and General Zhu of Chengguo Palace. Now that the prince has returned, he came to see your majesty.
He seems to be full of confidence!”
"ah?"
Hearing this, Zhu Fanzhi was obviously a little surprised, as if he didn't expect that he would receive such great expectations.
However, immediately after, what was surprising was that he seemed to feel guilty inexplicably, glanced to the side furtively, and asked.
"Eunuch Huai En, please ask me something."
Huai'en is an expert at observing words and expressions. Seeing this situation, he was not in a hurry and just bowed and said.
"Your Majesty, please give me your instructions."
"Well, I just saw a tiger there. It's not dead yet. Was it Zhu Yi who killed it?"
For some reason, Huaien always felt that the Prince of Xiangling was being sneaky when he asked this question.
However, he still nodded and said.
"Yes, exactly!"
"Oh, then let me ask again, according to the rules, whoever killed the prey in the spring hunting belongs to whom. Is Zhu Yi selling that tiger?"
After saying this, Zhu Fanzhi seemed a little embarrassed.
Then, Wynn understood what he was thinking, and it turned out that he was trying to kill the tiger.
However, he understood clearly, but Hua En was not fooled by him. He just smiled and cupped his hands and said.
"Your Majesty, according to the convention, the prey caught in the spring hunting can be brought back to the mansion by oneself. However, according to the rules, these prey are actually the property of Nanyuan and belong to the royal family. Even if they are brought back to the mansion, they are still considered to be the royal family.
It’s rewarded, so…”
Therefore, it is fine to keep them yourself or kill them, but it may not be appropriate to sell them.
Hua En didn't say the next words, but Zhu Fanzhi was not stupid, so he naturally understood.
Thinking about it, if it were anything else, such a big tiger would be eye-catching wherever he went. Once he changed his residence, he would be discovered immediately.
Hua En thought Zhu Fanzhi would be dejected after hearing this, but he never thought that instead of being disappointed, he asked with bright eyes.
"So, whoever kills the prey on the spring hunting ground can take it back?"
The tone of this question made Wynn feel a little wary.
In fact, what he just said was clear enough, but after hearing Zhu Fanzhi's current tone, Wynn thought about it and said again.
"This is the custom. However, your Majesty may also keep some too precious prey in Nanyuan."
Obviously, Hua En's words this time touched Zhu Fanzhi's mind, and his face suddenly fell.
"but……"
Huai'en had been in the palace for so many years and relied on his ability to behave. Seeing Zhu Fanzhi behave like this, he spoke again.
"When the Crown Prince went out for hunting just now, His Majesty and the Supreme Emperor were talking to each other. They said that the winner of this spring hunt could make a request to His Majesty. If it is not excessive, Your Majesty would agree to it. If the Crown Prince's prey is rich enough,
Maybe you can give it a try.”
"real?"
The young man's face suddenly lit up and he urged.
"Then take me to see His Majesty quickly!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, please wait a moment..."
Wynn cupped his hands, turned back to the high platform, and reported to the emperor in a low voice the conversation he had just had with Zhu Fanzhi.
After listening, Zhu Qiyu laughed a little and asked.
"How many prey has he hunted? Why didn't he listen to reports?"
Wynn thought of the bitter look on the waiter's face who had just counted the prey, cupped his hands and said.
"Your Majesty, I think the Prince of Xiangling came here in a hurry and wanted to report the good news to Your Majesty. Therefore, he came with the servants who were doing the counting. This servant did not ask carefully."
Then, Zhu Qiyu vaguely understood and continued.
"Then let him come up. I want to see how many prey he has hunted!"
So Huaien sent people down to deliver the message, and not long after, Zhu Fanzhi came to the high platform.
"I, Zhu Fanzhi, the eldest son of Prince Xiangling, come to see Your Majesty and the Supreme Emperor!"
"Get flat!"
As a person who was expected to compete with Zhu Yi, Zhu Fanzhi attracted everyone's attention as soon as he came up.
The emperor didn't waste any words and asked directly.
"The chamberlain who just counted the prey told me that you have gained a lot this time, and you want to tell me yourself. Now that you are in front of the emperor, you can tell me how many prey you have hunted this time."
Obviously, this is the issue that everyone is most concerned about right now.
However, facing the attention of everyone, the Prince of Xiangling hesitated for a moment, seeming a little embarrassed, but still asked again.
"Your Majesty, can I ask for a reward first? Please give me all the prey I hunted this time and take it home?"