The beloved baby has a space

Chapter 442 Meeting the Emperor

Emperor Minghua has been on the throne for 18 years. He exudes the air of a superior, with a solemn face comparable to that of a Bodhisattva. He commands respect without anger, and ordinary people would feel weak in the knees just by standing next to him.

When Emperor Minghua was examining someone, many veteran officials dared not look him in the eye, but Qin Huai was fearless.

Qin Huai replied: "In the second year of Minghua, the imperial edict stated: those who did not obtain their official rank through hereditary privilege should not kneel before officials. Your Majesty is the highest official in our Great Chang. I am but a humble commoner who passed the preliminary examination this spring and has now achieved the rank of Xiucai."

Therefore, he doesn't have to kneel.

When Emperor Minghua issued the edict, he also wanted to broaden the path of patriotism and allow more scholars to rise up through their own efforts, so as to purify the atmosphere of the court.

At first, scholars enjoyed this imperial favor, but it gradually became a mere formality, and no one dared to act recklessly.

After all, apart from the twenty top scholars who passed the imperial examinations every two years, no other students could stand before the emperor.

Everyone naturally had to kneel before the emperor.

"You're quite an interesting lad," Emperor Minghua said, looking at Qin Huai. "You're the grandson of the Duke of Yong, truly remarkable. You already possess an extraordinary air at such a young age. How old are you this year?"

"Your Majesty, I am eight years old this year."

Unlike the Western Wind Kingdom, in the Great Chang Kingdom, people usually report their actual age, not their nominal age.

"You passed the imperial examination at the age of eight, which shows you are indeed extraordinary. Do you know why I summoned you here today?"

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Xi quickly dismissed his attendants and closed the door of Qinxin Palace, leaving only the three of them inside.

"This humble subject is unaware; please enlighten me, Your Majesty," Qin Huai said, neither humble nor arrogant.

Emperor Minghua stared at Qin Huai for a long time, muttering the word "like" several times.

The Duke of Yong felt a chill run down his spine, fearing that he would be questioned by Emperor Minghua.

“You look a lot like your Empress cousin, not only in appearance but also in temperament. No wonder your Empress cousin eagerly gave you the fruit she had obtained.” Emperor Minghua pointed to the chair next to him. “Duke Yong, Qin Huai, please sit down. Let’s talk while we’re seated.”

At this point, Emperor Minghua asked Qin Huai if he had a courtesy name. Qin Huai replied that he did not have a courtesy name; his elders had given him the name You, which they sometimes used in combination with his name, but he never used it in daily life.

"Qin Youhuai?" Tian Jia casually uttered, not dwelling on the question any further, and then asked about his purpose this time, "The head of the imperial prison reported that you executed a serious criminal, is that right?"

Duke Yongguo hurriedly stood up and said, "Where did you get this idea! Our Huai'er is naturally weak. We would never let him go to a place like the imperial prison, where blood and violence are so intense, let alone be executed! He is only 8 years old. How could he understand these things? Your Majesty, perhaps there is some mistake?"

Before the Duke of Yong could finish making amends, Qin Huai admitted it.

“Yes,” Qin Huai said, “she deserves to die.”

They repeatedly sent assassins to kill the defenseless Ayu, even going so far as to try to have the Blood Rain Pavilion massacre the Hu Family Village.

Bringing up either of these points would be an unforgivable crime punishable by death.

Now that her value has been fully utilized, Qin Huai naturally wouldn't spare her life.

"Do you know that there are still many confessions on that serious criminal that I have not yet obtained?"

Qin Huai frowned: "This humble subject does not know what Your Majesty wishes to know. This humble subject only knows that that woman has repeatedly provoked me without cause, and has secretly colluded with the Prince of Xiaoyao, intending to harm my Duke Yong's mansion—"

"Hey, hey, you brat, don't talk nonsense like that!" Duke Yong wished he could slap Qin Huai unconscious. What kind of nonsense was this kid spouting in front of the imperial family?

Although the Duke of Yongguo's mansion and the Duke of Anguo's mansion were not on good terms, they would not openly make things difficult for each other like this.

Moreover, this is something that has no evidence, so how can you make unfounded accusations against the Prince of Leisure?
Offending someone is a small matter, but if the imperial court investigates later, wouldn't that ruin my life?!

"Every word I have said is true." Qin Huai stood up, walked to Emperor Minghua, knelt down, and said in a completely flat tone, "I implore Your Majesty to verify this!" Emperor Minghua had indeed heard the report from his subordinates, which was why he had summoned Qin Huai.

He originally had no impression of this child who grew up in the Duke of Yong's mansion, because the Duke of Yong's family had too many children.

Although the Duke of Yongguo's family was his in-laws, the current Empress also came from the Duke of Yongguo's family.

She even said that in order to avoid suspicion, she asked the children from the Duke of Yong's mansion to call her "aunt," thus deliberately distancing herself from the relationship, so as not to let the children from the Duke of Yong's mansion use this to show off.

He originally thought that the child had killed the prisoner in the imperial prison, but that the Duke of Yong had only sent the child to shield him from arrows, and that the one who really wanted to kill the man was the Duke of Yong.

After all, how could a child who is not even 10 years old have such a strong murderous intent?
Moreover, it's not so easy to get into the imperial prison.

Now that he had seen the child with his own eyes, Emperor Minghua's doubts dissipated.

He looked like a very opinionated child, with a coldness in his eyes that he thought he had hidden very well, which was definitely not the look of an 8-year-old child.

Could it be that the Duke of Yong's mansion mistreated him, causing him to harbor hatred?

Now, right in front of him, they're trying to pit the Duke of Yongguo's mansion against the Prince of Xiaoyao. Who's behind this?
We don't know who the child's father is. Maybe if we find out who the father is, we'll know what happened.

It is easier for an emperor to investigate a person than for an ordinary person.

Strangely, when he became interested in the child, the eunuch told him that the child's mother was a daughter of the Duke of Yong, whom everyone called Madam Qin.

Madam Qin lived a secluded life and never participated in aristocratic banquets, so few people had ever seen her.

It is said that the child's father is unknown, but it is likely that a wealthy family took Madam Qin as a concubine.

The family was a wealthy and powerful one, naturally the Qin family of the royal family, since the child shared the same surname as him.

It was precisely because he couldn't find the information that Emperor Minghua, who had initially thought it didn't matter, summoned Qin Huai, wanting to see him in person.

Unless they are extremely special, everyone in the imperial prison will die inside, with no chance of ever coming out again.

Most of them had committed serious crimes punishable by death; they were either extremely vicious or had unusual identities.

It's normal for one or two serious criminals to die; not everyone can withstand the punishments of the imperial prison.

Emperor Minghua naturally had no intention of severely punishing Qin Huai. He already had a copy of all the information about Xie Changsheng, both useful and useless.

That was just a trick on him.

"Never mind, you're still a child, you probably don't understand the gravity of the situation." Emperor Minghua originally wanted to punish Qin Huai, after all, he wanted to establish the imperial authority.

But looking into Qin Huai's stubborn eyes, the emperor was reminded of his wife in the harem, who hadn't given him a kind look for several years.

He waved his hand and said, "It's rare for you to come to the palace. Go see your aunt and thank her for the fruit she gave you earlier."

Since he's the kind of boy who's willing to bring fruit, his wife might like seeing him.

Qin Huai bowed: "Yes."

He followed the palace maid's guidance and walked for about a quarter of an hour before finally seeing a magnificent palace.

Just as I entered the main hall, I saw a familiar face.

"What are you doing here, Madam?" Qin Huai narrowed his eyes as he looked at Madam Qin, who was dressed as a matriarch.

(End of this chapter)