I want to be innocent, but they don't allow me

Jing'an City, Imperial Palace.

Seven days have passed since Li Mu entered the building.

"Is this true?"

In the harem garden, Emperor Hongwen looked at the Queen in astonishment.

"I didn't know where the third floor was at first, but the palace maid who went out to inquire just now came back and said that the third floor can only be entered but not exited. Qingyi's child..."

As the queen spoke, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

Emperor Hongwen frowned. He naturally knew where the third floor was. He turned his head and looked outside the garden and shouted:

"Deng Wukun!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Eunuch Deng, who could obviously run with Li Mu on the roof, stumbled out of the courtyard and knelt down in front of Emperor Hongwen with a plop:

"This old slave kowtows to His Majesty!"

"When I founded the new dynasty, I abolished these old rituals. Do you think my words are just wind in my ears?"

Hearing this, Eunuch Deng's body trembled slightly. Just as he was about to stand up, he heard Emperor Hongwen say angrily:

"Since you have to kneel, kneel down properly!"

Eunuch Deng's knees barely left the ground, but with a clang, he knelt back down again, prostrating himself and saying:

"I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong!"

"Do you know about Li Mu's affairs?"

Emperor Hongwen narrowed his eyes, and his voice seemed even colder than this winter.

"This slave knows."

Eunuch Deng put his nose to the ground and answered in a trembling voice.

"I know why you didn't report it!"

Hongwen appeared in front of Eunuch Deng, but his raised foot stopped in the air. After hesitating for a while, he retracted it.

"Your Majesty has been working very hard on the affairs of the court recently. He has told me not to report any other matters. I deserve to die. I acted on my own initiative."

Emperor Hongwen frowned, obviously this was indeed his order.

At this time, another palace maid came running over from outside the courtyard. When she saw Eunuch Deng kneeling on the ground, she was obviously startled and her body fell to the ground involuntarily.

Emperor Hongwen glared at Eunuch Deng and asked the palace maid in the distance, "What's the matter?"

The maid was obviously frightened, and her voice was faintly crying:

"Sun, Commander Sun said that Prime Minister Lu wants to see Your Majesty. He has already entered the palace. Send, send your servant..."

"Okay, back off."

Emperor Hongwen waved his hands impatiently.

"Otomo, come with me and take a look."

Emperor Hongwen frowned and his tone softened a lot.

At this time, the queen behind him reminded anxiously:

"Your Majesty, Qing Yi's child..."

"I understand, Queen, don't worry."

Emperor Hongwen forced a smile on his solemn face.

Seeing this, the queen pursed her lips, folded her hands on her waist, and saluted:

"I respectfully send you off to Your Majesty."

"..."

...

There was no so-called small court meeting in the Xing Dynasty.

A side hall in the imperial palace, where the emperor and his ministers would hold meetings after the morning court session on weekdays.

As soon as Emperor Hongwen entered the palace, Prime Minister Lu, who was waiting there, immediately knelt down on the ground.

Seeing this, Emperor Hongwen's expression, which had just relaxed, immediately changed again:

"What is Lu Qing doing?"

Prime Minister Lu did not even raise his head. He took out a bamboo slip from his sleeve, raised his hands high, and said in a serious tone:

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Yan personally led an army of 20,000 to besiege Qiuzhou City. Now the people in the city are in a panic. Your Majesty needs to make a decision on this matter."

The corner of Emperor Hongwen's mouth twitched, and he immediately figured out the key point, and asked knowingly:

"Qiuzhou rebelled?"

"Your Majesty! Privately mobilizing troops is a serious crime. Qiuzhou is the former residence of a saint. The King of Yan's actions... cough cough cough..."

Prime Minister Lu was obviously not prepared to play Tai Chi with Emperor Hongwen, so he spoke bluntly.

He was so excited that he started coughing violently before he could finish his words.

Emperor Hongwen glanced at Eunuch Deng beside him, then hurried to Prime Minister Lu, bent down and helped him up:

"Hurry to Ruoshui Hall..."

"Your Majesty! The Prince of Yan is besieging the city to dig up the sage's residence. He is trying to cut off the roots of Confucianism, Your Majesty!"

Prime Minister Lu grabbed Emperor Hongwen's sleeve, his tone as sad as it could be.

"Then according to the Prime Minister, how should this matter be handled?"

Prime Minister Lu stood up straight, and the sadness just now disappeared instantly. He pondered for a long time and said:

"Your Majesty, please issue an imperial decree, and Prince Xu Yan will immediately withdraw his troops and return to the north."

"What about the private mobilization of troops?"

Emperor Hongwen asked.

"The Prince of Yan is a vassal king after all, and the Prince of Yan is not allowed to enter the third floor. Now we don't know whether he is alive or dead. I hope Your Majesty will take into account the Prince of Yan's love for his son and guard Donglai Pass for many years, and punish him lightly and give him a severe warning, so as not to lose the support of the people in the north."

Emperor Hongwen nodded slightly: "Mr. Lu is indeed thoughtful. I will issue an order now."

"I hope your Majesty will take care of your health. I will take my leave now."

Seeing that Emperor Hongwen agreed, Prime Minister Lu did not stay for a moment and left directly.

Emperor Hongwen was writing the imperial edict at his desk himself, but his eyes would occasionally glance at Eunuch Deng beside him.

After a long while, Eunuch Deng's ears moved slightly, and he walked to the side of Emperor Hongwen, with a hint of doubt in his voice:

"Your Majesty, what does Prime Minister Lu mean by this?"

Emperor Hongwen shook his head and smiled, then stamped his seal on the imperial edict:

"I'm here to plead for King Yan."

"plead?"

Obviously, Eunuch Deng is a good supporting actor and he asked the question even though he knew the answer.

Emperor Hongwen glanced at the bamboo slips on the table and said calmly:

"Lu Chongyun intercepted this memorial and sent it directly to me. Once I issue my imperial decree, this matter will be stopped."

As he spoke, Emperor Hongwen pointed to the imperial edict on the table.

"You don't understand what's going on in the court. Send this imperial edict to Qiuzhou."

Hearing this, Eunuch Deng hurriedly and carefully held up the imperial edict and said with a flattering smile:

"Of course I don't understand. I will send An Bing to deliver the imperial edict."

Unexpectedly, just as he finished speaking, Emperor Hongwen stopped him and said:

"Don't you have a godson? Let him go. I wronged you today. When he comes back, you can decide how to reward him."

...

...

Eunuch Deng held the imperial edict and went straight back to his residence.

"This is an errand assigned by His Majesty. Please give us some snacks."

"Don't worry, godfather. Even if I don't eat or sleep, I will send this imperial edict to Qiuzhou as quickly as possible."

The young eunuch held the imperial edict in both hands, and his voice trembled a little when he spoke.

"No brains! If I need you to deliver it quickly?"

Eunuch Deng looked very disappointed and started to curse.

The young eunuch rolled his eyes, as if waking someone up from a dream:

"What Godfather means is..."

"If you encounter those powerful gentry and unscrupulous merchants who oppress the people on the road, you must stand up for the people. You must take care of the things that should be taken care of. Even if it delays the journey, His Majesty will not blame you for these things."

Eunuch Deng's tone was light but meaningful.

...

...

...

Outside Qiuzhou City, the air was filled with blood.

Twenty thousand cavalrymen have been stationed here for two days.

In the big tent, the King of Yan held a kettle in his hand, looked at Li Wu in front of him and asked:

"The great scholar hasn't come back yet? What did that kid say? Is he really going to dig up the saint's residence?"

Li Wu's young face showed a struggle. It was obvious that digging up the Saint's Residence was a little hard for him to accept. He hesitated for a long time and said with gritted teeth:

"My second brother left the word 'dig' on his weapon. The teacher said he was just guessing."

"What about the others?"

King Yan asked.

"My teacher asked me to inform my father about this matter and I left that same day."

King Yan gulped down several mouthfuls and cursed:

"You little bastard, once I dig you out, I'll... I'll..."

After talking for a long time, he still didn't know what he could do to Li Mu. He immediately threw the kettle and started cursing:

"No need to wait, let's go straight into the city!"

Just then, a shout came from outside the tent:

"Your Majesty, the Jiazi Camp has entered the city with two thousand men!"

King Yan turned his head and saw a soldier, panting, lifting the curtain of the tent.

"Damn it, who let them into the city without my order?"

The soldier was frightened by the King of Yan's momentum and trembled as he replied:

"Yes, it's the princess."

The King of Yan stood up in a flash, and in the blink of an eye he was in front of the soldier, grabbing his collar and angrily said:

"Bullshit, will the Jiazi Camp listen to a little girl like Ling'er?"

"Your Majesty, the current leader of the Jiazi Camp is General Wei's younger brother."

The soldier turned his head away, not daring to look at King Yan.

"so what?"

"General Wei was killed by the ten Rannu assassins who sneaked into the city."

The sergeant swallowed, but when the words came out, anger appeared on his face.