Joy of Life: I am Li Chengze, and I have mastered the Eight Wonders

Chapter 66: Making meritorious deeds
"Gong Dian, as the commander of the imperial guards, you should have set up strict defenses in the Hanging Temple, but you still let the assassin sneak in. It's really disappointing!"

Emperor Qing's tone was full of dissatisfaction.

"And Ye Chong, you went to search the mountain first, but you let the assassin escape. Could it be that the assassin really has the ability to fly and hide underground?"

Emperor Qing's rage was clearly uncontrollable, and he was extremely angry at Ye Zhong's dereliction of duty.

"I will entrust the safety of the entire palace and even the entire capital to you brothers.

But you have let me down so much! I am deeply saddened by your dereliction of duty."

Emperor Qing's words revealed deep disappointment and anger.

"From now on, you two will be exiled to the frontier. I hope you can reflect deeply there.
Make up for your crime with meritorious service!"

Emperor Qing decided to severely punish Ye Chong and Gong Dian, hoping that they would repent and reform themselves in the harsh environment of the frontier.

"Your Majesty!" At this moment, Li Chengze, who had been standing quietly in the court without saying a word, suddenly spoke and walked forward to prepare to report.

"Oh? Do you have anything to report?"

Emperor Qing looked down at Li Chengze with a hint of doubt in his tone.

"Your Majesty, regarding the marriage between me and Ye Ling'er of the Ye family, Your Majesty has granted us the marriage a long time ago. Now that the time is ripe, should we arrange the marriage?"

Li Chengze spoke to Emperor Qing and raised questions about his marriage.

As soon as Li Chengze said this, the court immediately started to discuss. Everyone could see that Emperor Qing was very dissatisfied with the Ye family and even exiled them directly.

But at this time, Li Chengze suddenly stood up and mentioned the matter of marrying Ye Ling'er, which undoubtedly expressed his attitude of standing with the Ye family.

This move by the Second Prince surprised everyone. When did he become so brave?

How dare you go against His Majesty's wishes at this time? The prince remained silent, as if he had become an invisible figure in the court.

But after hearing Li Chengze's words, his eyes flashed and he looked at Li Chengze in disbelief.

The second brother’s reputation has indeed been getting higher day by day recently, but what happened to him today?
You actually want to go against His Majesty? Is he too complacent recently? Ye Zhong stared at Li Chengze with gratitude.

At this critical juncture, Li Chengze took the initiative to propose a date for his marriage to Ling'er, which deeply touched Ye Zhong.

He had not expected that the Second Prince also attached so much importance to friendship and promises.

"Well, your marriage with Ye Ling'er is indeed my will." Emperor Qing spoke majestically.
"There's an old saying in the underworld: 'Misfortunes should not affect your wife and children.'

Then, three days from now will be the first day of June, and I will issue an edict announcing that the eldest prince Li Chengru and the eldest princess of Northern Qi will be married at that time."

"At the same time, the wedding of the Second Prince Li Chengze and Ye Ling'er is scheduled for June 20th."

Emperor Qing continued to say that this was the promise he had made to Li Chengze at the Hanging Temple, and he would naturally not go back on his word.

As Emperor Qing finished speaking, the eldest prince and Li Chengze expressed their gratitude in unison.

However, after expressing his gratitude, the eldest prince returned to his seat, but Li Chengze still stood in the center of the hall, obviously having something else to say.

"Li Chengze, what else do you want to report?" Emperor Qing looked at Li Chengze and asked puzzledly.

Li Chengze took a deep breath and then slowly said: "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, 'People make mistakes,
Even a horse can stumble, and no one is perfect. Commander Ye has guarded Kyoto for many years, and his contributions and hard work cannot be ignored.

Although he failed to perform his duties in the assassination of the Hanging Temple, I implore Your Majesty to be lenient in view of his hard work over the years."

As soon as Li Chengze finished speaking, exclamations were heard in the court.

No one expected that he would plead for Commander Ye at this time, which further demonstrated his emphasis on friendship. And he had taken the initiative to propose a wedding date with Ye Ling'er, which was based on his respect and fulfillment of the marriage granted by His Majesty.

Although his statement may be seen as a different position from Your Majesty, from a certain perspective,
This is understandable and does not constitute deception to the monarch. However, what is the current situation?

His Majesty has already made a clear ruling on Ye Zhong’s dereliction of duty, but the Second Prince actually dared to openly ask His Majesty to revoke his order?
This is undoubtedly a challenge to Your Majesty's authority, just like openly competing with Your Majesty in the ring.

I used to think that the Second Prince's behavior was quite courageous, but now it seems that this is not only courageous, but also a bit crazy.

"Huh? Are you questioning my will?" Emperor Qing's face suddenly turned gloomy, with obvious displeasure in his eyes, and he questioned Li Chengze.

"Your Majesty!" If the bronze-level task had not been triggered, Li Chengze might really not dare to insist on his own opinion under the pressure of Emperor Qing.

Therefore, even in the face of Emperor Qing's dissatisfaction, Li Chengze still continued to speak under pressure:

"The assassination at the Hanging Temple shocked the world. The assassin hiding in the dark was able to hurt Your Majesty from hundreds of feet away. His method was so shocking that it shook the world."

“Today, such a mysterious assassin is still lurking in the dark and has not been arrested, which undoubtedly makes people in the court uneasy.

At this time when we need people, if Your Majesty exiles Commander Ye and others, wouldn't it increase the difficulty of searching for the assassin?"

“Therefore, I suggest that Commander Ye be allowed to stay in Kyoto and continue searching for the assassin as a guilty person, giving him a chance to atone for his crime.

I believe that Commander Ye will do his best."

“If the assassin is still not found, then it won’t be too late for Your Majesty to punish him for all his crimes.

In this situation, Your Majesty, please put the overall situation first!"

When Li Chengze finished his speech, the court fell into a brief silence.

Everyone looked at him with mixed feelings. Some thought his actions today were crazy, some admired his friendship, and some thought he was too confident.

No matter what, his act of standing up to support the Ye family today did shock the entire court.

Then, everyone's eyes turned to Emperor Qing, waiting for his response.

Faced with the Second Prince's bold remarks today, everyone was curious about how His Majesty would react.

Emperor Qing sat quietly for a long time without saying a word, obviously thinking deeply.

At first, when Li Chengze openly challenged his decision, Emperor Qing was extremely angry.

It had been a long time since anyone had disagreed with him so directly in court.

However, after calming down, Emperor Qing realized that Li Chengze's point of view was not unreasonable.

After all, the assassin who possessed Ye Qingmei's peerless magic weapon was still at large, and the current priority was indeed to capture him as soon as possible.

Otherwise, he would not be able to sleep well. Even if he wanted to deal with the Ye family, he should have made plans after finding the assassin.

Otherwise, if action is taken against the Ye family now and Ye Liuyun is angered, or the assassin in the dark takes the opportunity to launch another attack, the consequences will be disastrous.

Although Emperor Qing was inclined to accept Li Chengze's suggestion and was willing to let the Ye family go temporarily, as an emperor, he could not easily go back on his word.

Therefore, he will not express his opinion immediately.

After pondering for a moment, Emperor Qing finally spoke: "Regarding the Second Prince's proposal..."

What do you think?

(End of this chapter)