Shen Jing raised his eyes and secretly glanced at Emperor Zhou.
It was him indeed!
Damn it, he was fishing with me yesterday, and today he's sitting on the Dragon Throne!
Is he playing a 'Kangxi's Incognito Visits' game with me?
It's a good thing I didn't say anything critical of Emperor Zhou yesterday, otherwise, I'd definitely be in trouble today!
Damn it!
Didn't that dead girl Ye Li say her father was very busy?
So busy, yet he still had the leisure to pretend to be a strange old man and chat with me?
Hmm, it seems the front lines must be doing well.
I estimate we'll soon receive news of the rebellion being completely quelled.
Otherwise, how could Emperor Zhou be so idly bored!
The Emperor's might cannot be observed, so Shen Jing only glanced once before feigning shock and shrinking into a corner at the entrance of the main hall.
Shen Jing had never attended court and didn't know where he should stand; he just figured shrinking back was the right move.
Hmm, this spot is closest to the main hall's entrance.
If there's an earthquake or something, I can be the first to escape.
Shen Jing's mind was filled with wild thoughts.
"We, your subjects, pay our respects to Your Majesty, may Your Majesty enjoy boundless prosperity!"
Everyone bowed in unison to Emperor Zhou.
Emperor Zhou came back to his senses, raised his hand slightly, "Rise!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Everyone slowly stood up, respectfully taking their positions.
Emperor Zhou raised his eyes and looked around, asking in a deep voice, "Where is Shen Jing?"
Shen Jing had originally wanted to hide.
With Emperor Zhou's question, he knew he couldn't hide anymore.
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Shen Jing reluctantly stepped out from behind an official and bowed, "This junior, Shen Jing, greets Your Majesty."
He had no official rank or position, so calling himself 'subject' was inappropriate.
But he was also a scholar, so calling himself 'commoner' was also inappropriate.
They brainstormed last night and finally decided that 'this junior' was the most suitable self-address.
As Shen Jing stepped out, the eyes of the assembled officials fell upon him.
"Hmm, you are a meritorious official, don't hide behind the crowd. Let all my beloved ministers have a good look! Just stand there!"
Emperor Zhou was stern and unsmiling, fully displaying his imperial aura.
He was like a completely different person from when he was fishing by the lake yesterday.
"Yes!"
Shen Jing reluctantly accepted the order, feeling a wave of frustration.
In this position, there was no one to block him.
Any expression or movement he made would be seen clearly.
Meritorious official?
Meritorious official, my foot!
He was clearly being made to stand here as punishment!
Emperor Zhou straightened his body slightly, swept his gaze across the assembled officials, and went straight to the point: "Shen Jing exposed Prince Ji's rebellion this time. What do you, my beloved ministers, think? How should I reward Shen Jing?"
Listening to Emperor Zhou's question, the officials looked at each other, but no one spoke.
Many people were still unclear about the situation.
Moreover, Shen Jing had previously clashed with Yao Jian, the Chancellor Yao, outside the palace. Asking for a reward for Shen Jing might offend Yao Jian!
In this situation, no one was willing to speak rashly.
Just as Emperor Zhou was about to ask again, the Second Prince, Ye Qing, suddenly stepped out and bowed, saying, "Imperial Father, your son believes that while Shen Jing has made some contributions, his faults outweigh them!"
Hearing Ye Qing's words, many bewildered officials showed surprise.
Exposing a rebellion, and it became a fault?
What kind of logic is that?
Shen Jing knew perfectly well but remained silent, secretly wondering.
Are these father and son putting on a show?
It doesn't make sense!
If Emperor Zhou wanted someone to play good cop/bad cop, he shouldn't have chosen the Second Prince!
Wouldn't it be better to have some of the court officials play the bad cop?
"Continue."
Emperor Zhou spoke indifferently.
Ye Qing turned to face the assembled officials and said seriously, "Many adults in court probably don't know yet that several years ago, someone reported to Imperial Father that Prince Ji had intentions of rebellion. However, Imperial Father considered that Great Zhou urgently needed a period of recuperation, and therefore chose not to act against Prince Ji for the time being, planning to wait for the right moment to take down Prince Ji without bloodshed. However, Shen Jing's actions forced Prince Ji to raise an army..."
Ye Qing publicly recounted the words Emperor Zhou had previously told Shen Jing.
Hearing Ye Qing's words, the officials were in an uproar.
No wonder Yao Jian had previously said that Shen Jing had ruined the court's important affairs for his own selfish reasons; so that's where the problem lay!
It seems Yao Jian was also in the know!
"Your Highness's words, this subject cannot agree with!"
Just then, Zhang Ci proactively stepped forward.
Ye Qing squinted at Zhang Ci, "Lord Zhang, this prince remembers that when Imperial Father discussed with several important court officials how to deal with Prince Ji's attempted rebellion, you were also present, weren't you?"
"This subordinate was indeed present!"
Zhang Ci admitted, "What Your Highness said is indeed true, but Shen Jing was not aware of this matter beforehand. He accidentally discovered Prince Ji's intention to rebel, shouldn't he report it to the court?"
"Of course he should!"
Ye Qing nodded, "This prince does not deny Shen Jing's merits; I merely believe that Shen Jing's faults outweigh his merits! To reward Shen Jing, these merits and faults must first be clearly stated before any reward can be given!"
"This subject seconds that!"
As Ye Qing's words fell, many officials immediately echoed his sentiment.
Shen Jing looked at these people with a calm expression, secretly noting them down in his mind.
With so many officials echoing him, Ye Qing became even more energized and asked Yao Jian, "Chancellor Yao also holds the position of Minister of Revenue. May I ask Chancellor Yao, how much silver will the court have to spend due to this rebellion in Qu Prefecture?"
Yao Jian lowered his brows in thought for a moment, then replied, "Military pay, weapons, plus various death benefits and post-war relief for the displaced commoners due to the war, a rough estimate is at least eight million strings of cash! If we include the tax revenue from Qu Prefecture and other losses, it should exceed ten million strings of cash."
"Ten million strings of cash!"
Ye Qing emphasized the amount, then bowed to Emperor Zhou, "Imperial Father, Shen Jing's exposure of Prince Ji's rebellion indeed has merit! However, his merit is built upon the court suffering huge losses!"
"Your son believes that Imperial Father can reward Shen Jing, but must also consider the losses Shen Jing has brought to the court!"
"As the saying goes, merit is merit, and fault is fault!"
For Ye Qing, whether to heavily reward Shen Jing or not was actually irrelevant.
Shen Jing was merely an insignificant minor character who couldn't stir up any trouble!
What was important was to win over Yao Jian!
Yao Jian held immense power in the court.
As long as he could gain Yao Jian's support, his chances of contending for the Crown Prince position would greatly increase!
"Prince Jing's words are very true!"
"Merit is merit, and fault is fault; they cannot be confused!"
"It is already a great kindness for Your Majesty not to pursue Shen Jing's transgressions!"
"This subject seconds that..."
For a time, many officials stepped forward to support Ye Qing; besides officials from Ye Qing's faction, there were also many from Yao Jian's faction.
Emperor Zhou looked at Shen Jing, seeing his calm expression, and couldn't help but nod secretly.
But when he glanced at Ye Qing, a strange look flashed in his eyes.
He had originally intended for Yao Jian to bring up this matter.
But Ye Qing suddenly stepping forward made him a little more suspicious.
Has the second son sensed something?
After a brief thought, Emperor Zhou looked at Shen Jing again, "So many ministers in court say your faults outweigh your merits. Tell me, is your merit greater, or your fault greater?"
Here it comes!
It was finally his turn!
Shen Jing felt a wave of displeasure, pretended to be stunned for a moment, and said in a feigned daze, "It's this junior's audacity!"
