Hearing Ye Shen’s words, Tang Zhi secretly thought it was bad.
However, Ye Shen’s words were already out; he couldn't stop them in time.
Emperor Zhou’s face remained impassive, but he was secretly disappointed.
Ye Shen’s words seemed to try and not offend either side.
But as soon as he spoke, he ended up offending both sides.
He neither gained favor with Emperor Zhou nor with the military generals led by Pei Ji.
Alas!
He was already twenty-eight years old and had been in the position of Crown Prince for over ten years.
Although he had made progress, it was clearly insufficient.
He lacked both cunning and wisdom, and he had no ambition.
If Great Zhou’s national strength was at its peak, and he were to inherit the throne, he might be able to be a monarch who maintained the status quo.
But now, Great Zhou’s national strength had been severely depleted, and Emperor Zhou’s health was deteriorating day by day.
If he were to inherit the throne, and once again face internal and external troubles, Emperor Zhou feared he would be a monarch who would lose his country!
For some unknown reason, the thought of deposing the Crown Prince once again appeared in Emperor Zhou’s mind.
But very quickly, he shook off this terrifying thought.
After pondering for a while, Emperor Zhou’s gaze suddenly fell on Shen Jing, “Shen Jing, what do you think?”
“Ah?”
Emperor Zhou’s question directly stunned both Shen Jing and the assembled officials.
No one expected Emperor Zhou to ask Shen Jing about such an important matter.
Ignoring all the civil and military officials in the court, and instead asking an unranked and unappointed scholar?
This time, Shen Jing was truly stunned.
Shen Jing’s mind raced.
Why ask him?
This was a serious national affair; how could he get involved?
Hmm, Emperor Zhou was most likely setting a trap for him!
He had to respond carefully and not be inexplicably entrapped.
“What do you mean, ‘Ah’?”
Emperor Zhou glared at him, “Emperor Zhou is asking you a question!”
“This…”
Shen Jing paused slightly, looking at Emperor Zhou with a bitter expression: “This junior knows nothing of military matters and understands none of this.”
Before he understood the situation, he shouldn’t speak carelessly!
He would wait and see first!
“If Emperor Zhou tells you to speak, then speak! Don’t hide anything!”
Emperor Zhou showed a gentle smile, “Speak boldly and freely. If you say something wrong, Emperor Zhou will not blame you!”
Say your sister and your daughter!
Shen Jing secretly grumbled in his heart, shaking his head again: “This junior really doesn’t know!”
“Oh?”
Emperor Zhou’s gaze gradually sharpened, “Emperor Zhou heard from Qinghe that yesterday, when she invited you and Su Yourong to tour, you had quite a few insights into Prince Ji’s rebellion!”
“Now that Emperor Zhou asks, you know nothing?”
“What, do you have an opinion of Emperor Zhou?”
Listening to Emperor Zhou’s words, Shen Jing’s face couldn’t help but twitch.
Ah, sh*t!
This dog emperor!
He was slapping a huge label on him!
He didn’t want people to know they met at Fairy Lake yesterday, yet he was forcing him to express his views.
A typical case of wanting to have his cake and eat it too!
“How dare this junior have an opinion of His Majesty!”
Shen Jing forced out a smile.
“Then speak!”
Emperor Zhou urged: “Just like you did just now, say whatever you want to say! Even if you point out Emperor Zhou’s mistakes in court, Emperor Zhou will not blame you! Emperor Zhou is not an emperor who cannot hear the truth!”
Alright!
So, this is how you want to play?
Then let’s play!
Do you think this Taoist priest’s Tai Chi was practiced for nothing?
“Then this junior will presume to offend!”
Shen Jing took a deep breath, “This junior believes that what His Majesty and all the lords are discussing is completely meaningless!”
“Audacious!”
As soon as Shen Jing’s words fell, Ye Qing immediately reprimanded him.
“Shut up!”
Emperor Zhou glared at Ye Qing, then stared at Shen Jing: “Continue! Why is it meaningless?”
Shen Jing paused slightly, then said seriously: “What His Majesty and all the lords are concerned about each has its own reasons.”
“Since the problem has been raised, then find a way to solve it!”
“If the problem isn’t solved, what’s the point of discussing it over and over again?”
Isn’t it just playing Tai Chi?
Although this Taoist priest wasn’t an official in his previous life, he often saw officials playing Tai Chi on the news.
Listening to Shen Jing’s words, Emperor Zhou was both annoyed and amused.
This kid, he really was a slippery one!
He neither offended anyone nor perfectly avoided Emperor Zhou’s question, while also hitting the nail on the head!
Although what he said was essentially nonsense, his answer was much more clever than the Crown Prince’s!
“You speak so nicely!”
Yao Jian snorted coldly, “Solving problems, doesn’t that require discussion? Or do you have a solution to the problem? So you’re spouting nonsense in court?”
“This junior knows nothing of military matters and holds no office, so how could he have a solution to the problem?”
Shen Jing shook his head with a smile, “To speak an unpleasant truth, if all the civil and military officials were standing in this court, yet still needed this junior to come up with ideas, this junior would probably have already taken Chancellor Yao’s position! But this junior believes that His Majesty is a wise monarch, and all the civil and military officials are pillars of the nation. Everyone putting their heads together and directly addressing the core issues will surely come up with a way to quickly quell the rebellion!”
Listening to Shen Jing’s words, Emperor Zhou’s peripheral vision quietly glanced at Ye Shen.
Shen Jing, who had never experienced the trials of court, could still answer so flawlessly, both rebutting Yao Jian and redirecting the matter back to Emperor Zhou and the assembled officials.
Yet his Crown Prince, after so many years of court experience, was still like a greenhorn!
At this moment, Emperor Zhou was even more disappointed in Ye Shen.
“You certainly see things clearly!”
Emperor Zhou gave Shen Jing a meaningful look, then raised his eyes to scan the officials: “Think about it, everyone, how can we quickly quell the rebellion! Don’t let a mere youth laugh at all the civil and military officials for being incompetent!”
I…
Shen Jing really wanted to curse!
At this point, he still didn’t forget to scheme against him?
He wouldn’t be happy until he had him grilled over a fire?
Wasn’t it just that he got him drunk yesterday?
Was it really necessary to go this far?
This emperor had no magnanimity at all!
Thinking this, Shen Jing immediately bowed and advised: “Your Majesty, this junior does not understand matters of state, and dares not further delay Your Majesty and the civil and military officials from discussing important affairs. This junior humbly requests Your Majesty to grant permission for this junior to withdraw from the court!”
“There’s no delay or no delay!”
Emperor Zhou clearly did not intend to let Shen Jing off so easily, “If you don’t understand, then speak less and just listen quietly.”
“Your Majesty, this junior truly cannot stay here any longer.”
Shen Jing looked at Emperor Zhou with a bitter expression: “Earlier outside the palace, Chancellor Yao and his son scared this junior quite a bit. Now in court, this junior has been scared again by Prince Jing and all the lords. This junior is a bit…”
As he spoke, Shen Jing deliberately squeezed his legs together, looking as if he was about to wet his pants.
Yao Jian’s expression subtly changed, and he snorted coldly: “Shen Jing, this is the imperial court, do not deceive the Emperor! This Chancellor has not even impeached you for slandering and defaming him, yet you still want to accuse this Chancellor and his son of scaring you?”
This cunning scoundrel!
He wanted to extricate himself from this troublesome place, yet before leaving, he still wanted to scheme against their father and son!
Naive!
As Yao Jian’s words fell, officials immediately stepped forward, “Your Majesty, Shen Jing previously insulted outside the palace…”
Soon, several officials began to impeach Shen Jing.
To say ‘impeach’ was perhaps overestimating Shen Jing.
They were merely acting as Yao Jian’s mouthpieces, helping Yao Jian inform Emperor Zhou of Shen Jing’s previous “misdeeds” outside the palace.
“Enough!”
Emperor Zhou grew impatient, ill-temperedly interrupting the chattering officials, “Emperor Zhou asks you for advice on matters of state, and each of you remains silent! But when it comes to these trivial matters, each of you is more eloquent than the last! Emperor Zhou truly wants to ask you, are you incompetent, or do you think the trivial matters of a mere youth are more important than affairs of state?”
The several officials secretly cried out in dismay, quickly shut their mouths, and retreated to the side.
After subduing the officials, Emperor Zhou then instructed the eunuchs in the hall: “First, take Shen Jing to the Imperial Garden to wait!”
