flstandardbreds Chapter 364: Are you not worthy of being the prince who protects the country?
Chapter 364: Are you not worthy of being the prince who protects the country?
Lu Qingchen explained that he was knocked unconscious and taken away while he was still asleep that day, and later found out that he was abducted by the enemy country.
Emperor Meiji looked him up and down with scrutinizing eyes, and at this time the ministers began to whisper to each other.
"Marquis Xuanping, don't hide the truth."
Lu Qingchen glanced back at them and asked, "Your Excellency, what you said is ridiculous. Did you see it with your own eyes? Otherwise, how can you be sure that I am hiding something?"
"You...you're making excuses. Why would the enemy want to kidnap you?"
"Because the enemy emperor wants to incite me to rebellion and make me work for the enemy." Lu Qingchen said earnestly to Emperor Meiji: "Your Majesty, every word I say is true, and there is absolutely no lie."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a voice to refute him.
"What a joke! Since the enemy emperor wants you to help him, how could he let you go so easily? Just you..."
The minister hesitated to speak, but everyone knew what he was going to say next. How could a playboy like him come back safely? It was obvious what kind of trick was hidden in it.
"Your Majesty, I want to speak a fair word for Marquis Xuanping. He went through great pains to bring the seeds back to Longyuan from the enemy country. How could he possibly betray Your Majesty?"
Lu Qingchen's eyes turned to this person, but his face was full of coldness.
His voice rang out again, "But the enemy emperor is a ruthless character. If he targets someone and can't use him for his own benefit, I'm afraid he won't leave him alive."
"Indeed, Marquis Xuanping probably knew that His Majesty had discovered your connection to the enemy nation, so he used a trick to escape suspicion and deceive His Majesty."
"Faking one's own death is a crime of deceiving the emperor, an unforgivable sin."
Everyone was talking at once, as if possessed by a detective, exposing Lu Qingchen's crimes one after another.
In response, Lu Qingchen smiled and listened to their shouting quietly, even ignoring the sharp look from Emperor Meiji.
"Marquis Xuanping, what do you want to say about this?"
Lu Qingchen shook his head slightly and responded expressionlessly, "Your Majesty, the ministers are all very intelligent and quick-witted. I have nothing to say."
"Alright! You admit it. Come on! Quickly arrest this traitor."
"How dare you! Your Majesty hasn't even spoken yet and you're trying to take over his authority. Where do you think you're putting His Majesty? Are you plotting rebellion?"
Lu Qingchen's harsh rebuke immediately frightened the chattering people. A chill ran down their backs, and then they fell to their knees on the ground with a plop, sweating profusely.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have overstepped my bounds. I have absolutely no intention of… of treason…"
These two words frightened them so much that they stammered, fearing that the emperor would believe his nonsense, and they would never be able to clear themselves even if they jumped into the Yellow River.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Meiji asked them to stand up in a friendly manner, as if he didn't care about their shouting just now, but stared at Lu Qingchen with a pair of majestic eyes.
"Marquis Xuanping, what do you think I should do with you?"
The tone was helplessly gentle, but a hint of joy was revealed at the corners of his tightly tightened mouth, which was fleeting.
"Come here, bring the Marquis of Xuanping..."
"Wait a minute."
Lu Qingchen slowly took out the scroll from his arms, held it up with both hands, and held it steadily in front of Emperor Meiji. He said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, my answer is all in this scroll."
Emperor Meiji was already displeased by his abrupt interruption, and when he saw the scroll, his anger exploded.
"Lu Qingchen, you still want to deceive me after all this. Your crime is unforgivable. Drag him away immediately and execute him..."
The furious voice was intercepted again. Lu Qingchen still looked calm and composed, but his gentle voice strangely echoed in everyone's ears.
"This is the enemy's defense map."
All the voices of doubt came to an abrupt halt, and several ministers stared blankly at the scroll in his hand. The three words "behead immediately" were stuck in their throats, and they almost choked to death.
"Ahem! Young Marquis, what did you just say? The enemy's defense map?"
Lu Qingchen simply opened the scroll, and the magnificent and detailed drawings were fully displayed before everyone.
There was a sound of gasps, and they widened their eyes in disbelief, their burning gazes fixed on the scroll.
"Yes, this is indeed a map of the enemy's territory, with detailed deployment information on it. It's absolutely true."
"With it, the enemy army will be vulnerable, and our cavalry can easily crush it."
As they were talking, some people were already rubbing their hands in anticipation, as if the grand undertaking of conquering cities and expanding territory had already been accomplished, and they would be the loyal and capable ministers who would follow the emperor and make great achievements in the future, and their names would be recorded in history.
"My Lords, I wonder if this scroll, which I risked my life to bring back, can prove my innocence?"
Lu Qingchen's lips curled slightly, his cold eyes swept over the crowd, and his voice was mixed with sarcasm. They were all a group of people who wanted to put him to death and curry favor with the powerful.
The smiles were frozen on their faces. Their excitement and happiness were real, but the pain from being slapped in the face by Lu Qingchen's facts was also real.
They laughed dryly and kept silent.
say what?
They said they wanted to kill him, but they were all officials in the same court, so it was not possible, really not possible.
Emperor Meiji walked down from the stage in a few steps. His hand holding the scroll trembled with excitement. He said "good" three times in a row, and his eyes became more kind when he looked at Lu Qingchen again.
"Marquis Xuanping, you have solved a great problem for me. I must think carefully about how to reward you."
Lu Qingchen replied respectfully and humbly, "It is my duty to help His Majesty. I dare not take credit for it."
Emperor Meiji's eyes flashed, and he laughed and patted his shoulder. "Those who have made contributions should be rewarded. What do you think, my dear ministers?"
"The Holy One is wise!"
With this slapping picture in the face, no matter how much they thought, they could not speak against their conscience. They also knew that after this incident, Lu Qingchen would soar to the sky and become a favorite in the eyes of the emperor. No one would dare to offend him.
"Your Majesty, Marquis Xuanping has performed great service this time and deserves a reward."
"That's absolutely true. The enemy has always been a major concern for the borderlands. As long as they're not eliminated, the people living in the borderlands will never have peace. Now that we have the defense map, we can not only annihilate them in one fell swoop, but also ensure the people of the borderlands a century of stability and well-being for generations to come."
Emperor Meiji nodded in agreement, clutching the scroll tightly in his hand and asking, "My dear ministers, how do you think we should reward you?"
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Logically speaking, it would be most appropriate to promote the title of Marquis Xuanping, but everyone knew the emperor's thoughts. Although Marquis Xuanping had donated all his property to the national treasury long ago, there was no guarantee that the emperor would completely let down his guard against him. Therefore, no one dared to mention the matter of promotion rashly.
Everyone in the quiet hall had different thoughts. Emperor Meiji sighed softly, his voice majestic and solemn.
"My dear ministers, as officials appointed by the court, don't you even know how to reward them?"
Cold sweat dripped down the ministers' foreheads. This was forcing them to offend people!
"Your Majesty, I heard that Marquis Xuanping has been living in extreme poverty since donating his property. How about rewarding him with ten thousand taels of gold?"
"Nonsense, how could the Marquis of Xuanping be short of gold and silver? I've heard that he likes young and beautiful women. Why not reward him with two concubines?"
In an instant, the hall turned into a noisy market, with officials discussing rewards with red faces, but no one mentioned titles and power, and all of them talked about material possessions such as gold and silver.
Only Lu Qingchen lowered his head to hide the look in his eyes, as if all thunder and rain were great graces, and whatever the emperor said was his destiny.
bang bang~
Two soft sounds stopped their argument, and Emperor Meiji stared at them with a frown.
"Is this what you're suggesting? Marquis Xuanping's actions benefit the country and the people. Doesn't that mean he's unworthy of being the Protectorate Prince?"