Chapter 551: Reinstating The Husband’s Authority
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The Great Immortal White Lotus had some prestige among the people.
On the third day after she was taken away by the Imperial Guards, a minister reported to the Imperial Court that Su Ying was tyrannical and even wanted to take away the people’s freedom to practice their religious faith. If this continued, it would bring disaster to the Emperor’s reputation sooner or later.
Xiao Jin’s deep dark eyes landed on the ministers who had stepped forward with an indecipherable expression. They all looked like they were afraid of their wives, so how could they have the temerity to criticize that Su Ying was acting improperly?
“As far as I know, this Great Immortal White Lotus is a swindler. In the prison of the Ministry of Justice, she has already admitted that she cheated and swindled. How come the way all of you put it, it is as if the Empress is at fault?” Xiao Jin responded.
The ministers looked at the Emperor with bitter disappointment. The Chu State was in peril!
Why did the Emperor defend the Empress in everything? In the future, would the Emperor stand up for the Empress when she committed murder or arson?
“Your Majesty, the Empress should, as a wife, stay in the back of the house to look after her husband and teach her children. The major matters outside should be left to her husband to handle. Her Imperial Highness is simply going against the teaching of the ‘Female Virtues’.” These words were hinting that Su Ying was meddling too much. A married woman should obediently take care of her children and serve her husband in the back courtyard. Looking at Su Ying, she probably wished that the Emperor could give up his position to her.
Xiao Jin frowned slightly. Just as everyone thought that His Majesty was about to fly into a rage, Xiao Jin suddenly nodded. “My beloved ministers are right. The Empress is indeed working too hard. My heart aches terribly to see her working like this. I will tell the Empress about this matter and tell her not to get involved. Everything will be handled by the Ministry of Justice.”
The Minister of Justice, who was standing among the ministers, was very angry. These people had never seen the Empress’s ability, but he had personally experienced it. That Great Immortal White Lotus had bewitched many aristocratic families and the families of the court ministers. If these people were to make a scene later, it would become a big problem.
He was just a minor minister. How was he going to stand up against these people? If the Empress stepped forward to handle this matter, things would be different. Who would dare to say no in front of the Empress?
He was downright infuriated!
When they saw that Xiao Jin did not fight back for once, the ministers were very pleased. The Emperor was going to reinstate his husband’s authority!
At noon, Su Ying was leisurely munching on melon seeds in the Conjugal Phoenix Palace.
Her period came today, so she gave herself a day off.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
Upon hearing the commotion, Su Ying raised her head and saw Xiao Jin walking in.
Su Ying glanced at him and saw a trace of grievance on his face. She raised her eyebrows.
Xiao Jin walked to Su Ying’s side and sat down, but he didn’t say anything.
Su Ying wasn’t someone who could hold it in, so she could only speak first. “Xiao Jin, what weird thoughts are you thinking again?”
There was now an additional hint of resentment on Xiao Jin’s face. “I quarreled with the ministers in the morning court session. When I returned, I was even suspected by my Empress. There’s really no point in being an Emperor.”
Zhou Qing lowered her head silently and thought to herself, “The Emperor is so shameless. Even an actor isn’t as good at acting as he is!”
Su Ying tossed the melon seeds aside and leaned back on the soft pillow as she gazed at Xiao Jin with an ambiguous expression.
Xiao Jin pursed his lips as if he had really suffered a lot. “You’d better speak human language,” Su Ying said.
Xiao Jin held her hand against his lips and kissed it. “It’s nothing much. It’s just that the ministers are always jealous that I married such a wonderful Empress. They get very jealous when my Empress does a little extra work for me.”
Su Ying knew Xiao Jin too well and she understood at once. “Why? Do you think I shouldn’t meddle in that matter of that bullshit Great Immortal?”
Xiao Jin nodded. “I threw this matter to the Ministry of Justice. Let the Minister of Justice cry over it.”
Su Ying gave a soft chuckle. She didn’t have to interfere in these matters anyway. These ministers seemed to be too free, but it wouldn’t be long before they had something to do.
“By the way, did the Imperial Astronomical Bureau come back with a reply?”
The strange scribblings on Zhou Xiangrong’s body had been copied and sent to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, but so far, there had been no response.
These words made Xiao Jin frown even more. After a long time, he let out a faint sigh. “They’re all people who only eat and don’t work. Up till now, they still haven’t figured out what those things are.”
The Imperial Astronomical Bureau indeed had nothing much to do under normal circumstances, but their knowledge was not that limited, to be honest. “Perhaps… those are not things that can be understood superficially.”
If the Imperial Astronomical Bureau followed only orthodox teachings, then the staff there might not know about unorthodox knowledge.
“Let’s wait a little longer. If they really don’t know, we’ll look for someone else.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Just as the Minister of Justice was feeling vexed about taking on a hot potato, something happened that made him want to cry.
After the Great Immortal White Lotus was convicted, the Ministry of Justice’s government office was swarmed with people who wanted to seek justice for the Great Immortal White Lotus.
“The Great Immortal has boundless merit. How can you treat the Great Immortal like this? Quickly let the Great Immortal go.”
“That’s right. Let the Great Immortal go quickly, or we won’t leave.”
The officials of the Ministry of Justice had been standing in front of the government office to block these people as they were worried that they would barge in by force.
When the Minister of Justice rushed out after receiving the news, his temples throbbed endlessly. At a glance, he saw that many of them were familiar faces. They were either the wives of this noble family or the daughters of that lord.
“Everyone, calm down. That Great Immortal White Lotus is a swindler. She’s not some Great Immortal at all. Please do not be fooled by her.”
“We don’t believe it. The Great Immortal cured my mother’s illness. She is definitely not a swindler.”
“We want to see the Great Immortal. Quickly release the Great Immortal.”
The Great Immortal White Lotus was convicted of the crime of plotting against the First Prince. Not surprisingly, the Minister of Justice would not be so foolish as to let her go.
A loud voice suddenly rang out, and a low-key but luxuriously dressed woman walked out from the crowd.
“Get out of my way. If you don’t let the Great Immortal White Lotus go today, I’ll self-immolate outside the Ministry of Justice!”
She held a wooden bucket in one hand and a torch in the other. She looked as if she would rather die than yield.
The Minister of Justice recognized the other party’s identity and his skin instantly went numb.
This woman was the wife of the Great General Weimeng who had received a memorial archway from the late emperor. After the Great General Weimeng died in battle, the general’s wife remained a widow. After her father-in-law and mother-in-law departed, she had been living alone in the General’s Residence. Even if she had no children, she still had no intention of remarrying. The late emperor once praised her as a model woman and even personally penned the epitaph on the memorial archway which was built at the General’s Residence.
This general’s wife had a very high status among the women in the capital city. If she really burned herself to death outside the gates of the Ministry of Justice, his position as the Minister of Justice would be lost.
“Mistress, don’t be agitated, don’t be agitated. We can always talk things over!” The Minister of Justice had also weathered some storms, but when he saw the unflinching expression on the General’s wife’s, he was so scared that his hair stood on end.
The General’s wife frowned and said, “We only want you to release the Great Immortal White Lotus. She is sacred and must not be violated. I will not allow you to humiliate the Great Immortal White Lotus!”
“That’s right. We won’t allow anyone to humiliate the Great Immortal White Lotus. Release her!”
“Release her immediately, or we’ll self-immolate here!”