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Never in any dynasty have scholars encountered such opposition from the lower classes when they collectively petitioned for their country's sovereignty. This is truly the strangest and most bizarre scene in history.
In front of the Great Qin Gate, thousands of scholars were hit by rotten leaves and rotten eggs flying at them. Qin Mu swore that he had not asked the people to do this.
At dusk, thousands of scholars, under the accusations of tens of thousands of people, left Daqin Gate in the twilight, and the people followed them.
Outside the Daqin Gate, which was once impenetrable, only rotten vegetable leaves were left on the ground.
In the Jianjia Palace, Yun Qiaoer told Qin Mu everything that happened outside the Daqin Gate in vivid detail. While describing, she laughed non-stop, her face flushed with excitement.
"Your Majesty, you didn't see it. There was a guy who was about to shout. I don't know who was so mean, but a stinky egg was thrown right into the guy's mouth with a snap. Now the guy couldn't shout about living for the people. He couldn't shout out anything. He covered his neck and vomited non-stop... Hehe... Haha..."
"Girl, there are so many people, you really squeezed in?"
"No, he hid on the Daqin Gate and saw it with a telescope."
“Hahaha… That’s good.”
Qiao'er was like a boneless person in front of him, and she just liked to cling to him. Qin Mu hugged her soft waist and let her twist and turn in his arms like a clinging Persian cat.
"The Queen has arrived!"
The voice of a palace maid was heard outside. Qin Mu patted Qiao'er, then stood up and walked to the palace door. Yang Zhi was about to ask someone to enter the palace to pass the message when she saw Qin Mu coming to the door.
"Your Majesty, please don't do this in the future. How can I deserve it?" Yang Zhi hurriedly bowed and said, "I pay my respects..."
Qin Mu didn't wait for her to bow, but stepped forward and took her arm. He led her hand into the hall and said, "My lady, come and sit beside your husband."
Yang Zhi was wearing a palace gown with wide sleeves and golden phoenix feathers, a long skirt with densely woven red and gold-threaded acacia flowers, a white jade hairpin with a phoenix pattern in her hair, and an emerald jade pomegranate bracelet on her hand. She looked dignified and noble, and full of the charm of a young woman in her prime.
As soon as she sat down next to Qin Mu, Yun Qiao'er was like a cat. She snuggled into her arms and said happily, "Sister, we won, and those scholars who made trouble have retreated. Hehe... I was just talking to His Majesty about this when I came. Sister, let me tell you, it was really fun. Those people..."
Yang Zhi couldn't help but stretched out her hand and pinched her cheek lightly, and said with a smile: "You, please stop making trouble, this matter is not that simple." At this point, she turned her head slightly and looked at Qin Mu, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
A few days ago, when Qin Mu was in the most difficult situation, she did not come over herself. Instead, she asked Qiao'er to come over. Qin Mu was touched and looked at her dignified and beautiful face. He could not help but hug her shoulders and kiss her forehead lightly.
Yang Zhi felt his tenderness and called out softly, "Your Majesty..."
"Call me husband, or I'll kiss you on the lips."
"Husband..."
Yang Zhi knew that he would really do that, so she quickly changed her words, causing Qiao'er in her arms to laugh out loud. Yang Zhi was so shy that she couldn't help but stretch out her hand to twist the naughty girl, which made Qiao'er laugh even more.
"Girl, stop making trouble. Sister has something to say."
"Oh, then I'll go to the imperial kitchen and see if there's anything delicious. Sister, can we have dinner here with His Majesty tonight?"
Qin Mu smiled and said, "It has to be good even if it's not good. Go and have a look, girl."
"Okay, Nunu obeys your command, hehe..."
Watching Qiao'er disappear outside the palace with a string of silver bell-like laughter, Qin Mu hugged Yang Zhi and said tenderly: "I'm sorry to have made you worried these days."
Yang Zhi leaned into his arms, caressing his chest tenderly and said softly, "My dear husband, please don't say that. I can't help you in any way. My dear husband..."
"Well, if you have anything to say, just say it."
Yang Zhi thought for a moment and said softly, "My husband, I heard about the situation outside the Great Qin Gate today. I believe that throwing rotten vegetable leaves on the scholars was not your idea, but no matter what, it is always inappropriate.
I shouldn't have said anything about outside affairs, but if this matter is not dealt with in time, it may damage my husband's virtue, so I couldn't help but come here. Today, the thousands of scholars outside the Great Qin Gate are all candidates who will go to Beijing to participate in the Ministry of Rites Examination in the spring of next year. They are the seeds of learning in the world, and many of them may become pillars of the Great Qin in the future.
Today they came to the palace to submit a petition. Even if they made some mistakes, they should not be treated like this. Not only did the people criticize them, but they also threw rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs at them.
As the saying goes, a man lives by his face, a tree lives by its bark. These scholars value their face more than their lives. Today, they were humiliated outside the Qin Gate, and their manners were completely destroyed. Perhaps some radical people will die to commemorate this.
If such an extreme behavior really occurs, regardless of whether the throwing of rotten leaves was instructed by Your Majesty, after all, this incident happened outside the Great Qin Gate, which is always detrimental to Your Majesty's virtue. Moreover, once someone dies, the situation will escalate and get out of control. My husband, everything is better than too little!"
It is said that a virtuous wife will keep her husband safe. Qin Mu was deeply touched by this as he hugged Yang Zhi.
Indeed, even if the scholars' behavior was wrong, they undoubtedly represented the elite class of the Qin Dynasty, and it could even be said that they represented the power of culture.
If a country does not know how to respect knowledge, there is no hope.
To put it bluntly, even if they are your enemies, you should give them due respect, so that you can gain more respect in return and become stronger.
Moreover, among the thousands of scholars who came to the Qin Gate to knock on the palace gate and submit petitions, many of them were probably just worried about being denounced as Confucian traitors and had no choice but to follow the trend. Such insults would only push them to the side of the diehard opponents.
Qin Mu hugged Yang Zhi tighter and asked softly, "Madam, do you have any good suggestions?"
Yang Zhi shook her head and said, "I am only here to remind my husband. He is a wise and enlightened monarch. He must know the specific ways to remedy the situation, so I will not say anything more."
"Haha, but my husband really has no idea now."
“Husband, you…”
"Save people to the end, send Buddha to the west. My wife is virtuous and intelligent, so please teach your husband this time."
Yang Zhi was held in his arms, unable to break free, nor did she want to break free. However, she had always refrained from interfering in state affairs, and she really didn't want to break this rule, so she said, "My husband, I really don't have any good ideas. This matter is really a bit tricky. If my husband can't think of a solution for the time being, you should quickly gather the ministers to discuss it together."
Indeed, this matter is not easy to handle, and it is important to grasp the right degree.
The people were originally on the side of the emperor. If the punishment was too severe, would the people feel that they were wrong, that the emperor was not what they thought, that they were just being sentimental, and that the scholars had done nothing wrong
In short, it is likely to lead to a major shift in the direction of public opinion.
But if they are not punished, it will be difficult to soothe the wounded hearts of the scholars. After all, this is indeed a great insult to them.
Seeing Qin Mu frowning in deep thought, Yang Zhi knew that he was very tired these days. She felt distressed and couldn't help but said, "Your Majesty, no one has cleaned up the vegetable leaves on the ground outside the Great Qin Gate."
Qin Mu immediately smiled and said, "Okay, I will issue an order to have the Five Cities Army go and arrest the man. How can we allow people to litter outside the Great Qin Gate? Whoever threw it, clean it up immediately."
Yang Zhi finally couldn't help laughing. She was very beautiful, but due to her status as queen, she seldom smiled. At this moment, her fleeting beauty was truly moving.
Qin Mu was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but kiss her lips. Yang Zhi struggled for a while and tried to push him away, but her tongue was held by him at once, and her body softened immediately. Her arms unconsciously wrapped around his neck and she kissed him back affectionately.
Fortunately, Qin Mu still remembered the important matter. He kissed her and then said with a smile: "My lady, you must stay in the Jianjia Palace tonight and you are not allowed to go anywhere." After that, Qin Mu asked someone to call Han Zanzhou and gave him detailed instructions.
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ps: To be honest, when I write every day, sometimes my brain is about to explode. It is not difficult to write a short and fresh article, but it is really tiring to write a long article of millions of words over the years. Life, writing this is the source of my entire life. If you have the ability, please subscribe to the genuine version and give a little support within your ability. It's a few cents per chapter, and I live on this. Sincerely ask for the genuine subscription, only in this way can I continue to write! (To be continued...)
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