Inside the Wencheng Hall, the emperor and the Queen of Heaven were talking? Hearing the maid's report, the emperor hurriedly said, "Quickly declare the princess to come in."
Li Chaoge entered the palace, raised his hands to salute the emperor and the queen of heaven, and was called out by the emperor when he was halfway through the worship: "Don't worry about these things, get up quickly."
Li Chaoge stood upright, and sat down at the side without haste. The emperor asked, "Chaoge, what happened to that monster?"
Li Chaoge replied: "Fortunately, I didn't disgrace my life. I stopped this monster at Pei's house and chopped it up, but it was a pity that it escaped. But the saint is relieved, it has been seriously injured, and it will not be able to kill anyone again in the near future." .”
The emperor let out a sigh of relief, and said in a long voice, "That's good."
The commotion last night was known to the whole city, and it was hard for the palace not to hear it. The emperor was worried all night, and at dawn today he sent someone to find Li Chaoge, but the maid of the Dechang Palace said that Li Chaoge hadn't returned all night.
The more the emperor waited, the more flustered he became, so he had to come to Wencheng Hall to talk to the Queen of Heaven. Tianhou seemed much calmer than the emperor. Although she was also worried, she was not fidgeting like the emperor. Tianhou was comforting the emperor, when Li Chaoge came back and brought the good news that the monster had been surrendered.
It's a pity that he didn't kill him. The emperor asked about the details of subduing the demon. Li Chaoge said: "This monster is called the Raksha bird. It lives in the tombs of the underworld and eats carrion. It came up with the idea of cannibalism. It only selects scholars because they are smart and talented, and they are full of poems and books, which are very helpful for the enlightenment of monsters. It has succeeded several times in succession with mental arithmetic and unintentional. Yesterday it was even brave enough to kill But don't worry, the sage, my servant has abolished its morality, and this rakshasa bird will not be able to recover its original mana for at least ten years. Of course, it won't live for ten years either. I can assure you that I will catch it before the scientific examination, so that many students can go to the examination with peace of mind."
"Okay!" The emperor couldn't help clapping his hands and laughing when he heard this, "Well done. This monster is vicious and has strange movements. It is more difficult to entangle than previous monsters. I thought it would be at least half a year. I have thought about it. This year's imperial examination has been cancelled, unexpectedly, you solved it in just one night. Now that this monster is gone, the imperial examination will continue as usual and be held as scheduled."
Li Chaoge smiled and replied: "Congratulations, Your Majesty. Good things take time, and it is difficult to make a country prosperous. This year, there was a monster before the imperial examination. It can be seen that the saints and queens will definitely get the talents of the heavens this time, and this will attract the hatred of the heavens."
This? The emperor and the Queen of Heaven were very comfortable hearing it. It was a very ominous omen to attract evil spirits before the grand ceremony, but after Li Chaoge said, it seemed to be a test from the heavens, and it was destined. The emperor let out a long sigh of relief, his heart was settled, and he was relieved immediately.
At this time, the emperor thought back to yesterday, and he felt incredible. Yesterday he discussed with the prime ministers all afternoon, and everyone was helpless and anxious. Unexpectedly, after only one night, the problem that had plagued the court for a long time was solved so easily.
The emperor is full of unreality? Now, when he looks at Li Chaoge again, it's really good. The emperor Longxin was overjoyed, and immediately waved his hand, saying: "You have done a good job, and you will be in charge of the finale of catching monsters. Pass down the order, and during this period of time, the Imperial Army and Zhi Jinwu will unconditionally cooperate with Princess Anding. If the princess has anything? Need it?" , go directly to Beiya to transfer people, there is no need to report to me."
This is exactly what Li Chaoge wanted. Li Chaoge straightened up and bowed straightly: "Thank you, my lord. Chaoge will not disgrace his life."
The emperor happily stood up and walked around twice, with undiminished interest, and asked: "You have made great achievements this time, and you should be rewarded. Chaoge, what do you want? A reward?"
reward? Li Chaoge was silent. Seeing this, the Empress smiled and said, "Yes, you should be punished for your mistakes, and you should be rewarded for your meritorious service. Chaoge, you have made great contributions this time, so you should be rewarded. What do you have? What do you want? , don’t worry about it.”
"Since that's the case, I'm daring." Li Chaoge lowered his eyes and said slowly, "I want to ask for a favor from the sage and the queen."
The emperor expected that Li Chaoge would ask for jewelry, money, silk and satin, or other things that girls like. The emperor was ready to grant a princess mansion, but he didn't expect to hear such an answer.
The emperor was surprised and asked, "What? Grace?"
Li Chaoge looked at the ground and said unhurriedly, "I needed help yesterday, so I went to the Dali Prison and let someone out."
The emperor frowned, feeling an ominous premonition inexplicably: "What? People?"
"A prisoner." Li Chaoge slowly confided the truth, "The former Kansai bandit leader, Zhou Shao."
The emperor's expression was not very good when he heard the prisoner. When he heard Zhou Shao's name later, he was slightly taken aback, and when he realized it, his expression changed drastically: "Isn't he sentenced to death? ?”
"Yes." Li Chaoge obediently agreed, because he had a ghost in his heart, and even complimented the emperor, "The sage is well-read and knowledgeable, and his memory is really good."
The emperor was startled for a long while, unable to speak. Even Tianhou frowned, and looked at Li Chaoge in disapproval: "Bold and reckless. I remember that Zhou Shao not only has a lot of criminal records, but also killed the only son of Jinzhou Governor last year. Such vicious people should be killed as an example. Xiaoyou, how did you release him?"
Li Chaoge knew that he was wrong, and lowered his eyes and said: "But, it is obvious that the saint and the queen said that the employer should not ask about his background, and he is eclectic. He did fight against the court before, but he has washed his hands in the golden basin since then, and he has kept his own law for the next six years. , doing a small business honestly, and living in the market with his wife. My son thinks that although he made a mistake, he was born with supernatural power and valued love and righteousness. You might as well bring him into the imperial court and let him make meritorious deeds and serve the imperial court."
"You're just messing around!" the emperor paced up and down, getting more and more angry as he walked, and threw his sleeves, "It's fine if it's someone else, I can turn a blind eye to it, but Zhou Shao absolutely can't. He killed The son of the governor of Jinzhou, with cruel methods and bad influence, the only son of the governor of Jinzhou was beaten to death by him. I heard that when the people from the governor's mansion rushed over, his flesh and blood were all blurred. If you let him out, Wouldn't it be a blatant slap in the face of the governor of Jinzhou to let him work in the court?"
Li Chaoge closed his eyes, and said calmly: "Zhou Shao killed someone because he intended to insult his wife, so he should be killed. The governor of Jinzhou himself didn't teach his son well, so he deserves retribution."
The emperor sighed, thinking that Li Chaoge had just returned from the civil society, and was full of loyalty, but she didn't understand that there was no justice and kindness in politics, there were only trade-offs and interests.
The emperor said: "This is not a problem with the governor of Jinzhou, but a problem with the authority of the court. The killing of officials by the people has been severely punished since ancient times, just to deter the people and consolidate the king's power. If you release Zhou Shao, the governor of Jinzhou will be dissatisfied. If the incident spreads to the people, and the people see that the people kill the officials without punishment, what will they think? At that time, what will be the majesty of the officials ordered by the court, and what will be the prestige of the government?"
Li Chaoge has always lowered his eyebrows and looked down, intending to seek perfection by showing weakness. Hearing this, she finally couldn't bear it anymore, and slowly raised her head, her eyes glowed like torches, scorching and burning: "Saint, you are the king of a country, the ruler of the world, the life and death of all subjects, and the future of the entire country depend on you." It is in your hands. My son would like to ask, is the face of the officials and the court more important, or the people's livelihood and justice?"
"Okay." Seeing that the situation was not right, Tianhou interrupted Li Chaoge's words and said, "Chaoge, you have been busy all night last night, and you are already tired. You should go back and have a rest. We will talk about catching monsters after you have rested." Not too late."
Although Tianhou's tone was gentle, the meaning in it could not be refuted. Li Chaoge and the emperor stopped talking together? Li Chaoge saluted and said, "I will take my leave."
Li Chaoge knew that if he continued talking, he would start arguing, and it would only be counterproductive. She took the opportunity to leave and went back to Dechang Palace to rest.
Although she has practiced martial arts since she was a child and is full of energy, she is not made of iron after all. Yesterday I fought with monsters for half a night, and then I was busy searching the city. Even if I am not physically tired, I am still mentally exhausted. After Li Chaoge returned to Dechang Palace, he immediately asked the maid to prepare water for bathing. She took a comfortable hot bath, changed into clean clothes, and finally felt that she was full of blood again.
Li Chaoge hadn't eaten today, and after he came out, the palace people had already prepared meals. Li Chaoge didn't care whether the meal was breakfast or lunch, so he picked up his chopsticks and concentrated on replenishing his energy quickly.
After eating, she rested on the bed for a while, and sure enough, a maid's voice came from outside.
"Princess, the Queen of Heaven has a call."
Li Chaoge stood up, straightened his skirt calmly, and said, "Let's go."
In one morning, Li Chaoge visited Wencheng Hall for the second time. After entering the palace, she didn't say much, bowed her head to salute the Queen of Heaven: "See the Queen of Heaven."
Tianhou sat at the top, drank tea slowly, and didn't wake up Li Chaoge for a long time. Li Chaoge was not in a hurry, she knelt on the ground with her hands firmly pressed against her forehead, without any sign of panic or impatience.
After the day was done drying enough, she put down the teacup and said calmly, "Get up."
Li Chaoge still didn't move, she maintained a bowing posture, and said: "My minister is at fault, I dare not get up."
"You also know that you did something wrong." Tianhou sat on the couch with a gentle and calm expression, without any clues. The emperor would curse and get angry when he was angry, but the Queen of Heaven always smiled gently and seemed approachable, but in fact, she was far deeper and unfathomable than the emperor.
The queen changed into a commonplace tone, like a daughter who had done something wrong, and said, "You are such a nonsense. Even if your father loves you, he is still the king of a country. Where do you have the courage to dare?" Did you teach your father a lesson?"
Tianhou scolded her for contradicting the emperor, but did not mention Zhou Shao's matter. Li Chaoge sensed something interesting, and immediately said: "My minister was in a hurry and said the wrong thing. But my minister's heart and eyes are full of the desire to let the saint be a better king than Yao and Shun, so he will not pay attention to the excessive remonstrance. Know the righteousness, have a bold heart, look at the Queen of Heaven in front of the saint, and speak well for the minister, don't make the saint angry. The minister's original intention is to share the worries of the saint and the empress, if it angers the saint instead, it will be unfilial."
Tianhou looked at her nails, put them on the side lightly, and said in a low voice: "Okay, it's cold on the ground, get up. You, you are too nonsense."
Li Chaoge worked with Tianhou for seven years in his previous life, so he knows Tianhou's style very well. When Tianhou said this, it meant that nothing was wrong. If Tianhou praised her kindly, Li Chaoge would be worried. After Li Chaoge thanked him, he slowly stood up from the ground, and sat on the edge holding his skirt.
The emperor grew up in an aristocratic family atmosphere, influenced by the Four Books and Five Classics, he attached great importance to face and rules, but the Queen of Heaven did not. Don't look at Tianhou's charming appearance, soft handling, and good wife and mother? In fact, she is the most daring, rebellious, and ruthless person.
The emperor cannot accept the use of criminals, but the empress can. As long as there are enough interests, she doesn't care about any rules and regulations.
Perhaps, using people with taints would make Tianhou feel more at ease. Empresses who come from a clean and famous family have no handles and are not easy to control, but the death row prisoners who are brought out of the prison have all their wealth and life in the hands of the Queen of Heaven.
Tianhou hadn't thought about this, but Li Chaoge's words today opened up new ideas for Tianhou. Tianhou has already made a decision, but now, she will inevitably suffer from Li Chaoge's muscles.
So Tianhou left Li Chaoge silent. Li Chaoge pondered for a while, then slowly said: "Tianhou, you promote the imperial examination to break the prejudice of the world and truly select talented people in the world. If this is the case, why do you want to bring prejudice to Zhou Shao? He really He made a mistake and should be punished, but he did it for a reason, and he wanted to repent afterwards, why not give him another chance?"
The queen sighed, and said leisurely: "It's not that I won't help you, but your thoughts are too shocking. They are criminals, and they can't help committing crimes. If you release them, let them have access to authority Wouldn't it be more of a disaster? The country is easy to change, but the nature is hard to change. Even if the saint and I agree with you under pressure, and then they commit crimes again, what will the saint and I have? Face to face with all the officials official?"
Li Chaoge straightened up immediately, raised his hands and said, "I would like to guarantee that these people will abide by their own laws, obey orders, and never do anything that endangers the court or the people. If they make any mistakes, I will fully bear it."
When Tianhou heard Li Chaoge say these words, her expression finally relaxed, and she said, "Since you are determined, I will risk my disobedience and persuade the saint for you. But, you must promise that you must never feed tigers into trouble and lure wolves into the house. "
"My son promises." Li Chaoge sat in the exquisite and solemn palace, his eyes were firm and bright, "If they dare to commit crimes again, I will kill them with my own hands, and then I will come to plead guilty to the saint and queen."
Tianhou didn't speak, she lowered her head and drank tea, but she should be satisfied by the look on her face. Li Chaoge calmly scanned Tianhou's subtle expressions, and said slowly, "Tianhou, I have one more thing, and I want to ask you to make up your mind."
"Oh?" Tianhou held the teacup, showing curiosity, "What's the matter?"
"The eastern capital is mixed with fish and dragons, Taoism and Buddha contend, and there are many ghosts and ghosts hidden. Although Dali Temple has settled the case, but in some special cases, such as this Raksha bird, they can't take over. Therefore, my son thought, it is better to establish It is an independent institution that specializes in managing Dali Temple, and Jingzhao Yinzhi can't manage it." Li Chaoge said with a solemn look, raised his hand between his eyebrows, and bowed deeply, "I beg your orders, please set up a demon town in the queen of heaven, and descend to the world "Monster, suppress the evil in the world."