Liu Chengqing's voice was not loud, but it quickly aroused noisy discussions among the noble disciples.
However, facing such a situation, Zhu Yi, as the official leader, did not look panicked. On the contrary, Liang Chuan shouted directly.
"You are talking nonsense, I think you are jealous!"
With that said, he turned to the distinguished disciples on the side and said.
"Everyone, today's hunt, Liang has been walking with the young master. I can testify that this tiger was definitely killed by the young master!"
The discussion in the field calmed down a bit.
At this time, several more distinguished disciples stood up and said.
"I seem to have seen Mr. Liang and the young master hunting together in the forest."
"That's right, even if Mr. Liang is not with us, we are surrounded by imperial guards. If the tiger comes from the wrong side, how can those guards not say a word?"
"That's right, from what I see, it's Liu Chengqing, a bastard who couldn't bear to see my young master come out on top, so he deliberately came to cause trouble."
In this case, Zhu Yi's usual good popularity came into play.
Except for those who had an old grudge with Duke Chengguo and those who had an old feud with Anyuan Houfu, everyone else spoke up to speak for Zhu Yi.
Moreover, the strange thing is that Liu Chengqing himself seems to have some lack of confidence, and he hesitated when everyone said this.
At this time, amidst the noise, Zhu Yi, as the rightful owner, finally spoke.
"Since Mr. Liu said that Zhu did not kill the tiger, would Mr. Liu dare to confront Zhu in front of His Majesty?"
"this……"
When Liu Chengqing heard that he was going to the imperial court, he hesitated.
Seeing his appearance, Liang Chuan couldn't help but sneered.
"Why, you don't dare to do it anymore? What about Mr. Liu's momentum just now? You still want to file a complaint? Damn you, you villain!"
These words successfully aroused Liu Chengqing's youthful temperament. With so many people watching, if he didn't dare to go, he would really be regarded as a villain with false accusations.
Mr. Liu gritted his teeth and said.
"Just go, there is something wrong with this tiger to begin with, what do I dare not do!"
The chamberlain who was counting the prey on the side felt a little dizzy when he encountered this situation. Seeing that both parties agreed to confront each other, he felt like he was being pardoned, so he hurriedly handed over his hands and went to report.
At the same time, on the high platform, Zhu Qiyu and others also saw the commotion not far away. Although they could not see clearly what happened, it seemed to be related to Zhu Yi.
"His Majesty……"
Not long after, the chamberlain came to the high platform and recounted what happened below. Then, Wynn came to the side of the case and gave the complete report.
After hearing what happened below, a hint of surprise flashed in Zhu Qiyu's eyes.
However, looking at the curious looks of the ministers below, he also knew that with things like this, it would be impossible to hide them.
What's more, since Zhu Yi initiated the confrontation, he must be sure of it.
Therefore, after pondering for a moment, Zhu Qiyu said:
"In that case, let's announce Zhu Yi, Liang Chuan, Liu Chengqing and others!"
"According to the decree."
Wynn bowed, then turned around and sent the waiter over to call for someone.
Taking advantage of this moment, Zhu Qiyu glanced at Zhang Xi and others inadvertently, and then said.
"Just now, people came over to report. They said it was Liu Chengqing from the Anyuan Marquis Mansion and Zhu Yi from the Chengguo Mansion. They said that Zhu Yi did not kill the tiger by himself. The two of them got into a fight below and said they wanted to confront each other in public.
"
After the words fell, there was an uproar below, and everyone from civil servants to military generals started a discussion.
However, the reaction from Xungui's side was obviously more intense. Everyone looked ugly and felt very embarrassed.
Of course, the civil servants are not much better. Logically speaking, they don't want Zhu Yi to come out on top, so they should be happy when something like this happens.
However, on the contrary, the faces of these old men are not very good-looking either.
Not for anything else, just because, in addition to them, the civil and military ministers, there were also envoys from the four barbarians present.
Because of this, when the emperor reprimanded Wang Wen just now, he said that this was a spring hunting ceremony, not the court, and asked him to distinguish the occasion.
What's more, their quarrel is actually different from Zhu Yi's incident.
Spring hunting is a special occasion. As a noble, it is obvious that he wants to take this opportunity to make the matter bigger and gain an advantage in public opinion.
At that time, in order to maintain the face of the court and the 'harmony' of the Tian family, some concessions will inevitably be made on certain matters.
As for the civil servants, the reason why these elders let Wang Wen out.
One very important reason is that they also need an opportunity to slowly release some political signals.
Everyone has their own purpose and understands it tacitly. Moreover, with the emperor on top, everyone will (have to) "stop as soon as possible".
However, Zhu Yi's case is different.
If that tiger was really hunted by some other means, then it would not only be the nobles who would be lost, but also the people of the Ming Dynasty.
Although they didn't want Zhu Yi to come out on top, it was definitely not in this way.
For this reason, when Mr. Liu came to the high platform, he was greeted with eyes full of unkindness.
"Your Majesty...Liu Chengqing, I would like to pay homage to Your Majesty, and to pay homage to the Supreme Emperor!"
Mr. Liu swallowed his saliva and felt the eyes coming from all directions, and a cold sweat broke out on his back.
Different from newly promoted nobles like Yang Hong, established noble families like Anyuanhou often have shadow titles in addition to their own title.
For example, Liu Chengqing had already obtained the title of Yin Feng when he was fourteen years old. Although it was an empty title, it was not without official status.
The same goes for Liang Chuan and Zhu Yi, but the difference is that Zhu Yi also has the official position of escort general.
The three of them came to the stage and knelt down together.
"Get flat."
Zhu Qiyu didn't have any special reaction. He waved his hand for the three of them to stand up. Then he directly focused his eyes on Liu Chengqing and asked.
"Liu Qing, I have just received a report that you are going to report Zhu Yi, saying that the eye-catching white-fronted tiger he counted as his prey was not hunted by him. Is this true?"
Although Liu Chengqing came from a noble family, he was usually a playboy and had never played a serious game at all. Although he was already familiar with the etiquette, he could not hide the tension in his heart.
At this moment, I was being looked at by all the civil and military ministers in the court. Especially when I saw the noble ministers next to me, all of them had dark faces, and when I heard the holy voice of Yuyin asking questions, I almost wanted to kneel down again.
But after all, Mr. Liu is not a complete waste. He swallowed his saliva and said cautiously.
"Back to Your Majesty, I did not say that this tiger was not hunted by General Zhu. I just wanted to say that when General Zhu hunted this tiger, the tiger was already injured, so it cannot be counted as an independent fight by him."
call……
After Liu Chengqing finished speaking, he heard the ministers beside him let out a long sigh of relief.
So that’s it!
They really thought that Zhu Yi's tiger was doing something deceptive. They had been doing it for a long time and that was it?
It should be said that what Liu Chengqing said is not unreasonable. The difficulty of hunting an injured tiger is naturally different from that of an intact tiger.
If Zhu Yi encountered an injured tiger, then the difficulty of hunting would naturally be greatly reduced.
To put it bluntly, the gold content of this tiger has been greatly reduced.
This is acceptable to older adults.
Because, in this situation, at most, there is a dispute over the ownership of the prey during the hunt.
This situation is very common when hunting, especially fierce beasts such as tigers, leopards, and wild boars. After being injured, they are still very fierce. If the trap is not set in advance, even if it is shot, it will be easy to let it go.
escape.
In this spring hunting scene, it is not impossible for nobles from all families to be in the forest and mistakenly hunt injured prey that has escaped from other people's hands. It is a normal situation.
Of course, what made all the elders feel a little suspicious was that Mr. Liu didn't look like someone who dared to go up and kill the tiger.
It seems a bit unconvincing to say that he shot the tiger first and then was amputated by Zhu Yi...
Obviously, there is more than one person who has this doubt.
After hearing this, Zhu Qiyu glanced at Zhu Yi and asked Liu Chengqing.
"I see, but how do you know that when General Zhu encountered the tiger, the tiger was already injured?"
"this……"
Sure enough, as soon as this sentence was asked, Mr. Liu felt a little embarrassed. He hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Your Majesty, in fact, this tiger was the first one I met. The tiger was injured because of me..."
These words sounded inexplicably awkward, so all the civil and military ministers frowned in unison.
Is it possible that Liu Chengqing really has the courage to fight against a tiger?
After looking up and down Mr. Liu's dusty clothes, it was not impossible.
But the problem is that fighting a tiger is not something shameful. Even if you fail, daring to fight a tiger is already considered an act of courage. Why is Liu Chengqing so hesitant?
So, as a considerate inquirer, the emperor once again asked everyone's doubts.
"So, what Liu Qing means is that you were the first to fight this tiger, but failed and let the tiger escape with injuries. In the end, General Zhu took advantage of it and brought it back?"
As he spoke, the emperor looked Liu Chengqing up and down again and continued to ask.
"Is it possible that Liu Qing's dusty body is also caused by fighting a tiger?"
These two questions made Mr. Liu's brows twist into knots. He seemed to want to say something, but he seemed to be very conflicted and did not speak for a long time.
Logically speaking, it would be disrespectful for the emperor to fail to answer immediately when asking questions.
However, Liu Chengqing was a noble disciple who had never met the emperor before, and this was not in the court, so the emperor obviously did not mean to care about it, and instead said with a smile.
"If this is the case, then this tiger can be regarded as hunted by Liu Qing and General Zhu together. The visitor also gave a jade Ruyi and a sword to Liu Qing's family!"
Seeing the emperor opening his mouth to give a reward, Liu Chengqing swallowed his saliva and did not feel happy at all. Instead, he knelt down and said.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I dare not accept this reward."
"Oh, why is this?"
The emperor frowned, with a puzzled look on his face.
Feeling all kinds of eyes from all directions, Liu Chengqing knew that no matter how hard he hid it, he couldn't hide it, so he had no choice but to tell it honestly.
"Back to Your Majesty, I dare not lie. I was indeed the first to encounter this tiger. However, at that time, the tiger was extremely ferocious and pounced on anyone it saw. I was careless and almost died in the tiger's mouth. It was a group of imperial guards who protected me.
I fought hard against the tiger and wounded it, so I was able to survive."
"When I met this tiger, it was still intact. However, when I saw this tiger just now, it can be seen that there were scars on its body from the blows of me and a group of guards. Therefore, I knew that when General Zhu met this tiger, this tiger
He has been injured by his subordinates."
"However, if it is said that I am the first to fight the tiger, I would not dare to accept it. Please give me a clear warning, Your Majesty."
Okay, the truth is out!
No wonder Liu Chengqing was hesitant and refused to tell the truth. It turned out that the truth was like this.
To put it bluntly, Mr. Liu was indeed the first to encounter the tiger, but he was too timid and did not dare to fight. But who expected that the tiger was so ferocious that he attacked them first.
With Master Liu's skills, it was obviously impossible to subdue a fierce tiger, so the accompanying imperial troops took action without hesitation, saving Liu Chengqing and injuring the tiger at the same time.
Of course, although the tiger was injured, it escaped. The duty of the Imperial Army was to protect Liu Chengqing, so they did not pursue him.
Later, Zhu Yi encountered the injured tiger and hunted it back.
If this is the case, this tiger is indeed a bargain for Zhu Yi, but in comparison, it is obviously the disgraced Young Master Liu who is more deserving of ridicule.
Therefore, as soon as he finished speaking, he felt that the nobles not far away were looking at him like, "You're a loser."
Lowering his head deeply, Liu Chengqing couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. If he had known better, he wouldn't have impulsively "exposed" Zhu Yi.
It's better now. If you injure the enemy a hundred and injure yourself a thousand, why bother...
Fortunately, the emperor was still considerate. After hearing the whole story, he did not criticize Liu Chengqing harshly, but comforted him.
"It doesn't matter, although there are imperial guards to help, it is rare for Liu Qing to be able to go up in danger and report truthfully after returning. You can accept my reward."
Liu Chengqing looked ashamed, but he couldn't continue to shirk it, so he handed over his hand.
"I accept the decree and thank you, Your Majesty..."
Logically speaking, this matter should end here.
Although Zhu Yi made a mistake, he was the one who hunted the tiger after all. And, to be honest, although the emperor didn't expose it, everyone knew from the look of Mr. Liu that even with the help of the imperial guards, only
I'm afraid it didn't cause much harm to the tiger.
After all, the duty of the guards is to protect, not to hunt. In that scenario, what they must do is not to fight the tiger first, but to save the person first.
In other words, there is a high probability that the tiger was slightly injured at that time. Therefore, Zhu Yi's contribution to killing the tiger was not great, although there was some water in it.
What's more, spring hunting is a happy event. Didn't you see that the emperor generously comforted a dandy like Liu Chengqing, but still gave out the reward under different circumstances?
This was true for him, so naturally the emperor would not be harsh on Zhu Yi who actually killed a tiger.
However, just when everyone thought the matter was over, Zhu Yi on the side suddenly held up his hand.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say!"
This chapter has been completed!