"There are still many officials who haven't arrived!" Li Loushang, the left minister of the Ministry of Revenue, looked around and saw that many people hadn't arrived yet!
"No wait, there is a fire in the Gongyuan. The emperor is furious and will go to court immediately."
Everyone looked at each other, feeling uneasy for a moment.
"It's ridiculous, it's simply ridiculous. Which slave was on duty last night? Such a big thing was not reported immediately."
The emperor slapped the imperial case fiercely, pointed at Xu Luo and became furious.
Xu Luo crawled on the ground, his body shaking like chaff from fear.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. It was Xiao Anzi who was on duty last night."
He mourned for Xiao Anzi in his heart, it was over! Even he couldn't protect him this time.
At first I thought Xiao Anzi was quite clever, but I didn't expect that he would make such a big mistake.
"Why didn't he retaliate?" The emperor was puzzled. This little Anzi was so ignorant.
"Your Majesty, you are too tired, and the imperial doctor ordered you to rest more, so he made the decision on his own without reporting anything."
In fact, Xu Luo knew in his heart that it was because the emperor rested with Song Concubine last night, and Xiao Anzi had benefited from Song Concubine, so he didn't want anyone to disturb the emperor and Song Concubine.
Concubine Song has been extremely favored recently. How dare Xiao Anzi disobey her orders?
But this little Anzi is also stupid. Wouldn't he know clearly what happened? Compared to the fire in Gongyuan, what is Song's concubine?
"This is simply ridiculous! Where is that cheap slave? Giving him a glass of poisonous wine is an advantage for him. I will cut him into pieces."
The emperor hates people who make decisions without authorization. Ten thousand deaths will not be enough for such slaves.
Xu Luo was frightened, "He has been imprisoned. Xiao Anzi has neglected his duty and is waiting for the emperor to punish him personally."
The emperor threw the brush on the ground, and cinnabar splashed all over Xu Luo.
"What are you waiting for me to do? Immediately cut the five horses into pieces and do it quickly to eliminate the hatred in my heart."
The emperor would never have thought that such a big event happened last night, and that even a servant would dare to conceal it.
"Did anyone come to the palace last night to hand over a sign?" The emperor was so angry that his chest heaved violently, and all the food and wine bags were there.
It's unbearable that he, a ninety-five-year-old supreme being, was kept in the dark about such a big matter.
"There are Mr. Song, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Mr. Su, the minister of Guanglu Temple. The fire happened at the third watch, so Mr. Song handed the sign to the palace. However, the sign was not delivered to the palace, so Mr. Song had no choice but to go back."
"Master Su came half an hour ago, and he also handed over the sign."
"Su Jinxun?" The emperor was a little surprised.
"Yes! This year, our Su family has two juniors in Chunwei, in the Gongyuan."
The emperor nodded, still angry when he thought of this, "Go to court!"
Su Jinxun was carried to the Hall of Supreme Harmony by two officials from the Ministry of Rites. He could no longer walk.
Just now Su Huai came to report that the gate of the Gongyuan was finally opened, but the fire was not completely extinguished and the rescuers could not get in.
He could already foresee the tragic situation inside Gongyuan. How many people could survive such a huge fire?
"The Emperor has arrived!" a promise was sung, and the hall was as silent as cicadas.
"I respectfully welcome the Emperor. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Everyone bowed and saluted, but the emperor did not ask the ministers to stand down as before, but said sharply: "Where is Wang Deng, the Minister of Rites?"
Wang Deng immediately went out. After he learned that there was a fire in the Gongyuan last night, he stayed awake until dawn.
"I'm here!"
The emperor glared angrily, "Did you know there was a fire in the Gongyuan last night?"
"I knew this, so I immediately sent Song Shilang to deliver the sign outside the palace gate. But the sign was never delivered into the palace, and I and the people outside Gongyuan were very anxious."
The emperor was furious when he heard this and asked: "Since you already knew about the fire, why didn't you open the dragon gate?"
"I observed the fire outside Gongyuan and found that the fire was controllable at first. Unfortunately, the wind suddenly intensified and the fire spread rapidly, and finally it became uncontrollable."
"Bastard! Since the fire spread quickly, why didn't you open the dragon gate?" The emperor pointed at Wang Deng and shouted angrily.
Wang Deng quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty! Last night I saw that the wind direction was from west to east. If you open the gantry and let the wind pass through the hall, it will only encourage the spread of the fire. The east side is full of houses, and there are many people's and official residences. Those on fire
The scope expands, and it can even burn the imperial palace, and then it will be out of control!"
"Then you just watch those candidates perish in the flames? They are still young and they are the pillars of the country!"
Su Jinxun couldn't bear it. How could they afford to lose the two children of their Su family in the Gongyuan?
Su Jinxun suddenly spoke, and everyone couldn't help but look at him. They could understand Su Jinxun's mood, but this could only be the case.
"Su Siqing, you should put the overall situation first in everything. How can you only care about personal relationships at this time? This is already minimizing the damage. In the face of the overall situation, you cannot care about personal gains and losses."
Wang Deng frowned, he was helpless, but he could only make this choice.
"What's more, the imperial court has ordered that after entering the Degongyuan for examination, the dragon gate is not allowed to be opened before the end, otherwise it will be punished as malpractice for personal gain. I passed the sign to the palace overnight and wanted to ask the emperor for instructions, but I did not dare to make the decision without authorization."
"Is this a personal gain or loss? There are 531 candidates in this examination, as well as so many examiners and handymen. These are all human lives!"
Su Jinxun was heartbroken. With so many lives lost, so many officials watched helplessly as they perished in the sea of fire.
He pointed at Wang Deng and said, "Where is your conscience?"
"Presumptuous! Su Siqing, I can understand your mood, but this is not the reason for you to speak arrogantly and be disrespectful to me."
Wang Deng was also angry. Under such circumstances, he could only make this choice.
This fire will indeed cost a lot of talents, but if the fire cannot be controlled and the people are implicated, how will he explain to the emperor and the people?
When the emperor thought of Xiao Anzi who concealed his secret last night, his anger became even more intense.
But when he calmed down, he also knew that Wang Deng was right. In the face of the overall situation, he could only minimize the damage.
"Yao An, the chamberlain, was on duty last night. This person actually concealed his secret and refused to report it. I will cut him into pieces."
The emperor slapped the dragon's head on the throne. He was heartbroken at the loss of so many talents.
Su Jinxun was only anxious at the moment. What he wanted most was to know whether his two children were still alive.
"Your Majesty, the most urgent task right now is to send someone to submit the list of candidates for this trial and report on the situation in Gongyuan and whether there are any survivors." Su Jinxun said immediately.
"I have sent the Minister of Dali Temple to deal with it, and I am waiting for his news to come."
The emperor knew that Su Jinxun was anxious, so he did not blame Su Jinxun for being rude and patiently explained.
"Wang Deng, please quickly sort out the list of candidates in the Tribute Academy and the locations of their dormitories, and submit them to me for review."
Now is not the time to hold people responsible. Relevant matters must be dealt with quickly.
Wang Deng immediately said: "Your Majesty, the list and corresponding residences have been sorted out. I ordered someone to draw an overview of the residences."
"Send it over quickly!" the emperor said hurriedly.