"I'm sorry for the long wait, gentlemen." Xiao Chen looked embarrassed, holding his fists and saluting all the officials passing by.
No one dared to answer, so they could only nod their heads.
Walking to a place ten feet away from Ming Chengzu, Xiao Chen quickly patted his sleeves and knelt on the ground with one knee: "Xiao Chen, a thousand households in the East Factory, see the emperor."
Ming Chengzu, who was sitting on the dragon throne, looked at Xiao Chen angrily: "You are not a small person. The civil and military officials of the court have been waiting for you for more than three hours before you came late. Is it because I can't invite you, or...
The Dongchang Yamen is so big that it can’t accommodate you?”
Xiao Chen was startled, still kneeling on the ground, and raised his head with some confusion: "Your Majesty, I was in the Ministry of Justice hearing the case in the middle of the night last night. Just after I returned to Dongchang, I received a tip that in Huangcun Town, south of the capital,
I found some unidentified armed teams. I didn’t even bother to take a sip of water and hurried over.”
"Oh, there's this matter? What's going on?" Ming Chengzu rolled his eyes and asked calmly.
"Hey, it was already dawn after we passed. It turned out to be a dozen or so common people, carrying hoes, digging ditches to divert water to irrigate the farmland. They were doing nothing in the dark, and the informant thought they were holding weapons, so he reported them without knowing it." Xiao Chenman
He looked tired and said with a wry smile.
"It's true that you didn't even understand the information, so you ran away in a hurry, and your work was in vain." Ming Chengzu's tone softened a lot.
"As long as it is intelligence, whether it is true or false, I must go and see what happens. This rebel force has had a huge impact on the capital. I would rather break my legs than miss any information related to them.
." The smile on Xiao Chen's face disappeared and he became extremely serious.
The officials behind him, after listening to Xiao Chen's words and looking at the men in royal uniforms dressed in gorgeous military attache uniforms, shook their heads and sighed.
"No wonder Dongchang has accomplished extraordinary feats many times. With the dedicated attitude of the purple-robed captain, can you not reap some rewards?"
"Going to Huangcun Town to handle the case? No wonder we had to wait for so long. It's not like some people just stay in the yamen, waiting for their subordinates to do things, and finally get the credit themselves."
"Of course, otherwise, as soon as the emperor sends word, they will arrive. I haven't done anything sincerely, just chilling in the Yamen!"
"Without contrast, there is no harm. You can tell the difference at a glance."
"Ahem, cough, cough." Seeing the officials talking louder and louder, Ming Chengzu couldn't help coughing a few times. He picked up the silk handkerchief on the desk and wiped his mouth, then looked at Xiao Chen who was kneeling on the ground:
"Since you have gone to court, you can't go back and change your clothes? Look at your outfit. Not only are you wearing the Dongchang captain's uniform, but you are also tattered and covered in dust."
"Back to the emperor, in order to find out their identities, I galloped along the path between the farmland. There were many thorns and dust on the roadside, which made it look like this. After returning to the capital, I happened to meet the eunuch who had summoned him and learned that
I have been delayed for several hours, so if I dare to delay any longer, I will just run over here."
"Okay, okay, even if what you say is reasonable, but you are a member of a thousand households in Dongchang, and you go out to handle cases. What kind of business do you wear a school uniform? Do you still understand the etiquette of being an official?" Ming Chengzu saw Xiao Chen's defense.
He was clear-headed and had nowhere to vent his anger, so he simply said he was not dressed correctly.
"Your Majesty does not know that when you go out to handle cases, you can only truly hear the voices of the people while wearing the uniform of a low-level school captain. If I go out wearing a clean and majestic Qianhu uniform, how can the people dare to speak? Even if they speak, they will not
They all just said some high-sounding polite words. If I want to get useful information, I can only listen to what they tell the truth. Therefore, I have no choice but to wear this school uniform. The most important thing is that the imperial court stipulates that lower officials are not allowed.
Wear Shangguan clothes, but there is no rule that thousands of households are not allowed to wear school captain clothes." Xiao Chen held his hands and stared at Ming Chengzu seriously.
Ming Chengzu was stunned. He really couldn't refute Xiao Chen's words.
There is really no rule in the imperial court that superior officials are not allowed to wear the clothes of lower officials.
"That's all, I don't want to argue with you too much about this matter. Get up." Ming Chengzu waved his hand and turned his head to the side.
He was panting and obviously feeling very unhappy.
Not to mention what the case reported to the Ministry of Criminal Justice was like.
Ming Chengzu was already very dissatisfied with Xiao Chen for making everyone wait for so long. In addition, he deliberately wore a tattered school captain's uniform, which was clearly a silent counterattack against him for taking back his unicorn purple clothes.
.
But even so, when faced with his own questions, he responded fluently, and indirectly told the officials present that he was focused on hunting down the rebel forces, making it impossible for him to question him.
In contrast, Jin Yiwei was already at a disadvantage before he formally inquired about the case.
Xiao Chen, who was on the ground, heard Ming Chengzu's words asking him to get up, and hurriedly kowtowed and thanked him.
He put his hands on the ground and stood up slowly. He looked around, looked at the clean clothes on others, and then looked down at himself. He suddenly felt very rude.
He couldn't care so much, just slapped the dust on his body with his hands.
When he came in, there was a thick layer of dust on Xiao Chen's trouser legs below his knees. Although there was less dust on his body, it was still the same as if he had been traveling for several days without rest, not even half a pound or two ounces.
Under these beatings, with him as the center, a gray mist of dust suddenly appeared in the hall.
Xu Kaiying, the commander of the Jinyiwei who was standing nearby, hurriedly raised his right hand, covered his nose, and took a step to the side.
Although Jin Yiwei commander Ma Yunshan did not have such obvious feelings of disgust, he frowned slightly and said in a low voice: "Xiao Qianhu, this is the Jinluan Palace. I'm afraid it's inappropriate for you to create dust like this?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Xiao Chen obviously realized that his behavior was inappropriate, and quickly said to Ma Yunshan, "I saw that everyone was dressed so cleanly, but I was really too dirty, so I slapped him in a hurry.
stand up."
Before Ma Yunshan could answer, Zhu Gaochi on the other side stepped forward and patted Xiao Chen's shoulder: "It's true that he is a little dirty, but it's wrong to dust him in the court hall. Come on, I'll accompany you outside to clean up the dust."
Pat it clean before coming in."
After saying this, Zhu Gaochi raised his head and cast a questioning look at Ming Chengzu: "Father, will my son take him out?"
"Wait a minute." Ming Chengzu's face turned cold.
"Father?" Zhu Gaochi didn't know why and was waiting for Ming Chengzu's next words.
"There are thousands of households in the East Factory, and the purple-clothed captain whom I personally sealed doesn't even have a decent dress to go to court. Those who know, understand that you came to court in the middle of handling a case. Those who don't understand, think that I am stingy, so I sealed you.
The captain in purple clothes, but I will not give you the unicorn purple clothes. Xiao Si, take the prince and the captain in purple clothes to the imperial study, take out the unicorn purple clothes that I have kept for him, and let him put them on before he comes to court." Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty pointed at Xiao Chen.
A hole in the thigh, "Look at your virtue, what is the difference between you and a beggar?"
When Zhu Gaochi heard this, he was overjoyed. He hurriedly turned to Xiao Chen and said, "Why don't you kneel down to thank me?"
The Qilin Ziyi was lost and recovered, which shows that the father no longer cares about Xiao Chen's mistakes. It also shows that the father once again recognizes Xiao Chen's serious and responsible attitude from the bottom of his heart.
Zhu Gaochi's heart burst into laughter.
Lin Shangli, who was behind Ming Chengzu, also nodded towards Xiao Chen and motioned for him to kneel down and thank him.
All the officials in the court even smiled.
Xu Kaiying, the commander of the Jinyi Guards next to him, had an expressionless and indifferent face, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.
The conductor, Ma Yunshan, grinned and wanted to say something, but he held it back.
I felt uncomfortable, as if someone had scratched me with a knife several times.
However, Xiao Chen did not kneel down. Under the gaze of everyone, he took a step forward, raised his fists and bowed to Ming Chengzu.
"I would like to report to Your Majesty that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was kidnapped. Until now, I have not completely purged this rebellious force from the capital. I think of the sins His Highness suffered, the humiliation the court suffered because of this, and the Ming Dynasty, because of this
The incident was laughed at by other countries after dinner, and I felt like a big mountain was weighing on my heart. I couldn't sleep day and night. The emperor just took back the purple clothes and did not punish me. It was already a great favor from the emperor. He did not root out this rebellious force.
Before, I had no shame to accept the Qilin Purple Clothes again." His eyebrows were raised. Although there was a layer of dust on them, Xiao Chen's words from the bottom of his heart made everyone in the civil and military dynasties stand in awe.
Seeing Xiao Chen rejecting Ziyi on the spot, Lin Shangli, who was behind Ming Chengzu, looked anxious.
In desperation, he had no choice but to yell: "How dare you not listen to the emperor's words? Do you want to resist the decree?"
However, Ming Chengzu slowly raised his left hand and blocked Lin Shangli's face.
"Your Majesty? You?" Lin Shangli couldn't help but be startled, but in his heart he was greeting Xiao Chen's eighteenth generation ancestor.
