Chapter 1099 - 1101 Imperial Study Room Debate_1
Bai Ruozhu could tell that the Empress Dowager was reluctant, but politics were such that even she couldn’t prevent what was happening.
At lunchtime, Princess Diao Bin also arrived. The Empress Dowager ordered the main gate to be secured before the princess carefully removed her headscarf to eat. Seeing her like this, with hair as white as snow, Bai Ruozhu felt a tinge of discomfort. She thought about knitting a pretty hat for Princess Diao Bin to send to her, as that would seem more normal than using a scarf to cover her head like this.
"Ruozhu, how is Diao Yao doing? Something happened before, and I didn’t have the chance to invite her to the palace. I heard her brother’s poison acted up again?" Princess Diao Bin asked with concern.
"It’s under control for now, and she should be completely detoxified before long," Bai Ruozhu replied. "Because of this, Diao Yao’s mood has improved a lot. She misses you too."
The Empress Dowager laughed upon hearing this and said, "Listening to you two talk makes it sound like you’re sisters. I really should meet this young lady."
The Empress Dowager had originally instructed Bai Ruozhu to bring Diao Yao with her when coming to the palace. However, due to Consort Le’s accident and her subsequent pregnancy care, no outsiders were allowed in the Cining Palace, and thus the plan had been postponed.
Halfway through the meal, a palace maid came to report that everything had been taken care of.
Because of Princess Diao Bin’s presence, the palace maids did not dare to enter the main hall, but Bai Ruozhu still heard the maid’s message from outside. She abruptly stood up and said to the Empress Dowager, "Please forgive Ruozhu’s impertinence, I’d like to go see Achun first."
The Empress Dowager started to smile. "I will have someone take you there. Don’t worry too much, Jiang Yichun will at most get a salary deduction. The Emperor still sides with his own people."
Bai Ruozhu nodded and hurriedly left with a palace maid.
Princess Diao Bin covered her mouth and giggled, "I heard Ruozhu was previously annoyed with Brother Yichun. But now, doesn’t she seem very concerned about him?"
The Empress Dowager also started to laugh, but her gaze drifted into the distance, as if reminiscing about something, and she became somewhat pensive.
...
Bai Ruozhu was quickly brought to the Imperial Army Prison. This place was reserved for serious offenses committed within the palace, guarded by the Imperial Army. Jiang Yichun had broken Zhou Jue’s nose on the court, which is why he was immediately taken to the Imperial Army Prison.
When she saw him, he was calmly meditating in a sitting posture within the cell, showing no signs of nervousness or irritability. Suddenly, Bai Ruozhu felt a surge of irritation. He seemed carefree, not considering how worried she had been.
Jiang Yichun, hearing the noise, suddenly opened his eyes. Seeing Bai Ruozhu, a smile spread across his face. He leapt up from the ground and rushed to the iron bars.
"You really aren’t in a hurry, are you? How could you fight Zhou Jue in the court? Couldn’t you have found a way to deal with him privately?" Bai Ruozhu glared at him somewhat petulantly, refusing to approach him. He reached an arm out, his slender fingers stretching towards her to touch her face, but they fell short.
She had never seen him locked up in jail, unable to move freely before. For a moment, she felt a wave of bitterness and found herself uncontrollably walking over.
His hand caressed her cheek, and his fingers slowly slid back, threading through her hair before clutching the back of her head, pulling her face close to the bars suddenly.
"Fool, I am also avoiding disaster by doing this, and besides, if the Emperor doesn’t want to proceed with the marriage alliance with Zhou Jue, he needs an excuse to ask him to leave." His voice was pressed very low, as if he was using a technique of sound transmission, and Bai Ruozhu listened with a startled heart, but also became enlightened in an instant.
Avoiding disaster referred to the calamity of Wu Yunfeng, who had caused trouble in the Imperial Court and was imprisoned in the Imperial Army Prison. There was now a legitimate reason not to see Wu Yunfeng, and even if Wu Yunfeng managed to pull some strings to visit the prison, he could no longer do anything that might harm him.
Ultimately, it was because Wu Yunfeng was his master, and he could only cautiously avoid him.
As for the Emperor’s thought, even if Jiang Yichun was punished for this incident, the Emperor would make amends for it later.
Bai Ruozhu breathed a sigh of relief, "Did you plan this all along? Why didn’t you give me a heads-up? Did you deliberately want to worry me?"
A smug look flashed in Jiang Yichun’s eyes. He certainly would not admit that he had harbored thoughts of seeing whether Bai Ruozhu was worried about him. Seeing her still so anxious about him, he naturally felt extremely pleased with himself.
"Not at all, it was only after Zhou Jue publicly mocked me that I thought of this method. Otherwise, I would have discussed it with you last night." His face was smiling as he deliberately emphasized the words "last night" a bit too strongly, and sure enough, Bai Ruozhu’s face turned red.
She was too busy last night; even if she had thought of it, she probably wouldn’t have had the time to mention it.
"You’re really incorrigible!" Bai Ruozhu finally suppressed the romantic stirrings in her heart and glanced at him sideways as she spoke.
Jiang Yichun laughed even more wickedly, "Don’t you already know whether I have any semblance of propriety or not?"
"Stop beating around the bush. How many days do you plan to stay here? How are you going to resolve this matter smoothly, and are you confident about it?" asked Bai Ruozhu, puffing up with anger.
"What’s there to be afraid of? It’s not like I’m breaking the law. If it pleases the Emperor, what is there to worry about?" Jiang Yichun said.
Bai Ruozhu muttered under her breath, having broken someone’s nasal bone and still claiming not to be breaking the law? Of course, she really couldn’t say it out loud—Zhou Jue had it coming, and besides, could he even be counted as a person?
Contrary to the bleakness of the Imperial Army Prison, the Imperial Study Room was bustling with fervent activity, so much so that even the normally patient Tang Yin rubbed his temples.
"Without rules, there is no square or circle; without laws, a country cannot be governed. The Emperor must not show partiality to Jiang Yichun, lest the people of the world speak of the Emperor’s injustice," Elder Jiang Ge glared harshly at Bai Guanghe, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, who had just contradicted him.
"You are getting more and more muddle-headed. Why don’t you see how the Sixth Prince of Chengshui Country provoked and insulted people with his words? He dared to insult officials of Danliang Country in the Court of Danliang, isn’t that a show of disrespect to our country? If we don’t teach him a lesson, that would be the real laughingstock to all," Bai Guanghe said indignantly.
General Ma Tongfang of the Southern Army also spoke up, "Elder Jiang Ge should learn to be flexible. Zhou Jue is not a kind person. I heard that as soon as he entered the Capital, he hurt people on the street with poison. If not for the sake of diplomatic relations between our two countries, we should have asked him to leave the Capital long ago. Elder Jiang’s actions are also to deter and uphold our Country’s prestige."
"General Ma speaks thus because of his longstanding animosity towards Chengshui Country, correct? Who wants unrest and calamity if our Country can be peaceful and its people safe? Do you wish to provoke a dispute between the two countries?" Elder Jiang Ge retorted firmly, "Moreover, I have heard a little about the incident involving the Sixth Prince of Chengshui in the Capital. Ultimately, it’s because the Bai Family woman was not behaving as a decent woman should, flaunting herself in public, which led Jiang Yichun and Prince Zhou to clash!"
Upon hearing this, Bai Guanghe exploded with anger, pointing at Elder Jiang Ge and shouting, "You, an old man, parade around championing moral principles, yet you’re just an outdated relic—shamelessly targeting a young woman at your age. Zhou Jue bullied our citizens, and we shouldn’t have just stood by. According to you, if I hit you right now because you can’t speak without provoking me and making me angry, would it be because you were restless and asking for it? Is this what you constantly call law and order?"