The resonant sound of the Deng Gu drum, a signal of injustice, filled the entire imperial palace, lingering long after its final echo.
Before the imperial dossier, the Emperor himself would preside.
Xie Jingxi felt his legs turn to jelly, his vision darkening. He grabbed the hand of a nearby eunuch and said in a panic, "Quickly, stop Father Emperor! Use any excuse!"
The eunuch nodded and scurried back towards the palace gates.
Ji Zizhao watched the eunuch's departing figure and instructed Ji Zibi beside her, "Tell Second Sister to retrieve the military dispatch from the people and discard it before the left palace gate."
Standing silently before the left palace gate was Feng Gu.
Ji Zizhao had seen Feng Gu during the previous palace banquet.
She hadn't paid him much attention then, but now she noticed the crane embroidered on his chest.
Among eunuchs, those who wore cranes held the highest rank.
This man was likely the Emperor's chief eunuch.
Two tigers cannot share one mountain; this was an eternal truth.
As the Emperor's head eunuch, he could not tolerate anyone else currying favor and receiving the Emperor's attention.
She did not know why the eunuch before the Emperor favored the Second Prince so much.
But she was certain that the chief eunuch by the Emperor's side would definitely be loyal to the Emperor.
Now, she had prepared the sharp blade for him to claim merit and eliminate evil.
Ji Zizhao believed that this chief eunuch would surely have a plan on how to proceed.
Xie Jingxi, his mind in utter chaos, could not fathom Ji Zizhao's intentions. His vision swam, and he was unaware that Ji Zixiu had thrown the military dispatch before the palace gate.
Sweating profusely, he could only repeatedly recall one thought:
Such a booming drum sound, resonating to the heavens, the Father Emperor must be deaf not to hear it.
Emperor Xiaochang was not deaf.
Seated in his study, he was so startled by the continuous sound of the Deng Gu drum that he leaped from his chair.
A pale-faced young eunuch, who had been standing beside the Second Prince, rushed in. "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Ji family is audacious and refuses punishment, even daring to strike the Deng Gu drum!"
Emperor Xiaochang was stunned.
Indeed, military men had short tempers. When the old General Ji was alive, he would often argue heatedly with the civil officials in court, and sometimes even he, the Emperor, could not save face before the old General Ji.
But even if a military man was unruly, he would never disobey an imperial decree.
This was blatant disrespect towards him, the Emperor!
"The Ji family truly has immense gall!" Emperor Xiaochang was furious, his hands gripping the edge of his desk, his fingers white, veins bulging on the back of his hands.
"Your Majesty..."
Feng Gu pushed open the door and entered, presenting an item to Emperor Xiaochang.
It was better if Emperor Xiaochang hadn't seen it; upon seeing it, he nearly lost his footing.
"This, this is..."
"Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble servant has been observing before the palace gate. This is the old General Ji's military dispatch. As the account of the Luoyi campaign recorded herein differs slightly from the one presented by the Second Prince, the Ji family women struck the Deng Gu drum, hoping Your Majesty would administer justice for the Ji family. The populace outside the palace is currently stirred up, and the commoners are filled with righteous indignation over the Ji family's affairs."
Feng Gu spoke, his gaze intentionally or unintentionally falling on the young eunuch kneeling on the ground.
This eunuch had been recommended to the Emperor by Consort Xi. It was precisely because of this that he had been yielding, but now, with the Emperor's reputation at stake, he absolutely could not allow this man to damage the Emperor's standing in the hearts of the people.
Emperor Xiaochang looked at the military dispatch before him, his heart pounding.
He recognized Ji Zhengyong's handwriting, and it was precisely because of this that he now felt an uncontrollable surge of anger!
"Summon the imperial carriage!"
Since this matter concerned the will of the people, it could not be resolved quietly.
Moreover, as Emperor, he was now very eager to know the truth of the Luoyi campaign!
Before the palace gates, the clamor continued unabated.
The refugees from Luoyi, along with the citizens of the capital, had broken free from the guards' watch and were crowding towards the palace gates.
The Ji family had protected Yulin for a century, only to be framed and destroyed by the imperial family. If this matter was not resolved today, they would all feel ashamed before the court and the imperial family.
The guards stationed at the palace gates had never witnessed such a large gathering. Facing the increasingly agitated crowd, they were almost unable to hold them back.
"The Emperor arrives—!"
Feng Gu's voice suddenly rang out from within the palace.
In an instant, the clamoring crowd before the palace gates fell silent.
With the Son of Heaven present, his aura of authority was something no one dared to defy.
As the imperial dragon robe of imperial yellow gradually appeared from the palace gates, the people before them all knelt in worship.
"Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live!"
Kneeling within the crowd, Ji Zizhao looked at the Emperor on the imperial carriage, her eyes icy cold.
The art of ruling was the art of managing people.
Alas, this time, even the Emperor had miscalculated everything, and had chosen the wrong person.
Emperor Xiaochang did not bid them to rise. His stern eyes scanned the crowd. "Where are the Ji family members?"
As the Son of Heaven, high above, revered by all, even though the Ji family women were filled with grievance and resentment, they trembled and dared not speak when facing the Emperor seated on the imperial carriage.
Ji Zizhao slowly raised her head, neither subservient nor overbearing. "This humble subject, Ji Zizhao, along with the Ji family women, pays respects to Your Majesty."
Emperor Xiaochang stared at Ji Zizhao, who was kneeling not far away. The fingers gripping the military dispatch tightened, and his majestic voice was devoid of emotion. "According to the Second Prince, all the men of the Ji family perished in Luoyi. From where did you, eldest daughter of the Ji family, obtain this military dispatch?"
To ascend to the throne, one had to be exceptionally astute.
Though Feng Gu had claimed the people had found it, Emperor Xiaochang knew very well that if the Ji family women had not intentionally brought the military dispatch to the palace gates, how could the people have found it?
Ji Zizhao did not hesitate. She admitted frankly, "A courier delivered news that all the men of the Ji family had fallen on the battlefield. This humble subject feared that the men of the Ji family would not be able to return to their roots. Therefore, I sent Fourth Sister to Luoyi overnight, hoping to find the bodies of the Ji family men and bring them back to the capital for burial. Little did we expect that Fourth Sister would see the corpses of the Ji family men and hundreds of thousands of soldiers piled high like mountains! Because my grandfather habitually recorded his military expeditions in a dispatch for his descendants to study, Fourth Sister found my grandfather's body and retrieved the military dispatch from it! Unfortunately, this led to the pursuit by the Second Prince, resulting in the bodies of the Ji family men still lying exposed in the wilderness of Luoyi to this day!"
Xie Jingxi, kneeling at the front, immediately retorted, "Utter nonsense! I never saw any Ji family women in Luoyi!"
Ji Zizhao knew that arguing with the Second Prince, who was distorting the truth, would be a waste of time. She therefore presented the military records she had been holding to the Emperor. "This is the military record brought back by the Second Prince. Now that my grandfather's military dispatch and the Second Prince's military record are both here, Your Majesty can ascertain the truth through comparison."
The handwriting on this military record was not from her grandfather. While it might have been skillfully imitated, in front of the genuine article, the fake was clearly revealed.
Feng Gu took the military record and walked towards the Emperor.
Xie Jingxi, kneeling on the ground, trembled uncontrollably.
He knew very well how the handwriting on the military record had come to be.
But even with a hundred times his courage, he could not snatch the military record from his father's hands.
Emperor Xiaochang opened the military record, and with just one glance, his eyes blazed with fury!