0p0 Chapter 283: Debate in the Court
Chapter 283: Debate in the Court
I thought he was asking for peace, but I didn't expect Chu Ci to start scolding directly. Zhang Yingjiu was stunned at first, his face instantly turned red, he pointed at Chu Ci, trembling all over, and after a long time he managed to say, "You...you, you are a villain and a woman is difficult to raise."
Chu Ci took a step forward, glared at him, and said loudly: "Master Zhang, you are the Minister of Rites, but you said such biased words!"
"'It's hard to raise a villain and a woman'? You compare women with villains, which is simply ridiculous! I think you are prejudiced and generalize!"
"It is difficult to raise a villain because of his corrupt character; what is the fault of the woman? In ancient times, women were as good as men, and now I have Chuci to speak out for justice! You do not judge the matter based on facts, but use such fallacies to pressure others, which is truly ungentlemanly!"
Now the people who were waiting to watch the fun finally couldn't sit still anymore.
Especially the Minister of Rites, Zhang Yingjiu was his subordinate, his face was gloomy, he stepped forward and said: "Why is Princess Yixin so aggressive?"
"Even though Minister Zhang's words were inappropriate, isn't it unbecoming of the princess to rebuke him so mercilessly?"
Chu Ci didn't bother to ask his name or official title this time. He crossed his arms, looked at him coldly, and said sarcastically, "What you call a noble demeanor is standing there waiting to die when being attacked? Sorry, this princess would rather not have this demeanor."
The Minister of Rites was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, cursing in his heart, saying that he had never seen such a unreasonable woman.
But Chu Ci hadn't finished yet. She raised her head slightly, with a proud look on her face, and continued, "Can this gentleman face unwarranted accusations with a smile and swallow his anger? If so, this princess has nothing to say."
"But this princess has always been upright and honest, and will not tolerate others slandering her at will! If you think that this princess is wrong, please show us the real evidence, and don't make empty accusations!"
"You...you..." The Minister of Rites was so angry that his face turned red. He pointed at Chu Ci with trembling fingers, wanting to refute, but Chu Ci really touched his heart. He opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't find a suitable words to respond for a while, and he was angry and anxious.
Seeing this, Chu Ci rolled his eyes rudely, crossed his arms in front of his chest, raised the corners of his mouth, and said with disdain: "That's it?"
Her contemptuous eyes and sarcastic tone were like a sharp blade, stabbing straight at the Minister of Rites.
Killing people is nothing more than that.
The Minister of Rites felt his blood rushing up, his head felt dizzy, his vision went black, his body swayed a few times, and then he fell to the side trembling.
The officials nearby were suddenly in a panic. Some rushed forward to help, while others looked terrified.
At this point, half of the court officials looked at Chu Ci's fierce and fearless appearance, and couldn't help but murmur in their hearts. They no longer had the undisguised contempt and disdain for Chu Ci that they had before.
There was a bit more solemnity and thoughtfulness in their eyes as they began to re-examine this seemingly weak but powerful woman.
But today, Chu Ci was framed without any reason, and he is still furious!
In the court, no official dared to step forward and speak.
Seeing this, Chu Ci simply pointed his spearhead directly at the emperor sitting at the top, and said loudly: "Since all the gentlemen are silent and dare not speak."
"Then let me ask you a question. All royal projects have always been undertaken by the Ministry of Works. Which lord did you entrust to oversee the construction of the 'Royal Women's College' this time?"
How could the emperor remember such a trivial matter, so he turned his gaze to Zhang Rang standing beside him.
Zhang Rang was startled and quickly searched his mind. He finally came up with a name and said, "Your Majesty, it's Wei Qi, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works."
The Minister of Industry, who was in charge, was shocked when he heard this, fearing that Chu Ci would point the finger at him. He quickly took a step forward and said anxiously, "Princess Yixin, as the vice president of the academy, you naturally have the responsibility of supervision!"
Chu Ci snorted coldly and said, "Sure enough, the rumors about officials protecting each other are not false."
Chu Ci then rolled his eyes and said with disdain, "Your Excellency is wrong! Construction has always been the responsibility of the Ministry of Works. I am only assisting in teaching matters. How can I be responsible for this construction?"
The Minister of Works naturally knew that what Chu Ci said made sense, but who could blame them for not being on the same side?
So, he said in a sarcastic tone: "Princess Yixin, how can the royal family's affairs be so clearly divided! Since you are the vice president of this academy, you should bear the corresponding responsibilities."
Chu Ci was too lazy to deal with these people who didn't understand the situation, so he bowed respectfully to the emperor and said righteously: "Your Majesty, is this the quality that an official of the Great Zhou should have?"
"When something went wrong, instead of thinking about how to properly resolve it, you just randomly picked someone to take the blame? How can you convince the people by acting this way? How can you ensure long-term peace and stability in our Great Zhou?"
The impact of Chu Ci's words is indeed too wide.
Not to mention the Minister of Works, even the three powerful prime ministers and even the emperor himself fell into a brief silence because of these words.
The more the emperor pondered over it, the more he felt that Chu Ci's words made sense. His face gradually became serious, and he turned his gaze to one of the prime ministers, Li Zhu, and asked, "Li Zhu, the Ministry of Works is under your jurisdiction. How do you think this matter should be handled most appropriately?"
Li Zhu was indeed an old fox who had been in the court for a lifetime. He rolled his eyes and said slowly, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, Wei Qi neglected his duties, which led to many problems in this project. He should be demoted to a civilian to rectify the situation."
"However, the key point of this matter is that the injured workers are now living on the streets, with no one to care for them. And the news has spread, and people are talking about it."
"Under such circumstances, how to take effective measures to maintain the royal family's reputation is the top priority at the moment!"
As soon as Li Zhu finished speaking, the official who still refused to give up jumped out impatiently in the court.
He bowed and said in a flattering manner, "In my opinion, this incident has a great impact. In order to appease the people, Princess Yixin should be dismissed from her position as vice president. This will calm the public anger and appease the people."
Chu Ci had a fiery temper! His anger instantly rose, and without saying anything more, he kicked the man hard.
"How dare you—" The angry shout resounded throughout the court.
Now the court officials finally caught Chu Ci's handle, and their eyes were burning with anger, thinking of taking the opportunity to suppress him.
Chu Ci was not afraid at all. He stood tall and asked loudly, "What is the will of the people in the hearts of the lords? Aren't those workers who were injured in the construction and then abandoned on the streets the people of my Great Zhou?"
"Since the incident happened, you have only been blaming others. Has anyone ever really thought about how to take remedial measures?"