novelnext Chapter 1186 - 1168: Punishment
Chapter 1186 - 1168: Punishment
Shen Ruhui’s complexion improved a bit, and he turned his head to look at Dr. Yu.
Dr. Yu’s face was flushed as he hurriedly returned the gesture, saying, "I do not deserve such a grand gesture from you gentlemen. Let us put this matter aside."
Only then did Shen Ruhui nod and say, "Then let it be."
Only then did Zhao Hanzhang soften her expression and look at Li Tianhe.
Kneeling on the ground, Li Tianhe’s face was flushed, and the three military officers behind him were also not much better off. They glanced up guiltily and immediately avoided Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze, then clasped their fists towards Shen Ruhui and Dr. Yu, saying, "Apologies, we should not have made fun of you gentlemen."
Once everyone had admitted their mistake, Li Tianhe took a deep breath and also clasped his fists towards Shen Ruhui and Dr. Yu.
Zhao Hanzhang, with a displeased expression, said directly, "Go to the imperial guard to receive your punishment."
She swept her gaze across them, saying coldly, "You know for yourselves whether such behavior is right or wrong, whether there were ulterior motives, as others are not fools either."
"In terms of wisdom, Doctor Shen and Dr. Yu are far above you, they merely disregard engaging in petty disputes with you," Zhao Hanzhang’s expression softened when facing Shen Ruhui and Dr. Yu, and she said gently, "You should go to the Imperial Hospital first to see if you are hurt before returning to the Ministry of Agriculture."
Dr. Yu hurriedly said, "I can’t, I still need to hurry back to record everything I’ve seen and thought today and select people to go into the mountains tomorrow."
Zhao Hanzhang: "The cultivation of grain seeds is not urgent at this moment."
Dr. Yu only listened, but had no intention of complying, how could it not be urgent? The weather was turning cold, and if he did not go into the mountains soon, the wild barley and wild rice might all fall.
He wondered if he could find anything in the mountains, or should he ask the local farmers?
They had been refugees for quite a long time, had been to many mountains, and perhaps they would know where there were wild barley and wild rice or other wild species.
In front of so many people, Dr. Yu was lost in thought just like that.
Zhao Hanzhang saw his vacant stare, his mind long gone, and sighed softly. This was why, even though Dr. Yu was evidently more talented than Shen Ruhui in the affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture, he had not been granted the position of doctor, but only served as a scholar at the Ministry of Agriculture.
What he needed was someone to support his research, to meet all his requirements, rather than engaging in political maneuvering with his colleagues.
If he were to attend court sessions, in less than ten days, if others did not ruin him, he would resign in frustration.
Therefore, Zhao Hanzhang allowed him to report matters directly to her and also provided him with an extra salary, allowing him to be a scholar at the Imperial College and the Ministry of Agriculture, calling him either a scholar or sir.
Among all the civil and military officials, those whom Zhao Hanzhang referred to as sir were fewer than a handful.
She thought that this attitude could protect him, but now it seemed it was not sufficient.
Zhao Hanzhang nodded to Shen Ruhui, who then took Dr. Yu and led him out of the palace.
After the two involved had left, the others either kneeling or standing remained, but Zhao Hanzhang was too lazy to bother with them. She directly glared at Li Tianhe and the three military officers behind him, whispering sternly, "Go receive your punishment first, then come see me."
She turned around and saw the Little Emperor carefully holding up his robe as he ran up the steps.
She couldn’t help but feel concerned, took a deep breath, pretended not to see, and returned to the main hall, her sleeves flapping in the wind.
When she returned to the main hall, the Little Emperor was already seated in his position, just slightly out of breath. Seeing Zhao Hanzhang return, he inconspicuously wiped the sweat from his face, trying hard to steady his little chest’s continuous rise and fall.
Wuwuwu, climbing stairs was too exhausting, and he had to go so fast, why was the staircase to the main hall so long?
Zhao Hanzhang pretended not to know, flipped through the remaining documents, and said, "The hour is getting late, Your Majesty, you should return to your studies. Isn’t Grand Tutor Xun teaching ’Han Feizi’ today?"
The Little Emperor’s eyes were wide open; for the first time, he would rather stay by Zhao Hanzhang’s side reviewing these dry and somewhat incomprehensible documents than go study.
"Han Feizi" was so difficult to learn, and the more he learned, the more disappointed and cold Xun seemed to look at him. He couldn’t understand why.
He hesitated, seeing Zhao Hanzhang showed no sign of giving in, so he had to get up and leave. Forget it, she had just been angry, better not provoke her lately.
After the Little Emperor left, Zhao Hanzhang began handling documents. After finishing two, she called over the imperial guard and asked, "Have they gone to receive their punishment?"
"Imperial Censor Lu went to the office to submit paperwork first before receiving punishment. He has been beaten with five strokes and is being carried out of the palace. General Li and the other four have also been beaten with five strokes and are on their way here."
They had been beaten, making movement difficult, so they were moving slowly.
The court cane was not the same as the paddle used for punishment at home, it was like the military cane, thick and heavy, and when struck down hard, it could draw blood with one hit. If met with a ruthless person, a mistargeted strike on the waist could crack bones.
In addition to the physical harm, the court cane inflicted psychological harm, lifting clothes, peeling pants to whip the buttocks, it would be reported throughout the court and recorded in history.
They were the first to be caned since Zhao Hanzhang came to power. Even when people associated with the Little Emperor attacked Zhao Hanzhang in court for having great ambitions and disloyal intentions, or criticized her for being a woman, she never used the court cane.
It showed how angry she was this time.
Li Tianhe and the others did not realize this initially, but as they endured the pain step by step up the stairs and knelt outside the main hall, they began to understand that, for Zhao Hanzhang, insulting Shen Ruhui and Dr. Yu, esteemed talents, was more severe than insulting her personally.
By the time they knelt outside the hall, Zhao Hanzhang had nearly finished reviewing the documents remaining on her table. She did not go out immediately nor let them get up, just let them kneel while she finished the documents, handed them over to Song brocade on duty today, and finally stood up to go out.
Wang Hao, the chronicler huddled in a corner taking notes, his eyes lit up immediately as he held his small booklet and little pen, standing in the shadow by the door watching.
When Song brocade passed by him, inadvertently meeting his gaze, both of them were rather speechless.
Wang Hao, a member of the Taiyuan Wang family, was like a cousin brother to the Wang family, one he had never met.
After Zhao Hanzhang quelled the Xiongnu, he packed up and came to Luoyang in a delightfully lively manner, finally arriving earlier this year. He did not seek out his cousin sister, nor did he reveal his identity to his conveniently acquired niece Zhao Hanzhang, but directly sought out the Imperial College, using an essay to knock on Zhao Cheng’s door.
Then, with the perspective of a historian, he received Zhao Cheng’s recommendation, successfully met Zhao Hanzhang, and convinced her to restore the department responsible for compiling historical records.
Zhao Hanzhang transformed the historical office of this dynasty into the Secretariat, establishing positions such as Secretary General and chronicler specifically for historical compilation and record-keeping.
It wasn’t until Wang Hao joined and registered his ancestry that Zhao Hanzhang discovered that this vibrant, articulate young man was her somewhat distant uncle.
He didn’t use his family background to gain power, and Zhao Hanzhang wouldn’t use family ties to bind him into glorifying her, so they tacitly agreed not to expose this connection and let him serve as a chronicler in the palace.