At the central region of Canon city lay the emperor's courthouse. It was built in the shape of a pagoda. Everything in the house was plated with gold. Inside the house, various attached sits were arranged evenly. Everything was decorated beautifully, while at the platform, there was a chair decorated and designed with twin dragons coiling in the chair with their head on the arms of the chair.
It was already noon, and the weather was hot. One hundred fifty ministers, scholars, and military veterans were currently sitting inside the room while discussing their matters and recent political issues.
Li Lin, the prime minister, seated on the front-most single chair before the platform. He just remained silent.
Dong dong dong ...( sound of royal drum rang out )
" His Majesty, the emperor is entering the courtroom. " A eunuch shouted while drumming.
A tall man ( 6.7 feet ) entered the house, followed by his two chief eunuchs. Everyone inside the room stood up and kowtowed on the ground. He walked towards the platform and sat in a flat back posture. He was the present emperor of the Tang nation, Tang Zimo.
" You can take your seat," Tang Zimo said while waving his hand.
Tang Zimo was a man of charisma. He had the face of someone likable by everyone. He had an aura of purity and nobleness. He wore a Mianguan crown on his head. His dress was made of silk with the design of a flying azure dragon in the sky.
( The Mianguan crown was a tall one, with pearls dangling from it. )
" Start briefing today's matter, " The emperor announced.
The two chief eunuchs came and brought out a bundle of books and kept them beside the throne.
Suddenly, prime minister Li Lin stood up, approached slowly toward the platform, kowtowed, and said, " Your majesty, I have a crucial matter to report. "
Tang Zimo waved his palm, telling him to continue.
" Your majesty, consort Menglou, her highness has been kowtowing before the palace ancestral hall since early this morning (now it was already noon ). It is not proper for the nation to ignore her. Please consider her request. " Prime minister Li Lin said.
" Alright, eunuch Chen, go bring her here. " The emperor commanded.
Then, Chief Eunuch Chen walked out of the room in haste. After several minutes, Menglou walked inside the court, followed by eunuch Chen.
She walked toward the platform and kowtowed before the emperor.
" My lord, please bring justice for my little Xiǎo ér. " She requested while sobbing.
" Alright, I will look into this matter myself personally. How was he? " He asked softly.
" My lord, please bring justice. Xiǎo ér was better now ." She pleaded again.
" You don't need to worry about this matter anymore. You may leave for now. Later, I will visit little Xiǎo ér. " He said softly.
Then, Menglou walked out of the court. Before she left the entrance of the room, everyone inside the courthouse kowtowed and requested at the same time, " Your majesty, please bring justice for the 5th prince. "
Consort Menglou smiled and left the room.
" Alright, alright .. everyone, you all take your seatback. These matters will be officially handed to prime minister Li Lin. Take this iron dragon badge and bring your report directly to me. " He throws the badge toward Li Lin.
Li Lin caught the badge and kept it inside his pocket carefully, and bowed toward him.
At that moment, a dark silhouette figure suddenly appeared beside chief eunuch Chen's side. Darkness with a thickness of around 2 inches surrounded the dark silhouette figure. It bowed toward the throne firstly, then handed two letters to eunuch Chen's hand, bowed again to Tang Zimo, and disappeared. ( gender undisclosed, so I will be using 'it' )
" Your majesty, two letters came from the northern fort's general Tang Mie lien. " The eunuch announced and presented it to Tang Zimo.
Tang Zimo looked at the two letters carefully. He could see that one letter was officially sealed with the general's seal, while the other one was a personal letter. He kept the personal letter inside his space ring in his right hand and opened another one. Then he read it carefully.
Tang Zimo thought deeply and tapped slightly on his armchair for the first time. Then he gave the letter to eunuch Chen to read out the letter to his official.
" Listen carefully! Ahem ahem," Eunuch Chen coughed and cleared his throat.
Then he continued, " Recently, a group of our scouts found a new cave that appeared in the Xinjiang Tianshan Forest near the outskirts of the northern border. To investigate the cave, we send 22 men from the 15th Iron Hammer team to the Xinjiang Tianshan Forest ( sent by emperor Zimo himself ) and they enter the cave. It has been a month but no one came out of the cave. Our people who are specialists in communication magic fail to receive any news from them. For now, the investigation operation in the Xinjiang Tianshan Forest is put to a halt. So, we request the emperor for a further plan to proceed. "
" Did he say 'The 15th Iron Hammer team'? " One official murmured.
" Yes, the most fierce and brutal team among the royal guards. "Another official replied with disbelief. Then the room became noisy with those officials' discussion.
" Everyone quiet," Tang Zimo commanded.
Then, everyone inside the courthouse became more serious.
" So, my officials, what do you think we should do now? You can all discuss it together," Tang Zimo asked again.
Then all the officials gathered toward Li Lin and they started discussing the matter. After several minutes Li Lin appeared before the platform and said,
" Your majesty, it was better to send those veterans from the Bloody Hammer team who were specialists in scouting and escaping techniques. "
" I will consider that. For now, the court is adjourned, everyone leaves, and Li Lin, you stay," Tang Zimo commanded.
Everyone bowed to the emperor and moved slowly out of the courthouse.
" Li Lin, what do you think the content of the 2nd letter would be?
oh ! can you tell me your free mind regarding the assassination attempt on 5th prince," Tang Zimo said with a smile. Then he took out the letter from the space ring and started reading it.
" Your majesty, the 2nd letter must be about the 5th prince's matter.
Also, the assassination attempt on the 5th prince looked very strange. The incident takes place inside the cannon city which will be hardly possible with all the experts here in the city. It seemed like a well perfect plan. The four great families must be behind this incident. While those who take direct action must be within the palace, it can be anyone. But it will be very tricky with no loose end from their side. " He expressed his thoughts.
" The four great families always remained neutral in royal affairs and they balance each other's power. But one thing is sure, after this incident, they will start to openly support their chosen princes. " Li Lin continued.
" Always sharp, Li Lin. "
" Hahaha .. this daughter of mine is threatening me again. She was telling me to send her brother to her side and quickly punish those responsible for that incident. " The emperor said while laughing out loud. But, inside Zimo's mind, he was a bit afraid of his daughter going to her grandfather. His father pampered her the most. The princess was very mischievous ( when she was a kid), so one day he taught her a lesson by scolding and beating her a bit but in return, he was beaten to a pulp by his father. From that day onward, Zimo sucked up to her by doing her every bidding. He became relaxed when she turned 15 and was especially disciplined by her mother Menglou. But still, he had a daughter trauma until today.