Chapter 124 Autumn Hunt

Chapter 124: Autumn Hunt

Cheng Ge's eyes darted, he kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, what is painted here is the legendary ancient deity Donghuang Taiyi, who governs the order of heaven and earth and the power of nature. Your humble servant thought of painting it on the Hu Tablet (a ceremonial tablet) to constantly remind himself to restrain himself and cultivate his character."

Zhou Mingqi looked at him with a half-smile, "Oh? Then my dear minister is quite thoughtful."

Cheng Ge wiped the sweat from his forehead, secretly relieved that he had managed to bluff his way through for now.

But Zhou Mingqi suddenly leaned in, lowered his voice and said, "Then does this Eastern Deity also wear a Yishan Crown (a court hat)?"

Cheng Ge: "..." I'm out of ideas. Just sentence me to death.

Cheng Ge, with vacant eyes and a sense of hopelessness, began to ramble nonsense again.

"Your servant has never seen the true form of a deity, but I deeply admire them in my heart. Today, inadvertently catching a glimpse of Your Majesty's sacred countenance, I suddenly felt my mind stirred, as if bathed in holy light. Your Majesty, as the Emperor, bears immense majesty and naturally possesses the qualities of those ancient deities. Therefore, while painting, without realizing it, I imitated Your Majesty's dragon visage. I beg Your Majesty to punish me..."

After saying this, Cheng Ge waited like a beaten dog for Zhou Mingqi to order his execution.

"Hmm, not bad."

Cheng Ge's eyes lit up, thinking he must have misheard, and he instantly came back to life.

Immediately, he said excitedly, "Your Majesty..."

Zhou Mingqi gently placed the Hu Tablet aside and then said, "After hearing my dear minister's words, I am also quite curious about this Eastern Deity."

Cheng Ge grinned, thinking to himself that this emperor was actually quite easy to talk to!

However, before he could be happy for long, Zhou Mingqi continued, "Then my dear minister will stay this afternoon and paint another fifty or sixty portraits for me."

At these words, Cheng Ge, who was about to stand up, fell back to the ground with a thud.

After finishing lunch...

Cheng Ge, holding a brush, picked up his teacup and took a gentle sip, beginning his journey of abstract creation.

Zhou Mingqi was handling memorials to the throne on the side, and the scene was rather harmonious.

"Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Wang requests an audience." Fu Quan stepped forward quickly, bowed slightly, and said softly.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingqi slowly raised his head: "Summon him."

As his words fell, Grand Secretary Wang walked into the hall with steady steps.

His gaze fell on Cheng Ge, who was nearby; he was slightly startled at first, but quickly returned to normal, saying nothing more.

"Your servant pays respects to Your Majesty." Grand Secretary Wang walked to the center of the hall, knelt and kowtowed, performing the ritual between sovereign and minister.

"Rise, Minister Wang." Zhou Mingqi waved his hand and said expressionlessly.

After expressing gratitude for the grace, Wang Zhizhong slowly stood up, bowed and moved to one side, then reported to Zhou Mingqi: "Your Majesty, Tang Yushou, the magistrate of Yuanzhou, has been escorted to the capital."

"Hmm." Zhou Mingqi frowned slightly and pressed further, "Have any other evidence of crimes been found? Is there any movement from Lian Wujing?"

Wang Zhizhong shook his head and replied, "All evidence points to Tang Yushou; neither the Left nor Right Provincial Commissioner knew."

After hearing this, Zhou Mingqi raised his hand to rub his brow, his eyes showing some fatigue.

After a moment of silence, he nodded to Wang Zhizhong and said, "I understand. Send a few more censors to Yuanzhou. Also, have the Embroidered Uniform Guard interrogate Tang Yushou again."

"Your Majesty, the censors were just sent recently. If we send more, it will inevitably arouse suspicion."

Zhou Mingqi put the approved memorial aside and thought for a moment: "Forget it. Interrogate Tang Yushou first, and set aside the rest for now."

As soon as the words fell, a voice announced from outside the door: "Your Majesty, Minister Yang of the Court of State Ceremonial requests an audience."

Hearing this announcement, Wang Zhizhong's heart leaped, and he was about to rise and take his leave.

Zhou Mingqi spoke: "He must be here to report on the Autumn Hunt. Minister Wang need not leave; stay and discuss together."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhizhong quickly bowed in agreement and waited once again on the side.

Cheng Ge's eyes darted, he dashed off a couple of brushstrokes on the paper, then stood up: "Your Majesty, then your servant will take his leave..."

However, before he could finish, Zhou Mingqi interrupted: "You stay too."

Cheng Ge's butt had barely left the stool, but hearing Zhou Mingqi's words, he sat back down: "Oh, okay."

Cheng Ge slunk back to his seat, sneaking a glance at the crooked "Donghuang Taiyi" portrait on the table, his heart pounding.

He grabbed the brush and dipped it aggressively into the inkstone, splashing ink onto his cuff without noticing.

"Summon him." Zhou Mingqi tapped the dragon table lightly with his fingertip.

Yang Guanlan, Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, strode into the hall, the jade belt at his waist swaying gently with his steps.

"Your servant pays respects to Your Majesty." Yang Guanlan performed the ritual as usual, his voice so loud that it made Cheng Ge jolt. "The procedures for the Autumn Hunt have been prepared, but..."

"Speak." Zhou Mingqi picked up his teacup, the steaming heat blurring his expression.

"The Northern Di envoy arrived in the capital yesterday. Their leader, Alutai, requests to bring his tribesmen to participate in the hunt." Yang Guanlan took a gift list from his sleeve. "These are the thirty warhorses they have presented as tribute."

Cheng Ge's brush tip paused on the paper, creating a blot of ink. He lifted his eyes to secretly glance at Zhou Mingqi.

The Northern Di and Great Zhou had been at odds for a long time. It was said that three years ago, the Northern Di were particularly arrogant on the hunting grounds.

Those grassland men could fight wolves with bare hands, making the capital garrison soldiers look like clumsy quails.

During the hunt, a dispute broke out over a small deer, and the Northern Di actually dragged a noble scion to his death.

When the incident occurred, they not only offered no apology, but also mocked the Great Zhou people as weaklings.

This was truly grinding Great Zhou's face into the ground, an utter disgrace.

Zhou Mingqi flew into a rage on the spot and ordered the troublemakers to be thrown into prison.

The next day, the envoy leader led his subordinates and gifts to the noble family to apologize.

But the incident still provoked public outrage; it nearly broke the backbone of the entire nation.

However, when this news reached the northern border, Cui Ji immediately led troops to raid the Northern Di camp at night.

He immediately captured several generals, tied them to the backs of his horses, and the next day threw the corpses back into the Northern Di camp.

Those corpses were like a pile of rotten meat, with the word "coward" carved on their foreheads in Northern Di script, almost down to the bone.

At this point, Great Zhou finally got a win.

After that, the relationship between the two countries became even more hostile; they didn't even bother to pretend anymore and would go at it whenever they met.

This time, the Northern Di again requested to bring people into the hunt, most likely intending to stir up trouble.

Zhou Mingqi thought for a moment, then suddenly turned to him and said, "Lord Cheng, what do you think?"

"Ah?" Cheng Ge's brush clattered onto the desk. "Holy crap! What the hell does this have to do with me?"

He scrambled to pick it up, almost banging his forehead on the corner of the table, and when he looked up, he saw Zhou Mingqi watching him.

Knowing he couldn't escape this calamity, he shot up, cupped his hands toward the sky, put on a stern face, and spoke in a booming voice.

"When Great Zhou was founded, Emperor Taizu won the empire on horseback, and once drove the Northern Di three thousand miles away, so that they dared not set foot in Great Zhou for decades.

Now Great Zhou has strong troops and sturdy horses. If we are afraid of such barbaric ruffians, wouldn't that damage our national prestige!"

Wang Zhizhong and Yang Guanlan looked at Cheng Ge, tears glistening in their eyes, visibly moved.

"Lord Cheng is absolutely right! We agree!" Wang Zhizhong and Yang Guanlan chorused in agreement.

"Well, then it's settled. Since Lord Cheng has such insight, you will assist the two lords in overseeing the autumn hunt."

Cheng Ge: "..." Take back, take back what I just said.