Chapter 151: A Formal Bow to the Parents (Part 2)

Instantly, Inukami no Mitasuki and Eiji, both kneeling on the ground, shuddered uncontrollably all over, their bodies visibly stiffening.

Ever since arriving in the Tang Empire, they had never witnessed Emperor Li Shimin treat them, the Japanese envoys to Tang, with such fury. The scene playing out before them today was a first.

At this very moment, Inukami no Mitasuki and Eiji knew full well that with the evidence being "conclusive," no amount of explanation would clear them of the matter. The only correct course of action was to handle the situation properly and prevent this incident from dragging down their entire delegation of envoys.

"Your Majesty is discerning and perceives the finest details; we have nothing to say," Eiji spoke up first. He buried his head so low that no one could read his facial expression.

"Your Majesty, it must be that we lacked vigilance previously and mistakenly believed the lies of those three, which led to numerous misunderstandings." Eiji paused briefly before earnestly pleading, "We humbly request Your Majesty to deal with those three according to the laws of the Great Tang. They must not be condoned!"

"Indeed, Your Majesty." Seeing this, Inukami no Mitasuki lowered his head as well and chimed in, "Since we are on the soil of Tang, regardless of whether we are Japanese envoys or people of Tang, everyone should be treated equally. I earnestly beseech Your Majesty to make the judgment!"

The two of them sang in harmony, keeping their heads bowed low and projecting an extremely sincere tone. As for their earlier attempt to frame and slander the people of Tang, they seized the opportunity to steer the conversation away from it.

Seeing this, Li Shimin could not help but crack a faint smile. He swept his gaze over the two of them, waved his hand with a nonchalant smile, and instructed, "The two ambassadors, please rise and speak."

"Uh..." Hearing this, Inukami no Mitasuki and Eiji froze for a brief moment before rising from the ground, cupping their hands in gratitude, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your heavenly grace."

Yet, upon witnessing this, Li Shimin was in no rush to speak further, nor did he immediately deal with the three kneeling men on the floor. Instead, he smiled as if it were all of little consequence.

Originally, Li Shimin harbored considerable resentment in his heart because their group had delayed him from practicing martial arts with Empress Changsun. He had never expected these Japanese people to hurl themselves right into the line of fire today. If he didn't seize the opportunity to vent his pent-up dissatisfaction, he would never find peace of mind.

"The two ambassadors," Li Shimin said slowly, narrowing his eyes slightly with a smile on his cheeks as he looked at Inukami no Mitasuki and Eiji, "Since the evidence is now conclusive and the two of you acknowledge it, I will naturally handle the matter in accordance with Tang law."

As he spoke, Li Shimin's tone abruptly shifted, and he added casually, as if brushing off a trivial matter, "As for how the two of you previously and deliberately slandered my people of Tang by attempting to frame you, how shall that be dealt with?"

Inukami no Mitasuki and Eiji, whose spirits had just slightly settled, felt their hearts skip a beat upon hearing these words from Li Shimin, sensing immediately that the situation was turning ominous. They had thought this particular topic had already been successfully diverted by them, but they never imagined Li Shimin would be so difficult to fool.

"Your Majesty." Amidst his hesitation, Inukami no Mitasuki hurriedly bowed, solemnly executing a formal salute to Li Shimin, and explained:

"We had no intention of causing offense. It was entirely because we lent credence to the slanderous words of those three men that we spoke improperly and caused a misunderstanding. Please punish us, Your Majesty; we submit completely and harbor no grievances!"

"Please punish us, Your Majesty!" Eiji also cupped his hands solemnly, wearing an expression of complete willingness to accept his guilt.

Seeing the hypocritical and theatrical display put on by Inukami no Mitasuki and Eiji, Cheng Chumo let out a disdainful cold snort on the spot, his mouth curling with derision.

"Hmph, you Japanese really change your faces faster than turning the pages of a book," Cheng Chumo said with utter indifference. "Earlier, weren't you acting all arrogant and lofty toward us, even attempting to bribe Physician Li? How is it that now, standing before His Majesty, you put on such a sickening act?"

Upon seeing this, Li Yi smiled inwardly, though his outward expression remained one of admonishment as he intervened, "General Cheng, regardless of everything, they are still envoys from the nation of Japan. Isn't it perhaps a bit inappropriate for you to corner them to their faces like this?"

"Hmph, so what if they are envoys?" Cheng Chumo glared angrily at Li Yi, flicked his sleeves outward, and said dismissively, "Tang law dictates that the Son of Heaven is subject to the same laws as the commoners when he breaks them. Moreover, they are merely envoys. Now that they've committed a wrong, are you telling me I'm not even allowed to say a couple of words about it?"

Li Yi was inwardly astonished. He realized he had to completely reevaluate Cheng Chumo. This fellow Cheng Chumo usually always appeared boorish and careless, yet Li Yi never expected him to possess such a clever and resourceful side.

As the son of Cheng咬金, he truly is a divine teammate! Li Yi thought to himself.

Simultaneously, Li Shimin, who had remained silent all along without speaking prematurely, naturally understood that Li Yi and Cheng Chumo were putting on a theatrical double act for his benefit and for the Japanese to see. Their purpose was to provide Li Shimin with a justifiable pretext to punish these Japanese individuals according to the laws of the Great Tang.

Under normal circumstances, Li Shimin might have treated them with leniency simply because they were envoys from Japan, but today was different. Today, Li Shimin already had fire in his heart. He felt that it was high time to give this group of Japanese a thorough and sobering reality check. Otherwise, who knew what other absurd trouble they might stir up in the future?

Therefore, after a brief inner contemplation, Li Shimin cast a cold gaze at Inukami no Mitasuki and his companion, and said, "Inukami no Mitasuki, Eiji."

"We are here!" the two responded with cupped hands, sensing something amiss, bowing deeply and daring not to move rashly.

"You two condoned your subordinates committing theft within our Tang territory; this is the first crime. By law, they should be exiled a hundred li, but considering that you have traveled far from Japan, these three shall be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for sentencing."

"Secondly, the two of you publicly slandered a Tang official and attempted bribery; this is a grave offense. Your stipends provided by our Tang nation are revoked, and you are restricted to your quarters for three months. The stipends of all other envoys shall be halved."

"Thirdly, the two of you shall offer a bow and an apology to Physician Li, and this matter will be laid to rest."

Having stated these three disciplinary measures, Li Shimin stared at the two of them with a feigned nonchalance, raised an eyebrow, and smiled: "Do the two of you have any objections to this?"

Hearing this, although Inukami no Mitasuki and Eiji felt a surge of agony and resentment in their hearts, they had no choice but to swallow it down.

"We thank Your Majesty for your mercy," Inukami no Mitasuki and Eiji bowed deeply with cupped hands on the spot, declaring, "We willingly accept the punishment!"

Almost simultaneously, the two of them wheeled around in unison. Bowing respectfully and profoundly toward Li Yi, they offered a solemn apology: "We apologize to Physician Li. We hope Physician Li, in your great magnanimity, will not hold this against us."

Seeing this, Li Yi smiled and waved his hand, projecting the generous demeanor of a cultured gentleman as he said dismissively, "Never mind, this official hasn't taken it to heart."

Yet, Inukami no Mitasuki and Eiji froze inwardly. Given Li Yi's notoriously greedy nature, shouldn't he have seized this opportunity to ruthlessly extort them before letting go? How was it that today, Li Yi was speaking so reasonably and generously?

A surreal feeling washed over the two of them. Having dealt with Li Yi for so long, they had never encountered a moment when he was this magnanimous, and they found it somewhat hard to believe. They remained frozen in their deep-bowing, saluting postures, entirely forgetting to stand back up.

Noticing this scene, Li Yi narrowed his eyes slightly and asked out of curiosity, "The two ambassadors, this official has already forgiven you—why haven't you stood up yet? Hurry up and rise, this official cannot bear such a grand filial kowtow."

As he spoke, Li Yi walked straight over and propped the two of them up, wearing an earnest expression on his face.

Before Inukami no Mitasuki and Eiji had even processed what was happening, they were hauled back to their feet by Li Yi. Looking at Li Yi's seemingly harmless face, they wished nothing more than to strike him dead on the spot right then and there.

Damn it!

A grand filial kowtow?

They had clearly merely performed a standard gesture of "apology and bowing" to him, yet Li Yi had twisted it into a grand filial kowtow meant for one's parents. This was blatantly insulting them, insulting their parents and ancestors!

A sense of humiliation unlike anything they had ever experienced surged through Inukami no Mitasuki and Eiji. Gritting their teeth, the two of them stared at Li Yi with ferocious expressions; if looks could kill, Li Yi would have died a thousand times over.

Sensing that the atmosphere in the courtyard had turned exceedingly awkward because of Li Yi's remark, Li Shimin gave a light cough, waved his hand, and commanded, "Very well, all you esteemed ministers may withdraw. Minister Li, stay behind."

"Understood, Your Majesty." Seeing Li Shimin step in to break the tension, the gathered officials cupped their hands in salute and departed.

Within the entire grand audience hall, apart from Li Shimin, only Li Yi remained.

Yet the next moment, even before Li Yi could straighten up and speak, Li Shimin rose from his throne and laughed heartily, "Li Bo'an, come with me."

"...Understood, Your Majesty." Puzzled, Li Yi followed closely behind Li Shimin as they exited the grand audience hall and headed toward the imperial garden.

Inside the imperial garden, Li Lizhi, who was practicing martial arts alongside Empress Changsun, suddenly caught sight of two exceedingly familiar figures approaching. A radiant smile instantly bloomed across her slightly flushed face.

"Mother, look, Imperial Father is here." Li Lizhi smiled gently, two dimples forming at the corners of her mouth as she halted her movements and pointed a slender finger outside the imperial garden.

Empress Changsun paused slightly, turning her gaze to see Li Shimin walking toward them. However, trailing right behind Li Shimin was none other than Li Bo'an.

At that instant, Empress Changsun finally understood why Li Lizhi had been so delighted, and she smiled with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"This official pays respects to the Empress and the Princess." At that moment, Li Yi had already arrived before Empress Changsun and Li Lizhi, offering a slight, respectful bow.

"Rise." Empress Changsun said with a smile, waving her hand.

Simultaneously, however, Empress Changsun's peripheral vision inadvertently swept over Li Lizhi beside her. Noticing Li Lizhi's cheeks flushed like peach blossoms, she shook her head to collect her thoughts and remembered the pressing matter at hand.

"Minister Li," Empress Changsun addressed Li Yi slowly as she looked at him, "Ever since I began practicing these Tai Chi exercises recently, I have occasionally felt a mild chest tightness. Minister Li, what could be the reason for this?"

As she spoke, Empress Changsun fixed her gaze unwaveringly on Li Yi, quietly awaiting his reply.

Standing beside her, Li Shimin's expression instantly turned grave. He had not expected Empress Changsun to be experiencing such an issue without having mentioned a word of it to him. Although she had done so merely to spare him worry, Li Shimin could not help but feel deeply anxious.

Lifting his gaze to look at Li Yi, Li Shimin urged bluntly, "Li Bo'an, what are you standing there dazed for? Why don't you examine the Empress at once!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yi was briefly startled. He offered a slight bow to Li Shimin, then turned his gaze to Empress Changsun and asked in astonishment, "If this official may be so bold, may I ask how many times Your Majesty practices this Tai Chi routine each day?"

"Around twenty times or so," Empress Changsun blinked and blurted out.

Hearing this reply from Empress Changsun, Li Yi instantly fell speechless. Staring at her, his mouth parted slightly, completely devoid of words.

Practicing it twenty-some times a day—was this a suicide run?