Chapter 38
The Final Verdict
¡§Your majesty, if I can please have a word?¡¨ Gai Gong Gong spoke up, raising his clasped hand and bravely looking at the emperor, eye to eye.
The emperor gave a nod and said calmly, ¡§Proceed.¡¨ Tao Gong Gong¡¦s eyes immediately darted at Gai Gong with a look of suspicion and disgust.
¡§Your majesty, from the looks of his injuries, I can conclude that indeed Tieu Wing Tu was dragged along the forest floors.¡¨ Gai Gong Gong stated calmly. ¡§I am not altogether certain of the facts, but it could very well have been a horse.¡¨
Seizing the opportunity, Tao Gong Gong briskly interjected, ¡§Of course! Your majesty, I can¡¦t think of anything besides this fact. What other animal or thing could have pulled him in such a manner? I could have sworn I saw a deer jumping out of the bushes,?Enjun said, looking towards Wen Zhuo¡¦s direction for confirmation.
In response, Wen Zhuo gave a slight shrug of the shoulders.
¡§Are you sure, my prince?¡¨ Tao Gong Gong said in a slight mocking tone. ¡§I thought Wen Zhuo said earlier that you almost fell off your horse.¡¨
¡§Yes, I almost did.¡¨ Enjun responded and gave Tao Gong Gong a cold stare. ¡§What¡¦s your point?¡¨
¡§But did you actually saw someone being dragged by the deer?¡¨ Tao Gong Gong questioned, with a smirk on his upper lip barely visible except to Gai Gong Gong, who was standing right beside him. ¡§Are you sure you weren¡¦t too shocked to remember the exact detail?¡¨ Gai Gong Gong slowly turned his head in Tao Gong Gong¡¦s direction and glared at him.
¡§I must do this for Wing Y.¡¨ Gai Gong Gong told himself as he forced the next sentence from his mouth.
¡§I agree with Tao Gong Gong.¡¨ he began hesitantly. ¡§It¡¦s moments of crisis or shock when one is very susceptible to see flashes of images and reality is somewhat distorted, almost like an hallucination of sort. And this could be true in your case, prince Enjun.¡¨
¡§That¡¦s possible, I guess.¡¨ Enjun admitted reluctantly.
Throughout this whole time, the emperor sat on his royal chair and stroked his beard in complete silence.
¡§This whole situation is still rather foggy.¡¨ the emperor began in his deep voice, looking around the room at the occupants. ¡§Prince Enjun¡¦s life was endangered by this eunuch. At first, I wanted to know the reason for this, but now it seems as though the eunuch¡¦s horse dragging and the deer incidents are two separate events.¡¨
¡§Your majesty, does this mean that you won¡¦t be punishing Tieu Wing Tu?¡¨ Gai Gong Gong carefully spoke up.
The emperor contemplates for a brief moment before answering.
He proclaimed, ¡§Not yet. The only person that can recount the exact happenings is the eunuch. Unfortunately, he is invalid at this point. But Gai Gong Gong, I want to see him when he is back to health. And to answer your inquiry, no I won¡¦t be punishing him since I think the injuries he sustained are far worse than a hundred strokes (a beating with a wooden stick)
¡§Thank you your majesty.¡¨ Gai Gong Gong said with much relief and gratitude.
¡§But...your majesty?¡¨ Tao Gong Gong abruptly jumped in.
¡§This meeting is adjourned.¡¨ the emperor ordered, yawning. ¡§I am quite tried from the hunting expedition, and I need to head to my quarters. Anything you want to say, save it for later when I am well rested.¡¨ With that said, the two guards let in two eunuch to escort the emperor back to his quarters.
Both Gai Gong Gong and Tao Gong Gong waited for the emperor to leave before heading out.
Obviously, Tao Gong Gong was the first to leave. Before going out the door, he turned back his head to give Gai Gong Gong a sly smile. He was evidently quite satisfied with his performance. The cocky smile says, ¡§You owe me one.¡¨ Gai Gong Gong responded with a steady stare. At this instant, Gai Gong Gong was too happy to care. Wing Yi miraculously made it out of this one. Li MaMa must be watching over her. But what still bothers him was the fact that the emperor wishes to see her at a later time.
As he walks back to his quarters, Gai Gong Gong tries hard to stay optimistic.
¡§Maybe the emperor will forget about this before then.¡¨ Gai Gong tries to convince himself. ¡§We will just have to deal with it when the time comes.¡¨ Still at the study, Enjun instantly walked over to Wen Zhuo¡¦s side and gave him a quick jab at the side.
¡§What was that?¡¨ Enjun said, acting out Wen Zhuo¡¦s shrug. ¡§You don¡¦t believe me?
¡§No, it¡¦s not that,¡¨ Wen Zhuo replied with a smile. ¡§Although the reason I couldn¡¦t agree with you was that I, myself did not witness it. Besides, if you were right, the eunuch would probably suffer more than he already has. Didn¡¦t you hear what the emperor said?
Luckily for the eunuch, you are still in one piece or else the eunuch couldn¡¦t get out of this one so easily.¡¨
¡§I guess you¡¦re right.¡¨ Enjun agreed but still pouting because no one seems to believe his account. ¡§This eunuch should consider himself quite lucky, indeed to have the brave and courageous prince save his life not once but twice. Like I said, I am a hero through and through.¡¨
¡§If you say so.¡¨ Wen Zhuo joked rolling his eyes.
Then all of sudden, Xie comes running over to the two laughing guys. Having to stand in the study for such a long duration was too much for him. Like all boys, he was nosy and liked to hang around the big boys or in this case, his brother and cousin.
¡§What¡¦s so funny?¡¨ Xie demanded, wanting to be a part of their conversation.
¡§Nothing concerning you.¡¨ Enjun said, still laughing.
Wen Zhuo continues to laugh and began to head towards the door.
¡§Come on Enjun.¡¨ Wen Zhuo suggested. ¡§Let¡¦s go get something to eat.¡¨
¡§I wanna come too!¡¨ Xie cried out excitedly.
¡§We don¡¦t eat baby food.¡¨ Enjun joked, panting his brother¡¦s head.
¡§Not fair!¡¨ Xie cried out, stamping his foot on the ground. ¡§I¡¦m telling father on you!¡¨
That's such a cute ending! LOL!
Posted on Feb 10, 2003, 8:11 PM from IP address 152.163.206.208
