The civil and military officials present actually respected Feng Pengju, and since he had nothing to say, naturally, the rest of them did not say much. The people cheered "Long live" again.
Xiao An nodded gently, looked at Liu Xiangnan, and continued, "By the way, there is one more thing I want to inform all my beloved ministers. Yesterday, Liu Xiangnan told me that the positions of Grand Tutor and Secretary of the Ministry of Law are vacant. After much consideration, I have decided to appoint Feng Pengju as the Secretary of the Ministry of Law, and the position of Grand Tutor will be given to the esteemed elder, Fang Zheng."
Fang Zheng and Feng Pengju stepped forward again and knelt to express their gratitude.
It was only then that the officials realized why Fang Zheng and Feng Pengju had come to court today.
With the matters to be dealt with concluded, Xiao Shunzi quickly announced the end of the court session.
Xiao An stood up and walked towards the rear hall, while Xiao Shunzi turned and followed him.
The people present swarmed around Fang Zheng to offer their congratulations. Feng Pengju was also surrounded by many people. Seeing this, Liu Xiangnan's hanging heart finally relaxed.
Upon returning home, Liu Xiangnan's mood improved significantly. Seeing him return, Liu Kai stepped forward.
"Master, a letter has just arrived from Shuozhou. Young lady has already set off and will arrive in a few days."
Liu Xiangnan nodded slightly, "Good, excellent. Ru Mei is finally returning."
"By the way, pack your things and arrange for Yuan Wen to be sent away."
Upon hearing this, Liu Kai was stunned, "Master, aren't we waiting for young lady to return and see him?"
Liu Xiangnan waved his hand, "It's better not to."
"Let Ru Mei not see Yuan Wen like this, it would only add to her sorrow. It's better to send him away before she arrives!"
Thinking about it, what Liu Xiangnan said made sense. Liu Yuanwen died of poisoning, his face was dark purple, and his body was swollen, looking extremely tragic. Therefore, not letting Liu Ru Mei see him might not be a bad thing.
Just then, Chen Xiaobei arrived. Hearing that Chen Xiaobei was back, Liu Xiangnan still appeared very excited.
Who would have thought that the matter Chen Xiaobei brought up would leave Liu Xiangnan dumbfounded.
Chen Xiaobei said solemnly, "Father-in-law, I have a request. I would like to ask you to intercede with the Emperor on Duobang's behalf and spare him from the death penalty."
Hearing Chen Xiaobei's words, Liu Xiangnan was greatly surprised. His expression turned considerably gloomy, "Xiaobei, do you know that Duobang is the murderer of Yuan Wen? He also harmed His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Chen Xiaobei nodded, "Father-in-law, you are right. Duobang has committed monstrous crimes."
"But, father-in-law, have you considered that Liu Ru Mei took five thousand troops to raid Qingguang City, and now only a hundred or so people like Zheng Hai have returned, along with Ru Mei and the two of them."
"We still have thousands of people stranded in the Great Earth Kingdom. Even if they are not captured, their situation is likely very difficult."
Hearing Chen Xiaobei's words, Liu Xiangnan nodded slightly.
"Indeed, what you say is reasonable. Your intention is to exchange Duobang for these people!"
Chen Xiaobei cupped his fist, "Father-in-law, you are correct. Taking Duobang's life would be as easy as lifting a hand. However, our people's lives are now uncertain. If too many are captured by the Great Earth Kingdom, and one Duobang can bring back thousands of soldiers, why would we not do it?"
Hearing Chen Xiaobei's words, Liu Xiangnan fell into deep thought. He paced in the middle of the room with his hands behind his back for a long time, finally letting out a long sigh.
"Xiaobei, what you say is also true."
"If thousands of our people are held by the Great Earth Kingdom, then exchanging them for Duobang, I can accept it. However, it might be difficult to explain to His Majesty."
Hearing Liu Xiangnan's words, Chen Xiaobei understood that his father-in-law's implication was that if he wanted Duobang to live, he would have to persuade the Emperor.
With this in mind, Chen Xiaobei bowed, "Father-in-law, may I have an audience with His Majesty? We can discuss this matter together with the Emperor."
Liu Xiangnan nodded, "Alright, then you shall come with me. I will take you to see His Majesty right now."
Xiao An was in his imperial study, having eaten his fill and was about to take a nap.
At this moment, Bai Han rushed in, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Liu Xiangnan and Prince Consort Chen Xiaobei request an audience."
Hearing that these two requested an audience, Xiao An perked up and instructed them to come directly to the study.
Soon, Chen Xiaobei and Liu Xiangnan entered. Upon entering, they still performed the ritual of kowtowing. Xiao An waved them off again.
"Enough, you two need not be so formal. Speak directly if you have something to say!"
Chen Xiaobei was also taken aback, not expecting his father-in-law to be so direct.
He hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Reporting to Your Majesty, your humble subject has come to discuss with you about not executing Duobang for the time being."
Upon hearing this, Xiao An's expression changed slightly.
This was the murderer of his son. Xiao An had long wished to tear Duobang to pieces. Now Chen Xiaobei was saying such things. Naturally, he was unhappy.
"Bang," Xiao An slammed the table heavily, "Chen Xiaobei, what do you mean by saying that?"
Chen Xiaobei bowed again, "Your Majesty, please listen to me patiently."
"Your Majesty, at that time, Liu Ru Mei, in order to cover our retreat, led five thousand men to set up a confusing formation, pretending to attack Qingguang City. Now, according to the news from various regions, only a few hundred people have returned to our Great Cang Kingdom, and thousands of people remain in the Great Earth Kingdom."
Hearing this, Xiao An fell silent. Indeed, thousands of people remained in the Great Earth Kingdom.
Although they had captured many prisoners when they relieved Wanniang City a few days ago, most of them were subordinates of Zhu Meng who went to the Great Earth Kingdom, and in essence, they were all people of the Great Cang Kingdom.
However, the revenge for his son was like a bone stuck in his throat. Without killing Duobang, Xiao An truly could not swallow his anger.
At this moment, Liu Xiangnan also spoke, "Your Majesty, this old minister believes that we can temporarily spare Duobang's life. We will wait and see. If indeed thousands of people are captured by the Great Earth Kingdom, then exchanging one Duobang for thousands of people is quite worthwhile."
"If, later, when most of our people have returned, then we can execute Duobang!"
Xiao An still did not speak.
Seeing this situation, Chen Xiaobei added, "Your Majesty, by keeping Duobang, we will have a fallback. Your Majesty can send someone to send a letter to Qiaopusen, telling him that Duobang is in our hands, and given the crimes Duobang has committed, Qiaopusen will surely understand the seriousness of the matter."
"Although we have also killed many of his men, he has no solid evidence. This way, if the situation deteriorates, we can take the initiative to announce it to other countries."
Chen Xiaobei's meaning was clear: one Duobang could be exchanged for captured soldiers, and it would also give them the moral high ground.
As long as Duobang's crimes were explained to other countries, the Great Cang Kingdom would naturally gain sympathy.
After listening to Chen Xiaobei's words, Xiao An's expression softened slightly, and he nodded gently, "However, if I don't kill Duobang, I need a reason."