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墨書 Inktalez
In the Celestial Court, within the Golden Throne Hall.
The officials stood in the hall, all cautious and careful. This was due to the fact that during today's court session, Prime Minister Jiang Huai had accused Invincible General Night Star of being "obsessed with women, which is disrespectful; neglecting his elderly mother, which is unfilial; causing unrest at home, which is unjust; failing to complete military tasks, which is disloyal. Such disloyalty and unfilial behavior, as well as lack of compassion and justice, disqualify him from being a general of my Heavenly Universe Kingdom, leading troops."
After reviewing the memorial, His Majesty was furious. He threw away the jade prayer beads he had played with since childhood. All the officials knelt down in fear until the Empress Dowager heard of this and sent someone to offer the Emperor a cup of Clear Heart Tea. Only then did the Emperor allow everyone to rise.
"Prime Minister Jiang, both you and Night General are loyal ministers of my Heavenly Universe Kingdom. Now that enemies are invading and Night General has been ordered to march into battle with uncertain safety, you choose to accuse him in court. Does this not chill the hearts of our subjects?"
"I consider your long service over three reigns and your contributions to our dynasty. I will let this pass today, but if there is a next time, I will not be lenient," Li Ye said with his eyes closed, speaking in a deep voice.
Jiang Huai was not surprised at all. He immediately knelt down and prostrated himself on the ground: "What I said is all true. The Censor is responsible for supervising the words and actions of all officials in court and can confirm that what I said is not false."
Li Ye suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of killing intent flashing before it vanished: "Where is the Censor?"
"I am here." A young man dressed in green official robes stepped out from a corner of the court, holding a thin black book: "I am Li Qingfeng. Here I am. I have recorded the words and actions of all officials as commanded by Your Majesty. Please review it."
Li Ye waved his hand. The eunuch beside him had already hurried down from the platform, reached Li Qingfeng, carefully took the book, then quickly handed it to the Emperor.
However, the Emperor did not rush to flip through it but instead cast his gaze upon the ministers. As expected, those from Prime Minister Jiang's faction wore confident smiles on their faces, while others maintained a self-preserving attitude, indifferent to the matter.
Inside Li Ye, there was also a feeling of frustration. As a ruler, he despised factionalism most of all. Especially with Prime Minister Jiang Huai at the helm, they were incredibly arrogant and disregarded the young emperor.
Even after taking power personally, these old officials still refused to acknowledge their aging status and continued their scheming. Meanwhile, Li Qingfeng, observing carefully with an unreadable expression, piqued his interest.
Li Ye tightened his fingers and drank the bitter Clear Heart Tea sent by the Empress Dowager. It was extremely bitter, but what could he do? He had to swallow it all. Enduring was merely for one day when they would truly see his power and genuinely worship him.
As he opened that black book, Li Ye frowned deeper with each page he turned. The courtiers watched his expression closely, secretly delighted—especially Jiang Huai, who thought about the Emperor's feelings for that woman and recalled how disobedient Night Star had been towards him. His wickedness surged even more: Old ginger is spicier! Night Star, you probably never expected that while you were out fighting enemies and hadn’t returned yet, your life was already hanging by a thread.
"Smack."
The book was slammed hard against Jiang Huai's face, leaving him utterly stunned.
Li Ye looked at the shrewd old face, his dragon countenance filled with rage. "Jiang Huai, is this what you want me to see?"
Jiang Huai stared at the emperor in shock; this reaction was unexpected. The emperor should be angry, so why was he not?
Thinking of this, his gaze quickly shifted to the corner where Li Qingfeng stood. However, that person seemed completely oblivious to his hint, merely lowering his head and staring at his toes, causing Jiang Huai's heart to sink.
"Your humble servant does not know what wrong he has committed for Your Majesty to be so furious. Please enlighten me," Jiang Huai said as he knelt down. "I have served for decades, with both achievements and efforts. To be reprimanded like this by Your Majesty must mean I have done something improper that has angered you. I implore you to take care of your health and not let your anger get the better of you."
Li Ye coldly watched his act without saying a word. Over the years, he had seen enough of these old ministers relying on their seniority, openly disrespecting the Young Master while colluding in the court for personal gain. Today, if he did not take down Jiang Huai's arrogance, it would be a waste of the good move he had just been presented.
"Very well, take a look for yourself at the evidence against Night Star that you wanted me to see," Li Ye said as he flicked his Dragon Robe and strode up to the throne.
Only then did Jiang Huai realize something was wrong. He hurriedly picked up the black ledger that had fallen and began flipping through it. The more he read, the darker his expression became until finally, he could no longer bear it and prostrated himself on the ground, too afraid to speak.
At this moment, those from the Chancellor's faction panicked. How could the tide of court opinion shift so suddenly? As they watched Jiang Huai's face grow increasingly pale, one bold individual picked up the ledger from the ground and began reading it. Upon seeing its contents, they felt as if they had been pricked by needles and their legs went weak.
The ledger clearly listed Jiang Huai's ten major crimes: **Corruption, committing crimes without distinction between right and wrong, nepotism, disregard for laws, reckless behavior, willful ignorance, power-hungry, and neglecting public sentiment.**
Each item was backed by evidence with clear times and places noted, along with the names of victims that left no room for Jiang Huai to argue or defend himself.
Li Ye looked at the expressionless handsome man and slightly curled his lips; the game had only just begun!
"Your Majesty," came a voice pleading from within the Chancellor's faction. "This must be... this must be malicious speculation by Censor Li Qingfeng! We are willing to vouch for the Chancellor. He has served for decades and made significant contributions to our Heavenly Universe Kingdom. He has wholeheartedly assisted Your Majesty in ascending to the throne and has always considered Your Majesty's interests. You must not listen to those with ulterior motives who would cast doubt on a loyal minister!"
At this moment, it was Zhang Huaiming from the Chancellor's faction who was crying out in distress. He had been in court for thirteen years and was quite knowledgeable but had become too entangled in political maneuvering early on and became Jiang Huai's right-hand man. His eloquence allowed him to navigate smoothly through various situations.
Unfortunately, he had no family background; being merely a child from a poor family, he had even abandoned his wife who had shared both hardship and joy with him in order to climb up the social ladder.
As the saying goes, a bad wife should not be cast aside lightly. This man was well-versed in classic texts yet could commit such morally reprehensible acts; his malicious intent was evident. Li Ye had long harbored displeasure towards him. Today he stubbornly walked into danger; truly fitting that old saying: when there is a path to heaven you refuse to take, you come crashing down into hell without invitation.
Li Ye had no mood to waste words with him and waved his hand, "Someone, remove Zhang Huaiming's official insignia and take him to the Prison of Heaven. Where is the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice?"
"I am here," replied Wang Xizhi, the Deputy Minister in charge of criminal cases in the capital. He was both literate and martial, a rare pillar in the court. Unfortunately, he was old and had no heirs, which made the emperor respect him but also left little room for manipulation.
"I want you to investigate Zhang Huaiming's crimes thoroughly within three days and report back to me promptly. If anyone dares to bribe during this period, you need not inform me; you may execute them yourself." Li Ye's words shocked everyone present.
The emperor was showing no leniency towards Jiang Huai today. While the officials were still observing, the emperor's ruthless decision to execute Zhang Huaiming without any leeway indicated that he truly intended to take action against the Prime Minister's faction.
In an instant, everyone in the court felt a sense of trepidation.
Li Ye looked around and felt a rare sense of satisfaction from venting his frustrations; however, it was still not the right time.
He knew well that Jiang Huai had been scheming for many years, with an extensive network and deep connections that were hard to fathom. It would not be easy to bring him down with just a decree. Instead, he could use this opportunity to dismantle the network behind him.
With this thought in mind, Li Ye cleared his throat and said loudly, "Prime Minister Jiang, Li Qingfeng, both of you come to the Imperial Study with me after court. All Lords present, if you have petitions, speak now; if not, you may leave."
Amidst the confusion of the officials, Li Qingfeng and Jiang Huai followed the emperor into the Imperial Study. After a serving maid brought in tea and left, Jiang Huai, being quite experienced, quickly knelt down and said, "This old minister is guilty."
Li Qingfeng did not move. Li Ye noticed that since entering the Imperial Study until now, Li Qingfeng had not even shifted his gaze. This man had silently served as a Censor under his nose for seven years like an invisible person; why was he now beginning to take action against Jiang Huai?
He understood that if he did not support him, he could be crushed by Jiang Huai like an ant at any moment without a place to be buried.
Jiang Huai knelt for a long time without hearing Li Ye speak. For the first time facing this king who was gradually maturing and no longer youthful, Jiang Huai felt at a loss: "This old minister... this old minister is confused; I ask Your Majesty to punish me."
Only then did Li Ye cast his gaze downwards. For the first time, he truly felt like a king as he experienced this man's homage who had pressured him since childhood. This moment had been long awaited.
"Prime Minister Jiang, I am very disappointed in you." Li Ye closed the teacup; his crisp voice echoed loudly in the silent air, startling everyone.
Jiang Huai remained kneeling: "This old minister knows his crime; I beg Your Majesty..."
"The late Emperor trusted you greatly and appointed you as the Prince's Guardian and Minister of State. Yet you secretly formed factions for personal gain and betrayed your master—this is disloyalty; as my mentor, you have repeatedly shown disrespect towards me and disregarded laws—this is unjust; harming the people in your hometown is inhumane; you unfaithful and unkind individuals cannot be excused as merely confused!"
Li Ye spoke slowly, each word falling like a heavy hammer on Jiang Huai's heart.
He had intended to shift all blame onto his subordinates due to his old age, but it seemed that the Emperor was not planning to give him a chance.
Since ancient times, when the cunning rabbit dies, the hounds are cooked. Now that the new Emperor has grown up and is already married, his reluctance to relinquish power and repeated challenges to imperial authority suggested that the Emperor intended to take action against him this time. He wondered what pretext the Emperor would use or... would he meet with an accident?
At this thought, Jiang Huai broke out in a cold sweat.
Li Ye observed his reaction and couldn't help but sneer. A ruler must be upright, but one cannot be a man without being ruthless. This was the teaching of the former Crown Prince's Protector—Lord Jiang himself. Now, seeing him so frightened, how could it not be self-humiliation?
"Rest assured, Chancellor. Although I am angry with you, I also understand the principles that one must follow as a person and as a ruler. Today, I summon you to the Imperial Study to give you a chance; it is only whether Mentor is willing to accept it that I do not know..." Li Ye said, shaking his head.
Jiang Huai, being a veteran of three reigns, immediately sensed an opportunity from Li Ye's few words and promptly knelt down, saying, "Thank you for your mercy in not killing me, Your Majesty. Thank you for your mercy in not killing me."
Li Qingfeng finally moved, slowly turning towards Li Ye and glancing at Jiang Huai, who was overwhelmed with emotion after having regained his life. Suddenly, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground.
Li Ye was alarmed. "Someone come!"
Chief Eunuch Zhang Zehai had been waiting at the door for summons and rushed in upon hearing the call: "This servant is here. What does Your Majesty command?"
Upon seeing the scene in the room, he was momentarily stunned but quickly regained his composure. He waved at the young eunuchs behind him and whispered, "Quickly carry him out so as not to dirty His Majesty's eyes."
In the Imperial Study, there were only three people: besides the Emperor and the Chancellor, there was only this lowly individual whose life was of little value. He privately thought that it was Li Qingfeng's censorial temperament acting up again and looked down on him for dying in such a manner. Little did he know that this act would anger the Emperor!
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