pjbooks Chapter 74 Good heavens, not a single word, it's empty.
Chapter 74 Good heavens, not a single word, it's empty.
March 16th, less than a quarter of an hour until Chenshi (7-9 AM).
Inside the Taiji Hall, all the officials were already standing in an orderly fashion.
Lin Shiming stood in his position, full of pride.
Several days had passed since the last morning court session, and the ministers had spent those days relaxing, hunting, and gossiping. Therefore, today they all seemed like schoolchildren returning from summer vacation, showing no sign of needing to put in the effort.
Including the aforementioned Emperor Longyun.
He was sitting upright on the dragon throne, listening listlessly as Li An read out the imperial edict he had written the day before.
"...Hereby, the second prince, Lu Yusheng, is ordered to lead two hundred imperial guards to Mount Fotuo on the fourth day of the fourth month to welcome the Empress Dowager back to the palace."
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
The ministers kneeling below each had their own thoughts, and although Emperor Longyun couldn't see them, he could guess most of them. After all, while many ministers had secretly worked to bring the Empress Dowager back to the palace, Emperor Longyun had also tacitly approved and pushed it forward.
Even when they couldn't find a suitable reason, Emperor Longyun kindly helped them.
The Imperial Observatory reported some time ago that the Empress Dowager's fate was originally unfavorable, and she had only been able to remain safe and sound because of the protection of the imperial dragon aura over the years. However, a few days ago, they were ordered to accompany His Majesty to "observe the stars every night" and discovered that the Empress Dowager's bad luck, which had been suppressed by the dragon aura for many years, had suddenly erupted. Her destiny star was extremely inauspicious, and it was probably not advisable for her to continue residing on Buddha Mountain. Otherwise, Buddha would be furious and would bring disaster upon the Empress Dowager.
It is said that Emperor Longyun personally led them to "observe the stars" and reached this conclusion.
It's obviously made up.
However, he said that he calculated it according to the Taoist methods passed down by the Lin family, and Lin Shihe did not refute it. The Imperial Observatory could only nod in agreement and then compile Emperor Longyun's observation results and submit them to the emperor, requesting that the Empress Dowager be allowed to return to the palace.
It's a shameful and absurd reason; if you told it, you'd probably only fool illiterate people.
But the Empress Dowager had to step down from this offered way, because she truly longed to return to the center of power, even if the pretext for her return was so humiliating.
Emperor Longyun sat on the high platform, in a very pleasant mood.
"The matter of the Empress Dowager's return to the palace is settled. However, this matter is sudden. Cining Palace has been deserted for many years, overgrown with weeds, and there has been no time to repair it. I am not sure how to deal with it for the time being."
Lin Shiming, watching Emperor Longyun's performance: LOL, Cining Palace is desolate and dilapidated, wasn't that intentional?
Although everyone knows the truth, as subjects, we still have to help Your Majesty solve your problems.
The Minister of Rites stepped forward with his faltering steps and said, “Your Majesty, I believe that for the time being, we can only settle the Empress Dowager in the Shou’an Palace, where the Imperial Concubine resides.”
Emperor Longyun was heartbroken and exasperated. "Is this...is this appropriate?"
"Your Majesty, I believe it is entirely appropriate. Your Majesty's decision to welcome the Empress Dowager back to the palace stems from concern about her fate, hoping to prevent the Buddha from disliking and punishing her. In this urgent situation, expediency is necessary, and I believe the Empress Dowager, being magnanimous and forgiving, will certainly not mind. The entire court and the public will surely praise Your Majesty's virtue!"
Emperor Longyun hesitated, "Is that really the case?"
All the ministers knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty is benevolent and filial; we are in awe of you!"
"Very well! All of you, rise quickly." Emperor Longyun's worry turned to joy, and he felt relieved. "Then let it be done this way!"
After everyone stood up again, Emperor Longyun spoke again with great sincerity.
"The Empress Dowager has been recuperating and worshipping Buddha at Mount Fotuo for many years, and she must find it hard to leave her homeland. I have already wronged the Empress Dowager in terms of her residence, so I must comfort her homesickness emotionally."
"Issue an imperial decree ordering the Imperial Household Department to redecorate the main hall of Shou'an Palace, with all furnishings modeled after Buddhist temple dormitories, to comfort the Empress Dowager in her grief of separation!"
Emperor Longyun declared passionately, "To prevent the Imperial Household Department from shirking their duties, I will personally oversee this matter!"
Lin Shiming below twitched his lips. With Emperor Longyun personally overseeing this, he probably wished he could replace even the beds with coffins, right?
Suddenly, I became curious about how the Empress Dowager could survive for several days under Emperor Longyun's rule after her return without dying of anger.
However, the topic of the Empress Dowager's return to the palace came to a perfect end here, and it was finally time for Lin Shiming to make his appearance.
It's time for a "back-to-school exam" to put those "newly enrolled elementary school students" on their toes and get them back on track.
Perhaps because Lin Shiming had dealt with the affairs of five families during the spring hunt, which added many examples to his "good reputation," many ministers began to twitch when Lin Shiming took the first step.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."
The eunuchs serving below the stage took the memorial from Lin Shiming and delivered it to Emperor Longyun's desk.
Lu Yuxi, who was standing next to him, was quite surprised. Although Emperor Longyun had arranged for them to do this in advance, he and Lin Shiming were inseparable, and he had never seen Lin Shiming write a memorial.
Emperor Longyun, sitting at the head of the table, raised an eyebrow curiously and casually opened the box.
Good heavens, there's not a single word, it's empty.
"..."
"Go ahead."
Emperor Longyun reluctantly pressed the blank memorial to the bottom without leaving a trace, and waved his hand to let Lin Shiming do as he pleased.
Lin Shiming showed no sign of apprehension, speaking with a firm and resolute tone.
"Your Majesty, I hereby submit a memorial accusing Prince An, Lu Yuchen, and his cronies of twelve major crimes, including forming cliques for personal gain, embezzling tax revenue, intercepting disaster relief funds, and accepting bribes. I request Your Majesty to issue an edict for a thorough investigation in order to cleanse the court and eliminate these treacherous officials."
The crowd below the stage erupted in an uproar.
Prince An was covered in cold sweat and rushed out to kneel in the middle.
"Father, Father, I didn't do it! He... he falsely accused me!"
Emperor Longyun rested one hand on the imperial desk and remained silent.
Before the spring hunt, Lin Shiming used three incidents—the fake exam questions case, the Southern Region tax case, and the curfew—to purge all the officials who could speak for Prince An's faction from the court.
Therefore, even if he were to launch an attack in court now, no official of any decent standing would come forward to speak up for Prince An.
It was at this moment that Prince An, feeling cold all over, finally realized that he really had nothing left and was completely isolated and helpless.
For a moment, the entire court fell silent, and no one dared to stand up for Prince An.
Those who thought that even if the Crown Princess wanted to take action against Prince An, she would consider his status as a prince and proceed in a more gradual manner, never expected that the Crown Princess would make a move that would completely crush Prince An.
It wasn't until much later that a minor official at the end of the civil service line finally decided to step forward.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Princess's accusations are all false and cannot be believed!" The official spoke with a firm and righteous voice, displaying an air of integrity, loyalty to the emperor, and concern for the country and its people. "Crown Princess! Prince An is Your Majesty's fourth son, a prince of the highest rank. You cannot frame and attack him simply because you dislike him or for your own selfish reasons!"
Lin Shiming, who was at the front, turned to look at him from a distance, then turned back and tugged at Lu Yuxi's sleeve, "Who's this?"
Lu Yuxi naturally didn't know such a nobody. He glanced at Fang Shihai, the Minister of Personnel behind him, and Fang Shihai quickly stepped forward.
"Your Highnesses, this is Liang Juhong, the Chief Clerk of the Ministry of Works, and the uncle of Consort Liang."
The official in charge of the Ministry of Works was a minor fifth-rank official. Normally, only officials of the fourth rank and above were allowed to attend court daily. This fifth-rank official was likely a minor supervisor on duty at the Ministry of Works for the previous two days, which explained why he was able to wait at the back of the line with the other officials. This was so that if the emperor had any questions, he, as the official on duty, could step forward and answer them.
This kind of situation only happens once every month or two for those junior managers.
That's why Lin Shiming didn't notice him, the one who slipped through the net.
But he was only a minor official of the fifth rank, which did not stop Lin Shiming from taking action.
"Oh, a relative!"
Lin Shiming nodded and then cupped his hands to present his memorial.
"Father, this person is a relative of Prince An, and yet he defends him so indiscriminately. He must be part of Prince An's faction. I beg you, Father, to imprison him."
"Your Highness, Crown Princess!" Liang Juhong's eyes widened in fury. "You are merely a member of the royal family who married into the royal family. How dare you insult and slander His Highness Prince An, a member of the royal family, and me, a member of the prince's maternal family!"
That was a confident retort.
Lin Shiming chuckled upon hearing this and was about to step forward to find fault when Lin Shihe from the other side stepped forward first.
"Her Highness the Crown Princess is not only the heir apparent of the royal family, but also the second young master of my Duke Zhenguo's mansion. Where do you get the confidence that he cannot and dares not deal with you?"