“Your Majesty, the wandering fortune-teller Master Ding divined in the Golden Throne Hall, asserting that an earthquake would occur in the south within three days, and stated that the earthquake was Heaven’s punishment.” A high minister stepped forward and said, “Now this is the seventh day. If an earthquake had occurred in the south, news should have already reached us. In other words, nothing has happened in the south. Ding Yiyuan spoke wildly in the Golden Throne Hall. This person harbors ill intentions. I request that Your Majesty behead this person to serve as a warning to others!”
“Your Majesty, Ding Yiyuan has been swindling people among the commoners, slandering the Great Jin, slandering the court. His crime deserves execution!”
“This subject seconds the motion!”
“This subject also seconds it!”
Hearing these ministers spontaneously step forward, the corners of National Preceptor Qi’s lips curved upward.
After everyone had finished speaking, he stepped forward and said in an unhurried manner: “Although Master Ding is merely a wandering fortune-teller, he can still be considered someone from within our circle. Then he should be dealt with using methods from within our circle. Bind him with talismans that have been enchanted, burn him with fire, incinerate his primordial spirit—only then can he truly be executed.”
Marquis Pingjin regretted it to death. He felt that his head must have been caught in a door at that time. Why did he have to drag Master Ding into this for no reason?
Master Ding’s abilities were limited. He could only divine some minor fortunes. It was all too normal that Master Ding couldn’t divine the nation’s fortune.
He quickly stepped forward and said: “Your Majesty, as the books say, no one is a sage without faults. Master Ding may have simply misread the hexagram…”
“Ha!” National Preceptor Qi sneered. “Other matters may have room for error, but divination absolutely cannot be wrong. If one truly cannot understand the hexagram clearly, one can say one doesn’t know, rather than spouting nonsense, agitating people’s hearts, and disrupting the court’s order! I request Your Majesty’s judgment!”
The Emperor sat in the highest seat and said in a calm voice: “Bring Ding Yiyuan to the hall!”
These past few days, Ding Yiyuan had enjoyed unprecedented treatment at Ziwei Palace. Palace maids and eunuchs served him, and even when he relieved himself, someone helped…
If it weren’t for maintaining the image of a worldly expert, he would definitely have let loose and enjoyed himself thoroughly.
Watching six or seven days pass, to be honest, he himself was getting a bit anxious.
Would an earthquake really occur in the south?
This kind of thing controlled by Heaven itself—could Miss Yun’s so-called mystical techniques really divine it?
While he was feeling apprehensive, he was summoned to the Golden Throne Hall.
Ding Yiyuan was glad his beard was long and could cover most of his face, thus also concealing his emotions, making him appear calm.
The Emperor said coldly: “Ding Yiyuan, do you have anything to say?”
Ding Yiyuan extended his right hand, tapped lightly, then shook his head: “When Heaven sends disaster, it cannot be resisted by human power. This commoner has nothing to say.”
The Emperor’s brows furrowed.
He had given him a chance, but the facts proved he had trusted the wrong person.
In that case—
The Emperor had just raised his hand.
Chu Yi glanced outside the hall—still no one. He stepped forward and said: “Father Emperor, before this, your son has important matters to report.”
The Emperor lowered his hand: “What matter?”
“These past six or seven days, your son unexpectedly learned that the National Preceptor has deposited a total of five hundred eighty thousand taels of silver in the capital’s four major banks.” Chu Yi spoke word by word. “The National Preceptor’s annual salary does not exceed two hundred taels of silver. Even with ancestral estates and farms, it would be absolutely impossible to save such a huge sum. May I ask the National Preceptor, where did this silver come from?”
National Preceptor Qi suddenly froze stiff.
He had deliberately deposited the silver in four different banks and used different names. Unless someone investigated with intent, it would be impossible to discover it was him.
In other words, Prince Pingxi was investigating him.
Why investigate him?
He had never done anything detrimental to Prince Pingxi.
National Preceptor Qi’s mind turned very quickly. After pausing briefly, he said: “Hasn’t Prince Pingxi investigated incorrectly? This subject only deposited over twenty thousand taels of silver in Zhengde Bank. This is silver accumulated by this subject’s ancestors over generations, not from questionable sources.”
Chu Yi met National Preceptor Qi’s eyes: “If that’s the case, then present the evidence.”
After learning that the National Preceptor had divined incompatible eight characters, he had commanded people to investigate these matters. It was just a matter of finding an appropriate opportunity to convict the National Preceptor.
Even if there was no earthquake in the south, he had methods to ensure the National Preceptor could never rise again.
Several civil officials carried a large chest into the hall.
Chu Yi walked over, opened the chest, and took out a thick ledger: “These are the National Preceptor’s deposit receipts from the banks over these years.”
National Preceptor Qi’s expression changed drastically.
How were these things found?
“There’s also these—” Chu Yi took out the account books from the bottom of the chest and distributed them to the assembled ministers. “These are evidence of ministers bribing the National Preceptor to alter divination results.”
Some ministers who had bribed the National Preceptor were so frightened their faces turned white.
Some of them had indeed spent some silver to have the National Preceptor speak favorably before the Emperor through divination.
However, when they saw that the ledger only used symbols to represent the ministers, they breathed a sigh of relief.
Chu Yi also didn’t investigate deeply. What he wanted was to bring down the National Preceptor, not to oppose half the court.
“Recently, thirty thousand taels were deposited in the National Preceptor’s account. That should be payment for matching my eight characters at the Empress Dowager’s instigation, right?” Chu Yi’s voice was powerful and resonant. “In other words, the National Preceptor’s so-called ability to commune with heaven and earth’s energy, to divine people’s fortunes and the nation’s fortune, all comes down to speaking according to silver. Over all these years in this position, how much has the National Preceptor embezzled? The silver in the banks is probably just the tip of the iceberg. I ask Father Emperor, is such a person worthy of being the nation’s Heavenly Master?”
The Emperor had already reviewed the evidence. His entire face was immediately covered with dark clouds.
He thought of the characters on that large stone, and also thought of Ding Yiyuan’s divination results.
The way the National Preceptor was operating, his civil and military officials’ purses would all be emptied, enriching the National Preceptor alone while impoverishing everyone else.
He had trusted the National Preceptor too much in his daily affairs, so that those ministers, in order to have him promote and value them, would resort to underhanded tactics through the National Preceptor.
The National Preceptor who should convey Heaven’s will to the true Son of Heaven, the National Preceptor who should report the people’s suffering to Heaven, had actually done such things.
Anything, once tainted with the stench of copper, became disgusting.
Especially a transcendent figure like the National Preceptor, who actually used his official position for convenience to obtain so much silver.
This simply overturned the Emperor’s longstanding understanding.
“Audacious!”
The Emperor roared in anger, picked up an inkstone and threw it, showing no mercy, smashing it into the National Preceptor’s forehead.
Bright red blood flowed down in streams. The National Preceptor’s vision nearly went black.
“Your Majesty, please listen to this subject’s explanation.” National Preceptor Qi steadied his spirit and spoke. “This silver did not enter this subject’s pockets, but was used to make offerings to the Ancestral Master…”
Some ministers had truly received favors from the National Preceptor and couldn’t bear to see a first-rank National Preceptor fall into such circumstances. They wanted to step forward and explain a thing or two for him.
However, just at this moment, waves of loud voices transmitted from the distance into the hall.
“Report—”
A guard rushed into the hall like the wind.
“Eight hundred li urgent report! Seven days ago at night, the earth dragon turned over in Shencheng in the south. All official roads collapsed, which is why news is only getting out now…”
“Countless deaths and injuries throughout the city, lacking grain and water. Requesting Your Majesty’s relief aid!”