Two quarters past the Hour of the Tiger(3:30 AM and 3:45 AM)!

Outside the Meridian Gate, the cold wind howled.

Officials gradually arrived at the palace in carriages and then walked to the Meridian Gate.

The howling winter wind cut like a steel knife to the bone, making the lanterns hanging on the gate towers and stone lamps along the path sway, causing the guards’ torches to flicker violently.

The officials wrapped themselves in thick cloaks and wore wind-resistant hats. The observant would notice that regardless of rank or power, everyone was dressed modestly.

The cloaks were made of wool, the hats of rat fur.

Even moderately wealthy households in the capital could afford such attire.

The officials’ attitude was obvious—they were all poor men, barely making ends meet. Where would they find money to donate?

With half an hour until court began, officials gathered in small groups, discussing in low voices…

The censors maintaining order turned a blind eye to this.

“Daily court sessions—His Majesty is determined to wear us down.”

“Indeed. Perhaps we should just donate some silver, it’s not that much.”

“Official Yang is confused. They say it’s only three months’ salary, but that’s His Majesty’s feint. Let me ask you this: when Prime Minister Wang volunteers to donate a year’s salary, will the ministers follow or not? Do you think these small donations will be enough? This is just to pry open our mouths.”

“This… Official Zhu makes sense. Yang understands now.”

…

“We absolutely cannot yield on this matter, just as we discussed yesterday. As long as we stay in step with the ministers, neither yielding nor submitting, His Majesty can at most pressure us for a few more days.”

“Sigh, this official is penniless, even living in a rented house. The capital is already running short on grain. If we donate our salaries, how will we survive?”

“We are all like Official Zhao, scholarly men with empty sleeves.”

…

“Honored officials, in this bitter cold, this official is unwell and really can’t bear it anymore. Why don’t we just donate as His Majesty wishes?”

This was an official who was fence-sitting but leaning toward donation.

The officials nearby immediately showed anger: “Official Li is too confused. With snowstorms continuing everywhere, shortages of grain, coal, and silver, how can our meager salaries fill the treasury?”

“Official Li only sees what’s before him but doesn’t think deeper. The reason the ministers are gritting their teeth is that once this precedent is set, there will be a second time, then a third. When His Majesty needs money again later and calls for more donations, shall we eat the northwest wind?”

“Such a simple principle, yet Imperial Scholar Xu Xin Nian cannot understand it.”

“It’s not that he doesn’t understand—he’s playing deaf and dumb to curry favor with His Majesty.”

“This fellow is full of himself, relying on his elder cousin’s influence and looking down on everyone. Recently he’s gotten close to the Prime Minister and become even more arrogant.”

“Heh, what an ungrateful wretch.”

An official spat viciously.

Elsewhere, Zhang Xing Ying, newly promoted to Right Censor-in-Chief, slowly approached Liu Hong and sighed softly:

“Her Highness’s idea was good. If we could encourage the scholar-official class to donate, then have local governments encourage the gentry to donate, we’d have money and grain to greatly alleviate the disasters and control the refugees.”

“If we can just get through this winter when the common people see hope in spring planting, they won’t cause trouble everywhere.”

“Unfortunately, His Majesty has just ascended the throne, lacking both prestige and a stable foundation. And with Lord Wei’s passing… otherwise, working with Prime Minister Wang, they could certainly have promoted the donations.”

“But now… sigh, even our subordinates are dissatisfied.”

They hadn’t known initially that Princess Huai Qing had prompted Second Young Master Xu to submit the memorial.

Afterward, when several key members discussed it, they consistently believed the plan would be difficult to implement and face enormous obstacles.

First, trying to fleece the civil and military officials was itself an incredibly difficult task. Everyone had come up from Emperor Yuan Jing’s time—how could they not know each other’s nature?

Taking bribes, extorting, and accumulating wealth without limit.

Was Great Zhou’s current weakness just the former emperor’s fault? When the beam above is crooked, those below follow suit.

They were already busy enriching themselves—imagine the resistance to trying to take some wool from these old gluttons.

Second, who knew when this “winter disaster,” nearly the last straw on the camel’s back, would end? It was only one month into winter, with the coldest times yet to come.

When that time came and the court still had no money, what would His Majesty do? Call for donations again?

Finally, this was essentially a court power struggle.

The emperor and officials were in opposing camps. For a new emperor to do this upon taking power made the civil service collective smell something ominous.

Whether from their position or their love of money, they instinctively resisted and opposed.

Not just Emperor Yong Xing—even if Emperor Yuan Jing had done this when he took power, he would have faced resistance too.

Liu Hong glanced at the officials clustering in groups, whispering to each other:

“Perhaps at this moment, Princess Huai Qing is coldly observing. Who supports the donations; who agrees in their hearts but dares not incur public anger; who is too miserly to part with a single coin.”

Zhang Xing Ying suddenly understood: “She knew this plan wouldn’t work?”

He frowned: “In that case, hasn’t she harmed Xu Ci Jiu?”

Liu Hong smiled: “Not necessarily. He has Prime Minister Wang’s support—at worst he’ll be sidelined for a few years.”

Zhang Xing Ying nodded and sighed:

“This official still hopes we can accomplish this. The treasury truly has no silver left. Now refugees are causing trouble everywhere—the seeds of chaos are sprouting. If we don’t nip it in the bud early, chaos will eventually erupt.”

Liu Hong showed a meaningful smile. At this moment, a commotion in the distance attracted their attention.

Liu Hong and Zhang Xing Ying squinted into the distance, seeing a young official in a blue robe standing aggressively before Xu Xin Nian, who wore the same, cursing angrily with spittle flying.

Liu Hong’s eyesight wasn’t very good. After peering for a while, he asked:

“Who is that?”

Zhang Xing Ying smiled: “This year’s Third Place Scholar, Qian Mu.”

Liu Hong also smiled:

“Isn’t he that hothead who wrote memorials exposing the Vice Minister of Personnel’s corruption and bribery, implicating many officials in the Personnel Ministry?”

“Seems he’s tired of sitting on the cold bench—his bottom can’t take the chill anymore, so he’s come to make his declaration of loyalty.”

Zhang Xing Ying shook his head: “Being used as someone’s weapon. He’ll gain some short-term benefits, but in the long run, heh, after angering His Majesty, what good outcome could he expect?”

Liu Hong smiled: “It’s no matter. After declaring loyalty and joining the Qing faction, he can still be a proper official. As long as he keeps a low profile afterward, would His Majesty keep fixating on him?”

While they chatted casually, tension mounted on the other side.

Qian Mu pointed at Xu Xin Nian, pressing aggressively:

“In this bitter cold, the honest officials at court lack rice and coal. Not everyone is like Scholar Xu, with thousands in gold at home, dressed in silk and eating delicacies.”

“Three months’ salary—how do you expect those penniless colleagues to get through this winter?”

Not waiting for Xu Xin Nian to speak, he sneered mockingly:

“To curry favor with His Majesty, you came up with such an absurd plan. What a petty man. I graduated with you and feel ashamed by association.”

The observing officials all echoed their agreement.

Xu Xin Nian’s expression remained unchanged: “This official acts for the common people, with a clear conscience.”

“A clear conscience, you say!”

Qian Mu laughed loudly three times, then shouted: “This official is willing to donate his entire family fortune to fill the treasury and aid disaster victims. Scholar Xu, since you have such a clear conscience, since you act for the common people, do you dare follow this official’s example and donate all your family property?”

When he finished speaking, cheers erupted around them:

“Official Qian shows noble character!”

“Official Qian shows great righteousness!”

Scrutinizing gazes turned toward Xu Xin Nian.

Xu Xin Nian frowned slightly. Qian Mu’s words were unreasonable—the Xu family had numerous shops, good fields, and dividends from his elder brother’s chicken essence business, but what did the other side have?

Though not completely destitute, after sitting on the cold bench for so long, his family probably only had a few pecks of rice and a few taels of silver.

Yet he couldn’t argue this point, because neither Qian Mu, nor those behind him, nor the surrounding officials were interested in reason.

They had come specifically to cause trouble.

If he ignored it, after the court session, he might gain another epithet of “hypocrite.”

At this moment, Prime Minister Wang approached. Without speaking, he merely swept a cold gaze over the surrounding officials.

The officials immediately fell silent.

Qian Mu smiled slightly. Whether Xu Xin Nian responded or not, he had already conveyed his message.

Afterward, there was no further disturbance until the Hour of Mao arrived and the drums sounded.

The civil and military officials maintained silence as they passed through the Meridian Gate, crossed the Golden Water Bridge, and lined up according to rank.

Only that small group could enter the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

As one of the central figures in this controversy, Xu Xin Nian was also permitted to enter the hall but had to stand near the entrance.

After the ministers entered, within a few minutes, Emperor Yong Xing arrived.

Sitting high on the dragon throne, looking down at his officials, he said loudly:

“The disasters in various regions are severe. As ruler of the nation, I am deeply pained. Do my beloved officials have any good strategies for disaster relief?”

Below, the ministers and nobles showed “as expected” expressions, offering a few halfhearted suggestions like reducing taxes and encouraging local gentry to donate.

Emperor Yong Xing said:

“If we’re calling for donations, the court should set an example, my beloved officials should set an example. This way, the gentry will donate willingly, and it will also warn the officials handling affairs against lining their own pockets.”

If they only called for gentry donations, inevitably most of that silver would be skimmed away layer by layer.

Several faction leaders and nobles tacitly stepped forward in succession, crying out “Impossible!”

At this point, the Minister of Justice appeared, saying gravely:

“Your Majesty, court customs are corrupt, the practice of embezzlement flourishes, leading to an empty treasury. Donations treat the symptoms but not the root cause. To provide disaster relief, we must first sweep away these corrupt practices.”

As his words fell, the militant Vice Minister of Revenue stepped forward, crying loudly:

“Your Majesty, I impeach Imperial Scholar Xu Xin Nian of the Hanlin Academy for accepting bribes!”

No one in the hall spoke, nor did anyone question what bribes an Imperial Scholar of the Hanlin Academy could accept. It seemed they had anticipated such an event.

The Vice Minister of Personnel stepped forward, shouting:

“Your Majesty, I impeach Imperial Scholar Xu Xin Nian of the Hanlin Academy for accepting bribes under Prime Minister Wang’s banner!”

Then, the vice ministers of all six ministries stepped forward in succession to impeach Xu Xin Nian.

Everyone standing in the Hall of Supreme Harmony was a seasoned veteran, immediately understanding what game these people were playing.

This was their counterattack.

Using Second Young Master Xu as an entry point to resist Emperor Yong Xing and Prime Minister Wang.

This approach wouldn’t completely enrage the Emperor and Prime Minister Wang, yet would make their position clear, telling Emperor Yong Xing they would take down his vanguard one by one.

It also subtly warned Prime Minister Wang that though the Wang faction was powerful, they hadn’t reached the point of complete dominance, and there were dissenting voices within the Wang faction on this matter.

Had Xu Xin Nian accepted gifts?

The answer was certainly yes.

As Prime Minister Wang’s future son-in-law, Wang faction members had given him many gifts, and in officialdom, accepting gifts meant being one of their own.

If he wanted to integrate into the Wang faction as a Cloud Deer Academy scholar, he couldn’t be too aloof.

Though Xu Xin Nian had declined many valuable gifts, this couldn’t change the facts.

“In officialdom, staying completely clean leads to no achievements, while going with the flow easily becomes ammunition for political enemies in crucial moments. So, the core issue is still insufficient power.”

“The solution is: win over more people.”

Xu Xin Nian suddenly understood.

In the hall, some ministers observed Emperor Yong Xing’s expression, while others scrutinized Prime Minister Wang.

Watching how they would respond.

If Emperor Yong Xing protected Xu Xin Nian, they had follow-up moves. If Prime Minister Wang stepped forward, they also had countermoves, like dragging him in and impeaching him too.

Now they held the advantage.

No one noticed Liu Hong unhurriedly step forward and bow:

“Your Majesty, this minister believes the Minister of Justice speaks reason. The treasury is empty and taxes difficult to collect because some embezzle funds and accept bribes.”

“Therefore, this minister requests Your Majesty thoroughly investigate all officials and rectify customs.”

Interesting… All the ministers and nobles in the hall turned to look at Liu Hong.

He was trying to fish in troubled waters. Liu Hong was seen as Wei Yuan’s “successor” in court, having taken over Wei Yuan’s foundation. After the new emperor’s ascension, many former Wei faction members were demoted or dismissed, and their power was reduced by nearly half.

The vacant positions had been divided among the Wang faction and other factions.

In officialdom, this was an appropriate compromise.

Now Liu Hong’s stepping forward clearly showed that the former Wei faction, controlling the Censorate and Night Watchmen, wanted to take advantage of the situation.

Emperor Yong Xing smiled: “Minister Liu speaks reason. Please continue.”

Liu Hong said clearly:

“Since Lord Wei’s passing, the Night Watchmen have declined. This minister’s abilities fall far short of Lord Wei’s, and despite working to exhaustion, my energy is insufficient. I wish to recommend someone to Your Majesty to replace me in commanding the Night Watchmen’s Office.”

“To better monitor the officials.”

The ministers were all stunned—this wasn’t the script they had imagined. At this crucial moment, Liu Hong was laying down his burden, voluntarily giving up the Night Watchmen position.

Emperor Yong Xing feigned surprise: “Whom does Minister Liu wish to recommend?”

Liu Hong swept his gaze over the puzzled or wary ministers and nobles, and said clearly:

“Former Night Watchman Silver Gong, Xu Qi An!”