The imperial capital of Da Feng had 134 government offices, large and small. Excluding those without official positions and those in the military system, there were as many as ten thousand officials who received salaries from the state.
Among them, only one-tenth could attend the morning court sessions. Those who could enter the Golden Hall and directly converse with the Emperor—including officials, meritorious nobles, and royal clan members—numbered just over a hundred at most.
The civil and military officials waiting outside the Wu Men gate since the early morning hours gathered in small groups, engaging in seemingly casual conversation that concealed subtle barbs.
“His Majesty has been increasingly diligent in attending court sessions lately.”
“It’s because the imperial examination is approaching.”
“His Majesty wasn’t this diligent during last year’s examination.”
“Naturally, it’s because of the Sang Bo case. Ah, these are troubled times. His Majesty will likely lose his temper today. You all should avoid provoking him.”
“This official is merely a civil servant. The Sang Bo case has nothing to do with me or us.”
“Oh? Then who does it concern?”
The group exchanged knowing smiles.
Who did it concern?
Of course, it concerned the commanders of the five guards of the capital. Of course, it concerned the Constables responsible for protecting the capital and the royal family.
Naturally, it also concerned the leader of the Constabulary, Wei Yuan, also known as Wei Qingyi.
In front of Wu Men, Wei Yuan stood alone in his cyan robes, distinctly separate from the surrounding civil and military officials.
Wei Yuan was a unique individual. There was no other eunuch at court with more power than him. Even the Grand Eunuch by the Emperor’s side didn’t wield as much authority.
Wei Yuan was different. He was both the leader of the Constabulary and the Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.
Both these offices had the power to supervise all officials.
Emperor Yuanjing’s intention was clear: Wei Yuan was his blade. Whoever disobeyed would feel the blade at their neck.
Wei Yuan was not only the Emperor’s tool to keep the officials in check but also served as a lightning rod for their resentment.
The civil and military officials didn’t dare to resent the Emperor directly, but they could vent their frustrations on Wei Yuan.
Now, with the destruction of the Yongzhen Shanhe Temple, Emperor Yuanjing, who had long been lax in governance, was attending court today, clearly with a torrent of anger to unleash.
Wei Yuan would undoubtedly be the first to bear the brunt of it.
The civil and military officials were all eager to watch the drama unfold.
At the start of the fifth watch, the deep sound of bells echoed through the dark sky, creating an atmosphere of desolation and loneliness.
The civil and military officials entered through the slowly opening east gate, while the royal clan members and nobles entered through the west gate.
Emperor Yuanjing sat high on the dragon throne, his expression impassive as he looked down at the hundreds of officials entering in an orderly fashion through Wu Men, arranging themselves into civil and military sections.
Over a hundred more officials, meritorious nobles, and royal clan members entered the Golden Hall.
After the formal greetings were complete, a Supervising Secretary from the Ministry of Justice stepped forward and proclaimed loudly, “The night before last, intruders broke into Sang Bo and destroyed the Yongzhen Shanhe Temple. This is a disgrace to our great Da Feng. Wei Yuan, as the leader of the Constabulary, has failed in his duty to protect the imperial city. This minister requests Your Majesty to behead this official to appease public anger.”
“This minister seconds the motion!”
“This minister also seconds the motion!”
Immediately, several professional critics in the role of Supervising Secretaries jumped out, demanding that Emperor Yuanjing chop off Wei Yuan’s dog head.
The accusations in court were similar to haggling at a vegetable market. They usually exaggerated, readily calling for beheading or confiscation of property.
No matter how big or small the issue, chopping off the dog’s head was the go-to solution.
If the Emperor disagreed, they would then bargain, moving from beheading to exile, from exile to dismissal from office.
In any case, they couldn’t start by suggesting dismissal. They had to give the Emperor room to bargain. Otherwise, if the Emperor saw that these little brothers weren’t giving him a chance to negotiate, he might just declare the accused innocent.
Contrary to the officials’ expectations, Emperor Yuanjing immediately rejected the impeachment against Wei Yuan and even praised his work.
This left the officials confused, whispering among themselves.
“Silence!” The Emperor’s personal Grand Eunuch cracked a whip, his shrill voice warning the officials.
This matter came to an end, but the impeachment against Wei Yuan didn’t stop. It merely changed targets.
Another official from the Ministry of Justice stepped forward and said, “Xu Qi An of the Constabulary openly killed guards at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice, showing contempt for imperial authority. This minister humbly requests Your Majesty to severely punish this criminal and execute his entire clan.”
Wei Yuan, who had remained calm and unmoving when he was impeached, narrowed his eyes and also stepped forward: “Your Majesty, the Ministry of Justice instructed their guards to obstruct the Constabulary’s investigation, harboring sinister intentions. This minister suspects that Minister Sun of the Ministry of Justice is in collusion with the criminals who destroyed Sang Bo. I request Your Majesty to dismiss him from office, imprison him in the Imperial Dungeon, and allow this minister to interrogate him.”
The Censors from the Censorate all seconded the motion.
“Nonsense!”
“Your Majesty, Wei Yuan is slandering us. His intentions are treacherous.”
“Your Majesty, there are serious problems within the Ministry of Justice. We support the motion to dismiss and investigate all officials of the Ministry.”
Both sides immediately began a war of words, with officials from other factions occasionally interjecting to fan the flames. The court session had descended into a fierce struggle between various factions.
The current Prime Minister, the Six Ministers, Wei Yuan, and a few other bigwigs closed their eyes to rest.
Emperor Yuanjing showed no anger. Seeing that the officials had argued enough, he signaled the Grand Eunuch to reprimand them, restoring quiet to the Golden Hall.
“Constable Xu Qi An already bears guilt, so his actions may be somewhat extreme. You all should cooperate in the investigation rather than obstruct each other. If this happens again, I will punish you severely.” Emperor Yuanjing said in a deep voice.
Wei Yuan opened his eyes, a flash of surprise crossing his face.
He had been certain that Xu Qi An would be safe, but he hadn’t expected the Emperor to personally speak up for that little Constable.
Emperor Yuanjing’s sharp gaze swept across the officials as he continued, “From today onwards, the city gates will be unsealed. However, all officials of the sixth rank and above are not permitted to leave the capital.”
“Court dismissed!”
…
At the start of the fifth watch, Xu Qi An woke up on time, washed up, got dressed, and went to his Second Uncle’s house for breakfast.
Previously, when he was a minor runner in Chang Le County, he had to rush to the yamen at the start of the fifth watch to report for duty, equivalent to clocking in for work.
After becoming a Constable, considering that Constable Xu Qi An was a poor fellow who couldn’t afford to buy a house, the reporting time was changed from the start of the fifth watch to three-quarters past the fifth watch.
This gave him an hour and a half of travel time.
In this aspect, the Constabulary was quite progressive.
Winter had arrived, and the morning temperatures were very low. People inevitably tended to be sealed by the warm quilts for a few extra hours.
The voluptuous and beautiful aunt was sealed in bed and hadn’t gotten up. The pretty sister with the oval face was also sealed.
“Go wake up Ling Yin. She developed lazy habits as a child, which are hard to correct when grown up,” said Second Uncle Xu.
Xu Qi An suspected he just thought the dining table wasn’t lively enough, because Xu Er Lang had left for Yunlu Academy before the fifth watch.
He said the Academy’s Chancellor was giving a lecture this morning, so he had to leave the city at the start of the fifth watch to make it in time.
As a result, only Second Uncle Xu and Xu Da Lang were eating at the table.
Xu Qi An immediately went to the inner courtyard and knocked on Ling Yin’s door, which was opened by the maid who attended to Ling Yin.
The little maid said with a mix of expectation, wariness, and shyness, “What… what does Da Lang want to do?”
It was still dark, yet he came knocking. Could Da Lang be trying to do something to her?
Xu Qi An said he came to wake up Ling Yin.
He stepped into the room and saw Ling Yin curled up under thick cotton quilts, like a pillow hidden under the covers, so small.
Xu Qi An slapped her bottom, waking her up.
Ling Yin opened her eyes groggily, wiped her drool, and mumbled unclearly, “Is it Big Brother?”
“Get up for breakfast.”
“Oh…”
“Well, get up then!”
“Snore… snore…”
“Today’s breakfast is steamed lamb, steamed bear’s paw, steamed deer tail, roasted duck, roasted chick, roasted gosling, braised pork, braised duck, marinated chicken…”
Bang bang… Ling Yin on the bed suddenly started convulsing, her limbs flailing. Her brain was still asleep, but her body was already eager to go eat breakfast.
The maid helped the little bean wash her face and brush her teeth. Xu Qi An carried her towards the front hall. Ling Yin’s chin rested on Xu Qi An’s shoulder, her bottom sticking out, wanting to sleep but not daring to, afraid of missing out on the delicious food.
“Don’t sleep anymore, Big Brother will sing you a song.”
“Oh…”
“Little bunny, be good, open the door, open it quickly, I want to come in. Won’t open, won’t open, just won’t open, husband hasn’t come back, won’t open for anyone who comes.”
…
Arriving at the front hall, Ling Yin stared wide-eyed at the steamed buns, soy milk, and fried dough sticks, looking so disappointed she was about to cry.
“This isn’t the breakfast I wanted. Where’s my steamed lamb, steamed bear’s paw, steamed deer tail, roasted duck, roasted chick, roasted gosling, braised pork, braised duck, marinated chicken…?”
You remembered all that?! Xu Qi An rolled his eyes, “Big Brother was just joking.”
Ling Yin burst into tears with a “Waa,” her hands behind her back, body leaning forward, launching a sonic attack at Xu Qi An.
…
After finishing breakfast!
“I shouldn’t have called her. The noise gave me a headache,” Second Uncle Xu grumbled, carrying his helmet as he left.
“Yeah, I finally understand how difficult it is for Aunt. Aunt, you’ve worked hard,” Xu Qi An grumbled as he left.
Ling Yin was left behind, crying and eating with the maid’s assistance.
Although there was no steamed lamb, steamed bear’s paw, steamed deer tail, roasted duck, roasted chick, roasted gosling, braised pork, braised duck, or marinated chicken, which made her very sad, she could still eat while being sad.
…
Wei Yuan left the Golden Hall, mentally reviewing the court situation today. Suddenly, he heard someone calling from behind, “Lord Wei, wait for this humble one.”
Turning his head, he saw it was Eunuch Liu.
Before Wei Yuan’s rise to power, he had also worked in the palace and had a very good relationship with Eunuch Liu. He smiled and said, “Eunuch Liu, what’s the matter?”
Eunuch Liu glanced around, then pulled out several sheets of paper from his sleeve and stuffed them into Wei Yuan’s hand. “We made a copy. Lord Wei can take a look.”
Wei Yuan understood immediately and smiled, “I’ll invite you for a few drinks in the palace another day.”
Leaving Wu Men and getting into his carriage, the driver Yang Yan silently headed towards the yamen.
Wei Yuan took out the papers, looked at them for a while, and a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
“What is Father looking at?” Nangong Qianrou, lazily leaning against the carriage and acting as a personal guard, asked curiously.
“I thought I would be reprimanded by His Majesty today, but unexpectedly, it went smoothly,” Wei Yuan smiled.
“Went smoothly?” Yang Yan asked in surprise from outside the carriage.
On the way to court, Wei Yuan mentally simulated the court situation. He had this habit of simulating before the court and reviewing afterward.
In his original simulation, he would be impeached in this court session, and Emperor Yuanjing would take the opportunity to reprimand him or give him some punishment.
Wei Yuan’s guess wasn’t wrong; the Sang Bo case did indeed become a pretext for political enemies to attack.
He just didn’t expect the matter to be glossed over so lightly.
Nangong Qianrou frowned and said, “Didn’t anyone take the opportunity to attack Father?”
Wei Yuan smiled and handed over the crumpled papers.