“Last night, a subject of the imperial court was nearly assassinated in Deer Villa. This is simply outrageous. Eunuch Liu, the manager of Deer Villa, deployed troops to escort the injured subject to the Imperial Capital for emergency treatment, just in case they might run into other assassins on their way there. This sounds perfectly logical. Where does his crime lie?” The Emperor was firmly seated on his throne as he scanned his subjects that were standing in the royal hall. The tone of his voice was icy.
“Even insects and animals have more compassion. Seeing one of your peers nearly die from an attempted assassination, no one even thought of tracking down the assassin to investigate the matter and protect the laws of our empire. Instead, the victim is blamed for causing a great commotion and disturbing a good night’s sleep. Such people are worse than animals. If you encounter the same thing one day, will you wish to be escorted for treatment or will you be ignored and left to die alone? Those who wish to not be rescued when they are in trouble, you may step forward now so we can see you. Anyone?”
The Emperor’s last two words reverberated throughout the grand hall like thunder. The two ministers who voiced out their opinions just now immediately paled and couldn’t help but tremble.
At a time like this, of course no one would dare to step forward. If anyone did, he would be admitting that he was worse than an animal. Not only that, he would also have to face the Emperor’s wrath and be made a laughing stock, irrevocably damaging his reputation.
The commotion from last night was so great that it alarmed the entire Imperial Capital. By now, various rumors had spread, thus causing a court assembly to be called today.
At this moment, quite a number of ministers in the court were stealing glances at Lin Qingtian who had his head lowered. He was silent and motionless, as though he was asleep.
The Emperor scanned the court. His gaze shifted from the Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian’s face to the Minister of Justice Gu Chunyi’s face.
“Gu Chunyi…”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Hearing his name being called out, Gu Chunyi had no choice but to go forward.
“Has the identity of the assassin been ascertained?” The Emperor looked at Gu Chunyi with his burning gaze.
Gu Chunyi really wished he could say otherwise. Yet, at the same time, he knew exactly why the Emperor had called him out to question him. Most of the people in the court already knew the identity of the assassin, let alone Gu Chunyi. Likewise, the Emperor knew about it too. Given ten more guts, he wouldn’t dare to throw himself into the fire by fooling the Emperor and the others in the court at a time like this. After stealing a glance at Lin Qingtian, Gu Chunyi summoned up his courage and replied, “The identity of the assassin has been ascertained. His name is Liu Jingfeng!”
A frosty smile appeared on the Emperor’s face as he continued with his line of questioning. “Is that so? I wonder who exactly is this Liu Jingfeng. Does he have an accomplice?”
Gu Chunyi gulped and had no choice but to continue. “Liu Jingfeng is… a personal bodyguard posted under the Ministry of War. His rank is… Feiyang Commandant!”
“Minister Gu seems hesitant to speak. Is there something you cannot share? Well, if this Liu Jingfeng is a bodyguard, then who is he assigned to? Whose orders has he been taking in the Imperial Capital city? Do We have to ask you one by one?” The Emperor’s gaze on Gu Chunyi had turned into something menacing.
“Liu Jingfeng is… is Lin Zhe’s personal bodyguard!” This reply alone was enough to cause a sheen of cold sweat to break out on Gu Chunyi’s forehead.
“Who is this Lin Zhe? Doesn’t ring a bell. In the Imperial Capital, only personal bodyguards to high officials above the Third Grade are entitled to receive military ranks. All the high officials above the Third Grade are currently present in this hall. Why are We not aware of any that goes by the name of Lin Zhe?” the Emperor questioned coldly.
“This… I am afraid I have no idea!”
It wasn’t like Gu Chunyi didn’t know, but rather he didn’t dare to say. That was because Lin Zhe was Lin Qingtian’s nephew. When Lin Zhe was still in the Imperial Capital, he was a well-known child to a high official. He stirred up trouble and dared to offend just about anyone. According to the imperial court’s law, only personal bodyguards to high officials above the Third Grade were entitled military ranks. Although Lin Zhe wasn’t an official, getting a military rank for his bodyguard was no trouble for him. As long as he asked for it, there would be people under him who were willing to get it done for him through the backdoor.
If this matter were to be investigated, such an act had indeed severely violated the imperial court’s laws and could possibly warrant capital punishment. In the Imperial Capital, there were only two places for guards with military rank — the Imperial Cavalry Unit and the Ministry of War. The personal bodyguards of the ministers that served the Emperor were mostly from the Imperial Cavalry Unit, while the personal bodyguards of the ministers that served the Grand Chancellor were mostly from the Ministry of War.
The Emperor’s gaze shifted from Gu Chunyi’s face to the Minister of War who was standing. He pointed his finger at the minister. “Xu Wentang, why don’t you enlighten me? Liu Jingfeng is posted under the Ministry of War, and therefore his military rank was awarded by the Ministry of War. What is the meaning of this? Since when was the Ministry of War allowed to award a military rank to anyone they please, without considering the laws of the Great Han Empire? Not only that, but it was awarded to a treacherous man who attempted to assassinate an official from the imperial court. Such a deed has not only disgraced the Ministry of War and disappointed our subjects, but it also ridiculed and undermined the imperial court’s laws. As the Minister of War, how are you doing your job?” The Emperor’s tone grew angrier toward the end.
“Y-Your humble servant will definitely get to the bottom of this…!” The Minister of War was an elderly man whose hair and beard had turned completely gray. Sweat was visible on the minister’s forehead.
The Emperor’s expression immediately calmed down as he looked at the Minister of War coldly. “Without your seal and consent, how can such a treacherous man so boldly become a Feiyang Commandant in the Ministry of War? The Ministry of War should be investigated, and the investigation starts with you first! Someone, arrest the incompetent Xu Wentang…!”
As soon as the Emperor issued his order, the imperial guards in Jinluan Hall rushed out to seize the Minister of War and immediately tied him up. Two of the guards held a few silver needles that were about half a foot long each. They wasted no time in inserting them into the major acupoints on Xu Wentang’s body to seal away his cultivation. Xu Wentang’s complexion dulled. He bit his lips and looked at the Emperor and the Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian before he was taken away by the guards without putting up any resistance.
“Zou Rulong!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Among the generals’ line-up, an armored old general who was standing behind Wu Wentang came out and and bowed to the Emperor.
“From now on, We shall appoint you as the new Minister of War. Command them well and do not disappoint me!”
“I accept Your Majesty’s decree!” The old general took a deep breath, then went back in line.
“Gu Chunyi, arrest Lin Zhe immediately and bring him to justice! Find out if Liu Jingfeng’s assassination attempt was carried out on an order!”
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty…!” Gu Chunyi lowered his head and looked at his own feet. After replying to the order, he returned back to his line bitterly while secretly cursing Lin Zhe’s ancestors to the eighteenth generation. He nearly got into big trouble because of Lin Zhe last time. Little did he expect things to turn out to be even worse this time.
Even if the target was Yan Liqiang, Lin Zhe should have sent someone more reliable and made sure that things were handled properly. Unfortunately, Lin Zhe’s brain was nothing but a pile of sh*t. Not only did he send his own personal bodyguard to carry out this task, that bullsh*t of an assassin even failed to kill his target. As a result, this implicated Lin Zhe and exposed his identity. The incident caused a commotion so great that it alarmed the entire Imperial Capital and made things even messier. The Emperor now had something to use against him. He would use this incident as a pretext to make a fuss and get rid of his allies. How could someone like the Grand Chancellor have such a stupid nephew…?
Taking out the Minister of War had greatly appeased the Emperor. He looked at Lin Qingtian and softened his tone. “Grand Chancellor…”
“Yes, Your Majesty…?” Lin Qingtian slightly bowed his body and responded with composure.
“Grand Chancellor said that national affairs should be taken seriously, and hence proposed a blindfolded archery contest between the Armed Imperial Guard of the Fifth Grade Yan Liqiang and Anbei General Shi Tao’s son, Shi Minzhang, on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month to compete for the position as the Crown Prince’s mentor in archery. We are in favor of this proposal. However, We are certain that the Grand Chancellor is also aware that Yan Liqiang has fallen prey to a despicable scheme by some shameless people before the contest. He has been critically injured and remains unconscious as we speak. We wonder if the Grand Chancellor is still adamant about having him participate in this blindfolded archery contest that will take place on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month?”
When the last sentence left the Emperor’s lips, the hall went so silent that one could even hear a pin drop. Everyone in the hall lowered their heads, not daring to look at the expression on Lin Qingtian’s face at this very moment. The Emperor had certainly delivered a hard blow to the Grand Chancellor, a blow so hard that the Grand Chancellor’s face even turned purple…
— As the Grand Chancellor of the Great Han Empire, you schemed against a child of fifteen years of age with your own nephew. You publicly proposed a blindfolded contest, yet pulled such an underhanded trick! Even I am ashamed of your despicable actions! Since the Lin Clan is so shameless, they might as well eat their own words!
Although the Emperor didn’t say that out loud, everyone in the hall understood what he was trying to say.
“What happened to Commandant Yan truly came as a surprise to me. Your Majesty’s response to this incident is to defend the nation’s law. Fair enough. Commandant Yan is critically injured and we are not certain of when he will recover. Even if he recovers, his capability may inevitably be affected. Therefore, to be fair, I suggest this blindfolded contest to be canceled to avoid further criticism. The arrangement for the Crown Prince’s archery lessons will be up to Your Majesty’s decision!”
At a time like this, even Lin Qingtian had no choice but to yield for now and leave this for another day. If he were to insist on having Yan Liqiang participate in the blindfolded archery contest, it would no doubt cause a scandal great enough to condemn the Lin Clan.
The only person he could blame was his nephew Lin Zhe, who put in so much effort to leave him such a great farewell gift when he left the Imperial Capital…
……
When the impromptu court assembly was dismissed, Lin Qingtian was the first to exit the hall. Noticing his boiling anger, not even the officials who were usually close to Lin Qingtian dared to approach him…
If the court assembly today was to be compared to the Arena of Life and Death, then the Grand Chancellor was completely suppressed by the Emperor today…
Lin Qingtian stormed out of the royal palace and got into his carriage. It was only then that he vented his suppressed anger. He slammed his palm so hard that his rare thumb ring shattered into pieces.
“How is Yan Liqiang doing now? Is this a trap?” Lin Qingtian coldly asked a man dressed in black who had been waiting on the carriage.
“His Majesty sent two imperial physicians to treat him. According to their reports, Yan Liqiang isn’t in a life-threatening condition. However, he was cultivating when he was ambushed last night. Battling someone with all his might under the shock caused him to fall into Qi deviation. As a result, his dantian has been severely damaged. It is completely empty and unable to condense even an ounce of vital Qi. Any vital Qi that is channeled into his dantian dissipates in the blink of an eye. This has been confirmed by the two imperial physicians. Both of them concluded that this will jeopardize and cripple Yan Liqiang’s future in cultivation…”
“Last night, a subject of the imperial court was nearly assassinated in Deer Villa. This is simply outrageous. Eunuch Liu, the manager of Deer Villa, deployed troops to escort the injured subject to the Imperial Capital for emergency treatment, just in case they might run into other assassins on their way there. This sounds perfectly logical. Where does his crime lie?” The Emperor was firmly seated on his throne as he scanned his subjects that were standing in the royal hall. The tone of his voice was icy.
“Even insects and animals have more compassion. Seeing one of your peers nearly die from an attempted assassination, no one even thought of tracking down the assassin to investigate the matter and protect the laws of our empire. Instead, the victim is blamed for causing a great commotion and disturbing a good night’s sleep. Such people are worse than animals. If you encounter the same thing one day, will you wish to be escorted for treatment or will you be ignored and left to die alone? Those who wish to not be rescued when they are in trouble, you may step forward now so we can see you. Anyone?”
The Emperor’s last two words reverberated throughout the grand hall like thunder. The two ministers who voiced out their opinions just now immediately paled and couldn’t help but tremble.
At a time like this, of course no one would dare to step forward. If anyone did, he would be admitting that he was worse than an animal. Not only that, he would also have to face the Emperor’s wrath and be made a laughing stock, irrevocably damaging his reputation.
The commotion from last night was so great that it alarmed the entire Imperial Capital. By now, various rumors had spread, thus causing a court assembly to be called today.
At this moment, quite a number of ministers in the court were stealing glances at Lin Qingtian who had his head lowered. He was silent and motionless, as though he was asleep.
The Emperor scanned the court. His gaze shifted from the Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian’s face to the Minister of Justice Gu Chunyi’s face.
“Gu Chunyi…”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Hearing his name being called out, Gu Chunyi had no choice but to go forward.
“Has the identity of the assassin been ascertained?” The Emperor looked at Gu Chunyi with his burning gaze.
Gu Chunyi really wished he could say otherwise. Yet, at the same time, he knew exactly why the Emperor had called him out to question him. Most of the people in the court already knew the identity of the assassin, let alone Gu Chunyi. Likewise, the Emperor knew about it too. Given ten more guts, he wouldn’t dare to throw himself into the fire by fooling the Emperor and the others in the court at a time like this. After stealing a glance at Lin Qingtian, Gu Chunyi summoned up his courage and replied, “The identity of the assassin has been ascertained. His name is Liu Jingfeng!”
A frosty smile appeared on the Emperor’s face as he continued with his line of questioning. “Is that so? I wonder who exactly is this Liu Jingfeng. Does he have an accomplice?”
Gu Chunyi gulped and had no choice but to continue. “Liu Jingfeng is… a personal bodyguard posted under the Ministry of War. His rank is… Feiyang Commandant!”
“Minister Gu seems hesitant to speak. Is there something you cannot share? Well, if this Liu Jingfeng is a bodyguard, then who is he assigned to? Whose orders has he been taking in the Imperial Capital city? Do We have to ask you one by one?” The Emperor’s gaze on Gu Chunyi had turned into something menacing.
“Liu Jingfeng is… is Lin Zhe’s personal bodyguard!” This reply alone was enough to cause a sheen of cold sweat to break out on Gu Chunyi’s forehead.
“Who is this Lin Zhe? Doesn’t ring a bell. In the Imperial Capital, only personal bodyguards to high officials above the Third Grade are entitled to receive military ranks. All the high officials above the Third Grade are currently present in this hall. Why are We not aware of any that goes by the name of Lin Zhe?” the Emperor questioned coldly.
“This… I am afraid I have no idea!”
It wasn’t like Gu Chunyi didn’t know, but rather he didn’t dare to say. That was because Lin Zhe was Lin Qingtian’s nephew. When Lin Zhe was still in the Imperial Capital, he was a well-known child to a high official. He stirred up trouble and dared to offend just about anyone. According to the imperial court’s law, only personal bodyguards to high officials above the Third Grade were entitled military ranks. Although Lin Zhe wasn’t an official, getting a military rank for his bodyguard was no trouble for him. As long as he asked for it, there would be people under him who were willing to get it done for him through the backdoor.
If this matter were to be investigated, such an act had indeed severely violated the imperial court’s laws and could possibly warrant capital punishment. In the Imperial Capital, there were only two places for guards with military rank — the Imperial Cavalry Unit and the Ministry of War. The personal bodyguards of the ministers that served the Emperor were mostly from the Imperial Cavalry Unit, while the personal bodyguards of the ministers that served the Grand Chancellor were mostly from the Ministry of War.
The Emperor’s gaze shifted from Gu Chunyi’s face to the Minister of War who was standing. He pointed his finger at the minister. “Xu Wentang, why don’t you enlighten me? Liu Jingfeng is posted under the Ministry of War, and therefore his military rank was awarded by the Ministry of War. What is the meaning of this? Since when was the Ministry of War allowed to award a military rank to anyone they please, without considering the laws of the Great Han Empire? Not only that, but it was awarded to a treacherous man who attempted to assassinate an official from the imperial court. Such a deed has not only disgraced the Ministry of War and disappointed our subjects, but it also ridiculed and undermined the imperial court’s laws. As the Minister of War, how are you doing your job?” The Emperor’s tone grew angrier toward the end.
“Y-Your humble servant will definitely get to the bottom of this…!” The Minister of War was an elderly man whose hair and beard had turned completely gray. Sweat was visible on the minister’s forehead.
The Emperor’s expression immediately calmed down as he looked at the Minister of War coldly. “Without your seal and consent, how can such a treacherous man so boldly become a Feiyang Commandant in the Ministry of War? The Ministry of War should be investigated, and the investigation starts with you first! Someone, arrest the incompetent Xu Wentang…!”
As soon as the Emperor issued his order, the imperial guards in Jinluan Hall rushed out to seize the Minister of War and immediately tied him up. Two of the guards held a few silver needles that were about half a foot long each. They wasted no time in inserting them into the major acupoints on Xu Wentang’s body to seal away his cultivation. Xu Wentang’s complexion dulled. He bit his lips and looked at the Emperor and the Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian before he was taken away by the guards without putting up any resistance.
“Zou Rulong!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Among the generals’ line-up, an armored old general who was standing behind Wu Wentang came out and and bowed to the Emperor.
“From now on, We shall appoint you as the new Minister of War. Command them well and do not disappoint me!”
“I accept Your Majesty’s decree!” The old general took a deep breath, then went back in line.
“Gu Chunyi, arrest Lin Zhe immediately and bring him to justice! Find out if Liu Jingfeng’s assassination attempt was carried out on an order!”
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty…!” Gu Chunyi lowered his head and looked at his own feet. After replying to the order, he returned back to his line bitterly while secretly cursing Lin Zhe’s ancestors to the eighteenth generation. He nearly got into big trouble because of Lin Zhe last time. Little did he expect things to turn out to be even worse this time.
Even if the target was Yan Liqiang, Lin Zhe should have sent someone more reliable and made sure that things were handled properly. Unfortunately, Lin Zhe’s brain was nothing but a pile of sh*t. Not only did he send his own personal bodyguard to carry out this task, that bullsh*t of an assassin even failed to kill his target. As a result, this implicated Lin Zhe and exposed his identity. The incident caused a commotion so great that it alarmed the entire Imperial Capital and made things even messier. The Emperor now had something to use against him. He would use this incident as a pretext to make a fuss and get rid of his allies. How could someone like the Grand Chancellor have such a stupid nephew…?
Taking out the Minister of War had greatly appeased the Emperor. He looked at Lin Qingtian and softened his tone. “Grand Chancellor…”
“Yes, Your Majesty…?” Lin Qingtian slightly bowed his body and responded with composure.
“Grand Chancellor said that national affairs should be taken seriously, and hence proposed a blindfolded archery contest between the Armed Imperial Guard of the Fifth Grade Yan Liqiang and Anbei General Shi Tao’s son, Shi Minzhang, on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month to compete for the position as the Crown Prince’s mentor in archery. We are in favor of this proposal. However, We are certain that the Grand Chancellor is also aware that Yan Liqiang has fallen prey to a despicable scheme by some shameless people before the contest. He has been critically injured and remains unconscious as we speak. We wonder if the Grand Chancellor is still adamant about having him participate in this blindfolded archery contest that will take place on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month?”
When the last sentence left the Emperor’s lips, the hall went so silent that one could even hear a pin drop. Everyone in the hall lowered their heads, not daring to look at the expression on Lin Qingtian’s face at this very moment. The Emperor had certainly delivered a hard blow to the Grand Chancellor, a blow so hard that the Grand Chancellor’s face even turned purple…
— As the Grand Chancellor of the Great Han Empire, you schemed against a child of fifteen years of age with your own nephew. You publicly proposed a blindfolded contest, yet pulled such an underhanded trick! Even I am ashamed of your despicable actions! Since the Lin Clan is so shameless, they might as well eat their own words!
Although the Emperor didn’t say that out loud, everyone in the hall understood what he was trying to say.
“What happened to Commandant Yan truly came as a surprise to me. Your Majesty’s response to this incident is to defend the nation’s law. Fair enough. Commandant Yan is critically injured and we are not certain of when he will recover. Even if he recovers, his capability may inevitably be affected. Therefore, to be fair, I suggest this blindfolded contest to be canceled to avoid further criticism. The arrangement for the Crown Prince’s archery lessons will be up to Your Majesty’s decision!”
At a time like this, even Lin Qingtian had no choice but to yield for now and leave this for another day. If he were to insist on having Yan Liqiang participate in the blindfolded archery contest, it would no doubt cause a scandal great enough to condemn the Lin Clan.
The only person he could blame was his nephew Lin Zhe, who put in so much effort to leave him such a great farewell gift when he left the Imperial Capital…
……
When the impromptu court assembly was dismissed, Lin Qingtian was the first to exit the hall. Noticing his boiling anger, not even the officials who were usually close to Lin Qingtian dared to approach him…
If the court assembly today was to be compared to the Arena of Life and Death, then the Grand Chancellor was completely suppressed by the Emperor today…
Lin Qingtian stormed out of the royal palace and got into his carriage. It was only then that he vented his suppressed anger. He slammed his palm so hard that his rare thumb ring shattered into pieces.
“How is Yan Liqiang doing now? Is this a trap?” Lin Qingtian coldly asked a man dressed in black who had been waiting on the carriage.
“His Majesty sent two imperial physicians to treat him. According to their reports, Yan Liqiang isn’t in a life-threatening condition. However, he was cultivating when he was ambushed last night. Battling someone with all his might under the shock caused him to fall into Qi deviation. As a result, his dantian has been severely damaged. It is completely empty and unable to condense even an ounce of vital Qi. Any vital Qi that is channeled into his dantian dissipates in the blink of an eye. This has been confirmed by the two imperial physicians. Both of them concluded that this will jeopardize and cripple Yan Liqiang’s future in cultivation…”
