Day 23, Sunny.
Auspicious for: Sacrifices, recognizing relatives, building stoves, raising beams.
Inauspicious for: False accusations, setting up beds, secret plots, travel.
Today is the last court session of the year.
The next court session will be in the new year.
The weather is bitterly cold.
Minister Lu's residence is considered close to the imperial palace.
As the First Minister, he enjoys many privileges.
For example, while others must dismount from their carriages at the gate and walk in,
Minister Lu can ride in a sedan chair all the way to the inner palace.
His treatment is only slightly inferior to the Emperor's.
The Emperor comes out from the palace in a sedan chair.
Minister Lu can also ride in a sedan chair from outside.
He switches from carriage to sedan chair at the gate.
On normal days, Minister Lu usually doesn't enjoy such honors.
He prefers to walk, with people bowing respectfully along the way.
Bending at the waist, nodding heads, smiling...
He enjoys the feeling of everyone lowering their heads before him.
At the same time, there is much to be gleaned from these eye contacts.
Subtle differences can be judged from people's gazes.
Minister Lu has even detected a traitor's impending betrayal from such subtle cues, allowing him to take preemptive action.
But today is too cold.
He also worked late on official business last night.
In some ways, he is a very dedicated minister, handling most of the empire's memorials himself.
He's constantly busy, barely able to take a midday nap, and working until midnight.
Today is especially cold.
He's not feeling well physically.
There's also a tough battle ahead, so he needs to conserve his energy.
A mere Imperial Secretary isn't really a tough opponent.
But Minister Lu is habitually thorough - even a lion uses its full strength to catch a rabbit.
In such a short time, he's gathered enough crimes to charge him with.
Actually, if he wants someone dead, it's quite simple.
But he has to consider the Emperor's mood.
He closes his eyes in the sedan chair, thinking.
He usually doesn't touch the Emperor's close attendants, but this Imperial Secretary makes him uncomfortable.
His years of experience tell him this man cannot be allowed to live.
More importantly, there's the secret plot with the Seventh Prince.
Minister Lu has already been in contact with the Seventh Prince.
To his surprise, he found the prince has quite a few cards up his sleeve.
The Emperor's health is declining these days.
Today, officials will likely bring up naming a Crown Prince again.
In the current situation, proposing any prince as Crown Prince is like sending him to his death, incurring the Emperor's displeasure.
Today should be the turn of the talented and virtuous Sixth Prince.
This is the real important matter. In comparison, eliminating Imperial Secretary Jiang is just a minor issue.
Just an annoying green fly.
An appetizer.
Power struggles are bound to be the dirtiest, ugliest, and most despicable. If you haven't encountered that yet, it means you haven't pushed your power to the limit.
Minister Lu feels pleased imagining the look of despair on that stunningly beautiful man's face later.
It will be an excellent appetizer.
The sedan chair sways, relatively warm inside.
Minister Lu is so tired he almost falls asleep.
When the chair stops, he wipes his mouth, which is a bit wet.
He adjusts his clothes before alighting.
"Greetings, Minister Lu! Minister Lu!"
Salutations ring out from all sides.
Today is another day of not wanting to hold court.
An especially unwilling day.
He just wants to end quickly and go find Hui Yun.
The Emperor sits on the dragon throne and kicks his legs a bit.
Jiang Changtian stands in line, sensing the strange looks from those around him.
How to describe it - their gaze is a bit like his daughter eyeing a piglet.
Perhaps because he shortchanged his little daughter from the womb, Mian Mian actually likes to eat pork.
Jiang Changtian ponders his situation, thinking he shouldn't be in any danger.
The Imperial Eunuch calls out in a loud voice to begin the court session.
All officials perform a grand salute.
Then officials begin presenting memorials.
Jiang Changtian notices these people glancing at him before presenting their memorials.
His heart sinks.
But he'll deal with whatever comes, playing it by ear.
Minister Lu understands the Emperor well. Seeing the Emperor's impatient expression today, he feels assured.
The matter is already half accomplished.
No matter how others scheme, if the Emperor has no interest in governing, everything will ultimately fall to him to handle. Then he can manipulate things as he pleases.
Censors from the Censorate step forward with memorials to present.
Inspector He raises an eyebrow slightly.
How capable they've become.
There are traitors in his Censorate department now.
They're pulling stunts behind his back.
He's been a bit lazy lately, not keeping everyone in line. They seem to have forgotten about him.
For the court officials, major events are unfolding today.
For the Emperor, it's just his employees stirring up trouble again. So annoying.
He glances at the memorials. One, two, three... seven accusations against Imperial Secretary Jiang.
They accused him of having sinister intentions, being greedy by nature, disloyal and unjust, unfilial and unbrotherly. They claimed he was truly a petty man, unfit for office, and should be demoted to a commoner, banished to the northern seas, and never employed again.
There were several other memorials, largely with the same content, debating how to punish him. Some called for exile, others for the death penalty to serve as a warning to others.
...
The Emperor rubbed his forehead. He had a bit of a headache.
Most of the accusations listed, coincidentally, he was already aware of.
Corruption? Jiang Er had given him all the money. Were they scolding Jiang Er? No, they were scolding him, the Emperor.
As for receiving gifts on his birthday, it was a willing exchange. If you didn't want to give gifts, you didn't have to. To call this a crime was a bit of a stretch. At most, it could be said to show a flaw in character. If they were to investigate this, not a single court official would be innocent.
The second accusation was rebellion. The Emperor had no comment on whether Jiang Er harbored treasonous thoughts. He knew Jiang Er had adopted the son of a lowly official.
Third, allowing his children to bully others. That child must be referring to Jiang Er's young daughter. There were several witnesses. The Emperor almost laughed. He had just heard about this from Heir Apparent Han. It was clearly a case of failed flirtation, where the man had been tricked by a child, and yet he had the nerve to come and complain.
Fourth, being unfilial and unbrotherly. This was a family matter. He had heard that Jiang Er's mother was extremely harsh. The eldest son had been driven to become a monk, and the younger son didn't acknowledge her. These parents weren't exactly exemplary either.
Fifth, colluding with court officials and arranging marriages for his children. Jiang Er had mentioned this and had even secured an official position for his son. Colluding with Inspector He? With He's stubbornly upright personality, it would be quite a feat to collude with him.
Sixth, disrespecting the royal family and beating Heir Apparent Han. The Emperor thought to himself, it was probably because Heir Apparent Han had stolen Jiang Er's sister-in-law. Was Jiang Er not allowed to stand up for himself?
Seventh...
He could actually refute each of these accusations.
But Jiang Er had only been in office for such a short time, and already so many people disliked him.
The Emperor felt a bit impatient.
He tossed the memorials in front of Jiang Er and said, "Take a look. What do you have to say?"
Jiang Changtian picked up the memorials, scanned them quickly, and finished reading the contents.
Minister Lu stood calmly.
Judging by the Emperor's mood, this round was in the bag. However, the matter concerning the Sixth Prince would have to be dropped for today. Next time, perhaps. Resolving one issue was good enough.
The Emperor would most likely hand this matter over to him.
No matter how Jiang Er tried to defend himself, he had ways to finish him off.
Unexpectedly, after reading the memorials, Jiang Er didn't try to defend himself. Instead, he wore an expression of disbelief, then one of dejection and heartbreak.
"Your subject has nothing to say. I admit my guilt," he said.
Jiang Er had surrendered without even putting up a fight.
This left Minister Lu's planned strategies unused. Was this it?
This? He had thought Jiang Er was a loyal dog, but it turned out he was just a paper tiger.
Seeing Jiang Er's expression, the Emperor would normally have been inclined to comfort him. However, he hadn't slept well the night before and was impatient, wanting to go see Hui Yun soon. He said, "Minister Lu, you have full authority over this matter. Have Jiang Er detained in the Ministry of Justice for now. You will conduct the investigation. If there's nothing else, court is dismissed."
...