Chapter 5381 Resentment and Helplessness

Chapter 5381 Resentment and Helplessness
Sun Chuyue strode into the Imperial Study and saw His Majesty and Xu Jingzong sitting opposite each other on a mat by the window. Cups and saucers were placed on a table in front of them, with steam rising from the teacups, giving the impression of a harmonious and relaxed relationship between the emperor and his minister.

However, it is not surprising that without this "harmonious relationship between ruler and subject," how could one plot for the position of Grand Secretary?
He stepped forward two steps, bowed, and said, "Your humble servant pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Li Chengqian casually waved his hand: "No need for such formalities, Imperial Censor."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Sun Chuyue straightened up and bowed again: "This humble official greets Minister Xu."

Xu Jingzong, with his round face, smiled warmly and kindly: "Please rise quickly!"

"Here."

Sun Chuyue then stood up straight, maintaining a posture with his upper body slightly leaning forward.

"I wonder what important matter the Imperial Censor has to discuss with me?"

Upon hearing Li Chengqian's question, Sun Chuyue handed the memorial and several account books in his hand to the eunuch standing beside him.

Li Chengqian asked curiously, "What is this?"

"Previously, someone anonymously reported that Minister Xu had embezzled public funds and accepted bribes during his tenure as the Director of the Zhenguan Academy."

Li Chengqian was taken aback: "Huh?"

While one side wanted to recommend Xu Jingzong to replace Liu Ji as Chancellor, another side anonymously reported Xu Jingzong?
He quickly came to his senses, breathed a sigh of relief, and frowned, asking, "Anonymous?"

The difference between anonymous and named whistleblowing is vast. Generally, unless a major case is involved, anonymous whistleblowing is not taken seriously, or is only used for private negotiations and compromises. Named whistleblowing, on the other hand, is a very serious matter, because the whistleblower has to bear the backlash of being accused of "false accusation." Unless the evidence is conclusive, no one dares to do it lightly.

Xu Jingzong's heart skipped a beat. He did not dare to relax because of the anonymous report. He quickly got up and left his seat, bowing deeply to the ground.

"Your Majesty, please be wise! Although I dared not claim credit while I was at the academy, I worked diligently and cautiously, devoting myself wholeheartedly to the development of the academy. Perhaps my achievements are not enough to be highlighted, but I would never dare to be negligent in the slightest. This must be an attack and retaliation by treacherous officials. I hope Your Majesty will investigate thoroughly and set the record straight!"

The reason he used the words "retaliation" was because Fang Jun was the first person he thought of.

Given his past obsequiousness and subservience to Fang Jun, the court and the public alike considered him Fang Jun's henchman. Now that he intends to switch allegiance to His Majesty, overthrow Liu Ji and take his place, Fang Jun naturally sees him as a "traitor" and cannot ignore him.

Retaliation is almost inevitable.

He believed that he had been very cautious while at the academy, and even if he had made the slightest mistake, how would outsiders know?

This must be Fang Jun's doing!

Since Fang Jun has resorted to such methods, how could he simply make a "whistleblower report" so easily?
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, Sun Chuyue said, "Although it was only an anonymous report, the content was detailed and substantial, so the Censorate dared not ignore it. Therefore, under the supervision of the Grand Censor, they sent people to Zhenguan Academy for a secret investigation. The results showed that many things corroborated the report, and the evidence was conclusive. Therefore, in the name of the Censorate, we impeached Xu Jingzong, the Minister of Rites, for embezzlement, bribery, and interference with teaching."

Xu Jingzong angrily said, "If you want to find fault, you can always find a reason. During my years at the academy, I handled only trivial matters. Even if there were one or two things that were not in accordance with the rules, I did not pocket a single penny!"

He dared not plead innocent, much less claim that the accounts he handled were without error. Since the Censorate dared to impeach him on this basis, whether it was a discovery of the truth or a frame-up, the evidence must be conclusive.

They could only exonerate themselves by claiming "negligence".

After all, "negligence" is not the same as "embezzlement of public funds" or "bribery".

Sun Chuyue maintained his posture and spoke calmly: "Minister Xu need not rush to defend himself. After all, whether this matter should be investigated and interrogated jointly by the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice is still up to His Majesty to decide. However..."

After a moment's hesitation, he uttered a sentence that terrified Xu Jingzong and filled him with despair: "...The Grand Commandant will return to the academy soon to stop the angry students from jointly petitioning the three judicial departments to participate in this case."

Xu Jingzong's face turned from red to white.

Fang Jun actually wants to incite the students of the academy to jointly petition the three judicial departments to intervene in the case?!
He certainly understood the threat: admitting to the crimes of "embezzlement of public funds" and "bribery" meant that although he would no longer be able to be promoted to the position of Grand Secretary, he could still sit securely in his position as Minister of Rites.

If you try to deny it, then we will incite discontent among the students in the academy and use this to create a powerful force that will force you to resign from your post and return to your hometown in Qiantang!

Li Chengqian's face was ashen; he set aside the impeachment memorial and related documents without even glancing at them.

He shared Xu Jingzong's view that since these things came from Fang Jun, it was impossible to find any flaws, regardless of their authenticity; they must be irrefutable and conclusive evidence.

Anger surged within him.

This applies not only to Fang Jun, but also to the Censorate!
He had single-handedly promoted Liu Xiangdao to the position of Imperial Censor, making him one of the few officials in the court who was "favored by the Emperor." In the past, Liu had always cooperated with him. Why was he suddenly turning his attention to Xu Jingzong and trying to bring him down?

Such backstabbing is even more despicable than Fang Jun's arrogance!

Suppressing his anger, he asked in a deep voice, "Why wasn't it the Imperial Censor who came to pay his respects and report on such an important matter?"

Sun Chuyue told the truth: "The Imperial Censor went to the Grand Commandant's place to keep his appointment and arranged for me to handle this matter."

Li Chengqian: "..."

As the king's "lackey," Liu Xiangdao not only betrayed the king but also dared to openly discuss his secret meeting with Fang Jun. Was he really that arrogant?
Do you really think I can't handle you, the Imperial Censor?

But he soon realized that if he completely lost control of the Council of State and could not gain the approval of the prime ministers, even as the emperor, he would not be able to subdue the Grand Censor...

Fortunately, as a monarch, he had gradually developed a profound ability to cultivate his composure, and even though he was extremely angry, he did not lose his composure.

He nodded and said, "You may leave now."

"Here!"

Sun Chuyue knew, of course, that his words and actions were close to provocation, and he could see the anger hidden in His Majesty's eyes, but he was completely fearless.

He was the Censor-in-Chief, a representative of the upright officials. The foundation of his official career lay in his integrity, impartiality, and uprightness. He was renowned throughout the court and the country, and no one could do anything about him.

Unless His Majesty disregards the overwhelming public opinion and destroys his own Great Wall.

……

"boom!"

Li Chengqian slammed his hand on the table, gritting his teeth as he said, "See? This is why I can't tolerate the Council of State Affairs and the Grand Council continuing to wield power. When imperial power is in decline, who will respect me as the emperor? It's utterly outrageous!"

There have been many puppet emperors in history, but having experienced the reign of his father, Emperor Taizong, during the Zhenguan era, and having witnessed firsthand how domineering and powerful Emperor Taizong was, and how his words carried the weight of the law, how could he tolerate the loss of imperial power and the constant obstruction of authority?
Xu Jingzong, unusually, spoke up for the Censorate: "Censors should have such integrity. If they are sycophantic and spineless, how can they impeach illegal activities and rectify the court? Your Majesty need not worry too much."

He was in a state of turmoil and did not want to cause any further trouble.

He had anticipated retaliation for betraying Fang Jun, but he hadn't expected the attack to come so quickly and so fiercely.

At least let me become the Grand Secretary before you retaliate!
Now that Fang Jun has "collected" evidence of his "embezzlement of public funds" and "bribery," and is in cahoots with the Censorate, it is conceivable that if His Majesty recommends him as Chancellor in the Council of State Affairs, he will not only face opposition from the court and the public, but also a storm of impeachments from the Censorate.

Under such circumstances, there is absolutely no way I could be appointed as the Grand Secretary.

Li Chengqian pointed to the stack of memorials and documents and asked in a deep voice, "Let me ask you, are these pieces of evidence true?"

Xu Jingzong said bitterly, “Although I love money, I know what money I can take and what money I cannot take. How can I do something that violates the law and ruins my future? But since the Grand Commandant has handed over these ‘evidence’ to the Censorate in such a blatant manner, I suppose they will not find any oversights.”

He looked at Li Chengqian with a pleading expression: "Your Majesty, I assure you that I have made no mistakes. I implore Your Majesty to continue to support me as always. I will do anything, even die for you!"

These pieces of evidence are actually not important. Even if they are true, they are far from warranting a joint trial by the three judicial authorities. Even if they are verified, they will only result in a minor punishment and will not shake his fundamental character, because he did not rely on the empty reputation of "integrity" to establish himself in the world.

He got to where he is today because of his competence.

The real fatal flaw is the storm of impeachments that the Censorate might launch. How can an official who is constantly impeached by the Censorate become the prime minister of the empire?

The only way to resolve this hidden danger is Your Majesty.

No matter how many impeachments the Censorate launches, they will remain silent and ignore them, as long as His Majesty firmly supports him, the Censorate will eventually back down.

Even if Liu Xiangdao stood on the side of the Crown Prince, there was absolutely no way he would disregard the emperor's dignity and fight to the bitter end.

But this requires Your Majesty to have an unwavering will, which cannot be shaken in the slightest under any circumstances.

What Your Majesty lacks is precisely this kind of courage to "go all in" and "burn your bridges"...

As expected, Li Chengqian hesitated for a long time before sighing softly, "This time it may be difficult, but my dear minister, do not be discouraged. I will definitely support you."

Xu Jingzong felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

It's like rowing against the current; if you don't move forward, you fall behind. Now it's not even a question of whether he can become the Grand Secretary. Since he betrayed Fang Jun, it's tantamount to a complete break. He probably won't even be able to hold onto the position of Minister of Rites. Being transferred to a prefecture as governor would be considered a good outcome...

Having been expelled from the central government today, returning is as difficult as climbing to heaven.

Li Chengqian was of course aware of this. Seeing Xu Jingzong's bitter face and silence, he felt guilty and somewhat fearful. If he could not protect Xu Jingzong, who would stand by his side as emperor and fight for him in the future?

"Rest assured, my dear minister, since you have not betrayed me, I will not betray you either!"

In any case, Liu Ji's downfall is a foregone conclusion, and the new Grand Secretary will inevitably be recommended by Fang Jun, but without the emperor's permission, he cannot take office.

In exchange, Xu Jingzong's position was kept unchanged.

However, this would mean having to bow down to the Crown Prince's faction, inevitably causing resentment and helplessness...