015【Earth-Shattering】

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Today was the twice-monthly Grand Court Assembly, which differed considerably from the regular court sessions.

The Grand Court Assembly was more ceremonial in nature, serving mainly to give officials below the fifth rank an opportunity to appear before the Son of Heaven. Few would seriously discuss affairs of state there. Usually, it was little more than a formality—at most, the court would announce policies that had already been decided, or publicly declare the appointment, dismissal, or transfer of important officials.

For the emperor to consult with the high ministers in purple robes on matters of state, however, was the most fundamental function of the regular court.

As Xue Huai understood it, this was rather like holding small meetings for important matters and large meetings for trivial ones.

Just as he had expected, the emperor sat silently upon the Dragon Throne while the chief eunuch beside him read out several major decisions concerning the state.

His diction was pedantic and obscure, his sentences convoluted and difficult to follow. Listening to him was enough to make anyone drowsy.

Xue Huai’s heart was burning with suppressed fury, so naturally he felt no weariness. The other officials, however, might not have been able to endure it.

For instance, the official in his thirties standing ahead and to Xue Huai’s left appeared to be listening with utmost seriousness. In truth, his spirit had already wandered beyond the heavens. Barring some unforeseen event, he might well remain lost in thought until the court session ended.

He reminded Xue Huai of the classmates from his previous life who had been able to sleep while standing.

The other official standing to the eccentric man’s right, meanwhile, was listening with extraordinary concentration to the chief eunuch’s measured recitation. The solemnity of his expression was the exact opposite of the eccentric’s absent-mindedness.

Xue Huai’s gaze continued moving to the right, finally coming to rest on Chen Quan, Academician for Lectures.

The other man happened to be looking at him as well.

Their eyes met. Chen Quan instinctively forced out a faint smile, thinking that he would receive a friendly response from Xue Huai. Instead, he saw only a pair of icy eyes, with unmistakable traces of murderous intent.

For a moment, Chen Quan was dazed. A strange thought suddenly arose in his heart: perhaps the Xue Huai who had survived a catastrophe and supposedly changed his temperament was merely an illusion. Perhaps this hotheaded youth had never changed at all.

After all, over the past year and more, Chen Quan had seen that look in Xue Huai’s eyes far too many times.

Chen Quan looked down on Xue Huai for doing nothing but curry favor with an unblemished reputation, while Xue Huai had mocked him to his face for being adept at opportunism and intrigue, bringing shame upon such an exalted institution as the Hanlin Academy.

Even as he reeled, Chen Quan felt reassured. A Xue Huai like this would be ridiculously easy to deal with. Dig a pit, and he would leap straight into it.

Xue Huai had more or less guessed what Chen Quan was thinking. He gave two silent, scornful laughs, hoping that the Academician for Lectures would still think the same later on.

The Grand Court Assembly proceeded in orderly fashion, and only after more than half an hour did it come to a temporary halt.

According to custom, this provided the assembled officials with a brief opportunity to catch their breath. If any official had an urgent matter to report, he could also take advantage of this interval to request a formal audience.

The hall fell silent.

Until a clear voice rang out.

“Your Majesty, I am Xue Huai, Compiler of the Hanlin Academy. I have a memorial to present!”

The eccentric official whose mind had been wandering instantly opened his eyes and looked at Xue Huai with curiosity. The solemn official standing to his right shifted a little farther away, as though he wished to put greater distance between himself and the source of the disturbance.

Chen Quan frowned and stared at Xue Huai in confusion.

Liu Huaide, ahead and to the left, turned his head to look back, concern appearing in his eyes.

A mere seventh-rank Hanlin compiler would certainly not attract much attention from the assembled ministers. But when that person was Xue Huai—the youngest Third Palace Graduate in the history of Great Yan, the hotheaded youth who had charged recklessly through the court these past two years, and the sole surviving bloodline left behind by the central figure of the recent upheaval—he was more than enough to arouse considerable interest.

The atmosphere within the hall quietly changed.

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The middle-aged emperor seated upon the Dragon Throne narrowed his eyes slightly. The chief eunuch immediately understood and stepped forward, calling out in a loud voice, “Permission granted!”

Xue Huai’s expression was solemn. Following protocol, he stepped forward with his left foot first, holding his tablet upright as he advanced steadily.

He stopped approximately seven paces from the imperial steps.

To stand in this position was to find oneself at the very heart of Great Yan’s power.

Before him was the supreme ruler of Great Yan, who had governed the realm for eighteen years. To his left stood the civil officials, led by Grand Secretary Ning Hengzhi. To his right stood the military nobles, led by Duke of Wei Xie Jing.

Xue Huai looked neither left nor right, keeping his gaze fixed three feet before him.

“If you have a memorial to present, why do you remain silent?”

The emperor’s deep voice came from above.

At the same time, most of the high ministers in purple robes standing in the foremost ranks turned their eyes toward Xue Huai.

Xue Minglun, Minister of Works, kept his expression unchanged, though a faint anticipation stirred in his heart.

Xue Huai had not sought out Shen Wang over the past few days, and Xue Minglun had naturally been somewhat disappointed. In his view, without Shen Wang’s intervention, Xue Huai alone was unlikely to make much of a stir. Who could have imagined that this distant nephew of his would give him such a tremendous surprise, actually daring to step forward and raise the matter directly at the Grand Court Assembly?

As for what Xue Huai intended to report, Xue Minglun could easily guess.

Two rows behind him, Lin Miao, Academician of the Hanlin Academy, silently clenched his hands within his sleeves.

As expected, a leopard could not change its spots. Xue Huai had behaved himself for only a few days before revealing his true nature again. Lin Miao could only hope that he would show some restraint today and avoid causing a disaster that could not be contained.

Under the watchful eyes of the entire court, Xue Huai gathered his emotions. His voice, slow yet resonant, echoed through the hall.

“Your servant, Xue Huai, Compiler of the Hanlin Academy, submits this blood-stained plea: before the loyal soul has grown cold, the bones of the upright minister have already chilled—an honest official and worthy servant has been defamed!”

The opening caused Lin Miao’s expression to change instantly, and his heart clenched hard.

“Now Gu Heng, Gentleman of the Directorate of Waterways under the Ministry of Works, has used a single sheet of reckless falsehoods to stain my late father’s good name. I beseech Your Majesty to summon the thunder of the Ninth Heaven and sweep away this evil miasma. Let the sun and moon bear witness, and metal and stone stand in testimony!”

Every word Xue Huai spoke rang out with force.

At these words, Gu Heng, standing among the middle ranks of the civil officials, immediately became the focus of every gaze around him.

The Gentleman of the Ministry of Works maintained a calm expression, but tumultuous waves were already surging within his heart, mingled with deep bewilderment. Had he not heard that Xue Huai’s temperament had changed, that he had learned to preserve himself through prudent silence? Why, then, did he still dare to use such inflammatory language? Could he truly be confident of clearing his deceased father’s name?

Xue Huai bent slightly, as though ashamed before his late father, yet his voice remained utterly resolute, without the slightest hesitation.

“My father governed the floods of Yangzhou, his blood and sweat soaking the embankments. He was later transferred to serve as Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, where he died with his bones buried beneath the cases he had cleared. Even in the freezing depths of the Nine Springs, he still held to the conviction: ‘I would rather my name be absent from the annals of history than see the people lose even a single roof tile.’ Yet the charges in Gu Heng’s memorial now slander a worthy minister as one who plotted for private gain—judging dragons and tigers with a rat’s eyes, smearing the clear blue heavens with the filth of flies!”

Gu Heng’s heart trembled, and he felt his legs begin to weaken.

Xue Minglun’s expression finally grew solemn. He did not look at Xue Huai, merely savoring the opening of the memorial in silence.

At the head of the civil officials, the Grand Secretary’s gaze remained calm, as though Xue Huai’s impassioned words had stirred no ripple in his heart.

By now, Xue Huai had entered the role completely. The grief in his eyes was wholly genuine as he continued in a ringing voice:

“Gu Heng’s memorial is filled from beginning to end with accusations of embezzlement and corruption. Yet the Ministry of Works’ archives are resplendent, and the vermilion seals of imperial approval shine bright! In the eighth year of Taihe, every coin allocated for the Yangzhou riverworks was forged into the iron bones of a great embankment. The Ministry of Works’ annual assessment declared the riverworks ‘the finest in the realm’! Gu Heng has dared to call the imperial approval false and Your Majesty’s judgment empty. He has not merely sullied my father’s good name—he has overstepped his bounds and slandered the sovereign!”

Liu Huaide’s expression showed a trace of excitement. He silently praised Xue Huai.

Gu Heng’s face went pale.

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At last, Xue Huai straightened his back and spoke with cold finality.

“The Great Proclamation still bears the engraved injunction: ‘Let those who falsely accuse the innocent have their tongues cut out.’ His Majesty once bestowed upon my father a plaque inscribed with the words ‘Worried for the Realm, Forgetful of Self.’ Today, before the entire court, I ask that this plaque be brought out and hung above the Meridian Gate! I am willing to debate Gu Heng here in the palace. If it is proven that my father embezzled public funds, I will accept the axe and halberd in his place. But if his accusations are proven false, I ask Your Majesty to execute Gu Heng beneath that plaque, so that right and wrong may be distinguished and loyalty separated from treachery!”

A debate before the imperial court!

At his words, many officials could not help recalling the memorials Xue Huai had submitted in the past. Most of them had led nowhere, but no one could disparage his literary talent. Surely his skill in debate would not be ordinary either.

Yet this approach was far too fierce, leaving almost no room for retreat.

If Xue Huai failed to produce sufficiently powerful evidence and could not clear his late father’s name before the entire court, he would unquestionably face the condemnation of a thousand voices.

But if he could refute Gu Heng’s accusations one by one, he would no longer need to live in fear day and night.

Most importantly, the powerful figures seeking to profit from this affair had been thrown into disarray by Xue Huai’s sudden attack. Whether he succeeded or failed, they would find it difficult to spare the time to manipulate this young pawn and make him struggle across the chessboard according to their designs.

Another man might not have possessed such courage, but the young man before them was the Xue Huai everyone had long since come to know.

Of course he possessed the nerve to advance without looking back and burn his boats behind him.

Among the civil officials, a spare-featured man past forty turned to look at Xue Huai. His eyes held both the sentiment that this was only right and proper, and a trace of anger whose cause remained hidden.

He was Shen Wang, Xue Huai’s mentor from the imperial examinations, and Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Several days earlier, he had learned from Liu Huaide what had happened within the Hanlin Academy. Ever since, he had been waiting for Xue Huai to come seek his advice.

He knew that although this young disciple was hardheaded, his respect for his teacher had always come from the bottom of his heart. Their past disputes had merely arisen from differences of opinion between teacher and student; they did not mean that Xue Huai would disregard his existence.

Shen Wang was confident that he could guide Xue Huai onto the proper path.

He had not expected Xue Huai to behave as though he had forgotten his mentor entirely. Not only had he failed to pay a visit over the past few days, he had not even sent a letter of explanation.

Shen Wang was not angry with Xue Huai over that. He simply had not expected him to make such a reckless decision.

As for the reason behind it—the man upon the Dragon Throne certainly would not be pleased with the situation now unfolding.

The great hall fell utterly silent.

Xue Huai bent forward with his hands clasped, stubbornly and resolutely awaiting the emperor’s response.

After a long while, the voice from above said mildly, “Gu Heng.”

“Your servant is here!”

Gu Heng hurriedly stepped out of the line and advanced, his footsteps rushed and faintly unsteady.

“You accused Xue Mingzhang of corruption and self-dealing. Today, Xue Huai has requested a debate before the court—”

The middle-aged emperor’s gaze passed over the two men, his tone revealing neither pleasure nor anger.

“I grant it.”