Chapter 41

Because of the sight of Hou Yong being dragged out, mangled and bloody, it was the first time the civil and military officials had seen someone beaten this way by the cane. Most such punishments were meant to shame the face more than break the body; now, his dignity was gone and his body was beaten to near-crippledom. Seeing this scene, many retreated; at least half as many people stood up as Lin Jiayue had originally anticipated.

By “killing the chicken to warn the monkeys,” she hadn’t just killed a chicken—she had struck the Minister of War. In a capital where a single brick could hit two high-ranking nobles, he was still a top-tier official. Lu Siling, as Grand Chancellor, also concurrently held the position of Minister of Personnel; thus, the shock of Hou Yong being beaten reached everyone in the court.

“Zhang Huairou!” Many cast sinister looks at the eunuch. To treat a high-ranking official this way—she deserved to die! To the officials, the young Emperor had not yet taken power, and it was her eunuchs who spoke while Zhou Shouzheng set the sentence. They couldn’t easily hate Zhou Shouzheng, whose sentence was actually quite lenient given the charge of irreverence, nor could they easily hate the Emperor, as it seemed the eunuchs were acting on their own.

However, Zhang Huairou stood aside expressionlessly, unbothered by their stares. As the Emperor’s eunuch, she was there to shield her sovereign from all malice; the conflict was between the eunuchs and the civil officials, while the Emperor was merely “temporarily blinded” by her servants. Lin Jiayue knew well the consequences of a sovereign getting personally involved; it was far better for many things to be said by a eunuch. She could only be the mediator and the referee.

The impeachment of Lu Siling during the assembly ended theatrically. Lu Siling’s stance—that they could impeach as they liked but she would be the one reviewing the memorials—left everyone speechless. Indeed, all memorials had to pass through the Secretariat; the young Emperor had not taken power, and neither the Empress Dowager nor the Empress could directly issue a decree to dismiss the Grand Chancellor. If the two women were united with the officials, they could have forced her to resign. However, imperial power was severely fragmented, and the brief cooperation between the Cuis and Lis was half-hearted; that old fox Sun Xiuyuan hadn’t even stood up. Aside from protecting Hou Yong, Zhang Wuwei wouldn’t have stood up either. With the factions uncoordinated and the plan failing from the start, the massive impeachment effort against Lu Siling came to an end.

After the assembly, Lin Jiayue went to the Hall of Literary Brilliance for her lessons. After waiting a long while, she frowned and said, “Since the Hanlin lecturer is so unpunctual, there is no need for them to come.” Just then, Wei Jinming entered in a slight panic. “Your Majesty, the officials did not leave after the assembly; they are all kneeling outside Taiji Hall, begging Your Majesty to severely punish the Grand Chancellor.”

Lin Jiayue was moved to angry laughter. “Are they trying to force my hand?”

“Yes, they are pressuring you, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress to jointly issue a decree to dismiss me.” Lu Siling walked in carrying a stack of memorials and placed them before the Emperor. “Look.”

Lin Jiayue flipped through them. Each was different, but they contained two key messages: dismiss Lu Siling from the Secretariat and [Read on BaiLianTales]have the Empress Dowager retire to the inner palace, no longer ruling from behind the curtain. She looked at Lu Siling, who sat quietly waiting for her reaction.

“Teacher Lu, you mean they want to impeach you in exchange for the Dowager retiring?”

Lu Siling sipped her tea. “If the Dowager retires, Empress Xining must also retire.” This would drastically reduce the power of the Cui and Li families. Since Lu Siling had moved the Capital Camps, the demand became: if the Dowager retires, Lu Siling must also go. If the court were left with only the Cuis and Lis, then even if the Dowager retired, it wouldn’t hurt the two families. Furthermore, the Capital Camps were their bottom line, and they wouldn’t let Lu Siling off easily for touching them.

Regardless, this impeachment would at least delay the Dowager’s retirement. As long as the Dowager didn’t retire, Empress Xining wouldn’t either. Though Empress Xining didn’t interfere in politics like Empress Dowager Cui, she was often the one signing the joint decrees. She wasn’t always agreeable, but her decisions seemed to be the Li family’s decisions; she didn’t want to do it, but felt forced by her clan. Regardless of the reason, the Li family didn’t want her to lose her imperial authority.

Lin Jiayue tossed the memorials onto the desk. “Encroaching on imperial power… who are the ones truly holding onto power and not letting go? To turn around and blame others—how shameless.” She shook her head. “No wonder people say you can’t be a civil official if you’re thin-skinned, and you certainly can’t be a high official.”

Lu Siling: “?”

Meeting Lu Siling’s gaze, Lin Jiayue gave a dry laugh. “I forgot Teacher Lu is the head of the civil officials.”

Lu Siling: “…” Dog Emperor.

Lin Jiayue blinked, looking innocent. “Teacher Lu, let’s talk about the memorials.” She cleared her throat to quickly change the topic. “The Hanlin lecturer didn’t come to class; should they be punished? So irresponsible.”

Wei Jinming nodded quickly. “Exactly.”

“Teacher Lu, what punishment do you think is best?” Lin Jiayue smiled; under Lu Siling’s stern gaze, her smile only grew wider.

“Your Majesty decides.” Lu Siling placed a book before her. “Since the lecturer isn’t coming, I shall give Your Majesty the lesson.”

Lin Jiayue: “? Shouldn’t today be a holiday?”

“Your Majesty, listen carefully.” Lu Siling looked at her seriously, and she could only nod. “Alright.”

The lesson began, and once again, Lu Siling spoke of “balance.” Lin Jiayue raised her hand. “For the sake of balance, can one kill a loyal minister to protect a treacherous one?”

Lu Siling didn’t answer directly. “In the court, factions are everywhere. Loyal ministers are upright but hard to entrust with heavy burdens; treacherous ministers have selfish motives but can handle heavy tasks. A sharp knife can break a deadlock, but it shouldn’t be used lightly. Balance is not about killing or protecting, but using strengths and curbing weaknesses. But whether one is loyal or treacherous, you can trust them, but not completely.”

Lin Jiayue nodded. “I understand. This is called ‘the human heart is hard to measure’.”

“Mhm.”

“Old fox.”

“?”

Lin Jiayue’s exclamation almost made Lu Siling throw the book at her; only the Grand Chancellor’s self-restraint saved her. “Teacher Lu, I didn’t say you were old,” Lin Jiayue quickly explained. “I meant, you teach really well.” Lu Siling couldn’t be bothered with her; she felt that if this continued, the young Emperor would be the death of her.

The lesson passed quickly, and Lin Jiayue was left wanting more. “Listening to Teacher Lu is like hearing heavenly music.” Unlike others who just read from books, Lu Siling used real historical examples, making it as addictive as a story. To Lin Jiayue’s flattery, Lu Siling only gave a calm look that conveyed “thank you for the praise.” Lin Jiayue waved her hand. “You’re welcome.” Lu Siling tilted her head; had she said anything?

Just then, Wei Jinming spoke up. “Your Majesty, Grand Chancellor, those ministers are still kneeling outside.”

“Let them kneel. I didn’t ask them to; they can get up if they don’t want to.” These people were using moral kidnapping to force her to compromise.

Lu Siling packed her things and said softly, “Your Majesty, I shall take my leave.”

“Teacher Lu gave me this lesson because you were afraid I’d go outside Taiji Hall and personally ask them to rise, weren’t you?” Lu Siling paused. Indeed, with the young Emperor’s old personality, she would have taken this chance to show off and curry favor with the officials. By giving a lesson, she could keep her occupied. However, the young Emperor had changed completely; she didn’t care about the people outside and focused entirely on the lesson, only speaking to tease her occasionally. She thought the Emperor hadn’t noticed her intent, but she had.

“If I hadn’t come, would Your Majesty have gone?”

“Of course not,” Lin Jiayue replied bluntly.

“Is Your Majesty not afraid of being called a faint-hearted ruler? With officials kneeling at the palace gate, the sovereign should personally ask them to rise.”

“Does Teacher Lu want me to go?” Lin Jiayue asked back, walking up to her with a mischievous smile.

“If Your Majesty wants to go, no one can stop you.” Lu Siling stepped back to create distance.

Lin Jiayue raised an eyebrow and approached again. “Teacher Lu could stop me. Teacher Lu, I love you too much.”

Lu Siling clenched her palms to stay focused. Dog Emperor, always saying strange things. “As I said, Your Majesty can trust people, but not completely.”

Lin Jiayue crossed her arms and leaned in closer. “But Teacher Lu is different.”

Lu Siling wanted to retort but couldn’t find the words. “Your Majesty is the sovereign; the sovereign should not be biased in trust.”

Lin Jiayue tutted. “Teacher Lu, you wouldn’t be saying this just so you can hear me say ‘I love you’ a few more times, would you? A stuffy woman will grow old early.”

No woman likes being called old. Lu Siling was only thirty; without her birthday yet, she wasn’t [stolen content]even thirty. But ancients matured early. Lu Siling’s face turned icy. Lin Jiayue chuckled. “Teacher Lu, want to eat together?” It was nearly mealtime.

“No.” Lu Siling turned to leave, fearing she’d lose her composure if she stayed.

“Are you sure?” Lin Jiayue grabbed her sleeve and swayed it like a child. “But I really want to eat with you.” This tactic worked once, so it would work again.

Lu Siling was silent, and Lin Jiayue immediately understood. “Wei Jinming, prepare the meal; choose things Teacher Lu likes.” Lu Siling remained silent; no objection meant agreement.

Lin Jiayue pulled her over to sit down and proudly brought out her documents. “Economic plan, disaster relief, and post-disaster reconstruction schemes.” Lu Siling didn’t take them immediately but lowered her eyes to hide her emotions. It seemed the young Emperor really had taken every word of hers to heart.