A Little Chubby Boy 5

With Qin Li and Xue You interrupting, Yan Lun was so furious he almost fell backward, his finger trembling as he pointed at the two of them, “Twisting words! Twisting words—”

Qin Li didn’t even bother to acknowledge him, but Xue You said, “Master Yan accuses us of twisting words, but isn’t he doing the same?—”

The court officials laughed again.

Yan Lun’s face turned blue and red with anger, but he didn’t dare argue too much with Xue You and Qin Li. Xue You was the son of a general and a princess, currently serving as a captain in the Northern Guard, and although his rank was not high, just fifth grade, his background was impressive. Qin Li came from a noble family and, at just twenty-six or twenty-seven, had already become the Deputy Minister of Justice, one of the most influential figures in the court.

Even if Yan Lun was a bit foolish, he didn’t dare to confront them, so he turned his attention to Lin Lang, “Master Lin, let’s not talk about the poem you wrote at the Wild Goose Pagoda, but is it true that you overstepped your position by helping His Majesty review memorials?!”

Lin Lang looked innocently fresh-faced, “Master Yan, are you saying you don’t know what the crime of defying an imperial decree is?”

Yan Lun was baffled, “What does this have to do with defying an imperial decree?—”

The Emperor kindly explained for him, “Master Lin means that I asked him to help review the memorials, and if he didn’t listen, it would be defying an imperial decree.”

Yan Lun felt something was off, but he couldn’t figure it out at the moment, so he clung to one point, “Master Lin is only a sixth-grade Hanlin scholar, how can he help His Majesty review memorials?!”

The Emperor was so amused he laughed, raising an eyebrow, “The red ink on the memorials is drawn by me, the opinions are mine, how did it become Master Lin reviewing the memorials?! Yan Lun, how little do you regard me?! Can’t you see how hard I work every day reviewing memorials?!”

“This is slander against me!—”

As the Emperor spoke, he even sounded a bit aggrieved, and Wang Dahai couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

The Emperor glanced at Wang Dahai, and Wang Gonggong immediately covered his mouth with one hand, looking a bit bashful.

While Wang Dahai found it amusing, Yan Lun was scared out of his wits, and with a “thud,” he knelt on the ground, his lips trembling, “I, I dare not!”

The Emperor coldly snorted, “Hmph, I think you dare quite a lot!”

“What are you thinking about all day?! Not doing your job, not helping me with my worries, and you won’t even allow Master Lin to help me?!”

Yan Lun felt beads of sweat rolling down his forehead, trembling as he wiped them with his hand, repeatedly saying, “I dare not! I dare not—”

The Emperor had no intention of letting him off, and with the tables turned, he said lightly, “Oh, what else did you say? Seducing the ruler with looks?! Come, come, Yan Lun, tell me how Master Lin seduced the ruler with looks?”

Yan Lun’s face turned pale, his lips purple, and his triangular eyes stared blankly at the Emperor on the throne, unable to utter a word. Under the Emperor’s gaze, he finally rolled his eyes and fainted.

The Emperor looked disdainful, “Someone, splash some water on Master Yan to wake him up. Wasn’t he full of energy just now? How did he faint so suddenly?”

Then he looked at the other officials from the Censorate, “Master Yan fainted, but weren’t you all jumping around with him, saying Master Lin seduced the ruler with looks? Who will tell me how Master Lin did that?!”

Among the Censorate officials, there was indeed one with a hard head who stood up, “Your Majesty, everyone in the court knows about your deep affection for Ning Shizi. Master Lin just happens to look like Ning Shizi, which is why he caught your eye and is always by your side. Isn’t that seducing the ruler with looks?!”

The Emperor chuckled lightly, “Good, very good, what’s your name?!”

This young official had only recently joined the Censorate, just a fifth-grade official, and had only recently started attending court meetings. He had been advised by many senior officials in the Censorate that as a member, he must dare to speak out and put personal life and death, personal honor and disgrace aside.

Today’s impeachment had been prepared for a long time by the Censorate, as they couldn’t stand seeing someone like Lin Lang, who they believed relied on his looks to gain favor, feeling it was an insult to their Censorate. They had prepared many charges to ensure Lin Lang would be nailed to the pillar of shame today.

But who knew the situation would turn around so quickly? What they thought were ironclad facts were easily dismissed, and the court officials seemed to find it all a joke, not gaining their support.

In this situation, someone had to stand up, or the Censorate would become a laughingstock.

Feeling a sense of mission, the young official’s adrenaline surged as he stepped forward excitedly, “I am Wei Hao, a fifth-grade official in the Censorate.” Heaven knows how many people in the court never get to speak to the Emperor in their lifetime, and now being asked his name by the Emperor himself, Wei Hao felt his ancestors’ graves must be smoking.

But before he could be excited for long, he heard the Emperor coldly say, “The Wei family of Jingzhao?! A noble family indeed, but I heard you got your position by donation, right? To reach the fifth grade at such a young age, your family must have contributed a lot of money to the court, huh?”

Wei Hao’s face turned red and white, stammering, not knowing how to respond.

The Emperor leaned lazily against the wide back of his throne, resting his chin on his hand, “In my heart, there’s only Zimo, and that’s no secret in the court and beyond. But you say Master Lin seduced the ruler with looks, is that an insult to me or to Master Lin?!”

“In your eyes, is my affection for Zimo so easily swayed and replaced?! Master Lin just diligently comes to work every day, helping me organize memorials, and you call that seducing the ruler with looks?! Shouldn’t you reflect on how incapable you are, trying for years to sneak people into my harem, yet never succeeding?!”

The entire court was silent, heads bowed, not daring to speak.

Whether the Emperor’s words made sense or not, no one dared to contradict him face to face, as defying the Emperor was no joke. Moreover, the Emperor’s words seemed to have some truth; Lin Lang indeed hadn’t done anything excessive daily, and the Censorate’s accusations based on rumors seemed a bit much—especially considering the Emperor’s unabashed affection for Ning Shizi, which didn’t seem easily replaceable.

Lin Lang, seeing the Emperor’s righteous attitude, felt a bit confused himself, thinking his previous suspicions about the Emperor’s impure motives for keeping him close might have been unjust.

Even though it wasn’t the first time hearing it, every time he personally experienced the Emperor confessing to his former self, he felt like he was experiencing a social death. Why didn’t these people know to respect the deceased—

He didn’t want to be tied to the Emperor by such scandalous rumors, as it would only make the officials laugh. No matter what, he didn’t want to be publicly humiliated; it was too embarrassing—

But after hearing it a few times, he became numb. Although he wanted to dig a hole with his toes and hide, he could now keep a straight face and pretend it had nothing to do with him.

The Emperor’s performance was quite successful, leaving the Censorate officials and the court officials too afraid to make a sound.

Finally, he asked softly, “Qin Li, as the Deputy Minister of Justice, tell me, if the Censorate’s charges against Lin Lang were proven, what punishment would he face?”

Qin Li stepped forward, serious and unsmiling, “Your Majesty, the Censorate accused Master Lin of three charges: slandering the court, overstepping his position, and seducing the ruler with looks. If proven, according to the laws of Cangxuan, the lightest punishment would be demotion to a commoner, and the heaviest would be imprisonment and exile three thousand miles—”

The Emperor shook his head lightly, “You’re still speaking too lightly. I remember, just the charge of overstepping his position could cost Master Lin his life, isn’t that right?”

Qin Li, with his sharp eyebrows and starry eyes lowered, showed no change in expression, “Your Majesty is wise, remembering the laws of Cangxuan accurately. But Your Majesty is wise and will not let such an injustice happen to Master Lin.”

The Emperor couldn’t help but laugh, “You’re quite a talent—saying that with such a straight face, even pigs would believe it.”

Wang Dahai couldn’t help but laugh again, getting a cold look from the Emperor, and for the sake of his life, he pinched his lips shut with two fingers.

Qin Li was indeed a talent, as even with the Emperor’s words, his expression remained unchanged, only saying lightly, “Your Majesty jests.”

The Emperor continued, “I’m not joking with you—I remember, in the laws of Cangxuan, there’s a rule that if someone is proven to have falsely accused another, they must bear the same punishment as the false accusation, isn’t that right?”

The entire court fell silent, and the Censorate officials, realizing the situation, began to tremble.

But Qin Li, as if not understanding the Emperor’s meaning, remained unmoved, answering truthfully, “Your Majesty remembers correctly.”

The Emperor confirmed, “Then, in your opinion, what punishment should the Censorate officials face for falsely accusing Master Lin?”

Qin Li replied, “According to the laws of Cangxuan, the lightest punishment would be demotion to a commoner, and the heaviest would be imprisonment and exile three thousand miles.”

The Emperor elongated his tone, “Oh—according to the laws of Cangxuan, the Censorate officials face demotion to commoners at the lightest, and imprisonment and exile three thousand miles at the heaviest.”

The Censorate officials, hearing this, all knelt with a “thud,” crawling forward to plead, “Your Majesty, spare us! Your Majesty, spare us!”

The Emperor glared at them, “How dare you! Now you know to be afraid and beg for mercy?!”

“When you were slandering a good official with baseless accusations, did you ever think that if I were deceived by you, Master Lin might have ended up the same way?!”

“You have truly malicious intentions!”

“Someone, take the Censorate officials away, give each a hundred lashes, and then throw them in prison!”