Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 787 Impeachment
When the commotion started, the political discussion in the duty room stopped.

The crowd exchanged glances. The Imperial Secretary rose and went out to investigate. As soon as the door opened, someone in the courtyard continued, "We can't wait any longer. I must see the Emperor now. We cannot allow the fate of the Great Liang to be ruined in the hands of such a person..."

Perhaps the door to the duty room suddenly opened, startling the person, because the sound paused at that moment.

The Imperial Secretary looked at Feng Xiao, the Censor-in-Chief, in the courtyard. Feng Xiao's gaze happened to fall on them as well. Their eyes met, and Feng Xiao's expression first narrowed, but he quickly seemed to have made up his mind. Instead, he mustered all his strength and said, "Is Prime Minister Wang here? If Prime Minister Wang thinks that the Imperial Secretary has not made any mistakes, I will leave the palace immediately."

Upon hearing this, the King of Qin advised, "Prime Minister Wang has not left the palace and does not know what has happened. Imperial Censor, please do not be anxious and may speak slowly."

The Imperial Secretary turned to look at Wang Bingchen, who closed the memorial in his hand. Now he was certain that this matter was related to him.

"Let someone in!"

The prime minister gave an order, and the secretary of the Imperial Secretariat stepped aside to make way for Feng Xiao to enter.

Feng Xiao did not back down and stormed up to Wang Bingchen.

The Chief Censor of the Censorate was highly regarded by the Emperor, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to enter the palace when the Emperor was ill.

Wang Bingchen gestured to the clerk to pour tea, but Feng Xiao flicked his sleeves, revealing a bit of the air of an imperial censor: "No need, I have important business to attend to the emperor."

Wang Bingchen looked at Feng Xiao: "What happened at the Dali Temple?"

Feng Xiao sneered: "May I ask, Prime Minister, if an official breaks into the Dali Temple prison, takes away a wanted criminal, and seriously injures the Vice Minister of Dali Temple, what should be his punishment?"

Everyone guessed that the person Feng Xiao was referring to was Wang Yan. So, before Wang Bingchen could speak, the Imperial Secretary asked first, "Imperial Censor Feng might as well explain the whole story. You can't have acted like this without cause."

Feng Xiao was clearly dissatisfied with the Imperial Secretary's words: "So, you're saying that just because there's a perfectly valid reason, this is acceptable?"

The Imperial Secretary frowned: "What do you mean by that?"

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Feng Xiao said, looking at Wang Bingchen. “I just wanted to let Prime Minister Wang know that Wang Yan and your Lady of the State are currently at the Dali Temple. Just because the Vice Minister of the Dali Temple arrested Xie Yisong’s daughter, Wang Yan beat the Vice Minister of the Dali Temple half to death. If it weren’t for the soldiers and constables of the Dali Temple stopping him, I’m afraid Wang Yan would have already killed her.”

“I am not afraid of offending the Prime Minister. If the Emperor does not order the arrest of Wang Yan, there is no point in me being a censor. I might as well hand over all the affairs of the Liang Dynasty to the Prime Minister and his son.”

Wang Bingchen's gaze darkened slightly. He had heard that his rebellious son had assaulted someone at the Dali Temple, and his heart pounded wildly. He was about to curse inwardly when he decided to have his son tied up first...

Then he heard that his wife was also at the Dali Temple, and his anger immediately subsided by half. He felt that what the Imperial Secretary said made some sense, and that he should at least find out the whole story first.

The son is one thing, but the wife cannot be sent to jail.

Furthermore, this matter itself was suspicious. Thinking of this, Wang Bingchen asked, "Has the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review arrived at the palace?"

Feng Xiao said, "The matter at the Dali Temple hasn't been resolved yet, how can the Prime Minister order him to come?"

“Then I will go to the Dali Temple to take a look,” the Secretary replied, “and then return to report to the Prime Minister truthfully.”

Feng Xiao continued his sarcastic remarks: "Does the Imperial Secretary not trust our Censorate? In that case, there's no need for me to argue with you here. I want to request an audience and report to His Majesty privately."

The Imperial Secretary's face immediately darkened: "You know perfectly well that the Emperor has appointed Minister Wang to handle all government affairs..."

Feng Xiao interrupted the Imperial Secretary: "Your Excellency is being unfair. Are we not allowed to ask the Emperor's opinion? The Emperor has only been ill for a few days, and power is about to change hands?" The Imperial Secretary stared at Feng Xiao, then looked at the Prince of Qin beside him, realized something, and turned to look at Wang Bingchen.

Wang Bingchen remained as steady as a rock, revealing nothing about his true intentions. Just as everyone was arguing, a faint coughing sound came from the direction of the inner palace.

As if receiving a signal, Feng Xiao hurriedly walked outside.

Realizing what Feng Xiao was about to do, the Imperial Secretary chased after him first.

Sure enough, Feng Xiao shouted loudly, "Feng Xiao, the censor in charge of miscellaneous matters, requests an audience."

"Official!"

The shouts echoed throughout the entire Funing Hall.

The Censor-in-Chief and the Miscellaneous Censors of the Censorate were ordered to take turns serving in the palace. If there were any political matters, they should have sat down and discussed them together. Therefore, Wang Bingchen did not criticize Feng Xiao at first. However, Feng Xiao suddenly became so crazy that he disregarded the Emperor's illness and the dignity of a subject and started making a scene in the Funing Hall.

Wang Bingchen, no longer showing leniency, said sternly, "Take Feng Xiao out."

Feng Xiao glared at him angrily: "Your Majesty, you entrusted power to Prime Minister Wang, hoping he would stabilize the political situation for you, but you never expected that he and his son would abuse their power...acting arbitrarily in the court...I request Your Majesty to order the arrest of Wang Yan and a thorough investigation of the Wang family..."

"Official!"

The imperial guards stepped forward, grabbed Feng Xiao on either side, and dragged him away, but Feng Xiao continued to shout.

The King of Qin stood aside, seemingly startled by the sudden change, but in reality, he was paying close attention to the commotion inside the palace.

Feng Xiao's actions must have alarmed the Emperor, so no one dared to leave and stood there waiting for the Emperor's instructions.

After about two quarters of an hour, the inner hall gradually returned to silence, but the Emperor did not utter a single word. The Prince of Qin raised his head and looked into the inner hall. The Emperor's illness must have worsened; otherwise, for such a serious matter, Wang Bingchen would at least have been summoned for questioning. Or perhaps the situation was more serious than he had imagined, and the Emperor was no longer able to speak.

After this thought crossed his mind, the King of Qin was shocked. If that were the case, why wouldn't the Emperor let him oversee the country? Could it be that the Emperor had instructed Wang Bingchen on something, and Wang Bingchen needed time to make arrangements to ensure a smooth succession of the throne?
The King of Qin was immediately relieved, thankful that he had made preparations in advance, otherwise he would have been at the mercy of others.

After an unknown amount of time, just as Wang Bingchen was preparing to leave the palace to go to the Dali Temple in person, the eunuch returned to the Funing Hall and reported: "Censor Feng is kneeling at the Xuande Gate... The Censorate has also gathered four or five officials who are kneeling before the palace gate to submit a memorial, accusing... Prime Minister Wang of abusing his power."

Wang Bingchen's expression turned solemn.

What were these officials trying to achieve by petitioning the emperor while he was seriously ill? Simply to remove him from the circle of power. Unless the emperor speaks directly, the situation remains deadlocked.

Lord Wang cannot possibly punish himself.

As everyone was pondering, another series of footsteps sounded, and the Empress entered the courtyard with her entourage.

"Are you aware that the censors and remonstrators are gathered outside Xuande Gate?" The Empress turned to Wang Bingchen and questioned him abruptly. "Such behavior is bound to cause chaos. His Majesty has entrusted you with handling state affairs, and you... why have you allowed things to escalate to this point?"

Before Wang Bingchen and the others could speak, the Empress continued, "Now that things have come to this, we must report this to His Majesty so that he can make a decision."

After speaking, without waiting for the eunuchs to announce her arrival, the Empress walked directly towards the Funing Palace.

(End of this chapter)