Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 113, Section 112: The Imperial Censor
Zhou Ju bowed and replied, "Doctor Wang's wife is Qin Meiren Jiang Di's aunt."

Ji Heng responded calmly: "Wang Xueyuan has been negligent in his conduct and has made mistakes in his official duties. He has been demoted to the position of Supervising Censor and is ordered to ride swiftly to Dongjun today to carry out pacification work."

Qin Shi's heart skipped a beat.

The Grand Censor had four subordinate positions: Vice Grand Censor, Assistant Grand Censor, Attendant Grand Censor, and Supervisory Grand Censor.

Among them, the Censor-in-Chief was an official appointed by various prefectures and counties to be responsible for supervision. It seemed that the punishments could be light or heavy, from the central government to the local level.

In reality, however, it was not given any supervisory power, but was only ordered to perform appeasement duties.

Having no real power and only holding the title is even worse than being demoted three ranks.

However, for Ji Heng, this was still the consequence of handling things lightly.

He had just ordered Wang Xueyuan to take charge of the Empress's Seal of the Dragon Tiger two days ago, and now the seal has not yet been issued, but the news has already reached Xianyang Palace.

Such a disobedience to the king's orders should be punished with immediate execution if not for his service to the state.

As for Lady Qin...

He glanced at Qin Shi and saw that the other man had lowered his head and was not expressing any opinion on his appointments and removals of officials, which made him feel relieved.

Then he said, "Qin Meiren is quite skilled at gambling, but she is overly humble and loves to hide her talents, which is really uninteresting."

"Since you are not skilled in the game, it is better not to play."

He spoke casually, and Qin Shi readily agreed, "Then I will obey Your Majesty."

Her eyes and brows were smiling; she looked very happy.

Ji Heng couldn't help but fall into deep thought for a moment.

……

And at this time.

In the residence of the Imperial Censor.

Wang Xueyuan was pacing around in circles in the hall, looking exactly like a donkey pulling a millstone.

He was anxious, uneasy, and extremely frustrated!
His wife, Jiang Lu, however, leisurely enjoyed a performance of acrobatics before returning. Seeing him like this, she couldn't help but sigh:
"It's such a trivial matter. You are now the Imperial Censor. Apart from the Prime Minister, who else can be above you? Why are you so alarmed?"

The maids held up a mirror and removed two hairpins from her head. She then carefully examined her exquisite makeup before nodding in satisfaction and dismissing the maids.

Wang Xueyuan waved his sleeve and sighed heavily, "Madam, you are merely Consort Qin's aunt. Why must you tell her such an important matter?!"

"In that case, my tenure as Imperial Censor can be considered complete!"

Jiang Lu smiled faintly: "My lord, my uncle, who once treated me like his own daughter, was ordered by the king to be cut in half at the waist. I asked you to plead for him. Do you remember what you said?"

Wang Xueyuan was stunned, but then she saw a smile in her eyes: "Tell me, if I plead for him, this official post will be over!"

She smiled and said, "It's good that it's come to an end now, since it didn't reach its end back then. Besides, isn't it impossible to reach the end anyway? It's just that I can't become the Imperial Censor."

"But you were recommended by my uncle when you first entered the court, so let's return the favor now."

Wang Xueyuan was speechless!
He then flew into a rage: "Your uncle supported the late queen in controlling the government, making it extremely difficult for the king to rule in his own right! And the king, in order to consolidate his power, shows no mercy to traitors... How do you expect me to leave!"

He said in a trembling voice, "Do you intend to become a widow?!"

Jiang Lu slammed her hand on the table, glaring at her coldly: "What's wrong with being a widow? In my Qin Dynasty, there were widows who became queens! It's better than living with a lump of dough like you..."

She gritted her teeth: "You will be shaped like wheat flour, just as the king molds you! If the king does not order anyone to plead for you, you will not dare to utter a sound!"

"Such a sense of responsibility, is this what a man should do?!" Wang Xueyuan laughed angrily, "Very well! In front of Your Majesty, those who are not 'powdered dumplings' have long since rotted away! Even if I become a 'powdered dumpling,' I have still upheld the family's honor!"

He had simply read a few more silk books about the Queen's dragon-tiger seal at home, which Jiang Lu usually took care of in his study, and he saw them by chance.

She's incredibly bold!
With only a guess in mind, he rushed into the palace and hurriedly told Consort Qin. But Consort Qin was from a family of disgraced officials. Even if she knew, what could she do?

She has been in the palace for many years and has only given birth to Princess Chan, who is only two years old now!

Whether he can maintain his position is still unknown, let alone the matter of regaining favor now!
Just as he was getting angry, he saw Jiang Lu burst into tears: "My uncle treated me like his own son, teaching me and passing on my letters, doing everything himself... He was caught up in the late queen's clutches and couldn't get away!"

"What should a subject do?"

Through her teary eyes, she looked at Wang Xueyuan: "I knew you couldn't save him, but this is the last thing I can do to plead for him..."

"But now..."

As she choked back tears, Wang Xueyuan felt a surge of anger, but ultimately, she had spoken out of cowardice and felt guilty.

Facing his wife at this moment, he didn't know what to say.

In the end, all he could do was sigh, "This is what it's like to be an official!"

"His Majesty is domineering and tyrannical, and controls the world. Anyone who disobeys him will be executed without mercy."

"Lu Niang, you and I are involved in palace affairs. Even if the King doesn't blame us now, when the King of Qin obtains the seal of Empress Chihu and commands an army of 100,000, you and I... will not escape punishment!"

Jiang Lu had already carefully wiped away her tears and smiled, "My lord, don't worry. Consort Qin has many tricks up her sleeve and never uses any open schemes; she's really just a petty schemer."

"Moreover, she has never regained favor since giving birth to the princess, which shows that the king does not linger in the affairs of the harem, and regaining favor is as difficult as climbing to heaven."

"The struggle within the harem is complex and difficult to describe. The Imperial Household Department is still selecting virtuous women to enter the palace... I don't know what kind of person this Qin Jun is, but since she was able to make the King her queen after only one meeting, she must be quite cunning and scheming!"

When the time comes, the harem will be filled with beauties, each with their own affiliation. It will be quite difficult to deal with them since they happen to be close to Consort Qin!
Now is the time to tear things apart, so as to avoid the Queen's wrath in the future!
After all, someone who can rule the world alongside the king must be incredibly wise and resourceful.

Wang Xueyuan remained silent.

He knew about his wife.

Jiang Lu was taught by his uncle, who treated him like a young master in the family, providing him with all sorts of wisdom and strategies.

Therefore, her mind and abilities are in no way inferior to those of men.

Unfortunately, the king has no intention of hiring more female officials in the court.

According to Wang Xueyuan, the king is not truly unwilling to let women do things.

After all, he even discussed the planning of female officials in the "Great Qin Code"!

However, women's bodies are slightly weaker than men's, and the king is fond of severe punishments! He often drags women away to be caned.

If a woman's body is damaged in this way, it is really detrimental to the training of officials and their respective families!
In the end, that's fine! Let's just discuss the matter of the female officials first.

Now he understands that the other party has never met the King of Qin, and therefore only guesses at his every move, thus being blinded by a leaf and still thinking that the king is the ruler of all dynasties!
As for now, it seems that tearing apart Qin Meiren is just a pretense; the real intention is to completely withdraw from the struggle for the crown prince position!

It is truly his fault for speaking too little about matters of state!

Your Majesty is in the prime of your life. Although there were rumors the other day that you were seriously ill and on the verge of death, you look remarkably strong and healthy now.

Who knows how many years it will be before the next crown prince arrives!

Ugh!
Invite your friends and listen to their gossip!