Prime Minister

Chapter 42 [Piercing the Heart]

As soon as Xue Huai stepped into the imperial study, he witnessed a scene of raging storm.

"Xue Minglun, Xue Minglun, listen up!"

"I used to praise you for your steady, cautious, and self-disciplined actions, but today you've made me a laughingstock among the entire court!"

"Do you think I really don't know that the Ministry of Works isn't so clean? But I've tolerated it! Why? Because you, Xue Minglun, can generate more money for me!"

"But you, on the contrary, allowed the Water Conservancy Department to fill the dikes with reeds and stones, and let the Land Reclamation Department sell thousands of acres of fertile land as wasteland!"

"I'm turning a blind eye so that you can scrape together some money to do practical things for me, not so that you can turn the Ministry of Works into a den of parasites!"

"What is my empire in your eyes? Is it just a piece of fat meat on your Ministry of Works' chopping block?"

"Mute? Speak!"

After the Dragon Case, the Emperor of Great Yan turned ashen-faced and unleashed a series of roars.

At this moment, standing in the Imperial Study were Crown Prince Jiang Xuan, five senior cabinet ministers including Ning Hengzhi, five ministers excluding Xue Minglun, as well as Cai Zhang, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Lin Miao, a Hanlin Academician, and Lü Si, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

These high-ranking officials, dressed in purple robes, all kept their eyes down, seemingly oblivious to the matter at hand.

The only exception was Xue Minglun, the Minister of Works, who stood in the middle with a face full of shame, his body hunched over like an old man on his deathbed.

Hearing the emperor's furious question, Xue Minglun struggled to raise his head, then said tremblingly, "Your Majesty, I am guilty beyond redemption! I beg Your Majesty to dismiss me from my post and arrest me..."

You think it's easy for you!

The Emperor raised his voice and angrily rebuked, "You've made such a mess of the Ministry of Works, and now you think you can just walk away? Let me tell you, if the Ministry of Works cannot resolve its internal problems, I will have your entire Xue family in Hedong executed!"

These words shocked the assembled officials.

Even Xue Huai was slightly taken aback. Although his Xue and Xue Minglun's Xue were already beyond the fifth degree of kinship, they both came from the Xue clan of Hedong.

Xue Minglun was speechless. He had just confessed his guilt and retreated to advance. The emperor's response showed that he was not willing to completely give up the position of Minister of Works for the time being. However, the murderous intent in the emperor's words made Xue Minglun feel scared.

Having been in the central government for so many years, this was the first time he had ever heard the emperor utter words like "slaughter your entire family," which was enough to show how terrifying the emperor's anger was at that moment.

Upon realizing this, Xue Minglun dared not play any more tricks and honestly said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to resign from my position as Minister of Works, but I will not leave the Ministry of Works. Instead, I will continue to fulfill my duties until this case is resolved and then I will await Your Majesty's decision."

Upon hearing this statement, the Emperor snorted coldly and gritted his teeth, saying, "Effective immediately, Xue Minglun is demoted to Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, acting as Minister. You will cooperate with the investigation team to thoroughly investigate the crimes of all departments within the Ministry of Works. Remember this: if you dare to disobey the imperial envoy's investigation again, I will absolutely not forgive you! When this case is closed, I will settle this score with you properly!"

The huge weight that had been hanging over Xue Minglun's heart finally lifted; this was probably the best outcome for him.

He was moved to tears and bowed deeply, saying, "Your Majesty, I accept the decree and thank you for your great favor!"

The emperor ignored him, turned to look at the young figure, and said in a deep voice, "Xue Huai."

"The minister is here."

Xue Huai stepped forward and bowed.

At this moment, he had focused his attention to the extreme.

Before stepping into this imperial study, he had only seen the emperor twice: once at the grand court assembly that made him overturn the table, and the second time just now in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

These two observations from afar gave Xue Huai the impression that the emperor was a ruler in power. However, the scene of the emperor angrily scolding Xue Minglun just now showed Xue Huai another side of him. He didn't know which side was the emperor's true face, or if none of these were true sides, and the emperor was just making different choices in different situations.

Xue Huai always remembered Shen Wang's reminder: the emperor's mind is unpredictable, and one should never be deceived by his appearance, but rather carefully consider the true intentions hidden behind his words and actions.

The emperor gazed at Xue Huai's handsome face and slowly said, "You are very good."

Fortunately, it wasn't mentioned where.

Xue Huai became even more cautious and lowered his head slightly, saying, "Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty."

"Your courage in standing up to testify against the Prince of Dai proves that your father has a worthy successor, and I am quite pleased about that."

The emperor's tone was flat, then he changed the subject and asked, "Tell me, what did the Prince of Dai say to you that day at Taihu Tower?"

Xue Huai's heart tightened suddenly. Because of Jiang Li's hint, he was not surprised that the emperor would know about this matter, but he did not expect that the emperor would bring it up directly in front of more than ten important officials.

How should he answer?

Is it to tell the truth and kick the Prince of Dai again? Or to give a vague and perfunctory answer?

This is a very difficult choice.

Judging from the Emperor's previous treatment of the Prince of Dai, this emperor obviously wouldn't really take action against his own son. So, if Xue Huai were to say in front of everyone that the Prince of Dai's private purchase of official land was not Xu Hui's own decision, but the Prince of Dai's decision, would the Emperor be furious?
But if this is a test from the emperor, and he chooses to smooth things over for the Prince of Dai, will the emperor take the opportunity to punish this insignificant person?

The imperial study was warm and cozy, but Xue Huai felt a chill seeping into his heart.

Even though only a moment had passed, the emperor said with a hint of sarcasm, "The scholar I personally selected can't even answer this simple question?"

At this moment, Grand Secretary Ning Hengzhi stood thoughtfully, while Second Grand Secretary Ouyang Hui turned to look at Shen Wang, as if to say, "Your good disciple is in such a predicament, why don't you, the eloquent master, step forward to help?"

Shen Wang lowered his head and looked down, clearly not intending to make any move.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. It's not that I can't answer, but I'm just recalling the details of that day, because I cannot speak recklessly in front of the Emperor."

Xue Huai's calm and clear voice rang out, seemingly adding a touch of youthful vigor to the imperial study.

The emperor said noncommittally, "Then explain in more detail."

"The minister obeys the order."

Xue Huai had already made his decision and said calmly, "That day, on my way back to the investigation office, I was stopped on the street by Xu Rong, the owner of Taihu Tower. He invited me to Taihu Tower for a chat. I didn't know him at all and I had official duties, so I naturally refused his invitation. But Xu Rong then made it clear that it was Xu Hui, the chief secretary of the Prince of Dai's Palace, who had invited me, and that he wanted to provide evidence related to the Ministry of Works' corruption case. Only then did I agree to go to Taihu Tower."

"When I entered Taihu Tower, I met Xu Hui. He first told me about the sale of official land by the Ministry of Works' Tuntian Division, and then said that the Prince of Dai's Mansion had bought a lot of wasteland, and the reason for buying the land was the same as the Prince of Dai's story. After that, Xu Hui hoped that I could grant him a request: if I could advise Vice Minister Shen to conceal the existence of the Prince of Dai's Mansion in this investigation, he would hand over the evidence of the Tuntian Division officials' involvement in the case to me."

"In addition, Xu Hui also offered to give me a shop in Pingkangfang, Xicheng, worth a thousand gold pieces."

Xue Huai's narration was clear and logical, explaining the details of that day in just a few words.

The emperor, feigning ignorance, asked, "You didn't agree?"

Xue Huai replied, “Yes, Your Majesty. I sensed something was amiss at the time. If, as Xu Hui said, the Prince of Dai’s estate purchased those official fields without their knowledge, they would not be held responsible. Why would they be so eager to find me? They even tried to bribe me with money. I firmly refused at the time, but the Prince of Dai appeared immediately. Perhaps because my refusal of Xu Hui made the Prince of Dai feel ashamed, he had a very bad impression of me.”

The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and continued, "Then do you think the Prince of Dai knew the inside story at that time?"

This problem is also very tricky.

Xue Huai looked up to meet the Emperor's gaze, his eyes simple and frank: "Your Majesty, I do not know. Judging from the conversation that day, the Prince of Dai should not know the truth about the Prince's Mansion's purchase of the land. It was the Chief Secretary Xu Hui who was hinting to me from beginning to end, and the Prince of Dai was angry because I did not give the Prince's Mansion face. Of course, it is also possible that the Prince of Dai knew beforehand, but just did not reveal it to me."

Upon hearing this answer, a fleeting look of pleasure crossed Shen Wang's eyes.

Second Grand Secretary Ouyang Hui's lips twitched slightly as he thought to himself, "Tsk, another little fox."

Grand Secretary Ning Hengzhi finally turned to look at Xue Huai, his usually calm eyes now showing a hint of scrutiny.

The emperor was fairly satisfied with the answer Xue Huai gave.

As the saying goes, no one knows a son better than his father. Did the Prince of Dai not know whether he had been involved in the land purchase?
The reason he pressed Xue Huai for answers was because he felt the knife was very sharp, but he also suspected that the other party was putting on an act under Shen Wang's tutelage, so he wanted to see his true feelings in person.

The emperor disliked those stubborn and dull ministers, like Xue Huai before he fell into the water. But he disliked even more those cunning and sly young men, such as Cui Yanqing, who was the second-place scholar in the same examination as Xue Huai and has now become a marginal figure in the court.

Generally speaking, Xue Huai's answer at this moment, while not particularly brilliant, was quite honest, which was exactly the kind of reply the emperor wanted to hear.

Xue Huai maintained his calm and solemn posture, thinking to himself that he should have passed the test this time.
He did not deliberately slander the King of Dai, nor did he speak on his behalf. While adhering to his own principles, he did not spread rumors like a petty person.

Just as he was beginning to relax, the emperor's cold voice suddenly rang out.

"Then tell me again, why did you return to the Xue residence that day? As far as I know, the Xue residence has been peaceful recently, with no major incidents. As the clerk of the investigation office, instead of working diligently in the office, you wasted most of the day for no reason. Why is that?"

Xue Huai silently clenched his hands in his sleeves, forcing himself to calm down quickly.

A few drops of cold sweat slid down his back.

(End of this chapter)