Prime Minister

Chapter 5 005 [A Sudden Storm Begins]

The Hanlin Academy made no response to Xue Huai's sudden request for leave of several days.

Perhaps many officials would prefer that the troublemaker who doesn't fit in never appears.

They didn't have Xue Huai's good background. Relying on the legacy left by his deceased father, the protection of the Xue clan of Hedong, and Shen Wang's favor, they dared to bite anyone they saw in the court without any scruples. If ordinary people had done that, they would have been reduced to ashes long ago.

Some of them already had entanglements with the Ning Party, and they were afraid that Xue Huai would impeach them one day. Others, although not connected with the Ning Party, were mostly Xue Huai's seniors, and they naturally felt disgust and jealousy towards him for constantly showing off and seeking fame.

The saying "the tallest tree in the forest will be felled by the wind" perfectly captures the true nature of human nature.

Now that Xue Huai has suddenly taken leave, many scholars feel much more relaxed and at ease.

Xue Huai could guess what his colleagues were thinking. In his previous life, he often encountered office politics when he was working hard. However, he didn't have time to sort out these relationships right now. He could only use these two days to roughly figure out his own situation.

In the study in the east courtyard, Xue Huai meticulously organized the original owner's letters and notes.

To be fair, the original owner was extremely talented, with great gift in both writing and poetry. Fortunately, Xue Huai inherited this knowledge; otherwise, he would have faced many obstacles if he wanted to pursue a career as a civil official. Even if he could recite hundreds of Tang and Song poems, he certainly wouldn't be able to handle daily life with ease. Just studying the Four Books and Five Classics would make his scalp tingle, let alone discussing philosophy face-to-face with those learned Confucian scholars.

Through the letters preserved by the original owner, Xue Huai gained a clearer understanding of his stubbornness and inflexibility.

Most of those were exchanges between the original owner and his friends. In the letters, he repeatedly stated a clear fact: the emperor was deceived by the Ning Party. As long as the Ning Party was not eliminated, the government could not be clean and honest, and the people would continue to live in misery.

Therefore, even when faced with extremely difficult circumstances, and even when the emperor's opinion of him was getting worse, he remained steadfast in offering his honest advice.

After reading these letters, Xue Huai was truly troubled; the situation was more complicated than he had anticipated.

He was able to appease Madam Cui in just two days because she loved her son unconditionally. Now that Xue Huai had come to his senses, Madam Cui was overjoyed, and the past entanglements immediately vanished.

Others, however, are not so pure.

Following his habit from his previous life, Xue Huai began to create a mind map on paper.

The legacy Xue Mingzhang left him mainly refers to the emperor's compassion, but after two years of trials, it is difficult to determine how much goodwill the emperor still has for him. In particular, Xue Huai has lived two lives, and his views on the emperor as a powerful being are far more complex than those of the original owner.

Initially, the emperor probably only considered Xue Mingzhang's loyalty to the emperor and his overwork that had caused him to fall ill, and used the act of taking care of Xue's mother and son to demonstrate the emperor's benevolence. Moreover, Xue Huai later performed exceptionally well in the imperial examination, which undoubtedly added to the emperor's reputation for recognizing talent. Therefore, he directly appointed Xue Huai as the third-ranked scholar.

However, emperors are ruthless and the wrath of heaven is unpredictable.

Xue Huai did not believe that the emperor was completely unaware of the situation in the court, much less that he could be completely deceived by the Ning Party.

As far as he knew, although the power of the second-ranking minister Ouyang Hui could not compare with that of the first-ranking minister Ning Hengzhi, he had remained in power for so many years, which must have been due to the emperor's support. This was a very simple imperial check and balance technique, not to mention the existence of Shen Wang, the leader of the upright faction.

In short, the Ning faction was by no means the only powerful force in the court. It was only because Ning Hengzhi was shrewd and cunning enough, and most importantly, he was able to fully meet the emperor's needs, that he was able to firmly hold onto the position of Grand Secretary.

If the original owner had only occasionally impeached members of the Ning faction and helped the emperor to give a warning to Grand Secretary Ning Hengzhi, his situation would definitely not have been so difficult.

Thinking of this, Xue Huai put a question mark next to the word "Emperor".

He didn't want to actively seek recognition from the Great Yan Emperor for the time being, but he also couldn't hide away in his small building and become a unified entity.

The reason is simple: although he has offended many people in the past two years, he has also gained considerable fame and successfully established himself as a staunch and outspoken figure who hates evil. Now, trying to stay out of it will only bring him more trouble.

That fame is a double-edged sword; Xue Huai can change his strategy but he absolutely cannot change his stance.

No matter when or where, a fence-sitter will find it difficult to make a living, and he currently has no capital to sit on the fence.

Therefore, Xue Huai put an X next to the name of Xue Minglun, the Minister of Works.

After much thought, his gaze finally settled on Shen Wang's name.

Even though there were some conflicts and disagreements between the two in the past, in the current officialdom of Great Yan, the relationship between master and disciple is very solid. As long as Xue Huai does not betray his master and join other forces, Shen Wang cannot expel him from the sect.

"We must rely on Shen Wang's protection to get through this most difficult period."

Xue Huai murmured to himself, then recalled Shen Wang's life and experiences.

This leader of the Qingliu faction was 42 years old at the time. He came from a poor family and had a clean and smooth career in government.

He was the top scholar in the imperial examination in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of the late emperor. He rose from compiler to head scholar in the Hanlin Academy, and then directly became the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. It is rumored that his next step will be to become the Minister of Rites and enter the cabinet.

He was the leader of the faction of upright officials in the court, and Ning Hengzhi and Ouyang Hui were quite wary of him.

Combining the vivid scenes from his memory, Xue Huai quickly realized that his mentor was by no means an idealist who advocated empty talk; he was more like the oriole hiding behind the scenes, quietly watching the struggle between the chief minister and the deputy chief minister.

This kind of person must have very high standards, and it won't be easy to regain his approval.

However, Xue Huai felt no disappointment, because he didn't need Shen Wang's absolute approval at the moment. He only needed to improve the cold relationship between master and disciple and be able to get the other's help in times of crisis. He was quite confident about this, because Shen Wang had nurtured him for more than twenty years, and his greatest asset was his reputation for integrity. He couldn't very well turn away a disciple who was loyal to the country and discard him like trash.

Just then, the image of Princess Yun'an, Jiang Li, and her final reminder suddenly appeared in Xue Huai's mind.

What happened the day he accidentally fell into the water?
Xue Huai racked his brains, but he only remembered that he was on duty at the Hanlin Academy that day when he suddenly left and wandered aimlessly around the city, eventually falling into the Jiuqu River.

wrong……

Xue Huai suddenly felt a chill. Could it be that someone wanted to kill him?

Something must have happened at the Hanlin Academy that day, directly causing the original owner to be unable to bear the blow and even choose to seal that painful memory in her subconscious.

Xue Huai shook his head, got up, collected the papers on the table, and then put them into the brazier to burn to ashes.

Just then, the maid Mo Yun rushed in and said nervously, "Young master, Scholar Liu from the Hanlin Academy has arrived. He says he wants to see you immediately."

Xue Huai calmly looked at the ashes in the brazier and nodded, saying, "I understand. We'll receive guests in the front hall."

A moment later, Xue Huai walked steadily into the front hall and immediately saw Liu Huaide, the serious-looking scholar-in-waiting. Liu Huaide was a fellow townsman of Shen Wang and was one of the few people in the Hanlin Academy who was willing to take care of Xue Huai.

"I have met Scholar Liu."

Xue Huai stepped forward to greet him.

Liu Huaide stared directly at Xue Huai, his expression complex, and said, "Jing Che, you're confused!"

Xue Huai was slightly taken aback and asked, "Why do you say that, Scholar?"

Liu Huaide asked bluntly, "I ask you, have you been assisting Chen Quan in compiling 'A Study of the Taihe River Works' these past few months?"

Xue Huai nodded and said, "Yes."

Liu Huaide then asked, "Then why have you taken leave without reason these past few days?"

Xue Huai had already realized that the visitor was up to no good, so he asked sincerely, "What exactly happened? Please tell me, Scholar."

Seeing that his expression seemed genuine, Liu Huaide sighed and shook his head, saying, "This morning, Dean Lin sent people to inquire about the progress of compiling 'A Study of the Taihe River Works.' Chen Quan discovered that one volume had disappeared, along with the original files. After careful verification by everyone, it was found that the missing volume recorded the details of the Yangzhou dike project that your father oversaw the construction of!"

Xue Huai frowned slightly and tentatively asked, "What does this have to do with me?"

Liu Huaide said in a deep voice, "Chen Quan reported to Dean Lin that you were responsible for organizing and keeping that scroll and related files. Whose responsibility is it now that it's lost? And yet, a servant in the academy said that you left the Hanlin Academy in a hurry that day, carrying a bundle in your arms. Although no one can be sure that the bundle contained the lost files, you are now in a situation where you can't clear your name even if you jump into the Yellow River!"

Xue Huai knew this was indeed a problem. The issue was that he hadn't taken those files out of the Hanlin Academy, and even if he did, why would he do it?

Liu Huaide knew that he hadn't realized the seriousness of the problem, so he asked, "Where are the files now?"

Xue Huai said earnestly, "Scholar, this was not done by me. I do not know the whereabouts of the files, and I have no reason to do such a thing."

"No reason?"

Liu Huaide stared intently into Xue Huai's eyes, his expression growing increasingly solemn: "Do you know why Headmaster Lin suddenly became concerned about this progress? It's because this morning at court, a senior official from the Ministry of Works submitted a memorial, stating that while reviewing past archives, he discovered numerous problems with the Yangzhou dikes that your father oversaw the construction of, including shoddy workmanship, the use of inferior materials, and embezzlement. This led to the breaching of the dikes along the southern Yangtze River in Yangzhou during this year's summer floods, causing severe losses to the local people!"

Xue Huai's heart tightened, and he resolutely said, "This is absolutely impossible!"

Liu Huaide sighed and said, "Of course I believe in your father's character, and this matter cannot be taken as an isolated case, so His Majesty ordered the Hanlin Academy to find the archives from that year. But now all the files have disappeared, and you are a serious suspect. You should know how critical the situation is now."

Xue Huai's mind raced, and a sudden realization dawned on him: could his fall into the water that day be related to this matter?

But who is orchestrating all of this behind the scenes?
He quickly composed himself and said firmly, "Scholar, I absolutely do not believe that my late father would engage in corruption or bribery. There must be more to this than meets the eye."

"Ugh."

Liu Huaide said heavily, "I believe your father believes in you, but now... never mind, Headmaster Lin is waiting for your reply. Come with me now."

"Yes."

Xue Huai calmly agreed, gave instructions to Mo Yun who was guarding outside, and then left the mansion with Liu Huaide.

……

……

(A huge thank you to the three generous donors "小小无书", "阿C_", and "寒烟暮雨醉华年" for their generous donations! There will be extra chapters later, but updates will be slower during the new book period, so please bear with me!)
(End of this chapter)