Prime Minister

Chapter 6, Section 006: [The Accusation]

On the east side of the imperial city, in the heart of Chang'an Avenue, there is a cluster of dark blue government offices, which is the Hanlin Academy, known as the residence of the Grand Chancellor of the Great Yan Dynasty.

Xue Huai followed Liu Huaide to this place and looked up with hidden curiosity.

In front of them, the gray-blue brick wall gleamed coldly in the autumn sun, and a gilded plaque bearing the inscription "Hanlin Qingyao" hung under the gable roof.

The manes of the two stone lions in front of the gate are mottled, bearing the marks of a hundred years of wind and rain erosion.

The wall stretches out like an ink line, with layers of moss on the gray brick wall with its joints. You can vaguely see the branches of an old locust tree extending from the east courtyard, with faded silk lanterns hanging from the branches, swaying gently in the wind.

Copper bells hang from the eaves of the gatehouse. When they sway in the wind, they startle the gray pigeons that are resting on the dragon-shaped roof ornaments. Suddenly, they flutter past the "Wen Shu Lin Zhi" brick carving on the lintel.

Liu Huaide led the way, taking Xue Huai straight into the courtyard, passing through the central courtyard to reach the main hall.

At this moment, Hanlin Academician Lin Miao sat upright on a huanghuali wood official's hat chair with dragon patterns. Thirty-nine years of life had etched a calm and composed air onto his lean face. His sideburns were neatly trimmed, and he had a short goatee on his chin.

Academician Chen Quan stood solemnly at the lower end of the table, his gaze passing directly over Liu Huaide, who was of a higher rank than him, and landing on Xue Huai's face behind him.

After everyone exchanged greetings and took their seats, Lin Miao put down his teacup and got straight to the point: "Editor Xue, where is the fourth volume of 'A Study of the Taihe River Works' now?"

Xue Huai calmly replied, "Reporting to the Dean, these documents should rightfully be stored in the Kuiwen Pavilion. That afternoon, before I took leave, I specifically placed all the books back in the Kuiwen Pavilion."

Lin Miao scrutinized the young subordinate in front of him, vaguely sensing that he had undergone some subtle changes compared to before.

Over the past two years, Xue Huai has caused him great trouble. After all, this is the Hanlin Academy, not the Censorate. The Hanlin Academy's duty is to write history and compile books, not to impeach officials.

Because of Xue Huai's numerous impeachments, not only did his colleagues in the court have reservations about Lin Miao, but even the emperor himself subtly reprimanded him.

But what could he do?
Xue Huai is the descendant of a loyal official appointed by the emperor, and he has Shen Wang, a renowned and upright mentor. In addition, he has not made any mistakes in his duties. How could he possibly expel Xue Huai from the Hanlin Academy?

He knew Xue Huai's stubborn and unruly temperament very well and was prepared to deal with Xue Huai's troubles. However, Xue Huai was relatively calm, unlike his usual self who was like a firecracker that would explode at the slightest provocation.

Lin Miao thought to himself that this was strange, then said calmly, "Editor Xue, today Gu Heng, the Director of the Qingli Division of the Ministry of Works, submitted a memorial stating that he discovered numerous irregularities in the construction of the Yangzhou dikes ten years ago in the archives of the Zhaomo Institute. This summer, during the flood season, many sections of the dikes along the Yangtze River in the southern part of Yangzhou collapsed, causing severe flooding in Yizhen County and Jiangdu County, resulting in heavy losses and displacement of the people. His Majesty was furious and ordered the relevant officials to thoroughly investigate the matter, hence Gu Heng's memorial today."

He paused briefly, then said, "Before you arrived, the academy searched the Kuiwen Pavilion, the Collation Hall, and the Records Hall, but found no Volume 4 or the original archives. You are the direct custodian, and you must give the court an explanation."

Xue Huai remained calm, quickly analyzing the general outline of this sudden event in his mind.

According to information revealed by Lin Miao and Liu Huaide, the Yangtze River flooded this summer, causing severe damage in many parts of southern China, including Yangzhou.

Natural disasters are merciless, but man-made disasters are equally devastating. The imperial court needed to give an explanation to the people beyond disaster relief, so the emperor urged his officials to thoroughly investigate the details of flood prevention in various regions.

Xue Huai didn't believe that Xue Mingzhang would do something like using public office for private gain, but everything just happened to be so coincidental.

Officials from the Ministry of Works produced old files from that year, pointing directly to Xue Mingzhang for building a seemingly sturdy but actually vulnerable river embankment, making him the culprit who exacerbated the disaster.

This is clearly taking advantage of the fact that Xue Mingzhang is now dead and cannot come back to life, so he cannot speak up to clear his name.

Just then, another original file in the Hanlin Academy that recorded the details of that year disappeared, and the old file from the Ministry of Works became the only evidence.

Even more coincidentally, Xue Huai was the one in charge of compiling the fourth volume of "A Study of River Engineering" and keeping the corresponding files, and he happened to be on leave these few days.

Thus, a logical chain of events was formed: Xue Huai discovered his deceased father's illegal activities in the old files. He could not accept this fact and dared not hand over the evidence to his superiors. He chose to secretly hide or even destroy those files. Moreover, because of his guilty conscience and fear, he changed his usual diligence and took leave for several days.

Even Xue Huai's fall into the Jiuqu River that day could be reasonably explained—as long as someone could find out his whereabouts that day, it could be said that he wanted to end his life and use death to cover up the crimes of the father and son.

Thinking of this, Xue Huai had a sudden realization. He discovered a flaw in the plan, but it wasn't time to make a move yet, because there was a thick fog in front of him, and he didn't even know who the enemy was.

Among these three high-ranking officials from the Hanlin Academy, there might be one involved.

Therefore, he kept a cold face, trying his best not to change too much from his previous appearance, and looked at Lin Miao and said: "Headmaster, my late father's reputation for integrity is known to all, and His Majesty has publicly praised him many times. The plaque bestowed by the emperor, 'Worrying about the country and forgetting oneself,' is still hanging in the main hall of the Xue residence. I absolutely do not believe that my late father would violate the laws of the court. This is clearly someone shirking responsibility and forcibly framing him! As for those files, I returned them to Kuiwen Pavilion on the same day."

Lin Miao remained outwardly calm, softening his tone as he said, "Jing Che, His Majesty has clearly stated his intention to thoroughly investigate this case, both to provide an explanation to the disaster victims and to clear your father's name. Officials have already begun their investigation and will be here soon. I believe you are a sensible person; as long as you hand over the relevant files, this case will not affect you." These words sounded pleasant, but Xue Huai inwardly sneered.

The Hanlin scholar considered him a hot potato and feared that he would implicate everyone in the Hanlin Academy, so he made him confess to the crime of stealing the case files.

If Xue Huai agrees, then he will truly be unable to clear his name even if he jumps into the Yellow River.

"Reporting to the Dean, I have always been a person of integrity and responsibility. If I did not do it, I did not do it. Those missing files have nothing to do with me. I beg the Dean to see the truth!"

Hearing Xue Huai's firm reply and seeing his angry and gloomy face, Lin Miao did not get angry. He calmly picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and then glanced at Chen Quan, the lecturer sitting below him.

The latter understood immediately, stood up and cleared his throat: "Editor Xue, I advise you to confess honestly. The Dean is trying to save you."

Xue Huai turned to look at the thirty-five-year-old lecturer. His face was like a crumpled memorial that had been hastily smoothed out. His thick, sword-like eyebrows were tightly furrowed into an inverted V shape, and there were small blood scabs left on his jaw from a careless shaving. He seemed to have been somewhat restless lately.

Perhaps it was because Xue Huai had gained fame in the past two years, but Chen Quan, stared at by his cold gaze, subconsciously took a half step back. He then realized that this was beneath his dignity and said in a deep voice, "Don't be so stubborn!"

Xue Huai said calmly, "If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext."

"you!"

Chen Quan said coldly, "You really won't shed a tear until you see the coffin! The day you left the Hanlin Academy, someone saw you carrying a bundle and leaving suspiciously. If that bundle didn't contain those missing files, why would you act like that? Is there really such a coincidence in the world?"

Xue Huai sneered, "Since Scholar Chen speaks with such certainty, let that person confront me face to face."

"I think you won't give up until you're completely defeated."

Chen Quan sneered, then looked at the clerk standing in the corner: "Bring Liu Pingshun here!"

When the dull-looking servant Liu Pingshun walked into the main hall, the atmosphere was quite strange.

Lin Miao, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, exuding an air of refined elegance and scholarly refinement, had his eyes slightly closed, seemingly resting.

The Imperial Reader Liu Huaide frowned, his worry barely concealed.

The lecturer Chen Quan stared at the young man sitting below him with a gloomy expression and a scrutinizing look.

Liu Pingshun certainly recognized the young man. He was a young genius who had made a name for himself in the capital two years ago, and the youngest third-ranked scholar in the history of the Great Yan Dynasty. In the past two years, he had often caused chaos in the Hanlin Academy. Even they, the servants, knew that he was a difficult person to get along with.

Just then, the young man looked at him.

Meeting the other person's clear and steady gaze, Liu Pingshun suddenly felt a little nervous for some reason.

Xue Huai looked him up and down, then said directly to Lin Miao, "Headmaster, I would like to ask Liu Pingshun a few questions."

Lin Miao nodded slightly and said, "Alright."

Under everyone's gaze, Xue Huai stood up, walked to Liu Pingshun, and calmly looked at the man who was over forty years old.

“Liu, you said you saw me carrying a bundle and sneaking away from the Hanlin Academy four days ago.” Xue Huai’s tone was calm, as if he were talking about a trivial matter. “Since you are so sure about it, then you must remember the situation very well. Now, please tell us in detail what you saw that day in front of all the officials.”

"The villain obeys your orders."

Liu Pingshun lowered his head slightly, as if carefully recalling: "That day, I was in charge of cleaning the courtyard of Kuiwen Pavilion. In the afternoon, I suddenly saw Editor Xue enter Kuiwen Pavilion alone. I greeted him, but Editor Xue's expression was not good and he ignored me. After a while, Editor Xue came out of the pavilion, carrying a bundle in his arms. He seemed to be deliberately avoiding others and left the Hanlin Academy directly."

After listening, Chen Quan sneered, "Editor Xue, can you explain what exactly was in the bundle you took away that day?"

He narrowed his eyes, as if he was looking forward to seeing Xue Huai's panicked expression.

(End of this chapter)