Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Li Si kept his eyes downcast, his face expressionless, but out of the corner of his eye, he subtly glanced towards the source of the sound—

Shao Fu Cheng, Guan Chi.

He silently repeated the name in his mind, his eyes narrowing slightly.

This man usually followed behind Chen Shaofu, serving tea and water, running errands and relaying messages, and rarely spoke much. Today, however, he spoke for the first time in the court—and when he did, he impeached the Nine Ministers.

Li Si's gaze subtly shifted half an inch to the side, landing on another person.

Chen Shaofu.

The old minister, who usually spoke slowly and deliberately, turned pale instantly. He lowered his eyes, and in the cold winter weather, beads of sweat were clearly seeping from his forehead and running down his temples. He didn't even dare to wipe them away.

"Where is the public outcry boiling over? I've never heard of it!" General Wang Jian stepped forward once again, his gaze fixed on Guan Chi, who stood in the center of the hall.

As he took a step, he subtly glanced at Wei Liao, only to see Wei Liao's chin nod almost imperceptibly downwards.

—He is there.

You think you can make Zicheng have a relapse?!

Wang Jian's anger flared up instantly, burning his eyes until they turned bloodshot and his beard bristled. He rolled up his sleeves and charged aggressively toward Guan Chi, the gold bricks on the ground seeming to tremble with every step he took.

"Where is the public resentment?! Who is resentful?!"

He pointed at Guanchi's nose and cursed:

"In my opinion, it's you, you pointy-faced weasel, who's jealous of talent and spewing filth from your mouth. You dare to speak for the common people?!"

"This is an insult to a meritorious official! I'll beat you to a pulp!"

Seeing Wang Jianzhen walking towards him, he was so frightened that he took several steps back, trying to slip into the crowd as he retreated, his voice trembling:

"General! How dare you be so disrespectful in the imperial court?! General Meng Wu! General Meng Wu—!"

He called out Meng Wu's name as if he had grasped at the last straw.

General Meng Wu was almost laughing in anger. He had also seen Wei Liao's actions and heard Guan Chi dare to call out to him repeatedly...

Do you really think I stopped General Wang because I was afraid of disrupting the court?

His eyes darted around, and he suddenly shouted:

"Old general, stop your recklessness! I'll stop you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he lifted his foot and, with lightning speed, ripped off his boots. Then, with a flick of his arm, he swung them violently toward Guan Chi!

The boots drew a graceful arc in the air, passing over the heads of several ministers with pinpoint accuracy—

"Snapped!"

Right in the middle of Guanchi's face.

"Oh dear!" Meng Wu exclaimed, his face filled with frustration.

"Oops, I accidentally threw it off course!"

Guan Chi was squeezed among the officials, with nowhere to hide. The boot hit him squarely in the face, making him fall backward and his nose start bleeding immediately.

"ah--!"

He covered his face and screamed, but the sound was immediately drowned out by Wang Jian's loud voice.

The old general suddenly clutched his shoulder, leaned back, and his face was filled with exaggerated "pain".

"Hey! Meng Wu, you old bastard!" he yelled, "If your aim is off, don't just throw wildly! That almost hit my head—oops! It almost hit my shoulder!"

As he spoke, he even rubbed the shoulder that had "almost been hit" with great seriousness, making the ministers next to him exchange bewildered glances and twitch at the corners of their mouths.

—General, you're covering your left shoulder, but the boot flew past from the right!

Guan Chi, his nose covered in blood, was already furious, and now he almost choked on his breath and passed out.

His entire face was a mess, covered in blood and snot, even his sleeves were smeared with it. He looked so pathetic that his colleagues behind him couldn't help but take a half step back.

He was completely going all out.

"Your Majesty—!"

He knelt down with a thud, his knees hitting the gold bricks with a dull thud, his voice trembling with sobs.

"He, he, he—Zhou Wenqing colluded with two generals to commit murder in court, assaulting loyal officials and plotting against high-ranking court officials! Your Majesty, you saw it with your own eyes; the blood on my face is irrefutable proof!"

"I merely presented the truth and offered advice on behalf of the country, yet they dared to attack me in the court! If Your Majesty does not stand up for me, who will dare to speak the truth in the court in the future?!"

After he finished speaking, he kowtowed heavily, his forehead hitting the gold brick with a thud.

Wang Jian stood to the side, picked at his ear as if he had heard a joke, and turned to Meng Wu, saying, "Old Meng, he said he is a loyal and virtuous man?"

Meng Wu, who was bending down to put on his boots, didn't even look up when he heard this: "Who? He's not worthy!"

"puff--"

Someone couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing, then quickly covered their mouth.

Guan Chi knelt on the ground, his face flushed red—unfortunately, it was covered in blood and could not be seen. He pointed at the two generals with trembling hands, his voice cracking:

"You, you, you, you all—you're in cahoots! In cahoots!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, his whole body trembling like a leaf:

"How much bribe did you receive from Zhou Neishi to be so protective of him?!"

"Who are you saying accepted bribes?!"

A voice came from the entrance of the palace.

The voice wasn't loud, and was even a little hoarse, but it was like a needle, steadily piercing through the clamor of the hall.

Everyone turned their heads at the same time.

At the entrance of the palace, a slender figure walked steadily against the light.

The morning light shone through him from behind, bathing him in a pale golden halo. He was dressed in a dark blue court robe, his face pale to the point of being almost transparent, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, like a flame burning in the wind and snow, not bright, but impossible to extinguish.

Zhou Wenqing's steps were not fast, even somewhat slow, but steady and deliberate as he stepped over the golden bricks, gradually silencing the clamor in the hall until only the steady sound of his footsteps remained.

He stepped straight over the pool of crimson blood on the ground, without even lifting his eyelids. The hem of his dark blue official robe dragged across the blood, leaving a dark, damp stain. He stood in the center of the hall, before the crown pool.

Zhou Wenqing lowered his eyes and looked down at the person kneeling on the ground with his face covered in blood.

"Is there any evidence to support the accusations leveled against me by the Vice Minister of the Imperial Household?"

"If not—"

He paused, his gaze deep and unfathomable, like the waters of a still pool.

"The crime of falsely accusing someone is punishable by law. Does the Prime Minister not know this law?!"

Guan Chi suddenly raised his head, and the moment he saw the face in front of him, his pupils shrank.

"You, you, you weren't having a relapse, how come you are still...?"

He abruptly shut his mouth halfway through his sentence, his face turning deathly pale. His eyes scanned Zhou Wenqing's face with suspicion, as if trying to find some flaw in that calm expression.

Ah!

Wei Liao stood in the queue, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips.

Did he really think that spy was so clever that he could slip away so easily right under his nose?

It was done on purpose.

Utterly foolish.

Ying Zheng's gaze fell on the figure walking slowly towards him. He was not surprised, but slightly worried. Especially when he saw the dirty blood stain on the corner of the figure's robe, his brows furrowed and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

He raised his hand, ignoring the astonishment and scrutiny of the court officials, and coldly ordered:

"Someone, please bring a seat."

Then, his gaze seemingly casually swept over the glaring wet stain on the hem of Zhou Wenqing's robe, and he added:

"Bring me that red fox fur coat, and clean it for Minister Zhou to keep warm."

In an instant, several restless figures under the jurisdiction of the Junior Chamberlain were frozen in place, their gazes falling on Zhou Wenqing with surprise, suspicion, scrutiny, and apprehension, but none of them dared to step forward.

The monarch's inclination is already quite clear.

Zhou Wenqing did not try to be brave. He knew very well that there was still a tough battle ahead. He bowed to express his gratitude without changing his expression. After sitting down, he raised his eyes and his gaze fell back on Guan Chi, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Young Master of the Imperial Household, why are you silent?"

Upon hearing this, Guan Chi stood up abruptly, looked up sharply, his neck stiffened, and his voice became several decibels higher:

"Don't think I'm afraid of you! Fine, since that's the case, let's discuss this carefully!"

His chest heaved violently, as if he were about to expel all the resentment that had been building up for so long.

"The Minister of the Interior, Zhou, oversees the affairs of the Department of All Things, and everyone knows how enormous the department's daily revenue is!"

"And since you control the national treasury, wouldn't it be incredibly easy for you to abuse your power for personal gain and line your own pockets? Isn't it obvious?!"

As he got excited, he suddenly pointed in the direction where Wang Jian and Meng Wu were standing:

"Moreover, I've heard that the two generals frequently visit your residence, staying for most of the day! Surely you can't deny that, Zhou Neishi?"

Zhou Wenqing did not rush to refute.

He simply hummed in agreement and nodded, as if listening to something utterly ordinary.

"After saying so much..."

He paused, his gaze lingering on Guan Chi's face for a moment, his expression as calm as if he were watching a joke.

"There is no evidence whatsoever; it's all conjecture."

Guan Chi's expression froze for a moment.

Zhou Wenqing gave him no chance to breathe. His back was straight, and he glanced sideways at Guan Chi. His voice was not loud, but every word was piercing:

"Well then, Wenqing has a question to ask—"

"Could it be that the Vice Minister of the Imperial Household Department's deduction is so fluent because he himself has acted in this way, thus projecting his own experiences onto others and making unfounded assumptions?"