Duke of Zhenguan

Chapter 102 Will He Be Remembered in History?

The migrants who were reclaiming wasteland next to Chengjiazhuang were all hired, and they were paid in grain and cloth every day. Lin Chuan was not afraid of being investigated.

Moreover, this matter cannot withstand scrutiny at all. The censor is not stupid, so why would he do this?

Lin Chuan looked at the censor suspiciously, but didn't foolishly step forward to defend himself.

Li Shimin completely ignored the censor, his gaze sweeping over the officials of the Censorate, and asked, "Anything else?"

"Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present!" Another censor stepped forward.

"Approved!" Li Shimin said.

The imperial censor straightened his clothes, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, Mars has entered the constellation of Yu Gui, a sign that divine punishment is imminent. I beseech Your Majesty to cleanse your inner court, strengthen the borders, and cultivate virtue to avert disaster."

The censor's impassioned words echoed in the hall. The hundreds of ministers standing in the hall looked at the censor, their gazes mostly no different from those for looking at a dead man.

To impeach Li Shimin for immorality based on celestial phenomena—do they have a death wish?

Lin Chuan stared at the censor in disbelief. Although both celestial phenomena and heavenly punishments contain the word "heaven," they couldn't be so far-fetched as to be linked together, could they?

There was indeed less rain today. It's already mid-December, and there has been no snow in Chang'an. If the weather continues like this, there will likely be a spring drought next year. Experienced farmers know this simple truth.

What does this have to do with Li Shimin's virtue?

So they didn't come from themselves, but were after Li Shimin!

Fortunately, Li Shimin now controls the court, and without him speaking, an official stepped forward and loudly proclaimed, "Your Majesty, I impeach Censor Chen for spreading alarmist rumors!"

"Your Majesty, I impeach Imperial Censor Liu—"

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The main hall was in complete chaos. Li Shimin watched coldly for a while, then stood up, gave an order to Zhang Anan beside him, and strode away.

As soon as Li Shimin left, the noisy hall immediately quieted down. The officials who had just been arguing snorted and returned to their ranks, each clutching their official tablets.

Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Changsun Wuji, and others, who were standing at the top of the queue, exchanged glances and walked silently out of the hall.

With them taking the lead, the others naturally knew that the court session could not continue, and they left the hall one after another.

Lin Chuan followed the crowd out of the main hall and waited outside for a while. When he saw Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong come out, he quickly went to greet them.

Before Lin Chuan could speak, Cheng Yaojin said softly, "Let's talk outside!"

Once outside the palace gates, the three rode side by side on horseback, accompanied only by a group of guards. Cheng Yaojin then whispered to Lin Chuan, "Don't make a fuss. These people only have these disgusting tricks up their sleeves!"

Qin Qiong shook his head and sighed softly, "It's not just to disgust His Majesty. These people are using the celestial phenomena to accuse His Majesty of being immoral and to say that there are traitors by His Majesty's side!"

If next year brings favorable weather, that's fine. But if there's a drought, flood, or other natural disaster, wouldn't that confirm what they said?

"Ha, how can the court be controlled by what they say these days? Brother Qin, you're overthinking it!" Cheng Yaojin said disdainfully.

"Zhijie, you must know that public opinion can be devastating. If they really spread this matter widely, it will ultimately harm His Majesty's imperial authority!" Qin Qiong said.

Cheng Yaojin nodded, then suddenly turned to Lin Chuan and asked, "Xiao Chuan, what do you think?"

Lin Chuan smiled wryly. What else could he think?

Did Li Shimin really want to swallow locusts whole after telling Cheng Yaojin that Guanzhong would not only suffer a severe drought next year but also a locust plague?

If what Qin Qiong said is true, and those who instigated the censors had planned this all along, it would indeed be a great blow to Li Shimin's reputation. Otherwise, why would Li Shimin have swallowed locusts?

Some people like raw fish, and some people like to eat raw meat, but surely it's not like Li Shimin liked to eat locusts raw?

The governance of a country cannot be accomplished by the central court alone; the court's decrees also require the cooperation of powerful local clans.

Especially in areas outside the capital region, those prominent families have long since established deep-rooted influence through centuries of intermarriage, almost completely controlling the local land and population.

The greater the influence of the imperial court, the less influence they have, and vice versa.

In many cases, the laws of the Tang Dynasty were perhaps less effective than the family rules of those powerful clans!

Seeing that Lin Chuan remained silent, Cheng Yaojin said impatiently, "I'm asking you a question!"

"Uncle Cheng, I think Uncle Qin makes a good point!" Lin Chuan replied.

Cheng Yaojin wasn't the type to ignore advice. He nodded and smiled reassuringly, "Your Majesty understands!"

"I hope so!" Qin Qiong sighed.

Lin Chuan, however, was not going to just stand by and watch. It was one thing for these people to target Li Shimin, but since he was granted a title, apart from matters concerning the Institute of Gewu, he had only ever worried about the Gewu Academy.

He didn't participate in any of the court affairs, and he stood there like a log during the grand court assembly. Yet these people still dragged him into it!

Moreover, it is foreseeable that these people will not let this go, and they may continue to impeach him at tomorrow's court meeting. If a natural disaster really occurs next year, they will certainly not let him off the hook when it comes to settling scores!

Tolerable or unbearable!

Lin Chuan did not attend the morning assembly the next day. At noon, he took Er Ya to the Yan family again, and the gatekeeper did not stop him this time.

Er Ya led Wang Xiaoliu to find Yan Liu Niangzi with practiced ease. Lin Chuan and several other young men of similar age from the Yan family sat in the front yard for a while before Yan Liu Niangzi came in with her maid.

A moment later, in the small pavilion in the central garden, Lin Chuan and Yan Liu Niangzi sat facing each other.

After the maid brought in a charcoal stove and tea, she left. Lin Chuan got up and sat down next to Yan Liu Niangzi, smiling as he looked her over. He said softly, "Liu Niangzi is becoming more and more beautiful!"

Yan Liu Niangzi blushed and glared at Lin Chuan, then said softly, "My childhood name is Yu'er!"

"Yu'er? She and Sixth Sister are quite a good match!" Lin Chuan praised, then asked with a smile, "Does Master Yan agree?"

"Agree to what?" Yan Liu Niangzi asked knowingly.

Lin Chuan reached out and pulled Yan Liu Niangzi into his arms, whispering in her ear, "Of course I agree to the marriage between Yu'er and me!"

Yan Liu Niangzi gently punched Lin Chuan's chest and said in a coquettish voice, "Lin Lang, you're so shameless!"

"If I can marry Yu'er, what do I need to be ashamed of?" Lin Chuan said shamelessly.

"How could I possibly be worthy of being married into the Lin family? It's my good fortune to be able to enter through the side door!" Yan Liu Niangzi sighed softly.

Lin Chuan froze on the spot.

After speaking, Yan Liu Niangzi realized her mistake and gently nuzzled her face against Lin Chuan's chest, whispering, "I'm content just to be able to enter the Lin family. Lin Lang, please don't worry!"

"In the end, it's you who have suffered!" Lin Chuan said awkwardly.

"I don't feel wronged!" Lady Yan shook her head and asked softly, "Does Lin Lang know why Father agreed?"

Lin Chuan shook his head.

"Because Lin Lang taught the slaves punctuation marks, a few days ago, Da Weng and A Weng invited some close friends to their home to discuss their studies."

They all highly praised punctuation marks, saying that Lin Lang's actions would surely go down in history!

"The scholars will remember Lin Lang's name! I would be willing to be a slave or servant to marry Lin Chuan!" Yan Liu Niangzi said softly.

To leave a mark on history?

Lin Chuan felt that punctuation marks were not that important.