When Xie Dahai came to report, the emperor was discussing matters with the ministers of the two palaces. Upon hearing that more than fifty students from the Imperial Academy were kneeling at the palace gate, he was furious. He slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacups on it to fall to the ground and shatter.

Both ministers were startled. The emperor's face was grim, filled with murderous intent, and he roared in a low voice, "Nonsense!"

Both ministers said, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

He Ye immediately stepped forward: "Your Majesty, this is a coup d'état, a presumptuous decision in state affairs, and the crime is doubled!"

Upon hearing that the Censor-in-Chief was once again fabricating charges, Xu Churen hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the students of the Imperial Academy are all disciples of the Sage. Shi Ziming insulted the Sage, but the students of the Imperial Academy were merely practicing the Great Way. Your Majesty must not punish them, otherwise it will surely chill the hearts of scholars throughout the land!"

Wang Boyan immediately added, “Your Majesty, I believe that the petition by the imperial students in front of the palace concerns the sentiments of all scholars in the land. Why doesn’t Your Majesty go and inquire about it?”

He also said, "Scholar Shi is a high-ranking official in the Hanlin Academy; how can a student of the Imperial Academy be allowed to speak so recklessly!"

"It must be that Shi Ziming committed an act that is utterly outrageous to both gods and men, which is why the students of the Imperial Academy are kneeling before His Majesty in front of the palace!"

"Even if Scholar Shi has made a mistake, the country has its laws, and the imperial court has the Censorate, which is in charge of officials. If there is a crime, it should be investigated and dealt with by the Censorate. If we allow the students of the Imperial Academy to act recklessly, where is the law!"

Before He Ye could finish speaking, Imperial Censor Liu Yanzong interrupted, saying, "Your Majesty, Han Feizi once said, 'When there is too much love, the law cannot be established; when there is too little authority, the inferiors will encroach upon the superiors.' Even if the Censorate wants to arrest corrupt officials, it must rely on evidence. Now these Imperial Academy students dare to force the emperor to abdicate. If they are not severely punished, today's Imperial Academy students may become tomorrow's scholar-officials, and the day after tomorrow's scholars of the whole country. Where is Your Majesty's authority? Where is the authority of the law? Our Great Song Dynasty governs the country by law. Even if the emperor breaks the law, he is punished the same as the common people. The court has placed high hopes on the Imperial Academy students, but now they have violated the law and brought chaos to the world. They should be thrown into the death row!"

He immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this is absolutely not allowed. The students acted impulsively and must have been instigated by someone. Your Majesty is benevolent, please forgive them this time."

Both ministers bowed and said, "Please forgive us, Your Majesty."

Even Li Gang and Zhong Shidao pleaded for the students of the Imperial Academy.

Zhao Huan suppressed his anger and said to Xie Dahai, "Go and disperse them. Each of them should go back and face the wall in seclusion for a month. They are not allowed to leave the house!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty is benevolent!"

Zhao Huan eventually softened. After all, he had been a student in his previous life and knew that most students only had a lot of dramatic ideas in their minds. They were the easiest to be incited. If you tried to reason with them or talk about reality, they wouldn't listen. They just thought they were right and had a very strong sense of self-esteem.

Since the emperor had spoken, Liu Yanzong and He could say nothing more.

Before long, Xie Dahai came again to report: "Your Majesty, I am incompetent. They are unwilling to leave. Please punish me!"

"Unwilling to leave?" Zhao Huan's brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed again, and he walked straight out. The two ministers followed the emperor out as well.

The cold moon was bright in the sky. When the emperor arrived at the palace gate, he saw the students of the Imperial Academy, led by Chen Dong, kneeling on the ground. He was even more furious. He hated that these people were useless, only knew how to act impulsively, and had nothing but dog shit in their heads!

Upon seeing the Emperor arrive, Chen Dong said, "Your Majesty, I kowtow and request that Your Majesty remove Shi Ziming from his position as Hanlin Academician to rectify the court!"

Chen Runxin, standing to the side, also said, "Your Majesty, I risk my life to remonstrate with you. Shi Ziming has slandered the Sage and is causing chaos in the world. He should be expelled from the Hanlin Academy!"

Liu Haozhi added, "The Great Song Dynasty governs the country with benevolence and righteousness, and spreads the world with the virtues of sages. If we allow Shi Ziming to run rampant, the world will surely descend into chaos!"

The prime ministers, listening to these imperial students speak, felt their scalps tingle. These students were truly brain-dead. How dare they say such things to the emperor's face? Damn it, at such a young age, do you really want to ruin your future?

The emperor angrily retorted, "How dare you act so recklessly!"

Chen Dong said, "Soldiers who slaughtered the bloodline of the sage in the street deserve to be executed. The official gazette openly slandered the sage. Shi Zi's intentions are clear and he deserves to be punished!"

Zhao Huan's face darkened as he asked, "How do you intend to slander me?"

Chen Runxin said, "The Imperial Gazette instigated the Censorate to commit heinous acts against the bloodline of the Sage, which is an offense against the Sage. This shakes the foundation of our Great Song Dynasty and will bring chaos to the world!"

Xu Churen was terrified. These students were truly brain-dead. What did they mean by committing heinous acts? He himself was a prime minister, and he had also studied the classics. The Confucius family had gotten into this mess, and the emperor hadn't even made a judgment yet. And you, with no important positions, were already here telling the emperor how to be an emperor? No, you were forcing the emperor to be an emperor!

Zhao Huan asked with a gloomy face, "How did you instigate this? Why was I unaware of any instigation in the official gazette? When did the Great Song Dynasty become the domain of the Confucian family?"

The emperor's question left the students speechless, all of them stunned. Chen Dong then said, "The Great Song Dynasty governs the country according to the way of the sages. The Confucius Mansion is the lineage of the sages, and it is sacred and inviolable."

Before he could finish speaking, the emperor slapped Chen Dong across the face, knocking him to the ground and drawing blood from his mouth. Zhao Huan looked at him with exasperation: "Even the emperor is subject to the same laws as commoners, so how come the Confucius family is considered sacred and inviolable just because they broke the law!"

"The imperial court has spent so much money to support your studies, hoping that one day you will become pillars of the Song Dynasty and bring happiness to the people. Yet you judge right and wrong without distinguishing right from wrong. What have you learned from these classic texts?"

"The affairs of the court are decided by the prime ministers, and the major affairs of the nation are also reviewed by me. The matters of officials and the judiciary concern the people and the nation. The power of the Censorate is sacred and inviolable. You have overstepped your bounds in the judiciary. What do you regard the law of the land? What do you regard me?"

"Liu Haozhi, Chen Runxin, what did I say to you last time? I wanted you to become pillars of the Song Dynasty, and what are you doing?!"

The prime ministers, who had intended to plead for mercy, saw that the emperor was already furious to the extreme and dared not speak again. They thought to themselves, "These brainless students are really something else. It's obvious that someone in the court is trying to cause trouble regarding the Confucius family. If you get involved at this time, aren't you just courting death?"

The emperor roared, "Guards! Throw all these people into the imperial prison!"

"Your Majesty, Shi Ziming is as treacherous as Cai Jing and Tong Guan, and should be executed! Your Majesty, Shi Ziming is as treacherous as Cai Jing and Tong Guan, and should be executed..."

In the distance, the Imperial Guards had already surrounded and imprisoned more than fifty students of the Imperial Academy. Unable to resist, they were taken to the Imperial Prison.

Li Gang said, "Your Majesty, I dare to be so bold as to ask that Your Majesty show leniency in this matter."

"Lord Li, there's no need for further words. The laws of the Great Song Dynasty will handle this matter fairly!"

Seeing that even the emperor was disrespecting Li Gang, no one else dared to say another word. The emperor was in a fit of rage; trying to persuade him now would be tantamount to courting death!

Not long after the fifty-odd students of the Imperial Academy were thrown into the prison, another horrifying incident occurred in Xianyuan County: the entire family of the soldier named Xu Asan was murdered that very night!

When He Liming heard the news, he was drinking with his men. He stood up and exclaimed, "Holy crap! Aren't the Kong family descendants of a sage? They're so powerful! I was just thinking of collecting your dirty secrets, and now this has happened!"