Chapter 327 Incompetence in Position

The Lantern Festival passed in the blink of an eye, and King Jing successfully ascended the throne, becoming Emperor Jing of Xia.

The first thing he did after taking power was to reward his meritorious officials.

All of his adopted sons were granted the title of Prince of the County, and none of them were kept to become princes. It can be said that he skipped that step entirely.

As for the younger ones, they received no reward whatsoever and were still addressed as "Young Master" as before.

The adopted sons looked at each other, and seeing that everyone was in the same boat, they breathed a sigh of relief.

This shows that everyone has an equal opportunity and can compete for it. Emperor Jing had no biological sons, so he raised them as his own.

Everyone who made a contribution was rewarded; King Jing was not a stingy person.

Even the simple-minded girl who was still in Suzhou was given a fifth-rank official position, and her status as a woman was made public, granting her the freedom to marry.

Upon receiving this imperial edict, many old fogies immediately jumped out.

"Your Majesty, this is the first time in history that a woman has held an official position!"

"Yes, this is outrageous! How can a woman be an official! Isn't this chaos?"

Before King Jing could speak, Lin Anyuan launched into a tirade, "You make it sound so nice, saying women are no good? Then you go! If you're so capable, go to the battlefield and kill the barbarians!"

The old stubborn man's beard trembled with anger.

"General Lin, I am merely speaking the truth in accordance with ancestral etiquette. Why are you making such a fuss?"

That's absurd. They're civil officials; why are they killing barbarians?

"General Lin, our Great Xia has so many fine men, why must we rely on a woman to defend against foreign enemies... Wouldn't that make the barbarians laugh their heads off?"

Lin Anyuan snorted coldly, "When did I start arguing unreasonably? I'm stating the facts. If the barbarians come, you go to the battlefield and explain the ancestral laws and customs of our dynasty to them. Ideally, you should be able to win over the barbarians without losing a single soldier! You would be a great hero of our Xia Dynasty, someone that many people would be willing to kneel down and kowtow to.

Emperor Jing nodded, "Ah, yes, yes, Minister Hao, I couldn't be happier."

The tone implied, "Hurry up and ask for the imperial decree. You are in Suzhou. Let the woman come back and stay in the backyard to be a wife and mother."

Lord Hao: ...

Finally, his face turned red, and he stammered without saying a word.

With the silly girl as the starting point, when Prince Jing appointed Ye Wan as the fourth-rank agricultural official, everything went incredibly smoothly.

The ministers fell silent, after all, they had truly benefited. The watermelons on the carriage this year were thanks to Lady Ye, as were many other vegetables. They couldn't very well refuse to eat them.

So she comforted herself, "Oh well, she's just a woman, doing nothing but farming. She can't cause any trouble."

Anyway, it's the officials in the Ministry of Agriculture who are unhappy, it's none of their business.

Emperor Jing went through the circle of conferring titles and finally reached Lin Anyuan, who was the last one. All eyes were on him.

Emperor Jing looked intently at Lin Anyuan and said, "Minister Lin, I hereby appoint you as a king of a different surname, and give you command of all the troops in the capital."

The courtiers were in uproar.

This is giving Lin Anyuan far too much importance.

A king of a different surname! It's fine if it's just a nice-sounding title, even though he still has real power.

Good heavens, is Emperor Jing so complacent about his throne that he's hanging a sword over his head?

Lin Anyuan could mobilize the troops in the capital all by himself; what if he were to harbor rebellious intentions...?

Hiss... Xin Di took the lead, could it be that he's gone mad?

Or perhaps Lin Anyuan used his good looks to seduce her... In any case, it's hard not to have some thoughts.

The four young masters exchanged glances, their hearts burning with desire.

If we could get Lin Anyuan's support...

The Grand Prince Murong Wen was confident, and he and Lin Anyuan were on good terms.

The Second Prince Murong Wu was certain of this; he had shown Lin Anyuan great kindness, regardless of whether others considered it that way, he believed it to be true.

The third and fourth young masters exchanged a glance, their eyes dark, determined to make Lin Anyuan work for them.

They only found out after Madam Zhao made a scene several times that they, like the other brothers, were not her biological children.

Of all the women in the harem, only Murong Wan'er was his biological daughter, and she was given the title of princess.

"Your Majesty, I thank you."

Lin Anyuan thanked him politely and respectfully.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

Imperial Censor Yu jumped out and said, "This Lin Anyuan has insulted his mother and murdered his father. He is unfilial and disrespectful to his brothers. He is unworthy to be a son. How can such a person sit on the throne of a king of a different surname!"

The people who jumped out were from the Censorate; they had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

They presented all the evidence of Lin Anyuan's crimes when he was imprisoned in the countryside.

A country bumpkin, trampling on the dignity of aristocratic families, now dares to aspire to the position of a king from a different surname—how can this be allowed?

Emperor Jing's face darkened. "Imperial Censor Yu, where did you hear this news from?"

"As far as I know, the person that Minister Lin killed was nothing more than a treacherous villain with ill intentions."

"Insulting one's mother and killing one's father—use your brains to think about it, does that make sense?"

"puff!"

Someone couldn't help but laugh, and a chorus of suppressed laughter echoed throughout the hall.

Your Majesty's words are certainly rough, but they are indeed true.

Imperial Censor Yu said with a serious expression, “If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can summon a witness. This matter is absolutely true, without a single falsehood. This person is morally flawed.”

"Lin Anyuan murdered his father. Even if he wasn't his biological father, he was his adoptive father, and there was also his deceased mother. How can someone who disregards human ethics be allowed to serve as an official in the court? He is utterly unworthy of his position!"

"This is not something I, your humble servant, have fabricated! Everyone in Min County knows this!"

Liu Wenshu stepped forward and said, “Lord Yu, I am from Min County. I can testify to this matter. Lord Lin has never received any favors from that person. On the contrary, that person had malicious intentions and killed Lord Lin’s mother. Besides, it is only right and proper that a murderer should pay with his life. Lord Lin is already in prison. Are you still going to hold this wrong against him?”

Lin Anyuan looked at Liu Wenshu.

Liu Wenshu's gaze was clear and upright, without any pretense of politeness.

"How can someone with a tainted reputation be allowed to serve as an official in the court!"

"Yes, this is outrageous! If this continues, wouldn't anyone be able to become an official in the court!"

A quarrel broke out in the main hall. Many people had different thoughts. He could no longer be a king of a different surname, and he might not even be able to serve as an official.

Lin Anyuan's background should be enough to seal his fate.

I never imagined that such a glamorous person would have such a shameful past.

"Who says my son is unworthy of his position!"