Chapter 112 Frame Zhang Ting, Thunderous Fury...

Last night, strong winds and torrential rain raged, knocking down many trees on both sides of the road, which lay scattered across the middle of the road.

Many adults went to their shifts with furrowed brows, but one person went with a deep smile on his lips.

Great meeting.

Emperor Chengtai sat listlessly on the high platform, the tassels of his crown swaying gently before him, displaying the majesty of the emperor, and looking down at everyone below.

"If you have something to report, speak now; otherwise, the court is adjourned!"

The court officials would seize any opportunity to speak, stepping forward only to retreat again, like plucking a string on a zither, each string being plucked and then falling back—this was how Emperor Chengtai thought. Day after day, year after year, it was all the same old, trivial matters.

Her thoughts drifted away. She'd been busy practicing with Master Xi lately and hadn't seen that young scholar for a long time. She could summon him after court to finalize his marriage to Xiao Ba.

The one before Xiao Ba couldn't accept the royal favor and left. This time, she found a man with extraordinary talent. When the emperor bestows a good marriage upon him, he will be blessed with great fortune and will certainly not let his son become a widow again.

Emperor Chengtai rested his hands on his knees and suddenly thought: "The young Hanlin is exceptionally handsome, and the young Ba is a beauty of unparalleled grace. I wonder how lovely and adorable their child would be."

Only then did she realize with a start that the royal family had not had any new additions for a long time.

The courtiers below the hall argued incessantly as usual, questioning each other relentlessly, launching sarcastic attacks, and pressing the issue without end. Some even rolled up their sleeves and demonstrated their martial arts skills with their colleagues right there in court.

The court was noisy like a marketplace, like ten million flies buzzing in Xu Pin's ears. It felt as if a needle was piercing her head, causing her a splitting headache.

A vein throbbed on her forehead as she suppressed a surge of anger, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She had actually spent her days working alongside these people.

She opened her eyes and winked at the censor standing opposite her, who nodded in response.

Xu Pin held his tablet close, calmly gazing at the ground.

Let's put an end to today's farce for now.

A moment later, the Imperial Censor Zhang stepped forward and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I have a matter to report."

Before the previous matter had been resolved, the person involved saw someone cutting in line and pointed at Imperial Censor Zhang's nose, cursing, "Lord Zhang, the Emperor's authority is supreme. There is a first-come, first-served order in everything. Don't be such a disrespectful person!"

Imperial Censor Zhang's brows twitched, suppressing his annoyance. Not wanting to waste words arguing with her, he continued, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

But the other party was not only relentless, but also had a fiery temper. He rolled up his sleeves and walked towards her, saying, "Zhang Fengyi, who do you think you are? I'm speaking to you politely, and you dare to ignore me!"

Zhang Fengyi had no choice but to confront her, and said impatiently, "Lord Zhao, I was just a little anxious because I saw you arguing endlessly without reaching a conclusion. There are many matters to report in the court, so don't let these trivial matters waste time."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shen's anger not only failed to subside but instead burned even more fiercely. He rushed to her in two strides, grabbed Zhang Fengyi by the collar, and said through gritted teeth with a flushed face, "You bastard, how dare you accuse me of making a mountain out of a molehill! Even your superiors wouldn't dare to speak to me like this!"

Zhang Fengyi struggled to get off her, his anger rising, and said indignantly, "I am only speaking the truth, Lord Zhao, please don't take it personally."

"You!" Zhao Shen was furious and raised his hand to swing at her.

He watched as his carefully planned scheme was about to turn into a farce and a joke.

Xu Pin closed her eyes briefly, then had to speak up to stop them, shouting, "Enough!" Her face darkened. "His Majesty is magnanimous and doesn't hold your disrespect in front of the palace against you. Do you all want to climb the social ladder by taking advantage of this?"

Emperor Chengtai was startled by her stern shout, and his wandering soul returned to its place.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shen quickly loosened his grip on Zhang Fengyi's collar and said urgently, "This humble official dares not." He then glanced cautiously at Emperor Chengtai's expression and silently returned to his original position to stand properly.

Emperor Chengtai glanced at Xu Pin indifferently, then turned his gaze to Zhang Fengyi. A censor known for her 'uprightness and ruthlessness' was actually one of Xu Pin's people.

"Minister Zhang, what urgent matter do you have to report?" What tricks is Xu Pin planning to play today?

The remaining court officials stood silently, their eyes downcast.

Zhang Fengyi finally overcame all difficulties and had a chance to speak. She cherished this hard-won opportunity, cleared her throat and prepared herself mentally before saying, "Your Majesty, I wish to impeach Zhang Ting, a compiler in the Hanlin Academy."

Finally! Finally, she said it! Xu Pin breathed a long sigh of relief, never before had she felt so relieved.

Zhang Ting is simply unlucky; anything involving her leads to misfortune.

Emperor Chengtai raised an eyebrow. "You want to impeach Zhang Ting?" No, the young scholar is her youngest son's future wife; she has to protect her.

But at the same time, I am very curious about what kind of impeachment would be made against someone as shrewd and capable as Zhang Ting.

Accepting bribes? She seems to have no worries about food and clothing.

She frequents brothels? She doesn't seem like a lecherous person.

Upon hearing this, all eyes in the court turned to Zhang Fengyi. Many people in the hall had never seen Zhang Ting before, but everyone knew of her remarkable achievements.

A prodigy who achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations, a rising literary master, a contemporary talent sought after by the five ministers, and a rising star favored by His Majesty.

In her more than thirty years of life, Zhang Fengyi had never been the center of attention as she was today, with dozens or even hundreds of eyes fixed on her. It felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. She couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from her face, regretting for the first time that she had obeyed Prime Minister Xu's orders.

Could Zhang Ting really be the legendary immortal, possessing such magical power to attract everyone's attention?

But with the die already cast, Zhang Fengyi had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

"Your Majesty, I hereby impeach Zhang Ting, a compiler of the Hanlin Academy, for knowingly violating the law and engaging in business for profit." As she spoke, she took out a confession from her sleeve with slightly trembling hands and presented it to him. "This is the confession of Xu You, the major owner of Keyinglou. I beg Your Majesty to judge it carefully."

The court officials were all familiar with Ke Ying Lou, and many of them were regular customers. As soon as these words were spoken, the hall erupted in chaos. No one had expected that Zhang Ting was also skilled in business, and so adept at it.

Liu Xin, the Minister of Revenue, was not ashamed at all. On the contrary, she raised her chin with pride. How could the talent she had chosen be mediocre?

Emperor Chengtai accepted the confession presented by the palace maid with indifference, glanced at it casually, and said that Zhang Ting had participated in the operation of Keyinglou, making a lot of profits, oppressing the people, and abusing his servants, and that his crimes were unforgivable.

Sigh, it's understandable that someone so young makes a few mistakes due to their impetuousness. Speaking of which, since Zhang Ting is so skilled in business, Xiao Ba shouldn't suffer after marrying her. Hmm... we can even find a reason to send him to work in the Ministry of Revenue.

Zhang Fengyi swallowed hard, extremely uneasy. The atmosphere in the hall was peaceful, hardly the atmosphere of someone attacking officials. How could this be? Would today's impeachment attempt fail?

Wouldn't that ruin her reputation and subject her to retaliation? I've heard that all five ministers adore her.

As expected, Emperor Chengtai casually handed the confession to a palace maid, appearing completely unconcerned.

Some charges become charges not because of the facts, but because of whether those in power care.

Zhang Fengyi seemed to foresee her own demise in an instant. She made up her mind, thinking that she would either succeed or die trying today. Before Emperor Chengtai could speak, she said firmly, "This humble subject also wants to impeach Zhang Ting for privately taking in the official slaves of the Zong family. This violates the rules of etiquette and morality, disregards the law, and shows contempt for the imperial authority."

As soon as he finished speaking, the once bustling hall, as noisy as a marketplace, was instantly frozen in place, with all sound and movement ceasing.

After a long silence, Emperor Chengtai picked at his ear and asked, somewhat puzzled, "You mean the Zong family's official slaves? Which Zong family?"

Zhang Fengyi was startled by the oppressive atmosphere in the hall and dared not look up. He carefully replied, "...It is the sect of Xuan Yue of the Sinners Sect."

The atmosphere inside the main hall became even more solemn, with all the civil and military officials bowing their heads, fearing that they might make a wrong move.

Emperor Chengtai remained silent for a long while before she suddenly realized what was happening. She slowly stood up from her throne. "Zong Xuanyue... I haven't heard this name in many years." Her tone was ordinary, but it startled all the civil and military officials, who cried out in unison, "Please calm down, Your Majesty."

Zhang Fengyi was confused and, in a daze, also knelt down.

Emperor Chengtai placed his right hand on the imperial desk and gently tapped the table. "Calm down?" The tassels on his crown remained almost motionless.

"Do you want me to calm down?" she repeated calmly.

Time seemed to pass very slowly at this moment. Some timid officials, unable to withstand the emperor's overwhelming pressure, knelt on the ground, trembling.

A crack appeared on Cheng Tai Di's calm face, and then the crack widened, revealing her true, deranged appearance.

She angrily overturned the imperial desk, letting it roll across the hall, her eyes wide with fury, her arms outstretched, shouting, "You all deceive me and lie to me!"

"A mere compiler in the Hanlin Academy dares to deceive the emperor! Very well! Very well!!"

"Please calm your anger, Your Majesty."

Her eyes were bloodshot as she stared intently at the court officials below, each one of them resembling Zong Xuanyue, the Zong Xuanyue who dared to look down on her, the Zong Xuanyue who dared to usurp her power, the Zong Xuanyue who made the world know only the Prime Minister Zong and not the Emperor!

The tassels of the crown flew wildly, but its owner ignored them, even strode to the side, drew his sword, and slashed wildly, shouting, "I will kill you traitors!"

Upon seeing this, Xu Qiu, who had been keeping a low profile, panicked. Oh no! Without thinking, he scrambled to his feet and grabbed her waist, crying, "Oh, Your Majesty, please don't be impulsive! Please don't be impulsive!"

Emperor Chengtai struggled to break free from Xu Qiu's restraints, but the other court officials, not wanting to die, quickly rushed forward and snatched the sword from her hand.

Xu Pin stood there stunned, his heart skipping a beat.

She originally only wanted to mess with Zhang Ting, but things got out of control, and a cold sweat broke out on her back. Only then did she realize that His Majesty knew that Zhang Fengyi was her man.

Emperor Chengtai remained silent for a long time before regaining his senses. Exhausted, he rubbed his forehead and swayed. Xu Qiu hurriedly helped him up.

"Dismiss the court." She was too weak to deal with the court officials any longer.

The entire court breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully saw His Majesty off.

After everyone left.

"Censor Zhang, you're quite capable." The Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate slapped her on the shoulder, a half-smile on his face. "You almost got us killed."

“My lord… this humble servant…” Zhang Fengyi felt a pain in her right shoulder as if her bones were cracking. She turned around to explain, only to see a pair of sinister eyes staring at her from behind.

I was startled.

Those who knew about the relationship between the two also included Xu Pin in their calculations, gritting their teeth and thinking to themselves: These two unruly parasites!

...

Emperor Chengtai returned to the Zichen Palace, leaned against the couch and closed his eyes to rest. By this time, she was already fully awake.

With a cold face, he commanded, "Bring Zhang Ting here." His voice was as if it had been chilled to the bone.

Xu Qiu paused for a moment, then said, "Yes."

The Hanlin Academy was not far from the Zichen Hall. In about half an hour, the palace maid brought the person there.

Emperor Chengtai seemed to have forgotten about it and fell asleep on the couch.

Outside the hall, Zhang Ting knelt on the ground under the scorching sun. Large beads of sweat streamed down her forehead and fell to the ground. Her lips were pale and dry, and her knees ached terribly from kneeling, as if her bones had been ground flat.

Sweat soaked through her official robes, and her hair was disheveled and plastered to her face.

Even when she first arrived in this world in poverty and hardship, she had never been as disheveled as she is today.

Zhang Ting swayed slightly, her eyes unfocused, gradually unable to withstand the intense heat, but her spine remained straight throughout, her gaze fixed straight ahead, her bearing awe-inspiring and involuntarily inspiring admiration.

Even Xu Qiu couldn't help but admire his integrity.

Emperor Chengtai stood silently by the window, gazing at the young woman kneeling under the blazing sun for an unknown period of time.

As she watched, she gradually felt relieved.

Zhang Ting is a prudent person with noble character. If there is anything wrong with him, it is that he only took a concubine as a concubine. It is only natural for women to be attracted to beauty.

But what if she didn't know?

Emperor Chengtai convinced himself and summoned his minister, who was on the verge of fainting, into the palace.

Zhang Ting was severely dehydrated, her legs were trembling, and she was practically helped in.

The first thing she did upon entering the palace was to kneel down again, her voice hoarse: "Your humble servant Zhang Ting pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty!" Her face was pale and weak, but she showed absolutely no dissatisfaction or resentment towards the emperor.

"How does it feel to be exposed to the scorching sun? Zhang Ting, do you resent me?"

She seemed too weak to even lift her eyes, and slowly looked up. "Thunder and rain are all the Emperor's grace. I am Your Majesty's subject. If any punishment can ease your anger, I will be honored." Her gaze finally met Emperor Chengtai's, but the sincerity and fervor in his eyes stung her eyes, and she couldn't help but turn her head away.

However, Emperor Chengtai acknowledged her loyalty in his heart.

Emperor Chengtai felt deeply reluctant and heartbroken to lose such a loyal and virtuous woman.

For the first time in his life, he compromised, saying, "I'm giving you one last chance: expel that Zong family son and marry the Eighth Prince."

"No one can guarantee your meteoric rise to power, but I can guarantee your path to the highest heavens."

"Zhang Ting, what do you think?"