"Oh?" The emperor leaned forward, the shadow of the bright yellow umbrella covering his slightly raised brow. "What do you mean?"
Siyan suddenly raised his little hand, the porridge stain on his cuffs particularly noticeable in the sunlight. "Your Majesty, last month I saw Censor Li's son stealing ink ingots at the Imperial College! Assistant Professor Zhang even made him pay for it!" The child grew increasingly excited, the abacus beads clattering in his arms. "His father must have accused me of embezzlement out of revenge!"
"You're slandering me!" Censor Li suddenly stepped out, his boots scraping harshly against the blue bricks. "What do you, a young boy, know about etiquette? How dare you slander an official appointed by the imperial court?"
"I'm not slandering you!" Si Yan said anxiously, her face flushed red, her fists clenched white. "Assistant Professor Zhang is at the Imperial College. Your Majesty can send someone to ask him!"
As Jiang Yan kowtowed, the coiled dragon pattern on his jade belt hook scraped against the ground. "Your Majesty, every word I've said is true. Censor Li has put personal interests above public interest and abused his power of impeachment. If this trend continues, there will be no peace in the court."
Su Jinli then took a half step forward on her knees, her skirt sweeping across the moss in the cracks between the bricks: "Your Majesty! If you don't punish severely today, who will dare to expose evil deeds in the future? Who will dare to do good deeds and accumulate virtue?" Her voice echoed in the empty hall, shaking the copper bells between the beams to ring faintly.
- [Dragon's Decision: Thunder and Helplessness]
The emperor felt his temples throbbing as he watched the clamoring crowd around him. He saw the hairpins in Su Jinli's hair swaying violently with excitement, Si Yan's fingers turning white as he gripped the abacus, Jiang Yan kneeling but keeping his back straight, and Censor Li kowtowed profusely, sweating profusely.
"Silence!" The emperor slammed the armrest of the dragon throne, causing the cinnabar ink on the coiled dragon carving to flake off in small pieces. "Lord Li, is what Si Yan said true?"
Censor Li's forehead banged against the blue bricks, making a thud. "Your Majesty, please forgive me! I...I truly do not know what my son did. I failed to discipline him properly! But the reason I'm impeaching Young Master Jiang is because the accounts don't match..."
"You still dare to quibble!" Su Jinli suddenly stood up, pointing a finger directly at the tip of Censor Li's nose, her armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight. "Si Yan donated the silver to the charity cemetery, and there's a receipt to prove it! As a Censor, you failed to investigate and instead falsely accused him. This is dereliction of duty! You didn't discipline your son for stealing, and instead retaliated against the person who exposed him. This is favoritism! How can someone with such behavior be worthy of wearing the Xiezhi patch?"
Her words flew out like a barrage of bullets, startling the guards outside the hall so much that they tightened their grip on their swords. Censor Li slumped to the ground, the tangled branches on the soles of his official boots scraping against the cracks in the brickwork, unable to utter a single word.
The emperor took a deep breath, the sun pattern on the cuffs of his dragon robe sweeping across the edge of the throne. "Censor Li, you've failed to educate your son, investigated the case poorly, and abused your power..." He paused, looking at Su Jinli's fiery eyes, and finally said in a deep voice, "Immediately dismiss you from your position as Censor, demote you to a commoner, and never employ you again!"
"Your Majesty!" Censor Li screamed and collapsed to the ground, his black hat rolling three feet away.
Su Jinli then knelt down in satisfaction, pulled Si Yan and kowtowed deeply: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your wisdom!"
The emperor waved his hand, and the bright yellow umbrella cast a halo of light behind him. "Go back, everyone. Don't keep coming to the palace for no reason. It's giving me a headache."
- [Returning Home: Warm Sunshine and Expectations]
When walking out of the Golden Palace, Siyan suddenly raised the abacus and cheered: "Yeah! The emperor has made the decision for me!" The sunlight shone on his sweaty forehead, reflecting tiny gold powder.
Young Marquis Su lifted him onto his shoulder, his toy sword clanging behind his back: "So what? Your uncle said no one dared to bully you!" The child rode on his shoulder, swinging his legs, and the tassel of his abacus brushed across Su Qingyao's pearl headband.
"Put it down, what a mess." Su Qingyao slapped Si Yan's feet away, but secretly stuffed a piece of almond cake into his hand, "Here, my eldest sister just bought it, it tastes better than the ones in the imperial kitchen."
Jiang Yan watched his wife and children laughing and playing, his fingers from his sleeves quietly hooking around Su Jinli's fingertips. The mutton-fat jade bracelet on her wrist touched the hook of his jade belt, making a clear sound.
"What are you looking at?" Su Jinli raised her eyebrows, and the pearl tassels on her hairpin brushed across the back of his hand.
"Look at our little money-grubber," Jiang Yan chuckled softly, looking at the abacus tightly clenched in Siyan's hand. "I'm afraid the whole capital will know that no matter who we offend, we must not offend Jiang Siyan's parents."
Su Jinli chuckled, the sun shining into the corners of her eyes, creating tiny glints of light. She thought back to her past life, when she'd been so cautious in the Prime Minister's Mansion. Then, looking at herself now, speaking out boldly in the Golden Throne Hall, she suddenly felt that the late spring breeze was sweet.
Perhaps, as Jiang Yan had said, their days would only get more lively. And her son, Su Jinli, was destined to grow up amidst this hustle and bustle, even more dazzling than his parents. Si Yan's small hands, clutching the abacus, were still twitching, the clinking of beads echoing across the palace path, a perfect match for the rhythm of her heart's excitement.
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