A few days later, Tian An realized how right her decision to hold her coming-of-age ceremony in a low-key manner was.
Early in the morning, Kristy Wu ran to Tian An, panting.
"Sister An An, have you heard?"
Tian An saw beads of sweat on her forehead from running, so he quickly picked up a cup and poured her a glass of warm water. He said, "What did you hear? You look so sweaty. Drink some water first and then you can talk."
Wu Yufei took the cup and drank it in one gulp. She paused for a moment before saying, "Sister An An, have you heard? During the morning court session today, many officials were impeached by the Censorate!"
"Even my uncle almost..."
"What? Yufei, what happened to my dad?" Before Wu Yufei could finish her words, Tian An excitedly grabbed her.
"It's okay, it's okay, Sister An An, don't worry, uncle is fine, I said almost, almost." Seeing Tian An anxious, Wu Yufei hurriedly explained.
Hearing this, Tian An paused before continuing, "Yu Fei, tell me in detail, what exactly is going on?"
It turned out that in recent years, disasters had occurred constantly in various places and wars had broken out frequently at the border. Even with the business of Liulichang supporting the country, the national treasury was still extremely empty, and even the money allocated to buy relief food was very little.
Moreover, as soon as the grain shops in the capital heard that the court was going to buy relief grain, every household began to hold on to the grain. In just a few days, the price of grain skyrocketed. Not to mention the refugees, many ordinary people could hardly afford to buy grain.
Even the queen ordered the harem to live frugally, save money in the palace, and help the previous dynasty.
But now all the refugees have fled to the capital, but the court officials are taking the court salaries and doing nothing. Some officials are even holding banquets at this stage, celebrating birthdays, building new houses, and taking concubines. The scene is almost extravagant, and they are completely oblivious to the hardships of the people's lives.
Now, he was reported directly by the Censorate in front of all the ministers.
Originally, Tian Mingwu was watching the show and eating melons with an expression that he deserved it, but he didn't expect that the melon would be eaten by himself.
He looked at the official who was reading the list with a confused look on his face and said, "Master Jiang, are you mistaken? Everyone in the capital knows that my family is the poorest. Besides, my family hasn't had any banquets recently. How could my name be on this list?"
The Imperial Censor, Lord Jiang, was also stunned. It was generally acknowledged that Tian Mingwu was poor.
He hurriedly looked down at the list in his hand, and saw that Tian Mingwu's name was indeed written on it.
"What's going on?" Lord Jiang looked at his subordinates.
The Imperial Censor, Lord Li, stepped forward, looked at Tian Mingwu, and spoke in a somewhat aggressive tone. "General Tian, do you dare to say that there will be no banquets in your mansion in the near future?
May I ask if your daughter, Anping Xiangjun, has recently come of age?"
Tian Mingwu was stunned and said subconsciously, "Are you saying that my daughter invited a few relatives and friends to her coming-of-age ceremony a few days ago and set up several tables of food at home for a gathering? That was extravagant and disregarded the suffering of the people?"
"If I remember correctly, when your daughter came of age last year, the house was packed with guests. There were at least thirty tables of banquets, if not fifty! Compared to yours, I'm embarrassed to even mention my daughter's coming of age banquet."
"This... how can this year compare to last year!" Lord Li was speechless, and could only awkwardly retort, making specious arguments. It was normal for a family's daughter to hold a wedding banquet when she came of age, but who could blame the situation this year?
Moreover, he just looked down on Tian Mingwu, a peasant from the countryside. Why should he stand with them, the nobles? Not only should he serve as an official in the court, but he also lived a better life than himself.
Not to mention that my daughter has been conferred the title of Lady of the Country, I heard that all the farms and shops in my family are doing very well, and the man I am engaged to has also passed the imperial examination this year.
On the other hand, his children...
"Why can't this year be compared with last year?" Tian Mingwu asked until he got to the bottom of it. He wanted to see what this Li guy could come up with.
Seeing that Tian Mingwu and the Chief Censor were at a stalemate, someone curiously asked, "General Tian, how many tables do you have set up at home?"
Tian Mingwu raised his hand and stretched out four fingers, saying, "Four tables."
Everyone: “…”
The big families in the capital city have many people, and even their meals usually have more than four tables. Lord Li is just looking for trouble!
The point is, there are so many people you could pick on, but you picked the poorest person and accused him of being extravagant. Isn't this a clear mockery of everyone here for being blind?
The court was immediately filled with discussion. The emperor glanced at Li, the Chief Censor, with a dark look in his eyes. He then turned to Jiang, the Imperial Censor, and asked, "Lord Jiang! It seems your list is controversial!"
Lord Jiang was terrified and immediately knelt on the ground, followed by a group of officials from the Censorate. "Your Majesty, please forgive me for not conducting a thorough investigation."
"Since the investigation is not thorough, then I will hurry up and investigate thoroughly."
"As for Lord Li..." the emperor said thoughtfully, "If you can't even handle your own duties, what else can I expect from you?
I am now questioning how you got to your current position.
To be fair, Lord Li will rest at home for now, and wait for Lord Jiang and the others to investigate thoroughly before we make any decisions."
"It's over." Lord Li fell to the ground with a deathly pale face.
Although the emperor did not say it explicitly, what is the difference between this and suspension and investigation? It is easy to go home and rest, but it is difficult to come back.
Besides, every official has his or her own secrets. If they are not made public, everyone will turn a blind eye. But if they are really investigated, I am afraid that few of them can cover up the truth.
All the officials sighed as they watched Lord Li slumped to the ground. Perhaps this was the only person who had lost his position by accusing someone.
However, where some are sad, others are happy. Official positions in the capital are like carrots and shovels. If this black-hearted carrot is leaving, then the shovel will be vacated...
After the court session, everyone on the Censorate's list, except Tian Mingwu, went home nervously to await the Censorate's investigation.
Tian Mingwu was fine, and went about his business in high spirits. However, he didn't expect to give Tian An at home a false alarm.
Kary Wu also heard this from her elder brother when he came home to get something after attending court.
Originally, Brother Wu was going to speak for Tian Mingwu in the court, but after seeing that Tian Mingwu handled the situation with ease, he gave up the idea, so as not to make things worse by adding unnecessary details.
After hearing what happened, Tian An felt a little scared. If she had really held a grand coming-of-age ceremony, her family would probably be waiting for the investigation by the Censorate at home today.
Since Tian Mingwu was fine, Tian An didn't ask him about it anymore, so as not to make him worry by bringing it up again.
But after today, Tian An couldn't help but pay more attention to the current situation in the capital.
In the evening, after Zhao Yiming came back from school, Tian An went to him in person to analyze the situation.
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