Chapter 74 "Nian Nian, Nian Nian..."
The secret report, imbued with Lin Yan's anger and longing, was delivered with extraordinary speed.
Lin Yan knelt in front of the mourning hall until his knees went numb, wondering if Xiao Che had received his secret report. The report had passed through several hands before being carried by Li Defu, who carried it into the warm pavilion of Taiyi Hall with light and quick steps.
The underfloor heating in the warm pavilion was burning brightly. Xiao Che had just finished reviewing a stack of greetings and was rubbing his temples to relieve his fatigue.
He was in a great mood upon receiving Lin Yan's letter of peace from Luozhou, and even found the flowery-worded but empty memorials somewhat more palatable.
Upon seeing Li Defu present another letter, the corners of his lips unconsciously lifted, and he even seemed somewhat impatient as he took it.
"Another letter from Lin Yan?" he asked casually, his fingertips already breaking the sealing wax.
"Your Majesty, it was Lord Lin who sent it urgently through the Golden Shadow Guard channels," Li Defu replied with a smile.
However, the smile froze the moment Xiao Che unfolded the letter and his gaze swept over its contents.
Li Defu could even clearly see His Majesty's fingers tighten suddenly as he gripped the letter, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
"Good! Good for Chen Boyuan!" Xiao Che's voice was squeezed out from between his teeth. "He embezzled disaster relief funds, oppressed the people, and even dared to cause trouble at the mourning hall of Lin Yan's great-grandmother. He's tired of living! Does he really think my sword can't cut off his dog's head?"
With a loud bang, Xiao Che slammed his fist hard on the small rosewood table beside him, making the teacups and pen holders on it vibrate loudly.
Li Defu was so frightened that he knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please take care of your health! It's not worth ruining your health for such a scoundrel!"
He knew that His Majesty hated parasites like this the most, especially since these parasites had dared to bully Lord Lin. Wasn't this like an old man eating poison, tired of living?
Xiao Che's eyes burned with murderous intent.
"Issue my decree!" Xiao Che abruptly stood up. "Immediately..."
"Your Majesty!" Seeing that His Majesty was about to issue a stern decree in his anger, Li Defu hurriedly raised his head, risking public outrage, and urgently advised, "Your Majesty, please calm down. You see, Lord Lin also said in his letter that he has obtained the imperial order and arrested that scoundrel on the spot. Lord Lin handled the situation very well, preventing that fellow from truly disturbing the old lady's peace and also preventing the Lin family from suffering any losses. Your Majesty, Lord Lin acts with method and has already brought the situation under control."
Yes, Lin Yan handled it.
Using the token he gave me, I dealt with that bastard swiftly and decisively.
[Your Majesty's token is truly useful. Today, I experienced firsthand what it means to borrow power from someone else, and I am deeply grateful and feel quite powerful.]
Upon seeing this line of text, Xiao Che could almost picture Lin Yan's slightly smug, yet somewhat dependent and boastful expression as he wrote it.
Xiao Che temporarily suppressed his anger at the thought of immediately ordering someone to go to Luozhou and tear Chen Boyuan to pieces.
Seeing the Emperor's expression, Li Defu knew that his persuasion had worked, and quickly pressed his advantage: "Your Majesty, although Lord Lin has taken control of the situation, the subsequent trial, conviction, and even the selection of a new magistrate still require Your Majesty's judgment. Your Majesty must take care of yourself now so that you can uphold justice for Lord Lin and the people of Luozhou."
Getting angry is bad for your health! Getting angry is bad for your health!
Xiao Che bent his fingers and tapped the table intermittently, making a dull sound that seemed to strike one's heart.
“You’re right.” After a long pause, Xiao Che slowly spoke, “Lin Yan did a good job, but this matter cannot be left like this.”
His gaze turned to Li Defu: "Draft an imperial edict."
Li Defu immediately got up and quickly laid out paper and ground ink.
Xiao Che pondered for a moment, speaking slowly but with great weight: "Chen Boyuan, the magistrate of Luozhou County, embezzled disaster relief funds, oppressed the people, and even openly provoked trouble and desecrated the mourning hall during the Lin family's funeral. His behavior is despicable. He is hereby stripped of all his official positions and titles, arrested and brought to the capital for joint trial by the three judicial departments, and severely punished without leniency. His family property will be confiscated and added to the national treasury. Once the case is cleared, the embezzled funds will be doubled and returned to the disaster-stricken people of Luozhou."
"Furthermore," Xiao Che paused, then continued, "Lin Yan, a Hanlin Academician, acted decisively in a time of crisis, upholding my imperial decree, stabilizing the region, and appeasing the people. He has rendered meritorious service to the court and is hereby granted the title of Imperial Commissioner, with full authority to investigate the case of Chen Boyuan's embezzlement. All witnesses and evidence, as well as local officials, must cooperate without fail."
"Draft another edict to the Ministry of Personnel, instructing them to immediately select from the candidates officials a person who is upright, capable, and familiar with the people's conditions, and to quickly draft a candidate to take over as the county magistrate of Luozhou, and submit it to me for approval. There must be no delay."
"Finally, issue an edict to the Censorate, ordering them to immediately send documents to all the censors in each circuit, to conduct a thorough investigation and find out how many more Chen Boyuans there are in the Great Yu Dynasty who dare to reach for disaster relief funds and the people's food rations. Every single one of them must be dragged out and severely punished!"
A series of decrees, clear and stern.
Even though he had been on the throne for almost two years, Xiao Che still opposed the late emperor's view that "if the water is too clear, there will be no fish."
Some people are clearly like big fish eating small fish, and small fish eating shrimp, but the people of Chongqing are not like shrimp in a pond.
Li Defu wrote down everything with lightning speed, not missing a single word. He was horrified. His Majesty was truly enraged. He not only wanted to punish Chen Boyuan, but also wanted to take this opportunity to thoroughly rectify official corruption.
"Yes, this old servant will go and deliver the decree immediately." Li Defu wrote down the decree, blew on the ink to dry it, and respectfully presented it.
Xiao Che glanced at it, took the imperial seal, and stamped it down heavily.
"Send it out immediately, by express courier."
"yes!"
The imperial edict, as if sprouting wings, carried the emperor's thunderous wrath and spread swiftly to all corners of the land.
Only after dealing with this unexpected incident did Xiao Che feel relieved.
He picked up the secret report again, his gaze skipping over the infuriating parts at the beginning and landing on the last few lines of small print.
[Having completed my official duties, I humbly submit this private message: Although matters at home are numerous, all is well, so please do not worry. Your Majesty is diligent in your duties, and I earnestly hope you will take care of your health. Your subject thinks of you constantly.]
The handwriting seemed a little softer than the previous official document style, filled with intimacy and concern.
"Never mind, never mind..."
Xiao Che repeated the two words in a low voice, his fingertips gently caressing the ink marks, as if he could touch the writer's emotions through the paper.
Xiao Che could even imagine Lin Yan's awkward appearance when he wrote those four characters, trying to remain calm but with his ears turning red, and looking around anxiously after finishing, as if afraid of being seen.
My mood inexplicably improved.
He carefully folded the secret report, and instead of handing it over to Li Defu for filing as usual, he kept it himself.
"Li Defu".
"This old servant is here."
"Add a ham and bamboo shoot soup to the dinner table," Xiao Che ordered calmly, as if the emperor who had just been furious and issued several stern decrees was merely an illusion.
Li Defu was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized that Lord Lin seemed to really like this soup.
His face crinkled with laughter, and he quickly bowed, saying, "Yes, this old servant will go and instruct the imperial kitchen immediately."
It seems His Majesty's mood has improved after the storm.
As Li Defu left, he silently gave Lin Yan, who was far away in Luozhou, a thumbs up in his heart.
Two days later, at the Lin family's old residence in Luozhou.
The funeral service continued, the atmosphere somber and solemn.
Lin Yan was kneeling before the altar, burning paper money. Sheets of yellow paper were thrown into the fire basin, turned to ashes, and spiraled upwards.
Suddenly, a great commotion broke out outside the old house, with the sounds of horses' hooves, footsteps, and shouts mingling together, shattering the solemn atmosphere.
"Imperial edict arrives! Hanlin Academician Lin Yan, receive the edict—"
The imperial decree pierced through the courtyard and clearly reached the mourning hall.
All the kneeling Lin family members and mourning guests were stunned and looked up.
Lin Yan was also taken aback. So fast? He put down the paper money in his hand, straightened his mourning clothes under his father Lin Chengji's shocked gaze, and quickly went out to greet him.
The courtyard was filled with a dark mass of people kneeling on the ground. A royal eunuch dressed in palace attire stood there solemnly, holding a bright yellow imperial edict. Behind him were several imperial guards, who looked travel-worn and had clearly rushed there day and night.
"Your subject Lin Yan respectfully greets Your Majesty." Lin Yan knelt down, lifting his robes, and bowed his head to receive the imperial decree.
"I am well." The eunuch unfolded the imperial edict and read it aloud.
The first part of the imperial edict listed Chen Boyuan's crimes in sharp words and harsh sentences, which made the Lin family members and the local gentry and guests kneeling on the ground tremble with fear. In particular, the sentence "arrested and brought to the capital, handed over to the three judicial departments for joint trial, and severely punished without leniency" made everyone's scalp tingle.
When they heard the latter part, in which His Majesty praised Lin Yan for "decisive handling, stabilizing the region, comforting the people, and making contributions to the court," and specially bestowed upon him the title of "Imperial Envoy" to fully investigate the case, everyone's eyes once again focused on Lin Yan, and the awe in their eyes had turned into horror and disbelief.
An imperial envoy! That's a high-ranking official representing the emperor in person!
How old is Lin Yan? How long has he been in the court? How could His Majesty entrust him with such great power?
No wonder she's a favorite of the emperor!
After the imperial edict was read, Lin Yan kowtowed and expressed his gratitude: "Your subject Lin Yan accepts the edict and expresses his thanks! Long live the Emperor!"
He accepted the heavy imperial edict and stood up.
The eunuch immediately put on a smiling face, stepped forward, and took a heavy brocade box from his attendant. He then presented it to Lin Yan with both hands: "Lord Lin, His Majesty has another decree, saying that you have been working hard and are also facing a family tragedy. Therefore, he has specially bestowed some ginseng and deer antler medicine to help you and your master and mistress recover. He hopes that you will take care of yourself, grieve, and properly handle the tasks entrusted to you by His Majesty."
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness." Lin Yan bowed again and accepted the brocade box.
The successive imperial edicts and rewards left everyone bewildered. The emperor was even concerned with people's health supplements?
The way everyone looked at Lin Yan changed again.
Lin Yan's use of the imperial edict to suppress Chen Boyuan was already shocking. Now, only a few days later, before the funeral was even over, a real imperial edict has arrived in Lin Yan's hands, along with additional rewards from His Majesty.
Wow, truly extraordinary.
Lin Chengji and Wen Yun stood at the front of the crowd, listening to the imperial edict and receiving the rewards. Their expressions were calm, as their family had received many rewards from His Majesty in the capital and were already used to it.
That's what they say... but this imperial edict came way too fast!
My son definitely has another way of communicating with His Majesty!
Why is that?
Holding the imperial edict and the rewards, Lin Yan felt guilty under the watchful, inquisitive, and uneasy gazes of his parents. He dared not admit that he was in love with the emperor.
His family had barely managed to accept the fact that he was gay, and if they found out that his gay lover was the current emperor... Lin Yan couldn't even imagine what kind of chaos would ensue.
Let's wait and see when the time is right before we can be honest.
After the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree completed his mission, he said a few words of condolence and gratitude for His Majesty's concern. He then left a squad of Imperial Guards for Lin Yan as the imperial envoy's bodyguard before taking his leave, leaving the Lin family members in the courtyard to continue the funeral rites with their own thoughts.
During the following process, Lin Yan felt like a monkey being watched.
Although no one dared to openly inquire, the subtle scrutiny, whispers, and inquisitive gazes tinged with awe were almost never far from him.
After finally getting through the day of funeral rites, Lin Yan felt even more tired than when he worked at the Ministry of Rites, and was physically and mentally exhausted.
That evening, the family returned to the inn where they were temporarily staying for dinner. The atmosphere at the dinner table was eerie; it was so quiet that only the slight clinking of bowls and chopsticks could be heard.
Lin Mo glanced at his father, then at his mother, then at his brother, and wisely buried himself in his food, trying to minimize his presence.
In the end, Lin Chengji couldn't hold back any longer. He cleared his throat, put down his chopsticks, and looked at Lin Yan with a complicated expression: "Yan'er..."
"Father, please speak." Lin Yan immediately sat up straight, adopting an obedient and receptive demeanor.
Lin Chengji thought for a moment, then simply picked up a piece of food for Lin Yan: "You can't eat meat these days, and you've been working so hard, so eat more, okay?"
Lin Yan: "???"
That's it?
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Author's Note: Xinmei really hates corrupt officials.
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