Chapter 12 "Hurry up, I... am hungry..."
Aman wasn't shy at all. It glanced at Lin Yan with its emerald green cat eyes, probably thinking that this two-legged creature posed no threat. It struggled symbolically for a moment, then let Lin Yan hold it in his arms.
Lin Yan was instantly overwhelmed by a tremendous sense of happiness.
He hugged the cat, plopped back down in his chair, and didn't care about manners anymore.
He buried his face in the thick, soft downy hair around Ah Man's neck and took a deep breath.
It smells like sun-dried fluffy cotton candy, with a lingering scent of royal incense.
"Snoring..." Ah Man seemed to be enjoying the rubbing, and a low snoring sound came from his throat.
Lin Yan hugged the cat, nuzzling it from left to right, resting his chin on Aman's fluffy head, feeling its warm little body and rhythmic purring. He felt all the fatigue of the past few days being absorbed by this fluffy healing artifact.
He gently pinched Ah Man's pink paw pads, which earned him a disgruntled slap from the cat.
With the Royal Cat brand hand warmer tucked in his arms, Lin Yan thought that Xiao Che was a really nice boss.
Lin Yan was happily petting the cat, but the others in the Ministry of Rites didn't get that treatment.
The interrogation room of the Imperial Guard was like something that had been dug out of an ice cellar.
The walls were bare, with not even a crack for ventilation. Only two pale oil lamps were lit, their tiny flames leaping weakly, barely tearing through the thick darkness. The shadows on the walls were distorted and elongated, like ghosts dancing. The air was filled with a pungent smell of rust mixed with years of dust; one breath could chill you to the bone.
Wu Haimin's hands were tied behind his back to a hardwood chair, with the chair legs firmly nailed into the ground.
He looked as if he had just been pulled out of the water; his light scarlet official robe was soaked with cold sweat, the color patchy and wrinkled, clinging to his body.
That face, which was usually so aloof in front of Lin Yan, was now ashen and yellow as if covered with a layer of cheap yellow paper. His lips trembled, and his teeth chattered loudly, making a series of grating sounds that were particularly jarring in the deathly silent room.
There was a person standing in front of him.
He was dressed in a completely black outfit without any patterns. He wasn't particularly tall, but he looked like a piece of heavy iron that had absorbed all light.
His face was expressionless, his features as plain as clay or wood carvings, except for his eyes, which were like two bottomless, cold pools, reflecting the dim light of the oil lamp, cold and silent, lacking any vitality.
He held no whip, no branding iron, and not even a knife. He just stood there casually, his gaze fixed on Wu Haimin's face.
Invisible pressure is more terrifying than any instrument of torture.
This is Jin Qi, which Jin Wuwei specially borrowed from Jin Yingwei.
"Lord Wu." Jin Qi's voice was as dry as sandpaper rubbing against an iron plate, flat and without any inflection. "What was the name of Lin Yan, the former Assistant Director of the Ministry of Rites, and why was he dismissed?"
Wu Haimin shuddered violently, his eyes darting around wildly, and he made a series of gasping sounds in his throat, unable to utter a single complete word.
Jin Qi didn't urge him or move; his cold eyes just stared at him quietly.
Time crawled by in a suffocating silence, each breath feeling like a year.
"Zhou Wenhuan!" Wu Haimin finally broke down, his sharp voice cracking, tears and snot streaming uncontrollably down his face. "The former Assistant Minister Zhou Wenhuan, he... he fell ill from overwork! Yes! He fell ill from overwork! The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Sacrifices had a heavy workload, and his body was weak. He couldn't take it anymore, so he... he resigned and went back to his hometown to recuperate!"
"Oh?" Jin Qi squeezed out a monotonous syllable from his throat without even moving his eyes. "Then how did those ordination certificates with blurred seals pass through the Ministry of Rites during the gap between Zhou Wenhuan and Lin Yan?"
"I stamped it! I stamped it!" Wu Haimin almost screamed, his body twisting violently under the restraints.
Jin Qi remained expressionless, only slightly tilting his head as if listening to the sounds from next door.
From next door, faint, suppressed groans and the sound of chains being dragged could be heard. Though indistinct, they were enough for Wu Haimin to imagine the horrific scenes of the eighteenth level of hell.
"Doctor Li," Jin Qi said casually, changing his target as if in conversation, "I heard he's setting up a hot pot for mutton in the government office?"
Wu Haimin trembled even more violently, like a withered leaf in the cold wind: "It was cooked! It really was cooked! Just last month! He made himself a small copper pot, with a strong smell of mutton fat... a really strong smell..."
He gasped for breath, as if he could still smell the stench: "Old Liu, the coroner on duty at the Ministry of Justice next door, even came looking for us! He peeked through the crack in the door asking if the newly delivered corpse hadn't been properly stored and the smell had wafted over to their place! It's true! Absolutely true!"
He spilled the beans, revealing even the detail that Doctor Li had secretly added half a pot of imperial tribute wine to the copper pot to enhance the flavor, almost setting the government office on fire.
The Imperial Guards remained silent.
No one knows what kind of medicine Jin Qi used, but Wu Haimin didn't even need to be tortured; he just got scared and vomited it all out.
Jin Qi seemed uninterested in the mutton hotpot, his gaze returning to Wu Haimin's tear-streaked face, a hint of scrutiny in his eyes: "Lord Wu, as a physician, your official duties must be even more demanding? Assistant Minister Lin... seems to be highly regarded by you, sir?"
"Highly valued, my foot!" Wu Haimin's last pretense was completely shattered by the word "highly valued." Fear mixed with long-suppressed resentment erupted instantly, and he roared hoarsely, "He's just a donkey pulling a millstone! And that Zhou Wenhuan! He's a donkey too! A stupid donkey! An easy-to-use donkey! All that bullshit about auspicious omens assessment, sacrificial rites, banquet budgets, and verification of monks' and Taoist ordination certificates... it's all their work! Of course, all the credit goes to me! What a load of bull! My dad is the Minister of Personnel! Do they dare not do it? We'd kill them! If Zhou Wenhuan dies from exhaustion, it's because he's short-lived! That brat Lin Yan is tough; he hasn't collapsed from exhaustion yet... uh!"
Wu Haimin suddenly stopped, as if he was frightened by the vicious words he had blurted out. Then he was overwhelmed by even greater fear, and his whole body went limp. All that was left was a trembling, desperate sobs in his throat. Sweat mixed with tears, which gathered into a turbid drop at the tip of his chin and fell to the cold ground with a "plop".
How could he... how could he say what was on his mind?
Wu Haimin became increasingly frightened as he thought about it.
Jin Qi watched him in silence as he completely collapsed, as if he were looking at a piece of rotten wood.
A moment later, he turned around, silently opened the heavy iron door, and walked out, locking the limp Wu Haimin and the foul air in the room back into the suffocating darkness.
Taiyi Hall Warm Pavilion.
The cool, refreshing scent of agarwood wafted gently, barely suppressing the sordid feeling emanating from the thick testimony, freshly handed over by the Imperial Guards, still carrying the chilling, rusty smell of the dungeon.
Xiao Che leaned back in the wide throne, the bright yellow cushions making the dark gold dragon patterns on his black robes appear even more profound.
He twirled the edge of the testimony between his fingers, turning the pages slowly, his face expressionless, as if he were reviewing an ordinary memorial.
Until you turn to a certain page.
His fingertips paused.
[...To avoid suspicion, Wu Haimin often invited his concubine, Liu, to the government office on his days off, ostensibly to study official documents, but in reality to... in the empty duty room... He boasted of his refined taste, calling this "the way of playing with memorials under the moonlight," and once boasted to others that he had mastered 108 of them...]
Xiao Che's eyebrows twitched upwards very slightly, the curve so subtle it was almost invisible. His fingers, which were gripping the edge of the paper, tightened almost imperceptibly for a moment, pressing a tiny crease into the smooth paper.
The warm room was so quiet that you could hear the faint crackling sound of the lamp wick popping open.
Li Defu, standing to the side, kept his eyes down, like a clay or wooden puppet, even his breathing was extremely soft.
Xiao Che's gaze lingered on those absurd lines of writing for a moment, as if to confirm that he hadn't misread them.
He then turned the page expressionlessly, lightly tapped the paper with his fingertip, and continued reading.
The testimony is lengthy and details how Wu Haimin, relying on his father's power as Minister of Personnel, wielded absolute authority in the Ministry of Rites, embezzled funds allocated for sacrificial rites, accepted huge bribes from local temples and Taoist monasteries, illegally issued ordination certificates, allowed his relatives to seize ancestral property, and long-term practice of delegating core official duties to subordinates, appropriating credits, causing the former Assistant Minister Zhou Wenhuan to die of overwork and depression, and continuously exploiting Lin Yan.
Each and every one of these incidents is shocking.
Finally, Xiao Che closed the testimony that exuded an ominous aura.
He raised his hand and casually pushed it to the edge of the imperial desk. The movement was small, but it carried a contemptuous air of having settled things, as if he had not pushed away evidence of a high-ranking official's son's crimes, but rather a piece of foul-smelling garbage.
"Wu Haimin," Xiao Che said, his tone unreadable, "throw him into the Ministry of Justice's prison, and have the three judicial departments jointly try and determine his sentence at a later date."
Li Defu immediately bowed and said, "Yes."
"Send the Imperial Guards." Xiao Che's gaze fell on the deep twilight outside the window, his tone as calm as if he were ordering a side dish for dinner. "Surround the Wu Mansion. No one inside is allowed to enter or leave without an imperial decree. All account books, documents, and correspondence are to be sealed and await inspection."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Li Defu's heart skipped a beat, and he bowed even deeper.
The government office is under siege! This is serious; they're going to uproot it completely! Minister Wu is likely facing a major disaster this time.
The warm pavilion fell silent once again.
The gilded enamel clock at the corner of the palace emitted a few soft "ding-dong" sounds, announcing the beginning of the hour of You (5-7 PM).
Li Defu glanced at His Majesty's face and noticed that the barely perceptible coldness between his brows seemed to have dissipated somewhat. Only then did he cautiously step forward and speak in a soft, gentle voice: "Your Majesty, it is already late afternoon. Your health is of utmost importance. It is time for dinner. The Imperial Kitchen has prepared steamed shad that was just brought as tribute from the river. The cooking time is very particular, as it may lose its freshness if it gets cold."
Xiao Che did not respond immediately. His gaze remained fixed on the sky outside the window, which was tinged with a warm orange by the palace lanterns. His fingertips tapped lightly on the smooth rosewood armrest.
Li Defu held his breath and waited.
A moment later, Xiao Che's lips suddenly curved upwards into a very slight arc.
The smile came abruptly, instantly dispelling the last trace of solemnity between the emperor's brows.
"Li Defu." He turned around, his voice surprisingly light.
"This old servant is here."
"Go." Xiao Che casually pointed his finger. "Summon Lin Yan to have dinner with me."
Li Defu was taken aback, thinking he had misheard.
Should we summon a minor official of the sixth rank to accompany His Majesty for dinner?
This...this is against the rules!
He opened his mouth, but the words "Your Majesty, I'm afraid..." were not uttered.
As if he knew what he was going to say, Xiao Che slowly added, "Just say that I am sympathetic to his hard work day and night in assisting with the affairs of the Ministry of Rites, and I have granted him permission to dine with me."
As he spoke, Xiao Che's smile deepened slightly: "Tell him to hurry up, I... am hungry."
A note from the author:
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[doge emoji]
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