Chapter 34.034 Censor Xiao, Forced to Be "Diligent"! ...
After a good night's sleep, Xiao Yu had breakfast with his wife the next day, and then rode his horse at a leisurely pace to the outskirts of the imperial city. After dismounting, he entered the imperial city through the side gate east of Duanmen. On the way, he encountered many officials heading to the Six Ministries, but not a single colleague from the Censorate. They must have all "diligently" taken their seats in their offices early in the morning.
Officials begin their duties at the beginning of the morning, but they need to arrive a while earlier to clock in. Xiao Yu has recently been arriving at the Censorate around 7:45 AM.
Today was no exception. But as soon as Xiao Yu arrived at the gate of the Censorate, he saw Censor Du, who had gone to the Court of Judicial Review to supervise the trial of cases yesterday, pacing back and forth. Upon seeing him, Censor Du, who had a small goatee, brightened up and came up to him, saying, "Yuanzhi, you've finally arrived! Quickly, go inside and report for duty, and then come with me to the Court of Judicial Review immediately. The Chief Justice said that today I will show you around to supervise the trial of cases."
These are all things Xiao Yu should learn. Compared to sitting in the duty room reading documents, Xiao Yu prefers to do some practical work.
"Alright, Lord Du, please wait a moment."
With a cupped hand in greeting, Xiao Yu quickened his pace and went inside. He soon returned and walked out with Imperial Censor Du.
The Dali Temple was to try a death row inmate sent from Jizhou who had committed murder. The Ministry of Justice had already closed the case, but after reviewing it, the Dali Temple believed there were doubts about the case. Therefore, the Dali Temple would jointly try the case with the Ministry of Justice. The Censorate's job was to supervise the proceedings and ensure that the two courts would conduct a fair trial.
On the way to the Dali Temple, Imperial Censor Du told Xiao Yu the details of the case and revealed what injustices might occur during the trial. For example, the official in charge of the trial might have a relationship with the suspect or have accepted bribes from the suspect, deliberately giving a lenient sentence or even exonerating him. He also mentioned that the judge might be eager to close the case and resort to private punishment.
"The most troublesome thing is that officials from the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice often quarrel. When they can't reach a conclusion, they ask us to step in and judge. We old folks are used to it and won't get involved in their squabbles. I'm afraid that newcomers like you don't understand the intricacies of the case. You might listen and think you've figured out the case and start interrogating and analyzing it yourself. That would make you too easy to be manipulated by those two departments."
In short, observe, listen, and remember more; speak less, speak less, speak less!
Having apparently suffered for this matter, Imperial Censor Du tugged at the corners of his mouth a few times.
Xiao Yu: "Even if we discover clues that both departments have overlooked, we can't say anything?"
Imperial Censor Du: "It is possible to speak, but it must be done in front of the judges of both departments in the form of raising questions. Do not instruct them on how to handle the case. We cannot favor either department, but we also cannot offend either department. In short, we should speak as little as possible."
Xiao Yu remembered it, but whether or not to follow Imperial Censor Du's approach in the future remained to be seen and he had to verify it himself.
Upon arriving at the Dali Temple, the Vice Minister in charge of the case was busy with other duties and only arranged for a minor clerk to invite the two men into a side hall for tea. After waiting for a quarter of an hour, the Chief Physician from the Ministry of Justice, who was in charge of the case, arrived with a clerk and was also invited to wait in the side hall.
"Oh, look at this young man, with such an extraordinary appearance. He must be the newly appointed top scholar, Imperial Censor Xiao, personally promoted by the Emperor?"
The position of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice was a fifth-rank official, higher than the positions held by Xiao Yu and the other two.
Xiao Yu bowed respectfully, and then Imperial Censor Du stood up to introduce him to the Vice Minister of Justice. This social interaction lasted another quarter of an hour before the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review finally arrived late. Upon seeing Xiao Yu, this new face, he launched into another round of empty praise and introductions.
Xiao Yu: "..."
The trial was finally about to begin. Xiao Yu sat down next to Imperial Censor Du. Imperial Censor Du was going to record the process of the two departments' trial, but Xiao Yu, who was just there to observe and learn from his teacher, could just listen and also learn from Imperial Censor Du's writing style and techniques.
Because of the Dali Temple's proposal for a retrial, the death row inmate saw a glimmer of hope and began to deny some of the confessions he had left in the local government and the Ministry of Justice. This infuriated the official in the Ministry of Justice, who was so angry that he couldn't help but curse. Censor Du gave him a timely reminder, but the official in the Ministry of Justice flicked his sleeve from afar, sending a wave of resentment through him.
The case was heard twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and the final conclusion was that the Dali Temple would send officials to conduct a thorough investigation in the area.
When the two censors left the Dali Temple, it was almost dusk.
Xiao Yu wanted to quicken his pace, but Imperial Censor Du stopped him, looked him up and down, and whispered, "No rush, let's take it slow. We'll have to work hard to get back anyway."
Xiao Yu: "...I still need to write today's diary."
Imperial Censor Du: "Daily records are simple; they can be completed in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."
Xiao Yu remained silent, already understanding what Imperial Censor Du meant. He didn't want to deliberately delay, but Imperial Censor Du had taught him a lot today. If Xiao Yu went back first, how would Imperial Censor Du explain his late return to his colleagues?
Left with no other choice, Xiao Yu accompanied Imperial Censor Du on a leisurely walk for nearly half an hour before returning to the Censorate. At the same time, about half of the officials from the Six Ministries and other government offices had already left.
As Xiao Yu stepped into the duty room, he was met with the gazes of all his colleagues. Among them, He Yuanzheng even asked him with a smile how he felt about his observation at Dali Temple, but his smile seemed somewhat guilty.
Xiao Yu gave a simple response, sat down at his desk and immediately began grinding ink and writing his diary. Although he was just observing, Xiao Yu had many thoughts and wrote three full pages.
Because of his busy schedule, he returned home more than 35 minutes later than he had in the past few days.
Luo Fu and her two sisters-in-law spent half a day touring the peony garden and strolling through the market, thoroughly enjoying themselves. When she saw her husband returning late, she casually asked, "Were you very busy today?"
After holding it in all day, Xiao Yu, upon hearing his wife's concern, launched into a tirade against the sluggishness of the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice, as well as the feigned diligence of the Censorate.
Luo Fu: "..."
Anyone who didn't know better would think that Xiao Yu ran both companies, which is why he was so indignant!
"If someone is willing to make time to socialize with you, it's a favor. Otherwise, they would act as if they don't see you, and you would still be unhappy."
"No, I'm there to supervise their case handling. They just need to do their job properly and don't need to pay attention to me."
Luo Fu poured him a bowl of tea, and seeing that the newly appointed censor was still frowning, she continued to persuade him: "Alright, just this once. Now they all know you, and next time you go there you can naturally go straight to get things done."
Xiao Yu took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and thought of He Yuanzheng: "I think he deliberately arranged for me to go out with Imperial Censor Du so that I could get off duty on time again."
Luo Fu: "Professor He is doing this for your own good. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. All the other officials in the Censorate leave late, but you leave early every day. In Doctor Fan's eyes, that would be considered laziness."
Xiao Yu realized that his wife was becoming timid again, afraid that he wouldn't be liked by his superiors.
Like her mother, the wife had heard many stories of high-ranking officials abusing their power in the countryside, so it was normal for her to worry about these things. The fault lay entirely with the Censor-in-Chief Fan Yan. The blind flattery and imitation by officials like He Yuanzheng also fueled the culture of superficial and perfunctory governance within the Censorate.
"Never mind, let them do their thing, I'll just do my job."
Xiao Yu took the initiative to end the topic so as not to spoil his wife's good mood.
The following day was the seventh day of the fourth month. He Yuanzheng stopped allowing Imperial Censor Du to escort Xiao Yu and instead had Imperial Censor Hu escort him to inspect other government offices. The methods used by the Censorate to monitor officials in the capital included accepting accusations and complaints from the people, inspecting various government offices to check for any illegal or derelict acts by officials, and regularly reviewing official documents and ledgers to prevent corruption.
Censor Hu, nearing forty, was stern and rarely smiled. He would remind Xiao Yu when necessary, without uttering a single idle word. Today's inspection was of the Ministry of Personnel, whose officials were all very busy and cooperative with Censor Hu. Censor Hu diligently continued working, so much so that the officials next to him felt embarrassed to remind him that he had finished his shift and secretly glanced at Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu was so engrossed in reviewing the documents that Imperial Censor Hu had finished investigating that he lost track of time...
Having witnessed Xiao Yu's late return and subsequent complaints the previous night, Luo Fu was prepared to offer words of comfort as he was expected to return late again today. Unexpectedly, despite returning even later, Xiao Yu showed no displeasure, only apologizing for not being able to come back and keep her company.
Luo Fu, who didn't care about his company, said softly, "It's alright, the job is important. Are you going to the Dali Temple for inspection today as well?"
Xiao Yu smiled and shook his head, saying that he had gone to the Ministry of Personnel and that all that remained was his admiration for Censor Hu.
Then came the eighth day.
He Yuanzheng showed Xiao Yu the documents again. Then, as Xiao Yu was tidying up the table, he looked at him and smiled, saying, "Yuanzhi, have you forgotten? Today is the eighth day of the month. There's a meeting of the censors. Let's go, let's go together."
After speaking, he stood up and greeted the six censors gathered in the duty room.
Xiao Yu pursed her lips.
He did indeed attend a council meeting on the second day of the month. These council meetings, held every month on the 2nd and 8th of the lunar calendar, were to summarize the cases investigated within the Censorate. All officials, from the three censorate branches to higher ranks, were required to attend. Because the Emperor held court on the 3rd and 9th of each month, the Censorate held its council meeting the night before to prepare for the morning court session the following day. Because of Doctor Fan's diligence, he specifically set aside time for the council meeting after finishing his regular duties for the day!
Considering that the matters discussed in the last council meeting were indeed important, and there were only two such meetings every ten days, Hsiao Yu acquiesced to this precedent.
He Yuanzheng breathed a sigh of relief, he was really afraid that this kid would directly attack Doctor Fan during the discussion.
Grand Censor Fan Yan was unaware of He Yuanzheng's good intentions towards Xiao Yu and Xiao Yu's grievances towards him. He even admired Xiao Yu's courage to speak frankly and offer advice. So, after the half-hour meeting of the censors that evening, Fan Yan called Xiao Yu aside and said with a smile, "Yuanzhi, wait a moment. I'll go pack up, and we'll leave the palace together."
Xiao Yu: "...Yes."
They waited for what felt like the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, until dusk had fallen outside.
Fan Yan was forty-eight years old, considered to be in his prime among the senior officials, but he walked very slowly. He asked Xiao Yu with the concern of a good teacher, "How is it? Have you become familiar with the procedures and rules for working in the Imperial Academy?"
Although Xiao Yu was eager to return home, his superiors were asking about serious matters, so he could only answer patiently.
Fan Yan nodded: "Now that you're familiar with it, the inspection of the Ministry of Works will be your responsibility. Although the Ministry of Works needs to obtain funds from the Ministry of Revenue, they can still make a profit once the money is in their hands. This is your first time on this assignment, so take your time and don't rush..."
The more he appreciated Xiao Yu, the more he wanted to impart all his knowledge to him, so much so that even after the two had left the palace, Fan Yan had not yet finished teaching him.
Xiao Yu listened attentively, but his horse, which the palace servants had led out, was hungry and impatiently raised its hooves.
Fan Yan chuckled and said, “Look at me, I can’t stop talking once I start. Alright, let’s stop here for today. Come find me again tomorrow when you come back from the Ministry of Works, and we’ll continue our chat.”
Xiao Yu was grateful for his elder's kindness and went to the carriage that came to pick up the head of the family from the Fan residence to personally help Fan Yan into the carriage.
After watching the carriage leave, Xiao Yu quickly mounted his horse and headed straight for the Marquis's residence.
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Author's Note: The horse: I'm starving, can't you even walk back? [Angry]
Haha, 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
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