Chapter 117 Impeachment
Xu Rong summoned An Zi, who had rested, and asked him about the possibility of redeeming Bai Quan with money. An Zi was taken aback and said in surprise, "I think it should be feasible. Prince Qing is extremely fond of luxury and therefore has huge expenses. He detained the head manager because he wanted the head manager to manage the business for him and subsidize it."
According to the law, princes were not allowed to interfere in the businesses of the four classes of people. However, there are always more solutions than problems. They would either employ hereditary servants or register their businesses under the names of relatives by marriage. Not only were the local officials helpless, but even if the matter was reported to the imperial court, the emperor generally did not want to appear too harsh on his relatives, so he would often let it go.
Since Anzi said so, Xu Rong did not hesitate and, with his assistance, quickly began to manage the business.
Jiqing Trading Company's headquarters were located in Suzhou. Bai Quan took some people to Pingliang to expand his territory, while leaving another group of old men in Suzhou to look after the business. The general ledger was also there. Xu Rong borrowed two servants from Lin Ding and accompanied An Zi on an errand to retrieve the ledger.
As the weather gets warmer, traveling down the canal will take you directly to Suzhou. Including the time needed for a rough accounting, it should take about half a month.
It seems that Baiquan will be able to maintain the situation in Pingliang during this period.
She then began to think about how to deal with Prince Qing and how to safely bring the people back after things were settled with the merchant guild.
As for the letter from Lin Xin, she, like Lin Xin, didn't think much of it. Now that he was an official, he naturally had to take on the responsibility of serving the people. In these days, people depend on the weather for their livelihood, not only on the sky above their heads but also on the weather in the capital. The sooner the court learns about the drought and makes disaster relief preparations, the greater the hope for the people's survival. Once this harvest is over and the new wheat seeds are sown, they can get through it.
In fact, the imperial court reacted much faster than they had imagined.
Reporting a disaster was a major event. When the officials of the Office of Transmission were sorting through the day's memorials, they found this one and, without delay, submitted it to the cabinet. There was some debate in the cabinet because the memorial was strange. It did not contain any officials from Pingliang, but rather members of the Hanlin Academy who did not handle routine affairs. One of them was a very new official who had just taken office. Whether the information was accurate and whether it was necessary to alarm the emperor became a point of contention among the cabinet ministers.
After the dispute, even the elders dared not delay. If a natural disaster really occurred in the area, whoever failed to report it would bear the responsibility.
On that day, the drafted memorial was submitted to the Imperial Palace.
The following day, the Emperor approved the draft and ordered the Pingliang government to promptly report back whether the report was true.
The response to the imperial decree came much faster than Yue Hanlin's letter home. Ten days later, the prefect of Pingliang sent a memorial to the capital by express courier. The memorial clearly stated that although Pingliang had received less rain this year than in previous years, it was not as alarming as the rumors suggested. The people were busy and happy in the fields, and their mood was very stable.
The prefect of Pingliang even cried out that he was wronged. If there were signs of drought in Pingliang, why wouldn't he have reported it? It must be that someone wanted to frame and harm him. He begged the emperor to do justice for him.
Inside the Hanlin Academy, Hanlin Yue remained silent.
Because he insisted on submitting a memorial against Scholar Xia's wishes, Lin Xin now has nothing to do, so he often comes to Hanlin Yue's place. When the news came, he was there.
“Top scholar, we’ve really had bad luck this time.” After a long while, Yue Hanlin sighed, raised his head and said, “Perhaps my father was making a fuss over nothing; we shouldn’t have believed him.”
Lin Xin remained unmoved and said, "Senior, what the prefect of Pingliang said may not be true."
He knew more information than Yue Hanlin, but he didn't want to tell him directly that Bai Quan's capture was a way to judge the character of the Pingliang prefect.
Yue Hanlin was slightly surprised, but considering his background, he couldn't help but lean towards the idea. It wasn't that he hoped for a drought in Pingliang, but firstly, he didn't think his father would lie to him. Secondly, if it was a false forecast, he, a man nearing retirement, would lose face and be disgraced. How could he be willing to do that?
"Then let's wait a little longer," he said, suppressing his emotions.
A real disaster cannot be suppressed. Hundreds of thousands of people need to eat, the land is abandoned, and the original civilians have no choice but to become refugees and migrate to the surrounding areas. But how can the surrounding areas accept so many disaster victims? This is still a relatively mild situation. If the disaster victims are starving, they may even raise the flag of rebellion, which would be a bigger problem. Even if the local authorities cover it up, the surrounding governments will be afraid of being implicated and will have to report it quickly.
But what they received first was an impeachment letter.
Coincidentally, the person who impeached him also came from the Hanlin Academy, and was from the same academy and the same examination as Lin Xin. He was none other than Lü Boming, the newly appointed third-ranked scholar and current editor.
This suddenly made things lively. In addition to the scholarly atmosphere, the Hanlin Academy was also filled with many thoughts and eyes. Lin Xin could feel the scrutinizing gazes on him as he walked around the academy.
—The top two scholars got into a fight, wow.
He's already like this right after entering the hospital, not even given any buffer time. He's truly a force to be reckoned with.
Yue Hanlin was puzzled: "I saw you all getting along very well the other day. When did you offend him?"
Lin Xin shook his head.
He's been sitting on the sidelines all this time, while Lü Boming has been working under Scholar Xia, who is clearly trying to cultivate him. Since they haven't met, how could he possibly offend either of them?
But he also had a vague feeling that the reason was probably from the Marquis of Changxing's residence. Lu Boming had been so proactive in talking to him before, but now he was a stranger. Even if he was busy, it shouldn't be like this.
"That was a bit too hasty."
Another scholar who had played chess with Yue Hanlin that day came over for a visit. His surname was Ding, and he continued, "But he has his reasons. Taking advantage of the fact that the scholar values him, he can suppress the top scholar in one fell swoop. And since your second-place scholar is an honest one, wouldn't he be the only one standing out?"
"He's in a bit too hasty." Yue Hanlin agreed with his old friend's assessment, thinking it was probably true, but he shook his head. "He's not an imperial censor, he's only been copying documents for a few days. What kind of person is he trying to impeach? His memorial is just a waste of time."
Ding Hanlin nodded: "Indeed."
According to the rules of the court, when a court official is impeached, he or she must submit a memorial to defend himself or she. Court officials of higher rank who also value their reputation more will also submit a memorial requesting to be dismissed from their posts. However, this is on the premise that the person who makes the impeachment is a member of the censor system.
If any official were to submit a memorial criticizing a court official and the official were to react accordingly, then they might as well quit their post; they'd be too busy dismissing officials every day.
Lin Xin asked, "Should I go back and close the door?"
Yue Hanlin thought for a moment and said, "That's fine too. You can make a statement to shut others up and avoid the limelight. Anyway, you'll be fine here."
Lin Xin bowed in response and went out to report to Scholar Xia.
Scholar Xia seemed to be in a good mood today. After hearing his purpose, he nodded slowly and deliberately: "It's good that you know how to reflect on your actions behind closed doors."
His statement was different from Yue Hanlin's well-intentioned concern for him, but Lin Xin didn't care and turned back to his residence.
Then Xu Rong learned about his impeachment.
To be honest, she was initially intrigued: "Huh? How did you get involved?"
Lin Xin: "..."
He told her in a few words.
"Oh." She nodded.
Lin Xin held back. He had been rebuked by the Pingliang prefect and impeached by Lü Boming, but he hadn't felt anything was wrong. However, he couldn't get any warmth from home, so he was unhappy. He blocked Xu Rong's path and said, "Is this all you're going to do?"
Xu Rong: "...Uh."
He suppressed a laugh and explained, "Starting with Lü Boming, even if he didn't impeach you, he would still be appointed by Scholar Xia. And starting with Scholar Xia, if he wanted to punish you, he wouldn't be unable to find one or two officials to do it; he wouldn't need to send out a newcomer to break the rules. Therefore, it's unlikely that Lü Boming's involvement is related to Scholar Xia. So it must be the other side—it's been a month since he became the third-ranked scholar, right? That's enough time for him to find out something from the Xiao family."
After analyzing the situation, Xu Rong smiled and said, "It seems this marriage is bound to happen. I wish the third-ranked scholar all the best."
She had felt a little sympathy for Lü Boming before. Lord Xiao's actions were like a water ghost trying to catch its prey, but that little bit of kindness wasn't enough for her to warn a stranger—even if she did, it wouldn't make a difference. How could she possibly counteract the temptation of marrying the daughter of a noble family? Now, even that little bit of kindness was gone, and all she had left was to watch coldly from the sidelines.
Lin Xin stared at her intently.
I think she looks especially beautiful like this, with a touch of glamour, a hint of aloofness, a dash of cunning, and an air of confidence.
"...What are you doing?"
Xu Rong was suddenly lifted into the air and cried out in surprise.
Lin Xin carried her to the bedside and put her down. It was the first time he had done this, and he was a little embarrassed. His ears were red, but his eyes were bright. He leaned down with his tall body and said, "I don't need to go to the yamen anymore."
“But it’s broad daylight now…look at the sun outside!” Xu Rong protested.
She tried to steer the conversation back on track: "I haven't told you about the eldest daughter yet. I haven't told you that her background is probably much more complicated than yours. Lu Boming is determined to marry her, and he will likely suffer the consequences in the future. You don't need to be angry with him... um."
She hadn't even told Lin Xin about her conversation with Xiao Shan before escaping the Xiao family. It wasn't that she wanted to hide it from him, but there were always various things that delayed things. In addition, she herself was still cautious about the final conclusion and didn't want to speak out without clear evidence, so she never managed to say it.
"I'm not angry." Lin Xin kissed her and said, "Let him impeach me if he wants to. I'm not his official, so I don't need to care about his opinions."
That makes sense. Xu Rong nodded, but then worried, "If he impeaches you, won't you get punished?"
"Yue Hanlin said no." Lin Xin paused, "but he couldn't say for sure."
He leaned down again, and Xu Rong felt a light kiss on her neck. Helplessly, she pushed his head away: "So you're still in the mood...?"
Lin Xin: "Mm."
He answered every question, and although he didn't stop moving, it clearly showed that he was in a good mood.
Xu Rong wanted to refuse but seemed unable to. They were in the heat of the moment. Was he the only one who wanted to refuse?
She conceded: "...put the curtains down."
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