Chapter 86

All the civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment.

The important officials of the six ministries reported their recent affairs one after another. There was nothing special about them. They all had made a decision in their minds and reported it to Li Chenghuan, which was considered as their decision.

This was Lin Nanjie's first time attending a court meeting. He listened to the ministers' discussions and took notes in his mind.

After the discussion, someone finally couldn't hold back and stepped forward to say, "Your Majesty, I still think it's inappropriate for Lin Nanqi to participate in government affairs. I think there are three things wrong with this."

Lin Nanjie stretched his neck to take a look. This man was also from the Censorate and was now an experienced person. His name was Tao Chongde. He was one of the candidates originally to be recommended to fill the vacant position of Zuo Jiandu Shi.

Originally, after reporting this to Li Chenghuan, there was a 70% chance that it would be settled, but who knew that Lin Nanjie would show up halfway and ruin the plan completely. So Tao Chongde had to report Lin Nanjie today, otherwise he would not be able to vent his anger!

"First, without going through the imperial examinations and receiving no education, how can one be in charge of supervising the officials?"

When these words were spoken, some people nodded, while others looked disapproving.

"Secondly, he was once a eunuch. He is close to the good and the bad. He is afraid that he will form a clique and use public resources for personal gain if he is appointed as the Left Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Justice!"

When this was said, many ministers in the court showed expressions of approval.

That's right! Most of the eunuchs are sinister villains!

Wang Dehai’s eyes widened.

Who are you scolding!

Are all eunuchs bad people?

"The third point is the most important one! That is..."

Tao Chongde was spitting everywhere and was in high spirits, listing three points in a very eloquent manner. However, before he could even finish the third point, he was violently interrupted.

"Your Majesty! You must make the decision for me——"

A heart-wrenching sound came from far away and got closer. When the man stepped over the threshold of the hall and knelt in the middle of the hall, everyone was shocked.

The man was seen wearing only casual clothes, with dishevelled hair and dirty face, his left sleeve torn to halfway, and his right boot missing. What was even more shocking was that his head and face were covered in dried blood, and the front of his clothes was stained with blood. He rolled and crawled into the hall, fell in front of the dragon throne, and screamed:

"Your Majesty! In broad daylight, in the clearest light of day! Someone has disregarded the law and the friendship between colleagues and has beaten an official of the imperial court!"

Everyone was stunned by this sudden change.

Li Chengqian bent down, moved closer, squinted his eyes and looked at him carefully: "My dear... who is it?"

"Who is this...?"

Feng Yuanxiu's eyes were blurry and he couldn't tell who it was for a long time.

Even Zheng Yongnian and Wang Wenhe, a few old ministers, found it hard to recognize the man after seeing his disfigured face.

The man kneeling on the ground with blood all over his face suddenly felt sad and angry: "I am Huang Qian!"

The emperor and several important ministers didn't even recognize him!

"Huang Qian? Why do you look like this? I was wondering why you didn't come to court today." A Yuanwailang who was also in the Ministry of Personnel exclaimed in surprise.

Huang Qian was the head of the Ministry of Personnel, a sixth-rank official, and usually stood at the end of the team.

Moreover, only officials of the fifth rank and above in the Daqi Dynasty were required to attend court every day. A sixth rank official like Huang Qian could attend court if there was something to do, and could choose not to attend if there was nothing to do.

Li Chenghuan looked at Huang Qian and felt a little uncomfortable: "I will ask the imperial physician to check your injuries first. We can talk later if there is anything else."

"No!" Huang Qian said angrily, "I want to sue Sun Yunhai, the Junior Secretary of the Imperial Treasure Department! He beat me up in the alley of Wuliu Hutong last night!"

Everyone looked at Sun Yunhai. Lin Nanjie also found Sun Yunhai in the crowd following his line of sight and saw that Sun Yunhai had a confused expression.

It took him a long time to react, and he immediately said, "You are talking nonsense!"

Sun Yunhai immediately stood up and glared at Huang Qian: "You are simply slandering me!"

When Huang Qian saw Sun Yunhai, his dark eyes immediately blazed with fire: "You still want to quibble! If it wasn't you who beat him, who else could it be! You are such a hypocritical Sun Shaoqing!"

When the civil and military officials saw this scene, they immediately became energized!

What is this for?

Was Huang Qian beaten, or was he beaten by his colleagues?

Is there another good show to watch?

Lin Nanjie was like a civet jumping up and down in a melon field, trying hard to get to the edge, watching the two men furiously and with swords drawn, and quickly sorting out the plot in his mind.

【Last night, Master Huang Qian drank a lot and walked to Wuliu Hutong in the dark. As a result, a group of strong and muscular people came towards him. They immediately surrounded Huang Qian and beat him up without saying a word!】

[After the beating, he left a harsh word: If you did something wrong, please reflect on it. If you do it again, I will make sure you pay for it! ]

"Only you and I had an argument that day. Who else could it be if not you?" Huang Qian's neck turned red with anger. He pointed at Sun Yunhai. His eyes were purple and there was dried blood running from his forehead to his chin, like smeared oil paint. He looked both miserable and funny.

Sun Yunhai was immediately unconvinced: "Yes, I was against you yesterday, but you can't say that I was the one who hit you. Do you have any evidence?"

Huang Qian: "Of course not! After beating me, the guys told me that I was wrong and asked me to reflect on myself. If it happens again, I will be in big trouble!"

"Last night, besides you, who else did I offend?"

Sun Yunhai sneered: "You have no evidence to support your claim. You are slandering others and deceiving your superiors!"

Huang Qian's swollen eyes widened: "What a slanderous man! All the ministers saw it, and he didn't admit it! Your Majesty, please make a decision for me!"

Li Chenghuan sat on the dragon seat, watching the two people quarreling. The solemn hall seemed like a vegetable market full of chickens, ducks and geese. He couldn't help but rub his head and winked at Zheng Yongnian.

Zheng Yongnian, as the Minister of the Dali Temple, was in charge of the criminal justice system, so he naturally could not sit idly by. After listening to the two people arguing for a long time, he squeezed in between them and said:

"Alright, alright! It's disgraceful to make such a fuss in the main hall!"

Huang Qian and Sun Yunhai finally calmed down.

Zheng Yongnian asked: "Tell me what caused the dispute, and how did you offend Sun Yunhai?"

Under Zheng Yongnian's interrogation, both of them remained strangely silent.

Zheng Yongnian was surprised: "You two were arguing so loudly just now, why are you silent now? How can I make a judgment if you don't explain the whole story clearly?"

Huang Qian hesitated for a long time, his eyes wandering: "This... Anyway, I accidentally stole something that Lord Sun loved."

Sun Yunhai lowered his head and said nothing.

Zheng Yongnian looked at the two men and wondered, "Why are they fighting like this just for stealing something? What kind of treasure is that?"

The civil and military officials were also surprised, and looked at the two men and urged them, "Tell us quickly, what did you steal?"

The two of them were like sawtoothed gourds, completely different from the heated argument just now.

At this moment, a clear and loud voice suddenly rang out in the hall and reached everyone's ears.

"Eh? Isn't it a beloved person? How did it become a beloved thing?"

When everyone heard the voice, they all looked for the person who had spoken, and in the end, all their eyes were fixed on Lin Nanjie.

Wow!

A new official starts with three things.

Are you starting to get involved in court affairs so soon?

All the civil and military officials were immediately cheered up, and the scene became even more lively.

They have to listen and watch carefully, and then go back home after work to tell their colleagues about it so that they can also enjoy it.

Zheng Yongnian's eyes lit up: "Oh?"

"Mr. Lin, as the Left Assistant Secretary of the Censorate, has the duty to supervise all officials, so he should have an opinion on this matter."

Everyone's eyes were focused on Lin Nanjie.

Some people wondered what opinions Lin Nanjie could express having just taken office, some were looking forward to the show, and some, like Tao Chongde, pricked up their ears and stared, waiting to catch the trick.

Lin Nanjie touched the back of his head and smiled shyly.

"I heard that Ningxiang Pavilion was very lively last night, and Lord Huang and Lord Sun were the focus of attention. In the end, Lord Huang spent a lot of money to marry the beauty, which made Lord Sun very angry."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes turned into understanding and ridicule, and Huang Qian and Sun Yunhai were even unable to raise their heads.

Last night's incident was ridiculous in the first place. Although it was a romantic affair, it was not worthy of being performed in a respectable manner. Being exposed in the grand hall, both of them were filled with shame and anger.

There is no airtight wall in the world, and the farce in Ningxiang Pavilion last night was not a secret. All the vixens who frequented places of entertainment all year round had heard about it, but they could not speak it out openly in the hall.

First of all, they are also frequent visitors to the flower shop.

Secondly, there is no benefit in offending colleagues, so they would not do it.

Who would have thought that Lin Nanjie, a newborn ox and unafraid of tigers, would actually expose this matter.

This kid is too rash. He has just entered the court as an official, and most people in the court clearly dislike him, but he still dares to step forward.

Being an official is not that easy!

Zheng Yongnian and his old ministers all showed surprised expressions: "Is it for such a ridiculous thing? In my opinion, the two of them should be punished with thirty strokes of the cane each and their salary for one year should be deducted as a warning to others!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Yunhai glared at Huang Qian, then said, "Master Zheng, I am innocent! How could I hire someone to attack Master Huang for such an unacceptable thing?"

With a thud, Sun Yunhai fell to his knees and walked to Li Chengqian on his knees: "Your Majesty, I have been lingering in brothels, which is a lack of virtue. If you want to punish me for this, I know I am in the wrong and dare not defend myself."

"But I would never dare to beat up my colleagues or even attack an official appointed by the imperial court! I hope the emperor will understand!"

Huang Qian was not to be outdone. He knelt down beside Sun Yunhai with a "thump". "I am seriously injured! You all have seen it. Look at the bloody hole on my head. I have studied hard for ten years. What will I do if I get a concussion from this villain? I am not afraid of my illness. I am afraid that I will not be able to serve the emperor in the future!"

Sun Yunhai almost vomited blood.

How shameless of you to say such nonsense!

The emperor couldn't even remember who this sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Personnel was.

Li Chenghuan felt a headache when he saw the two people refusing to give in.

He glanced around and saw Lin Nanjie who seemed to be in deep thought, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

He cleared his throat and said, "Lord Lin, is there anything you want to say?"

Lin Nanjie paused when his name was called. Anyway, Li Chengqian knew what he was thinking, so he immediately got bolder and stepped forward respectfully: "Your Majesty, please let me have a try."

Li Chengqian nodded: "Okay."

The other ministers also craned their necks to see what the former eunuch, the newly appointed governor, was going to do.

Lin Nanjie walked up to Huang Qian and asked, "When were you beaten last night? Where were you when you woke up this morning?"

Huang Qian said, "The gangster I met last night was probably Hai Zheng. When I woke up this morning, I was in Wuliu Hutong where he was beaten."

Lin Nanjie asked again: "How about a little more detail?"

Huang Qian thought for a moment and said, "I remember now. When I woke up, I was lying on a pile of firewood."

Lin Nanqi nodded: "Then how did you get here to attend court?"

Huang Qian was puzzled: "Of course I walked here, how else could I have come? Oh, I was afraid that the time would be up, so I ran for a while, fearing that the court meeting would be over and I would have nowhere to appeal."

Lin Nanjie: "So, your health is actually fine?"

All the officials were also stunned.

Yes, Huang Qian looked seriously injured, but he was able to move swiftly when he entered the hall, and there were no signs of any serious injuries such as broken bones on his body.

Huang Qian was stunned: "What do you mean? Look at the wound on my forehead. I've lost so much blood. Isn't it brutal enough?"

Lin Nanqi carefully looked at the wound on his forehead and said, "The wound on your forehead is not big. The reason why it bleeds a lot is because the scalp is thin and has many blood vessels. The bleeding has stopped now, so it should be fine."

Huang Qian was filled with grief and anger: "You are a eunuch, stop talking nonsense. Did I pretend to be beaten?"

Lin Nanjie was stunned by Huang Qian's words and scratched the back of his head: "That's not what I meant. My Lord said that the people who beat you were very vicious and powerful, but my Lord's injuries did not hit any vital parts. It was more like venting anger."

"Besides, the scalp is easily injured, and the bleeding is not easy to stop. Judging from the degree of blood drying up on your body, it must have been a while."

Zheng Yongnian also noticed what Lin Nanjie said.

"Eh? I've handled hundreds of cases, and judging by the degree of drying of the blood, it must have been at least three hours. So the bleeding stopped shortly after the beating, that shouldn't be the case..."

"After beating you, the villain moved you to the firewood pile. He was afraid that you would freeze or bleed profusely."

"How strange!"

Zheng Yongnian was also confused.

Sun Yunhai finally seized the opportunity to plead his case.

"If I really wanted to find someone to beat you up to vent my anger, why would I care whether you would freeze at night? Isn't that a waste of time?"

Huang Qian gritted his teeth and bit Sun Yunhai desperately: "You are the only one who knew my whereabouts last night, who else could it be but you!"