Chapter 66 The Golden Hall Trial: You want to clear the world's name, but will the world accept you...?
Inside the hall, the officials stood in a regalia. According to the Daihuang official system, the color of the official robes varied according to the rank of the officials. Officials of the first to fourth ranks wore scarlet robes, those of the fifth to seventh ranks wore blue robes, and those of the eighth and ninth ranks wore green robes. Civil officials' insignia were embroidered with birds, while military officials' insignia were embroidered with beasts, and the specific patterns also depended on their rank.
Under the watchful eyes of the assembled court officials, Feng Tan walked into the main hall step by step, his upright figure stopping in the center in front of the officials from various departments.
Emperor Chongming had not yet appeared, but Sheng Honghai, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, was already standing beside the throne. His gaze fell on Feng Tan's face, then turned to the assembled officials, announcing: "By His Majesty's decree, this trial in the Golden Hall is the first of its kind since the founding of the Great Huang Dynasty. The presiding court will still be the Three Judicial Offices, with Xiao Yinshi, a member of the Cabinet and concurrently the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, serving as the presiding judge. The deputy judges will be Zhen Yongming, the Minister of Justice, and Nie Yanghong, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. The other departments will submit their defenses one by one, in the following order: the Six Ministries, the Court of Judicial Review, the Hanlin Academy, the Office of Transmission, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the Court of Imperial Banquets."
After saying that, Sheng Honghai turned his gaze to Zheng Guanhe and continued unhurriedly, "Grand Secretary Zheng, you will make the final summary."
The hall was solemn. The bronze water clocks placed at the four corners of the hall made a clear dripping sound. Sheng Honghai closed the imperial edict in his hand and said, "Let's begin the deliberation."
Xiao Yinshi had already interrogated Feng Tan last night. He calmly explained a few words to the two deputy judges, and then the questioning agenda was taken over by Nie Yanghong, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Nie Yanghong said, "Feng Tan, strike the Dengwen Drum and read out what is written in the petition before the court officials."
Feng Tan nodded and said, “On the 21st day of the third month of the eighth year of Chongming, Gao Yu was ordered to interrogate the hundreds of women arrested in the case of the female calamity. Among them, 521 confessed that Feng Youming’s claim of women’s rights was a pretense, and his true intention was to seize the throne. However, the confession submitted by Gao Yu was a fabrication. The claim that Feng Youming plotted to usurp the throne is unfounded. Furthermore, 521 women suffered cruel torture at the hands of corrupt officials and died unjustly. Moreover, Feng Youming’s actions back then were only to ensure that women in the world had access to education, the right to express their aspirations, and the right to be human, so that Emei could rise up alongside them. How can he be accused of threatening the fate of the Great Huang Dynasty? The dead cannot clear their names, and the living cannot sue. Are both heavenly justice and national law still up? When the Great Huang Dynasty’s heavenly way is lost and humanity is destroyed, great chaos will surely follow!”
In fact, the officials of the capital had already copied dozens of copies of this complaint last night and were eager to read them in order to relieve the emperor's worries and submit a memorial to impeach Feng Tan. Now, having Feng Tan repeat it is just to take the first step in the trial process.
Nie Yanghong looked at the composed young man standing in the center of the court. No one in the entire court was younger than him, yet no one could rival his sharp tongue. He had witnessed this firsthand during the trial of Gao Zhizhen. Now, he realized that everything he had done then was to persuade them to amend the legal code so that the case could be overturned today.
"They're really proceeding cautiously step by step..." Nie Yanghong withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and said, "You say Gao Yu's testimony in the female perpetrator case is false, do you have any evidence?"
Feng Tan took out Gao Yu's confession from his bosom and presented it to Jiang Lili, the chief eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who then passed it on to Nie Yanghong.
After reading it, Nie Yanghong first handed it to the officials of the Ministry of Justice for circulation, and asked, "Is this Gao Yu's own handwriting?"
After the Ministry of Justice officials finished reading it, they passed it on to officials in other government departments. Minister of Justice Zhen Yongming replied, "It is indeed Gao Yu's own handwriting."
He then looked at Hou Fuming, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice behind him, and asked, "Have the fingerprints been matched?"
Hou Fuming said, "We've compared them; it belongs to Gao Yu."
Nie Yanghong then addressed the officials, saying, “The case of Feng Youming’s crime is of great importance. Since Gao Yu, as the presiding judge, fabricated a false statement, the case must indeed be retried. The case file of the female calamity is in the courtroom. I have made dozens of copies of the simplified account of the events. I would like to trouble Eunuch Jiang to distribute them to everyone for review.”
Jiang Lili responded with a "yes" and gestured to the many scribes behind her to distribute the documents with her. At this moment, Nie Yanghong said again, "In the complaint, you wrote that 'Feng Youming's actions back then were only to ensure that women in the world had access to books, the right to express their aspirations, and the right to be human, so that Emei could stand shoulder to shoulder with men.' How can you accuse him of 'shaking the fate of the Great Huang Dynasty'?" You should know that since ancient times, women have lived in seclusion, and being a good wife and mother was the proper way. Feng Youming instigated them to stand shoulder to shoulder with men. Isn't that considered disrupting the court?
The first two sentences of the complaint were enough to confirm this, but the third sentence was the most difficult part to persuade and overcome. This battle of wits has only just begun.
Facing the assembled officials, Feng Tan felt Xiao Yinshi's slightly amused gaze fall upon her. She turned her gaze away from him and instead focused on the officials in the hall. "What constitutes disrupting the court? The 'court' possesses many distinct characteristics, including representativeness, standardization, exemplary conduct, and leadership. The court is the overarching framework of a dynasty. The officials of the Great Huang Dynasty are clearly stratified, numbering in the tens of thousands. From the founding of the dynasty by Emperor Jianming to the present day, over a hundred years, the Three Judicial Offices have handled as many as a thousand cases of corrupt officials, and three hundred cases of officials abusing their power... Cases of embezzlement and bribery, abuse of power, dereliction of duty, perverting the course of justice, misappropriation of public funds, bribery, and unexplained wealth... In the officialdom, officials commit every crime imaginable. Does having men in office make the Great Huang Dynasty's laws and regulations clear and just? When men are in office, none of the four characteristics of the court are preserved. According to Lord Nie's words, isn't having men in office also disrupting the court?"
The hall fell silent, the sound of the bronze water clock growing clearer. Feng Tan looked at the officials present and said, "Does the absence of women mean that all officials of Dahuang are good officials?"
Nie Yanghong felt suffocated by these remarks. After the battle with the Three Judicial Offices last time, this person had become even more sharp, too sharp... A sixth-rank official in the Qingli Division of Fuzhou, who came from a small place, had, in just over a year, mobilized the entire Dahuang court officials to debate with him over matters of right and wrong.
Nie Yanghong had no intention of fighting Feng Tan. He turned and tossed the hot potato to Zhen Yongming, saying, "Lord Zhen is a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Justice. Feng Tan is also under the Ministry of Justice. Let Lord Zhen give his defense."
Having been in officialdom for many years, Zhen Yongming was well aware of Nie Yanghong's intentions. When Nie Yanghong started to play the "throwing the embroidered ball" game, he also knew how to play it. He stroked his beard and said, "Lord Feng is my subordinate, so I should avoid suspicion. Let the other departments of the Six Ministries start the discussion."
The Ministry of Personnel is the most important of the Six Ministries. Zheng Guanhe said, "Since His Majesty has asked me to summarize this today, Yu Da, you are the Minister of Revenue. Summarize the opinions of the officials in the Ministry of Revenue and reply to Feng Tan's words."
Minister of Revenue Yue Yuda inwardly groaned. These old foxes were targeting his Ministry of Revenue again. Since His Majesty had ordered all the officials to interrogate him, it meant he knew they were no match for Feng Tan. "Hmm... well... what Lord Feng said makes sense, but the way to establish a nation is still for men to protect the country. Women have never been expected to show their faces in public since ancient times... Hmm... this is a tradition passed down from our ancestors, and it has always been so... Our Dahuang reveres Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism, how can we allow women to stand in the court?"
Feng Tan looked at Yue Yuda and said, "If we're going to use ancient etiquette to argue, then I'd like to ask Lord Yue, Dahuang reveres Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism. There's a saying in Neo-Confucianism, 'Preserve heavenly principles and extinguish human desires.' If Feng Tan remembers correctly, Lord Yue just married his twenty-third concubine, and the other day he also got some aphrodisiacs from the Imperial Hospital..."
Before he could finish speaking, a burst of laughter erupted in the court. Yue Yuda's face turned red, and Sheng Honghai shouted, "Silence!"
Seeing that the hall had quieted down again, Feng Tan slowly said, "Lord Yue, and even among the officials in the court, who among you has truly upheld the principles of Heaven and suppressed human desires? You yourselves cannot even do it, yet you brazenly use Confucianism to refute my views. Don't you feel ashamed?"
Yue Yuda stood back in the court like a quail. Zheng Guanhe then said, "Next, it's the Ministry of Works. Dechang, tell us your Ministry of Works' point of view on the second sentence of Lord Feng's complaint."
Tu Dechang stepped forward. He was much more shrewd than Yue Yuda and was a shrewd official. “He who has ascended to the heavens and received the mandate of heaven, how can he be worthy of ruling the four seas? The mission and pressure borne by those in high positions are not something that a mere woman can handle. They are used to acting on impulse and will not make the right decisions on many matters in the court.”
He changed his angle, attacking the woman's tendency to act impulsively. Xiao Yinshi had anticipated this situation, which is why he said last night, "The devil is always one step ahead of the saint." The officials of Dahuang want to exploit the woman's weaknesses to defeat her completely. No matter how correct you are, they will not agree.
As you said, most women are indeed less rational than men. Most of them have a greater desire for love than for high positions and wealth. Men, on the other hand, can use all available resources to create situations that are favorable to themselves. They may have love in their hearts, but not much. What makes them feel more pleasure is the ability to squander power at will.
Having won two out of three battles, Feng Tan took a deep breath, reminding herself that she couldn't be defeated. After thinking for a moment, she met Tu Dechang's eyes and said, "What Lord Tu said makes some sense, but by nature, both men and women have those who are impulsive and easily angered, and those who are rational and thoughtful. To a certain extent, it's actually a matter of probability..."
They had never encountered the term "probability" before, so it wasn't easy to explain. Feng Tan put it another way: "In other words, out of a hundred men, there might be sixty rational decision-makers, while out of a hundred women, there might only be twenty. The purpose of the imperial examinations set up by Dahuang is to select the pillars of the nation. The imperial examinations test wisdom and character. Those who can enter the examinations are all outstanding individuals. When the time comes, those who can stand in the court, regardless of gender, will be the same."
Nie Yanghong gestured for the remaining ministers to continue, and they all secretly waved their hands in unison. Nie Yanghong looked at Zheng Qingru and said, "Then let the officials from my Dali Temple speak."
Zheng Qingru looked at Feng Tan, then at Zheng Guanhe, who stood at the head of the court, and said, “As you all know, I have been Princess Yongle’s tutor since childhood, and Feng Youming was also my teacher. Mr. Feng once said, ‘Between women and men, it is not a matter of yielding to each other, but a matter of walking side by side.’ What Lord Feng said: ‘Emei rises shoulder to shoulder…’ I think he is right.”
For a moment, apart from Zheng Guanhe, all the officials looked at Zheng Qingru, with Nie Yanghong's gaze being the most intense.
Zheng Guanhe remained standing quietly, looking at Feng Tan in front of him. Feng Tan's eyes were filled with unconcealed shock. She never expected that Zheng Qingru, who always practiced Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism, would be the only person who supported her.
Nie Yanghong's face turned cold as he addressed the remaining officials, saying, "Gentlemen, please present your arguments according to the written defense."
After several more rounds of debate with similar results, Nie Yanghong's gaze grew increasingly gloomy. He turned his attention to the last government office and said, "Officials from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, let's hear your opinions."
The officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices looked distressed. They were used to feasting and drinking, and had no experience in arguing with people. Moreover, they had already used up almost all the points that could be attacked. They racked their brains but could not think of any new words to say, so none of them stepped forward.
Feng Tan's voice was like a hammer blow, making a definitive conclusion: "In conclusion, Emei, standing shoulder to shoulder with us, will not shake the fate of the Great Huang Kingdom. Feng is innocent and has no guilt."
"I had no idea that a mere fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice could be so arrogant that no one in the court could rival him? You've walked the path of evil, so what, did you go astray after walking that path once? You use the idea that there is no difference between men and women to attack the entire court. So what if you win against these mediocre officials? Will the entire Great Huang accept that? You want to bring order to the world, but will the world accept you? When the Great Huang is in chaos, is that what you call attaining enlightenment?"
Emperor Chongming stepped out from behind the curtain, his hawk-like eyes fixing on Feng Tan. As he finished speaking, the rain that had been gloomy for half a day began to pour down.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
