The Chief Historian’s persuasion not only failed to calm Prince Ning, but made him burst into curse, "All of them, mother’s, a bunch of wastes. I already had someone build a bridge for Wei Wei, but when he met Yuan Haoran, he only knew to ask Yuan Haoran to help him clear his name, making no mention of how Yuan Yunzhong directed others to impeach him, framing his colleagues. Yuan Haoran is useless, spineless. Like a son-in-law who dares not take concubines, dares not father illegitimate children, acts only by looking at a woman’s face, and doesn’t even take his own son seriously. He truly loses all face of the Yuan Family ancestors!"
"Told him to impeach Yuan Yunzhong for ’filial piety,’ instead, he simply wrote a memorial stating Yuan Yunzhong is unfit for office. The Emperor has not only not stripped Yuan Yunzhong of his official robe, but has also grown sympathetic, fearing a conflict between father and son, simply assigned Yuan Yunzhong to offer sacrifices at Mount Tai.
"Is the Emperor not telling everyone that Yuan Yunzhong holds a special place in his heart? Who dares to criticize him is criticizing the Emperor, isn’t he?"
The Chief Historian remained silent upon hearing these words but was full of complaints in his heart.
No matter how disgraced Yuan Haoran was, he was still a cabinet elder of the current court, with six of his family members as Imperial Scholars. Incomparably superior to you who, relying on being born as a vassal king, is an uneducated profligate, by hundreds or thousands of times!
However, as the Chief Historian of a vassal king, he had the responsibility of overseeing vassal affairs and monitoring the prince. If Prince Ning’s words were to spread, even if he wouldn’t be dismissed, being accused of dereliction of duty was inevitable.
He could only endure and advised, "After all, there is no overnight hatred between father and son. Elder Yuan, no matter how unhappy with Yuan Yunzhong causing havoc in the court, would not actually destroy his son’s future, trap him in unrighteousness."
"Pah!" Prince Ning disagreed completely, and continued cursing, "It’s because the Emperor has also been blinded by lard, led astray by Yuan Yunzhong to the point of losing all sense of direction. Even if Yuan Yunzhong is eloquent, speaking exactly what the Emperor wants to hear, Yuan Yunzhong is still just a subject. The Emperor is actually treating Yuan Yunzhong as a confidant, as his own brother, making us, who are his nephews, step back from him by a mile!"
The Chief Historian was startled and hurriedly said, "Prince, please speak quietly. This is the Siyi Pavilion, where officials from the Ministry of Rites come and go. If someone overhears you, those old ministers will go to the Emperor and persuade him to send you back."
Prince Ning snorted coldly, with an assured and fearless demeanor, and said, "You need not worry about this matter anymore. Go and summon Mr. Huang and a few other staff officers for me."
The Chief Historian respectfully complied and turned around to fetch them, but heard him muttering, "This time, if I don’t make Yuan Yunzhong lose half his life, I’ll at least flay him."
The Chief Historian pretended not to hear and left the room.
He instructed the servant boy to invite Prince Ning’s staff officers over.
The Colonel was quick-witted too and seized the chance to leave as well.
Just as the Chief Historian was leaving, he happened to meet the Military Comfort Officer, who had been cowering like a quail, also planning to sneak away while Prince Ning was distracted.
They exchanged a glance at the doorway and simultaneously sneered.
What a fool Prince Ning was to have been tricked by Yuan Yunzhong so many times yet still he had not learned his lesson
Everyone knew that whether it be impeaching Elder Yuan or seeking revenge on Yuan Yunzhong, they wanted no part in those affairs.
If Prince Ning wanted to go mad, let his staff officers accompany him in his madness; they certainly were not about to die alongside Prince Ning!
*
By the time Jiyun Song learned of the impeachment of Yuan Yunzhong by his father, Yuan Yunzhong had already set off for Mount Tai.
She did not go to see him off.
Yuan Yunzhong was replacing the Emperor to offer sacrifices at Mount Tai, requiring a three-day fast and many rituals, and both the Emperor and the civil and military officials were to see him off.
Even as Madam Wang, a court lady, she had no place to bid him farewell, let alone given her unclear status with Yuan Yunzhong.
However, when Wang Hua came to speak to her about the matter, he was extremely angry, "I don’t know what the Elder thinks to actually impeach the young master, saying he’s not made for officialdom. Fortunately, the emperor is open-minded, and with the Elder’s support had this not been the case, a cap of ’unfilial’ would have unexpectedly fallen from the sky, and our young master would not be able to face anyone in the Literati."
Song Jiyun realized that whenever the family retainers of the Wang Family were dissatisfied with Yuan Haoran, they would refer to Yuan Haoran as "the Elder." It was easy for her to distinguish who among those around Yuan Yunzhong was from the Yuan Family and who was from the Wang Family.
Wang Hua continued dissatisfiedly, "The old man doesn’t think about it, by making such a fuss, even though everyone pretends not to know, who isn’t watching the Wang and Yuan families’ farce? Our young master might lose face, but does the old man have any face left? Madam Wang, too, always so concerned about her reputation, frequently says our young master has lost her face, why doesn’t she step in and say something, stop the Elder."
Song Jiyun furrowed her brow, asking, "Madam Wang thinks your young master has lost her face?"
Realizing he had misspoken, Wang Hua awkwardly smiled at her.
Song Jiyun, however, was not prepared to let the matter drop, and asked again, "What exactly happened? Tell me properly. Don’t leave me in the dark, inquire about it from your young master, unnecessarily upsetting your young master and making him sad all over again."
It was only now that Wang Hua said, "Nothing much. Just that Madam Wang feels our young master is disobedient. She asks him to pay tributes, he doesn’t pay, she asks him to take an Imperial Scholar exam in a few years, he doesn’t listen. The emperor bypassed the Ministry of Personnel selection and the recommendation of high officials to appoint an Imperial Official, while both inside and outside the court, everyone harshly criticized the emperor. Our house’s Elder Wan and the Elder also submitted petitions advising the emperor, but our young master said ’Under all the heavens, is it not the king’s land?’, without mentioning a word, even advising the Elder not to meddle in unnecessary matters. That time, he angered the Elder, not to mention several high officials who are close with the Elder heard about it and were also displeased."
At this point, he even cautiously assessed Song Jiyun’s expression.
Song Jiyun was a bit surprised but upon reflection, she felt that this indeed seemed like something Yuan Yunzhong would say or do.
Yuan Yunzhong seemed to care more about the life and death of common folks, and as for holding office, he was not enthusiastic.
Like how he dealt with Prince Ning’s smuggling case, he always got by passively, whereas she had donated a statue to The Eight Immortals Nunnery, drawing a crowd, and the first thing he thought of was the possibility of a stampede incident.
Song Jiyun didn’t understand how he could think this way, and was a bit curious, figuring she should find a time to ask him.
Wang Hua, seeing her expression remained normal, secretly heaved a sigh of relief internally.
It would be troublesome if Miss Song thought of their young master as not a proper gentleman.
He thought it might be better to take this opportunity to tell Song Jiyun all about the young master’s and Madam Wang’s rift, to prevent Song Jiyun from hearing it from others and misunderstanding their young master.
"There’s also Noble Consort Wan," he said hesitantly, "All these years everyone has been impeaching Noble Consort Wan, accusing her of enchanting the emperor, but our young master scoffs at this, calling those ministers stupid and blaming dull blades. Clearly, it’s the emperor’s own affection for Noble Consort Wan, and yet they don’t criticise the emperor for loving beauty but blame Noble Consort Wan for enchanting him. This reached Madam Wang’s ears, and she felt the young master couldn’t distinguish right from wrong, being defiant and rebellious, looking like a traitor..."
The two were speaking intimately when suddenly, a commotion erupted outside.
Song Jiyun’s face changed slightly, feeling it was again someone from Yuan Yunzhong causing trouble.
She coldly smiled, stood up, and walked out, lifting the Xiangfei Bamboo curtain.
Wang Hua rolled up his sleeves and hurriedly followed, prepared to fight first if the situation was wrong.
After all, their young master had also instructed when he left, to not let Miss Song be wronged, no matter who it was, to first protect Miss Song. If the sky falls, naturally their young master would bear it. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
But what he hadn’t expected was that, following closely behind Song Jiyun as he exited, he saw two imperial eunuchs delivering a decree.
"The Song Clan, someone has filed a complaint against you. Saying you use ash to create Sacrificial White Porcelain, which is why your family’s porcelain is so exceptionally white. The emperor is furious, and has ordered our house to escort you to the Court of Judicial Review’s prison, to await the trial by the Three Departments."
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