241. Solving the Case in One Day (Part 1) (Page 1/2)
My rules are the rules.
After hearing Cui Xian's words, Zhou Xiang's face twitched violently.
Just then.
The Zheng brothers, Zheng Qizhen and Zheng Qixian, who had been lured through most of Kaifeng, arrived late, panting heavily.
Xu Yizhi put away his brush and ink, frowning as he said, "You two took so long to get here. Do you have some complaints about the headmaster?"
Zheng Qizhen took a deep breath and explained with a forced smile, "How could I dare? It's just that... the driver was a little slow."
Zhou Xiang stared in shock.
Cui Xian put down his teacup and said calmly, "Master Cui, please sit."
Zheng Qizhen obediently took his seat.
Before sitting down, he made eye contact with the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, Zhou Xiang.
Zhou Xiang seized the opportunity to ask for a conversation with her eyes: What exactly is the situation now?
Zheng Qizhen, however, chose to ignore it.
Nonsense, at such a critical juncture, how could he possibly tell Zhou Xiang about the speculation that "His Majesty is suspected of taking action against the Zheng family"?
Wouldn't that force Zhou Xiang to turn around and bite the Zheng family back?
Zhou Xiang, who was ignored: ?
What exactly does the surname Zheng mean...?
Upon seeing Zheng Qizhen sit down, Cui Xian was offered a cup of hot tea with great courtesy.
Cui Xian remained unmoved, not even bothering to glance at him.
Zhou Xiang's heart pounded.
Standing behind Cui Xian is His Majesty.
Could it be that His Majesty intends to investigate the officialdom in Henan?
The Zheng family received advance notice, but kept their father in the dark, preparing to sacrifice the pawn to save the king?
hiss!
Because they already have something to hide, they can't withstand scrutiny.
After a period of random thoughts...
He forced back his trembling and said, "This is a matter of great importance. I would like to trouble you to wait a moment, Headmaster, while I go and invite several officials from various government departments to come and discuss this matter."
Cui Xian chuckled and reminded him, "Lord Zhou, you only have one day."
"..."
When Zhou Xiang heard this, it was automatically translated as: "You, surnamed Zhou, only have one day left to live."
Zhou Xiang felt dizzy and walked out of the main hall of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office with trepidation.
A short while later, it was just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
Two shocking pieces of news spread like wildfire throughout Kaifeng.
Firstly, the head of Yuelu Mountain blocked the office of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, demanding that the Provincial Administration Commissioner, the Kaifeng Prefectural Government, and the Kaifeng County Government jointly investigate the case of his house being vandalized.
Secondly, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Zhou Xiang agreed.
Not long after.
Outside the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office, dozens of government carriages rushed to the scene one after another.
The carriages were packed tightly together, filling half of the long street.
The bailiffs' loud announcements echoed outside the yamen.
"Lord Xu, the Magistrate of Kaifeng County, has arrived!"
"Prefect Zhu of Kaifeng Prefecture has arrived!"
"Prefect Ye of Kaifeng has arrived!"
"Lord Liu, the Councilor of the Provincial Administration Commission, has arrived!"
"Provincial Commissioner Cen has arrived!"
On the long street.
The people who witnessed this scene were all stunned, their mouths agape.
The main hall of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office.
Zhou Xiang, who was pacing anxiously back and forth, was overjoyed when he heard the names being called: "Quickly invite all the officials in."
In an instant.
Apart from the Commandery of the Capital Region.
Inside the Kaifeng Prefecture, all the officials who could be considered of rank rushed in.
At the very front was Cen Hongchang, the Henan Provincial Governor who had secretly slipped out of the city halfway through his term yesterday and was now back for his 'first term'.
Looking around, one could see a large crowd of high-ranking officials in scarlet and blue robes, creating a very oppressive atmosphere in the hall.
Look at this grand display!
Zhuang Jin and the other two quickly huddled together, trying to minimize their presence.
Of course, none of the officials in the hall paid any attention to these three minor characters.
All eyes turned to the young Yuelu Academy Master, who sat in the main seat, their gazes filled with amazement.
Although I knew he was only fourteen years old, I was still shocked when I saw him in person.
So young.
The contrast was even more pronounced when sharing a room with these officials, whose average age was over 40.
As a high-ranking official of the second rank and a scholar of the ancient text school of Confucianism, Cen Hongchang disliked, or rather, loathed, Cui Xian.
His gaze swept over Cui Xian's long, dark robe, and his brows furrowed deeply.
Although the other party was young, he was the headmaster of a college and was favored by the emperor.
Therefore, Cen Hongchang suppressed his emotions and said directly, "The headmaster is in charge of Yuelu Academy, educating scholars throughout the land."
(This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading) 241. Solving a Case in One Day (Part 1) (Page 2/2)
“We should nurture virtue with benevolence and guide people with propriety. But now you want to arrest students and deliberately make things difficult for them. This is really unbecoming of a headmaster.”
Oh, are you trying to use moral blackmail?
Cui Xian stood up, cupped his hands in greeting to the other party, and said with a smile, "In that case, let those scholars go and smash all of Lord Cen's houses."
"Lord Cen is a man of unparalleled magnanimity; he will surely not hold it against them."
"..."
Cen Hongchang choked, his face turning pale: "You!"
Cui Xian, however, did not intend to let him off easily.
With a smile, he continued, "I've heard that Lord Cen studied at Yuelu Academy in his youth. May I ask which instructor you were a student of?"
"You haven't even taught yourselves the knowledge that destroying someone's house is a crime according to the Liang Dynasty law. You've really neglected your duties."
"Zheng Qixian, could it be you, the instructor who failed in his duty of educating and nurturing students?"
Caught off guard, Zheng Qixian, his face swollen like a pig's head, shook his head frantically: "No...it wasn't me."
Cen Hongchang was trembling with anger.
But you can't really turn against the other party or just walk away.
After all, he still had to accompany Cui Xian to receive the emperor six days later.
Moreover, strictly speaking, he was a student of Cui Xian, the abbot of Yuelu Mountain.
In a single encounter, the newly appointed provincial governor was thoroughly humiliated.
The Kaifeng officials in the entire hall fell silent, staring at Cui Xian in shock and fear, not daring to utter a word.
Seeing Cen Hongchang get his comeuppance, Zhou Xiang felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
Bro, I knew he was someone to mess with, that's why I dragged you over!
See, you got taken care of too, hahaha.
Zhou Xiang was secretly gloating, but he pretended to smooth things over and said, "Please calm down, both of you."
"Lord Cen, there were indeed some arrogant scholars who smashed up the Cui family's house."
"Headmaster, arresting over a thousand Confucian scholars is indeed a difficult matter."
The smile on Cui Xian's face slowly faded.
He casually sat down, flicked his robes, and surveyed the entire room: "Difficult? Today, apart from the Commander-in-Chief's Office, all the officials of rank in Kaifeng Prefecture are present. Yet, they can't even resolve a small case of a house being smashed."
"It's ridiculous."
Upon hearing this, all the officials in the hall shuddered.
Zhou Xiang was also very angry.
But he wisely held back.
Cen Hongchang was furious: "Do you really want to arrest thousands of Confucian scholars before you'll stop?"
"Never before in history has such a shocking act been committed. How can I explain this to the court and His Majesty?"
Cui Xian didn't respond to that, but looked up at the sky outside.
Now, almost all the officials understood what the young headmaster meant, and their expressions became tense.
Zhou Xiang forced a smile: "Headmaster, this case is extremely complex, requiring consultation from multiple government departments. One day is simply not enough time..."
Cui Xian picked up his teacup: "How to investigate the case is the problem you need to solve."
"The court has stated that we must see the results before sunset."
"Lord Cen just said that if thousands of Confucian scholars were arrested, he would not know how to explain it to His Majesty."
"Then let's wait until six days from now, when Lord Cen, Lord Zhou, and all the other officials present stand on the ruins of the Cui family and give a proper explanation to the Minister of Heaven and His Majesty."
Speaking of which...
He took the Qiuzhen Jade from his waist and the Jade Ruyi from his bosom, placing them on the table beside him, and said, "Our academy has always acted with integrity. Today, we have no intention of making things difficult for you."
"In truth, with our homes destroyed and nowhere to seek justice, we had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure."
"If the esteemed officials still fail to provide a result before sunset, then this academy will receive the imperial decree six days from now."
"Then he went to the capital with the Heavenly Official to file a complaint with the Emperor."
Gasps of breath rose and fell among the Henan officials in the main hall of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office.
Once a complaint is filed with the emperor, an official from the heavens will surely come to investigate.
Who can truly withstand scrutiny?
The Zheng brothers began to tremble.
Zhou Xiang began to tremble.
It's out in the open!
His Majesty is really going to take action against me!
Even Cen Hongchang was trembling.
Ignoring the horrified expressions of the group of people present, Cui Xian toyed with the teacup in his hand, his smile warm.
His words sent chills down the spines of all the officials in the hall.
"There are still three and a half hours until sunset."
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