Chapter 194 - Let's Confront Before His Majesty!

Chu Junyi’s eyes sank, and his heart felt a little uncomfortable. How could Baili Jinze deserve her attention so much?

Although she concealed her emotion very well, he could still feel her hatred towards Baili Jinze. That hatred was like magmas hidden deep below the ice and snow. She seemed calm and tranquil on the surface, but her heart in fact had been surging with anger. If she didn’t mind him to the extreme, how could there be such a deep hatred? Ninghua, what exactly did you think?

When Shen Ninghua saw Chu Junyi was dumbfounded, she was slightly puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

“Huh? Nothing. I suddenly remembered something. Ninghua, I heard from Bai Ruo that you have been sleeping late these past few days. Can’t you fall asleep? You have injuries, so you should rest well.”

Shen Ninghua’s expression paused, and an unnatural look flashed across her face. “No problem, I will pay attention in the future.”

Bai Ruo pursed her lips and smiled aside. “Not only did Miss sleep late these few days, she probably won’t be able to sleep early for the next few days as well.”

“What are you talking about?” Shen Ninghua glared at her.

Bai Ruo chuckled and turned to prepare tea and pastries.

Chu Junyi was curious, but when he looked at the expression of Ninghua, he stopped asking her. He just wanted to sneak over and take a look at her tonight. After chatting with Shen Ninghua for a while, he got up and left. Instead of returning to the Xiao family, he went directly to the office of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Those people must have gathered together there at this moment.

The government office was filled with officials, and many of the lower-ranking ones were standing outside the gate.

As soon as Chu Junyi appeared, everyone’s gaze immediately focused on him. “Fellow colleagues, how did all of you have the time to come over?”

Inside the government office, Zhao Kun, the head of the Zhao family, was sitting on the seat of honor. Next to him was Lin Yue, the head of the Lin family. The rest of the officials sat on both sides according to their official rankings. As soon as Chu Junyi entered the office, he immediately felt the oppressive might concentrating on him. It was so intense that he almost couldn’t breathe.

Chu Junyi sneered and a trace of mockery flashed across his eyes. What a great formation! This way of showing power was really effective. If he were an ordinary person, he would definitely be terrified.

“Greetings to all of you. I didn’t know that you would arrive, so please forgive me for not welcoming you at the gate.”

“Lord Chu, you’re really busy. Where did you go? You should be on duty at the government office after leaving the court. “Lin Yue’s expression was tense. His body looked extremely thin, but his eyes were exceptionally clear.

“Lord Lin, it’s not convenient for me to tell you where I was going. You know that I am carrying out the royal decree. So I am naturally thinking about working for His Majesty at all times. I don’t dare to delay my work progress at all.”

“It seems we should not be long-tongued. Lord Chu is different from us.”

Chu Junyi smiled and said, “Actually, there is no difference between us. Aren’t we all working together for His Majesty and the people? Speaking of which…”

“Lord Chu!” Lin Yue raised his voice and interrupted him. “Stop saying those high-sounding phrases. We are here to trouble Lord Chu with something.”

“Please speak.” Because Crown Prince and the Third Prince had a bad relationship, the Zhao family and the Lin family had always been at odds with each other. Now, in order to deal with him, they actually chose to work together. It had to be said that he was really treated very seriously.

“His Majesty has ordered you to investigate the Imperial Guards. It can be said that His Majesty highly values you. But how can you abuse your power to seek personal gains and avenge a personal wrong in the name of public interests!”

Chu Junyi raised his eyes and asked in puzzlement, “What are you talking about?”

Lin Yue looked at Chu Junyi coldly, his voice neither too fast nor too slow. “Because the commander of the Imperial Guards has something against you, you directly execute him on the spot when His Majesty ordered you to investigate the Imperial Guards. Didn’t you intentionally kill and silence him?”

Chu Junyi’s expression was cold. “Lord Lin, oral charges cannot be taken as evidence. If you don’t have any evidence, you should leave immediately. I am magnanimous and will not investigate your guilt of lodging a false accusation against me. If there is evidence, then it would be better. We can directly take it to His Majesty and make a confrontation.”

Chu Junyi didn’t care about the evidence Lin Yue was talking about, and his tone was exceptionally righteous.

Lin Yue narrowed his eyes and said, “Lord Chu, a word spoken is an arrow let fly. Are you sure you want to confront us before His Majesty?”

Chu Junyi sneered and said, “Looks like Lord Lin is determined to pour dirty water on my head. Since that’s the case, I’ll take it. Lord Lin, please.”

Zhao Kun sat aside closely observing Chu Junyi. He was surprised that Chu Junyi didn’t hesitate at all. Could it be that he was so confident that he could completely get away with it?

One had to know that in the official circle, whether or not an official was talented or honest was not important. What was important was what other officials said about him! Public clamour could confound right and wrong, and defamation destroyed a man. Since he had stepped into the official circle, how could he actually not know this?

Chu Junyi stood upright. The expression in his eyes was cold. These high-ranking officials usually did many things that inverted right and wrong. For so many years, countless good officials in the Imperial Court had gotten impeached because of their charges. Those good officials had clearly done good deeds for the country and the people, but their reputation was stigmatized, their lives were lost, and even their wives and children were implicated…

If they wanted to treat him like a pushover, they should also carefully consider whether they would get hurt or not!

Lin Yue smiled coldly. “Alright, since Lord Chu is obstinately persistent, then we need to confront him before His Majesty. At that time, not only will you be punished, even Princess Zhaohua will get implicated. I hope you won’t feel regretful then!”

Chu Junyi’s face was expressionless and his gaze was mocking. “You need not worry about whether or not I will feel regretful.”

While such a big commotion was going on in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Shen Ninghua soon received the news.

“Bai Ruo, help me change clothes. Let’s go into the imperial palace to visit Father Emperor.”

“Yes, Miss.”

This was a good show. Those people should also be thinking of dragging her into the muddy water. How could she not go and take a look?

When Shen Ninghua arrived at the imperial palace ahead of Chu Junyi and the other officials, Baili Qingcang was resting in the study with his eyes closed.

“Why are you here, girl? Didn’t I tell you to have a good rest?”

Shen Ninghua smiled and said, “I heard that something serious happened last night. I was worried about Father Emperor, so I came to take a look.”

Thinking that half of the Imperial Guards were executed, Baili Qingcang felt pain on his forehead again. “The Imperial Guards… I really didn’t expect that my Imperial Guards would be so eroded. Half of them had problems: some were bribed, some were recruited through petticoat influence, and some were bought over by others. I felt a chill in my heart when I thought of how they had protected me earlier.”

“Father Emperor, since things have already happened, they cannot be reversed. Thinking too much is nothing more than adding to your worries. Now that you have discovered the problem, you can simply solve it. Father Emperor is the sovereign of the country. You can govern the whole country properly, not to mention the small Imperial Guards.”

“What do you know, little girl? Alright, I will stop thinking about these things. Now that you’ve entered the imperial palace, you can play the game of Go and have dinner with me before leaving.” Baili Qingcang smiled, but his heart relaxed a lot. Yes, I could govern the whole country well, let alone the small Imperial Guards!

Shen Ninghua’s expression stiffened. “Father Emperor, you clearly knew that I’m not good at it and would lose every game, but you kept asking me to play with you. Don’t you mean to make fun of me?”

Although she complained, she took the checkerboard from the palace maid’s hands and straightened it. She directly took the black pieces over and said, “I’ll go first.”

“Haha, you played this move every time. Alright, Father Emperor will allow you to place three pieces on the board first this time.”

Shen Ninghua smiled smugly. “I’ve been reading Go manuals lately and have improved a lot. Please don’t be too arrogant, Father Emperor.”

“My girl, show respect for your elder!” Baili Qingcang glared at her, but there was no anger in his heart. Ever since Jingyan passed away, no one dared to speak to him like this again. “If you can win, I will give you the white jade checkerboard that I have kept for many years.”

Shen Ninghua’s eyes lit up. “That’s great stuff. Then I will not feign any modesty.”

Lin Yue, Zhao Kun, and the other officials rushed to the front of the hall angrily but were blocked outside by the chief eunuch. “Lords, His Majesty gave an oral edict, saying that no one shall disturb him.”

Lin Yue’s eyes twitched. The officials aside stepped forward and said, “This lord, we have come to see His Majesty for a serious issue. I hope that you can report it for us.”

“Lord, His Majesty is currently playing the game of Go with Princess Zhaohua. He said that no one shall disturb him. This… please don’t make things difficult for me.”

Lin Yue’s eyes narrowed, and the expressions of many officials aside changed.

His Majesty was playing the game of Go with Princess Zhaohua?

Chu Junyi smiled faintly, his heart filled with warmth. Ninghua was really a good wife!

Lin Yue frowned as he suddenly knelt on the ground and shouted, “I wish to see Your Majesty. I have something important to report!”

The officials behind him hurriedly knelt down and shouted jointly, “We wish to see Your Majesty. We have something important to report!”

Inside the hall, Baili Qingcang’s fingers paused. He tightened his grip on the white piece and the piece made of jade let out a slight creak.

Shen Ninghua got up and said, “Father Emperor, since so many officials wish to see you, I will leave first.”

“No need, just sit here. I know what they’re doing here!” Baili Qingcang’s face was covered with a layer of cold frost, “Summon them in!”

The group of officials walked through the gate and saw Shen Ninghua standing at the bottom of the stairs. Different expressions were shown on their faces.

Shen Ninghua and Chu Junyi exchanged glances and nodded slightly.

Baili Qingcang’s face was as cold as ice. “What are all of you doing here?”

“Your Majesty, I…” Lin Yue stepped forward.

Chu Junyi interrupted him and said, “Your Majesty, Lord Lin went to the government office of the Ministry of Civil Affairs with other lords. After reprimanding me, he said that he had something against me. Because I was confident that I had done nothing wrong, I naturally didn’t believe what he said. Thus, we came to Your Majesty to make a confrontation. Please give your verdict for us, Your Majesty.”

Baili Qingcang glanced coldly at the officials kneeling on the ground and said, “What a coincidence. You actually let the entire court know about your handle?”

“Your Majesty, I was also much puzzled. What kind of handle is it that has been known to everyone?”

Shen Ninghua chuckled in her heart. If everyone knew it, it wouldn’t be a handle, but an ordinary matter.

Baili Qingcang looked at Lin Yue and said, “Tell me, what kind of handle is it?”

Lin Yue felt a bad premonition in his heart. “Your Majesty, Chu Junyi has a huge amount of silver in his hands. He had close interactions and dealt with officials in Jiangnan many times. The commander of the Imperial Guards had noticed it and was collecting evidence before he was killed by Chu Junyi. However, Chu Junyi found out what he was doing and used Your Majesty’s decree to investigate the Imperial Guards to avenge a personal wrong and killed a dignified first-grade court official on the spot!”

Chu Junyi’s eyes twitched. A huge sum of silver… No wonder Lin Yue threatened him in such an imposing manner. It turned out that he had found out about this.

Baili Qingcang frowned. “You mean huge amount of silver?”

“That’s right. According to the evidence left behind by the commander of the Imperial Guards, there are at least several million taels of silver.”

“Millions of taels of silver? That’s quite a large amount.” The Imperial Court only collected tens of millions of taels of tax silver each year, yet Chu Junyi actually possessed millions of taels of silver?