Chapter 10
The young imperial censor, named Guan Han, was questioned by the Emperor until his face turned red, and he had no idea what to say or do. Back in Emperor Jing's time, every day he stood in the court praying only that he wouldn't catch Emperor Jing's attention—how could he have dared to say even one extra word?
And it wasn't just him; everyone in the court felt the same way.
There had been people who wanted to change Emperor Jing's mind. What happened to them? They crashed their heads against the dragon pillar, were carried straight out, demoted, and stripped of their posts. Not dragging their families down with them was already considered exceptional mercy from the late emperor.
Regarding matters with Emperor Jing, the civil and military officials all had an unspoken understanding. Now, being suddenly exposed by Qi Junmu, Guan Han's embarrassment was easy to imagine.
Qi Junmu sat high above on the dragon throne. Looking down at his officials with a solemn expression, he said, "Rise. You can't be blamed for this. If anyone is to blame, it's me, for not being as decisive as my father. I know that in this court, many of you harbor such thoughts. You see that I have just ascended the throne, and so you think I am young and can be taken advantage of."
These were harsh words. Even if the officials truly thought that way, none dared to agree now.
Everyone knelt down, begging forgiveness and claiming they deserved ten thousand deaths. Lin Xiao was among them. He felt both worried and puzzled. He didn't know what had happened to Qi Junmu, what had provoked him, and why his personality had suddenly changed so much.
This behavior in court today would not do his reputation any good.
Of course, Qi Junmu understood Lin Xiao's concerns, but at this moment he only felt satisfaction. He looked at the officials kneeling on the ground, heads bowed, all lost in their own thoughts, and his heart was cold.
These were the people he had to rely on. He needed them to govern Da Qi for him. These people depended on him to survive, yet they did not truly care about him—each one had their own schemes.
Without him as the Emperor, they could just as easily support someone else. They did not care about which emperor sat on the throne, only the cold, magnificent dragon chair itself. Whoever sat there, their eyes would follow.
In the past, he had tolerated these people. But who had ever truly cared? And who was willing to tolerate him?
Thinking of this, Qi Junmu felt that his former self had grown increasingly foolish.
That said, he didn't entirely take his anger out on them, because it was his fault—he had let others trample over him to climb higher. Fortunately, he had the chance to correct this mistake, and it wasn't too late.
Of course, he was a willful emperor. Feeling suffocated inside, he still needed to let off some steam.
Qi Junmu found various excuses to reprimand those ministers who had always looked down on him, focusing especially on Wen Zhuo.
Wen Zhuo was Wen Wan's father and currently served as Vice Minister of War. Qi Junmu had originally planned to seize the opportunity to promote him to Minister of War, and later find an excuse to grant him a noble title, as a way of looking after the Wen family.
In his previous life, he had indeed done exactly that, showing great respect and deference to Wen Wan and the Wen family. Inside and outside the court, who didn't know that the Wen family was the apple of his eye? But later, Wen Zhuo became arrogant because of this, and was reported for embezzlement and selling official titles.
Qi Junmu ordered an investigation, then issued a decree imprisoning Wen Zhuo in the Ministry of Justice. Wen Wan fell ill over this. After she recovered, not only did she not beg for leniency for her father, but she performed a grand act of placing righteousness above family loyalty, saying repeatedly that the Emperor must put state affairs and the people first, and that as the Empress, she could not bend the law for personal gain.
At the time, Wen Wan only begged that the Wen family not be implicated by Wen Zhuo's crimes, and that after Wen Zhuo's execution, his body be allowed to be retrieved by his family.
Qi Junmu thought these words showed she was quite a competent Empress.
Then, not long after, he suffered a stroke.
His father, Emperor Jing, in a rare moment of tenderness, had once said: the words of women in the rear palace cannot be trusted. Qi Junmu hadn't believed it—and ended up dying quite miserably.
Now, not only would Wen Zhuo not be getting a noble title, he shouldn't even think about a promotion. If it weren't for the fact that Wen Zhuo had yet to commit embezzlement or sell official titles, Qi Junmu would have liked to strip him of his current position outright.
But with Wen Zhuo's greedy nature, he would soon make a mistake. And when that time came, no one—no matter who—could escape death.
Qi Junmu could not quite understand Wen Wan. He wondered whether he had done something wrong after she entered the palace, such as deliberately ignoring her, or whether she believed that he had planned from the very beginning to use the Wen family and then cast them aside once he became emperor.
Although it left a bad taste in his mouth, having gone through life and death, he could not accept it but could understand it.
But the truth was, Wen Wan had been ill ever since their marriage, while he had waited with all his heart for her to get better. He had even imagined that in the future, the two of them, as husband and wife, would treat each other with mutual respect as a perfect married couple should.
Thinking back, Wen Wan must have thought he was far too idealistic.
From start to finish, it wasn't that he had done something wrong—it was that Wen Wan had never intended to let him get close. She resented him in her heart, guarded against him, and only married him because she was constrained by power and interests.
Unwilling and resentful, she still used the position of Empress to benefit the Wen family.
What a clever calculation. Qi Junmu no longer cared what Wen Wan truly thought. He simply wanted Wen Wan to quickly step down from the position of Empress.
---
Wen Zhuo was quite flustered and fearful in the face of Qi Junmu's anger. He genuinely didn't know what he had done wrong—but since the Emperor said he had done wrong, then he was wrong.
His attitude in admitting fault was very sincere. Moreover, since there was currently no solid evidence for many things, Qi Junmu didn't intend to strike at the Wen family just yet. If he acted recklessly against the Wen family, many people would be disheartened—and his two older brothers were still alive and well.
Thinking of this, Qi Junmu's expression softened slightly. He told Wen Zhuo to go home and reflect carefully. At the same time, he made it clear that the position of Minister of War was no longer on the table.
Wen Zhuo understood the Emperor's implication. His face turned both pale and red, deeply displeased. Back when the Wen family had agreed to help Qi Junmu, aside from their marriage ties, the main reason had been the promise of a glorious future.
Who didn't want the merit of supporting a new emperor? They only needed to make the right choice just once, and the entire family would thrive for generations.
Fortunately, heaven was on the Wen family's side. They succeeded without much effort, and he naturally became the Emperor's father-in-law. High positions, generous salaries, enfeoffment as a noble, and appointment as chancellor—all of it awaited him just ahead.
But now the Emperor didn't seem interested anymore. This was no different from killing the donkey the moment it finished turning the millstone.
[卸磨杀驴 (xièmò shā lǘ): lit. to kill the donkey once the millstone's work is done; fig. to cast aside a loyal helper after exploiting their usefulness.]
Wen Zhuo's frustration was almost written on his face. Fortunately, he was no hot-headed youth. When he felt his expression slipping beyond his control, he quickly lowered his head.
Lin Xiao was also afraid Wen Zhuo would cause trouble. He gave a soft cough, signaling for him to endure for now.
Wen Zhuo trusted Lin Xiao quite a bit, so he just stood sulking in the line and kept his mouth shut. Yet he felt as though his colleagues' mocking glances were washing over him from all directions, which made him deeply embarrassed.
No comments:
Post a Comment