Chapter 12
Qi Junmu was so certain that someone had killed Guan Han to frame him and tarnish his reputation because he knew that although Guan Han liked to take the lead, he was fundamentally the same as Imperial Censor Shi.
He was opportunistic, liked to trim his sails with the wind, and most crucially, Guan Han came from a modest background and could endure a lot, so he would never have killed himself.
In his previous life, Qi Junmu hadn’t spoken as bluntly as he did now, and he had wanted others to see him as a magnanimous Emperor. At first, Guan Han thought Qi Junmu had a good temper, so he especially loved stealing the spotlight.
Qi Junmu endured it for a while, then found a chance to directly demote Guan Han and send him out of the capital.
By the time Qi Junmu died, Guan Han had been serving as an official in a different prefecture and was actually doing quite well for himself.
Although he couldn’t be called a truly righteous official, he was neither the kind of greedy, universally despised corrupt official, nor the kind of muddled official unwilling to take any action.
Someone like that would never kill himself, much less go to such extremes just to get the Emperor's attention.
Even if Guan Han truly wanted to do that and gain a reputation, he should have smashed his head against the dragon pillar in the court, splattering blood in the hall. Only then, a hundred years later, would the historians record his name.
So all of this points to someone who was willing to commit murder, just to ruin Qi Junmu's reputation—and in doing so, also drag Emperor Jing's name through the mud.
It was also a convenient way to solidify Emperor Jing’s reputation as a tyrant, so that later on, there would be more excuses to stop Qi Junmu from doing the same things Emperor Jing had done.
Qi Junmu knew very well that Emperor Jing’s actions had left a shadow in the hearts of many court officials, and they naturally did not want Qi Junmu to be a second Emperor Jing.
Guan Han’s blood letter was just a drop of water sizzling into a hot oil pan. Many people would use that noise to pressure Qi Junmu, forcing him to become the kind of Emperor they had in mind.
Regardless of whether there were other reasons for Guan Han’s death, this incident was a struggle of interests between the Emperor and the court officials. If mishandled, some officials might even join forces to skip court and resign all at once, leaving the Emperor with no one to serve and no orders to be issued.
This was a silent threat.
Thinking of all this, Qi Junmu’s gaze grew colder as he looked at the murmuring crowd. As Emperor, if he backed down this time, there would be a next time, and after that, another.
From then on, he would find himself at the weakest, lowest point. The officials would show respect on the surface, but in their hearts, they would only think him incompetent and easy to bully.
What Qi Junmu was thinking was exactly what Lin Xiao was thinking. As the Emperor’s strongest supporter, Lin Xiao’s expression turned solemn as he looked sharply at Su Ren and said coldly, "Lord Su, you are in charge of capital affairs. Since this happened on New Year’s Eve, why is it only being reported now? Has the exact cause of Imperial Censor Guan’s death been verified? Did he truly take his own life?"
Su Ren put on a look of righteousness as he faced Qi Junmu and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, it is not that this humble subject did not wish to report immediately. On New Year’s Eve, families reunite. Your Majesty had sealed the imperial seals, and the meridian Gate was closed. How could this humble subject present a memorial? After learning of this matter, this humble subject immediately dispatched people to seal off the scene and had a coroner examine the body. There was nothing amiss. Guan Han indeed hanged himself. If the Left Chancellor still has doubts, Guan Han’s body is still there; you may go and examine it yourself."
Lin Xiao was about to say more when Qi Junmu spoke, his expression indifferent: "What a fine choice of time—taking one’s own life on New Year’s Eve. If he was discontented with me, he certainly didn’t worry that his blood letter wouldn’t be discovered. Fortunately, we have Lord Su Ren, the Prefect of the Capital. Guan Han was poor and lived in an alleyway. Minister Su, on the other hand, comes from a prominent family and resides on Zhuque Street, separated from the imperial city only by a moat. Your relationship with the poor and humble Guan Han must have been extraordinary. He knew you were meticulous and righteous, that you would dare to read those slanderous words in open court. That’s why he specially left a copy for you before he died."
The sarcasm and irony in his words were unmistakable. The righteous expression on Su Ren’s face nearly crumbled.
Some court officials also sensed something else in Qi Junmu’s words. To put it plainly, Su Ren had never been fond of associating with colleagues from poor backgrounds.
He had even once advocated for restricting imperial examinations for the poor, arguing that most impoverished scholars had too narrow a vision to handle important posts. Emperor Jing had then sarcastically asked whether Su Ren would only be satisfied if all officials in the court were chosen from the Su family.
After that, Su Ren became much more obedient, rarely speaking in court. His administrative abilities were fine, and he was generally fair, but he looked down on the poor. He also had the flaws of craving glory and being overly blunt.
For him to act like this today, either something was wrong with Su Ren’s head, or someone had used Guan Han to whisper something in his ear, making his first act after the new year to cause trouble for Qi Junmu and disgust him.
After all, Su Ren had always had the flaw of bluntness. Saying or doing the wrong thing was just his nature.
Regardless of what he truly thought, Su Ren knew he could not let himself be saddled with the blame the Emperor was implying. He hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, as Prefect of the Capital, this humble subject is responsible for the safety of the capital. Even if this humble subject normally disapproved of Imperial Censor Guan, when something happened to him, this humble subject naturally had to investigate fairly. Here are my detailed investigation records."
Su Ren took the records from his sleeve. Ruan Jiqing stepped forward, took them, and placed them before the Emperor.
Qi Junmu sneered inwardly. For Su Ren to claim the investigation was clear and then speak so openly in court, repeating every word of Guan Han’s blood letter, was tantamount to showing no respect for the Emperor.
From today onward, everyone would say the Emperor was unkind and had driven a censor to suicide—truly a fatuous ruler. From now on, the Emperor’s words would be worth nothing.
Qi Junmu had always thought that Su Ren, though somewhat greedy for credit and blunt, was still an official who did things for the people. Now it seemed he had thought too much. For Su Ren to step forward at this moment, someone must be backing him.
And that person held no goodwill toward Qi Junmu, even wanting to pull him down from the throne.
Counting the people in the capital who would dare do such a thing, they wouldn’t even fill all the fingers on one hand.
Just as Qi Junmu was about to say more, Shen Nian, who was attending court for the first time, stepped out of the ranks.
Shen Nian hadn’t wanted to stand out today. He had pretended not to notice the probing glances around him and had remained steady among the court officials.
But now that things were heading in the wrong direction, he had to step forward.
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