As he was about to go, Shen Nian could not help but say, "Your Majesty, when the Left Chancellor and the others arrive, this humble subject would also like to be present."
Qi Junmu agreed without hesitation. "Then I shall wait for you to join in the discussion."
Shen Nian acknowledged this. As he stepped out of the hall, he could not resist looking back—and saw the Emperor watching him with a smile. Shen Nian's lips moved slightly, silently forming the Emperor's name.
Then he turned and walked away, softly murmuring the Emperor's name under his breath. He thought to himself: Perhaps next time—next time I will be able to say it aloud in front of him.
The Emperor's name—one day it would be spoken from his own lips.
At that thought, Shen Nian smiled. The joy lingered with him, so much so that even Wang Jun and the others at his side could clearly sense it—though none dared ask what had happened.
---
While Shen Nian's spirits were soaring, the atmosphere in Qianhua Hall was markedly somber.
Qi Junmu passed Qi Junyan's memorial to Lin Xiao, Wen Zhuo, and the ministers of the Six Ministries and other departments. After reading it, none of them looked pleased.
Qi Junmu asked, "What do you all think of this?"
Lin Xiao and the Six Ministers exchanged glances but remained silent.
Wen Zhuo looked at Lin Xiao, then curled his lip.
When they did not speak, Qi Junmu spoke instead. He said with a cold laugh, "Chang Sheng's body was discovered a little too early. Had it been two days later, even dead as he is, I would have ordered his corpse flogged. I was truly blind to have granted him honor in life and in death."
His tone was dark and biting, carrying a chill that seemed to blow straight from the gates of the underworld. The ministers felt a shiver run through them.
"Your Majesty," Lin Xiao quickly rose and said, "this humble subject understands Your Majesty's anger, and knows that Your Majesty speaks in wrath. But this matter is of grave importance. This humble subject believes it requires careful deliberation."
With that, Lin Xiao looked up at Qi Junmu and continued in a softer tone: "Your Majesty, Chang Sheng's body has only just been discovered, and Prince Rui has already uncovered evidence of treason and collusion with the enemy. The timing is far too coincidental. Your Majesty, please do not let anger get the better of you. Let us first ascertain the truth of this matter."
"Precisely because this matter is so grave, Prince Rui would never dare to fabricate evidence," Qi Junmu replied, his tone somewhat flat—as if, out of regard for Lin Xiao, he was restraining his fury. "For such a serious charge, how could Prince Rui submit a memorial without absolute certainty? He has Xing Yi and Cheng Jin watching over him. More importantly, Prince Rui has no roots in the Western Frontier, no influence in the Western Frontier Army. He has no personal motive to frame Chang Sheng."
Lin Xiao pondered for a moment and felt the Emperor's reasoning was sound. He said, "Your Majesty speaks truly. This humble subject was too hasty."
"The Left Chancellor is concerned for my sake—I understand that," Qi Junmu said, his tone unchanged. "What I want to know now is: how should we handle Chang Sheng's case?"
The honors bestowed upon Chang Sheng posthumously had only just been granted by the Emperor. Now, before his body had even returned to the capital, the charge of colluding with foreign enemies had surfaced. If it were merely embezzlement, there would be room for discussion—but treason was a capital offense.
Throughout the ages, how many meritorious officials had been executed on the Emperor's suspicion? Most had been charged with exactly this crime. But Chang Sheng was already dead, and the dead could not speak in their own defense.
As the Emperor had said, what Prince Rui uncovered was certainly solid evidence—but whether there was anything more beneath the surface, no one could say. Since Chang Sheng was already dead and the matter was still ambiguous, perhaps it would be wiser to set it aside for now.
Most crucially, Chang Sheng was entangled with various factions. If he were formally branded with such a crime, many others would suffer as well. Take Wen Zhuo, for example. As the Vice Minister of War, he was well aware of the Western Frontier's chronic shortage of funds. The Ministry of Revenue was constantly pressed to send funds to the West Frontier—and with Wen Zhuo now being the Empress’s father, he carried a certain weight in court. Chang Sheng had certainly sent him gifts over the years, and it was more than likely that at least a portion of the embezzled military silver had ended up in Wen Zhuo’s hands.
With this in mind, Lin Xiao had initially considered urging the Emperor toward leniency—but then he recalled the Emperor's words about flogging the corpse, and he hesitated. The Emperor seemed utterly loath to spare Chang Sheng. Voicing opposition now would only sour the Emperor's mood.
Moreover, Chang Sheng's crimes warranted the execution of his entire clan. To cover this up would hardly be appropriate.
While Lin Xiao hesitated, Wen Zhuo stood up and launched into a lengthy defense, arguing that since Chang Sheng was already dead and the Western Frontier had seen no major upheaval, at least the deceased should be granted a measure of dignity.
Having said his piece, Wen Zhuo shot a smug glance at Lin Xiao.
Qi Junmu felt a pang of disappointment. Perhaps it was because Shen Nian had given him the most resolute answer earlier, but hearing such words from Wen Zhuo made him especially displeased.
Displeased, Qi Junmu spoke rather bluntly: "Vice Minister Wen, what kind of dignity do you think I ought to grant a dead man?"
Wen Zhuo failed to detect the quiet fury beneath the Emperor's calm and instinctively opened his mouth to respond.
Seeing how utterly foolish Wen Zhuo was, Lin Xiao quickly stepped in to cut him off: "Your Majesty, Vice Minister Wen did not mean that. He only meant that this matter should be handled with caution—"
"The Left Chancellor need not say more. I understand your meaning." Qi Junmu raised a hand to stop Lin Xiao, then fixed his gaze on Wen Zhuo. "Let me tell you, Vice Minister Wen, precisely how I will grant Chang Sheng his posthumous dignity."
"Every single imperial gift bestowed upon the Chang family must be returned. Not only that—every member of the Chang clan shall be exiled three thousand li. As for Chang Sheng himself, since he is already dead, there is no need to bring his body back to the capital. If he were buried in the Chang ancestral graves, I fear I would have to dig up and desecrate his tomb."
Wen Zhuo now finally understood that the Emperor was furious. His legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees.
Qi Junmu shot him a cold glance, ignored him, and rose to his feet. "The Ministry of Rites and the Left Chancellor will immediately draft the articles of indictment against Chang Sheng. I want this matter proclaimed to the whole realm."
Lin Xiao and the Minister of Rites, seeing the Emperor's anger, dared not say another word and merely replied that they would see to it at once.
Only then did Qi Junmu turn his gaze back to Wen Zhuo. He said coolly, "Vice Minister Wen has been unwell these past days, it seems. You speak without thinking—your mind must be addled by illness. Or perhaps, relying on your status as the Empress's father, you feel you can say whatever you please."
Wen Zhuo knelt on the ground, tears immediately streaming down his face. "Your Majesty, this humble subject is terrified. I have never used my position to do anything that would disgrace Her Majesty the Empress. I beg Your Majesty to see clearly."
"If you are ill, then go home and rest," the Emperor said, utterly unmoved by Wen Zhuo's tears. "As for whether you have committed any misdeeds, I will investigate thoroughly. If you have, not even the Empress will be able to protect you."
Wen Zhuo dared not say another word.
Lin Xiao and the others remained silent as well. Privately, Lin Xiao found it peculiar—he felt that the Emperor was deliberately targeting the Wen family this time.
But on second thought, it seemed unlikely. After all, the Emperor would not be overly harsh with the Wen family, if only out of consideration for Wen Wan.
So it was probably just the Emperor's anger at Wen Zhuo for speaking out of turn in such an inappropriate setting.
As Lin Xiao mused over this, Qi Junmu had no desire to speak with them any further.
Qi Junmu looked at the assembled ministers and said coolly, "Prince Rui and his party will soon set out for the capital. Once he returns, we shall know the full truth of this matter."
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