Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 508: Second Trouble in the Golden Palace
The court has been going crazy these days, with impeachment notes against Xia Lin hitting Ma Zhou like raindrops. On a big scale, they said that he was lawless, disrupting the government and usurping power. On a small scale, they said that he behaved improperly by eating wontons without paying. There were also rumors that he had an affair with a prostitute in a brothel, and even that he had taken possession of a rich family's daughter.

In short, all kinds of nonsense were thrown at Xia Lin, and he had to be taken down.

But fortunately, they really didn't dare to use any shady tricks. Before, someone suggested that if they couldn't get rid of Xia Lin, they should deal with Yuan Benchu, but they were suppressed in the end. The last incident was still vivid in everyone's mind, and the tragic scene of a family being cut in half in the market was also reflected in everyone's mind. No one was willing to do this task at the moment. Isn't this just delivering food to others?

Oh, when you are in trouble, you use your whole family as scapegoats. When you are rich, you don’t think that all the nobles in the world are one family. You still take more than you should. In the end, the small family has to die. Who would like that?

In the end, the matter naturally came to nothing, so since the underworld methods didn't work, they took the white path, and turned into a stress monster to increase Ma Zhou's strength crazily.

Ma Zhou felt a throbbing in his temples these days. He knew that this group of people didn't want Xia Lin to continue investigating, as if they continued to investigate, something big would happen.

But the problem is that Xia Lin has also issued a military order to investigate, so they want to vote Xia Lin out now. There is no hope of punishing him. Even if the emperor comes, he will never be punished. Power over the government is no joke. When the old is replaced by the new, the regent is the king. But as long as they can vote him out to be suspended pending trial, even if it is just suspension, it will be a glorious victory.

This would undoubtedly be beneficial to Xia Lin as well. It would be impossible to investigate half of the cases, so the military order would naturally not need to be fulfilled.

We are all smart people. This move can not only save his face but also give others some breathing room.

But to their disappointment, Ma Zhou put down all the documents implicating Xia Lin and ignored them all. In the eyes of others, this was a fight to the death, Ma Zhou was determined to get rid of Xia Lin, and everyone else was a victim of their struggle.

At this point, Ma Zhou seemed to be gambling on his own political career. Once Xia Lin won, he would be forced to step down. So everyone understood at this point that the internal struggle between the two had reached a white-hot stage, and whoever intervened would become cannon fodder.

The atmosphere in the court now became eerie and quiet again. Everyone was waiting anxiously for the announcement of the results. Those involved in the lawsuit were naturally running around, praying for a slightly better result, but most people were desperate because they did not have direct access to the emperor like those high-ranking officials. All they could do was wait. Whether they would wait for peace or death, that depended on fate.

The March deadline came in a flash, and Xia Lin did not complete his military order. This was actually understandable, because everyone knew the ending from the beginning, and it was really too difficult to complete it, no less difficult than climbing to the sky.

But the problem is that he has done some serious and wide-ranging things.

That morning, Xia Lin came to the granary compound he rented for the last time. Looking at the more than a thousand people in the compound, he bowed deeply to them, and then stood up and said, "Everyone, I feel bad for you. After three months of hard work, I still couldn't make it to the end. After today, if you want to leave, please leave your name, and someone will pay for your trip. If you want to stay, please leave your name. Xia invites you to watch the moment when my head falls to the ground."

Everyone was moved by this scene, but everyone present was completely silent, and no one stood up to speak.

Xia Lin turned around with the file in his hand and prepared to leave. When he was about to leave, he turned around and said, "Everyone, eat and drink well. You have worked hard these days. Come on, serve the food and wine!"

When the wine and meat were served, someone finally burst into tears, and Xia Lin had already walked out the door.

The sky was slightly cool and bright at the moment. He was shocked when he went out into the street. The street was full of people. Many of them were holding torches, lighting up the long street. Even the police and runners from the Jingzhao Prefecture across the street stood by the roadside to see him off in silence.

At this moment, Xia Lin took off the purple gold crown and put on scholar's clothes. He was a little thin, with a heavy package of files tucked under his arm. He walked silently on the long street full of people.

In front of him was the brightly lit imperial palace, and behind him was the crowd of people who were seeing him off.

He was defeated, but he also did what others dared not do. He lifted up the people of Dawn, who were as humble as the dust, so that those in the fairy palace in the clouds could see them, discuss them, and fear them.

"Master Xia!"

When Xia Lin was about to step onto the bridge over the palace moat, someone suddenly called out to him, "Sir, I heard them say..."

"Yeah." Xia Lin raised his head with a smile on his face: "I lost by twenty-one points."

"Sir..." The man's eyes suddenly turned red: "Sir, do you know what will happen if you step on this bridge?"

"Probably never to return." Xia Lin tilted his head and smiled, "Military orders are as heavy as a mountain, military laws are as heavy as a mountain. I am a military commander myself, so I know this clearly."

"Then your Excellency is still going?"

Xia Lin paused for a moment and looked up at the towering palace wall again. At this moment, it seemed to have turned into the Heavenly Palace where Monkey King made a fuss.

After standing there for a long time, he threw up his sleeves and said, "If a monkey dares to cause trouble in the Heavenly Palace, why shouldn't I dare to do the same?"

After saying that, he stepped directly onto the floating bridge and walked straight towards the deep palace under the flickering firelight.

Xia Lin entered the palace, but the people did not disperse, so they stayed there. At this time, other officials also walked by on the main road. At this moment, they felt like they were in purgatory, with thorns in their backs and fishbones stuck in their throats. Some had to cover their faces and run away, while others grabbed the curtain of the sedan chair tightly and dared not let go.

At this time, a young Taoist rushed over like a gust of wind. He stepped lightly onto the floating bridge and rushed into the palace gate panting.

"Master Xia, wait for me!"

The palace guards naturally could not allow such a person of unknown origin to enter, so he was stopped outside the palace and could only shout loudly: "Master Xia!"

"No noise below the palace walls!"

"I'm here to see Master Xia!" Yuan Benchu ​​confronted the general guarding the city. "Please let me in. I'm just a Taoist who practices asceticism and can't cause any trouble. You are such a jerk. You want to stop me from going to die with my master?"

"Stop making trouble and go back!"

The general on duty today was Chai Shao. He lowered his head and whispered in Yuan Benchu's ear: "No one in the world can kill your Lord Xia. Go back!"

"Oh!!!" Yuan Benchu ​​slapped his thigh and looked back: "Winning the hearts of the people will bring about a storm..." "Don't talk nonsense." Chai Shao frowned: "Just don't cause trouble."

"Give me a punch, General."

Chai Shao was confused about Yuan Benchu's request, but Yuan Benchu ​​kept asking: "Hurry up, General, give me a hit. It would be best if you can knock me out."

"you……"

"beat!"

Chai Shao didn't know what this guy was going to do, but since he had made this request, Chai Shao agreed and punched Yuan Benchu ​​on the chest. However, he used clever strength, and the force seemed to be very strong, but in fact the force was directed at him, causing him to fly backwards and land on his butt. It might hurt a little but it would not hurt him at all.

After landing, Yuan Benchu ​​stood up holding his chest, with blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. He did not say anything, but turned around silently and limped into the crowd, then waited there, letting the blood flow from the corner of his mouth.

When the common people who had refused to leave saw this scene, the aura seemed to become even more powerful. The officials who arrived a little later felt itchy all over. This was really too dangerous. They were all smart people and knew that this group of people were only one step away from the line breaking.

At this moment, the last report of today's Jinling Times follow-up report has also come out, with four shocking words on the page - failure at the brink of success.

The four words "success or failure" were like a thorn in the hearts of people all over the world. Most of them did not know how difficult this task was. They only knew that many dignitaries were involved in it. It was those dignitaries who were high and mighty and did not care about the lives of the common people and would not let Xia Lin succeed. They wanted to take Xia Lin's life, just like all those officials who wanted to do something for the people in the past. They wanted to kill all the good people in the world.

The atmosphere in the entire Jinling City became solemn, and the city defense troops were even rarely mobilized, for fear of a sudden civil uprising.

Xia Lin had already arrived at the hall. He had his hands tied up and the files were placed on the ground in front of him. The officials who had arrived early were silent and no one dared to take the lead.

Ma Zhou was at the front, standing in front of the dragon throne with his eyelids drooping, but there was no other sound in the entire hall except for the occasional cough.

Xia Lin did not kneel, and no one dared to ask him to kneel. Not even the most powerful people in the court dared to scold Xia Lin and ask him to kneel.

Soon, all the civil and military officials arrived. Although their number was nearly doubled, each of them had come through that road. The people standing on both sides of the road had now turned into two angry evil dragons. If they were even slightly sprayed with the dragon's breath, they would be doomed.

This is fucking horrible.

They didn't understand what went wrong. It was clearly a bet between Xia Daosheng and Ma Zhou, a political bloodbath, but how did it end up like this? If it wasn't handled properly, it would lead to a riot.

The key point is that Xia Lin didn't stir up any movement. He just did his job. He even barely saw anyone in the past three months. He devoted himself to his work.

Just to redress the grievances of those poor ghosts? Wouldn't it be possible that anyone who redressed the grievances of the poor ghosts would be treated like this? Could it be that the poor ghosts could influence the court's decision?

At this moment, Xia Lin was standing in front of them with his hands tied, like fish on a chopping board. Under normal circumstances, they would have pounced on him and bit Xia Lin's flesh madly. Even if they couldn't bite him to death, it would make Ma Xiang remember their heroic performance.

But now they really didn't dare. They were afraid of the two giant dragons lurking outside the palace gate. They were afraid of being bitten by the giant dragons until there was no trace of their flesh and blood left.

The bells in the imperial city rang, and the morning court officially began. Ma Zhou turned around and looked at Xia Lin: "Three months ago, you issued a military order. Are you winning or losing now?"

Xia Lin stood there and smiled, "I've come this far, do you think I won or lost? There's a saying in my hometown that goes, if you're wrong, you have to admit it, and if you're beaten, you have to stand firm. A real man is willing to admit defeat, and today you can be killed or cut into pieces, and you'll be dealt with by military law."

"Okay!" Ma Zhou put his hands behind his back and said, "You said that. Someone, come here!"

As soon as the words fell, someone immediately stood up and said, "Prime Minister Ma, wait a minute."

Everyone looked over and found that it was the Minister of Justice, who had nothing to do with Xia Lin. He stood still and said, "As the saying goes, scholars are proud of their own ambitions. Although Lord Xia's actions were a bit extreme, his original intention was to revive the government and get rid of the old situation. I think this is just a small punishment and a big warning."

After he finished speaking, An Musi beside him immediately stepped out and said, "No, we must keep our word and punish the offenders. If we don't punish them, we can't enforce the law and rectify the government. I think Lord Xia can escape the death penalty, but he can't escape the punishment. According to the laws of the Wei Dynasty, there are three levels of failure to carry out military orders. The first level is to confiscate the family property and exterminate the clan, the second level is to behead the person in public, and the third level is to be demoted. Lord Xia's order is at most a third-level military order."

For a while, the court began to argue endlessly about whether Xia Lin should be severely punished or given a light sentence, and everyone wanted to kill Xia Lin.

At this moment, Xia Lin finally spoke: "My dear colleagues, I thank you for your righteous words. I accept the punishment, but I also brought some things that you may not want to see. Are you still willing to defend me?"

The Minister of Justice was shrewd and calculated. He responded to Xia Lin's words at lightning speed: "Master Xia, the Wei Kingdom has its own laws. Since you have already found out, you should deal with it according to the law. You don't need to worry about this. We are not defending Master Xia. He must be punished. However, the disagreement between Master An and me is about how much punishment to give. This has nothing to do with Master Xia, but with the laws of the Wei Kingdom."

Look, look at how powerful this old guy is. He just refuses to admit that he is speaking for Xia Lin, and he will rely on the law even if he dies. As expected of an official, as long as Xia Lin is not dealt with now, the boiling public opinion outside can be calmed down.

"In that case." Anmus lowered his eyes and said coldly, "Then, Lord Shangshu, why don't you review the case on the file with me on the spot?"

There are three most annoying people in the court. One is people like Xia Lin who are extremely powerful and domineering. Another is people who are young and inexperienced but have the emperor's favor and are overbearing. And the other is people like An Musi who don't listen to others and have a square head and are academicians.

We are reviewing the files on the spot now. It's really amazing that this kid can say that.

"Research." Ma Zhou said with a dark face, "After the research, send everyone to the Dali Temple."
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I can only update one chapter today. Today our custom is to welcome the spring and worship our ancestors and burn paper. It took quite a long time.

Everyone is going to work, and I hope everything goes well at work in the new year.

(End of this chapter)