Prime Minister.

Chapter 14 014 [Entering the Hall]

On the first day of the eleventh month of the eighteenth year of the Taihe reign, a grand court was held.

This is the eighth day since Xue Huai came into this world.

In just eight days, Xue Huai felt as if he had been traveling through countless days and nights in a fog, with a vast expanse of white before his eyes and some blurry figures appearing and disappearing.

After reading Xue Mingzhang's "Notes on River Engineering" that night, Xue Huai spent two days collecting various materials and finally found many clues in the vast fog.

Meanwhile, the impeachment of the late Xue Mingzhang, the Minister of Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, by Gu Heng, the Director of the Water Conservancy Department of the Ministry of Works, caused quite a stir in the capital after a few days of fermentation.

The Emperor has already issued an edict ordering the Ministry of Justice to investigate this matter, and this is only the official procedure. It is said that the elite forces of the Jing'an Division, which serves as the Emperor's eyes and ears, have already taken action.

Although rumors were rampant in the streets, the imperial court remained calm, with no important figures from any faction expressing their opinions on the matter, clearly because the situation was still unclear.

Some are observing, some are making plans, and some are waiting to reap the benefits.

As the only bloodline left by Xue Mingzhang in this world, Xue Huai's most rational choice seems to be to keep to himself and behave himself. After all, he is in a very low position, and his popularity in the court has not been good in the past two years. At this time when the storm is about to break, any move he makes may have a negative impact.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Xue Huai had already made up his mind.

Big shots like to manipulate the game, but he insists on stepping out of the game.

At the third quarter of the hour of Yin, Xue Huai ate a simple meal and then went to the main hall, where he saw Madam Cui sitting in a chair, looking at him with a loving expression.

"Greetings to mother."

Xue Huai stepped forward to greet him.

He wore a blue silk robe with a round collar, a plain silver belt around his waist, a black gauze turban, and black leather cloud-patterned boots. This official attire accentuated his slender and graceful figure. Coupled with his handsome appearance, anyone who saw him would praise him as a dashing young man.

Madam Cui was naturally very pleased. Although this wasn't Xue Huai's first time attending court, she was still worried and instructed him, "Huai'er, don't be presumptuous in court. If no one mentions that matter today, then you should wait obediently for the court to end and return home. Do you understand?"

Xue Huai did not want to deliberately deceive this poor woman, but he had no better choice at the moment and could only wait until things settled down before explaining to her. Therefore, he lowered his head and said, "Mother, don't worry, I know what to do."

Cui nodded and said, "Alright, you may go."

Xue Huai bowed and left.

As Cui watched his figure disappear into the night, she couldn't help but sigh softly.

Seeing this, the maid Mo Yun, who was standing next to him, said, "Madam, the young master is not the same as before, so you don't need to worry too much."

"You do not understand."

Madam Cui shook her head, subconsciously tightening her grip on the sandalwood prayer beads in her hand, and said sadly, "Huai'er hasn't changed at heart, especially since this matter has touched his bottom line. Although he hasn't said anything, I know he will definitely do something today."

Mo Yun looked flustered.

Cui's fingers turned slightly white as she murmured, "I only hope he will be safe and sound."

On the other side, Xue Huai boarded the carriage, accompanied by the coachman and his attendant Li Shun.

The journey was quiet and uneventful.

Around 2:45 AM, the carriage arrived at the dismounting stele outside the Donghua Gate.

Xue Huai stepped down from the carriage, glanced at the sky still faintly lit by dawn, and said to Li Shun, "Today is the Grand Court Assembly, and it won't end until noon at the earliest. You don't need to wait here any longer. Go find a place to rest and come back to pick me up when it's time."

Li Shun said gratefully, "Yes, young master."

Xue Huai turned and walked towards the imperial city.

Upon entering Chengtian Gate, the view suddenly opens up before you.

In the square in front of the palace, officials stood in groups of three or five.

Today is the Grand Court Assembly. All officials of the ninth rank and above in the capital must enter the palace, including those who have come to the capital to report on their duties. Those who are not engaged in official business cannot be absent.

When Xue Huai appeared at the edge of the square, the light from the surrounding lanterns shone on him, instantly attracting a lot of attention.

Most people knew about the events that had been unfolding in the court these past few days, and some couldn't help but gloat as they looked at Xue Huai, hoping to see a look of utter dejection on his face.

Over the past two years, Xue Huai has frequently impeached officials in the court, as if he were not a Hanlin scholar but an imperial censor of the Censorate, which naturally offended many people.

Now that his deceased father has been severely impeached by Gu Heng, and the Emperor has ordered the Ministry of Justice to investigate the details, people are naturally curious about how he can still maintain his usual dignified demeanor.

Despite the strange looks coming from all directions, Xue Huai seemed oblivious and calmly walked towards the east side of the square.

That was where scholars from the Hanlin Academy gathered.

Seeing his composure, some couldn't help but mutter to themselves, "What a show-off!"

The scholars from the Hanlin Academy have all arrived today.

Liu Huaide looked at Xue Huai approaching and nodded to him, his eyes filled with apology. There were still no clues about the missing files from the Hanlin Academy. He had investigated all the relevant personnel over the past few days, but to no avail. The handyman Liu Pingshun stubbornly denied it, and Liu Huaide had no way to deal with him. He could only place his hopes on the experienced officers from the Ministry of Justice.

Liu Huaide spoke first: "Jing Che, don't be impatient. Liu Pingshun can't hold out for long. I believe the truth will come out soon."

Xue Huai sincerely thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Scholar."

He looked up and saw that the Hanlin Academician Lin Miao was not among the crowd. He figured that Lin Miao was already waiting for the court session in the corridor with the other high-ranking officials.

There were brocade stools there for high-ranking officials in purple robes to sit and wait, unlike lower-ranking officials who had to stand and wait in the square.

This made Xue Huai feel slightly regretful, as he did not have the opportunity to observe the high-ranking officials of the Great Yan Dynasty before the court assembly began.

Seeing that he remained silent, Liu Huaide mistakenly assumed that he was worried about the corruption case in Yangzhou, so he said gently, "Jingche, have you not been to the Shen residence these past few days?"

If Xue Minglun were here, he might ask, "Why don't you go?"

There are very few people who are capable of helping Xue Huai and willing to help him right now, and Shen Wang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, is definitely the best choice.

Xue Huai considered for a moment, then said with remorse, "I am in an awkward position right now and do not want to cause trouble for my teacher."

"you……"

Liu Huaide was taken aback, then sighed and said, "Actually, Vice Minister Shen has never had any complaints about you. He just wants your career in officialdom to be more stable, so he is stricter with you. After all, he is your mentor and would not want to see you get into trouble. If you have some free time these next few days, you can go to the Shen residence to visit him. I think he can give you some guidance."

"I understand, thank you for your guidance, sir."

Xue Huai hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

Seeing this, Liu Huaide said, "Speak your mind."

Xue Huai glanced at Chen Quan in the distance and slowly said, "Scholar, Chen Shijiang admitted in person that he knew about this before Gu Langzhong impeached my father and deliberately used this matter to disturb my mind."

"Is there such a thing?"

Liu Huaide frowned. Although he was not good at reading people's hearts, he understood the implication of Xue Huai's words. Therefore, he said in a deep voice, "That Chen Quan, he actually schemes against his colleague behind his back."

Xue Huai actually wanted to say that your focus is off track. Shouldn't you be thinking about why Chen Quan knew in advance that Gu Heng was going to make a fuss about something that happened ten years ago?

However, he did not delve into the topic, but said with a solemn expression, "Scholar, I have a matter I would like to ask for your assistance with."

Liu Huaide said seriously, "Go on."

Xue Huai said softly, "The Dean has always disliked meddling in other people's business. Besides the Dean, Chen Shijiang, and myself, only the Scholar witnessed the whole thing that day and knew about the strange behavior of Chen Shijiang and Liu Zayi. If His Majesty pays attention to this matter and suspects that I hid the Hanlin Academy's files, I wonder if the Scholar would be willing to come forward as a witness?"

He silently apologized in his heart.

Liu Huaide was a virtuous man, but by doing this, he was dragging the other party down with him; as the saying goes, a virtuous man deceives others with his principles.

Although this wouldn't cause Liu Huaide too much trouble, it was still rather unethical.

Liu Huaide didn't think much of it and nodded, saying, "Don't worry. If those two dare to use this matter to frame you, I will definitely speak up for you."

Xue Huai's lips moved, his gratitude overflowing.

Liu Huaide raised his hand and patted his arm, smiling slightly. "A gentleman has things he will do and things he will not do. Although I dare not call myself a gentleman, I will at least not be a sycophant."

Just as Xue Huai was about to express his gratitude, he suddenly heard the crisp sound of a whip cracking in the distance.

At the second quarter of the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), all officials entered the court.

Today's grand court assembly is being held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Under the watchful eye of the Imperial Censor, civil and military officials stand in their respective ranks.

Xue Huai stood at the end of Class 8, about twelve or thirteen zhang away from the dragon throne.

This was all thanks to his position as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, a close advisor to the emperor. If he were an ordinary seventh-rank official from a government department, he wouldn't have been qualified to enter the palace today and would have been standing on the steps outside the palace, barely able to receive the emperor's favor.

At this moment, the Imperial Censor verified the positions of the officials with the "Court Rank Chart". Shortly after, the official of the Court of State Ceremonies cracked the whip three times, and the officials held their tablets horizontally in front of their chests.

Grand music played, the emperor ascended his throne, and all officials performed the ritual of kneeling and kowtowing three times.

Xue Huai, like everyone else, bowed his head to look at his tablet, without glancing around or looking up at the Great Yan Emperor—he knew that there were censors patrolling the palace, and if they discovered any small actions, he would certainly be impeached for breach of etiquette before the Emperor.

Only after the entire ceremony was over did Xue Huai straighten his back and look slightly ahead.

On the dragon throne, the fifty-one-year-old emperor wore a twelve-tassel crown and a robe with twelve imperial symbols, exuding an aura of authority that was both dignified and imposing.

At this moment, the Great Yan Emperor turned his gaze to the area where Xue Huai was located.

A profound, enigmatic light shone in those long, slender, and indifferent eyes.

(End of this chapter)