Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

At 3:45 AM, the side hall of the right gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

As dawn broke, the morning light filtered through the roof tiles, spreading a thin layer of bluish-white light across the steps of the palace.

Eight-cornered palace lanterns hung high in the four corners of the hall, the newly lit candles flickering steadily, illuminating the entire hall as bright as day.

The palace gates were wide open, and civil and military officials of the fifth rank and above entered in order of rank. The sound of their boots stepping on the golden bricks was as dense as rain pattering on lotus leaves. Their court robes rustled, their jade belts made a soft sound, and not a sound could be heard.

People gradually filled the area, stretching from the foot of the steps all the way to the outside of the palace gate, a dark mass of people in purple, scarlet, and green robes, their colors gleaming differently in the candlelight.

Ambergris was lit in the hall, its scent faint yet heavy, pressing down on everyone's chests—not heavy, but suffocating.

At this moment, Emperor Jingsheng was already seated behind his desk in the hall. He was wearing a ceremonial robe today, with the twelve imperial symbols flickering in the candlelight. His twelve-tassel crown hung down, covering half of his face, and his cold gaze swept over the assembled officials who had entered the hall.

Unlike usual, today Emperor Jingsheng's desk was filled with small booklets categorized by subject and whose purpose was unknown.

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects! Long live Your Majesty!"

The courtiers paid their respects with reverence, their shouts echoing throughout the hall, the sound of their court robes touching the ground like a gust of wind sweeping across a wheat field.

"All of you, rise!"

Emperor Jingsheng was silent for a moment. His gaze swept over the heads that were hanging down, like a dull knife, slowly scraping across each face inch by inch.

A voice as cold and stern as ice and iron suddenly rang out in the hall, sending a chill down the spines of all the officials.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The officials slowly rose to their feet.

The hall was quiet for a moment. Sunlight streamed through the red windows and fell on the floor. For a moment, the only sound was the soft clinking of the jade beads on the crown.

"It has been more than a month since the regular court session was held. The main reason for calling everyone here today is to discuss the attack on Grand Secretary Zhang Tingyu of the Wenhua Hall and Duke Jia Zijie of Jing yesterday."

"Right under the emperor's nose, inside and outside the capital city, one after the other, two pillars of the court were assassinated with poisoned crossbows. How laughable, and how vicious!"

"When I heard the news, I couldn't help but wonder if the court had already lost control of the capital. ... Is this world still mine? Is this capital still mine? Even ministers of the court are not safe to walk on the streets. What kind of emperor am I, sitting on this chair?"

Before the ministers could even speak, Emperor Jingsheng had already launched into a series of stern questions!

The chilling voice, carrying an iron will, echoed throughout the hall, sending a shiver down the spines of all the officials present. It also made officials like Kong Ying and Xu Sanli, who had just raised their feet to present their reports, put them down.

This doesn't look good! Let's wait and see.

"Zijie, how's the investigation into the assassination case going? Now, in front of all the civil and military officials, tell them the inside story: which traitors are trying to disrupt our Han dynasty!"

Emperor Jingsheng remained silent for a moment, suppressing his anger, and looked at Jia Jing, the head of the military officers in the hall, and said slowly.

Under the watchful eyes of a group of officials, Jia Jing, dressed in a python robe and jade belt, holding a jade tablet, stepped forward with his hands clasped, and said indifferently:

"Your Majesty! Yesterday, I led the Imperial City Guard and the Five City Garrison to investigate and interrogate the suspects, and the facts have now been verified."

"The masterminds behind the assassination of Grand Secretary Zhang and myself are the Ren, Zeng, Chen, and Huang families of Jiangnan. They are all among the nine great families of Jiangnan. The Chen and Huang families have already had their property confiscated by Grand Secretary Gong, and the Ren and Zeng families have also suffered heavy losses."

"The four families sneaked into the capital from Jiangnan to bribe officials and obstruct the new policies. The factional case of officials forcing the emperor to abdicate was funded and planned by the Ren family behind the scenes."

"After the coup failed, the Ren family saw that the situation was out of control, so they plotted an assassination, attempting to use the deaths of Grand Secretary Zhang and his ministers to settle the case of factionalism, obstruct the implementation of the new policies, and disrupt the capital."

"With the death of Grand Secretary Zhang, the case of the faction will be left unattended, and the testimonies of the officials involved and the clues that lead to their deaths will be cut off halfway. This will give them time to destroy evidence, appease the public, and reorganize their plans."

"With my death, the military power in Shenjing will be left unattended for a short time. The Twelve Battalions will be left unguarded, and the people of Shenjing will be restless. The court will also be in turmoil and will no longer dare to use ruthless methods against Jiangnan."

"Upon investigation, it was found that the perpetrators were people from the Ren and Chen families in the capital, the mastermind was Liu Ba Nu, Fang Cong Zhe was aware of the operation and provided assistance, and the crossbows and armor came from the residences of the Duke of Shan Guo and the Marquis of Pingyuan."

"After Shi Guangzhu and Jiang Zining violated military law in the regiment and were executed by me, their families harbored resentment and colluded with the Ren family and others to smuggle out military equipment."

"Currently, Liu Banu and others have been apprehended at the residence of Cabinet Minister Fang Congzhe. More than a hundred of their accomplices have been either killed or captured and have all been brought to justice. Confessions, physical evidence, account books, and other materials are all available and irrefutable."

Jia Jing did not mention the two matters concerning the conduct of officials and the border generals. These two matters had already been reported to Emperor Jingsheng by the Imperial City Guard. How to handle and decide them depended on Emperor Jingsheng's will.

As soon as Jia Jing finished speaking, all the officials in the hall felt a chill and began to discuss among themselves.

"What? They're from Jiangnan! Where did they get the audacity?"

"How could Grand Secretary Fang, a high-ranking official, be involved in such a matter?"

"Severing ties with factions, obstructing new policies, and creating chaos in the capital—this is simply tantamount to bringing ruin to the nation..."

"So many things happened overnight. Could there be something fishy going on?"

……

The officials reacted with a range of reactions: some were shocked by the matter, some vehemently condemned it, and others were skeptical and disbelieving.

At this moment, Emperor Jingsheng's face was ashen, his cold gaze sweeping over the officials below. Although he had already heard Xia Shouzhong's report, he still laughed angrily:

"Good! Good! When I first issued the decree to investigate the factional case, impeachment memorials came in like snowflakes, saying that I 'recklessly instigated a major case,' that there was 'no collusion,' and that I was 'overly suspicious.' I almost believed them."

"So they were all taken money and spoke on behalf of others. What a group of loyal ministers! What a group of remonstrating ministers! What a group of upright ministers!"

"In my opinion, my court is not filled with officials, but with a group of businessmen who take money to do things, are all in cahoots, and are in cahoots."

"If forcing the emperor to abdicate fails, they pave the way with money; if that doesn't work, they resort to violence. Holding money in one hand and a knife in the other, their methods are quite sophisticated!"

"...How utterly depraved and shameless! These rebellious and treacherous traitors! What wouldn't they dare to do?"

"Ha! I think they're still too cowardly. Killing cabinet ministers and generals is only a temporary solution. Why not just use crossbows to assassinate me, the emperor who's determined to push through these new policies? Wouldn't that be much easier?"

Emperor Jingsheng's thunderous and stern shout resounded throughout the hall, causing all the officials to change their expressions and tremble with fear!