Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

Just after 5 a.m., the morning court session ended.

The officials bowed and left the court. Dou Wenhuan straightened his collar and walked out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony with a somber expression.

In all his years as an official, he had never been so openly contradicted by a subordinate.

He was so angry yesterday that he didn't sleep all night, and even after the morning court session, his anger hadn't subsided.

With six ministries, nine temples, and twenty-four offices, many people are probably laughing at him behind his back.

He had only done it for the Zhao family before, but from the moment Chen Chang'an defied him, a grudge was formed between them.

On his way back to the Hanlin Academy, he already had a preliminary plan in mind.

He was too hasty yesterday, and his methods seemed like deliberate attempts to make things difficult, which could easily give others grounds for criticism.

As the head of the Hanlin Academy and a senior minister in the cabinet, he had plenty of proper and regulated methods to gradually refine Chen Chang'an.

He will gradually make him understand that the officialdom is never a place where one can act recklessly simply because of talent.

After returning to his office, Dou Wenhuan went to the inner room, where there was a small bed, which he usually used for his afternoon nap.

He didn't sleep all night and stood for an hour this morning. He's tired and sleepy and needs a good rest.

No sooner had he lain down than a clerk rushed in, not even having time to knock, and said, "Your Excellency, a decree has been issued from the palace. His Majesty summons you to the Imperial Study for an audience immediately!"

Dou Wenhuan sat up abruptly in bed, instantly wide awake, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.

His Majesty summoned him; surely it wasn't because of what happened yesterday?

Without time to think it over, he dared not delay, hurriedly got out of bed, and immediately returned to the central palace, heading straight for the imperial study.

Just as Dou Wenhuan approached the palace door of the Imperial Study, a loud voice came from inside, causing him to pause and his heart to sink.

"Your Majesty, I wish to impeach Dou Wenhuan, the Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy!"

Inside the Imperial Study, an elderly man in a blue official robe bowed and clasped his hands before the Emperor of Da Ning, and said in a loud voice: "Dou Wenhuan, holding a position in the Grand Secretariat and in charge of the Hanlin Academy, should be cherishing and nurturing talent and recommending virtuous officials for the country. However, he has privately established rules within the academy and has unjustly made things difficult for the newly promoted Hanlin Compiler Chen Chang'an. Chen Chang'an has made great contributions to the country's expansion and glory in foreign lands, yet he has not received generous rewards from the court. Instead, he has been harassed by a high-ranking official. This matter has spread throughout the city, causing uproar and unrest among the people. Dou Wenhuan's actions are unbecoming of a minister and have damaged the face of the court. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"

The Censorate has always been a place of integrity in the Great Ning court, with very little entanglement with the factions within the Six Ministries and the Cabinet.

Although there were people like Wang Lun within the court who fawned upon the powerful and opportunistic, there were many more upright officials who did not form cliques, did not seek personal gain, and were honest and incorruptible. They took it upon themselves to investigate all officials, impeach treacherous ministers, and rectify the court.

Many imperial censors would often dress in plain clothes and go deep into the city to listen to the most basic voices of the people.

The one who spoke at that moment was the Censor-in-Chief. He had heard that the people were in uproar and that they were all condemning Dou Wenhuan and supporting Chen Chang'an. He immediately went home, changed into his official robes, and went to the palace to impeach Dou Wenhuan.

Inside the Imperial Study, several cabinet ministers remained silent.

The Emperor of Da Ning sat upright on the dragon throne, his expression calm and revealing no emotion.

Dou Wenhuan quickly straightened his robes, strode into the imperial study, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! This is a misunderstanding!"

Having spent many years in officialdom and possessing rich experience, he quickly devised his explanation. Before the Emperor of Da Ning could ask any questions, he immediately defended himself, saying, "As the head of the Hanlin Academy, I have always cherished talent. Compiler Chen is young, extremely talented, and has made great contributions to the country. I value him highly. I originally intended to hone and cultivate him more at the beginning of his tenure. Those who achieve fame at a young age are often impetuous. My order for him to thoroughly study history books and memorize classics was not to deliberately make things difficult for him, but to help him calm down and hone his foundation so that he can shoulder important responsibilities in the court in the future."

Then, he sighed with feigned helplessness and said, "Unfortunately, Compiler Chen is young and impetuous, and mistakenly thought that I was deliberately targeting him, which led to yesterday's dispute in the Hanlin Academy. This matter has caused a great deal of discussion among the people, all because I failed to properly educate him and did not explain the reasons clearly. It is my fault. When I return to the Hanlin Academy later, I will take the initiative to apologize to Compiler Chen, clear up this misunderstanding, and appease the people of the court and the city."

These words were perfectly worded, downplaying yesterday's events as a misunderstanding.

At this moment, Grand Secretary Zhou Wenyuan spoke up to smooth things over, saying, "Your Majesty, Lord Dou has been in charge of the Hanlin Academy for many years. He has always been fair, prudent, and dedicated to public service. He is by no means a jealous or envious person. It seems that this misunderstanding arose from the need to work things out with his subordinates, and there is no personal grudge or malice involved. It is far from as serious as Vice Minister Wang has described..."

Since the Grand Secretary held a high position and wielded great power, the Censor-in-Chief did not pursue the matter further after he spoke up. After all, Dou Wenhuan's words had already smoothed things over.

He clasped his hands in a fist and said, "If there is any misunderstanding, I will withdraw my impeachment against Lord Dou. Please forgive me, Lord Dou."

Dou Wenhuan smiled and said, "It's alright. Censors usually report based on hearsay. It's good that the misunderstanding has been cleared up."

The Emperor of Da Ning listened quietly to their conversation, nodded slightly, and said, "Since it was a misunderstanding, and Minister Dou is willing to take the initiative to apologize and reconcile, let's drop the matter. Minister Dou, you should pay more attention to how you treat your subordinates in the future, and avoid causing further public criticism..."

Dou Wenhuan breathed a long sigh of relief and clasped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Before long, he slowly left the Censor's Office and walked slowly towards the Hanlin Academy.

Inside the imperial study, the Emperor of Da Ning shook his head and smiled, muttering, "This kid really doesn't take a bit of anger. It seems the court is going to be quite lively from now on..."

Not long after.

Inside the Hanlin Academy.

Chen Chang'an sat in the duty room, calmly reading the history books that interested him, occasionally adding a few punctuation marks to the pages for easy reference later.

A short while later, a figure stepped into the duty room.

Zhao Rui and Zhang Huaiyu looked up and immediately stood up, saying, "Greetings, Headmaster!"

Chen Chang'an also stood up and bowed to Dou Wenhuan with clasped hands.

Dou Wenhuan looked at Chen Chang'an, his previous stern expression gone, replaced by a gentle and sincere one.

He walked straight up to Chen Chang'an and said in a humble tone, "Chen Xiuzhuan, yesterday's matter was due to my lack of foresight and hasty actions. I wronged you and caused you to suffer. I originally wanted you to calm down and hone your foundation, but I did not expect to cause you to misunderstand... In any case, this matter is my fault, and I apologize to you."

Zhang Huaiyu, standing to the side, was dumbfounded. He never expected that the arrogant and domineering head scholar would actually take the initiative to apologize to Chen Chang'an.

Zhao Rui was even more surprised, wondering if the head scholar had taken the wrong medicine.

Chen Chang'an glanced at Dou Wenhuan and knew in his heart that he was not sincerely apologizing. He had just returned to the Hanlin Academy and then left in a hurry to go to the Empress's Palace, probably because he had been summoned by His Majesty.

However, he did not expose the matter.

Chen Chang'an also clasped his hands in a fist and bow, and said sincerely, "Your Excellency, you are too kind. I was young and impulsive, and my words yesterday were also inappropriate. Since it was a misunderstanding, it can be cleared up. I did not take it to heart, and I hope that Lord Dou will not hold it against me either..."

"Hehe, no, no..."

After a few polite exchanges, the atmosphere was harmonious and pleasant. Dou Wenhuan nodded with a smile, then offered Chen Chang'an a few words of encouragement before returning to his office.

As he closed the door to the yamen and turned around, the gentleness on his face vanished, replaced by a deep-seated hostility…