Accusing Yin Yan of Misconduct (Part One)
In the dead of night, a shadow flickered in Emperor Ning’s bed-chamber.
“What is so important that you had to come and see Us in the middle of the night just after the new year?”
He was wearing a set of bright-yellow nightclothes, and his imperial hat had also been removed, revealing his mottled silver hair.
Eunuch Gao came out behind him and waved for the palace maids to leave when Emperor Ning sat down.
This group of court officials had suddenly come to see him late at night during the resting period just after the new year. There had to be something urgent that they wished for him to hear.
Emperor Ning sat behind the imperial desk and looked up at them. He suddenly felt that the group of people standing there were very familiar and that he had seen them just a few days earlier.
“Ji DaoGong, Pei Zheng, Lin Yi?”
Ji DaoGong was an imperial censor from the Censorate. It was his job to investigate every angle and determine whether or not someone was guilty.
Pei Zheng was an official from the Imperial Court of Justice. He was responsible for adjudicating cases and handing out punishments. Lin Yi was a lower-ranked official from the Imperial Court of Justice and was his assistant.
Why had they come together?
Emperor Ning waved his hand and gestured for them to sit before speaking.
For two second-rank officials and a third-rank official to come and visit so late at night, it must not be a trivial matter.
Eunuch Gao quickly gave the other servants a look to bring out some tea, as Emperor Ning looked at Pei Zheng, “We handed over the matter of investigating what happened to Marquis Gu’s heir to the Imperial Court of Justice. Your Imperial Court of Justice has many talented people, so were there some findings?”
Pei Zheng stood up and cupped his hands, saying: “This subject came so late at night because of this matter. Your Majesty, the investigation was conducted by Official Lin, and he found some clues; however, these clues involve an official of a higher rank. The two of us did not dare to continue investigating without permission. Since accusing a court official of misconduct is handled by the Censorate, this official acted presumptuously and also invited Lord Ji.”
Ji DaoGong was the top official in the Censorate. He was over sixty years of age and was a senior official in court with a great deal of prestige.
It was because he had this prestige that he rarely spoke out when he lacked any conclusive evidence of misconduct.
Since Pei Zheng was able to convince him, it was natural that there was some semblance of evidence.
Emperor Ning looked at Lin Yi, “Official Lin, please tell. What have you found?”
Lin Yi stood up and reported: “Replying to Your Majesty, the matter of Marquis Gu’s heir being attacked happened during the latter half of the twelfth month. At that time, the various agencies in the palace were preparing to shut down and start the break. Normally speaking, the various manors should not be making any big moves aside from preparing special items for new year’s celebrations; however, this lowly subject noticed that the prime minister’s manor had mobilized a large number of people.”
“The prime minister’s manor?”
Emperor Ning furrowed his brow, “What was the prime minister’s manor mobilizing a large number of people for? This scale, just how large is it?”
Lin Yi said: “Lord Marquis Gu has always kept a low profile and very rarely dispatches a large number of troops. Even when sending the mother and daughter of the Su family back to JinLing, he only sent 40 people. To deal with these 40 from the Gu family’s army, one would need at least twice as many experts to have a chance of victory. The prime minister’s manor mobilized more than three times as many. In the report sent by Prefect Kuan JiYan, the number of assassins at the bottom of the cliff match perfectly.”
Three times as many, which meant there were over 100 people.
For something as important as escorting ladies, Marquis Gu’s Manor only dispatched 40 people. What did the prime minister’s manor need to dispatch over 100 people for?
He had never heard Yin Yan bring it up before. It could not be that over 100 people were sent to buy new year’s specials, right?
After a moment of silence, Emperor Ning ran his fingers through his beard, “This matter involves the current prime minister. Clumsiness cannot be tolerated. If it’s just a coincidence that the numbers lined up, it can’t be certain that it was done by Prime Minister Yin, right?”
Lin Yi hastily said: “That is indeed the case, but Prime Minister Yin is a standard first-rank official, thus this subject has no right to investigate him for this case and can only report this to Your Majesty.”
This was to say that they currently suspected the prime minister’s manor but could not be certain.
Emperor Ning’s expression improved a bit and finally turned toward Ji DaoGong, “It’s because of this suspicion that Lord Ji was invited over so late at night. You two of the younger generation acted a little too improperly.”
Ji DaoGong held the back of his chair and stood up, his back slightly hunched, “There’s no need for Your Majesty to assign any blame on the two. It was this old subject who had something to take care of. This matter is closely related to the matter what they brought up. That’s why I came along with them. This old subject wishes to report Prime Minister Yin for misconduct. He secretly communicated with the special envoy from Western Kun to try and bring harm to our Eastern Ling!”
Clatter.
Emperor Ning’s hand swayed, and the lid on the blue and white teacup shook, nearly falling to the ground.
He quickly reached out to steady it and cover up his loss of control.
“Secret communications with Western Kun’s special envoy? This matter, how did the elder official find out about it?”
Ji DaoGong looked at Lin Yin, and the latter slightly nodded, thus he reported: “Replying to Your Majesty, in truth, when Marquis gu’s heir was attacked, the first one that this subject suspected was the group from Western Kun. The Gu family’s army has been stationed at the border and defended Eastern Ling’s territory. If not for the presence of the Gu family’s army, Western Kun might have already invaded our country and disturbed our citizens. That’s why this subject sent someone to the posthouse to keep an eye on the special envoy. There, I found that they did not have the manpower for such a mobilization, but there was an unexpected discovery.”
“This subject’s subordinates heard that the poison used on Marquis Gu’s heir was a poison that only Western Kun has.”
Manpower from the prime minister’s manor and poison from Western Kun’s special envoy, the two were brought together to try and kill Gu ShuBai. From that, the fact that the two of them had communicated in secret was discovered.
Now, things had come together.
Ji DaoGong continued: “The reason that the investigation could not continue is the same as with the Imperial Court of Justice. Prime Minister Yin is a standard first-rank official who has a higher rank than this subject, and Western Kun’s special envoy has a unique status. Since both sides have influential positions, this subject could not bring it up in court lightly and could only come to report to Your Majesty late at night.”
Emperor Ning fully understood their intentions, “It seems that this matter will require Us to bring in Prime Minister Yin and the special envoy from Western Kun to reveal what happened?”
The three reached a tacit agreement and cupped their hands in salute, “We ask Your Majesty to graciously grant this request.”
…
The next day was the 15th of the first month, the day of the Lantern Festival.
Court had not yet been reopened, and the officials were still on their rest period. The various families and manors were hanging up lanterns of various colors.
When night came and the candles were lit, they would look even more beautiful than they did during the day.
Yin JiYao led a group of people on a walk through the manor and dully said, “This year’s lanterns are old. They’re the same as the ones from last year? Could it be that our prime minister’s manor doesn’t even have the money to buy lanterns?”
The prime minister’s manor was a prominent family with many businesses. It was natural that they were not lacking money to buy lanterns, so these words were clearly putting the blame on the servants for not handling matters properly.
The steward who was directing the hanging of lanterns stepped forward and gave an uneasy salute, “Young miss might not know, but new lanterns should have been purchased, but the eldest young sir has not had any free time recently to manage the manor’s affairs and ordered us to keep things simple. That’s why we brought out the same lanterns that were used last year.”
The prime minister’s manor did not have a female master, and Yin Yan was busy with work. In the past, all of the manor’s affairs had been handled by Yin Shuo.
For some reason, Yin Shuo had spent the past few days hiding unhappily in the outer study. He also could not be bothered to handle the manor’s affairs, and no matter what was asked, he would say that simple is best. If he was asked again, he would get irritated.
After this happened a few times, the servants no longer dared to bother him.
The steward continued: “If young miss does not like these old lanterns, you can go and speak with the eldest young sir. As long as he approves, we can immediately go out to buy new lanterns.”
Despite clearly knowing that Yin Shuo was in a bad mood, this steward still wanted her to go and have a stroke of bad luck. Was he trying to cause her harm?
Yin JiYao rolled her eyes at him and no longer had any desire to look at the lanterns. She just led her maidservants and grannies back to her courtyard.
Behind her, the steward gently shook his head with a faint but mocking smile on his face.
“Quickly hang them up. They need to be hung up all over the manor, and they need to be up before it gets dark.”
During this rare rest period, Yin Yan was not holed up in the outer study, nor was he resting in the main study. Instead, he went alone to the ancestral hall.
The prime minister’s manor was not as prosperous as Marquis Gu’s Manor, and there were not as many tablets. The tablet at the front belonged to his first wife, Yang shi, and the ones behind that belonged to the ancestors of the Yin family.
Yin Yan’s generation only had one son, and who knew that in Yin Shuo would also be the only son of his generation. There was also Yin JiYao who could barely help cover up the feeling of regret.
“Eastern Ling’s Yin family has loyally served the ruler for four generations. This lowly Yin Yan was among them. Despite being cautious and conscientious for half my life, I could not return the Yin family to the glory of my ancestors’ time. Gu HuaiJiang amassed a large army to grow his influence. As a military commander, his prestige is greater than that of the court’s. The people of Eastern Lin only recognize the great marquis and general but not the prime minister. It might not be long before they even forget their ruler.”
As he reached the end, his voice grew quieter and quieter. Picking up three sticks of incense, he kneeled on the prayer mat and respectfully bowed three times then placed the incense before the spirit tablets.
“This unfilial descendant, Yin Yan, was powerless and could not stop Gu HuaiJiang from gaining the power to completely overpower the court. Since I have one son in Yin Shuo, I may as well hand down the things that I could not accomplish to him…”
“Master.”
Out in the courtyard, a gatekeeper hastily rushed over. Standing outside the ancestral hall, they bowed and saluted.
“What’s the need for such haste?”
“His Majesty has given a decree ordering master to enter the palace without fail!”
That pair of eyes that were as sharp as a hawks had become muddy and aged at some point. Yin Yan closed his eyes, and who knew what he was thinking.
After a long moment, he slowly stood up and straightened out his purple and gold hat.
“Prepare the carriage. We will be going into the palace immediately!”
Accusing Yin Yan of Misconduct (Part One)
In the dead of night, a shadow flickered in Emperor Ning’s bed-chamber.
“What is so important that you had to come and see Us in the middle of the night just after the new year?”
He was wearing a set of bright-yellow nightclothes, and his imperial hat had also been removed, revealing his mottled silver hair.
Eunuch Gao came out behind him and waved for the palace maids to leave when Emperor Ning sat down.
This group of court officials had suddenly come to see him late at night during the resting period just after the new year. There had to be something urgent that they wished for him to hear.
Emperor Ning sat behind the imperial desk and looked up at them. He suddenly felt that the group of people standing there were very familiar and that he had seen them just a few days earlier.
“Ji DaoGong, Pei Zheng, Lin Yi?”
Ji DaoGong was an imperial censor from the Censorate. It was his job to investigate every angle and determine whether or not someone was guilty.
Pei Zheng was an official from the Imperial Court of Justice. He was responsible for adjudicating cases and handing out punishments. Lin Yi was a lower-ranked official from the Imperial Court of Justice and was his assistant.
Why had they come together?
Emperor Ning waved his hand and gestured for them to sit before speaking.
For two second-rank officials and a third-rank official to come and visit so late at night, it must not be a trivial matter.
Eunuch Gao quickly gave the other servants a look to bring out some tea, as Emperor Ning looked at Pei Zheng, “We handed over the matter of investigating what happened to Marquis Gu’s heir to the Imperial Court of Justice. Your Imperial Court of Justice has many talented people, so were there some findings?”
Pei Zheng stood up and cupped his hands, saying: “This subject came so late at night because of this matter. Your Majesty, the investigation was conducted by Official Lin, and he found some clues; however, these clues involve an official of a higher rank. The two of us did not dare to continue investigating without permission. Since accusing a court official of misconduct is handled by the Censorate, this official acted presumptuously and also invited Lord Ji.”
Ji DaoGong was the top official in the Censorate. He was over sixty years of age and was a senior official in court with a great deal of prestige.
It was because he had this prestige that he rarely spoke out when he lacked any conclusive evidence of misconduct.
Since Pei Zheng was able to convince him, it was natural that there was some semblance of evidence.
Emperor Ning looked at Lin Yi, “Official Lin, please tell. What have you found?”
Lin Yi stood up and reported: “Replying to Your Majesty, the matter of Marquis Gu’s heir being attacked happened during the latter half of the twelfth month. At that time, the various agencies in the palace were preparing to shut down and start the break. Normally speaking, the various manors should not be making any big moves aside from preparing special items for new year’s celebrations; however, this lowly subject noticed that the prime minister’s manor had mobilized a large number of people.”
“The prime minister’s manor?”
Emperor Ning furrowed his brow, “What was the prime minister’s manor mobilizing a large number of people for? This scale, just how large is it?”
Lin Yi said: “Lord Marquis Gu has always kept a low profile and very rarely dispatches a large number of troops. Even when sending the mother and daughter of the Su family back to JinLing, he only sent 40 people. To deal with these 40 from the Gu family’s army, one would need at least twice as many experts to have a chance of victory. The prime minister’s manor mobilized more than three times as many. In the report sent by Prefect Kuan JiYan, the number of assassins at the bottom of the cliff match perfectly.”
Three times as many, which meant there were over 100 people.
For something as important as escorting ladies, Marquis Gu’s Manor only dispatched 40 people. What did the prime minister’s manor need to dispatch over 100 people for?
He had never heard Yin Yan bring it up before. It could not be that over 100 people were sent to buy new year’s specials, right?
After a moment of silence, Emperor Ning ran his fingers through his beard, “This matter involves the current prime minister. Clumsiness cannot be tolerated. If it’s just a coincidence that the numbers lined up, it can’t be certain that it was done by Prime Minister Yin, right?”
Lin Yi hastily said: “That is indeed the case, but Prime Minister Yin is a standard first-rank official, thus this subject has no right to investigate him for this case and can only report this to Your Majesty.”
This was to say that they currently suspected the prime minister’s manor but could not be certain.
Emperor Ning’s expression improved a bit and finally turned toward Ji DaoGong, “It’s because of this suspicion that Lord Ji was invited over so late at night. You two of the younger generation acted a little too improperly.”
Ji DaoGong held the back of his chair and stood up, his back slightly hunched, “There’s no need for Your Majesty to assign any blame on the two. It was this old subject who had something to take care of. This matter is closely related to the matter what they brought up. That’s why I came along with them. This old subject wishes to report Prime Minister Yin for misconduct. He secretly communicated with the special envoy from Western Kun to try and bring harm to our Eastern Ling!”
Clatter.
Emperor Ning’s hand swayed, and the lid on the blue and white teacup shook, nearly falling to the ground.
He quickly reached out to steady it and cover up his loss of control.
“Secret communications with Western Kun’s special envoy? This matter, how did the elder official find out about it?”
Ji DaoGong looked at Lin Yin, and the latter slightly nodded, thus he reported: “Replying to Your Majesty, in truth, when Marquis gu’s heir was attacked, the first one that this subject suspected was the group from Western Kun. The Gu family’s army has been stationed at the border and defended Eastern Ling’s territory. If not for the presence of the Gu family’s army, Western Kun might have already invaded our country and disturbed our citizens. That’s why this subject sent someone to the posthouse to keep an eye on the special envoy. There, I found that they did not have the manpower for such a mobilization, but there was an unexpected discovery.”
“This subject’s subordinates heard that the poison used on Marquis Gu’s heir was a poison that only Western Kun has.”
Manpower from the prime minister’s manor and poison from Western Kun’s special envoy, the two were brought together to try and kill Gu ShuBai. From that, the fact that the two of them had communicated in secret was discovered.
Now, things had come together.
Ji DaoGong continued: “The reason that the investigation could not continue is the same as with the Imperial Court of Justice. Prime Minister Yin is a standard first-rank official who has a higher rank than this subject, and Western Kun’s special envoy has a unique status. Since both sides have influential positions, this subject could not bring it up in court lightly and could only come to report to Your Majesty late at night.”
Emperor Ning fully understood their intentions, “It seems that this matter will require Us to bring in Prime Minister Yin and the special envoy from Western Kun to reveal what happened?”
The three reached a tacit agreement and cupped their hands in salute, “We ask Your Majesty to graciously grant this request.”
…
The next day was the 15th of the first month, the day of the Lantern Festival.
Court had not yet been reopened, and the officials were still on their rest period. The various families and manors were hanging up lanterns of various colors.
When night came and the candles were lit, they would look even more beautiful than they did during the day.
Yin JiYao led a group of people on a walk through the manor and dully said, “This year’s lanterns are old. They’re the same as the ones from last year? Could it be that our prime minister’s manor doesn’t even have the money to buy lanterns?”
The prime minister’s manor was a prominent family with many businesses. It was natural that they were not lacking money to buy lanterns, so these words were clearly putting the blame on the servants for not handling matters properly.
The steward who was directing the hanging of lanterns stepped forward and gave an uneasy salute, “Young miss might not know, but new lanterns should have been purchased, but the eldest young sir has not had any free time recently to manage the manor’s affairs and ordered us to keep things simple. That’s why we brought out the same lanterns that were used last year.”
The prime minister’s manor did not have a female master, and Yin Yan was busy with work. In the past, all of the manor’s affairs had been handled by Yin Shuo.
For some reason, Yin Shuo had spent the past few days hiding unhappily in the outer study. He also could not be bothered to handle the manor’s affairs, and no matter what was asked, he would say that simple is best. If he was asked again, he would get irritated.
After this happened a few times, the servants no longer dared to bother him.
The steward continued: “If young miss does not like these old lanterns, you can go and speak with the eldest young sir. As long as he approves, we can immediately go out to buy new lanterns.”
Despite clearly knowing that Yin Shuo was in a bad mood, this steward still wanted her to go and have a stroke of bad luck. Was he trying to cause her harm?
Yin JiYao rolled her eyes at him and no longer had any desire to look at the lanterns. She just led her maidservants and grannies back to her courtyard.
Behind her, the steward gently shook his head with a faint but mocking smile on his face.
“Quickly hang them up. They need to be hung up all over the manor, and they need to be up before it gets dark.”
During this rare rest period, Yin Yan was not holed up in the outer study, nor was he resting in the main study. Instead, he went alone to the ancestral hall.
The prime minister’s manor was not as prosperous as Marquis Gu’s Manor, and there were not as many tablets. The tablet at the front belonged to his first wife, Yang shi, and the ones behind that belonged to the ancestors of the Yin family.
Yin Yan’s generation only had one son, and who knew that in Yin Shuo would also be the only son of his generation. There was also Yin JiYao who could barely help cover up the feeling of regret.
“Eastern Ling’s Yin family has loyally served the ruler for four generations. This lowly Yin Yan was among them. Despite being cautious and conscientious for half my life, I could not return the Yin family to the glory of my ancestors’ time. Gu HuaiJiang amassed a large army to grow his influence. As a military commander, his prestige is greater than that of the court’s. The people of Eastern Lin only recognize the great marquis and general but not the prime minister. It might not be long before they even forget their ruler.”
As he reached the end, his voice grew quieter and quieter. Picking up three sticks of incense, he kneeled on the prayer mat and respectfully bowed three times then placed the incense before the spirit tablets.
“This unfilial descendant, Yin Yan, was powerless and could not stop Gu HuaiJiang from gaining the power to completely overpower the court. Since I have one son in Yin Shuo, I may as well hand down the things that I could not accomplish to him…”
“Master.”
Out in the courtyard, a gatekeeper hastily rushed over. Standing outside the ancestral hall, they bowed and saluted.
“What’s the need for such haste?”
“His Majesty has given a decree ordering master to enter the palace without fail!”
That pair of eyes that were as sharp as a hawks had become muddy and aged at some point. Yin Yan closed his eyes, and who knew what he was thinking.
After a long moment, he slowly stood up and straightened out his purple and gold hat.
“Prepare the carriage. We will be going into the palace immediately!”
