Chapter 736 - 514: Never Expected

Chapter 736: Chapter 514: Never Expected

Though spring had arrived, the nights were still chilly. This year’s Flower Festival saw only buds, with few flowers in full bloom.

The days grew warmer after the imperial selection, but a chill crept in at night, requiring an extra padded garment.

The palace gates had long been locked for the night, but the city outside was just coming alive.

The Ministry of Justice was ablaze with light. Left Imperial Censor Han Zhengchun’s brow was deeply furrowed, his solemn face etched with the tension of a man treading on thin ice.

"Is the information reliable?"

"I’m seventy to eighty percent certain it is."

A man stood before him in the main hall, covered in dust. He had traveled through the night to reach the Capital City with vital intelligence, not even stopping to wash before rushing straight to the Ministry of Justice.

Han Zhengchun’s expression was grim, and a chill ran down his spine.

Ever since he had joined the Ministry of Justice, he had been upright and impartial, handling matters with fairness. Though he had offended many, his official reputation remained sterling.

This time, on His Majesty’s orders, he was secretly reinvestigating last year’s case of illegally selling military grain. He never expected to uncover an entirely different conspiracy in the process.

The furrow between Han Zhengchun’s eyebrows was deep enough to kill a mosquito. His jaw was clenched, and the flickering lamplight cast shifting shadows across his face, making him look almost menacing.

"Was Lord Ji aware of what you have reported?"

"In reply to your question, my lord, I conducted a covert investigation along the northern route. The garrison commanders and local officials are all in collusion. They’ve built a network of cronies, deceiving those above them and exploiting those below. That’s why Ling Yunhe’s grain convoy was seized so easily last year. His Majesty did investigate once, but with a great enemy at our doorstep, repelling them was the priority, so he couldn’t get to the bottom of it. This year, I was ordered to dig deeper, and I discovered that several border cities are now implicated."

Sweat threatened to break out on Han Zhengchun’s back. Last year, the Emperor had made a swift decision, punishing several of the officials in charge. It was partly to placate public anger and partly to focus on defending against the enemy.

But time had been short, making it impossible to uncover the entire network. The Emperor had been seething ever since. After returning to the Capital City victorious, he had ordered Han Zhengchun to secretly continue the investigation.

Han Zhengchun clutched the intelligence report, his fingertips tapping against the paper.

When Song Buran and Ji Yunting had vouched for Ling Yunhe, they had drawn the ire of countless people. After returning to the Capital City, both faced significant opposition at court. The Emperor had simply held his ground, making no move. But Han Zhengchun knew he was waiting for this very news.

The flames of the lamp flickered, crackling softly from time to time.

After a long silence, he finally asked, "Have you brought the witness back? Where is he being kept?"

"I brought the witness back to the Capital in secret and have him secured at my own home."

The case involved both civil and military officials in the border city, so he hadn’t dared to be careless. He feared someone might try to abduct the witness. If he was silenced, how would he answer to Lord Han?

For the border city officials to be so brazen, they must have someone in the Capital City providing cover for them.

With connections running from top to bottom, a constant flow of information, and officials protecting their own, they have been able to run rampant in the border city for years.

Due to frequent skirmishes between the two nations, the military grain allocated to the border has increased annually. But who would have known that this grain never reached the soldiers? Instead, it was being illegally resold for a massive profit.

All grain transported to the border city must pass through its gates to enter. The moment it does, the local officials are alerted.

That was how Ling Yunhe’s grain was confiscated.

Without officials colluding with one another, coordinating from the inside and out, and conspiring from top to bottom, how could they have possibly amassed so much power?

Even when the Emperor was personally leading the campaign at the border, these officials still dared to make their moves in the shadows. Wasn’t it simply because they believed they had protection and would face no consequences?

The factions at court are complex, their interests deeply intertwined. As a result, most officials turn a blind eye. As long as it doesn’t cause a major incident, no one investigates too deeply.

Such is the way of the world.

But this time, the Emperor had caught them all off guard. Every official assumed that once the Emperor had punished those few officials at the border, the matter was concluded. None of them knew he had ordered Han Zhengchun to secretly continue investigating and gathering evidence.

When you pull up a radish, you’re bound to get some dirt. Who could truly be clean in all this?

If you walk by the river often enough, your shoes are bound to get wet. Sooner or later, you’re bound to slip up.

Han Zhengchun took a deep breath. "I will request an audience with His Majesty at once and report everything exactly as it is."

"My lord, this matter is of the utmost importance, and its implications are vast! You must reconsider!"

Han Zhengchun scoffed. "If I reconsider, how could I face the soldiers at the border? How could I face the countless common folk living there?"

"My lord!"

"Say no more. My mind is made up. I will see this through to the end. It’s not just the military grain. The monthly wages for the conscripted laborers sent to the border are being skimmed, with most of it stolen. On top of that, there are discrepancies with the military farmsteads—vast swathes of cultivated land have been kept off the books. These atrocities have angered both heaven and man, and I will ensure the Emperor hears of them!"

The more Han Zhengchun spoke, the angrier he became, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Officials like these... killing them is the only way to appease the people’s fury!

Killing them is the only way to strike fear into the hearts of others!

As his voice died away, the hall fell silent. The man who had delivered the report bowed deeply. "I will see you out, my lord!"

「The next morning」

While the court session was underway, Song Yunzhao was helping Feng Yun with a Lu Ban Lock. The little boy’s hands were too small to take it apart, so she would usually solve it for him first, then let him play with the pieces.

The mother and son were enjoying themselves when Han Jinyi rushed in, panting slightly, her face as white as a sheet.

Song Yunzhao was taken aback. "What’s wrong?"

She picked up her son and called for Nanny Yu, telling her to take the Second Prince to the next room to continue playing.

Only then did she turn back to Han Jinyi. "Come inside and tell me what happened. Did someone bully you? Who would dare bully you these days?"

Han Jinyi was trembling, her voice shaking as she spoke. "Your Highness, my father... he’s been impeached!"

Song Yunzhao froze. ’Han Zhengchun has been impeached?’

"How do you know? When did this happen?"

’The Emperor didn’t mention anything last night. If Lord Han had been impeached, Feng Yi would have surely told me, even if only as a joke.’

Tears streamed down Han Jinyi’s face. Clutching her handkerchief, she said, "My mother submitted a request to enter the palace this morning. That’s how I found out."

Song Yunzhao wasn’t involved in those affairs. Any noble woman from outside wishing to enter the palace had to submit a formal request.

Only a high-ranking concubine could grant permission. Consort Shu and Princess Consort Zhuang were in charge of such matters. Since Han Jinyi and the others like her were always well-behaved, the two consorts wouldn’t typically deny a request for a family visit.

"Sit down and tell me everything, slowly." Song Yunzhao sensed that something was very wrong.

Han Zhengchun was one of the Emperor’s trusted men. His promotion to Left Imperial Censor had been, in a way, compensation for Han Jinyi’s inability to rise in rank—a trade-off between father and daughter. But since taking the post, Lord Han had been exceptionally diligent, and Feng Yi had praised him to her on several occasions.

’Now someone is impeaching Lord Han, and Han Jinyi is one of my own. Could this be an attack aimed at me?’

Song Yunzhao’s mind raced. Her first thought was that she had brought this trouble upon the Han Family.

But after she finished listening to Han Jinyi’s explanation, she was silent for a long time.

Her expression shifted several times before she finally spoke. "So, Lord Han has spent the last few months investigating this, and now that he has irrefutable witnesses and evidence, someone at court is impeaching him just to protect those parasites?"

She never would have imagined that Feng Yi had been secretly investigating the border grain case that Ling Yunhe had been caught up in all this time.