The next day, at the grand court assembly, Imperial Censor Chen Qi accused former Minister Tian Song of abusing his power for personal gain, accepting bribes, and exploiting the people during his tenure.
The entire court erupted into an uproar.
This was the second time since last month, following the case of Xie Xian, the imperial son-in-law, that a censor known for his outspokenness had accused Tian Song.
Chen Qi came from a humble background and harbored natural hostility, even prejudice, toward aristocratic families and the powerful elite. Even the suave and tactful Xie Xian could hardly earn his favor.
Because of this, no one suspected collusion between the two to suppress the Tian faction.
The court officials couldn’t help whispering among themselves.
Some forgot to speak with their colleagues, instead sweating profusely while thinking about their own shady dealings and wondering whether they should quickly dispose of them.
This year, no one knew what had prompted the emperor, but he had punished many officials one after another, clearly showing his determination…
After Tian Song’s retirement, only his two sons remained in government service, but both were mediocre, with the eldest legitimate son, Tian Wen, holding only a sixth-grade position and unable to attend the daily smaller court assemblies.
Tian Wen had finally been able to attend today’s grand court assembly, and was somewhat excited at the prospect of appearing before the emperor.
Who could have guessed that as soon as court convened, he heard such accusations, immediately turning pale with shock.
He immediately stepped forward and cried out in protest, “Your Majesty, this is truly a frame-up!”
The grand court assembly, held every five days, was open to all capital officials ranked ninth grade and above. Tian Wen held a low position without real power, so he was placed at the back.
When he suddenly knelt down, the emperor seated high on the dragon throne glanced briefly… and saw nothing.
Eunuch-in-Chief Wang Zhong immediately understood the emperor’s unspoken meaning and ordered a junior eunuch to call out, “Who dares to cry injustice? Step forward and speak.”
In the past, Tian Wen would have eagerly approached the throne, but today he wished he had never come.
This sudden stroke of “luck” was indeed difficult to handle.
Tian Wen weaved through the officials and stepped forward, kneeling again to protest his innocence.
Then he heard the emperor say indifferently, “Raise your head.”
Tian Wen complied, looking directly into the emperor’s eyes. Before he could react, he seemed to see a faint… disappointment in the emperor’s gaze?
Tian Song was fond of marrying into aristocratic families; even concubines were chosen solely for their family background. It was said that when his wives went out socially, people could only praise them with “outstanding demeanor,” indicating their actual appearance.
As for Tian Song himself, he was merely of average looks, yet had accumulated a harem of wives and concubines. Among his offspring, only his legitimate son Tian Bin was the most handsome and intelligent.
Tian Wen’s appearance was passable, but his biggest shortcoming was lacking his father Tian Song’s courage and cunning. His features were tight and timid, making him seem unimpressive.
The emperor immediately lost interest.
His appearance was indeed mediocre.
“Why do you cry injustice?”
Tian Wen was momentarily stunned.
Why cry injustice? Naturally, it was because he felt wronged!
“Come to think of it, I recently received a secret memorial,” the emperor said, lifting his hand. Wang Zhong immediately handed over the “memorial” submitted by Xie Yu personally during his hasty nighttime visit to the palace.
The emperor then casually unfolded the memorial, which he had already memorized, and glanced at it, casually reading out several shops located in bustling areas, “The Tian family has been managing their business quite well these years!”
Tian Wen never expected the news to spread so quickly. The shops whose accountants and ledgers had just been taken away two days ago were already known to the emperor today.
He stammered, “Two of them indeed belong to my family, but the others are definitely false accusations!”
After all, those other shops were not under his name; there was no way he would admit to them.
Without the emperor saying anything, the incorruptible Chen Qi couldn’t help but attack Tian Wen, “What a clumsy excuse! Those shops indeed aren’t yours, but they are under your father’s trusted men. Considering your family’s modest background, Tian Song’s salary was limited. If the master himself is like this, where would the servants get the money to buy shops?”
Chen Qi was already over fifty, but his physique was strong, his face ruddy, and his voice full of vigor. From several meters away, Tian Wen could almost feel the spittle flying toward him.
Tian Wen was mediocre by nature and already extremely nervous appearing before the emperor suddenly. Now being directly confronted by Chen Qi, he immediately lost his composure, stammering a few times before only managing the feeble excuse, “My elders managed their affairs well.”
Chen Qi immediately laughed mockingly.
“What excellent management!” He bowed toward the emperor, “In my humble opinion, why not transfer all the Tian elders to the Ministry of Revenue? With such talent, I’m sure they could multiply the treasury’s silver several times in a few years!”
The court officials burst into laughter.
Originally, a few people had wanted to help Tian Wen out, but seeing how pitiful he was, they immediately gave up.
Sigh, mud cannot be plastered onto a wall.
Ah, how unfortunate that Tian Song fell at such an inopportune time!
Later, the emperor pointed out that those shops had evaded taxes. Tian Wen, momentarily impassioned, said it was only eight taels and a half, and that his subordinates had already planned to pay double to make up for it.
Chen Qi snorted, “Only eight taels and a half? Minister Tian, how generous of you! Do you know that for an ordinary family, even half a tael could sustain them for many days? Previously, the exemption fee for imperial examination candidates was merely two taels!
Tax evasion is tax evasion, corruption is corruption! Is killing one person not considered murder unless ten or eight are killed?”
Tian Wen dared not raise his head again, but in his heart, he desperately wanted to strangle this old man.
It was just eight taels and a half of tax evasion, of course only on the surface, but indeed only eight taels and a half! How could that be compared to murder!
The Tians hadn’t even provoked you; why are you suddenly going crazy for no reason!
Meanwhile, at the National Academy.
Due to consecutive family misfortunes, Tian Bin had not returned to the National Academy for many days, but he knew well that he couldn’t abandon his connections there. Today, he made time to come back and visit several teachers.
These teachers were genuine scholars who didn’t care much about outside disturbances and appreciated Tian Bin’s academic abilities, offering him some concern.
“Disaster may be the source of fortune; good things often come after many trials. Just take it easy.”
“Yes, I understand,” Tian Bin replied. After many hardships, he had become increasingly composed.
The teacher nodded, “I see your writing has become more mature, and your words more steady. This year, you will definitely achieve something.”
Previously, Tian Bin’s academic abilities were already excellent, but he had been too fortunate, young and successful, inevitably a bit impetuous. His writing was flowery and beautiful but lacked stability.
Although he had suffered a great calamity now, which was lamentable, it had also brought him unexpected maturity, as if he had been broken and then rebuilt into a composed and steady person.
Tian Bin was about to bow when he noticed his servant looking anxiously at him from outside.
The teachers noticed as well, “We’ve read your essays and said what we needed to. You may go now.”
Tian Bin slightly furrowed his brow, worried that something else might have happened at home, and after exchanging a few more words, he stepped out.
The teachers exchanged glances, filled with regret.
“Sigh, fate is indeed unkind.”
“Tian Song was indeed capable, but his character… well, let’s not speak of it. I see this child is more patient, I just hope he won’t repeat his father’s mistakes…”
“What happened?”
Tian Bin walked outward with his servant, his tone clearly displeased.
The servant braced himself and said, “Just now came news that Censor Chen Qi publicly accused us of corruption and profiteering at the grand court assembly. The emperor already had evidence, and the eldest son failed to salvage the situation…”
At the mention of “eldest son,” Tian Bin instinctively snorted, “If he could save the situation, pigs could fly!”
After speaking, he paused his steps, “Profiteering?”
Tian Bin didn’t need to think to know his father might have had other sources of income, but how did this “profiteering” come about?
The servant glanced around and whispered, “It seems that Master previously acquired many shops, some for profit, some for bribes. Some were under Master and the eldest son’s names, while others were under others. Now they’ve all been exposed.”
Shops…
Tian Bin frowned deeply.
It wasn’t that he envied those private properties, but he felt the matter was definitely not that simple.
Although the old rule was “officials should not compete with the people for profit,” looking around the country, how many officials actually followed that?
To maintain appearances, to socialize, to support a large family, how much could be done with just a small salary!
There was no choice but to have some private income.
If they really investigated using the rule “officials should not compete with the people for profit,” probably very few officials would remain in the entire court!
That his father acquired shops was expected, and giving some to the elder and second brothers wasn’t unusual.
After all, despite their shortcomings, they were now officials, so having some properties was understandable.
Even without asking, Tian Bin could guess that in the future, when he entered the officialdom, his name would also have several shops…
The problem was, were those shops really just for making money?
Not necessarily.
His father’s thoughts were deep, and he didn’t dare to guess too much, but the matter was definitely not that simple.
Since confirming his father’s private relationship with Prince Su previously, Tian Bin had increasingly held this view.
But how did Chen Qi find out?
With his father fallen, his two older brothers useless, and his maternal grandfather’s branch already marginalized, there wasn’t even one person in the capital now. Even if there were, they probably couldn’t help much.
As for himself… Tian Bin’s frown deepened, hating how quickly the matter came and how cautious he had been before.
If he had entered the officialdom earlier, perhaps now he could have held an official position, so that when the crisis came, there would be someone to turn to.
“Master?” The servant noticed Tian Bin suddenly stopping and instinctively asked.
Tian Bin forcefully pounded the corridor pillar, “Have they offended anyone recently?”
Why did Chen Qi suddenly target their family?
There must be a reason.
Leaving aside other things, Chen Qi wasn’t the kind to speak without evidence. So where did the evidence come from?
At the mention of “they,” the servant knew Tian Bin was referring to the two older brothers above and quickly replied, “They’ve both been removed from their posts and are temporarily at home reflecting on their mistakes…”
It was said to be “temporary,” but after spending many years in the capital, he was well aware of the routine. Without a miracle, this “temporary” would most likely turn into “permanent.”
Tian Bin clenched his fists tightly and said solemnly, “Go and ask my teacher for leave on my behalf.”
No, he had to go back quickly and find out what was going on.
Their loss of position wasn’t a big deal, but if this really confirmed their father’s crimes, then he would become the son of a criminal, never to have a chance in the imperial examinations again!
That was his last opportunity.
Tian Bin was hurrying out when suddenly he heard someone shouting from afar, “Jian Zi!”
He looked up and saw Ji Fang, whom he hadn’t seen for many days.
Ji Fang was about to walk over when a fellow student pulled him back, “Don’t go!”
Ji Fang shook him off, “What are you doing!”
The student sneered, “Do you think I want to stop you? Fine, if you want to show off your noble friendship, if you’re not afraid of death, if your whole family isn’t afraid of death, then go! Don’t say you’re from the same room later!”
The National Academy had daily dormitory accommodations, and the two were roommates.
Ji Fang was about to argue but remembered the news that had come in earlier and hesitated involuntarily.
Tian Bin only looked at him deeply, his eyes unusually calm, without anger, without surprise, and without any sense of shock.
After looking, Tian Bin turned his eyes away and walked out without looking back.
The world’s coldness was just like this.
News in the capital had always spread quickly. They had no wings, yet flew faster than birds; they had no legs, yet ran faster than rabbits.
What happened at the morning hour was already being discussed in the streets of Kaifeng by the afternoon.
When Ma Bing went shopping, she heard the familiar vendor enthusiastically discussing it.
“…So much money!”
“I heard that too. They say they found a mountain of gold at their house!”
“That’s nonsense! They haven’t even confiscated the property yet!”
“Oh, but it should be soon.”
After being embellished layer by layer, the Tian family’s corrupt and illegal activities had escalated several times over, becoming the most notorious case of ruthless greed in the Great Lü Dynasty.
The life of a minister was too distant from ordinary people, far beyond imagination, like stars and the moon in the sky.
Naturally, there was no emotional connection.
The minister was said to be a high-ranking official, but exactly how high, they couldn’t imagine.
However, just witnessing his downfall was enough to excite everyone.
The lower the class, the more enthusiastic they seemed to watch the fall of a giant.
Because of Ma Bing and Wang Heng’s several free clinics, the common people on the street recognized her. At one time, they tried to give her vegetables for free, but after being firmly refused, they always added a few garlic cloves or scallions.
A small gift carries deep meaning.
From a distance, several vendors spotted Ma Bing approaching, their eyes lighting up with excitement. They quickly gathered around him eagerly, subtly probing with questions.
“Doctor Ma, I heard that some minister killed someone?”
Doctor Ma lived in the Kaifeng Prefecture, so she must have had very timely information, right?
Ma Bing couldn’t help but smile wryly, “What killing? Where did you hear that? The court hasn’t finished its investigation yet. Don’t make things up.”
The vendors’ eyes turned, and they immediately made a “we understand” expression.
Understood, meaning it was very serious, and they weren’t allowed to talk about it outside.
Ma Bing clearly saw the change in their expressions and didn’t know what to say.
It wasn’t her saying it, it was just that they were too good at connecting the dots.
Suddenly, someone from who knows where said loudly, “That’s normal, being an official, who isn’t doing it for family honor and to make money? Those big officials all eat with golden bowls and silver chopsticks at home, with such big gems on the chopsticks that when the sun shines, it blinds your eyes.”
As he spoke, he even seriously gestured with his hand, as if he had seen it himself, causing the listeners to marvel.
Ma Bing also glanced at this loudmouth, who was said to be the daughter of a neighbor of the cousin of someone’s sister-in-law who worked as a maid in a high official’s house. She thought to herself, which official would be crazy enough to inlay chopsticks with gems the size of fists!
Are they weightlifting?!
Well, you’re happy, that’s all that matters.
Ma Bing went shopping. Apparently in a good mood, she thought for a moment and then bought several fat chickens and ducks, preparing to go home and make braised dishes, filling two large baskets.
On her way back, she suddenly saw a fast horse darting through the crossroads ahead. Although she only caught a glimpse, Ma Bing still recognized the rider on the horse:
Tian Bin.
The streets of Kaifeng were crowded. Unless in an emergency, no one would dare to ride a horse openly in the streets during the day.
Ma Bing slowly walked over, watching the rider disappear quickly into the crowd amid various cries, and murmured softly, “It’s your turn to be anxious now…”
All that I have experienced and tasted over these years, it’s now your turn to taste.
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