My father is Jiajing

Chapter 309: Gao Gong's Refusal
Gao Gong stood up. Although his rank was not as high as Yan Shifan's, his aura was no weaker than Yan Shifan's.

Gao Gong snorted coldly and said, "Young Lord, do you have an order? Do you think Shuntian Prefecture is yours? How dare you humiliate Shuntian Prefecture like this? Do you still have the court in your eyes? Do you still have His Majesty?"

Gao Gong started with a violent magic output, with a direct anti-armor damage, which suppressed Yan Shifan's momentum.

When Yan Shifan heard Gao Gong's voice, he was also furious.

This Gao Erlangzi was really too much. If his father hadn't asked him to give him some face, Yan Shifan would have had him punished in the Hanlin Academy for his behavior.

Yan Shifan said angrily: "Gao Gong! Do you have the right to speak here? You are just a fifth-rank imperial scholar, but you don't kneel when you see me. Do you still have the rules of the court in your eyes?"

Gao Gong snorted without giving in: "When has the court ever asked low-ranking officials to kneel down and pay respect to high-ranking officials? Besides, I belong to the Hanlin Academy, not the Ministry of Works, and I have no direct superior-subordinate relationship with you. You want me to kneel down to you, are you crazy?"

Yan Shifan almost rolled his eyes at Gao Gong's words. Gao Gong's words were really too much.

Isn't it a common practice for people of lower rank to curry favor with officials of higher rank?
Moreover, Yan Shifan entered and left the cabinet as the Minister of Works, and he already had the de facto status of "Little Cabinet Minister". Even if the six ministers met him, which one of them would not be polite?

But who is this Gao Gong? He actually dared to talk about such a thing in front of him. He must have been afraid that the wind would blow his tongue away.

Yan Shifan said coldly: "Gao Gong, are you my enemy?"

Gao Gong said disdainfully: "I am just teaching the young minister the rules of the court."

When Yan Shifan heard this, he almost fainted. It was so damn infuriating.

Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you teach me?

Yan Shifan said angrily, "Gao Gong, don't think that you can do whatever you want just because you are relying on Prince Yu's Mansion. I will tell you the truth today. If you dare to stop what happened today, I guarantee that even Prince Yu can't save you. Besides, whether he dares to come forward for you is still uncertain."

When Yan Shifan said this, all the officials present who had a common sense took a deep breath.

Just criticize Gao Gong, why did it involve Prince Yu?
Even if Prince Yu is weak and incompetent, we cannot say this openly. If this gets to the emperor's ears and he blames us, it will be a disaster.

Zhang Juzheng, who had been standing aside and watching coldly, immediately seized this loophole. He stepped out from Gao Gong's side and bowed to Yan Shifan in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

Zhang Juzheng said, "Young Minister, be careful with your words. Prince Yu is not someone we can interfere with. Besides, Master Gao did nothing wrong. Even if the Prince is guilty, the court will hold him accountable. Young Minister is from the Ministry of Works. As far as I know, the Ministry of Works does not seem to be responsible for the crime."

Yan Shifan was so angry when he saw Zhang Juzheng standing up. He knew that Zhang Juzheng was Xu Jie's disciple and a sensitive person, and the official positions he held were all prestigious ones in the Hanlin Academy.

Therefore, it would be very difficult to make trouble for Zhang Juzheng in his position and remove him from his position.

Moreover, Zhang Juzheng had Xu Jie's protection behind him, so even if Yan Shifan was unhappy with Zhang Juzheng, he could only watch Zhang Juzheng jumping around in the capital.

Yan Shifan was shaking with anger. As a junior cabinet minister for all these years, Yan Shifan had never suffered such a big loss.

Today, I was humiliated by Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng. This is intolerable!

Yan Shifan said, "Okay, okay, you've shown some ability today. Where are the people from the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple? Are they all dead? This is originally your business, and you have the nerve to let me speak for you here? Why don't you stand up and arrest Wang Youzhao!" Yan Shifan knew that if it came to talking about the rules, he could not win the argument with Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, two noble officials who came from the Hanlin Academy.

Therefore, Yan Shifan was not going to quarrel with Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng anymore. He knew that this quarrel would only help Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng gain popularity and make himself unhappy.

Therefore, the best way now is to step aside and let the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple question Wang Youzhao and Hai Rui, who is hiding in the dormitory of the shed and destroying evidence, according to the rules. This is the way to win!

After hearing what Yan Shifan said, the officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple could not help but feel contempt in their hearts, but the situation was stronger than the person, and Yan Shifan's power and status were much stronger than theirs.

Moreover, Yan Shifan's father, Yan Song, was the emperor's trusted chief minister of the cabinet, and even their respective ministers had to treat him with respect.

Therefore, at this time, even if they were a little unhappy with Yan Shifan's arrogance, they still had to stand up and act according to the rules.

The person who came from the Ministry of Justice was a member of the Ministry of Justice named Li Defang. Li Defang stood up, cleared his throat and began to speak.

"According to the imperial decree, the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple have come to question Shuntian Prefecture. Please give a clear reply to the Shuntian Prefecture Yi Wangfutai."

Wang Youzhao was brought to the front again.

But at this time, Hai Rui, who had been absent from the work shed dormitory, also appeared.

After Hai Rui came out, he took off the mask on his face, bowed slightly to the officials in front of him, and then said to Li Defang: "The Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple can question me. I know more about this than anyone else."

After hearing Hai Rui's words, Wang Youzhao was so moved that tears almost came out.

At this time, when others would not even have time to hide from such a thing, Hai Rui took the initiative to face it. How could this not move people?

Yan Shifan looked at Hai Rui coming out and couldn't help but snort, "He's just being stubborn!"

When Li Defang saw Hai Rui appear and heard what Hai Rui said, he was obviously stunned. This matter seemed a little contrary to common sense.

However, Li Defang changed his mind and realized that the order from the Cabinet and the Ministry of Justice was to inquire about Shuntian Prefecture and Hai Rui. Since Hai Rui took the initiative to show up and wanted to answer the questions in person, it was not impossible.

Li Defang asked, "Are you Hai Rui?"

Hai Rui replied: "I am Hai Rui."

Li Defang looked at Hai Rui, a short but imposing man with a dark face, and was amazed. He had heard of Hai Rui's name in the Ministry of Justice a long time ago.

Especially Hai Rui's achievements in the Ministry of Revenue, which were well-known and made people envious and admired.

I wonder if there is any official in the Ming Dynasty who dares to confront his former superior like this? Moreover, the gap in rank between the two is as huge as a chasm!
Li Defang paused and said, "Since Hai Shenshi is willing to respond, this is a good thing. Then tell me why you concealed the truth and said that the workers and civilians who froze to death outside Chongwenmen were sheep."

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(End of this chapter)