Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 96 Joint Impeachment of Sheng An

Ji Ming, the Right Supervisor of the Court of Judicial Review, is handling a complaint reported from outside the city.

The Court of Judicial Review is the highest court and procuratorate in the country. Chen Ling, the former Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was appointed as the governor of Liangzhou and became a powerful regional official. Now, Wang Chen, the second-rank Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, is acting as the Minister.

Among the executive officials below the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, there were Left and Right Supervisors, both of whom were of the fourth rank. However, the Left Supervisor was more prestigious and had higher promotion priority than the Right Supervisor.

The Left Prison handled lawsuits filed within Kyoto, while the Right Prison handled lawsuits filed from all over the country that were brought to the capital.

Just then, an official came in and reported: "Lord Ji, there is an impeachment petition from Liangzhou, delivered by Zhang Wen, a prominent family in Northern Liang."

Upon hearing the name, Ji Ming felt unfamiliar and asked, "Who is this person?"

“He is the uncle of the governor of Liangzhou,” the official replied.

"I think I have a vague recollection of him." After thinking for a moment, Ji Ming asked, "Where is he from?"

"The Man from the North Wind".

Ji Ming was stunned: "Is it outside Shuofeng City?"

"Within Shuofeng City."

"Huh?!" Ji Ming was dumbfounded. "Isn't Shuofeng already closed its city gates and on high alert? How could an impeachment letter still be sent out from inside?"

The news of Langya's power being usurped was sent back to Sheng'an by express courier, and initially only the emperor knew about it.

But no wall is completely impenetrable, and the other adults also have their own intelligence networks.

So a few days later, the emperor discussed the matter with some officials.

At Sheng'an's top management level, most people are aware of the situation ahead.

At this point, there can still be an 'impeachment'? Could it be an impeachment of the Sixth Prince?

In response, the official explained: "That man is called Sanming. He escaped from the city and risked his life to get to Sheng'an. He said he had a letter of impeachment, but he did not say who he was impeaching. He insisted on saying it in front of you."

"Okay, let him come."

Although Ji Ming was filled with confusion, he still made a decisive decision.

Then, Sanming, covered in dust, stepped outside the hall. Looking at the gleaming floor of the Dali Temple in the capital, he cautiously asked his subordinate, "Sir, shall I take off my shoes?"

The subordinate looked at the man who reeked of sourness, covered his nose with his hand, and waved his hand in disgust: "No need, go in."

Then, Sanming entered the hall.

Upon seeing this official, he immediately kowtowed and said, "This humble one, Sanming, greets Your Excellency."

Leaning back in his seat, Ji Ming scrutinized him and asked curiously, "How did you get out of Shuofeng City?"

Upon hearing this, Sanming, who was kneeling on the ground, raised his hands and presented the impeachment document, which was made of silk and bound with a red rope.

“Your Excellency, it’s all in this impeachment letter!” Sanming said, his voice trembling.

This sentence made Ji Ming feel a sense of unease.

The city has been taken over by the Sixth Prince. This person escaped from the city alone, and brought with him a joint impeachment petition. Could it be that he really wants to impeach the prince?

Although as an institution for supervision and justice, if it encountered difficult matters, it could report to the emperor, thus fulfilling the function of forwarding cases.

But if it's an impeachment of a prince, and it's based on mere rumors, submitting such a document would inevitably cause some trouble...

"Why are you avoiding my questions?" Ji Ming warned solemnly. "Whom are you impeaching? Tell me now."

Sanming dared not act rashly. The reason they had remained so secretive was that they were afraid of being harmed while filing a lawsuit.

The magistrate of Sheng'an in the capital is Song Shi'an's father.

Seeing the question posed, he mustered his courage, raised his head, and said, "Your Excellency, the powerful clans of Shuofeng have used their own blood as a seal and signed their names. The person they are impeaching is Song Shi'an, the magistrate of Shuofeng County!"

Upon hearing these three words, Ji Ming was greatly shocked.

Is that the top scholar in the imperial examination?
Wow, that's impressive. He's only been in office for a short time and there's already a joint impeachment petition.

However, as long as he is not a prince, it doesn't matter.

"Bring it here," Ji Ming said.

Then, an official took the letter from his hand and presented it to him.

As he looked at the impeachment document, he kept shaking his head, his heart filled with sighs.

It's truly astonishing how someone could commit so many heinous crimes, enough to exterminate nine generations of their family, at the age of twenty...

Now, things are really going to get chaotic in Sheng'an.

After reading the letter, he put it down, looked at the man in front of him who was trembling with nervousness, and said, "Arrange for him to stay at the Dali Temple. Don't let him go anywhere for the next few days."

"..." Upon hearing this, Sanming immediately panicked. "Sir? Am I safe here...? Will someone try to kill me?"

"What utter nonsense are you spouting?" Ji Ming cursed. "You were able to get yourself killed at the Dali Temple, what do you take the Dali Temple for? What do you take the imperial court for?"

If the witness dies a violent death at the Dali Temple, the emperor will personally send someone from the palace to investigate.

Being able to get in here is a guarantee of safety.

No one has the right to kill without authorization.

Moreover, killing the witness is tantamount to providing irrefutable evidence of all the crimes and admitting guilt.

"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir!"

And so, Sanming was taken away.

Holding the letter bearing the blood seal of the powerful clans of Shuofeng, Ji Ming rose and headed to the Dali Temple.

"Lord Ji." As he entered, the official on duty at the gate bowed to him. Ji Ming nodded slightly and then walked directly inside.

At this moment, Sun Heng was reporting to Wang Chen, who was temporarily acting as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, sitting on a chair to his side.

"Jiexiu, what is it?" Wang Chen looked at Ji Ming and asked.

"Lord Wang, this is a joint impeachment letter from the powerful clans of Shuofeng." Ji Ming walked over and handed it to him.

Upon hearing the place name, Sun Heng's eyes narrowed, and he became sensitive.

"Who should be impeached?" Wang Chen asked cautiously as he looked at the document.

"Song Shi'an".

Upon hearing the name, Sun Heng immediately stood up and went over to Wang Chen, where he began to examine the impeachment letter.

The content there shocked him so much that he couldn't describe it in words.

But soon, all the excitement transformed into overwhelming ecstasy.

This guy's dead meat!
"Is it really true?" Wang Chen frowned.

“It’s not certain yet,” Ji Ming said, “but since it’s a joint impeachment letter, those people will also have to bear the consequences of impeaching court officials.”

“That’s true. The powerful clans of Beiliang are not ordinary people, so we should pay attention to them.” Wang Chen nodded.

"Does this matter have anything to do with the governor of Liangzhou?" Ji Ming guessed.

"What do you mean?" Wang Chen asked.

Ji Ming said, "This Zhang Wen is the uncle of the governor of Liangzhou."

Upon hearing this, Sun Heng immediately said, "Since he's my uncle, he surely wouldn't be completely unaware, right?"

"No, no, you can't just guess that."

Wang Chen waved his hand, quickly stopping such speculation, and said, "Former Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Chen Ling, has not yet arrived in Liangzhou, and the governor should not have been officially demoted yet. Without His Majesty's instructions, we have no right to investigate officials of such rank privately. Even questioning them is not allowed."

"Then what should be done with Lord Wang?" Ji Ming asked.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Chen said, "The impeachment letter has not yet been confirmed, and it's uncertain whether it was truly signed by those people... What do you think?"

“The military situation is urgent and cannot be delayed,” Sun Heng said. “We should leave the decision entirely to His Majesty and send it to the palace now.”

"What do you think?" Wang Chen asked Ji Ming again.

Sun Heng just stared at Ji Ming like that.

After thinking it over, Ji Ming said, "Indeed, this matter involves the front lines, and we should report it to His Majesty, but we should also make it clear that we have not yet had time to verify it."

"Okay, that's it."

The three of them made a quick decision.

.........

"Father, good news!"

Upon returning to the Sun residence, Sun Heng immediately sought out Sun Situ.

Sun Yan, who was feeding the fish in the pond, glanced at him and said somewhat displeasedly, "Calm down, don't make a fuss."

After being reprimanded like that, his smile faded. He walked over and slowly bowed to Sun Yan, saying, "Father."

"Tell me, what happened?" Sun Yan asked casually.

Still unable to hide his excitement, Sun Heng said, "Father, Song Shi'an in Beiliang has been impeached by a group of powerful clans."

“!” Sun Yan clenched his fist, and the fish food in his hand was immediately crushed.

Forcing himself to remain calm, Sun Yan looked at him and said, "Let's start from the beginning."

“Song Shi’an was all-powerful in Shuofeng and offended all the powerful clans in the city,” Sun Heng explained. “He promised to let the powerful clans leave the city by accepting bribes, but as soon as they left, soldiers arrested them all and brought them back. Fortunately, the powerful clans had a backup plan and sent a message back here before they left.”

"What are the contents of the impeachment?"

“Song Shi’an instigated the Sixth Prince to be the mastermind behind the Langya Mutiny. After entering Shuofeng City, he also held great power and plundered all the wealth of the city’s powerful families through enticement and robbery,” Sun Heng said.

"Alright, he's definitely dead!"

Sun Yan scattered all the fish food in his hand into the pond, turned around, and clapped his hands: "Putting everything else aside, at least Song Jing has to go down there."

"So, do we need to put in some effort on this?" Sun Heng asked.

“Even without us, the officials would still put in a lot of effort to impeach him. But we have to take the lead in this matter,” Sun Yan said. “The prince cannot impeach him, but someone has to be held responsible for this. Even His Majesty cannot be forced to protect him. Besides, I think His Majesty doesn’t want to protect him at all.”

“Father is wise.” Sun Heng nodded, then asked, “Should I go and ‘report’ to the Prince of Jin?”

"No, no, I'm not going."

Sun Yan waved his hand and said, "The Prince of Jin has been trying to curry favor with me and has hinted several times that he wants you to be one of his people. Although we have been very polite, we have not yet officially become part of the Prince of Jin's faction."

“Father, we value the Prince of Jin, so why don’t we join his faction?” Sun Heng asked, puzzled.

"Although His Majesty tacitly approved of the factional strife between Jin and Wu, he did not want to see people like me and the Duke of Li suffer the same fate. Therefore, I repeatedly declined, not wanting to be remembered by the Emperor."

Stroking his white beard, Sun Yan sensed an opportunity in the current situation: "There will definitely be a court assembly tomorrow. In the court, we can lead the officials to impeach Song Shi'an."

"What does father mean?"

Sun Yan smiled calmly: "We will not be part of the Prince of Jin's faction, but rather let His Majesty see that the Prince of Jin intends to become part of the Jiangnan gentry faction."

(End of this chapter)