Young White Horse: The Poison Sword Master of the Wen Family, Shocking the Apocalypse

wow——

A murmur rippled through the hall. Xu Wei's face turned deathly pale, and he abruptly turned to glare at Yu Heng.

Minister of Revenue Gao Shuyi and Minister of War Zhang Taiyue exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise and doubt in each other's eyes.

Minister of Rites Tang Xianda stroked his beard, his brow furrowed. Minister of Works Tan Li lowered his head, pretending to straighten his sleeves…

Xiao Ruojin's expression immediately darkened upon hearing this:

"Minister Yu, one must not speak carelessly in the imperial court! Do you have any evidence to support your accusations against Censor Hu?"

"Your subject has it!"

Yu Heng straightened up and quickly took out a scroll of memorials from his sleeve—

"Every word I have said in my report is true!"

Firstly, during the period of mourning for the late emperor, Hu Bufei hosted a banquet at his home, and while drunk, he made wild and incoherent remarks, which his neighbors can attest to!

As he spoke, he unfolded the document and read aloud: "On the night of the ninth day of the fifth month, the sound of drinking games and finger-guessing games came from the Hu residence and continued until the hour of Chou (1-3 AM)."

The next morning, Hu Bufei collapsed drunk at the gate of the mansion and was carried in by his servants, his clothes disheveled—this was a grave disrespect during the period of national mourning!

The hall was silent. Drinking and making merry during the national mourning period was a serious crime.

Yu Heng continued:

Secondly, Hu Bufei was usually on duty at the Censorate and was often drunk and confused.

On the 17th of last month, while drunk, he mistakenly wrote "Luzhou" instead of "Yuezhou" in his memorial impeaching the prefect of Yuezhou, almost causing a major mistake!

Everyone in the Censorate knows about this matter; Your Majesty may summon anyone to inquire about it!

Xu Wei trembled all over, wanting to speak up in rebuttal, but seeing Xiao Ruojin's icy gaze sweep over him, he swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

“There is a third one—” Yu Heng’s voice suddenly rose, “and it is the most serious one! Hu Bufei’s father, Hu Cheng, had a close relationship with the traitor Baili Luochen during his lifetime!

At that time, the late emperor sent Baili Luochen to guard the former capital of Western Chu. Hu Cheng wrote to the late emperor several times to plead for the Marquis of Zhenxi, saying, "The loyalty of Baili is evident, and there is no need to demote him to the southwestern frontier."

Now that Baili Luochen has rebelled, Hu Bufei, as Hu Cheng's son and holding a position in the Censorate, in charge of the court's channels of communication—I suspect he is colluding with the enemy!

"boom--"

These words were like a thunderclap, leaving all the civil and military officials in the hall dumbfounded.

Colluding with the enemy? If this charge is proven, it carries a sentence that could lead to the extermination of nine generations of one's family!

Gao Shuyi could no longer hold back and stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty! Minister Yu's words are excessive! Lord Hu's memorial back then was perfectly reasonable. How can it be confused with today's rebellion? This old minister is certain that Minister Yu's memorial is far-fetched and based on the untrue words of others!"

Zhang Taiyue stepped forward as well: "I second that! Hu Bufei is indeed fond of drinking. Even if he has made a mistake, a salary reduction and demotion would suffice. There is no need to charge him with the serious crime of treason!"

Xiao Ruojin remained expressionless, waiting for them to finish speaking before slowly opening her mouth:

"Minister Gao, Minister Zhang, are you two trying to defend Hu Bufei? Or... are you trying to teach me how to do things?!"

Xiao Ruojin's tone was extremely calm, yet it sent a chill down Gao Zhang's spine, and he hurriedly knelt down, saying, "Your subject dares not!"

Xiao Ruojin stopped looking at them and focused her gaze on Yu Heng: "Minister Yu, do you have any witnesses or physical evidence for the matter you reported?"

“Yes!” Yu Heng took out several more letters from his bosom. “These are copies of the letters Hu Cheng exchanged with Baili Luochen back then! Many of them contain words that exonerate the Baili family!”

As for Hu Bufei's drunkenness and dereliction of duty—Your Majesty can immediately send someone to the Censorate to investigate. Right now, Hu Bufei is surely drunk and passed out in his office!

Xu Wei's vision went black, and he nearly fainted.

He did go to the Censorate before the morning court session today, but Hu Bufei was nowhere to be found—he said he was taking leave, but in reality, he was out drinking somewhere again.

If someone were really sent to investigate... even if Hu Bufei had a mouth full of mouths, he still wouldn't be able to explain himself!

Xiao Ruojin was silent for a moment, then turned her gaze to Jin Xuan and suddenly said sharply, "Jin Xuan!"

"This servant is here!" Jinxuan stepped forward.

"Take a squad of guards and go to the Censorate immediately! If Hu Bufei is truly as Minister Yu says, arrest him on the spot and escort him to the Court of Judicial Review for questioning!" Xiao Ruojin's voice was icy, then she looked at Xu Wei, the head of the Censorate—

"Xu Wei!"

"This old minister...this old minister is here..."

Xu Wei's voice trembled.

"As the head of the Censorate, how could you be completely unaware of such behavior from your subordinates?"

Xiao Ruojin stared at him. "I entrust this case to you to assist the Dali Temple in its trial. If there are any further oversights, I will punish you as well!"

Xu Wei knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face: "This old minister...accepts the decree."

The officials in the hall were silent as cicadas in winter.

Anyone could see that this was not a sudden event, but rather a carefully planned scheme.

When the new emperor ascends the throne, he needs to establish his authority and purge his enemies. Hu Bufei, an alcoholic censor with a "blemish" record, becomes the perfect target.

……

The morning court session ended in a subdued atmosphere.

As the officials left Pingqing Hall, no one spoke; their faces were all solemn.

Gao Shuyi and Zhang Taiyue walked together, their steps quick, as if a raging flood was behind them.

“Lord Gao, about this matter…” Zhang Taiyue lowered his voice.

"Enough talk!" Gao Shuyi shook his head. "We'll talk about it when we get back to the yamen."

The two left in haste. Tang Xianda, the Minister of Rites, and Tan Li, the Minister of Works, walked side by side. Tang Xianda suddenly sighed, "A storm is brewing..."

Tan Li smiled wryly: "You and I are alright, we're not in the eye of the storm. It's just that Imperial Censor Xu... I'm afraid it's going to be difficult."

“Difficult?” Tang Xianda shook his head. “I think he’s doomed. His Majesty is going to target the Censorate. As the head of the Seven Censors, Xu Wei either follows His Majesty to purge the old guard, or… he can only be buried with Hu Bufei.”

The two looked at each other, both seeing a deep chill in each other's eyes.

This newly enthroned emperor was far from being as benevolent as he appeared.

……

Half an hour later, Jin Xuan, accompanied by seven or eight guards carrying swords at their waists, stormed into the Censorate.

Inside the yamen, several censors were organizing documents when they saw this scene and were all startled.

Jinxuan didn't waste any words and asked directly, "Where is Hu Bufei?"

A young censor stammered, "Censor Hu... he... he's asked for leave today."

"Taking leave?" Jinxuan sneered. "During the morning court session, Lord Xu said he was on duty at the yamen. Tell me! Where is he?"

The censors and clerks looked at each other in silence, all bowing their heads, none daring to respond to Jinxuan's words.

Jinxuan waved her hand: "Search!"

The guards rushed into the guardhouses like wolves and tigers. In no time, they found half a jar of wine, several packets of leftover braised food, and a few old sword manuals and strange tales spread out on the table in a guardhouse that reeked of alcohol.

"On duty?! Hmph! Is this how Hu Bufei is on duty? Take all this evidence away!" Jin Xuan said coldly.

"Grand Eunuch Jinxuan! Please, Grand Eunuch, spare Censor Hu..." A handsome young censor knelt down and begged.

"Censor Hu may have made mistakes, but the crime of colluding with the enemy is absolutely impossible!"

This person's name is Lu Zhongzhen. He is on good terms with Hu Bufei and is a sincere and humble person.

Jinxuan didn't even look at him, and turned to leave.

Half an hour later.

The guards finally found Hu Bufei fast asleep on Suzaku Street—or rather, they caught him at a tavern.

Hu Bufei was so drunk that he was unconscious. With sleepy eyes, he let the guards hold his arms as the group marched through Zhuque Street and headed straight for Dali Temple.

People along the way gathered to watch, pointing and commenting.

"Hey! Isn't that Inspector Hu? How come he's been arrested?"

"I don't know, he probably drank too much and missed his work..."

"That's not true. I heard from my relatives that Hu Bufei is a traitor, and there are rumors that he is colluding with the Marquis of Zhenxi in the Southwest!"

"Impossible, right? Although Imperial Censor Hu enjoys wine, he wouldn't..."

“What’s impossible? His father, Hu Cheng, has always been on good terms with the Baili clan. Who knows what kind of connection they might have…”

"..."

Discussions spread like wildfire.

……