The empress disliked my achievements for overshadowing her own, so she turned her attention to the N

In an instant, Lu Renjia clutched his lower abdomen with both hands, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He never expected that Chen Nan would be so bold as to strike him directly in front of all the court officials.

His right hand trembled as he raised it into the air, pointing blankly at Chen Nan, his lips twitching.

He wanted to speak, but the real pain in his body constantly told him that he no longer had the chance.

boom--

With a thud, Lu Renjia's body fell straight down in the center of Fengtian Hall.

He died just like that, a vice minister of the Ministry of Rites died in the imperial court.

For a moment, the officials stared at the still-warm corpse, unsure of what to say.

"Chen Nan! How dare you commit such an overstepping act in front of the Empress Dowager?"

Suddenly, Qin Qingmin sneered and shouted loudly.

He turned around and lay on Lu Renjia's corpse, crying, "Councilor Lu, this matter is still the fault of our academy."

"If our academy had discovered Chen Nan's wolfish ambitions earlier, Councilor Lu would not have ended up like this."

With a sob in her voice, Qin Qingmin mocked Chen Nan's behavior while simultaneously exaggerating her own morality.

Anyone who didn't know better would think that the people on the ground had a very good relationship with him.

In reality, the two were simply both in the officialdom.

The ministers simply watched Qin Qingmin's performance in silence, and not one of them spoke up for him.

There wasn't even a single person who went up to help the body up.

Only Qin Qingmin lay on Lu Renjia's body, crying and sobbing, her voice growing louder and louder.

After wailing for a long time, he felt that the air was filled with an eeriness.

He slightly opened his eyelids and glanced around.

He then realized that everyone was looking at him.

They watched, but no one spoke up for him.

At this moment, Qin Qingmin was so embarrassed that he could practically dig out a four-bedroom apartment with his toes.

Helpless, he turned around and knelt down in the center with a thud, saying aggrievedly, "Your Majesty, I only felt that Councilor Lu's body was not yet cold, so I did this."

The Empress Dowager on the dragon throne was also unsure of what to do next.

He simply closed his eyes, leaned back on the dragon throne, and pretended to sleep.

Now Qin Qingmin understood completely that the Empress Dowager had no intention of getting involved in this matter at all.

And the first person to step forward was Chen Nan.

Now that things have developed to this point, it's clear who proposed the reforms.

Qin Qingmin dropped the pretense, stood up, patted his knees, and said coldly, "Prince of Zhennan, do you know your crime?"

Chen Nan chuckled and asked in a low voice, "May I ask Qin Academy, what crime have I committed?"

Qin Qingmin strode up to Chen Nan, pointed his index finger at him, and shouted, "Chen Nan, as the Prince of Zhennan, you wantonly slaughtered Northern Wei officials in public. Isn't this a betrayal of the Northern Wei court? Isn't this a serious crime?"

Chen Nan raised his golden staff high and laughed loudly, "I am the Left Chancellor of Northern Wei and the Prefect of Wei Capital, and I am hereby granted the title of Prince of Zhennan!"

"He may wear a sword and shoes to court, and will be bestowed with a nine-clawed python robe and a golden staff!"

"What crime have I committed? Even the Empress Dowager has not convicted me. You are merely the Dean of Longtu Academy, yet you dare to presume to convict me?"

"Qin Academy, don't forget that I am still the Censor-in-Chief."

"That Lu Renjia has been an official for many years, secretly accepting bribes. Shouldn't such an official be executed on the spot, or kept alive as a side dish?"

Chen Nan is not just someone who talks the talk; he's someone who walks the walk.

The reason why Lu Renjia was able to become the first dead soul was naturally because of an investigation.

Under Chen Nan's investigation, it was discovered that this man not only embezzled and accepted bribes, but more despicablely, he also abducted women.

This left the villagers around Weidu angry but dared not speak out.

Chen Nan killing him in public can only be considered letting the other party off easy.

If it really falls into Chen Nan's hands, it will only make the other party wish for death.

These words did not make Qin Qingmin give up; instead, they further enraged the other party.

“Chen Nan, you are indeed the Prince of Zhennan, but don’t forget that all the officials in the Northern Wei court came from my Longtu Academy.”

"There are tens of thousands of officials in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Do you really intend to kill them all?"

Qin Qingmin had a slight smile on his lips.

This can already be considered an open scheme.

After all, who would really have the heart to massacre tens of thousands of officials?

Even if Chen Nan really had the guts, how could the order of Northern Wei be maintained?

And if they actually take action, will the Empress Dowager agree?

Would the common people agree? Would the Northern Wei army agree?

However, Qin Qingmin had foreseen everything, but he hadn't anticipated that Chen Nan not only had the audacity, but also the idea.

Chen Nan held the golden staff horizontally against Qin Qingmin's neck: "What? Is Qin Academy forcing me?"

"Do you still think I won't dare to make a move?"

"Or perhaps you're saying that everyone from Longtu Academy is of one mind?"

Qin Qingmin broke out in a cold sweat again, but he knew that the more things got to this point, the less he could back down.

Raising his head high, he became agitated: "Chen Nan, if officials from our Longtu Academy aren't of one mind with our academy, are they of one mind with you, someone from the Great Qian Dynasty?"

Upon hearing this, fear filled the faces of the civil officials in the court.

Even the Empress Dowager, who had kept her eyes tightly closed, opened them, her eyes flashing with a sharp light as she stared intently at Qin Qingmin.

No one could have imagined that Qin Qingmin would be so foolish as to dare to utter such words of forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices in the imperial court.

Even if they were truly on Qin Qingmin's side, they wouldn't dare say it in this kind of setting!

Qin Qingmin's open scheme was not only thwarted by Chen Nan, but what was even more remarkable was that his single sentence elevated the civil officials to a level that was beyond their own capabilities.

Moreover, many people have already noticed the Empress Dowager's murderous gaze.

They dared not speak up to remind him, and could only pray silently that Qin Qingmin would not say anything more extreme.

At this moment, Qin Qingmin realized that what he had said was wrong.

He glanced casually at the dragon throne and found the Empress Dowager glaring at him.

The sweat on his forehead increased, and his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

Chen Nan's face was full of sarcasm: "Does Qin Academy have anything else to say?"

Qin Qingmin had no intention of arguing; at this moment, he only wanted to explain things to the Empress Dowager as soon as possible.

I really didn't form any cliques or engage in any personal gain.

But Chen Nan didn't give him a chance to speak at all.

He stepped past Qin Qingmin, stood among the assembled officials, and raised his golden staff: "I, Chen Nan, on behalf of the Empress Dowager, inquire of you all."

"Does any official have any objections to the reform?"

For a long time afterward, no one in the hall dared to speak first.

As for Qin Qingmin, he had long since become completely paralyzed in the central government.

Chen Nan looked around at everyone again: "Do none of you colleagues have any suggestions?"

"I would like to offer a word of advice: it is better to express your opinions face-to-face, so as to save face."

"When the reforms are implemented in the future, anyone who dares to obstruct them should not blame me for turning my back on them!"