When sable ran short, Dog Tail filled the gap.
When sable ran short and Dog Tail was used instead, it was not merely a mismatch of things.
Sable exhausted, dog tails substituted-an object of ridicule since ancient times.
Fang Jingwen headed the Ministry of Works and served in the Eastern Pavilion.
Over fifty years of age, when had he ever suffered such an extraordinary humiliation?
This was not merely an insult to Fang Qi alone.
It was an insult to the Eastern Pavilion, to the Ministry of Works, or perhaps...
To the Shen Faction.
Fang Qi's expression was as ugly as if a fish bone had lodged across his throat.
He could neither swallow it nor spit it out.
His face turned blue with the strain, yet he still had to maintain a grand secretary's bearing.
"Your Majesty!!"
Fang Qi turned sharply toward the Imperial Throne, clasped his court tablet in a salute, and declared in a ringing voice,
"Wang Kan has insulted a grand secretary in this hall, showing no regard for rank or station. I ask..."
Before he could finish, someone cut him off.
"Your Majesty! I impeach Grand Secretary Fang for falsely accusing a remonstrance official."
Wang Kan's words were cold, like ice striking jade.
Fang Qi choked, as though a ghost had seized his throat.
"I merely cited an allusion, using the past to warn the present.
I named no names and uttered no abuse.
Every gentleman of the Censorate can bear witness.
Grand Secretary Fang falsely accuses me of insulting a grand secretary. This is..."
Wang Kan shifted his gaze onto Fang Qi's face.
"An attempt to silence a remonstrance official with a fabricated charge!!"
At those words, Fang Qi stiffened, his finger suspended in midair, his face shifting between blue and white.
He