Jinghe Year Sixteen, Second Month, Twenty-Fifth Day, the fifth watch.
In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Dragon Throne stood empty.
The emperor did not preside. His sacred person was unwell, and he had long stayed away from court.
Today's Grand Court Audience was the first since the Crown Prince had become Regent.
The Imperial Throne remained vacant, with no bright-yellow silhouette behind its curtain. A separate seat had been placed below it to the left. Sitting there was Crown Prince Jiang Heng.
"The Crown Prince presides as Regent! Let all officials pay their respects!"
The Imperial Attendant finished his announcement, and cries of homage rolled across the hall's golden bricks.
"I, Yao Zhen, Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, have a memorial to present!"
Yao Zhen was the first to step out of the ranks. The old official, past sixty, held his back straight and presented an Impeachment Memorial in both hands, declaring in a ringing voice:
"I impeach Luo Wenjin, Censor of the Censorate, for colluding with merchants, accepting bribes, and perverting the law.
He accepted more than eight thousand taels of silver from Stone Record, conducting himself like a profiteer despite his duty to uphold discipline!
His confession is on record. Witnesses and material evidence are all present.
I ask Your Highness to refer him to the Three Judicial Offices for joint investigation and sentencing according to law!"
The hall fell silent for a moment.
"Your Highness, I have something to say." Kou Yuan, Minister of Revenue, promptly stepped out.
His expression today was perfectly measured: three parts grief, seven parts regret. "Luo Wenjin... is, after all, a veteran of the Censorate.
For ten years, he served as a remonstrance official, submitting countless impeachment memorials. His integrity still endures.
Now that he has fallen into wrongdoing, my