Tong Aning walked through the court officials with neither servility nor arrogance and knelt before the emperor. "Greetings, Your Majesty."
The emperor hurriedly said, "Rise, quickly."
Tong Aning did as instructed and rose steadily to her feet. Her large, round almond eyes swept over quite a few people, making them wish they had a daughter like her too.
Tong Aobai: In your dreams.
Tong Aobai was just about to tell Tong Aning not to be afraid when she spoke first. "Who impeached my father?"
The man stepped forward with his chest out and his head held high. "I did."
Tong Aning looked over. The man had thought she would say his name, then respectfully address him as "my lord."
But there were so many people at court, and Tong Aning knew only a limited number of them. Her gaze flicked over him before withdrawing.
The man: "..."
Tong Yibin said, "This is Censor Ma."
Tong Aning nodded.
Censor Ma snorted and cupped his hands. "Your Majesty, just look at Fourth Miss Tong's attire. What she is wearing on her head alone probably costs a poor family's food for an entire year."
Tong Aning: "..."
[I only have one jade hairpin and a few butterfly pearl ornaments on my head, but he has a whole jade crown on his. Isn't that more expensive than mine?]
The officials who heard Tong Aning immediately looked toward the top of Censor Ma's head. Unfortunately, he was wearing a hat, and they could see nothing.
[And he has the nerve to call me extravagant? His family is the most wasteful of all. His mother actually took the fur of nine foxes just to make one scarf, and she even dared to wear it while eating vegetarian meals and chanting Buddhist prayers. Isn't she afraid the Buddha will punish her and heaven will strike her with lightning?]
Strangely enough, the sky outside had been clear for ten thousand miles, yet a dull rumble of thunder suddenly sounded.
It frightened Censor Ma into stumbling.
The minister of war glanced at him and said with a smile, "Oh? How did you manage to stumble on flat ground, Censor Ma? Could it be that you've done too many things that weigh on your conscience?"
Censor Ma said, "I walk straight and sit upright. What could I possibly have on my conscience?"
The minister of war merely smiled without speaking.
The minister of revenue chimed in, "Surely you weren't frightened by Fourth Miss Tong, a little girl? Looks like a thief's guilty conscience after all."
[Wow, what a sharp tongue.]
Censor Ma wiped the sweat from his forehead and snapped in exasperation, "Stop spouting nonsense."
The minister of war gave Censor Ma a casual glance. "What, everything you say is the truth and the Censorate's duty, while everything we say is nonsense?"
With such an enormous hat of accusation thrust onto his head, Censor Ma inwardly groaned without end. He also had to keep his guard up against Tong Aning. His mother's extravagance was a minor matter. If that other matter came to light, he would truly be finished.
Censor Ma said in a muffled voice, "Your Majesty, I..."
Before he could finish, another voice interrupted him.
"Your Majesty, I also wish to impeach Marquis Tong."
Tong Aning looked toward the man, and Tong Yibin said quietly, "This is Earl Mingxuan."
They were lining up one after another to rush to their deaths. A sharp gleam flashed through the emperor's eyes. "On what charge do you wish to impeach Marquis Tong?"
Earl Mingxuan stepped forward, his neck stiff, displaying something of an upright, unyielding spirit. "I wish to impeach Marquis Tong for forming a faction to pursue private interests."
These words stirred towering waves in the court. Everyone knew His Majesty loathed factionalism above all.
The emperor found it amusing. "With whom has Marquis Tong formed a faction to pursue private interests?"
Earl Mingxuan loudly named two people. "The minister of revenue and the minister of war."
Caught off guard by being named, the minister of war abruptly stopped baring his teeth in a grin. He exclaimed in shock, "The two of us merely spoke a fair word for Marquis Tong. How did that become forming a faction to pursue private interests in your mouth?"
Earl Mingxuan said, "Who doesn't know that Marquis Tong recommended both of you for your posts? As I see it, you've long been wallowing in the same mire as the marquis's household behind the scenes."
He spoke with such sincerity that it was as though he had actually seen Tong Aobai associating with them.
The minister of war was furious enough to die. Planting his hands on his hips, he cursed, "This is called repaying kindness, do you understand, you fool?"
Earl Mingxuan had not expected the minister of war to openly curse him in His Majesty's presence. His face flushed red, but he could not outcurse this military brute.
The crown prince glanced at Lin Yu.
Lin Yu said, "Your Majesty, I believe the minister of war speaks the truth."
Earl Mingxuan suddenly pointed at Lin Yu and said excitedly, "Of the six ministers, three are speaking up for Marquis Tong. Doesn't that prove something, Your Majesty?"
In truth, Earl Mingxuan wanted to say that Marquis Tong intended to collude with the crown prince. But firstly, their opponent this time was only Tong Aobai, and secondly, there was no need to drag the crown prince into the water.
Lin Yu was utterly defeated by this old fool. He took a step back and quietly glanced at Tong Aning. He had no moves left. It was her turn to act.
Tong Aning was busy digging into Earl Mingxuan's gossip with Xixi.
Both of Tong Aning's eyebrows shot up in shock. [He really did that?]
[Absolutely true.]
[My heavens.]
The officials were itching unbearably with curiosity. Just what had he done?!
[Then he still has the nerve to accuse my father of forming a faction for private gain? Why doesn't he tell everyone how he secretly keeps male favorites, drugs them with aphrodisiacs, then sends them to the homes of officials with particular tastes, leaving them unable to stop, and uses that to win them over and control them!]
Hiss.
The officials all sucked in a breath of cold air and moved farther away from Earl Mingxuan.
Earl Mingxuan was bewildered as he saw the particularly ugly expressions of the people around him.
He asked, "Lord Hong, what's wrong?"
Lord Hong reached out and seized Earl Mingxuan's official robes, his eyes bulging with fury. "So it was you! It was you! I kept wondering why I was growing weaker and weaker. It was all your doing!"
[The way he puts it makes it sound as if those two are having an affair...]
Lord Hong's eyes widened. He released Earl Mingxuan, then wiped his hands on the earl's official robes as though he found them dirty.
Earl Mingxuan: "..."
A scholar could be killed, but not humiliated. Red-faced, he cursed, "You madman."
"You're still calling me a madman? I'll kill you!"
Lord Hong was a firecracker that exploded at a touch. Unlike the minister of war, he did not merely talk. He was a military brute who really would use his fists!
At some point, the three members of the Tong family had gathered together. Tong Aning asked quietly, "They're fighting. Isn't His Majesty going to do anything?"
Tong Yibin glanced at his younger sister. "This happens often. You'll get used to it."
Tong Aning was deeply shocked. [What kind of jobs do my father and eldest brother go to?]
[Then again, with fights to watch every day, life wouldn't seem so dull.]
Once they had fought about enough, Eunuch Wang summoned the guards to separate them.
Lord Hong looked ready to bite a chunk of flesh off Earl Mingxuan, while Earl Mingxuan appeared somewhat cowed. Clearly, he had just gotten the worst of it.
The emperor knowingly asked, "What happened? Everything was perfectly fine. Why did you suddenly start fighting?"
Lord Hong raised his head and met the emperor's fathomless eyes, making his heart tremble. His Majesty was so composed. He must be able to hear Tong Aning's thoughts too.
Lord Hong jolted. Earl Mingxuan's guilt was already nailed to the iron board. What he needed to do most right now was protect himself.
With that in mind, Lord Hong banged his head against the floor three times. "Your Majesty, I wish to impeach Earl Mingxuan. Earl Mingxuan is the one forming a faction to pursue private interests."
And so Tong Aning's thoughts were recounted once again.
Tong Aning: [Oh, he's abandoning darkness for the light.]
The officials: With you here, he has no choice but to abandon darkness for the light.
Lord Hong said in grief and indignation, "I originally thought this was a good thing. I never imagined, never imagined..."
He wiped away his tears twice.
The emperor helpfully said, "It turned into a calamity instead, correct?"
Lord Hong nodded sorrowfully, then kowtowed again in fear and trepidation. "Please forgive my crimes, Your Majesty. I was deceived!"
[Yes, yes, yes, that male favorite forcibly pounced on you.]
Lord Hong's face flushed crimson. His lips moved, but he said nothing more.
Earl Mingxuan loudly protested his innocence.
Censor Ma said, "Just confess already."
Earl Mingxuan could not believe Censor Ma would actually betray him. "You think you're any better? Didn't you conceal the jade mine too?"
Censor Ma: "!!!"
[A jade mine?]
[Censor Ma's father accidentally discovered a jade deposit in Censor Ma's hometown. He didn't know what to do, so he wrote to Censor Ma... Censor Ma actually didn't report it. No wonder he can wear such a big jade crown on his head.]
Censor Ma's legs gave out, and he dropped straight to his knees. Trembling, he said, "I wanted to wait until it was fully confirmed..."
The smile had vanished from the emperor's face. "How long did you intend to take to confirm it?"
"I..."
The emperor slapped the dragon throne. "Ma Chengming, how dare you!"
Censor Ma was so frightened that he nearly fainted.
Not only did nothing happen to Tong Aning during her trip to the palace, but she also received many rewards. The emperor said they were to comfort her after her fright.
Tong Aning was terribly touched. [His Majesty is so kind.]
The emperor was thoroughly satisfied. What he needed were subjects like the Tong family, absolutely loyal to him and respectful toward him even in their thoughts.
As for those creatures who deceived their superiors and concealed things from those below, even death by a thousand cuts would not be excessive.
Although executing a censor required a series of investigations and reviews, there was already no question that Censor Ma's head would fall.
There was also Earl Mingxuan.
With tears and snot streaming down his face, Earl Mingxuan cried, "Spare my life, Your Majesty."
The emperor did not even want to acknowledge him and handed him straight over to the Court of Judicial Review for a thorough investigation.
How wretched. Though Earl Mingxuan and Censor Ma had brought this upon themselves, in the end, it was still because His Majesty had shown no mercy whatsoever.
His Majesty was venting Marquis Tong's anger for him!
With that, some officials no longer dared to provoke the Tong family lightly.
An open spear was easy to dodge, but a hidden arrow was hard to guard against, let alone something like inner thoughts.
"Fourth Miss Tong."
Tong Aning was talking to Tong Yibin and Tong Aobai. She turned to look and discovered it was Xue Lin.
Tong Yibin and Tong Aobai tacitly left first, while Tong Aning remained where she was and waited for Xue Lin to approach.
Tong Aning asked, "Heir, what is it?"
"I'm releasing Cui'er back into the mountains this afternoon. Would you like to come, Miss Tong?"
Tong Aning's eyes brightened. "Yes."
Come to think of it, Cui'er was innocent too. Clearly a happy monkey living freely, she had been captured by a performing troupe to do tricks, then locked in a room by that fool Feng Ying.
Nothing could be better than releasing her back into the mountains.
Tong Aning's eyes curved. "You're so thoughtful, Heir."
Xue Lin's lips lifted.
Sichen: "..."
Who invited someone out to release a monkey?