The moment Jiang Xingyan stepped through the Taihe Gate, she sensed something strange in the way her colleagues were looking at her.
Their gazes held scrutiny, contempt, and even a hint of schadenfreude.
While she was still puzzling over this, Censor Wang charged over furiously. Pointing a finger right at her nose, he started yelling, “I always said you weren’t up to the task! See? Even the heavens are punishing you now, aren’t they?”
Jiang Xingyan: ?
Punishment? What punishment?
Punishing her for getting drunk?
What in the world was this man talking about?
Seeing the utter innocence and confusion on the other person’s face only made Censor Wang angrier. “Huo Ci! Huo Ci! What vile deed have you committed to provoke a clear, bright day into producing thunder and lightning that struck right at the plaque of your Grand General’s estate?”
Jiang Xingyan: !
What! Had the heavens finally opened their eyes?
The undisguised delight in her eyes made Censor Wang choke on his words, completely baffled.
He had never seen someone so happy about their own home being struck.
Has he gone mad, or have I?
Just as Censor Wang was about to continue his tirade, Yun Chunfeng, seated in his plain wheelchair, moved out from behind Huo Ci.
Even though the man opposite him had his eyes veiled with soft smoke silk, Censor Wang could feel an icy gaze piercing through him.
The words on the tip of his tongue instantly took a detour: “Was it because you mistreated the State Preceptor, who is blessed with abundant fortune, in the military camp, thus incurring the wrath of the heavens!”
Jiang Xingyan’s twitched: Could this bootlicking be any more obvious?
Fortunately, it was soon time for the morning court session, and Censor Wang flung his sleeves and left.
In the main hall, the officials fell silent and paid their respects, but Xiao Ao tardy did not tell them to rise.
“Huo Ci, do you know your crime?”
Jiang Xingyan calmly moved forward slightly on her knees. “Your subject knows his crime and begs Your Majesty for punishment!”
Xiao Ao: ?
The civil and military officials: ?
Has this man lost his mind?
Xiao Ao was so angry he almost laughed. I haven’t even named the crime yet, and you’ve already confessed?
Su Sheng, ever perceptive, immediately stepped forward to accuse ‘Huo Ci’: “How dare you!
Yesterday, a bolt from the blue shattered the plaque of the Grand General’s estate.
Could it be that General Huo has committed some heinous act against heaven and earth? Report it to His Majesty at once! How dare you conceal it here?”
Jiang Xingyan respectfully kowtowed. “It is because your subject’s character is corrupt and his virtue does not match his position. He has failed to live up to Your Majesty’s expectations, and thus was struck by lightning.
Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and naturally must carry out heaven’s will. Your subject earnestly begs Your Majesty to strip him of his title as Grand General and take back his military authority.
Your subject is willing to be a mere foot soldier at the front lines, charging into battle until his dying day!”
Xiao Ao: …
The civil and military officials: …
If it weren’t for the fact that ‘Huo Ci’ sounded so sincere, and was usually known for being humble and polite, Xiao Ao might have suspected he was leveraging his military power, using resignation as a threat during this tense situation with Beiluo.
Xiao Ao gave a light cough, unsure what else to say, when suddenly a young eunuch from the front of the hall announced: “The First Rank Honored Lady Dowager of the Grand General’s estate seeks an audience with Your Majesty.”
Jiang Xingyan’s gaze darkened: That old hag actually came to court? I wonder what she’s plotting?
Xiao Ao also found it strange.
Out of respect for the old General Huo, he summoned the Honored Lady Dowager Huo into the hall.
Lady Dowager Huo, dressed in full formal court attire and leaning on a dragon-headed walking stick, made a grand entrance.
The moment she stepped through the door of the Taihe Hall, she started wailing in an aged voice: “I beg Your Majesty to grant this subject’s wife justice! An unfilial son has appeared in our household, provoking the heavens to send down punishment and disturbing Your Majesty’s peace. He deserves ten thousand deaths!”
Jiang Xingyan understood instantly. So the plan is to pin this lightning strike squarely on me? Well, don’t blame me for being ruthless then.
Unaware of the impending danger, the Lady Dowager Huo knelt in the center of the hall, tears streaming down her aged face. Anyone who didn’t know better would think she had suffered some great injustice.
“Yesterday, this subject’s wife merely offered a few gentle criticisms of her daughter-in-law. Who would have thought her son, disregarding all human relations and the respect due to his elder, would sternly reprimand this subject’s wife right in front of her own niece!
This subject’s wife is heartbroken! As a mother, she doesn’t know what crime she has committed to be treated so by the son she raised from infancy.
He must have been led astray by the wicked instigations of that Jiang woman, his wife, causing him to deviate from the proper path and take a wrong turn.
Today, this subject’s wife has come specifically to confess her faults to Your Majesty, and also to the ancestors of the Huo family.
The Huo family has brought a troublemaking daughter-in-law through its gates, truly disgracing our name. I beg Your Majesty to grant Huo Ci permission to divorce his wife!”
Her speech was masterful: it absolved herself, provided a witness, expressed emotion, swayed others, excused her son, and punished the daughter-in-law.
Just as all the officials were swelling with indignation, Jiang Xingyan threw herself to her knees with a thud, crying out, “Long live the Emperor! Your subject’s crimes are unforgivable! I beg you to execute my entire clan!”
A vein throbbed on Xiao Ao’s forehead.
This is getting more and more absurd. Does he think my Taihe Hall is a vegetable market?
Jiang Xingyan didn’t give Xiao Ao a chance to erupt. Like a string of firecrackers, she laid out all of the Lady Dowager Huo’s actions.
“It is true that I, your subject, contradicted and offended my mother, but circumstances left no alternative.
My mother’s actions are truly shocking, heinous, and utterly insane!”
The civil and military officials: Whoa! There’s a twist!
“My wife is an orphan. Instead of sympathizing with the hardship of her having no one to rely on, my mother seized her family assets for her own extravagant pleasures. Her daily meals are the height of luxury, wasteful and extravagant. This shows her lack of benevolence.
My wife’s maternal grandfather aided me greatly. Yet my mother would even harass his only remaining bloodline. This shows her lack of righteousness.
My mother came to court today, her mouth full of lies, committing the crime of deceiving the sovereign. This shows her lack of loyalty.”
Jiang Xingyan was going for broke.
Since you accuse me of being unfilial, I’ll accuse you of being disloyal, unrighteous, and unbenevolent!
“You… You!” The Lady Dowager Huo pointed a trembling finger at ‘Huo Ci’, sputtering ‘you’ for a long time, unable to form a complete sentence.
“I, your subject, have always striven to make up for my mother’s mistakes, not daring to harbor a shred of resentment.
Yet, I never imagined that just the night before last, she, together with my cousin, tied my wife to the bed and drenched her with water.
Leaving her to fend for herself in this lingering chill of early spring.
If I had not returned home in time yesterday, my wife would already be a fragrant spirit departed from this world.
Faced with such a vicious heart, I, your subject, do not know how to handle myself.
The Chief Imperial Physician, Sun, and all the imperial physicians can bear witness for me!
I beg Your Majesty to execute my entire clan as a warning to others.
My only bold request is to spare my wife. Her life has been bitter enough; I dare not implicate her further.”
Jiang Xingyan kowtowed, her head touching the floor, her voice actually carrying a sob.
You want to accuse me? Throw dirty water on me? And even have me divorced?
Fine then! Let’s all perish together!