Ch 3:Jiang Li, Whose Imperial Decree Is “Command the Spirit”

“Lin Che, you, you actually dare to hit me?”

Lin Yaoguang was furious, shouting at the top of his lungs.

He was the Crown Prince, after all. From childhood to adulthood, let alone being hit, no one had even dared to shout at him.

Now this useless Lin Che actually dared to slap him?

He must have been stunned; with his cultivation level, he didn’t even dodge that slap.

“I hit you, and that’s that.”

“If you’re not happy, just take it!”

Lin Che was filled with anger, and he cursed:

“Even Cheng Xuan, that bitch, said it wasn’t me, proving I’m innocent. How could you have seen it? You’re fabricating testimony to frame me, right?”

“Framing me is framing a meritorious official. If you dare to touch me again, I’ll report you to Your Majesty!”

Lin Yaoguang was trembling with rage. He raised a hand, about to strike Lin Che.

But he hesitated.

He dared not strike.

If he didn’t kill Lin Che, Lin Che would definitely file an imperial complaint.

If he did kill Lin Che, the Empress would be furious, and the entire Zhen Guo Mansion would be implicated.

*Slap*—

“You dare not strike, then why are you raising your hand?”

“What are you pretending to do?!”

Lin Che didn’t care; he slapped Lin Yaoguang across the face again.

Lin Yaoguang trembled with rage. He dared not strike Lin Che, so he leaped back to dodge.

“Look at you, such a coward. You’re the Zhen Guo Mansion’s Crown Prince? I spit!”

At this distance, Lin Che couldn’t slap Lin Yaoguang anymore, but he continued to curse:

“Ten years ago, you were a coward!”

“You knelt before me, begging me to take your place as a hostage in the Enemy Country. Because you were afraid of death, you were useless, you dared not!”

“Ten years later, you’re still a coward!”

“I slapped you in front of everyone. Dare you touch me? You don’t dare. Because you’re still afraid of death, you’re still that useless person!”

*Thump thump thump*.

Lin Yaoguang took several steps back, his face filled with grief and anger. His deepest fear had been exposed by Lin Che in public.

He was overcome with anger, his body weakened, and with a cry, he slumped to the ground.

He reached out, wanting to curse Lin Che, but he was gasping for breath and couldn’t speak.

“You… you… you… you, you just you wait for me—”

Lin Che sneered, watching Lin Yaoguang’s impotent rage.

Oh~

I just love the look on your face when you can’t stand me but can’t beat me.

As for the elders standing nearby, each one had widened their eyes, as if they had heard some earth-shattering secret.

They were also curious. Back then, the Enemy Country needed a hostage; giving them the Second Prince wasn’t enough. They specifically demanded the Commander’s son, only then would they truly be at ease, ensuring the Commander wouldn’t disobey orders.

Originally, Yan Yun Kingdom requested Lin Pojun to send his eldest son as a hostage, but in the end, it was Lin Che who went.

The inside story was that Lin Yaoguang had knelt and begged Lin Che to take his place.

Truly unbelievable!

And those slaps, they just sound painful.

“You scoundrel—what are you doing? You’ve gone too far!”

Lin Pojun, seeing this scene, flew into a rage and shouted.

With a boom, a powerful presence enveloped Lin Che, Lin Yaoguang, and Cheng Xuan, separating them.

Lin Che secretly regretted that he couldn’t continue slapping those two, and replied:

“Of course, it’s about upholding family law!”

“Our Zhen Guo Mansion is known for upholding family law, isn’t it?”

“They two, blatantly framed me, shouldn’t they be punished according to family law? Or is it that, under your family law, they can be specially pardoned and escape punishment?”

Lin Pojun was also trembling with rage, his face contorted.

In the entire Zhen Guo Mansion, who dared to speak to him like this?

Did Lin Che even regard him as his Head of the Family?

“Upholding family law, that’s for me to decide. It’s not your place to teach them a lesson!”

“Fine! Then I won’t bother.”

Lin Che straightened his body and said loudly: “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave. After all, I’m injured and need to rest. Otherwise, when Your Majesty summons me and sees my injuries, you won’t be able to explain it.”

Having said that, Lin Che turned and left without looking back.

Lin Pojun watched Lin Che’s departing figure, could only grit his teeth and curse:

“Disobedient son! Disobedient son! Truly a disobedient son!”

“Does he even understand filial piety and the order of seniority? He is truly unfilial and disloyal!”

Cheng Qiuci beside him stared blankly, wanting to speak but unable to, finally sighing.

This child, how did he become like this?

Wasn’t he very well-behaved and obedient when he was young?

She had three children, and the other two were very good.

Only Lin Che… sigh.

“Pfft——”

At that moment, Lin Yaoguang, who had fallen to the ground, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

It seemed he had been holding it in for a long time.

Everyone was frightened.

“Son! What, what’s wrong with you?” Cheng Qiuci immediately rushed over, her face filled with anxiety and worry.

“Don’t scare Mother!”

Lin Yaoguang painfully closed his eyes: “I, I’m fine.”

He touched his swollen cheek. He didn’t know if he had been careless and hadn’t dodged.

Or if Lin Che’s anger had increased his strength, that slap had left him dazed. It didn’t seem like the strike of an ordinary person without cultivation.

Even more painful was the fact that he knew that from today on, soon everyone in Tian Du would know that he had knelt down and begged Lin Che to take his place as a hostage.

This had been his heart knot for ten years.

He couldn’t imagine being ridiculed in the future.

Lin Che must die! He must die!

Wasn’t he just relying on the Empress’s support?

The Empress had returned to the Imperial Palace and would surely summon Lin Che soon. Let’s see how arrogant he can be after seeing the Empress!

There’s plenty of time to kill Lin Che!

……

Daqian Imperial Palace, Imperial Study.

A stunning young woman, wearing a white robe with tassels, sat upright on the Dragon Throne.

She had a slender waist and leaned forward slightly, listening attentively to the reports of several Six Ministries’ Ministers, occasionally frowning slightly; this small movement made the Six Ministries’ Ministers feel uneasy, as if they had made a grave mistake.

After all, the young woman before them was the current Empress.

Name: Jiang Li;

Imperial Title: Chiling.

Jiang Li had personally overseen flood control in the Southern Region for the past three months and had only returned yesterday. There was a lot of government business waiting for her to handle.

She would hold a morning court tomorrow and was accustomed to summoning a few relevant Ministers beforehand for a small court meeting.

This was a habit passed down from previous Emperors.

Jiang Li had taken this habit to the extreme.

Almost every day.

“My loyal ministers, the flood disaster can destroy the foundation of our Daqian.”

“This cannot be solved by Confucian scholars singing praises. Tomorrow’s court meeting, I will appoint Mo Zhi Dong, one of the Three Great Master Craftsmen of the Mohist School, as the chief official for flood control.”

“Regardless of who objects, you must stand up and support this. Apart from the Mohist School’s Mechanism Technique, no one can prevent that raging torrent.”

Jiang Li’s voice was cold and resolute, settling the matter directly.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Several veteran officials of the Six Ministries all received the order, not daring to disobey.

Jiang Li nodded in satisfaction, closed the memorial, and took a sip of orchid tea:

“Are there any other important matters?”

“Reporting to Your Majesty—Lin Che, the seventh son of Duke Zhen Guo, has completed his ten years as a hostage and returned from Yan Yun Kingdom three months ago.”

Jiang Li seemed to be in a daze upon hearing this.

“Ten years already! Time flies!”

A Minister echoed, “Yes. Ten years. In these ten years since Your Majesty ascended the throne, Daqian has enjoyed peace and prosperity, a true blessing for Daqian!”

“Yes. Ten years ago, Prince Yan rebelled, that Yan traitor rebelled. He murdered the Former Emperor and the Crown Prince, massacring sixteen Princes. He even claimed that besides him, no one could govern Daqian. What an arrogant claim! Heaven blessed our Daqian. Your Majesty received the Mandate of Heaven at the age of thirteen, and in ten years of diligent governance, you have revived our nation. Daqian is now renewed, proving that the traitor was completely wrong!”

Those present were all veteran officials of three dynasties and were also members of the Imperial Family’s collateral branches, so they had no qualms about cursing the rebels.

Empress Jiang Li waved her hand, and the several old officials who were cursing enthusiastically immediately shut their mouths.

Her bright eyes turned to the first old official sitting on her right, and she said:

“Qian Fazheng, what are your thoughts?”

Fazheng was the title for the Head of the Legalists.

Qian Fazheng’s name was Qian Linggong.

A handsome man in his fifties.

He wore a light white garment, with an innate scholarly aura and a faint smile always on his face.

It seemed that everything in the world was under his control.

The several veteran officials of the Six Ministries were all sitting on the edge of their seats, their backs straight, only he was sitting in a wheelchair.

Looking at his trouser legs, they were empty. He was a useless person without legs.

But none of the veteran officials of the Six Ministries dared to underestimate Qian Linggong in the slightest. This useless person was the Head of the Legalists, holding the First Rank.

He controlled the famous Bright Mirror Department!

This institution, where laws were established and enforced, words were as good as law, and hearts were as clear as mirrors; no one could lie in front of them.

Empress Jiang Li valued the Legalist Bright Mirror Department, giving them the power to supervise officials and even the authority to execute first and report later.

Qian Linggong played with a black bead. Hearing the Empress’s question, he stopped and said decisively:

“The hostage’s return, his early return, is not a good thing!”

The other veteran officials of the Six Ministries frowned.

The hostage’s return was clearly a great thing.

Why wasn’t it a good thing?

Several veteran officials of the Six Ministries exchanged glances, wanting to ask Qian Linggong:

Why?

But they didn’t want to speak, because every time they encountered this kind of problem, once they asked a question, they would be lectured by Qian Linggong, their intelligence rubbed on the ground repeatedly.

This made the several old officials feel somewhat embarrassed~

So, they didn’t ask.

Playing dead.

Anyway, if I don’t ask, you won’t know if I’ve understood the reason.

“Oh? What reason do you have for saying that, Fazheng?” Jiang Li asked personally.

Got it.

The Empress had asked; several veteran officials of the Six Ministries pricked up their ears.

They also wanted to know why?

“The hostage’s return means there is no buffer between Daqian and Yan Yun Kingdom.”

“The Second Prince died in Yan Yun Kingdom, although he died a heroic death, public opinion is difficult to control. When news of the Second Prince’s death was heard, the officials called for war against Yan Yun, to take back the lost Sixteen States.”

“But at that time, considering that Duke Zhen Guo still had a son serving as a hostage. Once we went to war, that hostage would definitely be killed. At that time, there were even officials who openly rebuked Duke Zhen Guo, saying that his son couldn’t protect the Second Prince, and had delayed Daqian’s military action.”

Jiang Li snorted, “The hostage brought ten years of stability to Daqian. Those officials, they couldn’t distinguish right from wrong, what Sage’s Books did they read? I remember, several officials were stripped of their robes and thrown into the Imperial Prison.”

“Yes, Your Majesty executed three officials at that time. But such voices still exist. Even Duke Zhen Guo got drunk that night and shouted loudly: My disobedient son was afraid of death, delaying Daqian’s military action. The Lin Family is full of loyal martyrs, ruined by this one disobedient son!”

“Ten years of national and family hatred! Now that the hostage has returned, the old matter is brought up again. The officials need an answer, and the people need an answer. Do we attack Yan Yun Kingdom for revenge, or do we choose peace?”

“Therefore, I believe that the hostage’s return is not entirely a good thing. Your Majesty, you went to the Southern Region to control the floods, and you should have heard about it. ‘That place’ is restless again.”

The Empress’s eyebrows raised slightly when she heard “that place,” and she fell into thought.

The round Mohist timekeeping device beside her ticked away.

After a while.

The Empress waved her sleeve and stood up, displaying her extraordinary demeanor:

“Pass the order: Duke Zhen Guo Lin Pojun and his son Lin Che, will appear in court tomorrow morning!” Jiang Li! Empress Chiling!