Ch 5: Your Majesty, I Beg You, Grant Me Death!

The court officials were shocked.

All of them widened their eyes, looking at Lin Che, thinking they had misheard.

What was going on?

After ten years as a hostage, when Your Majesty was about to bestow rewards, Lin Che actually requested to be put to death?

Lin Pojun was the first to react. His face was ugly, and he said in a deep voice:

“Don’t talk nonsense! Who allowed you to address the Empress like this? Kneel down and admit your mistake!”

Lin Che didn’t buy it; this wasn’t Zhen Guo Mansion.

“Your Majesty asked a question, and I answered. What’s wrong with that?”

“You…”

Lin Pojun’s face flushed with anger, and he was about to continue scolding.

However, Jiang Li had already noticed something. She stopped Lin Pojun. She wasn’t in a hurry, but returned to her seat on the Dragon Throne.

“Minister Lin, you have rendered great service to Daqian. Now you seek death. Why is this? Tell me, and let the civil and military officials hear it.”

Good, good, good, the opportunity has come.

I’ve been waiting for this moment.

“Your Majesty says I have rendered great service, that truly flatters me. I am merely a hostage who should have died, but did not.”

“If I truly rendered great service, why did no one inquire about me after my return to Daqian for three months?”

“Upon my return to Zhen Guo Mansion, no one welcomed me. For these three months, I have been living in a dilapidated courtyard in the rear mountain of Zhen Guo Mansion, like a prisoner under house arrest.”

“To be honest with Your Majesty, the night before last, I was slandered by a relative in the mansion, who accused me of raping her. She is a Third-Rank Martial Artist. What is my cultivation level? I was imprisoned in a deep well for a day and a night.”

“Is this the treatment for meritorious service? I fulfilled my duties as a hostage for ten years. I have a clear conscience, I have not shamed Daqian, I have not shamed Your Majesty!”

“However, I do not wish to continue living this way. Your humble servant only asks for death! Please, Your Majesty, grant me death!!”

Although Lin Che’s statement switched between “I” and “Your Humble Servant,” the court officials understood after hearing it.

It turned out that Lin Che had come to file an imperial complaint, having suffered grievances at home, and was seeking justice from Your Majesty.

Such matters were not difficult to handle.

As long as Lin Che was not truly seeking death, that would be fine.

“Duke Zhen Guo——”

“Your servant is here!”

Lin Pojun’s face was ashen. This disobedient son, this disobedient son, actually dared to bring family matters to the court.

He actually dared to file an imperial complaint.

Was he trying to make the entire court laugh at Zhen Guo Mansion?

Jiang Li’s voice was cold, carrying a tone of rebuke:

“Is what Lin Che said true?”

Lin Pojun hesitated several times before finally saying:

“Your Majesty, there were some misunderstandings. Your humble servant has already punished those who made mistakes in the mansion.”

“Hmph. So, it did happen.”

Despite her young age, Jiang Li’s words contained the sharp edge of an Empress:

“Lin Che is a meritorious official, how could he receive such treatment? If you cannot manage your family, then I will personally go to your mansion and teach you how to discipline them.”

“Your humble servant dares not——”

Lin Pojun immediately knelt down and said loudly: “Your humble servant will strictly discipline them from now on, and will never make such a serious mistake again.”

“Return to your mansion today and hand the person over to the Ministry of Justice. Deal with them according to Daqian’s laws!”

“Yes——” Lin Pojun replied heavily.

Lin Che, standing beside him, frowned slightly.

Your Majesty’s actions felt like a lot of thunder and little rain.

The Ministry of Justice and the Bright Mirror Department, these two departments seemed to have similar functions, but in reality, they were vastly different.

The Ministry of Justice handled minor cases, mostly dealing with commoners.

The Bright Mirror Department was the truly terrifying entity.

Now Your Majesty was letting Duke Zhen Guo send the person to the Ministry of Justice, clearly not wanting to make a big deal out of it.

No, I have to add fuel to the fire.

Lin Che immediately pretended to be wronged and moved:

“Thank Your Majesty for upholding justice for Your Humble Servant!”

“In these three months, I have also heard many harsh words. All of this stems from my inability to protect the Second Prince while I was in the Hostage Mansion. His suicide was a huge loss to Daqian. It’s all my fault——”

The court officials’ expressions turned strange.

Many of them actually thought so.

The origins of this matter could be traced back at least a hundred years.

The Daqian Dynasty had been prosperous for a hundred years. Even the Ten Thousand Demons Kingdom was forced to flee to the vast wilderness. This naturally fostered an arrogant attitude among the court officials!

However, ten years ago, there was a huge upheaval within the Daqian Imperial Family. Prince Yan rebelled, murdered the Former Emperor and the Crown Prince, and massacred sixteen princes.

For a time, the Daqian Dynasty was in grave danger.

At that time, Lin Pojun was at war with the Yan Yun Kingdom. He received a secret order to return to court to assist the Empress and protect the Jiang Clan’s orthodoxy.

But the Yan Yun Kingdom was not to be trifled with, stubbornly clinging to Lin Pojun’s 100,000 elite troops.

Finally, the Yan Yun Kingdom demanded double hostages—the Second Prince and the son of Lin Pojun, the commander at the front lines!

Everyone in Daqian felt aggrieved. The small Yan Yun Kingdom, dared to demand double hostages?

But under the circumstances, they had to agree.

The Second Prince and Lin Che went to Yan Yun as hostages. In the eyes of countless officials, it was a master-servant relationship.

Lin Che was supposed to protect the Second Prince.

But unexpectedly, the Second Prince later committed suicide by hanging.

Immense anger was about to be unleashed on the Yan Yun Kingdom, but Lin Che, the hostage, was still there.

If they attacked the Yan Yun Kingdom without any regard for consequences, it would put Lin Che, the hostage, in danger.

Several Grand Scholars even came out to strongly oppose it.

And there were already many veteran officials in the court. The Former Emperor, the Crown Prince, and many princes had been murdered. According to the imperial throne’s succession, the Second Prince should have ascended the throne.

Now Jiang Li had inherited the Imperial Throne.

She had become the first Empress in the history of Daqian.

They planned to force a palace coup when the Second Prince returned, to let the Second Prince inherit the Imperial Throne. Even Lin Pojun thought so.

But now, you tell me, the Second Prince is dead?

Various complex emotions, foolish loyalty, family hatred and national hatred, nowhere to serve, nowhere to vent.

In the end, they inexplicably resented Lin Che.

If we had accompanied the Second Prince as hostages, even if we died, we could have protected him.

Therefore, when Lin Che said in the Golden Throne Hall, “It’s all my fault!”, many ministers immediately understood.

“Minister Lin, you are a meritorious official of Daqian. There is no doubt about it!”

Jiang Li exuded an aura of authority. She knew that the harsh words directed at Lin Che were actually dissatisfaction towards her, the Empress.

Five years ago, when the Second Prince committed suicide, it was she who forbade the use of military force. These people dared not criticize her, so they slandered Lin Che.

A stream of light flickered in her bright eyes, clearly activating the 《Emperor’s True Scripture》:

“Who exactly is slandering him?”

No one in the hall responded.

Such things certainly existed, but no one dared to touch the Empress’s taboo.

Unexpectedly, Lin Pojun spoke loudly:

“Your Majesty, Lin Che is your humble servant’s son, and he has lived in the mansion for three months. Your humble servant has not heard any harsh words. I’m afraid he heard it from hearsay, it cannot be taken seriously!”

Lin Che cursed in his heart. Now that the mask was off, he had no more reservations.

“Duke Zhen Guo is very busy, naturally he doesn’t pay attention to me. Today, I came to court with you. Just before being summoned by Your Majesty, I was publicly scolded by Confucian scholar Zhou Xianchun, calling me ‘of poor character’.”

“This is absolutely true. There were dozens of people present at the time. There were eunuchs, palace maids, they all saw it.”

At this moment, Jiang Li, who had been deeply influenced by the Emperor’s ways, was also angry.

She shouted sharply:

“Qian Fazheng——”

“Your servant will attend to it immediately.”

Qian Linggong responded with a bow. He understood Your Majesty’s intention without further instruction.

As he turned around, the mechanism under his wheelchair whirred as it moved out of the Golden Throne Hall.

After Qian Linggong left, the entire hall was deathly silent.

The Empress presided over the trial, and Qian Fazheng personally handled it.

The consequences were serious.

After a while, Qian Linggong returned, followed by more than a dozen people. One of them, a Confucian scholar, was being held by two Imperial Court guards and dragged along.

This scholar, who could not walk on his own, was Zhou Xianchun.

Now, he was sweating profusely, his face as white as paper, and he no longer had the arrogance he had when he had satirized Lin Che.

“Reporting to Your Majesty——Your servant has investigated and found that this is indeed true!”

“Zhou Xianchun, grandson of the former Vice Minister of Revenue, Zhou Wei, proactively provoked Lin Che, and called him ‘of poor character’, ‘unworthy to carry Mo Zhaoxue’s shoes’, ‘delusional’; these are all witnesses!”

Zhou Xianchun went limp, knelt on the ground, and wept bitterly:

“Your Majesty, spare my life——Spare my life! Your servant was reckless with my words, please spare my life…”

Zhou Xianchun’s mind was buzzing. He really didn’t expect that Lin Che would file an imperial complaint.

Moreover, Your Majesty was furious about this matter.

He wished he could slap himself.

Jiang Li listened to Zhou Xianchun’s pleas, but there was no pity in her eyes:

“Qian Fazheng——Hand this matter over to your Bright Mirror Department. Deal with it severely!!”

“Your Majesty’s will be done——”

Qian Linggong waved his hand, and the guards took the person away.

When he was taken away, Zhou Xianchun didn’t cry or make a fuss, because he was already terrified, his legs gave way, and he fainted.

Jiang Li’s bright eyes swept across the ministers, landing on Lin Pojun, and said:

“Duke Zhen Guo, I often hear that you have extraordinary abilities in managing your troops and family. It seems that this is not true. Your son has suffered such injustice, and you didn’t even know. I wonder if your soldiers are also suffering such injustices?”

Lin Pojun’s face changed drastically, and he knelt down in fright:

“Your humble servant is ashamed! When I return home today, I will definitely strictly manage my household, and will never allow such a thing to happen again.”

But Jiang Li ignored his assurances:

“Duke Zhen Guo, your family discipline has failed, causing Lin Che, such a meritorious official, to receive unfair treatment. You are fined three years’ salary, this is a small punishment for a big crime, a warning to others!”

“Thank Your Majesty——” Lin Pojun’s face was even paler than a corpse.

The salary deduction was a minor matter; Zhen Guo Mansion didn’t rely on that salary to live.

But the words “your family discipline has failed” were a slap in the face to Lin Pojun.

You must know that when Lin Pojun bragged to others, he would always boast about his “loyal and filial family”.

Now it seems, loyalty is questionable.

But he’s definitely not filial!

His son filed an imperial complaint in the Golden Throne Hall.

And he got his way!

How could this father-son relationship be described as filial?

The usually imposing Duke Zhen Guo, privately treated his son like this.

When everything calmed down.

Jiang Li asked Lin Che again: “Minister Lin, Daqian will not forget your ten years of suffering. Rest assured. Now, think again, is there any reward you desire? Speak.”

Lin Che took a deep breath and bowed respectfully:

“Please, Your Majesty, grant your humble servant death!”