All Heavens: From Joy of Life to The Great Feng Night Watchman

Page 190

As soon as Lai Mingcheng finished speaking, several military officers immediately retorted angrily.

"Lai Mingcheng, do you know how many military achievements the Surveillance Bureau has made for Daqing!"

"Without the Supervisory Council, there would be no Daqing today!"

Even ancient systems aren't always entirely correct!

……

Faced with the ministers' strong objections, Lai Mingcheng remained very calm.

"All affairs under heaven should be shared by all departments; this is both an ancient system and a matter of common sense!"

The Imperial Censorate, a secret service agency of the emperor, held power above the law and was extremely efficient in the early years of the dynasty.

However, once the dynasty stabilizes, such institutions are usually abolished or their power reduced.

Because institutions that are above the law are detrimental to national stability and governance.

But the problem now is that the Northern Qi Kingdom and Dongyi City still exist, and Emperor Qing's grand ambition to unify the world has not been realized.

The current Supervisory Council is Emperor Qing's most powerful and efficient arm; how could he possibly agree to cut off his own arm?

Emperor Qing pointed to the ministers in the hall and said, "Lai Mingcheng, everyone believes that the Supervisory Council is more beneficial than harmful!"

Lai Mingcheng also pointed at Chen Pingping, "But Your Majesty, is Chen Pingping still within the scope of the national law?"

"Supervisor Fan Xian is also clear evidence. He abused his authority to set traps for law enforcement officers, acted recklessly, was arrogant and corrupt, and greatly violated justice!"

"However, Chen Pingping's single word can override all criminal laws and regulations!"

Emperor Qing waved his hand and said, "Hasn't Fan Xian's matter been dealt with?"

"The matter of the Auditorium cannot be decided in a day or two. Your constant claims that the Auditorium is above the law are just your own thoughts."

Upon hearing this, Lai Mingcheng took out a memorial from his sleeve.

"Your Majesty, the Supervisory Council is corrupt and arrogant, and not only does it place itself above the law of the land."

One day, perhaps they will even surpass His Majesty!

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qing took the memorial from Eunuch Hou and said, "As expected of an imperial censor, you really know how to spread alarmist rumors!"

As Chen Pingping looked at the memorial from afar, a sudden unease rose in his heart.

The Censorate has extensive connections and influence; there are very few affairs, large and small, in the court that he is unaware of.

However, he did not know what Lai Mingcheng wrote in his memorial.

For the first time in many years, Chen Pingping felt nervous in the imperial court.

Emperor Qing let out a cold laugh, "Lai Mingcheng, this is completely unfounded. You didn't just hear this gossip on the street, did you?"

"What do you mean, the Sixth Bureau used assassination missions to settle personal scores, the Third Bureau sold poison to a wealthy woman to poison her concubine, and the Seventh Bureau's cases were mostly based on torture to extract confessions?"

"That's all, not a single piece of evidence!"

Upon hearing Emperor Qing's words, Chen Pingping's grip on the wheelchair gradually loosened.

Lai Mingcheng, however, stubbornly insisted, "The Inspectorate has the right to report rumors; there's no such thing as a baseless rumor!"

"The Oversight Council will eventually become too powerful to control. Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

Fan Xian, watching Lai Mingcheng from a distance, was filled with unease.

I originally thought Lai Mingcheng was targeting me, but now it seems that's not the case. This person seems to be genuinely serving the country in his own way.

"Has this person always been this brave?"

Xin Qiwu said in a low voice, "Censor Lai has always been like this, arresting and impeaching whoever he can!"

"His Majesty is magnanimous and doesn't hold it against him."

Six years ago, he even said that Prince Yong had forcibly taken the courtesan, and that His Majesty was the culprit.

Fan Xian sensed something was wrong; at least Emperor Qing's attitude was strangely calm.

Lai Mingcheng has become the first to speak out today, impeaching the Second Prince and now he wants to impeach Li Yunrui and the Censorate.

He dared to impeach even Emperor Qing's relatives and trusted aides! Does Emperor Qing really not hold any grudges at all?

Emperor Qing ignored Lai Mingcheng and began to talk to himself, "Today's court session has been too long, and I am a little tired, so let's call it a day."

However, even after all this, Lai Mingcheng still wouldn't let it go.

"Your Majesty, I have a seventh person to impeach!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qing's face turned extremely ugly.

"Good, good, good..."

Just as he was about to speak, a man suddenly stepped forward and knelt down.

"Your Majesty, I believe that Lai Mingcheng's accusations against the Princess and the Surveillance Bureau are baseless and are nothing but a deception and a charlatan seeking fame and fortune!"

"Your Majesty need not listen to him any further. What he says next is nothing but a cheap trick to gain fame!"

Then, another official said, "Even censors who report based on hearsay should have a limit!"

It's best to avoid making baseless accusations!

"Your Majesty, Lai Mingcheng has already established his reputation as the First Censor of Daqing, and what he says next will only become more outrageous."

But that's utter nonsense. The Great Qing court assembly cannot be led by the nose by such a petty person!

Then, several officials stepped forward and began to impeach Lai Mingcheng for using any means necessary to gain fame.

Emperor Qing was unaware of any further accusations against Lai Mingcheng, so he allowed these officials to target Lai Mingcheng.

These officials were all looking for an excuse to shut Lai Mingcheng up, knowing that Emperor Qing wanted to end the court session.

However, when it came to the seventh official, what he said suddenly changed.

"Your Majesty, Lai Mingcheng is utterly unfit to be an imperial censor!"

"The Ministry of Justice has discovered that among the corrupt officials under the Second Prince, two were recommended by Lai Mingcheng. I have reviewed the recommendation letters."

Lai Mingcheng praised those two men as if they were geniuses, but the two men started to amass wealth as soon as they took office!

"How can someone who recommends others for personal gain be a censor?"

Lai Mingcheng had been holding back his anger and wanted to impeach Emperor Qing, and today he was about to complete his seventh impeachment.

But upon hearing that someone was so damaging his reputation, he immediately shifted his attack.

"As recommended by colleagues, I, Lai, have always been pragmatic. It is true that those two are talented, but it is also true that they are greedy for money."

"When I wrote the letter of recommendation, I was unaware of their greed!"

The Ministry of Justice official immediately retorted, "You can't even accurately judge the other party's greed, and you make baseless accusations without any evidence. How can you expect to be accurate?"

Lai Mingcheng was furious, and then another official from the Ministry of Justice stepped forward.

"Censor Lai, during this crackdown on corruption, a censor from the Censorate claimed to have bribed you. I wonder if this is true!"

Lai Mingcheng retorted angrily, "Nonsense! I, Lai, am the most upright official! How could I accept bribes!"

Then, another official said, "Another corrupt official under the Second Prince confessed that he had secretly gone to a brothel with Imperial Censor Lai."

"He also said that Censor Lai appeared respectable on the surface, but in private he loved to visit brothels, and he always sneaked in through the back door of Zuixianju."

Lai Mingcheng jumped up on the spot before he could finish listening, shouting, "Slander! Defamation! Framing!"

Don't spout nonsense about things you haven't verified!

At this moment, Emperor Qing also stood up and said, "Lai Mingcheng, clean up your own mess before impeaching others."

After Emperor Qing finished speaking, he stepped down from his throne, and the court session was about to end.

Lai Mingcheng was anxious, but the officials who were slandering him were saying increasingly hurtful things, so he had no choice but to defend himself and argue.

There's nothing we can do; he needs a good reputation.

The last few officials were, of course, arranged by Lin Ruofu according to Li Chang'an's orders.

Slandering Lai Mingcheng's reputation will surely provoke a fierce resistance from him, thus diverting his attention.

In addition, Emperor Qing was indeed annoyed with him, so the court meeting naturally ended.

Lai Mingcheng became the vanguard in bringing down Li Chengze, and Emperor Qing will surely hold a grudge.

However, if they find fault with him afterward, they might not necessarily kill Lai Mingcheng.

The long court assembly finally came to an end, Li Chengze officially fell from power, and Li Chang'an officially stepped into the limelight.

When Li Chang'an passed by Lai Mingcheng, he revealed a strange smile.

"Imperial Censor Lai, I really didn't realize that..."

Lai Mingcheng stomped his feet in anger, "I can't see anything, Your Highness Prince Yong, please watch your words!"

They're slandering Lai's reputation just to curry favor with their superiors!

Li Chang'an clicked his tongue and sighed, "You can't judge a book by its cover. Back when the three judicial departments were conducting a joint trial, Censor Lai pretended to be unfamiliar with brothels."

After Li Chang'an left, Li Chengqian, with a swollen face, said to Lai Mingcheng, "Imperial Censor Lai really put on a show of being a virtuous gentleman; his acting skills are far superior to mine!"

When Lin Ruofu walked past Lai Mingcheng, he deliberately took a detour, "I won't associate with hypocrites!"