Chapter 75: Investigate the Council Hall, Sword Pointed at Our Own

When Jiang Che sent a letter titled "Investigate the Council Hall" back to the Capital City, Gu Chongming was presiding over the spring council session.

Upon seeing the letter, he fell silent for a long while.

The representatives in the hall exchanged glances.

Some were shocked and enraged.

"What does Sword Master Jiang mean? Does he suspect us?"

Someone sneered coldly.

"I said long ago that the Guardian of the Nation Sword Master stands above the Council Hall; this day was bound to come."

Others lowered their heads in guilt.

After reading the letter, Qin Su said only one thing:

"Investigate."

Gu Chongming looked up at her.

Qin Su said, "A doctor treating an illness cannot only take the pulse of others."

"If the Council Hall is the heart of the Human Realm, it should be investigated even more."

The widow from Han Zhou who sold soup also said, "Investigate then; I stand upright and fear no shadow."

A merchant representative from Dongling coughed dryly, "Investigation is fine, but there must be regulations; the Sword Master cannot overturn accounts with a single word."

Gu Chongming nodded, "Correct."

Thus, the Council Hall passed its first self-investigation order.

The review team was composed of the History Camp, Legislative Officers, and temporary representatives drawn by lot from various regions.

The scope of the review included:

Whether seats were bought and sold.

Whether accounts involved bribery.

Whether proposals were manipulated by powerful families, sects, or the Merchant Association.

Whether post-war compensation, the Yu Gu Yuan, grain routes, and Anti-Heaven Bureau funding had been misappropriated.

Most importantly, the review team was not directly controlled by Jiang Che.

Jiang Che only proposed the investigation and did not participate in determining guilt.

This was insisted upon by Gu Chongming.

"If investigating the Council Hall is also decided by the Sword Master, then Hei Xuan would not need to plant the Mo Zhong; the Council Hall would have already lowered itself by half a span."

Jiang Che received the reply letter and smiled.

Xie Tingxue asked, "What are you smiling about?"

Jiang Che said, "Lord Gu is becoming better at guarding against me."

Xie Tingxue said, "Are you very happy?"

Jiang Che nodded, "Very happy."

Investigating the Council Hall is harder than investigating the Wu Family.

The Wu Family is an external enemy.

The Council Hall is one of our own.

And one's own people are often harder to strike.

The first batch of problems emerged at the Yu Gu Yuan.

The accounts of the main Yu Gu Yuan in the Capital City were clear, but local branches showed empty quotas being filled.

Some officials falsely reported the number of orphans to fraudulently claim grain and money.

One of the responsible persons had been a survivor of the Lu'an Blood Sacrifice.

He had saved people in Luo'an and, after entering the Capital, had once been called a righteous man.

When exposed, he knelt in the courtroom and wept bitterly:

"I only took a little."

"My whole family died; I suffered too."

"That money was just sitting there; I merely..."

The Chief Interrogation Law Officer asked, "Merely felt you were qualified to take it?"

That man could not speak.

When this case spread, the world was in an uproar.

Many found it hard to accept.

A survivor of Luo'an, once called a righteous man, would also be greedy for the Yu Gu Yuan's money?

Qin Su personally went to see the children who had received less grain.

One child asked her, "Aunt Qin, is it that we shouldn't have eaten so much?"

Qin Su's eyes turned red on the spot.

After returning to the Council Hall, she said only one thing:

"Sentence him."

Ultimately, that responsible person was sentenced to fifteen years of heavy labor according to the law, the stolen goods were recovered, and he was banned from holding public office for life.

Merit does not offset this crime.

Suffering is not a free pass.

The second batch of problems emerged at the Anti-Heaven Bureau.

Some local sects, under the name of resisting Heaven, demanded military funds, but in reality sought to expand their own mountain gates.

Among them were even Sword Cultivator sects that had contributed at Tian Duan Cliff.

They argued:

"Our sect has shed blood for the Human Realm; what is wrong with taking more resources?"

Xie Wuya stepped forward personally.

He asked only one question:

"Your sect shed blood, was it so you could later reach into the public treasury?"

That Sect Master was left speechless.

The third batch of issues involved the Merchant Association.

Someone from the Jiangnan branch of the Wan Tong Merchant Association used disaster relief grain routes to buy low and sell high.

Upon learning this, Shen Wanjin's face turned iron-green; he personally escorted the implicated Shopkeeper to the public court.

The Shopkeeper cried out, "President, I have followed you for twenty years!"

Shen Wanjin kicked him over.

"If you have followed me for twenty years, you should know what I hate most."

He turned to the presiding judge and said:

"According to the law."

Once these three cases emerged, the world was shaken.

Hei Xuan had hoped the New System would protect its own.

He had hoped the Council Hall would cover up the shame.

He had hoped Jiang Che would be unable to draw his sword against his own people.

But this time, the New System turned its blade against itself.

It hurt.

It was also ugly.

But it was done.

When Jiang Che received the results of the three cases in Jinling, he remained silent for a long time.

Lin Xiaoman said, "Young Master, should this be written into history?"

Jiang Che said, "Write it."

"What title?"

Jiang Che thought for a moment.

"The New System dissects itself."

Lin Xiaoman nodded and picked up his brush to write.

Xie Tingxue said, "Have you found Hei Xuan's Demon Seed?"

Jiang Che shook his head.

"These are just soil."

"The Demon Seed lies deeper."

"Then what next?"

Jiang Che looked toward the Capital City.

"Return to the Capital."

"See it with my own eyes."

In late spring, Jiang Che returned to the Capital.

Upon entering the city, there was no procession.

But Zhuque Street was lined with people on both sides.

They watched Jiang Che.

Their eyes were more complex than before.

There was respect.

There was expectation.

There was also scrutiny.

This was good.

Jiang Che swung down from his horse and walked into the city.

Walking before Zichen Hall, he saw that the cracked Dragon Throne remained sealed behind the hall.

And before the Dragon Throne, the Human Assembly Hall was arguing.

Arguing until their faces turned red.

Arguing with no dignity.

And arguing very vividly.

Jiang Che stood outside the hall and suddenly smiled.

Gu Chongming saw him and snorted:

"Since the Sword Master has arrived, so be it. Someone is impeaching you."

The hall fell silent instantly.

Jiang Che was stunned, then his smile deepened.

"Good."

"Read it."