Chapter 463: Everyone Gets a Share

Yin Song, having failed to notice the problem of a demon being born in the Imperial Prison, was currently suspended from duty and reflecting at home.

That's right — that day he was locked in the great prison, and in less than half a day he was released; the Vice Commissioner of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau went personally to fish him out.

After fishing the man out, the Vice Commissioner also brought the remaining four Official Diviners — Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter — to the Imperial Prison together to perform a ritual; after coming out, he solemnly told the civil officials waiting outside: "The demon cat is no longer in the Imperial Prison, but violent energy runs rampant within it, and in the future it will likely give birth to more demons; this is not something a single ritual can resolve."

The civil officials got the answer they wanted, turned right around and submitted a memorial to the Emperor, requesting the Imperial Prison be torn down to prevent any further demons from being born.

The Emperor summoned the people of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to the great hall.

The Vice Commissioner said again: "The Imperial Prison cannot be lightly demolished; although violent energy runs rampant within, these few walls also contain this baleful aura. If it is torn down, I'm afraid it will harm Jingcheng, and when demons run rampant and cause chaos in the capital, would that not be worse?"

The Emperor heard this and was satisfied.

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau withdrew unscathed; as for whether the Imperial Prison would be demolished, that was a matter for the Emperor and the civil officials — they couldn't care less.

The four Official Diviners — Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter — took turns visiting Yin Zhai to see the suspended-and-reflecting Yin Song, asking him: "Although the Imperial Astronomical Bureau is a department of the imperial court, we rarely take part in court affairs; ordinarily we only concern ourselves with agricultural seasons, climate, and celestial phenomena — how did you get involved in factional struggles?"

Yin Song denied it: "My heart is set on the Dao; I have never taken part in factional struggles."

"Look at you — with the kind of friendship you and I have, and now that only you and I are here, what is there that cannot be said? Speak quickly — is this a scheme of your Mount Sanqing? Otherwise, why would they save your little junior sister?"

"On the day of the ritual I deliberately went in to take a look; your little junior sister's fate is a tough one indeed."

Yin Song was unconcerned: "So what? Which disciple of my Mount Sanqing does not have a tough fate?"

The four Official Diviners had clearly come at different times, yet upon hearing these words they could not help but simultaneously study Yin Song's physiognomy; after a long moment they nodded: "Fair enough."

Yin Song rolled the written intelligence into a strip and handed it to Yin Qingjun.

Yin Qingjun took it and asked: "Master, when will you let First Senior Brother and the others come back?"

Yin Song looked up at him.

Yin Qingjun: "It's not that I want to ask — it's that every time First Senior Brother and the others meet me they ask once; tell me in advance so I can answer, lest I bring the question back."

Yin Song thought for a moment, then said: "Tell them — soon."

Yin Qingjun stood without moving.

Yin Song could only say helplessly: "This time it's really soon; your little martial uncle is about to come out, and once she comes out, this case will be about wrapped up."

"That fast?"

Yin Song glanced at him and said: "She's been in there nearly ten days already — what's fast about that? It's her first time fasting for such a long stretch; if it goes past fifteen days, it'll likely damage her body."

Yin Qingjun: "But a criminal case — the slow ones take a year or two to try; two or three months is already considered short. Isn't this wrongful case supposed to be a big one? It shook the whole capital three years ago — how can it be reaching a verdict in less than half a month?"

Yin Song: "That depends on who is handling the case, and how much they want to resolve it quickly."

He paused; thinking that Yin Qingjun would one day have to make his way in court, and that in a few years he himself would retire to cultivate, leaving Yin Qingjun behind in court as Mount Sanqing's backing, there were some things he had to teach him — so Yin Song broke it down for him piece by piece.

"This time it's the Emperor himself handling it, and whether it's the Emperor, Wang Zhen, or the civil officials standing opposite Wang Zhen, they all want this case concluded as quickly as possible, so the case will move very fast," Yin Song said. "Especially after Xue Shao produced the complete case files, none of the three sides wanted to drag it out any longer."

He glanced at Pan Xiaohei, who was sprawled on the table licking her paw; he didn't mind her overhearing — in fact, it was good, so that little senior sister would know just how dark the waters of officialdom truly were, and would have some restraint in her future actions.

By the time Yin Qingjun drifted off in a daze to deliver vegetables to Wang Cong and the others at the White Cloud Monastery, the sun had already tilted toward the west.

The setting sun was still fiery and ardent; the spring sunlight was dazzling, like scattered fragments of gold, falling on Pan Xiaohei's jet-black fur and glinting with specks of golden light.

She darted back to the foot of the Imperial Prison's wall, and through the wall said to Pan Yun: "I'm back."

Pan Yun heard her voice not only in her mind but also as a soft meow with her ears.

She couldn't help looking up and said in her heart: 【How dare you? Opening your mouth to meow near the Imperial Prison — aren't you afraid of being discovered and destroyed as a demon cat?】

【If you don't scold me for one day you can't get through it, can you? Do you know what I just heard at Yin Song's place?】

【What?】

【It'll scare you to death when I say it. Back when your father and Xue Xuan fell into trouble, the ones who struck weren't only Wang Zhen — or rather, your father was a fish caught in the crossfire; Xue Xuan was their real target. Among the hundred officials in court, whether civil or military, they all sat by and watched it happen — some even added insult to injury.】

Pan Yun frowned.

! 。Read

Pan Xiaohei then, in a fair imitation of Yin Song's voice, said: "... The Court of Judicial Review — all criminal cases under heaven must ultimately be reviewed and ruled upon by the Court of Judicial Review before execution; and the proportion of major and important cases involving gentry and officialdom is by no means small."

"After Xue Xuan was promoted to Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, he began clearing out the case files. Some doubtful cases and cold cases were solved; some cases that had already been decided — even executed — were overturned. Among them: the Yangzhou Prefect's embezzlement case; the Suzhou Wang clan's seizure of civilian land and annihilation of a village case; the Fujian illicit salt case... and even cases of empty-pay rolls in the military triggered by armed brawls..."

"This man gave Wang Zhen no face, feared not Wang Zhen's power, and naturally would give no face to anyone else, nor fear anyone else's power."

"In the Court of Judicial Review, he was a thorn in the eye, a splinter in the flesh, of who knows how many people."

"In the case of Mistress Yue killing her husband, the Shuntian Prefecture directly arrested her and tortured a confession out of her — why? Because the one who reported Mistress Yue was the Embroidered Uniform Guard Captain Chen Fulin. First, he was a colleague, so they instinctively trusted the Embroidered Uniform Guard's judgment; second, they had to give Chen Fulin face, so they arrested her directly, beat out a confession, and closed the case."

"The censors of the Censorate who reviewed the case knew the trick well, said not a word, and passed it straight through. Only Xue Xuan — knowing full well the case involved the Embroidered Uniform Guard — still gave no face at all and sent it back for retrial."

"But that fool Wang Wen, without even reviewing the case file, went straight to Your Majesty and accused Xue Xuan of using public office for private revenge."

Pan Xiaohei said: 【Your Second Senior Brother said it was precisely because of this that your father was assigned by the Emperor to reinvestigate this case, and was then drawn into it.】

Pan Yun: 【I know that already — tell me something I don't know.】

【What you don't know is this: after Xue Xuan was framed by Wang Zhen back then, among the hundred officials, only Yang Shiqi once mentioned to the Emperor that Xue Xuan and your father had been wronged; everyone else stayed silent — some even secretly submitted memorials siding with Wang Zhen. Oh, and those people weren't Wang Zhen's men — they were the very people now locked in a life-and-death struggle with Wang Zhen.】

Pan Xiaohei said: 【Do you know why?】

In Pan Yun's mind rang Wang Zhen's words: have Wang Wen hand over the account books from the Jiangnan coastal regions.

Her face hardened, and she said in a low voice: 【Because he ruined other people's fortunes and careers!】

Everyone sat by and watched

Good night

(End of this chapter)