This morning at the Grand Harmony Hall.
Sun Mingli had just finished shouting, "Those with petitions, present them promptly; those without, court is dismissed," when Wu Zhiyuan, the head of the civil officials, submitted a petition against him.
The accusation was against Minister Li Weijian of the Ministry of Rites for being jealous of the virtuous and capable, framing the loyal and good, abusing his power, and extorting festival funds, among several other charges.
Just as Wu Zhiyuan finished his accusation, another high-ranking official, with the rank of Elder Jingcheng, also accused the Minister of the Ministry of Rites and the Minister of the Honglu Temple, risking 'forming cliques for personal gain.'
Wu Wencai, neither humble nor overbearing, according to the ways of the officialdom, being from the same family as Wu Zhiyuan, should not have stepped forward at this time.
But the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple were trying to harm Xu Qing, and this he could not endure!
Li Weijian's vision dimmed; how could he have anticipated such an outcome?
It was just about a small matter of a commoner, how could it have provoked two high-ranking cabinet ministers to accuse him at once?
Li Weijian's heart was in turmoil, but he forced himself to calm down.
The affair at the Jin Sect was done by the rules, and it was handled by the Minister of the Ministry of Rites and the officials of the Honglu Temple; even if it escalated, there would be those to defend him...
Even considering the worst outcome, at most dismissing a few mourning officials and civilians should settle it, and the trouble wouldn't reach him.
However, just as Li Weijian stepped out, his thoughts were not complete when he saw Dingyuan Marquis, with great merits in founding the dynasty, stride forward dragon-like and tiger-paced, stepping out in the middle of the hall.
Wang Liang directly pointed at Li Weijian, stating, "Your Majesty, Li Weijian, in charge of the Ministry of Rites, presiding over sacrifices, often demands one hundred thousand taels of silver! Yet the shopkeeper at the Jin Sect's funerary service managed to handle it properly with just three thousand taels!"
"I must ask Minister Li, how did the Ministry of Rites audit the one hundred thousand taels of silver?"
Zhu Huai'an understood Wang Liang and the others' thoughts and said heavily, "Minister Li, I thought since your name has Weijian (to maintain thrift), I disregarded past grievances and allowed you to continue managing the Ministry of Rites. Is this how you repay me?"
Li Weijian's face was ashen, and he immediately knelt before the hall, saying:
"I am guilty! I, a mere insignificant talent, fortunate enough to receive the boundless grace of heaven, entrusted with this heavy responsibility. Yet I have been negligent in my duties, unable to relieve Your Majesty's burdens, deserving ten thousand deaths for my crimes!"
Li Weijian cried sorrowfully, "A failure of my kind, incapable and neglectful, should be righteously punished to apologize to the world."
"..."
Zhu Huai'an, watching the deeply experienced official Li Weijian, his gaze was uncertain.
Li Weijian was among the first batch of officials who voluntarily surrendered to the new dynasty, though Zhu Huai'an long detested such corrupt figures, for the sake of national stability, he could not deal with them at will.
But now, the opposing party confessed to the crimes themselves, providing him a reason to reform the Ministry of Rites.
After a slight deliberation, Zhu Huai'an immediately decreed: "Li Weijian, you hold a high position, yet you do not consider repaying your country and ruler, instead exploiting power for personal gain, extorting excessively, envying the virtuous and capable, framing the good."
"Such conduct, how could you continue to lead a department? I hereby remove you from the position of Minister of Rites and demote you three ranks for reassignment..."
Zhu Huai'an, after a brief pause, continued: "Considering your past achievements, I temporarily appoint you as Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments to observe your future performance."
"As for the rest of the Ministry of Rites personnel, they will be rigorously investigated by the three judicial offices and handled according to the law!"
The position of Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments is a relatively idle post; while seeming to be conferred with royal favor, it essentially already severed Li Weijian's prospects.
None of the court members expressed any dissent; all present were experienced individuals who wouldn't want to invite trouble at this juncture.
However, all the officials remembered one name.
A funeral director from the Jinmen Prefecture, yet was able to garner support from figures like Wencai and Dingyuan Marquis; moreover, he was the person expressly named by the emperor to conduct the late emperor's funeral rites...
Could such a person be an ordinary commoner?
At this time, as Xu Qing came into the direct view of the court, he had already packed and arrived in Quyang County, completely unaware of events unfolding in the Capital City.
Yet with his indifferent nature, even if he knew, he would likely just smile it off.