Emperor Yongchang leaned back against the throne and looked at Censor Tie, who was kneeling on the floor, with a half-smile.
“So, according to you, this famous minister of the ages, Ren Zhong, does not deserve his reputation?”
“That is exactly the case!” Censor Tie replied bluntly. “If Your Majesty believes such absurd nonsense, then you will truly have fallen into someone else’s trap!”
The old man was becoming more and more outrageous.
Grand Secretary Li immediately rebuked him: “Censor Tie, this is before His Majesty! How can you speak and behave so improperly?!”
Improper?
Censor Tie snorted through his nose, clearly not taking Grand Secretary Li seriously at all.
He turned around, knelt upright, and presented a thick dossier with both hands.
Chu Bo’s right eyelid immediately twitched.
Grand Secretary Li was equally startled.
Even the other Grand Secretaries changed expression, looking at one another.
Emperor Yongchang glanced at Eunuch Xia.
Eunuch Xia immediately stepped forward, took the dossier from Censor Tie, and respectfully placed it on the Emperor’s desk.
The Emperor read through it expressionlessly.
Afterward, he frowned for a long time without saying a word.
Such prolonged silence was almost unbearable. Even Chu Bo, who was normally extremely composed, could not help taking a deep breath, wondering what exactly was written in those papers.
Fortunately, they did not have to guess for long.
The Emperor raised an eyebrow at them and said coolly: “Take a look yourselves. See just how incorruptible this so-called honest official truly was!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Eunuch Xia carried the dossier down and handed it first to Chu Bo.
After reading it, Chu Bo could not help closing his eyes briefly. Then, without saying a word, he passed it to Grand Secretary Li.
Grand Secretary Li’s reaction was far more dramatic.
He could not understand why Chu Bo had reacted that way. Casting him a suspicious glance, he took the dossier and looked through it.
The moment he saw its contents, he shuddered violently.
Then he cried out: “How is this possible?!”
A man who hated evil with a passion.
A man who had dared to offend the Grand Secretary as soon as he became a jinshi.
A good official who had earned several “Ten Thousand People’s Umbrellas” in gratitude from the common people.
How could he possibly be this kind of person?!
His mouth opened and closed, but not a single word came out.
His face turned ashen as he slumped back into his seat.
The other Grand Secretaries read the dossier one after another and were equally dumbfounded.
They were all veterans of officialdom.
They prided themselves on having seen every kind of person imaginable.
Yet none of them had ever seen anyone like Ren Zhong.
On the surface, he appeared loyal and righteous.
But in reality…
In reality, he was a monster.
He had been famously filial to his mother. Since childhood, he had lived with her. When she lay in bed, he slept on a pallet on the floor beside her.
He lived this way for decades, even after finally becoming an official and taking a wife.
Yet he continued the same routine.
Every night, he would roll up his bedding and sleep beside his mother.
Later, after much difficulty, he had a daughter.
When the girl was seven or eight years old, the boy to whom she had been betrothed in childhood died.
Under normal circumstances, most families would simply consider the engagement dissolved.
The boy’s family repeatedly stated that the marriage arrangement should be canceled and that the child should not be held back because of it.
But Ren Zhong locked his own biological daughter inside a temple bell tower and starved her to death.
His justification was:
“Starving to death is a small matter; losing one’s chastity is a great one.”
Grand Secretary Li cursed inwardly.
If they wanted to choose someone to represent a “great minister of the ages,” they should at least have chosen a normal person.
What kind of creature was this Ren Zhong supposed to be?!
Based on these deeds alone, he was supposed to be called a loyal minister?
The common people would want to tear his heart out.
Who didn’t have daughters?
Any decent human being would never murder their own flesh and blood.
Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Censor Tie finally could not hold back any longer and demanded: “This is the backbone of the scholars that you people keep talking about! This is the integrity of your literati! So this is what the backbone of your scholars looks like! Aren’t you afraid that the entire world will curse you? Aren’t you afraid that ‘scholar’ will become an insult in the future?”
His words struck like slap after slap across the faces of Grand Secretary Li and the others.
After all, Grand Secretary Li had been Ren Zhong’s teacher.
When Ren Zhong died, it was only natural for him, as the man’s mentor, to seek justice for such a supposedly loyal and dedicated disciple.
But who could have imagined that Ren Zhong’s sterling reputation had been nothing but an act?
Who could possibly have seen that coming?
Grand Secretary Li still remembered the first time Ren Zhong had brought his wife to pay him a visit.
She looked well into her forties, more than ten years older in appearance than Ren Zhong.
Ren Zhong had treated her with exceptional gentleness.
At the time, Grand Secretary Li had thought him a man of deep loyalty and affection.
Who could have known…
He swallowed hard.
“Censor Tie, this… this is only your side of the story. Is there any other evidence?”
It was as though he had been waiting for that exact question.
Censor Tie immediately replied: “Of course there is! Ren Zhong’s wife herself can testify!”
“His wife?”
Grand Secretary Li looked uncertain.
“Wasn’t she dead?”
To the outside world, Ren Zhong had always presented himself as a devoted and affectionate husband who obeyed his wife in all things.
When she became ill, he had personally attended to her every need.
Later, word spread that she had passed away.
Many people had even gone to comfort him over the loss.
So how was she suddenly alive again?
Emperor Yongchang had no interest in listening to their argument. Raising an eyebrow, he said: “Summon her.”
Eunuch Xia immediately bowed and walked outside, where he clapped his hands.
A short while later, a woman who looked like a frail old crone shuffled into the hall. Trembling, she knelt on the ground.
Perhaps the grandeur and authority of the place were simply too overwhelming.
Madam Ren was extremely nervous.
Her hands shook continuously.
Beside her, Censor Tie hurriedly reassured her: “Madam, don’t be afraid. This is His Majesty! His Majesty is the True Dragon Son of Heaven. Before him, all demons and monsters have nowhere to hide. Whatever grievances you have suffered, speak freely!”
Grand Secretary Li’s right eyelid twitched wildly.
Madam Ren prostrated herself on the floor and burst into tears.
“Your Imperial Majesty! I beg you to seek justice for my daughter! My daughter was only a little over seven years old, not even eight yet, and Ren Zhong locked her in a temple and starved her to death! Even after she died, he wanted to bury her remains together with a member of the Huang family…”
So he really had done something that vile.
Chu Bo’s fingers twitched slightly.
Who had come up with this strategy?
First elevate Ren Zhong’s reputation, involving the entire city and raising his fame to an untouchable height.
Then expose such a shocking scandal before everyone and reveal his true face.
Once that happened, what credibility could Ren Zhong’s words possibly retain?
Suppress first by elevating beforehand.
The move had been executed with masterful precision.
And with this, there would no longer be any obstacle to having the Crown Prince’s grandson investigate the Lu family’s case.
A true expert.
Someone who wanted to bring down ten birds with a single arrow.
Chu Bo glanced at Censor Tie again.
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