Prelude

"Although you concealed your origins, you are, after all, the sole heir of the Azure Cloud Immortal Clan, which makes it excusable."

"I shall not pursue your fault in this matter."

"I only hope you can properly fulfill your duties as the Junior Preceptor to the Crown Heir, assist Zhao'er, and uphold the laws of the court."

"Do not fail the vow you made today."

The last few words were spoken with profound meaning.

Gu Chengyin's heart chilled slightly, but his face showed nothing. He immediately said solemnly,

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. This subject will certainly go all out, giving my all until my dying day!"

Emperor Luo gave a grunt of acknowledgment and said no more.

This matter was thus laid to rest.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly relaxed.

Many officials secretly wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads.

This morning alone had been more exhausting than a full day's work.

However, just as everyone thought the first climax of this morning assembly had ended and it was time for a recess.

Gu Chengyin, whose identity had just been recognized, cupped his hands again and said loudly,

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this subject has a matter to present!"

His clear voice pierced through the not-yet-fully-relaxed atmosphere of the hall.

Buzz!

Everyone's nerves tensed up again.

Countless gazes uniformly shot toward Gu Chengyin, then subconsciously turned toward Xiao Song.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the identity crisis just now was an attack from the Xiao faction.

And now, Gu Chengyin's identity was confirmed, and the crisis resolved.

Instead of quitting while he was ahead, he was taking the initiative to strike...

This was a counterattack!

But just before Emperor Luo could speak.

"Reporting to Your Majesty."

Another voice suddenly rang out, calm with a trace of deliberate composure. "This subject has a matter to present."

The one who spoke was none other than the Minister of Personnel, Xiao Jie.

He stepped out of the ranks, bowing and cupping his hands. His movements were smooth and natural, as if he had long prepared for this moment.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly became delicate.

Emperor Luo slowly closed his half-opened mouth.

His gaze shifted back and forth between Gu Chengyin and Xiao Jie, a meaningful arc curving at the corners of his lips.

According to court rules, if someone was already presenting a memorial during the morning assembly, subsequent petitioners should wait until the former finished.

But what if the latter was unwilling to wait and insisted on presenting at the same time?

That meant this was a direct clash between political rivals, fighting for the right to speak first.

And who would ultimately present first depended entirely on a single thought from the one sitting on the dragon throne.

This seemingly simple order of precedence actually contained a strong political signal.

Whoever Emperor Luo allowed to speak first meant he was more inclined toward them at this moment, more willing to give them the opportunity to seize the initiative.

Time ticked by, second by second.

The hall was terrifyingly quiet.

Xiao Jie maintained his bowing posture, while Gu Chengyin remained equally unhurried.

He even slightly adjusted his stance to stand more comfortably.

Finally, after a silence lasting dozens of breaths...

"Minister Xiao."

Emperor Luo spoke slowly, his voice flat and rippleless. "Permission granted."

As soon as these words came out, a wave of irrepressible low gasps echoed in the hall.

His Majesty actually... let Xiao Jie present first?

What did this mean?

It meant that right when Gu Chengyin had just gained identity recognition and was about to press his advantage.

His Majesty had given Xiao Jie and the Xiao faction behind him the chance to speak first.

What an ambiguous attitude this was.

Some officials who had already prepared to defect to Zhao'er's side began to waver in their hearts.

The officials of the Xiao faction, however, had hope rekindled in their eyes.

The most surprising thing was Gu Chengyin's reaction.

He showed no disappointment or anger, but rather looked as if he had expected this result all along.

The moment Emperor Luo's voice fell, he even bowed slightly and then silently shifted two steps to the side.

These two steps were shifted very cleverly, placing him just slightly behind Zhao'er.

That position was inconspicuous, yet perfectly allowed him to take in the entire situation in the hall.

He yielded the stage to Xiao Jie.

Xiao Jie obviously hadn't expected Gu Chengyin to react this way either.

He froze for half a breath, then straightened his robes, strode to the center of the great hall, and bowed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Then he straightened up, his gaze sweeping over the civil and military officials before finally landing on the dragon throne, and spoke loudly,

"The matter this subject presents concerns the Left Vice Minister of Revenue, Xiao Bichang, who committed suicide out of fear of punishment a few days ago."

Xiao Bichang.

As soon as this name came out, many officials in the hall secretly gasped.

Left Vice Minister of Revenue Xiao Bichang had hanged himself in his estate's study, leaving behind a suicide note.

He confessed to embezzling silver from the national treasury, having no face to meet His Majesty and the court, and thus apologized with his death.

Because Xiao Bichang was already dead, and the suicide note took all the blame upon himself without implicating others.

Although Gu Chengyin, who was in charge of the investigation, was taken away halfway by the Department of Purifying Officials.

The Grand Secretariat ultimately closed the case as Xiao Bichang's suicide out of fear of punishment.

And now, Xiao Jie bringing this matter up again at this time...

Many sharp-minded officials had already guessed what he was going to do.

Sure enough, Xiao Jie continued, his voice full of heartache and self-blame,

"Upon learning that Xiao Bichang actually embezzled three million taels from the national treasury and committed suicide to escape punishment, as a member of the Xiao clan, this subject is deeply grieved!"

"I abhor the appearance of such a treacherous scoundrel who brings disaster to the country and the people within our clan!"

He paused, his voice suddenly rising,

"I immediately ordered the entire Xiao clan to carry out a clean and honest self-inspection and self-correction!"

"If we hadn't checked, we wouldn't have known." Xiao Jie's voice became heavy.

"Once we checked, we discovered that the people in the clan who embezzled from the national treasury were actually... more than just Xiao Bichang!"

Boom!

These words exploded like thunder.

The Xiao clan's self-inspection? And they found more than one corrupt official?

Some officials who had originally planned to see how Xiao Jie would defend himself were now stunned.

Just then, Xiao Jie turned around and gestured toward the back of the civil officials' ranks.

Immediately, several clerks filed in from outside the hall.

Each of them held a thick stack of books, the covers all uniformly indigo blue, written upon in neat regular script:

"True Record of the Xiao Clan's Internal Self-Inspection - Presented for Imperial Review"

The clerks began distributing the books.

One book, two books, three books...

Their movements were swift and orderly, from the front of the hall to the back, from civil officials to military generals, almost every official received a copy.

Even in front of Gu Chengyin and Zhao'er, a copy was placed.

Gu Chengyin picked up the book and casually flipped it open.

After reading only a few pages, a trace of amusement flashed in his eyes.

This true record of self-inspection was documented extremely thoroughly:

A disciple of a collateral branch of the Xiao clan, during his tenure as magistrate in a certain county, privately increased taxes, embezzling a total of twenty-eight thousand taels over three years.

A distant relative by marriage of the Xiao clan, while serving as a secretary in the Ministry of Works, falsely reported project funds, embezzling fifteen thousand taels.

The son of a Xiao clan servant, using the Xiao clan's name to extort merchants outside, obtained eight thousand taels of silver...

Item by item, case by case, the time, location, person, and amount were all written clearly.

There were even attachments such as the whereabouts of the stolen money, confessions of the involved personnel, and witness testimonies.

Roughly estimated, the total amount of corruption by Xiao clan members recorded in this true record was about... five and a half million taels.

Five and a half million taels was an astronomical figure for ordinary officials.

But compared to the number uncovered at the Crown Heir's Palace, it paled into insignificance.