Even Xiao Song, who had been dozing all this time, opened his eyes again and struggled to rise from his seat.
Only then did Gu Chengyin stand up, his hands resting respectfully at his sides, his expression solemn.
Shangguan Yuan practically bounced out of his chair. No longer bothering to cover his eye, he hastily straightened his robes, bowed his body, and lowered his head.
Lyu Fang's gaze fell on Xiao Song, whose movements were visibly strained. The amiable smile on his face deepened slightly as he spoke in a gentle tone:
"Grand Secretary Xiao, His Majesty specifically instructed that since you are advanced in years and have difficulty moving about, you may remain seated to receive the oral decree. There is no need to stand and salute."
"His Majesty is considerate of his old ministers; please do not decline."
Hearing this, a trace of emotion flashed in Xiao Song's cloudy old eyes. He gave a slight nod and did not insist further.
He slowly sat up straight again, maintaining a posture of respectful listening. "This old subject... thanks His Majesty for his profound grace."
Only then did Lyu Fang nod in satisfaction. His gaze swept over the solemnly standing crowd once more, and the smile vanished from his face.
Clearing his throat, he began to proclaim the decree:
"His Majesty's oral decree:"
Everyone, including the seated Xiao Song, bowed their heads deeply, holding their breath in rapt attention.
"Hearing of the matter in the Ministry of Revenue, Our heart is greatly angered."
The opening set the tone: Emperor Luo was angry.
"A Minister and a Marquis of Equal Stature, actually brawling openly in broad daylight! What a scandal!"
The second sentence directly pointed out the nature of the incident: it was a breach of decorum, a mutual condemnation of both men's behavior.
"However."
Lyu Fang shifted his tone, though his voice remained steady. "The cause of this matter, ultimately, is the incompetence of the Ministry of Revenue, which delayed Zhao'er's important affairs."
Emperor Luo confirmed that the root of the conflict lay with the Ministry of Revenue.
This was also an acknowledgment of some of Gu Chengyin's claims, pointing out the source of the issue.
"The Marquis of Equal Stature, Gu Chengyin, is young and hot-blooded, eager to protect his master. Seeing crucial matters obstructed, he acted improperly in his anxiety. Although his actions are excusable..."
The word excusable gave Gu Chengyin a rather lenient evaluation, attributing his motives to anxiety over official duties rather than simple arrogance and domineering behavior.
"However, he must not go unpunished!"
Clear rewards and punishments were the way of an emperor.
With affirmation, there must also be discipline.
Lyu Fang continued to read:
"The Minister of Revenue, Shangguan Yuan, is ordered to be suspended immediately and sent home to reflect on his mistakes!"
"Without Our explicit order, he is not to leave his residence, nor is he to interfere in any affairs of the Ministry of Revenue. All matters of the Ministry, big and small, shall be temporarily handled with full authority by the Left Vice Minister."
Suspension and house arrest.
The punishment for Shangguan Yuan could be said to be extremely severe, effectively kicking him out of the core circle of power for the time being.
Shangguan Yuan's body visibly swayed. His face instantly turned deathly pale, his lips trembled, and his shoulders shook.
"The Marquis of Equal Stature, Gu Chengyin, committed insubordination, showed no respect for his elders, and acted improperly. He is fined one year's salary and ordered to immediately write a profound self-criticism!"
Lyu Fang immediately added, "Hmm, this self-criticism need not be submitted to the imperial presence; handing it over for Zhao'er to review will suffice."
Finally, Lyu Fang's voice rose slightly, carrying a sense of decisiveness:
"The Censorate, in coordination with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Rites, is ordered to immediately intervene in the Ministry of Revenue, investigate the responsibility for the negligence in safekeeping the accounts, and deal with the relevant derelict personnel!"
"Within the time limit, the problems must be rectified without delay."
The Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Rites—a joint intervention by three ministries.
This was the true thunderous strike.
Emperor Luo did not get tangled up in bickering but directly skipped to the conclusion.
Using the excuse of negligence in safekeeping, he deployed the highest supervisory and judicial powers of Great Luo to forcefully intervene in the Ministry of Revenue and demanded rectification within a set time.
"Respect this."
As the last two words fell, Lyu Fang nodded slightly, indicating that the oral decree had been fully conveyed.
The discussion hall was dead silent.
Emperor Luo seemed to be punishing both sides equally, but in reality, his stance was clear.
Cui Shifan and the others felt a complex mix of emotions.
Shangguan Yuan's face was ashen. He stood blankly in place, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
Only Gu Chengyin slowly raised his head. Facing Lyu Fang, and also in the direction of the imperial palace, he bowed solemnly:
"This subject, Gu Chengyin, receives the decree and thanks His Majesty for his grace."
"I shall strictly obey His Majesty's holy decree, reflect deeply, and assist His Highness in sorting out the accounts as quickly as possible, so as not to disappoint the holy expectations."
Lyu Fang looked at Gu Chengyin, the amiable smile reappearing on his face, and gave a slight nod.
Without saying anything, he turned and left the discussion hall with the same steady steps he had arrived with.
As soon as Lyu Fang left, the tense atmosphere in the discussion hall instantly dissipated by more than half.
Grand Secretary Hu Juzheng and Grand Secretary Yuan Zhengqing turned around almost at the same time.
Grand Secretary Hu Juzheng stroked his beard, cupped his hands to Xiao Song and Cui Shifan, and said, "Since the holy decree has been issued, I still have several urgent official matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first."
Grand Secretary Yuan Zhengqing also nodded in agreement. "I too have important matters that cannot be delayed. Grand Secretary Xiao, Grand Secretary Cui, farewell."
The two Grand Secretaries left briskly and decisively, without the slightest intention of lingering.
Leaving closely behind them was Shangguan Yuan, whose face was as gloomy as dark water.
Before leaving, he did not forget to glare fiercely at Gu Chengyin, the venom and unwillingness in his eyes almost bursting forth.
His lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately he just let out a heavy snort from his nose, flicked his sleeves, and strode away.
His boots stomped on the ground, deliberately making dull thuds that betrayed his inner resentment.
Seeing the lords leaving one after another, the clerks recording the discussion also quickly packed up their brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, lowered their heads, and filed out.
In the blink of an eye, the discussion hall, which had just been filled with verbal sparring, was left with only three people.
The empty hall appeared even more solemn, its high vaulted ceiling casting majestic shadows.
Gu Chengyin adjusted his everyday robes, stepped forward, and bowed to the two Grand Secretaries to take his leave:
"The holy decree has been issued, and this matter is settled."
"If this junior's words were offensive in any way, it was truly out of necessity. I hope the two Grand Secretaries will be forgiving."
"Since the matter is concluded, this junior will now return to report to His Highness. Farewell."
After speaking, he prepared to turn and leave.
"Marquis of Equal Stature, please wait."
A voice rang out; it was Cui Shifan.
Gu Chengyin paused his steps and looked back, a look of confusion on his face.
The solemnity from earlier had completely vanished from Cui Shifan's face, replaced by a rather amicable, even appreciative smile.
He naturally had a square face, his beard and hair meticulously groomed. As he smiled now, the fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes stretched out, making him look even more like a respectable elder.
"Marquis Gu..."
Cui Shifan switched to a more intimate address, his tone full of praise. "Young and promising, with surpassing courage and insight. What is even rarer is your absolute loyalty to His Highness."
"Although there were quite a few waves, it also allowed us to witness the grace of the younger generation."
"His Highness personally bestowed the title of Equal Stature and entrusted you with heavy responsibilities. This title of Marquis of Equal Stature is well-deserved indeed. Your future is truly limitless."
This sudden praise put Gu Chengyin on alert, though his face remained impassive. He merely bowed slightly. "Grand Secretary Cui overpraises me. This junior is ashamed to accept such words and only wishes to do my utmost to repay the sovereign's grace."
Cui Shifan seemed oblivious to the wariness in Gu Chengyin's eyes. He stroked his beard and smiled. "Marquis Gu need not be too modest. Coincidentally, there happens to be a dinner banquet at my residence tonight. It is nothing overly formal."
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
