Chapter 44

"Ah, you really are... so dense! Lier and I have already noticed, but you haven’t," Yun Lin covered her head and groaned. She could only say that her husband was a good man, but not a good politician. He was completely insensitive to politics, even far less so than their sixteen-year-old son. Song Li’s insight at such a young age surprised Yun Lin greatly. However, their son had brought them so many surprises recently that she had developed a certain level of immunity.

She instinctively felt that her son might grow up to be a great person in the future.

"Oh, is that so..." Song Xinghai scratched his head and asked, "Then what should we do to completely turn the situation around?"

Since Song Xinghai was not good at intrigue and political maneuvering, he might as well follow his wife’s and son’s advice.

Song Li smiled and beckoned for his parents to come closer. When the three heads were together, Song Li revealed his plan...

Two days later, during the morning court session.

In the Golden Hall, Emperor Song Xingtian sat on the dragon throne, looking down at the court officials, and his stern voice echoed, "My ministers, do you have any important matters to report? If not, I will announce the end of the court session."

Prince Ninth, Song Xingyun, stepped forward and bowed, "Your Majesty, I have a matter to report."

Song Xingtian said indifferently, "Proceed."

Song Xingyun, with a blank expression, respectfully said, "Your Majesty, according to information from the Cat Eye Bureau, Deputy Chief of the Cabinet, Wen Liren, has been in close contact with the Prime Minister of the Lambis Kingdom, Zaire, and is suspected of treason! I request that Your Majesty issue a warrant to search his residence. Whether Deputy Chief Wen is a man or a ghost will be revealed to the world."

The three princes of the Holy Lion Empire were not idle nobles who only received salaries. The Loyal Prince oversaw the six departments of the Cabinet, the Tranquil Prince commanded the ten-thousand-strong army of the capital, and the Kang Prince controlled the Cat Eye Bureau, the Inspectorate Bureau, and the Mobile Bureau, the three major intelligence agencies. The Cat Eye Bureau was responsible for gathering information, the Inspectorate Bureau for monitoring officials, and the Mobile Bureau for searches, pursuits, arrests, interrogations, and assassinations.

"Nonsense!" Deputy Chief Wen Liren immediately stood up. In his fifties, he had a fair complexion and a beard, exuding a scholarly and upright demeanor. Hearing Prince Kang’s accusation of treason, he was so angry that his beard seemed to fly up! He stepped out from the ranks of the civil officials, bowed, and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I am loyal to our dynasty, and I would never betray it!"

"Prince Kang, has the Cat Eye Bureau made a mistake? Deputy Chief Wen is a pillar of our dynasty, how could he collude with a foreign country and plot rebellion?" Song Xingtian smiled slightly, indicating that he did not believe Song Xingyun’s words.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty knows better than I do what kind of institution the Cat Eye Bureau is. They have never been wrong with such important information!" Prince Kang said firmly, "No one would admit to treason without concrete evidence. That’s why I request that Your Majesty issue a warrant to search Wen Liren’s residence. Once we have the evidence, he will have no choice but to confess."

"False accusations are easy to make!" Wen Liren sneered and glanced at Prince Kang, "I have nothing to hide, and I am not afraid of baseless accusations. The evil spirits will never come to light!"

"Since Deputy Chief Wen believes he is innocent, why not let the Mobile Bureau search his residence?" The Chief of the Cabinet, Huang Tingxuan, stepped forward at the right moment, smiling insincerely, "The innocent have nothing to hide, and the guilty will always try to avoid it. Is Deputy Chief Wen afraid because he is guilty?"

"Is that so, Chief Huang?" Wen Liren looked at him calmly and said, "I have also heard a reliable piece of information, which says that Chief Huang has been in secret contact with the Prime Minister of the Lambis Kingdom, intending to rebel. What do you have to say about that?"

Chief Huang Tingxuan and Deputy Chief Wen Liren not only belonged to different factions but also had vastly different personalities and temperaments. It was well-known that they were like oil and water. This confrontation in the court was nothing new.

Emperor Song Xingtian watched the two ministers argue without any intention of stopping them.

"Ha, what a joke," Huang Tingxuan laughed coldly, "Chief Wen, are you so desperate that you are eager to bite others?"

"Chief Huang just said that the innocent have nothing to hide. If you are open and honest, you should have nothing to hide. Why are you avoiding the issue? Are you also guilty?" Wen Liren’s words were sharp, and he did not yield an inch.

Both the Left and Right Chancellors were core figures in the Cabinet, wielding immense power. When they clashed, few could mediate.

Seeing that the Duke of Hai’s lips moved as if he wanted to say something, Emperor Song Xingtian smiled and asked, "Duke of Hai, do you have something to say?"

"Ah?" Song Xinghai was taken aback, hurriedly stepped forward, and bowed, "Your Majesty, I have nothing to say. However, the argument between the two ministers is unseemly. I suggest we ask the Loyal Prince for his opinion. He is always a man of good judgment and can help Your Majesty resolve this issue."

The Loyal Prince looked at Song Xinghai in surprise. He stood at the head of the ministers, as if in deep meditation, seemingly detached from everything around him. If someone didn’t know the truth, they would never guess that he was the unseen hand behind the turmoil.

Song Xinghai’s recommendation suited his intentions. He thought, "Old Sixth, if you had been this sensible earlier, I wouldn’t have had to deal with you."

"Prince Loyal, both ministers have their reasons. What do you think should be done?" Emperor Song Xingtian asked calmly.

The Loyal Prince stepped forward and bowed, "Your Majesty, since both ministers claim to be innocent, why not have the Mobile Bureau search both residences simultaneously? That would be fair, wouldn’t it?"

Emperor Song Xingtian nodded and asked, "Minister Huang, Minister Wen, what do you think?"

"Whatever Your Majesty decides!" Both Huang and Wen bowed in unison.

The Duke of Hai, Song Xinghai, said loudly, "Treason and rebellion are grave crimes punishable by the extermination of nine generations. This is no small matter. Both ministers are pillars of our dynasty. To ensure fairness, I humbly request that Your Majesty lead the officials to supervise the search. I hope Your Majesty will grant this request!"

All eyes focused on Song Xinghai, wondering if the Duke of Hai had taken the wrong medicine or had never taken any at all. In the court, the Duke of Hai was known for his neutrality. He followed the three great principles of neutrality: no opposition, no agreement, and no speaking. For decades, he had adhered to these principles. Before the last uproar in the Golden Hall, many colleagues had never even heard his voice.

What was happening now? The Duke of Hai had completely lost his sense of neutrality and had his own opinion!

"The Duke of Hai’s suggestion is reasonable. I agree," Song Xingtian nodded, accepting Song Xinghai’s request.

The Golden Hall buzzed like it was filled with hundreds of flies. The officials began to whisper. It was strange enough that the Duke of Hai had spoken up, but even stranger that the Emperor had agreed to his request! What did this mean? No one in the Golden Hall was a simpleton. Each one’s political sense was sharper than a hundred hounds combined, and they could smell something unusual.

Emperor Song Xingtian, in his dragon carriage, escorted by the Golden Feather Knights, led the officials in a grand procession to the residences of the Chancellors.

The residences of Huang Tingxuan and Wen Liren, like their relationship in the court, were opposite each other, making it convenient for the Emperor and the officials to supervise. They could oversee everything from the middle of the road without having to move back and forth.

Wen Liren noticed that his residence was already surrounded by the Mobile Bureau, and his face turned purple with anger. It seemed that Prince Kang had already dispatched the Mobile Bureau to control Wen’s residence before making the request in court, clearly prepared in advance.

"Prince Kang, those lackeys at my gate, were they prepared by you? Your Majesty hasn’t issued a warrant, yet you have already controlled the residence of a court official. Who gave you that authority?" Wen Liren’s hair and beard stood on end as he shouted, "The three special agencies are special institutions of the court, responsible only to the Emperor. For officials of the fifth rank and above, any criminal case must be reported to the Emperor for approval before any action can be taken. I am a second-rank official. If Prince Kang believes I have broken the law, he must report to the Emperor for approval before taking action. But Prince Kang has ignored the Holy Lion Code, controlling my residence without the Emperor’s approval. His actions are despicable and his intentions are evil! Does Prince Kang think the Mobile Bureau personnel are his personal servants? Do you still respect the Emperor? Do you still respect the Holy Lion Code?"

These words were a direct attack on Prince Kang’s intentions, and the Loyal Prince’s face darkened. He wondered why Prince Kang, who was usually meticulous, had been caught in such a critical flaw by Wen Liren. What Prince Kang didn’t know was that the three special agencies had become increasingly powerful and arbitrary in their actions. Due to the nature of their work, it was difficult to strictly follow the law. Some opportunities were fleeting, and if you followed the procedures step by step, the criminals might have escaped by the time the approval came. So, everyone turned a blind eye, and no one really followed the rules. This was an unwritten rule.

However, since it was an unwritten rule, it couldn’t be brought to light. Prince Kang had not anticipated that Song Xinghai would suddenly request the Emperor’s personal supervision, and the Emperor would actually come. His violation of the rules was thus exposed to the Emperor.