The ministers were in an uproar, none expecting Fan Xian to be so unyielding, refusing even to defend himself in the face of death. Yan Xingshu, the Minister of Personnel, darkened his face, ready to say something, but a glance ahead showed the high-ranking officials ahead of him remaining silent, reminding him that things couldn't be so simple.

General Qin, the Grand Commandant, his white beard swaying in the hall's drafts, narrowed his old eyes, appearing to be asleep. Yan Xingshu glanced to his side and below, and saw Qin Heng, the Deputy of the Grand Commandant, son of General Qin, also tightly shut his mouth, lacking the courage he had shown in early spring when suggesting Fan Xian's mission to Northern Qi.

The military's silence was to be expected. On one hand, they had a good relationship with the Overwatch Council; on the other hand, this was a conflict within the Kyoto bureaucracy, and they had no need to intervene. However, Grand Scholar Shu, the head of the civil officials, also wore a respectful expression, as if he hadn't heard the conversation in front of the hall. Several ministers were like clay Buddhas.

Yan Xingshu pondered to himself, feeling there was no need to offend Fan Xian, this troublemaking little black dog, for the sake of the Princess of Xin Yang, who was far away. So, he also closed his mouth.

……

……

Seeing no minister reprimanding Fan Xian, His Majesty's expression still didn't ease. A cold light flashed in his eyes as he stared at Fan Xian and said, "If you won't defend yourself, then let's hear what Minister Lai has to say."

Lai Mingcheng, the Left Censor-in-Chief, stepped forward upon receiving the order and recited all of Fan Xian's illegal acts from the memorial, item by item, clearly and precisely. Fan Xian cursed inwardly, thinking this Left Censor-in-Chief truly deserved his surname "Lai" (which sounds similar to "to blame" in Chinese), for blaming everything on him. What did he have to do with the bribes those little bastards from the First Bureau extorted last month?

The court was filled with murmurs, and the gazes directed at Lai Mingcheng and Fan Xian became strange. The first accusation from the Censorate concerned Eunuch Dai from the palace, who was suspected of bribing the Overwatch Council through Consort Yi to help his nephew, Dai Zhen, secure a position in the Vegetable Supply Department. The ministers thought, how dare this little "Lai" drag the palace into this? On the other hand, they also looked down on Fan Xian. Such a great opportunity, and he only accepted a thousand taels of silver from Old Dai? None of the elders standing in the court had the heart to take such small change.

Hearing that the matter involved the palace, His Majesty's face remained unchanged. He directly ordered the guards to summon Eunuch Dai from Consort Shu's palace to confront Fan Xian in court.

Although the officials knew that this method of investigation was rather ridiculous, they also knew that His Majesty wasn't one to be confined by outdated rules and customs. Furthermore, they were all curious about how this matter would end, so they remained silent.

Before long, Eunuch Dai was led into the hall. He already knew what was being discussed at today's court session. While feeling apprehensive, he was also very puzzled. He thought he had only sent the silver notes through Consort Yi's hand. That mistress was cheerful, but always discreet, and besides, she was a distant relative of Fan Xian's. She wouldn't sell him out. How did the news reach the Censorate?

After entering the hall, he first shouted "Long live the Emperor!" and then cried out for justice. Eunuch Dai kowtowed repeatedly to the Emperor, his buttocks in the air, tears streaming down his face, vehemently denying the charges: "Your Majesty has always strictly forbidden the palace servants from communicating with the court officials. This old servant is timid and wouldn't dare to violate the rules. As for this little Lord Fan, this servant has indeed heard of his name, because..."

Eunuch Dai looked pitifully at the Emperor on the dragon throne: "The whole world knows the great name of Fan, the poet. Although this servant is crippled, he is still a cripple of Qing Kingdom. Hearing that Little Lord Fan was on a mission to Northern Qi, bringing glory to Your Majesty, this servant was naturally happy and couldn't help but mention Little Lord Fan in casual conversations. However, this servant has never even met Little Lord Fan, so how could I have bribed him?"

Left Censor-in-Chief Lai Mingcheng asked coldly: "Eunuch Dai, have you really never met Vice Director Fan?"

Eunuch Dai knelt until his knees ached, and he had already cursed this meddling censor countless times in his heart. Hearing the question, he suddenly pretended to have an epiphany: "Now that I think about it, I saw Little Lord Fan once last year when I delivered the imperial decree to the Fan residence. However, I was there to deliver the decree, so I entered and left immediately. If that counts as meeting him... then there was only that one time."

Eunuch Dai continued to wail and swore to the heavens: "Your Majesty, this old servant has really only met Little Lord Fan once. If I have met him again, may my intestines rot and I die a horrible death, and may I be a eunuch in my next life."

That was a pretty vicious oath, and His Majesty scolded: "What nonsense are you talking about!"

However, Censor Lai had a hint of worry between his eyebrows. He said, "Bribery doesn't necessarily require the two parties to meet... Eunuch Dai, this official asks you, do you have a distant nephew named Dai Zhen, who works as a minor official in the Vegetable Supply Department of Dengshikou?"

Eunuch Dai didn't dare to hide it and nodded.

Censor Lai reported solemnly: "Your Majesty, that Dai Zhen is a corrupt..." He recounted all the details of the case investigated by the First Bureau of the Overwatch Council, then stared at Fan Xian and said coldly: "May I ask Vice Director Fan, where is this Dai Zhen now?"

Fan Xian thought for a moment before answering: "This case has been closed. After this official named Dai Zhen spat out the embezzled silver, he was stripped of his position. As for his current whereabouts, this official doesn't know."

Censor Lai said coldly: "A convenient 'doesn't know.' It's clear that you accepted a bribe from Eunuch Dai and violated the law by protecting a criminal. That Dai Zhen has been in the Vegetable Supply Department for six years and doesn't know how much silver he embezzled from the palace. Vice Director just said 'doesn't know,' dismissed him, and released him after only taking back some silver. I really don't know what kind of mysteries are involved in this."

Fan Xian didn't panic and responded methodically: "The Overwatch Council investigated and confirmed that Dai Zhen embezzled a total of 472 taels of silver in six years. According to the third rule of the Qing law, those whose amount is below 500 taels will be dismissed, return the silver, and pay a fine, and do not need to be transferred to the Ministry of Justice. This case has been closed, Dai Zhen has been removed from his position, and fined a thousand taels of silver. I don't know what Minister Lai thinks is inappropriate about this official's handling, or what mysteries are involved?"

The Dai Zhen case was investigated by the Overwatch Council, and how much he actually embezzled was just a matter of Fan Xian's word.

Censor Lai laughed angrily: "472 taels? Is Vice Director Fan deceiving the officials in the court that they have no eyes?"

Those words were extremely heavy, but Fan Xian laughed instead: "Of course, Dai Zhen also embezzled some vegetables and fruits, which should also be converted into silver according to regulations. In this case, it is true that the Overwatch Council was not detailed enough in its work. Minister Lai is right to point it out, and this official thanks you."

Seeing that he was constantly quibbling and prevaricating, Censor Lai angrily shouted: "Outrageous! That Dai Zhen embezzled at least 4,000 taels of silver in these six years! The people's resentment is extremely boiling, and Vice Director Fan is protecting him with all his might. What exactly is he trying to do!"

The court was silent, only hearing the censor's angry questioning.

Fan Xian slowly raised his head, looked at the censor with a slightly cold gaze, and took a small step forward.

Seeing the coldness on his handsome face, Censor Lai was momentarily intimidated by him and took a step back unconsciously.

Fan Xian stared into his eyes and suddenly said, word by word: "What am I trying to do? The people's resentment is boiling?"

He took a deep breath and said sarcastically: "May I ask Minister Lai, as a censor of the Censorate, you are responsible for reporting anything you hear. Since you keep saying that Dai Zhen embezzled so much silver and the people's resentment is extremely boiling... then why hasn't the Censorate mentioned this matter in a single memorial in these six years? Could it be that you are the official who really wants to hide his crimes? The people's resentment is boiling, why don't you ask the Kyoto Prefect to arrest him!"

He suddenly became angry, and the ministers in the court were stunned.

Fan Xian didn't give Censor Lai a chance to speak and said in a cold voice: "This official has only been in charge of the First Bureau for over a month and has already found out about Dai Zhen's embezzlement. Minister Lai has known that Dai Zhen's resentment among the people has been extremely high for these six years, but he has remained silent and acted like a mute! The Overwatch Council investigated the case, and now it has become wrong, while the censors of the Censorate have acted as mutes for six whole years!..."

"Acted as mutes for six years! And now you say that my Overwatch Council is corrupt and perverting the law!"

Fan Xian bowed to the Emperor on the dragon throne, turned around, and questioned Censor Lai with full anger: "I would like to ask you, sir, what exactly are you trying to do!"

The barrage of questioning stunned the Left Censor-in-Chief on the spot. He knew that he had said something wrong earlier, and as a result, Fan Xian had seized on his weakness. If he admitted that the Censorate was unaware of Dai Zhen's embezzlement, then there would be no way to overturn the case even if Fan Xian insisted that Dai Zhen only embezzled a little over 400 taels of silver. He had said in anger that Dai Zhen had embezzled a lot of silver and that the people's resentment was extremely high, but he had fallen into Fan Xian's trap. As a censor of the Censorate, since he knew about this matter, why hadn't there been a single move in six years? He had jumped out to accuse the investigator only after the Overwatch Council had investigated the case. After Fan Xian pointed out this fact, it became a powerful proof that the Censorate was jealous of the Overwatch Council and fabricated crimes.

The gazes of the ministers in the court at Censor Lai became somewhat unkind, while the gazes at Little Lord Fan became somewhat admiring. These old foxes were certainly clear about the root of this matter, but Fan Xian dug a hole in court and Censor Lai jumped into it in court. This skill and accuracy were truly daunting even for these old foxes. This didn't seem like a young man who had only been in the officialdom for a year!

The people sighed inwardly, this Fan Xian could write poetry, fight, and now he could also be an official. They really didn't know how Fan Jian, that old moneybags, could be so lucky to have raised such a good illegitimate son.

Left Censor-in-Chief Lai Mingcheng trembled with anger, flicked his sleeves, knelt down to His Majesty, and reported with a hoarse voice: "This minister has failed in his duties, please punish me severely, Your Majesty. But Vice Director Fan's perversion of the law must not be lightly dismissed, Your Majesty. A detailed investigation by the Court of Judicial Review will surely yield results!"

The Emperor had already grown somewhat impatient. Seeing Fan Xian's performance, a hint of pleasure flashed in his dragon eyes, but he immediately pretended to be impatient and said: "Alright, alright, it's normal for you, a dignified Left Censor-in-Chief, not to know about the corruption of a small vegetable official. There's nothing to punish. Just remember, don't exaggerate things in the court in the future and use the people's resentment to speak... I am not the Emperor of Northern Wei or Northern Qi, and Qing Kingdom is not that kind of country. Don't do such things to seek a good reputation in the future."

Seek a good reputation? Lai Mingcheng was both ashamed and angry and refused to accept such a reputation. He gritted his teeth and knelt on the ground, refusing to get up, kowtowing repeatedly.