Chapter 31: Truly Exhausted
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Seeing that everyone in court was bewildered, the Empress Dowager drew her brows tightly together and fell into a long, thoughtful silence.
Ning Chen’s eyes appeared innocent and bewildered, yet they had already taken in every detail.
He breathed a sigh of relief. He could see clearly that the worry and tension in the Empress Dowager’s mercurial eyes had faded considerably.
He could not help wondering inwardly: What exactly had she been so nervous about? Why did she now seem much less so?
Suddenly, Zhao Siwen stepped forward and pointed at Fan Dayou.
“What a joke! You say General Pan was responsible, and that makes it so?”
“You have nothing but your word. Why should we believe you?”
At once, many others began echoing him, joining in to condemn Fan Dayou.
No one noticed the faint smile curling at the corners of Ning Chen’s lips.
Fan Dayou gave a cold laugh and looked at Zhao Siwen with disdain.
“As Minister of Revenue, Lord Zhao, you would do well to mind your words and conduct.”
“Otherwise, people may mistakenly believe that all the officials of Great Ning are as incompetent as you.”
The moment he finished speaking, the court erupted into another round of noisy discussion.
Some were secretly indignant, some struggled to suppress their laughter, while others were outraged on Zhao Siwen’s behalf.
“Men of my caliber? What is wrong with my caliber—”
Zhao Siwen had barely begun when Fan Dayou cut him off in a low voice.
“Do you truly think I, Fan Dayou, would be foolish enough to stand here and risk losing my head without evidence?”
With that, Fan Dayou bowed once more toward the Empress Dowager and said loudly, “Your Majesty, I know how highly you regard Pan Yu!”
“But one may know a person’s face without knowing his heart!”
“Pan Yu appears devoted and conscientious, yet behind closed doors he treats the law with contempt and tramples upon the principles of the court!”
The Empress Dowager frowned and parted her lips as though she wished to speak, but in the end, no words came.
She knew exactly what kind of man Fan Dayou was: an obstinate old pedant who was forever preaching morality and righteousness, and a fearless old bastard who would sooner die than back down.
Since Fan Dayou had dared to storm into court and make such accusations before everyone, it meant that Pan Yu truly had gone looking for trouble with him. Fan Dayou must also have possessed irrefutable evidence of Pan Yu’s crimes.
Moreover, Pan Yu had not reported to her before going after Fan Dayou.
That meant Pan Yu was certainly concealing something from her.
Perhaps her initial instincts had been wrong. Perhaps today’s matter was not as complicated as she had imagined. Perhaps Fan Dayou merely intended to expose Pan Yu’s crimes.
So be it. Since Fan Dayou had already caused such a disturbance before all the civil and military officials, she could only let him explain the whole matter.
At this point, she was certain that the incident had nothing to do with her secret.
As for Pan Yu, he would simply have to be punished as the law demanded.
She could make a show of it for now. Once the storm had passed, she could always restore him to office.
At that thought, fury surged through the Empress Dowager.
How dare that Pan Yu! Only moments ago, she had been thinking of rewarding him handsomely…
Unbeknownst to anyone, Ning Chen, who was calmly enjoying the spectacle, had once again raised the corners of his mouth ever so slightly.
As he watched Fan Dayou continue, his eyes filled with approval.
Seeing that the Empress Dowager had not stopped him, Fan Dayou’s voice rang out once more.
“When I took up my post as Inspector of Western River Circuit, I heard of the many crimes he had committed over the years. After conducting a careful investigation, I discovered that Pan Yu had seized women by force in his native province, unlawfully occupied farmland, treated human lives as worthless, and caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent people!”
“Local officials, both great and small, were all cowed by his tyranny and obeyed his every command. More than a dozen officials who merely offended members of his family mysteriously disappeared or died unjustly!”
“Nor was that all. On numerous occasions, he used his authority to remove the female relatives of convicted officials from prison without authorization, taking them to his hometown to keep them confined. He even built special residences for the women he kept there!”
“The scale of it, and the number of women involved, rivaled that of the imperial harem!”
“He had practically made himself the local emperor!”
The moment these words were spoken, everyone present stared in utter shock.
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“Illegally occupying farmland and treating human lives as worthless?”
“He killed more than a dozen officials?”
“He even used his position to abduct the female relatives of convicted officials and keep them in a private harem?”
“Is that really true? Surely not…”
“This… this…”
For some reason, almost everyone turned their eyes toward the Empress Dowager behind the beaded curtain.
Everyone knew that Pan Yu was the Empress Dowager’s trusted confidant.
Yet what no one expected was that her voice would remain unnaturally calm—so calm that it was frightening—as she spoke each word distinctly.
“Fan Dayou, you will be held responsible for every word you have said.”
Through the curtain, no one could see the expression on her face. Only Ning Chen, standing nearest to her, could clearly feel the bone-piercing chill in her eyes.
Fan Dayou immediately replied, “This old subject naturally will!”
“Your Majesty, I returned to the capital without authorization precisely because I had found a witness.”
“But somehow, Pan Yu learned of the matter. Last night, he secretly led men into my residence, intending to kill both me and the witness!”
“He clearly meant to silence us and destroy the evidence!”
“Fortunately, I had taken precautions. In the critical moment, I managed to turn the tables on him. I barely escaped with my life—but the witness was killed by his hand!”
Dead?
Ning Chen’s heart sank, and he immediately looked toward Fan Dayou.
Impossible. How could his cousin have died?
At that moment, Zhao Siwen stepped forward again. With a cold laugh, he said disdainfully, “Well now, Fan Dayou, what did you just say?”
“The witness is dead?”
“If the witness is dead, what makes you so certain that she was the witness?”
“When all is said and done, you still have nothing but your word. You have no conclusive evidence…”
At his words, a group of ministers began echoing him as though injected with stimulants.
“That’s right! Fan Dayou, you are slandering a man without the slightest proof!”
“Such treachery deserves death! Death…”
But just as everyone leapt forward to condemn Fan Dayou, the Empress Dowager suddenly thundered like a clear bolt of lightning.
“Silence! All of you, be silent!”
The ministers froze where they stood and stared at her in bewilderment.
What was going on?
Were they not helping Her Majesty?
Pan Yu had been her trusted aide for many years. Why was she telling them to be quiet instead?
Even Ning Chen, the true mastermind behind today’s entire performance, had never imagined that the Empress Dowager would react this way.
The more he looked at her, the greater his confusion became.
The Empress Dowager spoke again. Her tone was still perfectly calm, as though she had not been the one to issue that thunderous command moments earlier.
“Lord Fan, continue.”
Fan Dayou himself was stunned. After a brief hesitation, he stole a glance at Ning Chen, then quickly turned back to the Empress Dowager.
“Although that unfortunate woman was brutally killed by the villain Pan Yu, I still have another witness…”
Another witness?
Ning Chen frowned, his gaze toward Fan Dayou filled with confusion.
The morning court session continued until noon.
It was, without question, the longest morning audience in the history of the dynasty.
When Ning Chen returned to the Palace of Nourishing the Heart, Little An hurried over to him. Seeing the exhaustion on the emperor’s face, he asked anxiously, “How did it go, Your Majesty? Did it work?”
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Ning Chen reached the bedside and collapsed face-first onto it.
“It worked!”
Little An leapt excitedly into the air.
“It worked? It really worked? The Empress Dowager didn’t protect Pan Yu?”
Ning Chen shook his head.
“She sentenced Pan Yu to death in front of every civil and military official in the court!”
“She did not even summon him to appear before her before having him thrown into the Imperial Prison!”
Little An rejoiced at first, but soon seemed to think of something and said worriedly, “A sentence or imprisonment—aren’t both entirely within the Empress Dowager’s power? What if she is merely making a show of punishing him while secretly continuing to protect him…”
Ning Chen smiled, his expression completely relaxed.
“Don’t worry.”
“Though I find it strange as well, the Empress Dowager truly lost her temper this time.”
Little An still seemed uneasy.
“You’re… you’re certain?”
Ning Chen smiled again.
“What? You don’t trust my judgment?”
Little An froze for a moment. Then, the next instant, he leapt up in delight.
“Wonderful! It finally worked!”
“Your Majesty, all your planning over such a long time has finally paid off!”
“Then next, we should carry out the second stage of the plan…”
Ning Chen smiled.
“Yes. It finally worked. The position of Commander of the Imperial Guard has finally been vacated. Now we only need to see into whose hands it will fall.”
Little An was beside himself with excitement and was about to say more, but Ning Chen waved him off.
“I’m tired. I want to sleep for a while.”
Seeing this, Little An immediately fell silent and quietly made his way out. As he walked, he could not stop laughing excitedly.
“Wonderful! It finally worked. It finally worked…”
Before he could even leave, Ning Chen had already fallen asleep.
He truly was exhausted.
Although today he had been nothing more than a spectator, how could he not be tired as the mastermind who had orchestrated the entire performance?
For this day, he had made countless preparations. He had even risked placing himself in the middle of the conflict, endured several assassination attempts, and ultimately forced his only living relative in this world—his cousin Zhou Suro—to make a dangerous appearance.
He had planned both the opening and the ending of today’s grand drama, but the process had been filled with far too many factors beyond his control.
If Pan Yu had never developed murderous intent, all his plans would have come to nothing.
If the men Little An had arranged had failed to protect Fan Dayou and his cousin, he would have lost two of his most important allies.
If the Empress Dowager had truly disregarded everything and devoted herself to protecting Pan Yu, he still would not have achieved his objective.
And if that new witness had not appeared, his cousin Zhou Suro might well have been exposed before the Empress Dowager’s eyes.
Fortunately, the final outcome was favorable.
He had gambled—and won.
He simply had not expected Fan Dayou to be wounded so gravely.
When he first heard that Zhou Suro had died, he had nearly believed it himself.
It was only later, after hearing the testimony of the new witness, that he confirmed Fan Dayou had successfully protected his cousin.
There was no denying it: Ning Chen had been the planner and the instigator, but the greatest hero of all had been that stubborn old scholar, Fan Dayou.
Unbeknownst to him, while Ning Chen slept soundly, Pan Yu was inside the Imperial Prison, badly wounded and shouting at the top of his already hoarse voice.
“Guards! Guards! I demand to see the Empress Dowager! Hurry and report to her!”
“I have something important to tell Her Majesty—something extremely important…”
As he shouted, a figure wearing a cloak, its head completely concealed beneath the hood, slowly approached the entrance of the cell.
“Pan Yu, what else do you have to say?”