12dz Chapter 793 A Few Small Words
Chapter 793 A Few Small Words
The imperial court has never been a peaceful place, especially after the list of extraordinary people was published. The court of the Daye Dynasty became even noisier, resembling a vegetable market.
The reason for this outcome is that Fan Li's name appeared on the list of extraordinary people.
In other words, Fan Li's skills rank tenth in the world, which includes martial arts masters such as the Gu King and the Sword Demon.
In terms of governing ability alone, Fan Li would likely rank first.
The Minister of Personnel immediately brought the news to the court, and the emperor was overjoyed upon hearing it.
He had intended to commend Fan Li, but discovered that the man had not attended court at all.
The emperor then realized that he had asked the emperor to rest for a few more days, and now he felt like he had shot himself in the foot.
Logically speaking, after a few symbolic days of rest, Fan Li should have shamelessly gone to court.
The emperor is not a petty person; as long as he has not made a major mistake, he will not dwell on a single matter.
But now ten days have passed, and Fan Li shows no intention of going to court.
Clearly, the publication of the list of extraordinary people gave him immense confidence. He firmly believed that the emperor would condescend to invite him to serve, and that some conditions would inevitably need to be negotiated.
Even if they can't get promoted, they should still suppress Bai Tiantian.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye, and the court was still buzzing with discussion. Some people had even made the absurd request to have the emperor move his residence.
The emperor initially expressed anger, but considering Fan Litongtian's talent, he decided to be tolerant.
Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles. If even a prime minister can be magnanimous, how much more so an emperor?
"Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are subjects of the king. Even if Fan Li has great abilities, he cannot use them as leverage to blackmail you. Do not set a precedent that would damage the dignity of the royal family."
The civil officials in Bai Tiantian's camp argued their case forcefully.
"Alright, stop arguing. I will decide this matter myself," the Emperor said impatiently.
He was an ambitious emperor who always cherished talent. Since Fan Li was able to be listed on the list of extraordinary people, it proved that he had exceptional talent and was worthy of his invitation.
"Your Majesty is wise!" the civil officials in Fan Li's camp exclaimed in unison, almost bursting into laughter with joy.
The struggle between Bai Tiantian and Fan Li was not about official positions. In other words, they had reached the pinnacle of military and civil official ranks respectively, and anything beyond that would only be honorary titles.
To win in this great struggle, the most important thing is the emperor's attitude.
Bai Tiantian had lived a normal life for decades, achieving countless military exploits. The emperor had even gone out of the city to welcome his triumphant return, but he had never once gone to the general's mansion to request him to attend court.
If Fan Li's plan succeeds, it will undoubtedly be a blow to Bai Tiantian.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report." Just as the emperor was losing interest, the Minister of Justice stepped forward respectfully, holding a document in both hands.
"What brings you here, Minister Han? If it is related to this matter, you may as well not speak of it," the Emperor said impatiently.
He knew that Han Yan was Bai Tiantian's man, and that the matter he reported was mostly related to Fan Li.
The emperor had heard these things so many times he was sick of them, and he really didn't want to hear any more of them.
Han Yan's expression faltered slightly, as if he hesitated for a moment, before he mustered his courage and continued, "This humble subject received a secret report last night..."
"Since this is a matter for your Ministry of Justice, why bring it up in court?" The emperor interrupted Han Yan before he could finish speaking.
He was the ruler of a country, in charge of all matters of state.
There's no time to decide on trivial matters.
In other words, what are all the civil and military officials doing? Aren't they just there to relieve the emperor's worries and solve his problems?
If everything has to be handled by the emperor, then what's the point of having them?
"If Lord Han cannot handle this, then we can hand it over to the Prefect of the Capital for assistance," the Minister of Personnel said sarcastically.
As is well known, the prefectural government was in charge of local criminal cases, and the position of the Prefect of the Capital was much lower than that of the Minister of Justice.
The Minister of Personnel's decision to have the Prefect of Jingzhao handle Han Yan's case was clearly intended to belittle him.
Han Yan gave the other party a cold glance, but did not look away. Instead, he continued to report, "This matter is of great importance, and your humble servant dares not make decisions on his own."
"Bring it here," the emperor said, squinting his eyes.
Han Yan was, after all, the Minister of Justice, the head of the country's criminal justice system, and his words carried some weight. Even the emperor had to give him some face.
The eunuch walked up to Han Yan with small, quick steps, respectfully took the secret letter, and then respectfully handed it to the emperor.
Han Yan had already opened the envelope; inside was only a small slip of paper, about the size of a palm, with a sentence written in small print:
Fan Li was willing to pay 50,000 taels of silver to fill the vacancy for the tenth place on the list of extraordinary people.
The emperor's narrowed eyes widened instantly, and a murderous aura began to emanate from them.
The amount of information in that line of small print was too much for him to process slowly.
First, this was Fan Li's own handwriting. Second, he bought his tenth place on the list of extraordinary people for 50,000 taels of silver.
"Well done, Fan Li! You truly are my fine chief minister. Since you enjoy lying in bed so much, then stay in bed as long as you like!"
The emperor gritted his teeth in anger, but he didn't send anyone to arrest Fan Li out of consideration for their past relationship.
It's not a crime to buy fame with money, but the 50,000 taels of silver he spent was definitely suspicious.
Although the Grand Secretary's salary was not low, he still had to support nearly a hundred people, which made things a bit tight.
Fifty thousand taels of silver is no small sum; even if he didn't eat or drink, it would take him several years to accumulate that amount.
If the emperor wanted to investigate, he would surely find some clues.
Therefore, he has already given Fan Li enough face.
Seeing the emperor's cold expression, Bai Tiantian already knew Fan Li's fate.
"What a ruthless Lin! A single note can ruin Fan Li's future. You're definitely not someone to be underestimated," Bai Tiantian thought to herself.
This was not a secret letter, but rather something Lin Ping openly gave to Bai Tiantian, on the condition that it be presented to the Emperor without her reading the contents.
Bai Tiantian was a person of her word and did not open the envelope. However, since the matter was of great importance, she dared not take the risk and asked the Minister of Justice to do it for her.
The Minister of Justice wasn't stupid; he wouldn't dare hand the envelope to the Emperor without knowing the contents. So he secretly read the contents, since there was no promise between him and Lin Ping anyway.
Upon learning the contents, his hands visibly trembled, and cold sweat poured down his face.
From that moment on, Bai Tiantian knew that the matter was half settled.
Looking at the Emperor's expression now, Bai Tiantian could finally put her mind at ease.
The civil officials in Fan Li's camp were dumbfounded. Although they did not know what had happened, they could see the emperor's anger.
These court officials were all shrewd and dared not ask another question; they could only pray for Fan Li in their hearts.
After the court session ended, Bai Tiantian couldn't contain her curiosity and walked up to the Minister of Justice to ask, "What exactly was written in the letter?"
The Minister of Justice looked around with a serious expression. After making sure no one was eavesdropping, he whispered in his ear, "This is evidence that Fan Li bribed the Chiyang Pavilion. His ranking on the list of extraordinary people was bought with money!"