FID – Chapter 540

  Chapter 540:  Make a Ruckus in the Throne Room, You’ll Be Punished With 20 Boards

  The Hall of Supreme Harmony

  There were dragons and tigers on the golden lacquered pillars, solemn and dignified.

  Hundreds of civil and military officials, dressed in official uniforms, were lined up on both sides of the hall.

  On the throne in front of the main hall, the young emperor was dressed in a bright yellow imperial robe and an imperial crown, of course, exuding the spirit of an Emperor.

  Such a scene was something that ordinary people would never see in their lifetime.

  Grandpa and Grandma Liu, Liu Dalin and Chen Xiulan stood in the center of the Throne Room, their legs trembling.

  The little boy was clearly Xiao Feng’er that they were familiar with, but in this situation, he seemed so unfamiliar.

  Feng Qingbai as well.

  Standing at the head of the civil officials, his expression was noncommittal, and no emotion could be deduced from his face.

  He was obviously someone who dangled in front of them all day, but in a different place, his aura was completely different.

  It was not the first time they saw Feng Qingbai wearing an official robe, but it was the first time they truly realized how noble this man was.

  He was entirely different from what they thought before.

  He was God’s real favored son.

  The Regent who could make all officials bow their heads!

  In such an atmosphere, the humility of being a commoner at the depths of their hearts was magnified unconsciously.

  The elders of the Liu family couldn’t restrain their hearts from beating, and lost their past gracefulness.

  In comparison, the people of the Liu family in the capital behaved more naturally.

  Although they also seemed a little nervous, they maintained a natural expression in front of the Emperor.

  The background of an illustrious family was reflected at this time, which was adversely comparable to the small family.

  When the two sides arrived together, everyone already had an idea of the cause of the trouble in The Hall of Supreme Harmony.

  The Number One Scholar, Liu Zhixia, handed a petition to His Majesty, accusing the Liu family in the capital of sheer fabrications out of nothing, and suing the capital’s magistrate of his unfair verification and ruling.

  Now the matter must be judged by His Majesty himself, and the civil and military officials would also be witnesses.

  Feng Qingbai lowered his eyes, walked out from the ranks of civil servants, and stood in front of the two groups of people. He moved slightly closer to Liu Yusheng’s side, and said to the person sitting on the throne, “Your Majesty, it is rumored that the two Lius are a family, and this has caused a lot of trouble in the capital. Both sides of the incident are prominent figures here. If this matter is not resolved early, it will bring a negative impact on the entire capital and even the world. We ask Your Majesty to judge.”

  Grandpa and Grandma Liu and the others looked at Feng Qingbai’s back from behind, and after listening to his calm tone, their tense mood instantly relaxed.

  No matter where or under what circumstances, they knew that Feng Qingbai was on their side. No matter what happened, he would keep them safe.

  This kind of trust oozed from their bones.

  No reason was required.

  Liu Yusheng, Liu Zhixia and Fu Yuzheng stood beside the elders, looking at the position where Feng Qingbai was standing in the hall, and the corners of their mouths twitched behind their backs.

  Despite being in The Hall of Supreme Harmony, beneath the eyes of the civil and military officials, he showed his thoughts and actions without question.

  He was standing in the queue of the Xinliu Manor.

  All the officials understood in their hearts, but no one dared to say a word.

  Feng Qingbai was the future son-in-law of the Xinliu Manor, so it was only natural that his stance was biased.

  This could be considered a loophole that nobody could take advantage of.

  On the throne, Feng Mohan nodded slightly. “I have heard about this matter, and indeed it has caused a lot of commotion. One party was once the renowned wealthiest family in Nanling, the Liu family. The other consists of the Number One Scholar and Ruyi County Lady, Liu Yusheng, the representatives of the small Liu family in Xinghua Village. One side is convinced that the other side is a branch of the clan, while the other insists that it’s a fabrication out of thin air. I am also curious as to who is right and who is wrong.”

  Then he said to the eunuch beside him, “Bring the evidence up.”

  Immediately, someone submitted the genealogy of the capital’s Liu family, along with other relevant copy records, and circled them as supporting evidence.

  ”Your Majesty, these materials were all collected from Yunzhou during this humble official’s verification. Although the writing is old, the handwriting is still legible. It clearly records the names and origins of the ancestors of the Little Liu family. This official is really wronged for being sued by Academician Liu for injustice.” The capital’s magistrate took the opportunity to cry foul.

  ”Academician Liu, do you have anything to say?”

  Liu Zhixia stepped forward and bowed. “Your Majesty, this humble official shouldn’t have questioned the capital’s parental official’s case handling style, but as the party involved in this matter, this official’s family was not informed from beginning to end during the yamen’s evidence collection process, and thus lost the right to know. Furthermore, even if the magistrate believes more in the black and white data, he should have at least asked us to confirm it orally and obtain our opinions as well as other evidence. But this official’s family never received the least bit of notification from the yamen until the end, and we were just summoned to court to hear the results! I don’t mean to accuse Your Excellency of injustice, but why did you only work for the Liu family in the capital from the beginning to the end, but left my Xinliu Manor out of the matter?”

  ”That’s not the case. This official also determined that the evidence was sufficient after perusing the collected information, so I made the decision to directly announce the investigation results…”

  ”Your Excellency, you claimed that the files and evidence are sufficient, so have you seen the genealogy of my Liu family from Xinghua Village? Is there any record of our ancestor’s branch origin in our genealogy? But then again, if there were doubts and loopholes, they should be repeatedly investigated and verified. This is the most basic rule of judging cases for officials! It wasn’t a year or two that Your Excellency has been an official. Have you always indulged in arbitrary decisions and peremptory actions and only listened to unilateral opinions? Are you worthy of your magistrate title? Can His Majesty trust you? Are you worthy of the people’s support?”

  Liu Zhixia interrupted the capital magistrate who wanted to defend himself, and questioned him coldly with a series of accusations, causing him to gradually turn white.

  His last three sentences were particularly fatal.

  No matter which he hit, he was in danger of losing his official title!

  Liu Huai’s family members couldn’t stand it any longer. Seeing Liu Zhixia’s cross examination and the magistrate’s speechlessness, they recklessly stepped forward and loudly scolded him, just to prove that the magistrate didn’t favor the Liu family of the capital, “You’re distorting the facts and talking speciously! Back then, your branch ancestor was expelled from the clan by mistake, yet he, a criminal who was banished, actually dared to write his origins! Letting you return to the clan now is but the kindness of the Patriarch. He doesn’t want to see the descendants of the clan wandering about outside!”

  Liu Zhixia didn’t refute the man’s scolding, just stared at him coldly, with a faint smile on the corners of his lips.

  Liu Yusheng also held down her grandparents who wanted to fight back. They’d better disregard it, lest they get mad. 

  Seeing this, that member of the Liu family was inwardly proud, thinking that he had made a contribution to the family. But then, he heard a young boy’s indifferent voice.

  ”Without my permission, you dare to kick a fuss in front of this throne. Someone, drag this person and punish him with 20 canes!”

  The Liu family’s descendant was dumbfounded, and looked at Liu Huai, hoping that he could plead for him. He jumped out and scolded Liu Zhixia for the sake of the clan. The Patriarch couldn’t ignore him!

  In a place like the palace, being beaten 20 times with a cane would cost you half your life!

  However, all he saw was Liu Huai standing with his hands folded. He maintained his head bowed and he didn’t spare him a glance at all!

  Soon a guard came over to drag the person away. Hence, the atmosphere in the Throne Room became even more gloomy.

  Although the Emperor punished someone from the Liu family in the capital for making noise in front of him, this was just an excuse. Everyone present knew that he was biased towards the owners of the Xinliu Manor.