As the general's words left his lips, the complexions of several people, including the new emperor, shifted.
The empress, in particular, reacted most strongly. With lightning speed, she snatched a handful of peanuts from the table, her eyes flashing with a cold light as she regarded the general as if he were already dead.
However, just as the empress was about to make a move, Hua Jinrong's annoyingly cheerful voice rang out:
"Oh, isn't this General Xu, the one in charge of the garrison camp?
This King knows the Jade Dew Nectar in the palace tastes good, but I didn't realize it could make someone so thoroughly drunk."
But General Xu completely ignored the step Hua Jinrong had offered him. After a slight pause, he continued with righteous indignation:
"I report to Your Majesty and His Highness, according to what this minister knows, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, Lord Lin Jingxing, is actually a woman disguised as a man. The real Lord Lin Jingxing was killed on his way to take up his post.
Furthermore, this minister has witnessed Lord Lin and Her Majesty the Empress engaging in intimate and reckless behavior on multiple occasions.
Besides this minister, several other lords can bear witness to this."
"How dare you!"
The one who spoke out was not Lin Qingge, the person involved, nor Leng Ningyue, who was subtly implicated for impropriety. Instead, it was the aloof new emperor.
However, the emperor's expression at this moment was less one of utter fury at his wife's infidelity and more one of exasperated anger at being dragged into trouble.
Yan Tinghao, who believed implicitly in his superiors, was also furious.
He rolled up his sleeves, ready to charge forward and beat the slanderous scoundrel who dared to insult his lord into the ground, but his lord grabbed his sleeve.
"No rush, let's wait and see."
Although Lin Qingge said this, her expression was more serious than ever.
The new emperor had accepted Leng Ningyue's request to allow women to participate in the imperial examinations, but her disguise as a man and her taking office in place of her brother constituted deception of the highest order, punishable by death.
Yet, even if she had people in court to help her barely get past the deception of being a man, and prove she hadn't committed treason and was indeed a genuine 'man'.
The accusation of an affair with the Empress, if leveled, would be enough to cost her life.
So, whether she was male or female, she was doomed to die?
Damn it!
The mastermind behind this was truly wicked!
But someone with such deep hatred, who went to such lengths, even bringing the important pawn of the garrison commander into the open, to ensure her death...
It seemed, it could only be the King of Wucheng.
But speaking of the garrison camp.
If she remembered correctly, Xie Lingyun, one of her brother's good friends, served as a staff officer in the garrison camp?
Was Xie Lingyun also one of the King of Wucheng's men?
As Lin Qingge's thoughts raced, two more officials stepped forward, kneeling beside General Xu and joining him in denouncing 'Lin Jingxing's' various wrongdoings.
From forcing Prime Minister Shangguan to retire under the guise of an affair with the Empress, to engaging in double-crossings and directing his subordinates to slaughter a mountain stronghold in Ying Tian Prefecture, they even spoke convincingly of extorting money from merchants in Chang Zhou County under the guise of charity donations.
The new emperor listened patiently and almost couldn't help but laugh in anger.
"You say Prime Minister Shangguan was forced to retire by this Lord Lin. What benefit would he gain from doing so?
If I were him, even if I didn't demand high office, I would extort enough money to live luxuriously for the rest of my life.
After all, for the person forcing him, only if Prime Minister Shangguan remained in that position could he continuously benefit.
If anyone insists on making trouble over this matter, I can send for Prime Minister Shangguan to confront you."
"This minister dares not!"
"No, I think you dare very much, exceedingly much!"
The new emperor spat this out through gritted teeth, then continued:
"I am also aware of the bloodbath of the entire mountain stronghold in a single night, leaving no survivors.
Not only do I know who the mastermind behind the massacre of this mountain stronghold was, but I also know that after Lord Lin personally laid to rest these departed souls, he gave all his remaining money to the leader of the Ying Tian Prefecture bandit alliance, instructing him to lead the bandits to abandon evil and do good.
From then on, merchants traveling between Ying Tian Prefecture and Shuntian Prefecture no longer had to live in fear.
As for you saying Lord Lin extorted money from merchants in Chang Zhou County under the guise of charity donations, do you know how these donations were collected?"
Although he felt the new emperor's attitude towards Lord Lin was somewhat subtle, even protective, the accusing official stubbornly replied:
"Reporting to His Majesty, it was through auctioning for charity."
As if to prove the veracity of his words, the official produced a scroll and declared with solemnity:
"Reporting to His Majesty, this calligraphy I hold in my hand was one of the items auctioned at that time.
Lord Lin, using the name of Senior Scholar Su, sold this piece of calligraphy for a high price of five thousand taels.
However, I specifically had someone appraise it, and it has been confirmed that this calligraphy is not from Senior Scholar Su.
Moreover, Your Majesty, look at it. It only has a large character '財' (cái - wealth) on it. It is both messy and perfunctory, utterly vulgar, yet it was sold for the exorbitant price of five thousand taels.
Isn't this Lord Lin deliberately accumulating wealth?"
With every word the official spoke, the new emperor's face grew darker. By the end, his complexion could only be described as as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Hua Jinrong, struggling to suppress a smile, stepped forward and examined the calligraphy scroll meticulously, nodding in agreement:
"Hmm, the brushstrokes are vigorous, but a bit superficial. It's likely the writer was somewhat agitated at the time.
While I did not study under Senior Scholar Su, I do possess several of Senior Scholar Su's calligraphy pieces. This handwriting is indeed not Senior Scholar Su's.
However, this handwriting looks somewhat familiar to me. Where have I seen it before?"
After speaking, Hua Jinrong reached into his sleeve and rummaged for a while, pulling out a gold-edged folding fan. With a 'swish,' he unfurled it, revealing four large characters: 《财运亨通》(cái yùn hēng tōng - Wealth and Fortune Flourish).
The character '財' in particular, whether it was the stroke of the brush or the details of its execution, was identical to the previous '財'.
Even Yan Tinghao, an outsider, could tell that both '財' characters came from the same hand, let alone others.
"Your Highness also possesses the calligraphy of this person. Could it be that Your Highness, like Lord Lin, also knows the person who wrote it?"
Although this official spoke casually, his words implied that the Tenth Prince, His Highness, and Lord Lin had long been in collusion.
But Hua Jinrong casually waved his folding fan, a smile playing on his lips:
"Are you Master Hu?
Have you seen the signature on this folding fan in my hand?"
"The signature?"
Master Hu squinted and looked with difficulty, unconsciously reading out the two characters:
"Mò Yuān."