Started as a thatched house and ended up as a female figure

"Cheng Wan, the censor has accused you of dereliction of duty. Do you have any defense?"

In the Xuanzheng Hall, civil and military officials stood on both sides. The emperor, sitting high on the dragon throne, looked down at Cheng Wan, who was standing with his back bowed, and spoke in an indifferent voice.

Cheng Wanwei lowered his head, looking respectful: "Your Majesty, since I took office, I dare not say how diligent I am in my duties, but I have tried my best to handle every task assigned to me. I dare not admit the crime of 'dereliction of duty'. I hope Your Majesty will understand."

"Jinjin, is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince not here?"

"Yes."

There was a flash of understanding in Cheng Wan's eyes.

No wonder she chose today to cause trouble. It turned out that the Crown Prince, who was the most capable of protecting her, did not come to court today.

"Humph! Marquis Zhaoping's words are better than singing!" Censor Peng sneered, his voice strong: "Although Marquis Zhaoping is on duty on time every day, he spends part of his time doing other things during his duty and is not working wholeheartedly. Do you dare to admit this, Marquis Zhaoping?"

Cheng Wan bowed to the emperor and said in a calm voice:

“Your Majesty, although the Censor has the duty of supervising officials, I am only an eighth-rank official in the Ministry of Personnel, of lowly rank.

I do not know why this censor ignored so many high-ranking officials in the court and instead targeted me. Could it be that he has some unspoken opinion about the Emperor appointing me as an official and a marquis?

In addition, I was on duty at the Ministry of Personnel. How did this censor know what I did during my time on duty? Who passed the information to this censor behind the scenes? Did they have some hidden purpose in joining forces?

Your Majesty, I did use my free time to read a few books during my duty, but I never delayed my work. As for the rest, I hope Your Majesty will understand!"

After Cheng Wan finished speaking, the atmosphere in the entire Xuanzheng Hall felt a little weird.

The eyes of the Minister of Personnel Yan Mu flashed, and he stepped out decisively: "Your Majesty, everything the Marquis of Zhaoping said makes sense, I hope Your Majesty will understand!"

"I hope the emperor will understand!"

Minister of Works Ying Changlin and other officials from Liangzhou immediately followed.

Censor Peng was slightly confused and quickly expressed his position to the emperor: "Your Majesty, as a censor, I have the responsibility to supervise all officials. Although the Marquis of Zhaoping is a small official, it is also within the scope of my supervision. I have no selfish motives in what I do, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, Censor Peng is only performing his duty of supervising all officials. If Marquis Zhaoping has done nothing wrong, Censor Peng would naturally not accuse him of dereliction of duty. I hope Your Majesty will be able to see clearly!" The newly appointed Minister of Revenue was the first to speak up for Censor Peng.

"I hope the emperor will understand!"

The officials of the capital said in unison.

By this time, the situation was clear.

What happened today was a fight between officials from Liangzhou and officials from the capital, and Marquis Zhaoping was just a soft target chosen by officials from the capital.

Unexpectedly, this soft persimmon is not as easy to squeeze as imagined...

The emperor chuckled, and it was impossible to tell what his mood was.

All the officials lowered their heads immediately, waiting with bated breath for the emperor's next words.

"You let me investigate this and that, how about I do nothing today and just help you investigate this trivial matter?"

"Emperor calm down!"

All the officials immediately knelt on the ground, not daring to breathe.

"Your Majesty, all the mistakes are my fault. I shouldn't have used my free time to prepare for the imperial examination. I shouldn't have made friends with my colleagues and let them complain to Censor Peng about my trivial matters.

Censor Peng certainly doesn't want to cause trouble to the Emperor with such a small matter, but he has always performed his duties conscientiously and impartially, so he can only report this humble minister to the Emperor."

Cheng Wan put his head on the back of his hand, and continued in a sincere voice: "Your Majesty, this is all my fault. Please punish me. I only ask Your Majesty not to be too angry because of my mistakes, otherwise, I will never rest in peace!"

There was silence in the Xuanzheng Hall for a moment.

Yan Mu couldn't help but give Cheng Wan a thumbs up in his heart.

How courageous of you to be so cunning and flattering at a time like this!

Not only Yan Mu thought Cheng Wan was very brave, many officials also thought Cheng Wan was quite courageous. However, some people were frightened by Cheng Wan's boldness.

Censor Peng knelt on the ground, his whole body trembling uncontrollably: "Your Majesty, I, your minister, have absolutely no selfish motives!"

The emperor sat at the top and said nothing.

At this time, Zhou Yizhong, the former Minister of Revenue and now the Minister of State Affairs, said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say, but I don't know whether I should say it or not."

"explain."

"Your Majesty, the focus of the conflict between Marquis Zhaoping and Censor Peng is whether Marquis Zhaoping committed dereliction of duty.

Marquis Zhaoping has been working in the Ministry of Personnel for some time, and all the official business he has been involved in can be found.

Instead of arguing verbally here, it would be better to take some time to send someone to check the official business handled by Marquis Zhaoping.

In this way, it is clear whether Marquis Zhaoping has committed dereliction of duty and whether he has done his job well.

Regardless of the results of the inspection, it will save us from arguments and also serve as a lesson to others.”

The emperor stared at Zhou Yizhong's head expressionlessly and remained silent.

Zhou Yizhong felt a chill on his back and his throat even began to tighten under the emperor's gaze that seemed to see through everything.

Yan Mu didn't know what Zhou Yizhong was up to. He instinctively didn't want things to go the way Zhou Yizhong was thinking: "Your Majesty..."

"Minister Du, go check it yourself!"

The emperor's cold voice sounded, interrupting Yan Mu's unfinished words.

As a second-rank official, Du Shizhong belonged to neither the Liangzhou faction nor the Beijing faction. He was a rare neutral official without faction and was deeply trusted by the emperor.

The emperor sent Minister Du to eliminate the possibility of anyone playing tricks from that moment on.

Yan Mu and other officials from Liangzhou felt suddenly nervous.

They were really worried that there was a trap waiting for Cheng Wan ahead.

Regardless of their previous relationship, now that Cheng Wan is one of the officials of Liangzhou, they naturally don't want to get rid of the Marquis Cheng Wan.

"Everyone, get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Cheng Wan stood up, lowered his head, and kept moving his body slightly as if there were grass growing on his body. He looked very uneasy.

Yan Mu and other Liangzhou officials who noticed Cheng Wan's behavior couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.

There won't really be any problem, right?

On the contrary, the eyes of officials from the capital, such as the Minister of Revenue, flashed with joy.

Today, the Marquis of Zhaoping, who should not appear in the officialdom, must be eliminated...

It is very simple to check the official business that Cheng Wan has handled.

Although Cheng Wan had been on duty for more than a month, he did not have to handle much official business personally due to isolation from his colleagues. On weekdays, he mainly organized and recorded the promotion and transfer orders of civil servants, and prepared the appointment documents for minor officials.

In addition, Minister Du was extremely efficient in his work, so the people in the Xuanzheng Hall did not have to wait too long. Minister Du walked into the Xuanzheng Hall holding a piece of paper.

Minister Du was a serious and old-fashioned old man. At this moment, his brows were furrowed, and his face was no longer calm as usual: "Your Majesty, there is no problem with the official business handled by Marquis Zhaoping, but I found this piece of paper from the book where Marquis Zhaoping kept records. The content of the paper..."