Chapter 103 - 102: Imperial Censorate
During the height of summer, it rained a lot.
Since summer began, Linjiang City experienced rain every two or three days. However, it never lasted long. But the rain at the end of June kept pouring down, continuing for two or three days without showing any sign of stopping.
At the Linjiang Prefecture Prefecture Government,
Wu Yang stood under an eave, quietly watching the torrent of rain, with mist swirling around, and much of the rain splattering onto him.
Second Master Wu emerged from a room and said, "Brother, don’t stand there, be careful of catching a cold. This weather makes it quite unbearable to catch a cold."
Wu Yang chuckled and said, "Although my cultivation isn’t as profound as yours, I do possess Fifth Grade Cultivation at least, so I’m not that frail."
Second Master Wu laughed and said, "But there’s no need to deliberately get drenched in the rain, right?"
Wu Yang shook his head and said, "I’m watching."
"Watching what?" Second Master Wu asked in confusion.
"I’m watching. The Imperial Censors from Shuntian Prefecture... shouldn’t be so weak as to be stopped by a rainstorm, should they?" Wu Yang replied.
Second Master Wu furrowed his brows and said, "Brother, are you worried about unexpected changes?"
Wu Yang sighed and said, "The later we wait, the more changes may occur. The sooner, the better!"
Second Master Wu nodded and said, "There shouldn’t be any unforeseen incidents."
"By the way," Wu Yang suddenly asked, "Has there been any movement from Gu Zhan’s side lately?"
"None," Second Master Wu said, "but it seems Rong Yichu has noticed something and is investigating. However, we haven’t left any traces, so he can’t find anything. Gu Zhan was also injured quite a bit before and has been recovering and rebuilding the Hundred Households Office, with no movements."
"That’s good," Wu Yang nodded and said, "Just wait for the Imperial Censorate. Their arrival is the best opportunity to deal with Gu Zhan, and only under the guise of the Imperial Censorate can Gu Zhan be made to leave the Hundred Households Office."
Second Master Wu nodded and said, "The combined effort of the Six Great Families might not be able to kill Gu Zhan while he’s in the Hundred Households Office, but surely, it can kill him once he’s left it. We’ve already done extensive research on Gu Zhan during this time; his strength lies in Saber Technique and Archery. Once those two are broken, he’s just a toothless tiger!"
At that moment, a group of guards wearing raincoats and hats entered the courtyard, with the leading guard bowing and saying, "Patriarch, Second Master, the Imperial Censorate from Shuntian Prefecture has entered the city!"
Wu Yang smiled slightly and said, "It seems it’s done!"
...
After several days of continuous rain, it stopped with the arrival of the Imperial Censorate from Shuntian Prefecture, and a rainbow stretched across half of Linjiang City.
This unfriendly weather also made the members of the Imperial Censorate quite unhappy.
Because the incident in Linjiang City caused such a huge stir, with a thousand households dead, the prefect arrested, and over a hundred officials imprisoned, this issue created quite a ruckus in Yunzhou’s Shuntian Prefecture.
Therefore, the members of the Imperial Censorate carried a heavy burden; despite the torrential rain, they didn’t dare delay for a moment and had to forge ahead in the downpour. Yet, as soon as they got into the city, the rain stopped, which made their tempers flare.
This directly led to the prefecture government staff attending to the Imperial Censorate becoming the outlets for their frustrations, getting scolded furiously at the slightest misstep, and some censors even hitting people outright, causing chaos within the prefecture government.
However, those who worked inside the prefecture government were old hands, well-aware that these censors ranked higher than ordinary officials, acting like aristocrats. So facing the censors’ provocations, they could only endure them quietly.
The Imperial Censorate wielded the authority to inspect across the empire, equivalent to holding an Imperial Sword at all times, being superior wherever they went and never really respecting local government offices.
As Wu Yang just arrived outside the main hall, he heard several censors inside swearing. Upon entering, he saw a censor slap a maid across the face, knocking her to the ground, and not satisfied, he got up intending to kick her.
Seeing this, Wu Yang quickly intervened to stop the censor, saying, "My lord, what has angered you so much? She’s just a clueless servant, lacking insight, please don’t mind her."
Saying so, Wu Yang gestured to the maid to leave.
The maid understood and began to leave while sobbing.
But the censor obviously didn’t plan to give Wu Yang any face, and pushing him aside, coldly said, "Did I tell you to leave?"
The maid trembled in fear, casting a panicked glance at Wu Yang.
Wu Yang squinted slightly and said, "Imperial Censor, your status is noble, why bother with a servant?"
"Hmph," the censor snorted coldly and said, "Wu Yang, your servant clearly doesn’t understand her status. I told her to serve at night, which is her blessing from previous lives, yet she dares to refuse. Such ungratefulness, this censor teaches her a lesson on your behalf, any issue with that?"
Saying this, the censor raised his hand to slap again.
However, just as he raised his hand, Wu Yang grabbed it.
The censor’s face darkened, displeased, "Wu Yang, what do you mean by this?"
Wu Yang smiled, "Imperial Censor, this maid is already betrothed, soon to be married. On behalf of me, please forgive her. I will arrange another person to serve you tonight, someone incomparable to these common ones, alright?"
The censor’s face turned sullen, "Wu Yang, are you truly making this difficult for me over a maid? You better think it through!"
"Ah," Wu Yang sighed lightly, "It’s not me making it difficult; you are the one making it difficult for me. Whatever request you have, just speak it directly, no need to play roundabout games and act upon pretext!"
As a seasoned player in officialdom,
Wu Yang naturally understood the pretentiousness of these censors, the tantrums over maids were merely excuses, their true purpose being to flaunt power and facilitate bribes.
However, the censors didn’t expect Wu Yang to mention it so directly, making them all look displeased.
Though Wu Yang vocalized their thoughts, being pointed out directly left them embarrassed.
Immediately, the leading censor snorted coldly, "Wu Yang, what do you mean? Our Imperial Censorate inspects with impartiality and devotion to the public good, hmph, your words are slandering the Imperial Censorate, do you realize your offense? It seems the matter of Linjiang Prefecture Government must be thoroughly investigated!"
All the censors, with faces filled with righteous indignation, exhibited an appearance of unwavering integrity.
Wu Yang glimpsed at the hypocritical display of the censors, flatly commenting, "Utter loathsome people, even I can hardly refrain from vomiting at the sight!"
Upon this remark, the censors grew furious.
Wu Yang once again sighed lightly, "Originally, I thought if you behaved, I’d let you live a few more days; but since you’re so eager to seek death, I’ll gladly oblige!"