Chapter 2479: Ehud's Sword

A cloud cloak unfurled from the air, draped over the man's broad back, as if submitting to the past.

He no longer spoke of old stories. The weight of the past, he bore it all.

He simply descended before the Censorate's mirror stone plaza, allowing this place, and the eyes of many censors, to scrutinize his life.

The main Censorate platform was built grand and majestic, without any obstruction. The high platform's ornamental columns were all in plain sight.

Suddenly, from the colossal, dark beast-mouth-like doorway on the platform, emerged the current chief censor of the Great Jing Empire, Shang Shuyi.

He wore a crisp, neat Censorate official uniform, meticulously donned.

His gaze was fixed straight ahead, his eyes not straying. Just like this, he met Lou Yue on the straight path in front of the platform.

This straight path resembled a beast's tongue, or perhaps a huge sword.

The sunlight cast a long shadow for Lou Yue alone.

Shang Shuyi's shadow, however, was hidden within the shadow of the doorway. Standing together with him were two columns of censors, lined up as if with jade tablets for swords.

The Great Jing Empire's first censor jade tablet was personally carved by Taizu and bestowed upon the chief censor, with the order to speak freely about one's grievances.

"This is also a sword; above it stabs the emperor, below it cuts down gate soldiers, within the realm and without, there is nothing it does not pierce, nothing it cannot reach."

The entire outer city of Tianjing seemed to have a huge divide here.

Lou Yue stood alone, his presence even stronger. With his hands behind his back, he stepped forward and simply said, "I have troubled you!"

It was as if all these people were merely there to welcome him!

But Shang Shuyi did not step aside; he simply stood there, like a freshly driven nail. He was blunt before the vast power: "High officials from Tianjing coming to the Censorate main platform is not necessarily an auspicious thing!"

The Censorate main platform was located in the outer city, remote and sparsely populated. Idle people dared not approach. Those high ministers of Great Jing residing in the core area of Tianjing were even less likely to come here easily. Coming here usually meant the Censorate prison. Either they sent people here, or they were sent here — for example, Fu Dongxu, the chief of the Mirror World Platform, was the first to be invited for investigation after Zong Dezheng was executed. Another example was Lou Jiangyue, the rebel offender brought here along with the Mirror World Platform incident.

"Auspicious or not depends on for whom. The strong always have fortune, the weak always lack auspiciousness." Lou Yue responded lightly, gently lifting his eyelids: "I already said... I have troubled you!"

Today, two people stood here confronting each other.

Lou Yue should have been more confident.

Shang Shuyi's position as chief censor was not very stable.

Initially, Song Huai had planned this position for Chen Suan to compensate him.

Shang Shuyi was overly upright, never losing face, and naturally, no one lost face for him either. It was uncertain what kind of worldly changes would occur after he stepped down from the chief censor position.

In contrast, Lou Yue was in full swing, holding concurrently the positions of Military Affairs Lou Privy Councilor and Imperial Edict Army Vice Commander, listed among the eight ranks. Now, with the cultivation of the first true person of Central State, he had taken a step towards the absolute peak, and furthermore, he had received the emperor's recommendation, vaguely set to sit on the position of Great Head Teacher of Jade Capital Mountain!

To say that he was now the person with the most weight in the entire Great Jing Empire, besides the emperor, might still be debatable. Add "one of," and then there would be no problem.

His one sentence "I have troubled you," could be considered giving full face.

The only pity was that the censor before him on the left did not care.

"This is the Censorate! What are you saying?" Shang Shuyi stood as straight as a censor jade tablet: "Lou Privy Councilor's voice is too small, this official cannot hear."

"Do I need this seat to walk a bit closer and say it to you again?!" Lou Yue took a step forward, stepping in front of Shang Shuyi, almost within a fist's distance of him. The wind seemed about to bring them into collision.

This was an extremely dangerous distance.

More concerned with dignity and power's collision.

Lou Yue merely lifted his eyes, and the terrifying pressure brought by that name then poured down like mountains and seas.

Those two columns of censors standing behind Shang Shuyi almost all lowered their heads, not daring to look directly, and some even subconsciously retreated!

Only Shang Shuyi stood without moving.

His face unchanged, he calmly confronted this Lou Daojun: "Lou Privy Councilor, you are not yet a true Daojun, yet you are already this imposing, it makes Shang certain respect. But even if you were already a true Daojun, this official's answer would still be the same—yes, what have you come for? Face this official, and state this matter fully!"

Lou Yue silently looked at him.

He also gave a silent confrontation.

Silence, like a giant stone pressing on one's heart, gradually made it difficult to breathe.

Lou Yue already realized what kind of iron-willed person Shang Shuyi was. With his current status, he could of course ignore the authority of a left censor, but his daughter, Lou Jiangyue, was in the Censorate.

Finally, he said: "Today, I have come only as a father, to see my own daughter."

This was undoubtedly a certain degree of retreat.

For Lou Yue, who was already at the transcendent peak and about to reach the peak of power, it was almost unimaginable.

But Shang Shuyi said: "Your daughter is a rebel."

Lou Yue's eyebrows furrowed as if in anger, finally laughing: "It has been many years since I encountered someone who gives me so little face."

Shang Shuyi was expressionless: "Because it has been many years since you dealt with me."

"In these past years, even today, what have I done that the Censorate can criticize?" Lou Yue retorted.

"Yes, only a few memorials, at most saying something about your demeanor—" Shang Shuyi said: "But this chief censor saw you swaggering towards the prison and couldn't help but want to stop you and ask. By what decree do you rely, to handle what official business? Lou Privy Councilor is so arbitrary, it shows how lenient our Censorate has been in the past!"

Lou Yue glanced at those censors behind him who dared not lift their heads, then looked at him again: "Do you want to say that these people are not all like you who fulfill their duties, or that they are all not like you who don't understand human feelings?"

"Lou Privy Councilor, Lou Vice Commander." Shang Shuyi emphasized his official positions, clarifying his status: "If you want everyone to have the courage to face you, that is too difficult for them. To have the backbone to stand behind me is already the backbone of the Censorate."

Lou Yue was silent for a moment: "I don't understand why Chief Censor Shang has such great hostility towards me. Actually taking me as an enemy, to draw a sword against."

"Merely on the matter of your daughter rebelling, I should arrest you for trial! But you hold a high position, and His Majesty is currently using you, hence it cannot proceed." Shang Shuyi stared at him severely: "Lou Privy Councilor, you do not think you are truly clean."

"Do you want to say that I also rebel?" Lou Yue's eyebrows rose: "I, Lou Yue, have come step by step to today, risking life and forgetting death for His Majesty, for the country. I have done only more than you, Chief Censor Shang, not less than you! What reason do I have to rebel? To retreat ten thousand steps, I am already at this position today, what outside of the Jing country can still attract me? Is Chief Censor Shang being alarmist, to the point of disregarding facts?"

"There is no need to discuss past merits, nor to speak of possibilities, or reasons for rebellion. Ding is Ding, Mao is Mao." Shang Shuyi's eyes were like swords: "I only look at facts, only at the law. The fact is your daughter rebels, the law is you should accept investigation, but the emperor is lenient to you!"

"Good law!" Lou Yue's voice deepened: "In the battle outside, surrounding and killing Zong Dezheng, there were still two remnants of Equality Country controlled on the field, their whereabouts unknown after the battle. The minister of the Zongzheng Temple unexpectedly did not bring people back. Chief Censor, do you have any clues?"

If one is impartial everywhere, and investigates everything thoroughly, otherwise why go check the minister of the Zongzheng Temple?

"There is no need for Lou Privy Councilor to worry, this chief censor has already sent a letter to the Zongzheng Temple!" Shang Shuyi raised his head and faced him directly: "Before you came here, the Zongzheng already gave a detailed explanation—at that time, he was focused on handling the aftermath of Zong Dezheng, and only noticed those two people floating to the outside of the battlefield. By the time Zong Dezheng was dead and he turned his mind to searching, there was already no trace. They should have been rescued by nearby high-level Equality Country figures. There is a Star Annihilation Thunder Storm nearby, and it is not excluded that they were swept into destruction. It is also possible that those people who surrounded and attacked Zong Dezheng at that time secretly acted to cover for them. Considering the domestic situation, plus Equality Country is no longer the main problem, the Zongzheng did not continue to pursue, but first returned to Tianjing."

"How? Do you still have any doubts?" Shang Shuyi looked at him: "If you feel the Zongzheng's explanation is unreasonable, or you still have doubts about him here, you are welcome to submit them, and this chief censor will certainly handle them impartially, and make him explain them one by one!"

Shang Shuyi was harder than Lou Yue thought, actually truly forcing Ji Yumin to explain!

Lou Yue looked at the sky, then retracted his gaze: "Then this seat wants to ask something—regarding the investigation of Fu Taishou, to which step has it now proceeded?"

The Censorate monitors the hundred officials, and is also monitored by the hundred officials.

Fu Dongxu, such a high official, was invited to the Censorate for investigation.

His raising this question was reasonable.

It also represented his plan to exchange, or rather "clash," with Shang Shuyi in an orderly manner.

To go wherever he wanted, to see whomever he wanted, this special privilege attached to his vast power, was not recognized in the Censorate.

Shang Shuyi stood here today, his attitude so clear, it was nothing more than clarifying one thing—

Even Lou Yue, if he wanted to come to the Censorate prison to see his daughter, must follow the rules. This was not a problem of whether Shang Shuyi nodded or not, nor was it related to anyone's power; this was simply the Censorate.

Now that Lou Yue spoke under order, Shang Shuyi also gave him an answer under order: "At least in the case of the Qian Tian Mirror fluctuation, Fu Taishou's suspicion has been cleared."

"Oh? He still has other matters?" Lou Yue asked.

"This chief censor did not say so." Shang Shuyi said: "Fu Taishou has already returned to the Mirror World Platform. If Lou Privy Councilor has doubts, you can go ask him yourself."

"That is to say, Fu Taishou is innocent?" Lou Yue asked.

"I cannot say he is guilty," Shang Shuyi said.

Lou Yue looked at him seriously: "Zong Dezheng just died, and the purge against the One True Path cannot be said to be over. Fu Dongxu, as the chief of the Mirror World Platform, has extremely heavy responsibilities in the current situation. You, in the absence of fatal evidence, summoned him for questioning because of a little doubt. It can be said that your eyes only see the achievements of the Censorate's small plot of land, and completely ignore the overall situation of the entire Jing country!"

Shang Shuyi calmly confronted: "This chief censor is the left censor of the Censorate. Monitoring the hundred officials is this chief censor's overall situation, and also the Jing country's overall situation. Lou Privy Councilor, I hope you go higher, and also not forget what your fundamental is."

Lou Yue continued to ask: "Since Fu Taishou has already returned, then regarding the investigation of my daughter, to which step has the Censorate proceeded?"

The function of the Censorate is to monitor the hundred officials, not to truly possess the criminal power of the world. More straightforwardly, this department is for officials, not for civilians.

Lou Jiangyue has no official status. Her investigation should be carried out by the Jixing Division or the Mirror World Platform. Even letting the Central Heavenly Prison be responsible would be more reasonable.

In the end, the Censorate keeping Lou Jiangyue here, involving Fu Dongxu, was essentially still pointing the sword at Lou Yue himself.

But Fu Dongxu had already left, Shang Shuyi could not truly investigate him Lou Yue again, and Lou Jiangyue had no reason to stay in the Censorate.

Lou Yue first mentioned Fu Dongxu, then Lou Jiangyue, precisely pointing out the unreasonableness of this matter.

Seeing this Lou Daojun so clear-headed, always not losing his composure, and also not truly making mistakes, Shang Shuyi restrained his expression: "Lou Jiangyue has already confessed."

Lou Yue said expressionlessly: "Since she has already confessed, should she be transferred to the Jixing Division? Or the Central Heavenly Prison?"

In any other place besides the Censorate, he could always see his daughter once!

Shang Shuyi stood there firmly: "Lou Privy Councilor is not curious what sin she confessed?"

Lou Yue looked at him deeply, turned and walked away: "Ouyang Sishou's side will have a transfer order, which will be respectfully presented to your esteemed department."

"She says because she hates you!" Shang Shuyi said behind him: "She deliberately disrupted the order of the Mirror World Platform, slandered Fu Dongxu as a disciple of the One True Path, wanting to cause conflict between you and Fu Dongxu, and also wanting to frame you with substantial rebellious behavior! Lou Privy Councilor, you are clean! Although your daughter rebels, you are clean and pure!"

Lou Yue did not stop, striding away.

From the dim shadow behind, a censor approached: "Adult, Lou Jiangyue has attempted suicide multiple times, and she secretly joined Hell No Door, which is the matter of Chu Jiang King of the Ten Halls Yanluo... Should we not tell Lou Privy Councilor?"

Shang Shuyi only looked at that gradually distant back: "Before, this cloak roared with tigers and mountains and rivers, now it has changed to this clean cloud cloak."

These things Lou Yue already knew, what was the necessity of telling Lou Yue again? Today's Lou Yue was a great figure about to become a Daojun, high above, and thus indifferent to human feelings.

His tone was inexplicable: "I always felt that one was more pleasing."

"Chief censor." The censor behind him asked again: "The transfer order from the Jixing Division should come soon, what should we do?"

"Handle matters according to the rules. We should give him the person according to the rules." Shang Shuyi said: "But during this period, we are clearing out disciples of the One True Path together with the Imperial City Three Divisions. This chief censor's official duties are entangled, and you are not too able to contact them."

The censor behind him was very understanding: "But an important criminal like Lou Jiangyue, if not for the chief censor's nod, we absolutely cannot release the person."

His face, with small steps forward, gradually cleared in the shadow of the doorway. It was Xiao Linzheng from Shuntian Prefecture.

"She enters life with Yuan Tu, killing the Nian Lord Palace. Her illness is the world's extreme suffering. Keep her locked here, neither giving her the death penalty nor letting her kill people. We don't need to do anything else, and finally, she will say something."

Shang Shuyi said: "But only two days, at most only two days, Lou Yue will not stop. Ouyang Jie will even come to the door personally."

He sighed: "I often hate that time is not on my side!"

"If we can delay for two more days, it should be enough." Xiao Linzheng said: "I see her in pain and not wanting to live, she will collapse at any time."

"Lou Jiangyue has resided deeply in the Lou residence for many years, without many opportunities to go out. This is possibly the only time she will be in our hands. The secrets behind her are extremely deep, and behind secrets often hide dirtiness. The informed persons from that year all avoid it like a taboo, even our Censorate only has fragments. This is exactly where we need to work." Shang Shuyi said in a deep voice: "But hateful these people are all the same kind, what Imperial City Three Divisions, Tianjing high officials, they cover for each other, not making things clear. Dao lineage protects dao lineage, same sect shields same sect, it is precisely such tacit understanding that breeds the soil for the spread of the One True Path!"

"Only..." Xiao Linzheng thought for a while, finally saying: "His Majesty will entrust Lou Privy Councilor with great tasks, and has some unlimited trust in him..."

Shang Shuyi raised his hand forward, as if lightly grasping the straight path in front.

This straight path, how like a sword in the middle of a tongue: "If the emperor is never wrong, and sees everything clearly, then there is no need to establish a Censorate. Similarly, if the Censorate is forever consistent with the emperor, then the Censorate has no necessity for existence. Precisely because Lou Yue is about to walk on that important position, we then need to strictly examine him!"

Friendly recommendation of a new book.