I'm the Farmgirl You Can't Mess With

Chapter 1273: Court (3)

Editor: Atlas Studios

Qi Haoran widened his eyes in anger and glanced at the ministers one by one, only to see them lower their heads.

Qi Haoran turned around and lashed out with a finger pointed at them. "Ah Ling is right—you’re a bunch of parasites. You only became officials for yourselves and your clan! But who’s giving you a salary and providing for you and your family? It’s the people and Emperor of Great Qi! If you have any intention of repaying them, you shouldn’t be so selfish!"

"Because the reform of the official system will cause you to lose many benefits, that’s why you’re trying your best to oppose it, right? Then I’ll tell you here today that as long as it’s beneficial to the people, I’ll definitely push for the reform of the official system. Let’s see who dares to touch me!"

Almost half of the officials in the hall immediately turned ashen. One of the Assistant Ministers from the Ministry of Justice immediately rushed out and kowtowed to Qi Xiuyuan. After two bangs, he cried and said, "Your Majesty, we are dedicated to the country, but King Rong actually slandered us like this. Today, I will prove my innocence with my death."

After saying that, he lowered his head and slammed into the pillar. As his movements were too fast, the courtiers in the hall could not react in time at all. When the officials closest to him reached out to grab him, they only had time to grab a sleeve.

The ministers subconsciously closed their eyes, thinking that when they opened them again, they would see blood splattering everywhere. A few officials were even prepared to wail.

However, the moment they opened their eyes, they saw King Rong holding Assistant Minister Lan, who was about to commit suicide. Perhaps the other party had rushed forward too fiercely and was still a little dizzy after being pulled back, so he did not struggle for a moment.

Qi Xiuyuan had already stood up with a whoosh. Seeing that blood had not spilled, he slowly sat back down with a dark expression, but his expression became even colder.

Regardless of whether Assistant Minister Lan was instructed to commit suicide or if he really could not stand Qi Haoran’s accusations, if he died in the hall today, his and his brother’s reputation would be ruined.

In the past dynasties, how many Emperors had forced a civil official to death?

Only the tyrannical and incapable rulers!

Qi Xiuyuan’s expression was ugly.

Fan Zijin and Rong Xuan, too, looked at the officials with ashen expressions.

Qi Haoran threw the person in his hand at his feet without changing his expression and said indifferently, "You want to die? Sure, resign and find a secluded place to commit suicide after leaving the palace."

Qi Haoran sneered and said, "What I despise the most in my life are imperial censors like you. Do you think that you can leave your name in history by killing yourself to make your point?"

This time, even Imperial Secretary Yu couldn’t stand Qi Haoran’s aggressiveness. "King Rong, admonishment is a civil official’s duty..."

"What did he admonish me to do?" Qi Haoran interrupted him rudely. "I only heard him say that I slandered him the moment he came out. Then, he lowered his head and tried to kill himself."

Qi Haoran said coldly, "Hmph, if I really did something wrong, just point it out. If I’m not convinced, I’ll naturally argue with you. If I’m convinced, I’ll naturally change. But he tried to kill himself without saying a word. Are you officials only capable of this much?"

Qi Haoran raised his chin slightly and said, "I came from a military background and am no stranger to the battlefield. I don’t know if civil servants like you like to threaten to kill yourselves for no reason, but I do know that human lives are precious. You only live once. Once you die, it’s the end for you. Therefore, I’ll say this here. Unless it’s for his country, I’ll look down on anyone who commits suicide."

As soon as those words were spoken, the civil officials hadn’t even responded yet, but the military officers all started chiming in. "We risk our lives on the battlefield every day! We fear nothing—not even blades and arrows—but in the end, it’s still blades and arrows that take us down! And now you’re telling me someone just crashes and dies, just like that? Is life really that cheap?"

It was at this moment that the person lying at Qi Haoran’s feet reacted a little. He got up and pointed at Qi Haoran with a trembling finger. "You were the one who forced me to commit suicide."

Qi Haoran rolled his eyes at him and asked, "How did I force you?"

"You, you slandered us..." Assistant Minister Lan looked at Qi Haoran accusingly. With trembling fingers, he said, "We’re devoted to Great Qi and His Majesty, but in the end, we were slandered by King Rong..."

"Let’s not talk about whether what I said is slander or not. Even if it is, why are you the only one in the court who tried to commit suicide?" Qi Haoran interrupted him and sneered. "Your endurance is so low. I really don’t know how the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs recruits their officials!"

Fan Zijin also snorted coldly. "I’m also very curious. Logically speaking, Assistant Minister Lan is the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice and often interacts with criminals. His endurance shouldn’t be so low."

The Minister of Justice said calmly, "Assistant Minister Lan is the Left Assistant Minister’s assistant. He’s usually only in charge of the paperwork and not the cases. Therefore, I don’t know how much he can take."

Did this mean that he wasn’t useful in the Ministry of Justice?

At this moment, the courtiers also reacted. Although Qi Haoran’s words just now pissed them off, they were used to King Rong being annoying. Although what he said just now was overboard, there was no need for someone to commit suicide because of this, right?

Everyone looked at Assistant Minister Lan strangely.

Qi Haoran did not care about the person at his feet. In his opinion, business was more important. Hence, he ignored the person by his feet and brought the topic back to the reform of the official system. He asked the Minister of Revenue, "... How are the treatment of officials at all levels?"

The ministers looked at King Rong’s cold and calm expression speechlessly. Someone just nearly died. Even if the court was not immediately dismissed, they should at least take a break for now, right?

Everyone looked at Qi Xiuyuan.

Qi Xiuyuan remained silent with a dark expression, tacitly agreeing to his brother’s questioning.

He and his brother had almost become tyrants and traitors in history. If an outcome did not emerge today, he would definitely not dismiss the court.

Determined to have an outcome today, Qi Xiuyuan completely let Qi Haoran do whatever he wanted.

Qi Haoran aggressively asked the Minister of Revenue about the treatment of the various officials, from the low-ranking officials in the provinces to the first-ranking officials in the court. Not only the treatment, but also the salary and benefits that were actually distributed.

Fortunately, the Minister of Revenue was dutiful enough. He did 70 to 80% of the answering, while other officials from the Ministry of Revenue answered the rest.

At this moment, it was already past the morning court assembly and almost noon. Not only were the officials starving, but even Qi Xiuyuan himself was starving. However, this time, he did not order the court assembly to be adjourned, nor did he give them a half-time break.

When Qi Haoran came in the morning, he was focused on getting revenge for his wife and children. Hence, he ate dry food and didn’t drink much water, thus did not need to go to the toilet. On the other hand, the other officials were in trouble. Even if they deliberately drank less water in the morning, they could not help but clamp their legs and look at the Emperor obscurely.

Seeing that the Emperor was as steady as a mountain and sitting there without moving, they all turned to look at the Left Prime Minister and the Right Prime Minister.

Yan Du looked up at Rong Xuan and gave him a look. ’You’re chummy with the Emperor. If you don’t want the officials to lose face, quickly think of a way to have him dismiss the court.’

Rong Xuan glanced back at him and lowered his head silently, pretending not to see it.

So he knew to beg him now huh? Hadn’t Yan Du been arguing with him for the past two days?

None of this would’ve happened if he had agreed to the official reform, right?