Chapter 271: An Zhi
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Of the entire capital, the first to know of the Imperial Censorate’s mobilization to impeach the popular politician Fan Xian was the man himself. Before the Emperor even received those documents of his, Fan Xian knew he would be riding a riptide.
Mu Tie was sitting graciously, opposite Fan Xian. "It was only last night. The right-hand man of the Imperial Censorate’s leader started it. Over there, they had to confirm the correct procedures, so it was only delivered today."
The Overwatch Council’s First Bureau was in charge of observing and recording the movement of each officer. The individual censors of the Imperial Censorate jointly composed and signed a letter addressed to the Emperor. The contents of the letter were so grave and of such massive proportion, that if the First Bureau officers were unable to detect and be made wary of its existence and notify Fan Xian right away, the organization would be in need of another good scrubbing. Fan Xian nodded and began flicking a parchment, whilst saying, "Only these crimes?"
Mu Tie noticed that the commissioner didn’t seem very much to care about the allegations held against him and he frowned sternly, telling him, "Sir, this cannot be taken lightly…"
Mu Tie then closed his mouth and did not say any more. Fan Xian raised his head to look at him, and with eyes that suggested he was jesting, he replied, "Do you really think I committed these crimes?"
The document created by the censors read clearly, detailing the falsified amounts of money Fan Xian had gained through bribery during his time at the First Bureau for a month. He set free criminals and even allowed and encouraged his men to rampage through the streets. What was written last upon the parchment was how Fan Xian had embarrassed and made a mockery of the government. While there may be slight truth to the latter, the first two accusations were the most grievous of crimes. There were banknotes given to Fan Xian by Lady Liu, banknotes that were traceable, and there were corroborated stories of certain officers being captured by the Overwatch Council and coincidentally being let go.
These crimes could bring down just about any officer or government official.
Fan Xian rubbed the creases of his forehead. After a long and busy day, something as troublesome as this had now happened. Although he did not let it show, this matter concerned him deeply. He then said, "In the Qing Kingdom’s Imperial Censorate, their bark is worse than their bite. They are happy to mouth off at others, but they are just as quick to backstab another if it’ll help boost them up a few rungs of the societal ladder. Since when are they no longer afraid of those above them? Is it that my power is not grand enough? Do I not possess enough honor for them to respect me?"
Mu Tie heard what he said and wanted to laugh. It was a great strain to prevent doing so, because the Overwatch Council had always looked down on the Imperial Censorate. He also suspected that Fan Xian was waxing rhetorically, believing that Fan Xian knew exactly what had been going on. In the capital these days, everybody knew that Fan Xian was a person of honor and a true noble.
But Fan Xian, for once, did not actually understand the reason why the Imperial Censorate had now garnered the courage to strike out at him. He had actually tried to better himself lately, going about matters a touch more softly. He had never even seen the people who were after him. With Fan Xian’s growing connection with the Emperor, were they not afraid to potentially go against his wishes?
Mu Tie watched his face and knew what Fan Xian was thinking. He then explained, "Sir, this is an ordinary tactic of the Imperial Censorate. Forever have they set their sights upon the Overwatch Council. It was the government that gave them this authority, but the Emperor has since suppressed the methods of operation we can use in the Overwatch Council. Therefore, in recent times, the Imperial Censorate has taken a liking to picking on us." Mu Tie frowned and continued, "That being said, even I am surprised to see they have the courage to go against you, especially with such significant allegations."
Fan Xian, in an effort to calm down, reached for his teacup and dabbed his fingers in the tea before painting his forehead with the cool drink.
The Imperial Censorate was a very special department. In the former dynasty, the Imperial Censorate was the most important department when it came to supervision and establishment, to the impeachment and eradication of those who sought to disrupt their say. There were two primary officers, each at the side of the leader. Below them were the vice-ministers, and below that were the average officers. Within the Imperial Censorate were several smaller departments, also, which eased the workload between each other.
There was a book written by Zhuang Mohan called Notes on Officialdom. It told the tale of the Northern Wei Kingdom’s Imperial Censorate. The censors' primary task was to impeach those who were found guilty of malpractice and clarify those who may have been wronged. They were the ears of the emperor. If there were any officers that were found out to be corrupt, or in any way working against the government and warping documents in a certain way, the Imperial Censorate would be upon them and they would be stripped of all titles, stature and wealth.
The Qing Kingdom’s Imperial Censorate was not half as effective as that of the previous dynasty. They withdrew the officers who would observe and inspect each department and organization that composed the government and their authority for being a certain body or party to represent another in a court was given to the Supreme Court and Ministry of Justice. For the newly established kingdom, the Imperial Censorate had been splintered into numerous smaller departments with limited influence. The power to spy and observe others was taken away and given to Chen Pingping, who established and built the Overwatch Council all by himself. It was because of all these changes that the Imperial Censorate was now a shadow of its former self, a body that policed public morals more than they did officials of the government.
Who was eligible to be a politician? Strictly men. What do men like the most, aside from pretty woman? Power. The Imperial Censorate’s hatred toward the Overwatch Council mostly stemmed from this, for it was Chen Pingping and the Overwatch Council that indirectly "stole" their power and influence. It was mostly jealousy and a nostalgia for the honor and glory of their past that fueled the fire of the Imperial Censorate’s disdain for the Overwatch Council. And while they knew full well of their new boundaries and limitations, they would still watch who they could and deliver as many petty reports as they were able.
But with the old crippled Chen where he was, poisonous stare and all, nobody dared supersede him. Why the Imperial Censorate, which had been quiet for some time now, would begin acting up all of a sudden was strange, and that is what bothered Fan Xian.
The Overwatch Council was the largest department whose mode of operation involved surveillance. That being said, the Imperial Censorate’s influence inside the government had not been wholly lost. There was some truth to the notion that said, "The more people you have, the stronger you are". Even the eldest princess was to be exiled by Fan Xian due to his few-thousand page report of accusations. It was plain to see that words could kill an officer. Most of the officers of the Imperial Censorate hailed from poor families, which was something that the scribes appreciated. Whenever the officers wrote a statement, the scribes were sure to reply to them. Still, it was a sad state of affairs for any officer to be accused and have charges pressed against them; even if they were innocent. If they were proven innocent, their chances of working as a politician again were still rather slim, for their reputation would be tarnished to a near unsalvageable state.
Fan Xian coldly laughed. After much deliberation, he realized where the problem lay. He surmised that someone must have discovered his monitoring and surveillance of Xinyang and the second prince. He still remembered clearly that the Imperial Censorate’s leader’s ex-right-hand man was now taking orders from the eldest princess. He was responsible for breaking Fan Xian’s legs in the Ministry of Justice. But what she did not know was that she was unknowingly allied with a coward. Fan Xian was also investigating a scholar by the name of He Zongwei, someone who was also in the Imperial Censorate.
Not long later, the secret documents that had been sent to the palace received a response. Fan Xian looked at the gold box it was concealed within, and opened it. There was one slip of paper inside, with two words written upon it.
"An Zhi."
Fan Xian’s surname was Fan, and his first name was Xian. His courtesy name was An Zhi.
Back in the day, the Emperor himself had given Fan Xian this name. Frowning, he had no idea what the meaning behind this message was. When Fan Xian delivered his secret documents, he knew that the Emperor would seek to delay the resolving of the business concerning the emptying palace treasury. It was just bad timing for these new allegations to arise at the same time, perhaps messing with the Emperor’s head.
"Action is needed." Fan Xian shook his head and told Mu Tie, "Investigate the censors who bear these allegations against me, and check if they are truly clean. If they seek to do this to me, I will do the same to them!"
Mu Tie was surprised and said, "Director Chen previously said that in regards to the documents of the Imperial Censorate, ignore them. Treat them with as much concern as you would a dog’s barking. The palace does not wish for the Overwatch Council to investigate the Imperial Censorate, in fear of any ugliness that may arise. So, because of this, the Emperor has not given the Overwatch Council the authority to capture a censor of the Imperial Censorate."
Fan Xian disagreed, saying, "This is no longer just barking; they are about to bite me! Why should I care about saving face for the government? I told you to investigate it, and when you found something, of course I was not going to deal with it. I would have thrown it to the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice. If the Emperor was willing to suppress these matters, then what is the point of having the Overwatch Council and the First Bureau?
Mu Tie was happy. The Overwatch Council had been waiting for this day. They were extremely excited to be given the opportunity to monitor and investigate the Imperial Censorate, and uncover any dirt they may have hidden.
The next day, Fan Xian stayed at home playing Mahjong. The sound of rain was quite lovely and he did not give the matters with the censors any heed. Wan’er, however, was quite nervous, for Fan Xian confided in her about these concerns and she cared greatly, for everyone knew how important one’s reputation was.
Word of the allegations now held against Fan Xian had spread all around the capital at this point. Palace secretaries had already sent the document detailing the exact crimes he was to be accountable for to Fan Manor. Fan Xian feigned to be oblivious and not aware of the charges. He began acting terrified, but truthfully he slept as well as ever.
On the morning of the third day, Fan Xian departed his manor. In accordance with the law, the accused had to leave all of their possessions at home and head to court to defend themselves. Fan Xian, however, did not adhere to these rules and instead visited the Xinfeng Restaurant to eat more of that that acclaimed bun.
The recent events had already caused a ruckus within the capital, but no one knew in what manner Fan Xian would fight back against these allegations. The Imperial Censorate was visibly prepared, and the threats held against Fan Xian were tremendous. The censors were even keen to investigate every single person who had any affiliation with the First Bureau in the past month.
With Fan Xian not having done anything to fight back so far, everyone was quite surprised at this turn of events. Instead, Fan Xian was just fighting buns.
On the fourth day, the continuous rain had at last come to an end, and so Fan Xian decided to lead his family into the nearby countryside so that they may collect flowers. Using his fingers, he gently touched the freshly-opened petals of daisies.
Normally, a palace secretary would have brought out the Emperor’s decree by now, but nothing had come yet. The Emperor was unsure of what to do. Either he could remind Fan Xian not to overstep his boundaries, given his short tenure within the capital and government, or he could warn the Imperial Censorate to cease their incessant intrusions. He was of two minds, and unable to come to a decision. When they were in court, the the Minister of Appointments could not harbor his curiosity any longer and, with great trepidation, asked the Emperor whose side he was on of. To the surprise of many, he did not react as one might expect, and simply gave a faintly audible "Hm".
This awkward situation prolonged for a while later. The officers of the Imperial Censorate were proud and sure of themselves at the court’s convening, but they were beginning to show signs of consternation due to the Emperor’s lack of concern. They now planned to create another document decrying Fan Xian’s deeds and try to get other officers of the government and students from the Imperial College included to join them.