Chapter 68: The Measure of a Subject.

**Chapter 68: A Subject’s Proper Limits**

The Duke of Liu’s statement was, in effect, asking the Crown Prince to admit guilt outright.

Prince Liu turned deathly pale, muttering, “Why must it go this far?”

But the Duke knew this was the wisest move.

For years, Emperor Jingyuan and Wen Shengan had sought to weaken the power of the hereditary nobility. As the most prominent noble house, the Duke’s estate remained safe as long as the Emperor could find no fault with them.

If a fault were discovered…

Confessing first would allow them to retain some dignity and gain some control, rather than being caught off guard.

“If you wait for others to impeach you before submitting a plea, you’ll be handing your fate entirely to the sovereign to decide.”

Seeing that Prince Liu was still reluctant, the Duke spoke firmly.

“Remember, Empress Huo watches from the palace.”

Prince Liu flinched and gave in at once. “Yes. I’ll write it now.”

The Duke waved him off. “Go. Bring it to me when you’re done.”

It took the prince over half an hour to compose his memorial.

After reading it, the Duke picked up his brush and edited it carefully.

He tossed the revised version back to the prince and said tiredly, “Rewrite this.”

By the next morning, the memorial had reached Emperor Jingyuan.

The emperor betrayed no reaction after reading it, then handed it to Huo Ling beside him.

Huo Ling skimmed the opening lines and muttered, “That sly old fox moves too fast.”

Emperor Jingyuan chuckled and shook his head. “In this court, when it comes to reading the room and adapting, Duke of Liu is indeed peerless.”

Huo Ling looked up. “That hardly sounds complimentary.”

Emperor Jingyuan replied, “Keep reading—you’ll see.”

Huo Ling quickly scanned the rest and understood why the emperor had said that.

There was no doubt the memorial had been written and personally delivered by Prince Liu.

Yet both she and the emperor knew the real mastermind behind it was the Duke himself.

The contents were tactfully downplayed.

Prince Liu admitted to knowing Su Tao, the Pasturage Commissioner, and accepting bribes from him.

He acknowledged that Su Tao had used his ties to connect with local officials—these were verifiable facts, and he confessed to all of them.

When it came to specific offenses, such as suppressing the censors’ memorial against Su Tao, the prince pleaded ignorance of the memorial’s content, claiming he had been deceived.

As for what Su Tao and the local officials did after making contact, the prince—who had been in the capital—claimed no knowledge.

One minute pleading ignorance, the next feigning cluelessness—wherever possible, Prince Liu had washed his hands clean of any responsibility.

At the end of the memorial, Prince Liu also stated that he would promptly return the bribes he had accepted to the Ministry of Revenue, leaving the rest up to His Majesty.

Huo Ling set the memorial aside. "This is a real headache."

Prince Liu had acted far too swiftly.

If they’d gotten to Su Tao first and extracted Prince Liu’s crimes from his confession, they could have used Su Tao’s testimony to pressure Prince Liu.

But now, before the imperial envoy had even left the capital, Prince Liu had already confessed.

The horse administration graft case implicated hundreds of officials at all levels.

Prince Liu’s crimes were small potatoes compared to those of Su Tao and others. His cooperative attitude was so convincing that if the punishment were too harsh, the whole court would be on edge.

“What does Your Majesty intend to do?” Huo Ling asked Emperor Jingyuan.

Emperor Jingyuan didn’t immediately reveal his decision. “And you?”

“How would you punish him to satisfy the court?”

Huo Ling caught the challenge in his tone. She lowered her gaze, paused for a moment, then voiced her thoughts. “If I had my way, now that Prince Liu has finally fallen into my hands, I’d make sure he paid dearly.”

Emperor Jingyuan chuckled at her words.

Huo Ling smiled faintly before continuing, “But with the court involved, of course, I can’t go off half-cocked.”

“Why not pass this memorial to the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate?”

“Have them dig into what Prince Liu claims here—whether it checks out or not.”

They couldn’t just swallow Prince Liu’s story whole.

They’d need to dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’.

“With Prince Liu’s memorial, Pasturage Commissioner Su Tao and that local official can be taken down directly.”

“And if we plant a few seeds with Su Tao, he might lash out in anger and give us more than we bargained for.”

Bide our time, dig deeper.

Even if they couldn’t bring the prey down in one strike, they could at least make him a twitchy mess.

Emperor Jingyuan nodded. “Then we’ll do it your way.”

Prince Liu’s memorial had really blindsided people.

But after the initial shock, the investigation rolled on.

Prince Liu stewed, waiting anxiously for a response from the Emperor.

The Duke cut in, “Why the rush? Get that silver to the Ministry of Revenue first, then sit tight. I’m still here.”

Hearing this, Prince Liu finally relaxed.

Watching his eldest son depart in haste, Duke Liu sighed inwardly.

Even now, the House of Duke Liu remained the most prestigious noble house in the realm, its reputation resplendent, with countless individuals seeking his patronage.

As long as he remained alive, the family's glory would endure another day.

But once he was gone, if Yuannian failed to succeed him smoothly...

Duke Liu’s worries had nowhere to go. At present, all eyes were fixed on the high-stakes corruption scandal involving the horse administration.

With imperial orders and escorted by palace guards, envoys dispatched across the land successfully took suspects into custody.

With cooperation from local officials, these envoys remained on-site to oversee the trials.

Each time a case was resolved, a case report was swiftly sent back to the capital via courier horses.

These reports first passed through the Ministry of Justice for processing before being submitted to the Emperor's study.

Wen Shengan, Cui Ming, and Imperial Censor Chen had become used to finding Empress Huo at the Emperor’s side whenever they entered the Emperor's study.

More troubling was that while she rarely attended proceedings when other officials reported matters, she never missed anything related to the horse administration scandal.

Not only did she attend, but on one occasion, after the Emperor finished reading the findings on Su Tao, the Pasturage Commissioner of Yongchang Prefecture, he casually handed the document to the Empress.

She accepted it matter-of-factly.

Imperial Censor Chen was gawking so openly from below that Huo Ling could not possibly ignore it.

Opening the report, Huo Ling reviewed its contents and addressed Imperial Censor Chen directly.

"Imperial Censor Chen has been staring at your Empress—am I improperly attired?"

Regardless of intent, for an outer court official to stare openly at the Empress constituted grave impropriety.

Chen hurriedly rose to kneel. "Your servant meant no offense. I beg Your Majesties to forgive me."

Huo Ling ignored him and continued reading.

Chen remained bowed, daring not to move.

After a moment, Huo Ling closed the report and smiled at Emperor Jingyuan. "Su Tao, as Pasturage Commissioner, not only bribed superiors and seized fertile farmland, but also stole state property—illegally selling horses painstakingly bred by the imperial stables and falsifying annual horse counts. He embezzled over 100,000 taels in the process."

"This man is clearly the ringleader, and worthy of execution."

"What does Your Majesty think?"

At this, not just Imperial Censor Chen, but even Wen Shengan and Cui Ming exchanged meaningful looks.

The Empress had been present for many sessions in the Emperor's study.

Previously, however, she had never spoken during ministerial discussions, only hosting them for refreshments afterward.

Though they understood she might privately advise the Emperor despite maintaining silence in public, her previous restraint had been comforting.

Yet this time, she had reviewed the report mid-discussion and publicly weighed in...

How would the Emperor respond?

Emperor Jingyuan didn't care in the slightest about the three ministers' feelings. After some thought, he said, "Death alone isn't enough to atone for his crimes. Have the imperial envoy seize his family's assets—that might barely compensate for the losses he caused the court."

Wen Shengan and Cui Ming exchanged another glance but remained silent.

Huo Ling acted surprised, "Why is Imperial Censor Chen still standing?"

Imperial Censor Chen thought bitterly, "Without Your Majesties' permission, this official didn't dare sit."

Emperor Jingyuan said dismissively, "Enough, sit down. Just don't let it happen again."

Imperial Censor Chen moved his stiff legs and cautiously resumed his seat.

To Emperor Jingyuan, this was merely a small moment in their meeting.

Had it been someone else's case documents, he might not have casually handed them to Huo Ling.

But back when he showed her Liu Prince's letter of confession, she had taken the chance to propose a thorough investigation into Su Tao.

Now that the investigation results were in, with Huo Ling conveniently seated beside him, Emperor Jingyuan naturally passed the report to her.

Yet to Wen Shengan and the others, this gesture carried entirely different implications.

Huo Ling lowered her gaze, quietly observing their reactions.

Emperor Jingyuan's passing of the report had been casual.

Her reprimand of Imperial Censor Chen and announcement of Su Tao's punishment, however, were strategic moves to show her authority in front of the three men.

True enough, seeing Emperor Jingyuan's attitude, both Wen Shengan and Cui Ming fell silent.

After the discussion concluded and the three officials withdrew, Emperor Jingyuan asked Huo Ling, "Did you suddenly reprimand Imperial Censor Chen because he angered you?"

Huo Ling's change in demeanor within the imperial study had been noticed by the three officials, and of course by Emperor Jingyuan as well.

Yet, in their presence, he had refrained from asking directly.

Huo Ling replied, "Not anger—just dislike. I dislike their suspicion and overbearing surveillance of me."

"That memorial passed through many hands: officials from the Ministry of Justice reviewed it, Minister Wen reviewed it, and Imperial Censor Chen reviewed it. Why is it that when it reaches me, I can't even glance at it?"

"I not only will read it, but I will also make my stance known in front of them, leaving them fuming but unable to retaliate."

Her words, like a defiant taunt aimed at the court officials, amused Emperor Jingyuan.

He handed her a cup of tea. "That's just how they are. Here, have some tea."

Huo Ling took a sip and reached for Su Tao’s memorial again.

As for the other memorials, she didn’t even glance at them.

"Your Majesty knows I understand what I should and shouldn’t do, what I can and cannot do."

"But if the court officials try to school me on an empress’s place, I will show them a subject’s place first."

In the end, the incident blew over without consequence. After returning home, the three officials—including Imperial Censor Chen—acted as if it had never happened.

Having made her point, Huo Ling had no intention of provoking them further. Most of the time, she remained as before, sitting beside Emperor Jingyuan to observe discussions, neither flipping through memorials nor interjecting abruptly.

The high-profile horse administration graft case, which began in the third month of Jingyuan’s twenty-second year with He Tai’s execution, lasted until the sixth month of Jingyuan’s twenty-third year. By the time the last imperial envoy safely returned to the capital, the investigation was all but wrapped up.

But its repercussions were only beginning.

Including Su Tao, a total of six Pasturage Commissioners were executed, and all their confiscated assets were seized for the imperial treasury.

Another seven Pasturage Commissioners, who faced graver charges, had their families exiled and properties seized.

Though these men held relatively low-ranking positions and came from unremarkable backgrounds, the gold, silver, treasures, lands, and shops confiscated from their homes totaled over a million taels.

Apart from the Pasturage Commissioners, dozens of other officials, of varying ranks, were also convicted with ironclad evidence.

Some had their properties seized, some were exiled, and others were demoted.

Prince Liu's sentencing finally came down.

Originally serving as the Junior Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, Prince Liu was reassigned as a Prefectural Judge in Chengdu Prefecture.

This demotion lowered him from the third rank to the fifth rank.

Though it might not seem like a drastic reduction, first, he was transferred from a central government position to a local one, distancing him from the center of power.

Secondly, the Prefectural Judge served as the deputy to the Prefect.

And the current Prefect of Chengdu Prefecture was none other than Emperor Jingyuan’s loyal appointee.

The most fatal blow was that, after offending Emperor Jingyuan during the empress selection, Duke Liu had his second and third sons tender their resignations from their official posts.

Now, with his eldest son also exiled from the capital, the once-powerful Liu ducal house—aside from Duke Liu himself, who remained as the Minister of War—was left with only a few grandsons holding minor official positions.

Though the foundation remained intact, the Liu ducal house was no longer as influential and illustrious as it had been when Huo Ling first arrived in the capital.

When the news reached the household, Prince Liu’s wife took to her bed in distress.

Prince Liu comforted his wife as best he could and then dispatched a messenger to Prince Duan’s estate.

However tense their relations might be, Prince Duan could not stand idly by while his father-in-law was demoted and his mother-in-law fell ill.

Thus, upon receiving the news, Prince Duan promptly accompanied the Princess Consort of Duan and their second son to visit.

When Prince Liu saw them, his expression was calm. "When I submitted that memorial of contrition, I already knew this day would come. A Qiao, do what you can to comfort your mother and help her accept it."

"As long as the Liu ducal house remains, and as long as your grandfather is still in power, I will return to the capital soon."

The Princess Consort of Duan bit back her tears and nodded repeatedly before taking their second son to the inner quarters to attend to her mother.

Prince Duan said to Prince Liu, "I regret my inability to be of greater assistance in this matter."

After Prince Liu’s downfall, he had tried to intervene, but his interventions proved ineffective.

Prince Liu sighed helplessly. "Your Highness has done all you could. There is nothing else I worry about, except for one matter that still weighs on my mind."

Prince Duan replied, "Please speak, Father-in-law."

"It concerns A Qiao," Prince Liu sighed, admitting his own faults. "This child was indulged by her mother and myself, raised sheltered and willful, which is why she has never been able to move past this inner conflict."

"I say this not to ask Your Highness to yield to her, but to hope that you might grant her greater forbearance."

"Yuanyuan endures trials at court, and she suffers greatly in the residence, caring for Yuan Kang."

Children are indeed life's repayment of debts—Prince Liu now deeply understood how his own father must have felt.