Chapter 19 The Censorate collectively begs for mercy, let them go?

Blessed are the censors!
The Dongjishi Factory was established not long ago, and its main business was to monitor the Supervisory Yuan.

But now the Censorate has also become a target of surveillance. This is such a great honor!
In just over ten days, there were almost no clean censors in the entire Censorate.

All the evidence against everyone was sent to the emperor.

Even if there are a few stubborn elements, they have become enemies of all the censors in the Censorate.

Lin Ruofu's reaction to this situation was almost invisible, which was within Li Chengde's expectations.

After all, Lin Ruofu had been prime minister for many years, and he had countless students and former officials, and the censors were only a small part of them.

However, officials from other departments have been very honest during this period and have not yet formally launched a counterattack.

This is normal.

When Li Chengde first started participating in government affairs, it seemed that there was no one belonging to his faction in the court.

Lin Ruofu basically had no way to start, and the censors were too busy protecting themselves to impeach Li Chengde.

Therefore, it seemed that Lin Ruofu’s only real opponents were those staunch royalists.

However, once they take action against them, it would mean breaking off relations with the emperor.

Lin Ruofu was relatively cautious and did not act rashly.

But one person couldn't sit still.

The eldest princess invited Li Chengde to Guangxin Palace every few days, but he ruthlessly rejected her.

"Li Chengde, you are so elegant."

A charming voice came from outside the door.

Li Chengde looked towards the door, and a mature figure with a girlish look suddenly appeared.

"Princess, why are you free to come to my place today? Have you figured it out and decided to cooperate with me?"

The princess did not answer this question. She smiled sweetly and said, "I have invited you so many times but you refused to set foot in Guangxin Palace. So I have no choice but to come here in person."

As she spoke, she walked to the main seat and slowly sat down.

Then she stared at Li Chengde who was so close to her, and said in a charming voice, "Why, do you think my Guangxin Palace is too small to accommodate a big Buddha like you?"

Li Chengde smiled softly, "Princess, you are worrying too much. I just feel a little uncomfortable."

"Really?" The princess looked at him carefully and even reached out to touch his forehead. "I don't think you're sick, so why are you talking nonsense now?"

Li Chengde remained calm, "Heart disease."

"Heart disease?" The princess moved her eyes downward to Li Chengde's chest and felt it.
"I feel your heartbeat and it's normal. Why can't I see what's wrong with you?"

Li Chengde sighed, "It's normal that you don't understand the thoughts of young people."

"I don't understand?" The princess covered her mouth and chuckled, "Li Chengde, I have walked across more bridges than you have eaten rice."

"It's not important." Li Chengde shook his head, "I can't go to your Guangxin Palace anyway."

The princess smiled silently, "Forget it, I won't argue with you anymore. I came to see you today because of something important."

Li Chengde stared at her, his eyes flashing with anticipation, "Are you going to hand over the inner treasury to me?"

The princess reiterated, "The inner treasury is only entrusted to me by His Majesty. If you really want to go find His Majesty, why bother a woman like me?"

"With your current grace, His Majesty will not refuse to give it to you, even if it is just a treasury?"

Li Chengde smiled and said, "You said that who the owner of the inner treasury is has nothing to do with you. Do you believe this?"

The princess did not answer, but just stared at him and smiled. Then, after a moment's hesitation, she mentioned the purpose of her visit, "I won't beat around the bush. This time I came here to ask you to show mercy and let the censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate go."

Li Chengde looked innocent, "Princess, you should provide evidence when you speak. What happened in the Censorate has nothing to do with me?"

The princess did not explain, "You know, I have some dealings with the Censorate, so I have heard about some of the things that have happened recently."

"Two censors in their sixties met an old woman who looked very similar to their deceased first wives."

"The two sides had a pleasant conversation and were very much interested in reuniting, but this matter was used as an excuse for "lack of personal morality" and the two old men were directly impeached to Your Majesty."

"This is not the only case. There was another censor whose home had some extra money of unknown origin. He was also impeached. Your Majesty has not made a statement yet."

"In addition to these exposed censors, there are also some censors who found Guangxin Palace and explained their recent experiences, which are not much different from these people."

"Either someone has a property under their name for no apparent reason, or a friend from the same hometown suddenly gets a lucrative job."

"Similar things are countless, and they happened to almost every censor in the Censorate."

"And they appeared in large numbers one after another in just a dozen days."

"Isn't this a little too weird?"

Li Chengde nodded slightly. "If you put it that way, it's indeed a little strange. Did they all discuss it in advance and fall together? How foolish."

The eldest princess smiled and said, "Why do I feel like these imperial censors were set up by someone?"

"Really? That's very possible." Li Chengde looked surprised. "In that case, Princess, go find the murderer. Why are you coming to my Prince Wei's mansion?"

The princess stared at Li Chengde meaningfully, "Don't worry, I'm here to find the murderer, right?"

Li Chengde looked around and asked in surprise, "Could it be me who is the murderer you are talking about?"

"What else?" The princess' eyes were firm, and she then made clear her purpose. "I've already said it before, I didn't come to you to call you to task."

"So, there's no need for you to keep hiding it from me."

Li Chengde had a leisurely expression, "Princess, why don't I understand what you are saying?"

The princess took a deep breath and said helplessly, "It's just a rumor now. Once all those things are confirmed,
Even if someone framed them, the censors in the Censorate would have no chance of survival."

"Reputation is the foundation of their lives. You will destroy them by doing this."

Li Chengde stopped pretending, "So what?"

The princess grabbed Li Chengde's hands, looking delicate and weak, "They have already admitted defeat, there is no need for you to kill them all, right?"

"I don't buy it." Li Chengde said calmly, "If you want to admit defeat, then you can. Show your sincerity."

A hint of joy flashed in the eyes of the princess. Her goal was finally achieved. "From now on, the Censorate will follow your lead."

Li Chengde didn't give in, "You're not sincere enough."

The princess's heart was finally at rest. "You want the power of the inner treasury, but that's impossible."

Li Chengde's eyes were indifferent. "Then there is no point in talking. I have the handle in my hand. Whether you obey or not is not up to the censors of the Metropolitan Censorate to decide."

The princess fell into deep thought, then smiled and said, "Never mind, it's just the inner treasury. I'll give it to you."

"But can you tell me why you want to attack the censors of the Metropolitan Censorate? We are allies now, you won't hide it from me, right?"

Li Chengde smiled softly, "Guess."

The princess hesitated for a moment, and suddenly a glimmer appeared in her eyes. She quickly thought of a possibility, "Are you going to attack Lin Ruofu?!"

(End of this chapter)