Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress
Chapter 317 - 314: How Dare to Consider Ourselves a Great Country_1

Chapter 317: Chapter 314: How Dare to Consider Ourselves a Great Country_1

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Physician is here already. Why don’t you let him take a look at you first?" Gao Demao whispered.

The Emperor clutched his head in pain, extending his hand to Gao Demao, signaling for another ice pack, but didn’t mention letting the Imperial Physician in. "From last year to this year, the Injustice Drum hasn’t stopped!" The combined reigns of my Progenitor and Father had less drumbeats than these past few months! What... are they using the Injustice Drum to let me know that I am a foolish ruler?!"

Lu Jin hurriedly knelt and paid his respects. "The scholars never had such intentions! Please, Your Majesty, quell your anger!"

"Quell my anger? How dare I get angry anymore!" The Emperor snatched the ice pack from Gao Demao’s hand and pressed it to his head, closing his eyes while his chest heaved violently. "Feigning remonstration is fake. Their true intent is to humiliate me! They are stepping on my face... using it as a stepping stone for their false reputation, having the Imperial Censor write me down as a foolish King Zhou of Shang!"

The Emperor couldn’t bear the headache and was overwhelmed by rage, collapsing backward onto the soft couch.

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!"

Chaos erupted in the hall. Gao Demao supported the Emperor, his shrill voice calling out, "Imperial Physician! Quickly! Imperial Physician!"

Inside the palace, the Emperor had fainted from rage.

Outside the palace, the students of the Imperial College were all sitting cross-legged outside Wude Gate. They were mostly exhausted from shouting, only a few hoarsely shouted together...

"Powerful officials cover the sky with one hand, the people have no recourse for grievances, noble families protect and collude with each other. We implore Your Majesty to severely punish the murderers! Severely punish the brutal villains to uphold the justice and benevolence of the Jin Kingdom’s strength."

This included Lu Yuanpeng and Bai Qingyan.

"My friends! My friends..." The Crown Prince shouted, "The Court of Judicial Review has taken over the case. Right now, the coroner is conducting an autopsy! Once it is confirmed that Lin Xinan died from wounds inflicted by Lu Yuanpeng, I will not cover it up! Moreover, the most virtuous senior coroner in Dadu City, Liu Sanjin, is personally conducting the autopsy. Please rest assured."

Liu Sanjin was famously upright, speaking the truth based on the autopsy, never bowing to the powerful. Many significant cases had been solved by him. He even returned the gold when Consort Tong’s father tried to bribe him with a hundred pieces of gold, handing it directly to the Court of Judicial Review during the retrial of Imperial Censor Jian Congwen’s old case.

Because of this, Liu Sanjin’s name had spread far and wide.

When the students of the Imperial College heard that Liu Sanjin was conducting the autopsy, they looked at each other and nodded.

"We’ll wait here with Brother Lin’s mother for the results!" A few passionate students declared.

Someone else asked, "How will His Majesty and the Crown Prince deal with Bai Qingyan? Brother Lin’s death... is inextricably linked to her. She rashly killed surrendered prisoners, making other countries view our Jin Kingdom as ruthless. Bai Qingyan tarnished the reputation of our Jin Kingdom’s benevolence. She is a national traitor! Yet His Majesty still conferred her the title of Commandery Princess! We do not accept this! We implore His Majesty to severely punish the national traitor!"

"You can’t say that. We are only here to seek justice for Brother Lin!" A student frowned in disagreement. "We didn’t come to ask His Majesty to punish the Princess of Zhen. After all, the Princess of Zhen acted to protect the nation. If she hadn’t killed the surrendered prisoners, we in Jin would be the ones suffering slaughter from the Xiliang now!"

"Have you forgotten the speech by that Wei person at Fanque Tower? Because of this, our Jin Kingdom’s name has become notorious among other countries! As Brother Lin said, Bai Qingyan killed a hundred thousand surrendered soldiers of Xiliang. In the future, other countries will kill a hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, three hundred thousand, forty thousand of our Jin Kingdom’s people... perhaps even more! Since ancient times, a gentleman has stood in the world with virtue; a wise ruler has established their nation with benevolence. A great nation has showered neighboring countries with vast benevolence. Our Jin Kingdom has led the neighboring countries for decades, always setting an example. This time, burning and killing surrendered soldiers—if other countries follow such an example, the human world will turn into purgatory."

"Then why didn’t you use your virtues to drive back the Xiliang army at that time?"

The Crown Prince watched as the students began to argue among themselves, giving him no chance to speak up for Bai Qingyan. He stood aside quietly.

Suddenly, a small eunuch slipped out from Wude Gate and whispered the Emperor’s fainting incident to the Crown Prince. Alarmed, the Crown Prince quickly followed the eunuch back into the palace.

The next day at dawn, Bai Qingyan had just left the house when she heard that Mr. Guan Yongchong’s carriage had entered from outside the city and headed toward Wude Gate.

Bai Jinzhi, who was going to accompany Bai Qingyan to the clan, tightened her grip on the reins when she heard this and turned to Bai Qingyan. "Eldest Young Lady..."

Mr. Guan Yongchong was Bai Qingyan’s mentor, a renowned scholar on par with Cui Shiyan.

The core tenets of Confucianism are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith.

Being a highly respected scholar, Bai Jinzhi worried that Mr. Guan Yongchong couldn’t accept the incident of her eldest sister burning and killing surrendered soldiers. If even her teacher held her at fault, then her eldest sister’s case would be hopeless.

Those Confucian scholars and students, far from the battlefield, did not understand its cruelty—kill or be killed!

Bai Qingyan mounted her horse and said, "Let’s go take a look..."

When Bai Qingyan arrived, Mr. Guan Yongchong’s carriage had stopped outside Wude Gate. The students of the Imperial College, thinking he had come to support them, approached and saluted him properly. "Mr. Guan... why have you troubled yourself to come?"

With the help of his servants, Mr. Guan Yongchong bent down and alighted from his horse-drawn carriage, hanging lanterns on its four corners. His gentle gaze swept over the students holding lanterns in their hands, whose faces were filled with excitement. "I heard the students of the Imperial College outside Wude Gate are pressuring His Majesty to severely punish Prime Minister Lu’s grandson and my direct disciple, Bai Qingyan, so I came to take a look."

The students of the Imperial College were taken aback. Bai Qingyan was Mr. Guan’s direct disciple?!

Bai Qingyan was a woman!

"The news of Bai Qingyan killing a hundred thousand surrendered soldiers of Xiliang at Wengshan Canyon has already spread far and wide. I heard a student say earlier that a gentleman stands in the world with virtue, and a wise ruler establishes their nation with benevolence. A great nation showers neighboring countries with vast benevolence. I deeply agree!"

Hearing Mr. Guan say this, the student who had spoken earlier hurriedly bowed deeply to Mr. Guan, feeling a touch of pride.

But Mr. Guan’s tone suddenly changed. "However... Xiliang invaded us. Our most courageous Bai family army of tens of thousands fell into a conspiracy and was slaughtered. The Tianmen Pass of the Jin Kingdom was breached, leaving the gate wide open, causing panic among the people! Jin could not resist Xiliang, retreating step by step. How dare we regard ourselves as a great nation? We must reflect deeply on why Jin has fallen from strength to weakness."

Mr. Guan’s voice was slow and deep as a bell. "Indeed, showering neighboring countries with benevolent virtue is noble, but as the Saint said... ’When in poverty, maintain personal integrity. When in prosperity, benefit the world!’ The people of the Jin Kingdom are in dire straits and can hardly fend for themselves. How can we benefit the world and shower other countries with benevolence? The battle of Wengshan Canyon was a war fought to end a war, though it was a forced measure. Otherwise... she, a woman, already gravely injured and unable to fight, could have hidden in Dadu City, maintaining her personal integrity, avoiding the chaos of war."