Chapter 10: Debate with the Scholars, Respond with Elegance

Emperor Qing sat behind the heavy curtains, his eyes slightly narrowed, listening with great interest to the court officials' impeachment of Li Chengyun.

When no one else came forward to accuse him, Emperor Qing finally spoke slowly:
"Li Chengyun."

"Your son is here!" Li Chengyun responded and bowed.

"Do you admit your guilt?" Emperor Qing's voice was low and majestic.

Li Chengyun remained calm and spoke frankly:

"I am innocent. I don't know how to respond to your accusations."

He would not care even if he was impeached.

As a prince, could I be deprived of my identity?
Faced with the dandy boy's cunning and sophistry, the court officials were furious.

Emperor Qing looked around and asked again in a deep voice:

"My Lords, since Li Chengyun has refused to plead guilty, who else wants to impeach him?"

Before he finished speaking, some court officials were eager to try and impeach again.

However, at this moment, an unexpected figure stood out.

Si Nanbo and the Minister of Revenue Fan Jian stepped out, bowed to Emperor Qing and said:

"Your Majesty, the Sixth Prince is still young and ignorant, so it is normal for him to be a little playful."

"After he marries my daughter, I'm sure he will learn to be more restrained."

His words trailed off.

In the court, everyone was shocked.

Especially those censors and officials who had just spoken harshly.

The biggest sin they listed for Li Chengyun was disrespect for morality, implying that although Li Chengyun was already engaged, he still lingered in brothels, speaking up for Fan Jian's daughter.

However, at this moment, Fan Jian spoke up to excuse Li Chengyun, which was like giving them a loud slap in the face.

Everyone was confused. Since Fan Jian, the future father-in-law, no longer wanted to pursue the matter, how could outsiders like them continue to blame others?

There was a glimmer of gloom in the prince's eyes.

He couldn't help but wonder in his heart whether the Fan family had decided to move forward side by side with Li Chengyun?
The prince had never expected that Fan Jian would even try to excuse him for such a shameful thing.

Li Chengze's heart was also in turmoil.
He knew very well that Fan Jian was a person his father trusted very much and was loyal to him.

Now, in front of everyone, Fan Jian made such a statement.
Li Chengze couldn't help but wonder, could this be the instruction from his father?
In the court, discussions were heard one after another.

"Is Fan Jian getting senile and confused? We are clearly speaking up for his daughter, but he doesn't know what's good for him!"

"In order to get close to the prince, Si Nanbo has even lost his dignity!"

"What's the point of clinging to the Sixth Prince? Si Nanbo may just be confused for the moment, I'm sure he will wake up soon!"

Li Chengyun was also slightly stunned when he heard these discussions.

His reputation was already in tatters, and everyone said that Fan Jian's decision to marry his daughter to him was tantamount to pushing his beloved daughter into the fire.

However, Li Chengyun understood the profound meaning of it in an instant.

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze as sharp as a torch, and stared straight at Fan Jian.

This old fox is really deep-minded.

He is determined to pave a smooth path for Fan Xian.

Fan Jian knew Fan Xian's true identity very well, and also understood the difficulty it would take for Fan Xian to take over the inner treasury.

Even if he married Lin Ruofu's daughter, there would be many difficulties.

The foreign enemies are as fierce as wolves and tigers, especially the eldest princess and the prince.

They would never let Fan Xian take over the inner treasury easily.

Therefore, Fan Jian urgently needed to find a powerful ally for Fan Xian.

And the Sixth Prince Li Chengyun is the perfect choice.

Once Li Chengyun and Fan Ruoruo marry, he will be able to become Fan Xian's right-hand man.

Although Li Chengyun is now a dandy prince, he is not valued by the court and the public and seems useless to them.

But, he is of royal blood after all. Just because he is useless today does not mean he will be useless in the future.

The identity of a prince alone can bring countless conveniences to Fan Xian.

What's more, Fan Xian himself is the son of Emperor Qing and has a noble status.

Emperor Qing, who was sitting on the dragon throne, also reacted quickly. With his wisdom, how could he not know the deep meaning of Fan Jian's move?
Emperor Qing's eyes were deep as he glanced at Fan Jian, who still had his head lowered, and then he nodded slightly.

"Well, since Mr. Fan agrees to this marriage, then we should follow the orders of our parents and the words of the matchmaker. No one else can interfere in this marriage." Emperor Qing thought.

Everyone knows that although Li Chengyun is a playboy, he has never committed any heinous crime.

The matter of hanging around in brothels is serious if you say it is serious, but it is also common if you say it is just a romantic affair between men.

Since the future father-in-law Fan Jian didn't care about it, then this matter is just like a passing cloud and is not worth mentioning.

"In that case, let's just leave it at that." Emperor Qing waved his hand, indicating that the matter was over.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Fan Jian thanked respectfully and slowly returned to his seat.

Li Chengyun watched all this coldly. Although he was surprised, he didn't care too much.

For him, it doesn't matter who he marries. He has no shortage of confidantes, and he doesn't need to rely on the power of any party.

His top priority is to rely on his own strength to improve his performance as quickly as possible.

The court officials looked at each other, knowing that Li Chengyun's frequent visits to brothels could no longer be an excuse for impeachment.

However, they did not give up.

After all, although Li Chengyun did not make any major mistakes, he made many small mistakes.

The impeachment words in the hands of the censors were like stars, one after another.

Civil and military officials continued to impeach Li Chengyun.

However, Li Chengyun remained calm and insisted that he was not guilty.

He said frankly that he had never done those so-called wrongdoings, and even said provocatively that if he had the ability, he would let Emperor Qing sentence him to death.

The impeachment voices of the court officials rose one after another.

Li Chengyun, however, seemed to be out of the matter and responded nonchalantly, even yawning inadvertently during the conversation. This action was even pointed out as a new crime of misconduct in front of the palace.

Li Chengyun frankly admitted this and took the initiative to request a half-month salary deduction.

His calm and nonchalant attitude made the court officials who impeached him furious.

However, during this turmoil, many officials also gained a new understanding of Li Chengyun.

Fan Jian is one of them.

Although he had spoken out to defend Li Chengyun, that was more for the sake of the overall situation. In fact, he did not like Li Chengyun in his heart and felt that such a playboy was not a good match for his precious daughter.

But at this moment, he saw that Li Chengyun was still able to remain calm and unconcerned in the face of so many accusations and impeachments, and his mind changed a little.

He discovered that Li Chengyun was not as bad as he seemed.

Instead, he had an attitude of detachment, as if those courtiers who were chattering in the hall were nothing but clowns barking wildly in his eyes.

Such performance is not something an ordinary playboy can have.

Emperor Qing sat on the high hall, watching this farce with a complicated expression.

A few years ago, Li Chengyun was a whetstone that he was quite optimistic about, with great talent and intelligence.

However, in the past few years, he suddenly changed, becoming unruly and a playboy, indulging in women all day long and doing all kinds of evil.

Therefore, his previous anger was not entirely disguised. Deep down in his heart, he did harbor a sense of helplessness and disappointment.

He gave Fan Ruoruo to Li Chengyun in marriage and ordered her to attend the morning court, which was actually his last test on Li Chengyun.

If Li Chengyun still performs poorly, he will decide to give up on this son completely.

However, judging from the situation this morning,

The Sixth Prince does not seem to be as dissolute as the outside world says. Instead, he reveals a certain extraordinary depth.

The corners of Emperor Qing's mouth rose slightly, and he was secretly happy in his heart.

It seems that the days ahead will be full of changes and fun.

With Emperor Qing's skillful mediation, the censors stopped impeaching Li Chengyun.

Final result: Li Chengyun was fined one month’s salary.

When the court was about to end.

Lin Gong originally wanted to stand up and reject the marriage between his sister Lin Wan'er and Fan Xian.

But all this was stopped by Lin Ruofu's eyes.

(End of this chapter)