Chapter 111: Issuing an Edict of Self-Reproach

Just as Liu Jian and the others had predicted, after Emperor Hongzhi listened to Fang Jifan’s words, his face suddenly changed. His eyes were sharp and cold as he said, “How bold! Is this how a subject should speak?”

Under Emperor Hongzhi’s intense stare, Fang Jifan was truly frightened. He quickly said, “Your subject deserves death.”

Emperor Hongzhi stared straight at Fang Jifan and said, “I have treated you well, yet you seek to gain fame by acting righteous. It seems I have been too lenient with you. If I do not discipline you now, will you rebel against me someday? Guards!”

Liu Jian and the other two men could not help but close their eyes in regret. This Fang Jifan had plenty of courage, but when it came to his so-called advice, he was simply a useless ally. They did not even know where to begin defending him.

“Wait a moment!”

Ugh, the useless ally was courting death again.

His Majesty had clearly made up his mind. At this point, Fang Jifan should have just taken a beating and obediently accepted it. But this guy… actually said “Wait a moment!” right when the Emperor was enraged.

Xie Qian could not bear to watch and turned his eyes away. Suddenly, he felt a sense of solemnity, as if a brave man were setting off on a journey from which he would never return.

Emperor Hongzhi was stunned. How dare you say “Wait a moment!” at a time like this? Where did this guy pick up such bad habits?

Before Emperor Hongzhi could lose his temper, Fang Jifan spoke with righteous determination. “Before coming here, Your subject had already prepared to face death with dignity!”

Face death with dignity…

Of course, this was a lie. Fang Jifan was not someone who sought death. But… wouldn’t this make him appear more imposing?

“…” Emperor Hongzhi was even more stunned.

“But… Your Majesty, you are wrong! I, Fang Jifan, do not agree!” His words rang out clearly, echoing in the Warm Pavilion.

Emperor Hongzhi widened his eyes. This time, the flames of his anger burned even more fiercely.

Liu Jian sighed inwardly. It was time to prepare to collect a corpse.

Fang Jifan, clearly unaware that he should stop, continued, “The reason I do not agree is because of two things. First… I accompany the Crown Prince in his studies. The Crown Prince is not a born sage and will make mistakes. So I repeatedly told the Crown Prince that making mistakes is not scary. What is truly frightening is knowing you are wrong but refusing to change. There has never been a perfect sage in this world. The Crown Prince is like this, and so am I. If you make a mistake, correct it, and that will be fine. But if you do not recognize your mistakes and do not correct them, then the mistakes will only pile up. If this continues, how can the Crown Prince become a good prince and Your Majesty’s good son when he grows up?”

Huh… Emperor Hongzhi, who was about to explode in rage, was suddenly stunned.

This guy… had brought up the Crown Prince.

The underlying meaning was simply to use the Crown Prince as an analogy for the Emperor. The Crown Prince makes mistakes, and so does the Emperor. Making mistakes is nothing to be ashamed of; you just need to correct them.

Although these words still stirred up shame and anger deep within Emperor Hongzhi, he fell silent, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

Fang Jifan raised his head and continued, “There is one more thing I must report. Your Majesty must know of my father. Since I can remember, my father has woken up before dawn every day to go to the Five Chief Military Commissions for duty. He never slacked off, not even on windy or rainy days. When there was a war, my father would go on campaigns and share hardships with the soldiers. He strived to do everything to the best of his ability, so much so that Your Majesty appreciated him, and the soldiers respected him. And so, I found his behavior very difficult to understand…”

This time, he was bringing up his own father.

It must be said that aside from spoiling his son, Fang Jinglong was almost flawless. Like Emperor Hongzhi, he did not indulge in women and was diligent in his official duties. He did everything with great care and precision, a reputation recognized by everyone in and out of the imperial court.

Thinking of Fang Jinglong, Emperor Hongzhi’s expression softened slightly. His earlier intention to severely punish Fang Jifan unconsciously faded. After all… he was the son of a loyal and good official. Minister Fang had only this one son, and he already suffered from a Brain Illness. If he were truly harmed, who knows how heartbroken his father would be.

Still, Emperor Hongzhi snorted coldly.

Ignoring the Emperor’s disdain, Fang Jifan calmly continued, “I could not understand my father’s behavior. Even if he was loyal to Your Majesty, there was no need for him to be so meticulous. Sometimes, even when he was sick, he did not dare neglect his duties and would report to the Military Governor’s Office on time. So I asked my father, ‘All people have emotions and desires, and all suffer from illnesses. So why are you so diligent and unwilling to slack off even a little?'”

It seemed as though everyone in the Warm Pavilion was immersed in this little story. They remained silent, eager to hear how Fang Jifan’s father had answered.

Fang Jifan said lightly, “My father then told me, ‘I must be loyal to the Emperor, so I dare not slack off. But that is not the only reason. Another reason is that a father must set an example for his son. He must show you how to be humble, loyal, and upright. As the saying goes, if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked. If a father cannot set a good example for his son, then… the son will only become more reckless and unruly. So… my father did his best to be a perfect person, all so that one day, I could follow his example and become a well-behaved person.’ Well, I have finished speaking.”

“…”

Silence.

You could hear a pin drop in the Warm Pavilion.

The only sound was the faint, almost imperceptible sound of breathing.

Li Dongyang suddenly widened his eyes, a glimmer of light flashing within them.

Incredible!

Emperor Hongzhi was stunned once again.

These two stories, if told separately, might not mean much. But when combined, they seemed to possess an incredibly persuasive power.

Admitting mistakes and correcting them was not unusual.

But the second story suddenly felt like a wake-up call to Emperor Hongzhi.

Everything Fang Jifan’s father did was not for himself. What was it for? It was because he had a son. He knew that if he did something wrong, it might go unnoticed, or even if he made a mistake, he might not be blamed. Yet he still strived to do everything well, simply because he was his son’s father. He wanted his son to emulate his actions.

Was this not the principle of not neglecting small acts of goodness and not committing small acts of evil?

Similarly, Emperor Hongzhi was not just an Emperor; he was also a father. Now… he had made a mistake. If he did not correct it, if he even thought, “So what if I made a mistake? The dignity of the imperial family and the authority of the imperial court are more important,” then what would the Crown Prince think when he saw all this?

Zhu Houzhao was already full of bad habits. Emperor Hongzhi hoped he would correct them. But if he himself did not correct his own mistakes, how could he lead by example and teach the Crown Prince the importance of correcting errors?

The dignity of the imperial family was important, but was the education of the Crown Prince not important as well?

The Crown Prince represented the future, after all.

Compared to Emperor Hongzhi’s expectations for the Crown Prince, what was his own pride worth?

Suddenly, Emperor Hongzhi’s eyes shifted from confusion to clarity, as though clouds had parted to reveal the sun.

That’s right… if I let this matter pass today, then… someday, the Crown Prince would be just like me. I am his Imperial Father. If even I cannot serve as a model, how can I have the right to ask my son to correct his mistakes?

The Warm Pavilion remained eerily quiet.

In truth, Fang Jifan was feeling somewhat uneasy. The trump card he had played was not based on grand principles or the right and wrong of the matter, but on the Crown Prince. Fang Jifan was betting that in Emperor Hongzhi’s heart, the Crown Prince was more important than anything else.

If he lost… he would have to prepare for a severe beating.

But if he won the bet, then the entire case would be completely overturned, and those who should not have suffered injustice would receive fair treatment.

At that moment, Emperor Hongzhi stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes closed, his brows deeply furrowed, as though lost in thought, wrestling with his inner conflicts.

As Fang Jifan waited nervously, Emperor Hongzhi suddenly opened his eyes and said, “Issue an edict immediately. The case of Cheng Minzheng and Xu Jing selling examination questions is completely unfounded. I…”

At this point, Emperor Hongzhi took a deep breath, as though steeling his resolve, and said solemnly, “I failed to see through this beforehand, causing Cheng and Xu to confess under torture in the Imperial Prison. This is my fault. This case has sparked rumors and gossip across The World, and even caused innocent, loyal ministers and Tribute Scholars to suffer injustice. This is my fault. Since I Inherit the Throne, I thought I was handling countless affairs every day and that the world was in a state of Peace and Prosperity. Little did I know that, sitting in the Imperial Palace, I failed to see things clearly. Now that these two have been framed, I am solely responsible. I should issue an edict of self-reproach and reflect on my actions to avoid repeating such mistakes. As for the person who falsely accused Cheng Minzheng and Xu Jing, the official Hua Chang, dismiss him immediately and expel him from the capital. The Brocade Guard personnel involved in extracting confessions under torture must also be investigated immediately. All those involved in this case shall be severely punished.”

He paused, looking at the revitalized Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian, and continued, “Cheng Minzheng, the Right Vice Minister of Rites, is to be reinstated to his original position immediately. The Tribute Scholar Xu Jing shall also have his Imperial Examination Degree restored as per regulations.”

“Although Cheng Minzheng and Xu Jing have now been cleared of wrongdoing, the injustice they suffered still pains me deeply. When people are wronged and cannot seek justice, and when corrupt officials cannot be restrained, these are all my faults. I hereby order the Duke of Yingguo to offer apologies on my behalf at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, reporting my negligence to the Imperial Ancestors as a form of punishment. I also hope that I may forever remember this lesson and remain vigilant and fearful!”

As he spoke these words, Emperor Hongzhi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, his entire expression easing.

But this was not just about clearing Cheng Minzheng and Xu Jing’s names. It was clearly an edict of self-reproach from Emperor Hongzhi, declaring to the world that the greatest responsibility for this matter lay with him, the Son of Heaven. Moreover, he solemnly sent the Duke of Yingguo to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to report the matter. For an Emperor, this was truly remarkable.