Chapter 26: Proving One’s Innocence (Part I)

The combination of Censorate officials and Jinyiwei guards is a standard investigative pairing of the supervisory legal system and the imperial secret police. For instance, in the interrogation of top-tier, high-stakes cases during this era, the standard procedure involves a joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices, with the secret police observing and monitoring from the sidelines of the courtroom.

There are many corridor rooms on the east and west sides outside the Meridian Gate. Centurion Qian led Bai Yu to a room on the east side. Inside, two officials—one civil and one military—were already seated. The military official was Yan Hu, whom Bai Yu had met several times, and the civil official was likely Yan Maoqing, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief. Both were accompanied by a clerk responsible for taking notes.

After bowing to each of them, Bai Yu suddenly asked Yan Hu, "When I saw you pursuing Liu Cunyi the other day, I wonder if you managed to catch him? He still owes me a few taels of silver." This "good brother" of his had been missing for several days; he was neither seen alive nor found dead, and Bai Yu had no idea if he had been apprehended. Yan Hu let out a cold snort and, with great haughtiness, offered no reply. Bai Yu thus had his answer: "It seems you didn't catch him."

Yan Maoqing, sitting in the primary seat, slammed his desk and barked, "Stop with the idle chatter! We are here to question you!" He then grilled Bai Yu: "Who instigated you to attack Minister of Works Ouyang Bijin during the court discussion the day before yesterday? Who is your backer?"

From this first question alone, one could discern his biased stance; otherwise, he would not have started by pinning labels and pre-determining the outcome. Bai Yu replied, "Everything I said that day was improvised on the spot. There was no premeditated instigation by anyone, let alone some so-called backer. As for why Ouyang Bijin resigned, the fundamental reason is simply that he no longer wished to serve. How could that possibly have anything to do with me?"

Yan Maoqing did not believe him at all, retorting, "Nonsense! You are a mere junior officer; if no one were supporting you, how would you dare to contradict a Minister of the Six Ministries? Who gave you the gall to do this?"

Bai Yu said with righteous indignation, "If you ask who gives me support, it is my responsibility. If you ask who gives me the gall, it is my duty!"

Yan Maoqing: "..."

*Damn it,* he thought, *that was a sharp response!* He had not expected that a mere fifteen-year-old boy would be so difficult to deal with.

Taking advantage of Yan Maoqing’s hesitation, Bai Yu continued, "It is my duty to monitor court discussions. When I heard Ouyang Bijin's improper remarks on the spot, I could not help but speak out to censure him. If you wish to hold me accountable for speaking without authorization or for negligence of duty, there might be some justification, but to accuse me of being instigated by others is to manufacture a false charge!"

Yan Maoqing pressed on: "A few days ago, you were suddenly transferred to direct duty at the Meridian Gate. What was the reason for that? Was there someone with a premeditated plan who transferred a pawn like you here in advance?"

Bai Yu offered a truth that, to outsiders, sounded least like a truth: "The reason I was transferred to the Meridian Gate is, naturally, because of my talent."

The logic reached a closed loop, and the questioning seemed to have hit a dead end. Yan Maoqing only regretted that Bai Yu was not a criminal suspect—his status was that of an imperial bodyguard officer—and they were merely conducting an investigative inquiry, not a formal interrogation, meaning they could not use torture to force a confession. He decided to attack from another angle to break the boy's psychological defenses.

"During the court discussion the day before yesterday, besides attacking Ouyang Bijin, you made many other points! Are these really the insights of a mere junior officer? Don't you find that suspicious?"

Bai Yu recalled the event and replied blankly, "I didn't say anything wrong; what is there to be suspicious about? At the time, I only spoke about rectifying the salt administration and cracking down on smuggling to quickly gather silver for emergencies. This is a good thing for your Yan Faction as well. Given the influence of your faction, the imperial commissioner for salt reform will surely be one of your own—no one else could handle it anyway. Perhaps you, Vice Censor Yan, will be the one appointed. I should congratulate you on your future wealth; what is there for you to be dissatisfied about?"

Yan Maoqing and Yan Hu turned to their clerks simultaneously and barked, "Cut that part out! Do not record it!"

The clerk: "..."

Yan Maoqing took a deep breath. He had truly underestimated this boy; he had almost been led into a trap without realizing it. He refused to believe that he, a bureaucrat of several decades, could not handle a fifteen-year-old greenhorn. Getting serious, Yan Maoqing asked again, "The suspicious part I refer to is that those statements of yours were coached by others in advance!"

Bai Yu said calmly, "Those words were all my own thoughts. No one in this world taught me."

"Bullshit!" Yan Maoqing slammed the table. "Do you think we haven't checked your background? You come from a poor military family, you only attended a community school for three months, and you've been idling ever since! If you weren't coached, where did you get the knowledge and insight to support those statements?"

Touching upon his most fundamental secret, Bai Yu replied impatiently, "Because the current Sage Emperor is on the throne, I have been taught by a divine being in my dreams. Is that acceptable?"

Yan Maoqing said viciously, "You claim you have knowledge. Do you dare to prove it?"

Bai Yu was stunned. Why did it feel like he had fallen into the trap of "proving he hadn't eaten two bowls of noodles"? However, in the face of absolute ability, this was nothing.

Yan Maoqing continued, "I don't need to set a test for you myself, lest you say I am biased and deliberately making things difficult for you! There is another court discussion in the adjacent hall today. I don't even know what matters are being discussed there. Do you dare to follow me to the court hall and participate in the discussion on the spot to prove that you truly possess sufficient knowledge?"

Having reached this point, Bai Yu could not back down. "Let's try it then!"

They arrived at the East Court Hall, where Bai Yu had been two days prior; it was the fixed venue for court discussions, both large and small. Under normal circumstances, the court did not have such frequent discussions, but the second lunar month was special. As the saying goes, "The plan for the year is laid out in the spring." After the New Year, everything is planned and deployed in the second month, hence the increase in discussions.

The Jinyiwei officer monitoring the site today was Centurion Qian himself. Perhaps because of the incident last time, to show he was taking it seriously, even the squad leader, Centurion Qian, had to be present.

Yan Maoqing and Bai Yu walked in one after the other, briefly interrupting the proceedings. Everyone was quite surprised—why had he brought this person here?

Yan Maoqing asked, "What matter are you gentlemen discussing?"

Minister of War Xu Lun, who had also thrown his lot in with Senior Grand Secretary Yan Song, replied, "We are discussing measures to guard against the Northern Barbarians this year. Does Vice Censor Yan have any advice?"

Yan Maoqing pointed to Bai Yu. "He insists that no one coached him the other day and that his words came from his heart. So, today, I am giving him a chance to prove his innocence and see if he truly has sufficient knowledge. He doesn't need to say anything profound; just listing a few items on paper will suffice."

The ministers standing there all had sufficient political awareness; they couldn't miss the meaning behind Yan Maoqing's words. It was nothing more than an attempt to find a breakthrough point through this junior officer and implicate more people—it was all just a tactic of factional strife.

Minister of War Xu Lun could not help but say, "Are national affairs to be treated like child's play, allowing a greenhorn to babble nonsense?" Although he was part of the Yan Faction, Xu Lun still felt that Yan Maoqing was showing him no respect; could the issue of the Northern Barbarians be used for such jokes?