Chapter 67: Endless Troubles (Part Two)

Bai Yu stared blankly at Lu Bing, wondering what on earth he had done this time to make the Commander of the Brocade Guard so furious.

He had merely secretly published a few opera lyrics and poems without ever exposing his true identity.

Besides, the whole thing had been initiated by his eccentric niece; wasn't it a bit absurd to hold him, a mere pawn, primarily responsible?

Commander Qian hurriedly invited Lu Bing to the seat of honor and then expelled all other idlers from the room.

Lu Bing asked Bai Yu, "Those song lyrics that Xianghong performed on the stage a couple of days ago—were they all composed by you?"

Bai Yu hastily explained, "I merely wrote them at someone else's request."

He then emphasized, "Moreover, I remained completely anonymous at the time, and the outside world has no knowledge of my identity. Commander, you may rest assured!"

Lu Bing rebuked angrily, "Whether you exposed your identity or not, we will leave that aside for the moment!"

That left Bai Yu even more baffled. If even that could be set aside, what else was there to mind?

Then he heard Lu Bing scold him, "I have said more than once that you need to behave yourself and stop stirring up court factionalism. Am I right or wrong?"

Feeling deeply wronged, Bai Yu cried out in protest, "Ever since my trial, I have kept a very low profile and minded my own business, paying no heed to the outside world. Lord Qian can testify to this!"

Lu Bing snapped back, "Bollocks!"

Although Bai Yu enjoyed making trouble, he refused to take the blame for something he hadn't done. With stubborn defiance, he asked, "If the Commander believes I have broken the rules, please present the concrete evidence."

Lu Bing replied, "Take a look at the lyrics you wrote: 'It's best to be an official, and a high official at that; a high official towers far above the small fry. Below the Emperor, above tens of thousands; civil and military ministers are all like cats. Turning hands to form clouds and covering them to make rain, a twitch of the eyebrows shakes the mountains and rivers.'

And what about this: 'Endless ostentation, endless power... endless hymns of praise, endless gifts received.'"

"What's wrong with that?" Wondering if his IQ had suddenly plummeted today, Bai Yu completely failed to keep up with Lu Bing's train of thought.

Wasn't it just a satire on the official ecosystem? Did they really have to elevate it to such a grave political level?

*Crack!* Lu Bing slammed his palm heavily against the armrest. "The Yan Faction believes these verses are an insinuation against Senior Grand Secretary Yan! They claim it's a public attack on Senior Grand Secretary Yan right there on the stage!"

Bai Yu: "......"

What the hell kind of bizarre chain reaction was this?

After a moment of stunned silence, Bai Yu said incredulously, "Are everyone in the Yan Faction complete idiots? Who goes out of their way to associate themselves with such things?"

Lu Bing replied, "It's not that they associated themselves of their own accord. After these lyrics circulated widely, many people began to suspect they were targeting Senior Grand Secretary Yan Song!

Facing such turbulent rumors and the widespread circulation of these lyrics, the Yan Faction simply couldn't maintain their composure anymore!"

At this point, Bai Yu could be certain that he was truly more wronged than Dou E!

So he protested his innocence once more: "That was never my original intention; it's entirely malicious misinterpretation by others! As the author, I can guarantee that these lyrics had no intention whatsoever of insinuating anything against Senior Grand Secretary Yan!"

Lu Bing retorted exasperatedly, "What do you, the original author, know! Do you have any idea that the Yan Faction is now interrogating me, believing once again that I was pulling the strings behind the scenes?!"

At that moment, Lu Bing truly felt mentally and physically exhausted. Ever since February, he seemed to have been trapped in a rhythm of high-intensity, continuous confrontation with the Yan Faction.

One wave barely subsided before another rose, leaving him not even a moment to catch his breath. It never stopped.

Upon careful reflection, the source of every single incident seemed to be this very youth standing before him, acting like a ceaseless epicenter of trouble.

The Yan Faction had deep roots, and while they could afford to sustain such prolonged, high-intensity conflict, he and Xu Jie were starting to find it difficult to keep up.

Even though their side generally held the upper hand—and could even be said to be constantly winning—the toll was immense.

If this endless attrition continued, he feared his own side would be completely worn out before they could ever defeat the Yan Faction.

By now, Bai Yu roughly understood what Lu Bing was driving at, and immediately offered his counsel:

"We are essentially at the stage of close-quarters combat now. If the Commander feels immense pressure, the Yan Faction feels it just as acutely! At a time like this, it's a contest of sheer willpower to see who can hold out longer!"

Yet, seemingly entirely disinclined to discuss politics with Bai Yu, Lu Bing changed the subject. "Regarding the verdict for your case of causing an uproar at the prefectural office, the Three Judicial Offices have concluded their deliberations, and a decision has been reached."

Seeing Lu Bing dodge the topic, Bai Yu couldn't help but feel a wave of disappointment.

It seemed his previous assessment of Lu Bing's character still held true: he was someone who "wished to achieve great things while cherishing his own skin."

After all, Lu Bing's life had been far too smooth. Ever since his youth, when he followed Emperor Jiajing to the capital, his career had soared effortlessly on fair winds.

This had resulted in a man who, though exceptionally clever, clearly lacked the grit, raw tenacity, and fighting spirit to bite down and battle to the bitter end.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Bai Yu sneered inwardly and said, "I truly never imagined that a trivial matter of mine would actually warrant deliberations by the Three Judicial Offices. I am deeply flattered."

The Three Judicial Offices referred to the Ministry of Punishments, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review. Normally, when these three bodies jointly handled a case, the Eastern Depot and the Brocade Guard would also be present to oversee proceedings.

Lu Bing announced the verdict: "After joint deliberations, the Three Judicial Offices have ruled this as a mutiny."

What? Bai Yu raised his head in astonishment. How on earth had it actually been judged as a mutiny?

When he had first floated the concept of a "mutiny," it was merely to disrupt Censor Wei's train of thought and steer him toward a direction favorable to himself.

He genuinely never expected that the label of "mutiny" would actually be pinned on him in the end.

How could the esteemed supreme judicial organs abandon their dignity and become so absurdly shameless?

Lu Bing explained, "Because of those lyrics, the Yan Faction sternly accused our side of deliberately provoking trouble yet again, and even escalated the complaint all the way to the Emperor.

The pressure on our side was simply too immense, so we had to throw the Yan Faction a bone in other aspects—at least to keep up appearances on the surface.

Looking around at all our options, only by ruling it a mutiny could we mete out a certain degree of punishment to you while simultaneously preserving the position of the Yan Faction's Prefect of Shuntian, thus shutting the Yan Faction up.

At the same time, adopting the approach of handling a mutiny through pacification spares you from severe bodily harm. It's a solution both sides can accept."

Bai Yu had zero interest in the inner workings of such dirty political compromises and asked bluntly, "Just tell me what the sentence is!"

Lu Bing proceeded to announce: "First, you retain your military status, but you are stripped of your current assignment and sent back to your place of origin to serve."

This was standard treatment for soldiers involved in a mutiny—they were not allowed to remain in their original units. Even if there were extenuating circumstances and no further punishment was inflicted, they had to be sent away.

Bai Yu couldn't help wondering: where even was his "place of origin"? The Elephant-Training Office?

However, the fact that he retained his status meant his rank as a platoon leader and his monthly salary of two *shi* of grain were still intact. This could be considered a favorable outcome secured for him by his influential backers.

Lu Bing continued, "Second, you are fined one year's salary. In addition, you must compensate the prefectural office with ten *shi* of rice for the injured clerks. All other offenses and faults will no longer be pursued."

"No!!" Bai Yu let out a cry of anguish, his heart aching so fiercely he could barely breathe.

They could strip him of his platoon leader rank, or even take away his status as a guard officer—he didn't care.

At worst, the young master here could just go take the imperial examinations and quit the clique of the imperial secret police!

But how could they fine him and dock his salary? He was already this poor, and before he had even made a fortune, he was being thrust directly into debt. How was he supposed to survive like this?!