Iron Dynasty Chapter 1051
Previously on Iron Dynasty...
Upon departing from the Zhengda Guangming Hall, Fei Ji wiped away the chilly sweat beading on his forehead.
Even with Fei Tong exiled and Fei Pei plus Fei Yuhe facing potential punishment, Fei Ji had at least distanced himself from Fei Pei ahead of time. Therefore, during court, Xiao Ming merely scolded him, without touching his official rank. For him, it was truly a fortune amid disaster.
He clearly discerned that Xiao Ming had masterminded the entire affair from start to finish, aiming to “kill the chicken to warn the monkeys.”
Indeed, if even the mighty and famed Fei family could be targeted, who in the realm would be beyond his reach?
Beyond the gates, the Fei family carriage awaited. Climbing aboard, Fei Ji pressed the driver urgently to speed home. He urgently needed to signal Fei Yuer, letting her soothe Xiao Ming with whispers. Without that, his future days promised hardship.
Yet his carriage barely advanced when another overtook it from the flank. The bamboo curtain lifted, revealing Ge Yiren's smile.
“Why such haste, Elder Fei? Care to join me for drinks at the Peach Blossom Manor beyond the city walls?” Ge Yiren invited with a grin.
Fei Ji offered a courteous smile. “My thanks for the gracious offer, Elder Ge. But after this dire ordeal, Fei Ji faces a pile of urgent tasks. I must regretfully refuse.”
“Very well, I won't insist. Still, Elder Fei, drop by Peach Blossom Manor whenever free—I’ll gladly host you.”
Fei Ji kept his smile, cupped his hands, then dropped the bamboo curtain. Amid such turmoil, he shunned further ties to Ge Yiren. A foreboding sense told him this storm would rage on.In the rival carriage, Ge Yiren huffed as the curtain fell. Turning to Wang Chengye beside him, he grumbled, “Back in Chang’an, Fei Ji bowed to my authority in court. Who’d think I’d now humble myself before him?”
Wang Chengye appeared deaf to Ge Yiren’s words, lost in stupidity, mumbling, “The Ministry of Rites is finished, the Ministry of Rites is gone. I, Wang Chengye, stand as an eternal sinner.”
Ge Yiren’s brow furrowed, fury flashing across his features. He swung his hand, slapping Wang Chengye. “Shameful to call you my disciple. It’s merely the Minister of Rites—lost is lost. Must you mope like a soulless ghost?”
The slap jolted Wang Chengye alert. Clutching his burning cheek, he wailed, “Teacher, it’s not that this disciple lacks resolve. No dynasty ever abolished the Ministry of Rites. Today, it crumbles under my watch. How can I show my face in this world?”
Ge Yiren sneered. “The Ministry of Rites was doomed to vanish eventually. You’ve studied New Confucianism, right? The Emperor deems rituals mere empty shells, urging utter simplification. With simplification everywhere, why keep the Ministry of Rites? He seized your blunder for the ideal pretext to scrap it.”
“Alas! Had I foreseen this, I’d never have schemed with the Fei family and Duke Tang over that private school.” Endless remorse flooded Wang Chengye.
Stroking his beard calmly, Ge Yiren countered, “You err. Abolishing the Ministry of Rites is trivial. The true crisis lies in blurring noble-common divides. Today’s court decree from the Emperor targets the ancient scholar-gentry clans spanning millennia. Should it pass, our lineages face oblivion.”
Wang Chengye paled in shock. “Teacher, what recourse do we have? My son Xiao Yue is grown; I hoped your endorsement would secure him a court post. With the Emperor’s decree in force, that dream shatters, doesn’t it?”
“Precisely. Not just your Wang clan—countless official houses lose their avenues forever. The Emperor’s stroke cuts deep.”
Wang Chengye shook his head, anguish twisting his visage. “If my son bars from court, must the Wang family scrape by on barren fields alone? No, impossible…”
Ge Yiren observed the frenzied Wang Chengye. Of his pupils, this one grasped his doctrines best, yet bore a fatal flaw: extremism.
This crisis had plainly unhinged Wang Chengye. bereft of rank, his son now barred from bureaucracy too. For official stock like him, such demotion proved unbearable.
It mirrored a lavish lord thrust into penury.
The carriage rolled several more li before halting at house 308, south street of Qingzhou. To streamline billing for power and water, commoner walls had fallen, assigning numbers per home for control. Here dwelt Wang Chengye.
“We’ve reached your door. Jobless now, fend for yourself henceforth.”
With that, Ge Yiren shut the carriage pane and departed, abandoning the broken Wang Chengye.
…
Imperial Study.
Court adjourned, Xiao Ming delved into memorials here. Soon, the Empress Dowager entered, steadied by Fei Yuer.
At their sight, Xiao Ming’s brows knit sternly. To Fei Yuer, he snapped, “I’ve ruled the inner palace yours to manage, barring court interference. If you’ve dragged the Empress Dowager here begging for Fei Tong, spare the effort.”
Fei Yuer blanched. Never had Xiao Ming chided her so harshly. Grievance thick in her voice, she replied, “Father did dispatch a missive to me, your servant, yet am I the sort to let kin meddle in state? I dispatched refusal at once. If Your Majesty doubts, query Luoluo—she witnessed it.”
Concubine Zhen clasped Fei Yuer’s hand then. To Xiao Ming, she urged, “Your Majesty, today I visited the Empress’s quarters and learned of court events. I come not to beg mercy for that rogue Fei Tong.”
Xiao Ming eased with a faint breath. In his modern life, he despised nepotism in firms, where kin wielded undue sway sans rank. Governing now, he loathed palace intrusion into policy.
“I overreacted, it seems.” Xiao Ming’s grin resurfaced. Yet Fei Yuer sulked, averting her gaze.
Concubine Zhen sighed in exasperation. To Xiao Ming, she advised, “Your Majesty, I visit solely to caution you. Renaming the realm sheds the old for fresh beginnings, but centuries of rot in the old Great Yu Empire won’t purge easily.”
“This son comprehends, yet these ills resemble dust upon this desk—neglected, they pile endlessly. Better to scour them routinely.”
“Sound reasoning, yet harsh cures wound the frame. History brims with sovereigns slain untimely for slashing elite privileges. I fear only for your welfare.”
Xiao Ming’s expression shifted. He knew the Empress Dowager’s fretting stemmed from maternal love, yet her warning sent shivers through his frame.