Jiajing also looked at the assembled officials, paced a few steps, and came before Yan Song, saying with a gentle smile:
"Elder Yan's third allusion speaks of me originally being a Daoist immortal cultivator, and him being a Qingci scholar who assisted Daoists—"
The words stopped abruptly.
Jiajing coldly watched Yan Song's eyes, while Yan Song slowly lowered his head, his eyes half-closed.
If the officials couldn't see what was happening now, they would be truly foolish. Everyone knew this was a summit confrontation, the outcome of which was uncertain. Everyone nervously lowered their heads. No matter who it was, they felt the immense pressure emanating from Yan Song.
These three allusions, interpreted in this manner, were like piercing daggers to the heart. Each interpretation was more severe than the last, stopping just short of directly accusing him of usurpation!
But Yan Song showed no panic at all. He simply hadn't expected Jiajing to use such a public method to expose and scrutinize these metaphors. This made him extremely uncomfortable, feeling a sense of shame as if his private matters were being exposed and scrutinized in broad daylight…
Jiajing, of course, understood all of Yan Song's thoughts.
He had been furious in the rear hall just moments ago, feeling that Yan Song was even worse than Yang Tinghe! Yang Tinghe, at least, had a plausible reason. But Yan Song's poem was a naked threat—
You, Yan Song, were merely a petty official back then, what support did you have for me?
Did I, the Emperor, not have the throne secured without you, Yan Song?
Did you, Yan Song, have my permission to call yourself a Qingci scholar?
It was precisely these three words, "Qingci scholar," that made Jiajing lose control!
One must understand that in his early years, Jiajing had also wished to govern the realm, but he was immediately attacked by Confucian officials, who exploited loopholes in the legal and ritualistic justifications for succession by princes.
Yang Tinghe's goal was to bind the emperor with laws and rituals. According to the Confucian sages, the Son of Heaven was merely an official, equivalent to what Zhu Mo called the "Father of all Officials." If the Son of Heaven was just an official, then he had to stand with all officials and could not abuse them with the Embroidered Uniform Guard or eunuchs.
To solve the problem once and for all, Yang Tinghe and his son went all out, leading the "Great Ritual Controversy" incident, forcing the fourteen-year-old Jiajing to accept the Confucian interpretation of rituals, thereby putting him under the long-term control of Confucian officials. This was akin to a powerful regime holding de facto power while the emperor held nominal authority, similar to Japan's Shogunate.
Jiajing refused, and thus used Zhang Cong and Yan Song, especially Yan Song, who directly became Jiajing's formidable fighter. With a series of skillful maneuvers, they annihilated Yang Tinghe's faction…
This, Jiajing believed, was Yan Song's understanding of a "Qingci scholar."
But later, Yan Song's faction became even more powerful than Yang Tinghe's, directly controlling the empire. The common people were already spreading rumors of "The Zhu family's empire, the Yan family's faction."
In countless desperate nights, Jiajing carefully reflected, still underestimating Yan Song, thus facing the danger of usurpation. Then, seeing the cowardice of Prince Yu, and thinking of the deaths of his several sons, he became disheartened, which led to the rise of Zhu Mo.
It could be said that the situation had completely changed. Although Jiajing still had a little residual affection for Yan Song, it was mostly cold calculation—
You intend to usurp my throne, and you still talk about feelings?
At this moment, as the words "Qingci scholar" were spoken again, Jiajing's anger could no longer be concealed!
Seeing Yan Song had lowered his head, he coldly swept his gaze across the officials, from Xu Jie to Yan Shifan, his eyes conveying a chill never before seen by anyone…
Heh heh. Jiajing gave a cold chuckle and spoke slowly:
"Qingci scholar?"
"Many of you have been with me for a long time… you have all heard of immortal cultivation… Today, since Elder Yan's presented poem mentions immortal cultivation, I will test you—"
He paced back to Yan Song, but without looking at him, instead looking up at the bright sun outside the hall, continuing:
"Although there are many immortal cultivators, few are able to ascend… Why? You all study the ways of the sages, perhaps you haven't heard, but immortal cultivators face a most dangerous tribulation. What is that tribulation?—It is—"
"Body Snatching!"
He sighed deeply and said again:
"Old Daoists cultivating immortality often labor for others… Sometimes, their souls fly beyond the heavens, their spirits roam the eight directions, and when they return, their young Daoist attendants have snatched their bodies! In the end, it is not the old Daoist who ascends, but the attendant… that is, the Qingci scholar as Elder Yan puts it!"
A commotion!
A hiss!
A hiss!
The assembled officials shivered!
What? What kind of scene was this? The next sentence would likely lead to the extermination of nine generations! What day was it today? Why did this happen?
At this very moment, the Yan family faction members were all petrified! Even Yan Shifan felt his whole body tense, his vision darkening!
Yan Song wore a bitter smile on his face, thinking: If you speak like this, then you don't even remember my contributions… What am I still doing here?
With this thought, he slowly knelt down, removed the seven-beam imperial crown from his head, touched his forehead to the ground, and said indifferently: "Your subject's presented poem was nonsensical! Your subject is guilty! I beg Your Majesty to dismiss your subject from the position of Grand Secretary, as a warning to others…"
Damn it!
My word!
This Yan Song is too ruthless! Even at this point, his tone is still so stern! Truly, he uses the softest posture to speak the hardest words!
Xu Jie and Li Chunfang exchanged a quiet glance, both with the same thought in their minds— Elder Yan Song has gone too far… Your Yan family's intentions are already as clear as day to everyone, why are you still pretending? You forced so many to their deaths, you can't attribute it all to the Emperor, can you? Over the years, whenever anyone tried to do anything, wasn't it you who obstructed them? If it was possible to argue this way before, then after Zhu Mo's reforms, wasn't everything your Yan family did tantamount to rebellion?
One must understand that they both, Xu Jie, had always wanted to make some changes, but his personality was adept at coordination. He wanted to bring down the Yan family but dared not confront them directly. All these years, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong had been pushing him to oppose Yan. With Zhang Juzheng in Jiangnan, and Gao Gong dismissed, Xu Jie felt no pressure and thus left everything to fate.
Li Chunfang was purely holding a sinecure, but holding a sinecure did not equate to being blind. Over the past decade, every step the Yan family took was towards establishing a dominant regime. If the common people were unaware, it would be understandable, but they were all Grand Secretaries. Who didn't have a clue?
The two of them looked at the entire scene with bitter smiles. Apart from a few neutral parties, who among the officials of rank two and above was not part of the Yan family? Among officials of rank three and four, the Yan family also held a dominant position. If this was still not a problem, then they were deceiving themselves.
The thoughts of the assembled officials were similar; it could be said that they had long been waiting for the Emperor to bring down the Yan family. But for years, they waited and waited, and waited some more, with no hope in sight. Those who had dared to oppose the Yan family had been beaten to death with hundreds of court staves.
At this moment, with the Emperor directly exploding at Yan Song, the officials, amidst their fear, felt an indescribable joy, truly hoping that this one move would finally bring down the Yan family!