Reborn as a eunuch, the system tells me to seduce the empress?

Chapter 17 If you're so capable, go and confront Lin Mo!

"Lin, you scoundrel, I will never forgive you!"

The main hall of the Ministry of War in Daliang.

Minister of War Liao Ningwu sat upright in the main seat, his knuckles white as he held the teacup, the tea rippling slightly.

On the table in front of him lay an unfinished document, with a vermilion pen lying to the side, its tip dried into a dark color.

On the floor of the hall in front of him, Fang Hong, the Vice Minister of War, had already lost his life, his eyes wide open, now a cold corpse.

The agents of the Eastern Depot dumped Fang Hong's body at the gate of the Ministry of War and then went back.

The people from the Eastern Depot are too arrogant.

"Your Excellency," a junior official from the Ministry of War cautiously stepped forward, his voice extremely low, "what should be done with Vice Minister Fang's body?"

Liao Ningwu did not answer immediately.

He slowly raised his eyelids, his gaze sweeping across the hall. The several vice ministers, doctors, and assistant ministers present all lowered their heads, none daring to meet his eyes.

Fang Hong is dead.

He was not Liao Ningwu's man, or rather, Fang Hong was never a member of any faction.

This person came from the imperial examination system, was a second-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), served as a county magistrate for six years and a prefect for three years. Due to his outstanding political achievements, he was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue and later to the Ministry of War.

This person is aloof, stubborn, and inflexible; his mind is filled with the rules and regulations from the classics.

When the Empress issued the decree ordering Lin Mo to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors and preparing to disband the Eastern Depot, the entire court celebrated.

Fang Hong, however, submitted a memorial, saying that although the Eastern Depot was in the hands of eunuchs, it was after all established by the late emperor, and its sudden dissolution might cause trouble; it should be dealt with gradually.

His words pleased neither side.

The Qingliu faction thought he spoke for the eunuch faction and was a treacherous official.

Xun Gui felt that he was obstructing the abolition of the Eastern Depot and had ulterior motives.

Liao Ningwu felt at the time that Fang Hong was not a long-lived person.

But he didn't expect Fang Hong to die so quickly, so decisively, so insignificantly.

"Give him a grand funeral befitting a third-rank official." Liao Ningwu finally spoke, his voice hoarse: "Minister Fang was, after all, an official appointed by the court. Even if... even if he made mistakes, he shouldn't have ended up like this."

The words were vague, but everyone in the hall understood. Minister Liao was saying that Lin Mo had gone too far, but at the same time he dared not say it outright, so he could only use the phrase "mistaken actions" to cover up for Fang Hong.

"But..." the doctor hesitated, but finally spoke up to persuade him, "The news from the Eastern Depot says that Vice Minister Fang 'trespassed into the Eastern Depot's office, impersonated an imperial envoy, and had ulterior motives.' If this charge is applied, the Fang family might..."

Liao Ningwu slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacup to jump up and spill tea all over the table.

"Does the Eastern Depot just say whatever it wants?" He gritted his teeth, forcing out the words, "Fang Hong is a military supervisor sent by the Ministry of War. He has my official seal and the Grand Secretariat's approval. Is this what you call impersonating an imperial envoy? Is this what you call trespassing?"

The hall was deathly silent.

No one dared to speak.

Because everyone understood that Fang Hong's death was not due to trespassing into the Eastern Depot's office, nor was it because he impersonated an imperial envoy.

Rather, it was because Lin Mo needed a head to establish his authority.

Fang Hong happened to stick his head out.

That's it.

Liao Ningwu took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He picked up his teacup to take a sip, only to find the tea had gone cold. He slammed the teacup down and said in a deep voice, "Prepare the sedan chair; I must go to the palace to meet the Emperor."

The physician whispered, "Sir, the palace gates are already locked. His Majesty is probably..."

"Then let's meet early tomorrow morning." Liao Ningwu stood up, flicked his sleeve, and said, "I would like to ask His Majesty, is there any justice left in the Eastern Depot's persecution of court officials?"

Liao Ningwu's chest heaved violently, his breathing heavy like that of a trapped beast.

Of course he knew who Lin Mo was; everyone in the court knew him.

Lin Mo was a eunuch promoted by the late emperor in his later years, holding two important positions: the Director of the Eastern Depot and the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

When the late emperor was alive, Lin Mo dared to impeach the Grand Secretary in court, forcing the Grand Secretary to retire and return to his hometown.

With the late emperor's death and the empress's ascension to the throne, everyone thought Lin Mo was finished.

The Empress ordered him to reflect on his actions behind closed doors, abolished most of the Eastern Depot's staff, and revoked its powers of arrest and interrogation.

For those few months, all the officials in the court were waiting to see what would happen to Lin Mo.

But the result?

Lin Mo entered the palace and had a private conversation with the Empress for an hour before emerging with an imperial edict to reopen the Eastern Depot.

Not only was it reopened, but the Eastern Depot also wielded greater power, had a larger staff, and received more pay than before.

The most terrifying thing was that the first thing Qian did after Lin Mo left the palace was to kill Fang Hong, the Vice Minister of War, in public.

The Empress remained silent on the matter.

This in itself says it all.

Liao Ningwu suddenly realized how ridiculous his earlier statement about "entering the palace to meet the emperor" was.

If Her Majesty the Empress wanted to manage it, the Eastern Depot would never be reopened.

The fact that there has been no movement from the palace so far makes the meaning all too clear.

The Empress acquiesced.

It might even have been instructed to do so.

"Get up, all of you." Liao Ningwu's voice suddenly became weary. He waved his hand. "Have someone take Vice Minister Fang's body back to the Fang family!"

"My lord!" Several officials from the Ministry of War looked up simultaneously, their faces filled with resentment, and said, "Are we just going to let this matter go like this?"

"Otherwise what!" Liao Ningwu sneered, glaring at his subordinates. "Which of you has the ability to go to the Eastern Depot and kill that eunuch Lin Mo to avenge Minister Fang?"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent.

Liao Ningwu is right.

Fang Hong's decision to send men to the Eastern Depot as military supervisors was the result of a joint effort by the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Personnel.

to be honest.

The civil service group wanted to take advantage of Lin Mo's loss of power to plant a spy in the Eastern Depot.

If this nail is firmly planted, the Eastern Depot will have to be mindful of the civil officials' opinions in the future.

But the Empress clearly didn't want the civil officials to have such a long reach.

So Fang Hong died.

To die honorably and justifiably.

Liao Ningwu slowly sat back down in his chair and closed his eyes.

He suddenly remembered the last words Fang Hong had said to him before he left.

Fang Hong stood in the main hall of the Ministry of War, wearing a brand-new third-rank official's robe with a silver belt around his waist, his face bearing the stubbornness and aloofness typical of scholars.

"Rest assured, Lord Liao, when I go to the Eastern Depot, I will make sure those eunuchs know that this world belongs to scholars, not eunuchs."

Liao Ningwu didn't say anything at the time, he just patted Fang Hong on the shoulder.

Looking back now, he should have stopped Fang Hong from going back then.

But he didn't.

Because at that time he also felt that the Eastern Depot was finished, and Lin Mo was finished too.

What trouble could a eunuch, who had been ordered by the emperor to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors, possibly cause?

Who would have thought that this eunuch not only turned his life around, but also dared to kill someone on the very first day of his newfound power?

This incident shows that Lin Mo is not someone you can easily offend.

Most importantly, this eunuch is really capable of killing people!

Upon thinking of this, Liao Ningwu slumped into his chair, speechless.

These people in front of me were shouting that they were unwilling to accept defeat and wanted revenge.

But when it came to actually fighting Lin Mo, that treacherous villain, none of them had the guts to face him; they only wanted Chen to step up.

You only wish for your fellow Daoist to die, but you have no intention of implicating me!