Chapter 707: Chilly Wind Bone-Scorching

Xuanyuan Qi raised his eyebrows: "I would like to hear the details."

"As an official appointed by the court, I eat the emperor's salary and share the emperor's worries." Xie Jin said calmly, "I definitely cannot tolerate such things as criticizing the emperor. Moreover, I am also in charge of the Ministry of Justice, so I can't turn a blind eye."

Xuanyuan Qi nodded: "That's right."

"Fortunately, I can start with the officials." Xie Jin smiled calmly, his tone was calm, and he even sounded particularly gentle and harmless. "All those who criticize the emperor, I can write them down one by one, and I will always be able to catch solid evidence in the future, and then I will slowly deal with them."

The faces of the young masters changed slightly, and their bodies unconsciously sat up a little straighter. The wind blowing from the lake was even colder, brushing against the cheeks like a steel knife scraping flesh, and it hurt a lot.

"It is said that managing the family is the key to governing the country and the world. It is the basic responsibility of officials to manage their families. If they cannot even control the mouths of their wives, children and elders, how can they seek welfare for the people? This official will have no future." Xie Jin raised his eyebrows, slowly swept his eyes across the faces of the people present, and said in a lazy voice, "Do you think this is the truth?" Mo Lingan said, "Officials can control their own mouths and their family's mouths, but they can't stop the gossip of the public-" "The gossip of the public?" Xie Jin smiled nonchalantly, "Can you manage your own nine clans?" The air in the flower hall dropped a few degrees, and it was freezing cold, like the severe cold of the 39th day of winter. Mo Lingan seemed a little dissatisfied: "Officials are busy with court affairs all day long, and they can control their families, but the nine clans are involved in a wide range, how can they manage it?"

"If you can't even manage your own nine clans, then there is definitely no way to manage the people of the world." Xie Jin said calmly, "In this case, it is better to take off your official uniform and go home to farm."

As soon as the voice fell, the flower hall was instantly silent.

The young masters were actually more dissatisfied in their hearts. They already understood why Xie Jin called them here today. Wasn't it just to warn everyone to keep their mouths shut? But he was just a minister of the Ministry of Justice-among young people of the same generation, his position as a third-rank minister was indeed quite remarkable.

But a third-rank minister was not really a man who could command hundreds of people among the civil and military officials in the court, and he was still young. How could he speak in the court?

He wanted to shut everyone's mouths, which was simply a fantasy and overestimating his own abilities.

"Although I am not a high-ranking official, I have the trust and respect of His Majesty and the Regent, and I have the right to enter and exit the Dazheng Palace and the Imperial Study at any time. If I want to impeach an official, I will definitely find sufficient evidence." Xie Jin smiled faintly, "Shangning is far away from the Tiandu Imperial City, and I can investigate him thoroughly, let alone the imperial city under the feet of the emperor?"

The faces of the young masters changed.

"As long as I want to investigate, there is no evidence that I can't find. I can definitely do it in less than a month for those I want to bring down." Xie Jin always maintained a lazy and casual smile, "The crime of 'criticizing the emperor' alone is enough to make the life of the bad-mouthed person in danger. For those with serious circumstances, it is not a problem to implicate the nine clans."

Silence.

Long silence.

Deathly silence.

At the table, someone's hand holding the wine cup began to turn pale, and I don't know if it was frozen or scared.

"Everyone, you may as well convey my words when you go back. I will start to investigate openly and secretly from tomorrow." Xie Jin picked up the wine cup, took a sip elegantly, and his voice became more friendly. "If you commit the same offense again after my reminder, it means you are committing the offense knowingly. People who are familiar with me know that the Ninth Master of the Xie family is not someone who is easy to mess with."

Finally, someone spoke up during the dinner, with a nervous tone: "During the holidays in the past two years, my father has been staying at home to be filial to his grandmother and has never said anything about the rumors outside. Please investigate clearly, Ninth Master."

Xie Jin raised his lips: "Really? That's good."

Xu Jun, the son of Lord Xu, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, said: "In fact, I have heard some discussions in the past two days, but most of them are discussions among ordinary people after dinner, and I have never heard of it among officials."

"Ordinary people dare not offend the holy majesty, and the discussions are mostly just for fun. There is a limit after all." Xie Jin said, "We can't shut everyone up. After all, the current Queen and the Regent are tolerant and wise, and will do our utmost The people are given freedom of speech, but officials have read the books of sages and should know etiquette and laws. Those who knowingly violate the law will be punished more severely. "

Xu Jun's face was pale, and his hand holding the wine glass was a little unsteady: "Jiu Ye is right. Fortunately, my father has always been strict with himself and would never dare to criticize Your Majesty and the Regent behind their backs. He will never make such a mistake in the future."

Xie Jin nodded casually: "Lord Xu is an upright official and has always acted with discretion. He knows what can and cannot be done. This official I have a good impression of him, and I think it will not be difficult for him to be promoted in the future. "

Xu Jun was delighted and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Master Jiu."

When the others heard this, they took the opportunity to express their loyalty, and promised one after another that they would remind their families to keep their mouths shut after returning, never speak nonsense, never criticize the monarch, and be loyal to His Majesty, serve the court, and be a good parent official for the people...

It was too cold in the flower hall, and they were worried that if they sat here for another half a day, they would be frozen into ice sculptures.

Xie Jin got a satisfactory result and stopped making things difficult. He smiled gently and asked, "It's getting late. Are there any of you staying for lunch? I'll ask the servants to prepare--"

"I have something else to do, so I can only disappoint Master Jiu's kindness first." Master Chen stood up and carefully moved his frozen legs and feet, "I'll invite Master Jiu to my home another day. I hope Master Jiu will show me the honor when the time comes."

Xie Jin smiled gently and amiably: "As long as I don't oppose you, I will always show my favor."

Mr. Chen followed with a smile: "Then I'll take my leave first, and I'll host a banquet for Master Jiu another day."

Xie Jin nodded.

Others also took their leave and cordially invited Xie Jin to visit them another day.

When most of the visitors had left, Mo Lingan slowly spoke: "As expected of Master Xie Jiu, your way of doing things is admirable."

Xie Jin said: "You're flattering."

"Officials in the court only want promotion, a smooth career, and glory to their family. If they want more, they want to have many wives and concubines and have many children. But they fear many things, such as losing their jobs, being beheaded, implicated in the nine clans, and having their life's gains turned to ashes." Xuanyuan Qi turned his head and looked at Xie Jin, "Of course, no matter what they want or what they fear, it's a joke to others, but Master Jiu of the Xie family said these things, and every word was a thousand pounds of weight, and no one could ignore it."