Chapter 1035: Chapter 671: Guilty Conscience

Min Feng was astonished; he simply couldn’t imagine how this was possible.

Hu Maoshen frowned upon hearing the words. As soon as he entered the room, he saw that several superiors hadn’t been greeted properly, and their names were called directly. How could Min Feng be so audacious?

Gu Chengyu leisurely put down the tea bowl; previously, he hadn’t paid much attention to Min Feng.

A young man relying on his teacher’s support, who actually didn’t have much capability and was just starting out, he didn’t need to be regarded as equals for now.

But since Min Feng came to Jiangnan, he seemed to have become audacious.

"Min Shidu, Mr. Gu is an imperial envoy sent by the court, and now he has already been appointed as Right Minister of the Ministry of Justice, which is a Standard Fourth Rank official position. How can you call him by his name? This is a great disrespect to a superior."

Hu Maoshen highly appreciated Gu Chengyu’s abilities, and now seeing Min Feng’s incompetence, he couldn’t help but feel disdain in his heart.

It seems people are incomparable; before the bright moon like Gu Chengyu, Min Feng isn’t even a grain of light.

Only after Hu Maoshen scolded him did Min Feng come to his senses. It turned out that he was too shocked just now and had called out Gu Chengyu’s name.

This is absolutely forbidden in the officialdom. How could a subordinate be so ignorant of the hierarchy?

No matter what, Min Feng had lost his composure just now, so he must apologize and ask for forgiveness from Gu Chengyu.

Just as Min Feng was about to apologize, he suddenly remembered that he might have overlooked something earlier. Then he was startled; what did Hu Maoshen just say?

Right Minister of the Ministry of Justice? When did Gu Chengyu become the Right Minister of the Ministry of Justice? This is completely impossible.

Min Feng shook his head vehemently, feeling that this was absolutely impossible, definitely impossible!

Gu Chengyu slightly closed his eyes, "Min Shidu, your rank was already below mine. Yet you called me by my name; are you dissatisfied with me?"

Min Feng’s disrespect felt like a slight against his authority. Even if you are Xia Qing’s young disciple, so what?

Min Feng’s expression immediately turned grim. He hurriedly bowed to Gu Chengyu, saying, "Your Excellency, seeing you suddenly appear in Hangtian Prefecture was truly shocking, hence my earlier loss of composure. Please forgive my rude behavior."

Gu Chengyu looked at Min Feng’s bowed head, with a half-smile on his face. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

After a while, Min Feng hadn’t heard Gu Chengyu respond, and dissatisfaction arose in his heart. What did Gu Chengyu mean? Did he plan to press his advantage after catching Min Feng’s mistake?

Hu Maoshen noticed Gu Chengyu just smiling without speaking while Min Feng’s bowed head seemed to lift slightly. The study was quiet; the scene became awkward.

"Ahem!" Hu Maoshen coughed softly and glanced at Gu Chengyu, signaling him to stop at the proper limit.

One can’t offend someone too severely, as after all, one must consider the person behind them!

After all, his backer is the power-wielding Chief Minister Xia, and for the sake of future peace, Hu Maoshen wasn’t willing to offend Min Feng too much. After all, Xia Qing was known for taking revenge over the smallest grievances.

Such a narrow-minded person, if offended, would certainly make life difficult in the court in the future.

Gu Chengyu understood Hu Maoshen’s meaning, but this time he didn’t intend to let it slide.

"Min Shidu, the Emperor sent you to Jiangnan to inspect the river embankment, did he not?" Gu Chengyu didn’t make him exempt from the ceremony, asking instead a question that bewildered everyone present.

Min Feng was still immersed in the matter of Gu Chengyu’s promotion to the Right Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Gu Chengyu’s lack of respect infuriated him.

Upon hearing Gu Chengyu speak, he initially thought that Gu Chengyu would say a few routine words, easing the situation and letting it go. Who expected Gu Chengyu to be pretentious?

He sternly replied, "Indeed! The Emperor appointed me as the River Patrol Imperial Censor; you should know this."

After all, when the Emperor issued the decree, Gu Chengyu was present, wasn’t he now asking a rhetorical question?

"Since you admit it, I’ll be frank. I heard Mr. Hu mention earlier that he previously sent a letter to Yingnan Prefecture Magistrate Li Taixing, and when Li Taixing replied rejecting the reception of disaster victims, weren’t you also in Yingnan Mansion?"

Gu Chengyu’s eyes showed a hint of disdain as he looked at Min Feng. Earlier Hu Maoshen didn’t mention Min Feng’s handwritten letters since they were private correspondence, and Gu Chengyu couldn’t directly inquire.

But a clear explanation was necessary, as Min Feng’s indifference to human lives was despicable.

However, as this was mentioned, not only did Min Feng’s face turn pale, but even Hu Maoshen’s face displayed a look of anger.

When Hu Maoshen sent letters to the three neighboring prefectures, who would have expected all three to refuse? And all the refusals were virtually identical, mainly citing a lack of grain and money.

The words contained many excuses, with Yingnan Mansion even claiming their river embankment was leaking.

Yingnan Mansion was located upstream on the Tianya River, with numerous tributaries. If it was indeed leaking, consequences would have been severe. The embankment could collapse, spilling water across a thousand miles.

Such a serious matter, yet Yingnan Mansion appeared so calm? They would have already been making grand preparations to repair the river embankment.

And these Ministry of Industry officials wouldn’t have appeared in Hangtian Prefecture, as Li Taixing wouldn’t have let them leave.

At that time, Hu Maoshen’s entire focus was on the disaster victims in Changtian Prefecture and didn’t think deeply about it. But upon reconsideration, he realized Li Taixing was toying with him!

Thinking that currying favor with Min Feng could ally him with Chief Minister Xia? Not even connected yet, they were already disregarding him as the imperial envoy.

Hu Maoshen was infuriated by those who shirked responsibilities, but he particularly loathed Li Taixing’s actions.

Li Taixing was his contemporary, even his schoolmate. He considered their relationship close; otherwise, he wouldn’t have introduced Min Feng to Li Taixing upon his arrival in Yingnan Mansion.

Unexpectedly, these two latched onto each other, throwing the introducer over the wall, stomping a few times before doing so. How could Hu Maoshen swallow this insult?

"When I first arrived at Yingnan Mansion, I sent people to investigate the river embankment’s condition; upon questioning the river workers, I found the embankment intact so far. As River Patrol Imperial Censor, inspecting the embankment was your duty. So I ask you, does the Yingnan Mansion embankment have any leaks?"

Gu Chengyu leaned forward with eyes as sharp as a hawk, causing Min Feng to feel immense pressure.

Min Feng had accepted benefits from Li Taixing, having discussed countermeasures with him on this issue. Since Li Taixing assured no mishaps, Min Feng felt somewhat reassured.

But Gu Chengyu unexpectedly brought it up; sweat appeared on his forehead.

This was his first time accepting a bribe; now being questioned by Gu Chengyu naturally made him extremely guilty.