Lin Jingyue had spent half a month quietly sheltering from the storm inside the Eastern Palace, burying her head at her desk to map out the future direction of her shops. When she had spare time, she would copy Buddhist scriptures as a pastime, ensuring that no one would find grounds to criticize her later.
During these two weeks, reports from both the outer court and the inner palace flowed to her ears incessantly. The outer court remained embroiled in the same old conflicts. According to Xiao Lingzi, the memorials from the censors and imperial historians impeaching the Eastern Palace were sent to Qinzheng Hall, only to be cast aside by Emperor Taifeng, who ignored them entirely. Some officials had gradually come to their senses and kept to themselves. Others, however, were more stubborn; they took advantage of the morning court sessions to brazenly impeach her, arguing that as the Crown Princess, she already enjoyed a life of luxury beyond the reach of ordinary people and therefore had no business meddling in commerce or snatching profits from the mouths of the impoverished.
Initially, with the Crown Prince away from the capital and most of the Eastern Palace officials having followed him, there had been no one capable of suppressing this massive crusade against her. But the censors and historians had overlooked one person: Xu Wenzhou, who had just been appointed as the Censor-in-Chief.
Chapter 215