Chapter 135: Shock Across the Entire Court

"Hahaha, I told you so! No one in this world can paint a person they have never laid eyes on. The kid from the Mo family is simply digging his own grave! To think he actually angered Duke Xun's widow to the point of fainting and being admitted to the Mo Hospital!"

In the Jiaosi Fang, Yan Xingjian laughed heartily, gloating over the misfortune.

"Well, this settles it. The Yin family brought the Mo family brat upon themselves, so they can't blame us if he fails to produce a portrait of Duke Xun!" Zhangsun Chong said with a sigh of relief. He had taken a risk by concealing the fact that Yan Liben also could not paint Yin Kaishan. Now that the Yin family had chosen the Mo family youth of their own accord, the blame would no longer fall on him.

"The Mo family kid and the Yin family are simply asking for public humiliation!" Du He snorted. Upon hearing that Madam Yin had been angered to the extent of being hospitalized, a great weight lifted from his chest. He thought to himself that it was fortunate the Mo family youth had failed to paint the portrait, otherwise his own Du household would have become the laughingstock of Chang'an.

However, none of them realized that Mo Dun possessed such an unimaginably bizarre skill—the ability to reconstruct a person's appearance purely through verbal descriptions. Furthermore, the Yin household was in such a state of chaos that no information leaked out.

"Since the Mo family brat has failed, should we proceed with our next plan?" Du He asked.

In his view, having already offended the Mo family youth, the only course of action left was to press the attack and finish him off.

"Of course we proceed!" Zhangsun Chong said with a sinister smile. "Not only will we proceed, but we will also add the crime of angering Duke Xun's widow to his list of offenses. This time, I will ensure the Mo family brat can never make a comeback."

"Elder Brother Zhangsun is brilliant! The Mo family kid is merely an upstart who loses his head the moment he gains a shred of influence. With a single move, Elder Brother Zhangsun will knock him right back to his original form," Yan Xingjian flattered, feeling a secret thrill of triumph. He still harbored deep resentment over the time Mo Dun had stepped on him to make a name for himself. Therefore, the moment Zhangsun Chong outlined the plan to retaliate against Mo Dun, he had immediately agreed to join. Now, the time for revenge had finally arrived.

Before long, as the news reached the estate of Duke Jiangzhong and the estate of the Duke of Zou, the Qutu and Zhang families also let out sighs of relief, feeling a secret smugness. They congratulated themselves on not having allowed the Mo family youth across their thresholds; otherwise, they would have ended up like the Yin family, a laughingstock for the entire city.

Not just them; whether nobles of high rank or ordinary commoners, upon hearing that the Mo family youth had angered Duke Xun's widow into a faint, they all shook their heads and sighed. The legend of the Mo family brat was shattered.

The next day, at the early morning court session in the Taiji Hall!

The passing ministers cast curious glances toward the section reserved for military generals. There, in the front row among the dukes, stood a fresh, youthful face—Yin Yuan.

"Duke Xun!"

Hearing Pang De call out the name, the ministers suddenly understood.

Ever since the passing of Yin Kaishan, no member of the Yin family had ever shown their face in the imperial court. This could be considered the Duke Xun's estate's grand debut in the halls of government.

"Why is he here?" a court official, poorly informed of recent events, asked in confusion.

"You haven't heard?" A minister nearby eagerly leaned in, recounting with colorful and dramatic flair how the Mo family brat had been turned away from three doors the day before, only to be lavishly welcomed by Duke Xun's estate, only to end up angering the widow into a faint—as if he had witnessed the entire scene with his own eyes.

"Oh! No wonder the Duke Xun's estate has brought this to the imperial court. That Mo family brat has indeed gone too far."

"Alas! They kindly gave the Mo family youth a chance, only to be repaid with such ingratitude!"

………………

Many ministers who understood the whole story cast sympathetic glances toward Yin Yuan.

"State your business if you have any; otherwise, the court is dismissed!"

No sooner had Pang De's voice fallen than two figures stepped out of the ranks simultaneously.

"This subject has a memorial to present!"

Censor Wang stepped forward first, using his veteran experience to seize the floor, while blinking a reassuring signal to Yin Yuan, who had been a fraction of a second too slow on his very first court appearance.

Yin Yuan hesitated, then reluctantly stepped back into the ranks.

"Minister Wang! What is your memorial?" Li Shimin asked.

"Your subject impeaches Mo Dun of Mo Family Village for fishing for fame through deceptive praise and tarnishing the reputation of a deceased meritorious official!" Censor Wang declared passionately.

Having received instructions from Zhangsun Chong yesterday, his heart had been ablaze with excitement. Censor Wang had suffered repeated failures in his attempts to impeach Mo Dun, causing him to fall out of the Emperor's favor and placing his career in grave jeopardy.

Zhangsun Chong's promises had given him a glimmer of hope. If he could secure the backing of the powerful Zhangsun clan, he would be able to firmly re-establish his footing in the imperial court.

"Tarnishing a deceased meritorious official?" Li Shimin was startled.

Li Shimin now developed a headache the moment he heard any news regarding Mo Dun. This little catfish was truly capable of stirring up trouble, and every time he brought pleasant surprises, he also managed to plunge the entire capital into chaos.

Last time, Li Shimin had tasked him with persuading Sun Simiao to stay in Chang'an, but Mo Dun had used the *Mo Gazette* to launch a massive propaganda campaign promoting filial piety towards mothers and encouraging women to study medicine. The results had been terrifyingly effective—even Princess Changle had been so inspired that not even ten oxen could pull her back from wanting to study medicine under Empress Zhangsun. It left Li Shimin grinding his teeth in irritation whenever he thought of Mo Dun, and he never expected that mere days later, this fellow would refuse to stay quiet and end up impeached once more.

"The Mo family brat is merely fifteen years old. He has never even laid eyes on the four late Excellencies, such as Chancellor Du. How could he possibly paint their portraits? Yet, driven by a vain desire for fame, he forced his way in to paint them! Ling烟 Pavilion is a sacred place specially designated by Your Majesty to honor the founding ministers of the state. If the portraits of the four late Excellencies were to be handled in such a perfunctory and sloppy manner, it would be the ultimate disrespect to them!" Censor Wang argued with righteous indignation.

"Lord Wang speaks the absolute truth!" Immediately, quite a few ministers nodded in agreement, particularly the civil officials, many of whom had once deeply benefited from Du Ruhui's benevolence. Hearing Censor Wang put it this way, they voiced their approval one after another.

"If you ask me, His Excellency Lord Yan should have been ordered to paint the portraits for Lingyan Pavilion from the very beginning, and none of this mess would have happened!" A minister on good terms with Yan Liben chimed in to elevate him.

"While the Mo family brat possesses some talent, he is ultimately too young and unequal to such a heavy responsibility!" another official, long envious of Mo Dun's meteoric rise in achievements, slandered.

Pang De lowered his voice and whispered into Li Shimin's ear, recounting how the Mo family youth had been turned away from three gates yesterday and how Duke Xun's widow had been fainted with anger. Li Shimin felt an instant wave of a headache. Granting Mo Dun permission to paint the Lingyan Pavilion portraits had been his own personal decision—it now seemed he had been terribly negligent!

Seeing the crowd turning against Mo Dun while he was down, Qin Qiong grew secretly anxious and stepped forward to offer a defense, saying, "As far as this old man knows, Mo Dun was actually turned away from the door. One can hardly accuse him of tarnishing Chancellor Du's pure reputation!"

"Oh! Of course he was initially turned away at the door, but the Duke Xun's estate flung open its central gates to invite the Mo family brat inside, only for him to infuriate Duke Xun's widow to the point of fainting!"

Censor Wang retorted, and in an instant, the gazes of numerous court officials converged upon Yin Yuan.

"This subject, Yin Yuan, pays... pays respects to Your Majesty!" As this was his first time attending court, Yin Yuan was so nervous that he stumbled over his words.

"Minister Yin has suffered a great grievance. Once court is dismissed, I shall personally visit the Duke Xun's estate to pay my respects to your honored mother!" Li Shimin comforted him.

"No, there is no need for Your Majesty to come! My late father's portrait has already been completed, and my mother's illness has cured itself without medicine!" In his anxiety, Yin Yuan blurted out everything in a single breath.

"Ah, youth is truly lacking in composure!"

For the reigning Emperor to personally visit an estate—what an immense honor that was! Yet Yin Yuan had straight-forwardly told the Emperor not to come. Truly, just like that Mo family brat, these youngsters were all hairless on the lip and unreliable in their actions. Before the assembled courtiers could even finish shaking their heads in lament, they were struck dumb by Yin Yuan's latter sentence.

"Completed?"

For a moment, the entire court of civil and military officials fell into a stunned silence.

"Yes. Marquess Mo visited our home yesterday and completed the portrait of my late father. Your subject has brought it here with him!" Yin Yuan said, lifting the scroll in his hands.

Madam Yin desired to forge friendly ties with Mo Dun, and the very purpose of sending Yin Yuan to court today was to clear Mo Dun's name. Naturally, she had prepared all the evidence; what better proof of Mo Dun's innocence was there than the painting itself, seen with one's own eyes?

"Quickly, present it to me!" Li Shimin commanded urgently.

Without even waiting for Yin Yuan to ascend the steps and present it properly, Li Shimin strode down from the dragon throne, snatched the scroll directly from Yin Yuan's hands, and unrolled it with eager anticipation. The surrounding ministers pressed forward to get a look as well.

As the scroll unfurled, a lifelike military general clad in full armor materialized before everyone's eyes.

"Yin Kaishan!" Li Shimin gasped aloud in astonishment.

Many of the veteran officials present had followed Li Shimin through battle; at a single glance, they recognized that the man in the painting was none other than Yin Kaishan—one of Li Shimin's most profound and enduring regrets.

While shock rippled through the entire gathering, a chilling realization also gripped their hearts: the Mo family youth had actually managed to paint a person he had never once laid eyes upon. Just how on earth had he accomplished such a feat?

Hearing the Emperor's exclamation, Censor Wang felt as though he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. His body stiffened as he stared in utter disbelief at Yin Yuan, who had been squeezed out to the very edge of the crowd of officials.

*My good man, why didn't you say so earlier?!* Censor Wang wanted to cry tears with no tears left to shed.

Yin Yuan spread his hands helplessly. *I was planning to say it right away, but you jumped in and stole my chance, didn't you?*