The Little Emperor shivered.

How could he possibly forget?

When Prince East Sea left Luoyang City with a large number of soldiers and civilians, the late emperor already foresaw that Luoyang would be attacked by external enemies, so he brought the royal family to plead with Prince East Sea to stay.

At that time, as one of the royal family and the youngest descendant, the Little Emperor was also brought before Prince East Sea in hopes he would remember their kinship and stay to protect the royal family.

But Prince East Sea still left, taking with him more than half of the citizens of Luoyang City, alongside many aristocratic officials, who followed him.

What the Little Emperor didn’t say was that his own father also wanted to leave with Prince East Sea.

However, Prince East Sea found their blood relationship with the late emperor too close and had grown tired of being the Regent King, so he refused them.

Although the Little Emperor was young at the time, he still remembered what his father said then, "Prince East Sea did it intentionally, intentionally taking the army and most of the court with him, leaving Luoyang defenseless. Not just the Xiongnu, but any army could easily destroy Luoyang. When His Majesty and we encounter distress, he can proclaim himself emperor at any time while being outside."

Therefore, his father continued to urge the late emperor to relocate the capital. The late emperor was determined to do so but had just left the Imperial Palace when they were swarmed by starving citizens at every corner of Luoyang. Seeing the royal entourage, they disregarded propriety, loyalty, and virtue, directly seizing all the food carried by the emperor’s entourage.

Faced with the onslaught of starving citizens, they had no choice but to return to the Imperial Palace and thereafter remained confined within, surviving on the relief provided by the remaining noble families and officials.

But even so, they could not eat their fill.

The Little Emperor had experienced hunger, knew how painful it was, and understood how savage the starving citizens were. If they couldn’t grab food, they would seize people to eat.

By the time Zhao Hanzhang attacked and entered Luoyang, there were not many citizens left in the city. Some could not endure hunger and fled, others hid throughout the city, some surviving by cannibalism, while the rest died of starvation.

The Little Emperor’s face was pale, his fingers trembling slightly as he said, "I will write!"

Xun Fan breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly went to find Ming Yu to get Yellow Cloth to write the imperial edict.

The treasury was empty, and Yellow Cloth was both precious and scarce. With Zhao Hanzhang issuing many edicts lately, she didn’t want to spend this money and thus had a paper mill produce a special kind of paper just for her to write imperial edicts.

This paper was thick, water-resistant on the surface, did not blur with ink, had cloud patterns around the edges, felt as soft as cloth, and while much more expensive than ordinary paper, it was incredibly cheap compared to Yellow Cloth.

All orders issued by Zhao Hanzhang were sent out on this paper; only those from the Little Emperor used Yellow Cloth.

For instance, the recent edict to bury the late emperor and worship the ancestors was issued on Yellow Cloth, drafted by Xun Fan.

Of course, the edict had to be sent to Ji Yuan in the Ministry of Supervision for review and approval before being issued.

When Xun Fan and Ming Yu asked for Yellow Cloth, Ming Yu merely confirmed that it was for the Little Emperor and then gave them a piece, since the edict would ultimately be handed to Ji Yuan.

So soon after, Ming Yu saw the draft of the imperial edict by the Little Emperor in Ji Yuan’s possession, yet to be sealed.

Oh, for convenience in administration, the emperor’s seal was kept with Zhao Hanzhang.

Ming Yu raised an eyebrow and remarked, "This edict is clearly drafted by Xun Fan and copied by the emperor."

Ji Yuan rolled up the edict, stood up, and said, "I’ll go to the Great General for the seal."

Ming Yu followed after him, "Still, keeping Xun Fan by the emperor’s side is better than not having him."

Ji Yuan asked, "What are you trying to say?"

"Recently, some have submitted reports impeaching Xun Fan, claiming he harbors resentment toward the Great General, interjecting personal biases while tutoring His Majesty, and trying to sow discord between the emperor and the Great General, requesting his dismissal from the position of Grand Tutor."

Ji Yuan sneered at this and said, "They treat the Great General as a fool, but the Great General understands things very well."

Ming Yu didn’t agree, "But lies repeated often enough become truth. The Great General may trust him now, but what about in a month, two months, a year, or two years?"

He continued, "And what of Xun Fan? Being aware that someone in the court is persistently trying to impeach and alienate him, does he not have any thoughts about it?"

Ji Yuan frowned, "What does Ming Zhongshu mean?"

"Verify it!" Ming Yu said, "If it’s true, it’s true. If not, it isn’t. Punish what should be punished, reward what should be rewarded, so there won’t be any more false accusations."

Ji Yuan laughed at his naivety, "When I followed the previous lord, the court’s political situation was ever-changing, conflicts were rampant, and many officials lost their lives due to interest disputes. One could say that since Emperor Hui ascended the throne, nine out of ten officials who died unjustly perished due to such struggles."

"So, do they not know there would be deaths, would be punishments?" he said, "They know, yet still they choose to act this way. To stop them from making false accusations out of interest disputes by setting examples is impossible!"

"So long as there are benefits, conflicts will not cease." Ji Yuan sighed, "The Great General understands this as well, which is why she never escalates such matters, for once escalated, it easily descends into factional strife, consuming national resources and lives."

He advised Ming Yu, "Currently, the Great General is handling it very well."

Zhao Hanzhang accepted memorials, often returning those without concrete evidence, asking them to provide such proof. If Xun Fan had indeed said certain things in class or done things leading them to think this?

Accompanying the returned memorials were a series of tasks. Those who should carry out practical work were sent off to do so, while the Imperial Censors overseeing officials were sent to inspect situations in rural areas to ensure her decrees were being implemented smoothly locally...

By the time they completed the tasks and wrote another memorial, Zhao Hanzhang would pass it directly to Xun Fan, having him respond to the evidence listed in the impeachment memorial one by one.

This back and forth, coupled with endless work tasks, meant the matter couldn’t be clarified in just three or five months.

She was very patient, but those Imperial Censors were frustrated, especially the officials needed to patrol rural areas, where there were bandits on the roads, and the villagers were very unruly; even the county magistrate and village chief were quite tough. If an Imperial Censor went down, a wrong word could get him beaten.

Don’t underestimate the people in rural areas now; although the aristocracy of the Great Jin values elegance and purity, the lower echelons of the populace were very martial.

Not just the men, but the women and children were very tough as well, and if an Imperial Censor argued with them, they would dare to pick up a club and hit.

Of course, because the Imperial Censors were sent by Zhao Hanzhang, for her sake, even if some spoke unpleasantly, they tolerated it.