Volume 3 Chapter 158 Royal Senate
On this trip to Anvilmar City, Xu Yi wasn’t just passing by. Actually when he was still in Sowell City, he received a summon from the Royal Parliament to have him come to Anvilmar City to participate in the Royal Senate, to evaluate his status as a noble.
Being qualified for this to Xu Yi was considered good and bad news.
The good news was that the Royal Parliament requiring a noble to appear before the Royal Senate was to evaluate the qualifications of that noble. Normally this was conducted to see if a noble was qualified to be promoted.
This meant that as long as Xu Yi received a good evaluation, there was a chance his title would be increased.
He was now a viscount and in less than half a year, he had a chance to become a count, which was a title that few held in the Lampuri Kingdom.
Moreover, he was promoted from a commoner and could be promoted this quickly without any military achievements, this really was rare.
The bad news was that…..Xu Yi might receive a bad evaluation which would mean that his title would never increase.
In the end, it was almost impossible for Xu Yi who had been a commoner before to increase in rank again in such a short period of time.
So when he was still in Sowell City, Count Sean had stated that the Royal Parliament summoning Xu Yi was with bad intentions.
Once he came to Anvilmar City and after seeing Viscount Leslie and Baron Hannas, the two agreed with Count Sean’s judgement.
The Royal Senate held for Xu Yi this time didn’t seem good.
So the next morning, Xu Yi arrived at the splendidly made gates of the Royal Parliament and seeing the large golden words “Lampuri Kingdom Royal Parliament” on it, he couldn’t help giving a sigh.
He just wanted to develop the magic machine industry, why did people always cause trouble for him?
After reporting his name, Xu Yi was quickly led by the guards at the entrance to a small waiting room.
After a while, a young person wearing the robes of the parliament who looked to be around thirty came in.
When he saw Xu Yi, he immediately revealed a friendly smile and reached out both hands.
“Viscount Xu, I’ve long heard your name and it truly is an honour to meet you today.”
Xu Yi grabbed his outstretched hand and said with a faint smile, “You are too polite. May I ask……”
“Oh, let me introduce myself. I am Salt Lim, I am a viscount like you.”
“Viscount Lim, it is also an honour for me to meet you. Are you a member of the parliament? When does the senate begin?”
Viscount Lim laughed, “Viscount Xu really is a merchant who cares about time, but the senate needs a bit of time to prepare, so I came to inform you while also…..telling you about the contents of the senate. Viscount Xu, you haven’t participated in a Royal Senate before, right?”
“Yes.” Xu Yi nodded.
Whether it was when he became a baron or when he became a viscount, it was his majesty that had conferred these titles and he didn’t need to appear before the Royal Senate.
Because according to the laws of the Royal Parliament, for titles under count, his majesty had rights to confer them and didn’t need evaluation from the Royal Parliament.
But this right was rarely used by the king because if the nobles didn’t agree or raised an issue with this, it would have some effect on the prestige of the king. So the king rarely used this right to promote a noble, not to mention using it twice on one person.
Of course, the Royal Parliament wouldn’t raise any objections normally if the king were to use this right.
But now that Xu Yi was a viscount, not does he need to have an evaluation done if he wants to rise in rank, the Royal Senate could call him in for an evaluation of his qualifications as a noble.
“Then first I’ll tell you about the flow of this evaluation. Viscount Xu, you don’t need to do anything later, you just need to answer the questions that they pose.” Viscount Lim said with a smile, “Of course, you have to reply honestly. Otherwise if you are appraised as dishonest, it will seriously affect your evaluation.
Xu Yi slightly knit his brows. The parliament members asked questions and he could only reply, wasn’t this an interrogation?
“Normally speaking, every member that participates might ask you a question and these questions could include many different topics. I hope that Viscount Xu is prepared.”
Xu Yi thought about it and nodded, as nothing unexpected came up.
Since he was already here, there was nothing special to consider.
The Royal Parliament was different from the kingdom’s parliament, at most they could just mess with his noble title. The thing that countless people in the kingdom dreamed of, he didn’t care about his noble title at all, so there was no pressure at all.
Viscount Lim was a bit surprised by Xu Yi’s calm expression and after looking at him in surprise, he didn’t say anything. After chatting with Xu Yi for a bit, he brought him out of the waiting room and to a side hall.
There were quite a few staff along the way. Seeing Viscount Lim walking with Xu Yi, they all looked over Xu Yi curious gazes.
It seemed like they knew that Xu Yi was here for an evaluation today.
And someone like Xu Yi who was both a noble and a merchant was indeed rare.
Adding in the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s fame in the Lampuri Kingdom, it wasn’t strange that they were curious about Xu Yi at all.
After walking into the hall, there was a circular space there that was surrounded by two rows of seats. There was a space in the center that didn’t have a chair, only a small railing.
Seeing this arrangement, Xu Yi couldn’t help knitting his brows as his heart beat faster.
This really did seem like they were interrogating a criminal.
Xu Yi definitely didn’t believe that all the rooms were like this and his first evaluation was in a place like this, it was clear the other side had other intentions.
Thinking of what Count Sean, Viscount Leslie, and Baron Hannas had said, Xu Yi gave a cold snort in his heart. He looked up at the members sitting in their high chairs.
This hall wasn’t too big and there were around fifty seats in total surrounding him. They weren’t completely filled and less than twenty members wearing purple robes were present.
Xu Yi looked over them while they looked over Xu Yi.
It was clear that they were also curious about Xu Yi.
After both sides looked over each other for a while, the one sitting in the first row to the north who looked to be sixty gave a cough and said in a clear voice, “Since Viscount Xu is present, let’s start this senate.”
After saying this, he looked at Xu Yi and asked with a serious look, “Viscount Xu Yi, do you know why the parliament had you come to this senate today?”
Xu Yi shook his head, “No one told me the reason yet.”
“Un…..Good, I’ll tell you the reason now. The reason for this evaluation was because the parliament received many reports that Viscount Xu Yi as a noble of the kingdom had been doing many things that didn’t conform with the status. In order to verify the truth, the parliament has asked you to participate in this evaluation. If you have indeed done this, then the parliament will assess a proper punishment for you.”
“He, only talking about punishments?” Xu Yi gave a cold laugh in his heart.
The old parliament member set the mood right away, it really was as bad as he had expected.
Seeing Xu Yi was silent, this sixty three year old vice president of the Royal Parliament for over twenty years, Count Basa was a bit unhappy. His face sunk as he continued, “Viscount Xu Yi, let me first ask you a question. Do you have another identity as the chairman of Banta City’s Frestech Chamber of Commerce?”
Xu Yi nodded, “Yes.”
“Do you control the majority of shares in this Frestech Chamber of Commerce?”
“Yes.”
“As the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s chairman, do you participate in the business side of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce?”
“Yes.”
“The income that comes from the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, do you also receive the majority of that?”
“That isn’t correct. Most of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s income is invested, so I don’t personally gain that much.”
“You just need to reply, do you receive income from the Frestech Chamber of Commerce?”
Xu Yi revealed a cold smile before giving a nod, “Yes.”
“Then Viscount Xu Yi, do you know that the Royal Parliament has a rule for nobles that they aren’t allowed to meddle in business as nobles?”
“I do.”
“Then why do you choose to do business?” Count Basa slapped the table in front of him and his expression became severe, “Do you know that not only does this go against the rules of the parliament, you’re also throwing away all the face of the nobles?”
Xu Yi looked at him like he found this funny, “It does go against the rules of the parliament, but as for throwing away the face of all nobles…..Isn’t that a little too exaggerated?”
“You’re not allowed to quibble!” Count Basa glared at him, “Viscount Xu Yi, since you have violated the rules of parliament and with your bad attitude, this senate decides that Viscount Xu Yi’s status as a noble will be revoked and he will return to being a commoner!”