Chapter 49: The Twenty-First Time We Started Work!

Chapter 49

The people inside the hall were stunned.

Jiang You subconsciously looked at Ye Xiren, surprised that her personal relationship with Yan Danqing was even better than he had imagined, to the point that even Ma Shan obeyed her orders...

Liang Yue, however, disregarded all that and hurriedly stood up, asking, "What happened?"

His gaze fell upon the bound Northern Yan people behind him, and the two coffins. His eyes grew brighter and brighter, and his heart, which had been filled with despair, began to beat again. His body, which had fallen into the abyss, was instantly pulled out, and hope was rekindled.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Ye Pei and the others knelt down to pay their respects.

He then took a deep breath and replied, "Your Majesty, I received news today that the Northern Yan people are colluding with court officials to steal the corpses of General Yan and Chizhan Lance..."

Although the message wasn't very clear, it pointed them in the right direction and told them what to do.

With Ma Shan guarding outside the city, their task was to keep a close eye on the corpses of General Yan and Chi Zhanlan Ce, to see how Northern Yan transported them out, and who had been secretly colluding with them all along.

Upon receiving the news, Ye Pei did not waste any time. He immediately joined forces with Bai Chengguang, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and Zheng Wenjue, the Prefect of Nanjing. The three of them clearly saw through this "passage," who had interfered, what they had done, and who had turned a blind eye or had wavering thoughts.

"The roster is here, not a single one is missing." Ye Pei held up the roster in his hand, his voice resounding.

Two copies were made, one in Ye Xiren's hands and the other presented to the Emperor. Jiang You took it and personally delivered it to Liang Yue. As he looked at each name, his expression grew increasingly grim, and his breathing became heavy.

Bai Chengguang and Zheng Wenjue exchanged a glance, both of them wearing grim expressions upon learning the contents of the document.

Only Ye Changming stared intently at Ye Xiren, his excitement barely concealed. He had been very anxious when he learned that General Zhao and Ma Shan were still waiting at the city gate. The two of them paced anxiously at the palace gate, unsure of how to get in.

Then he suddenly received a note with messy handwriting. How could he not recognize it? It was clearly written by Ye Xiren!

Afterwards, they figured out the "passage" by following the note, while General Ma Shan, who was "heading to the battlefield," brought back the Northern Yan delegation that had already left the city, bound by bonds...

His sister put on quite a show of luring the snake out of its hole.

All of them were part of her plan. Ye Changming was both excited and confused. When did his obedient and lovely sister become so powerful?

And yesterday he killed Lu Qian, the commander of the Imperial City Guard, with a single blow... He's both ruthless and powerful.

What on earth happened?!

In just three days, she had changed so much? Ye Changming was in a daze and couldn't understand it at all.

"Impossible!" Zhang Yuanmou's expression changed drastically. Seeing everyone captured in one fell swoop, his face gradually turned pale. He glared at Ye Xiren through gritted teeth, "How did you know?!"

It's already strange that the secret letter was exposed so early, but now they're secretly plotting to steal the corpse, and they were also well-prepared for that. How is that possible? How could she have foreseen it all?

Ye Xiren closed the register and memorized all the names. She had "dealt with" most of the officials on the register, so it wasn't difficult for her to remember them.

Hearing the question, she looked up at him:

"It was Heaven that told me that Heaven is not on your side, Zhang Yuanmou, you are wrong."

"Heavens?" Zhang Yuanmou said with a mocking smile, "If Heaven opens its eyes, these two traitors should suffer a terrible death! I did nothing wrong!"

Jiang You's expression changed, and he shouted, "Commander Ying, hurry up and tie him up and take him away!"

It was one thing for him to speak recklessly earlier, but now that Ye Pei and the others are all here, we can't let Zhang Yuanmou bring up the matter of the young emperor again...

Ying Changping realized what was happening and felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly stepped forward, trying to gag the person and take him away.

Zhang Yuanmou flicked his sleeve and sneered, "I can walk by myself."

"Let him live!" Liang Yue urged.

Jiang You understood and nodded: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will personally interrogate Zhang Yuanmou."

The two exchanged a glance.

Zhang Yuanmou must live; they need to get details of the military rations case from him, and ideally... find that batch of rations.

Liang Yue shifted his gaze to the roster, then looked down at the crowd below. His face darkened, and his expression became grave: "The Northern Yan has ill intentions. We must keep a close eye on them. Liu Duoxi and Zheng Wenjue, I will leave Yan Chunzhou and Chizhan Lance's coffins in the palace. You two, together with Ying Changping, must keep a close watch on the two coffins and these Northern Yan people. We cannot allow any mishaps."

"Your subject obeys."

"Ye Pei, Bai Chengguang, take men to interrogate these people on the list. We must find out the details of Bei Yan's arrangements and when they colluded with Bei Yan."

"Your subject obeys."

"Ma Shan, now that the matter in Nandu is settled, hurry to Huai'an Canal."

"Your subject obeys."

As orders were issued, everyone in the hall left. In their eyes, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night. Only Ye Xiren knew that tonight...

It will be reopening soon.

She left with the group, and just as she stepped out of the Wende Hall, Ye Changming approached. Before she could speak, a voice sounded from behind her: "Second Miss Ye, may I speak to you in private?"

Ye Xiren turned around, her eyes filled with surprise.

The others didn't dare to say anything. Ye Xiren nodded and moved aside with Jiang You. She glanced at the bright moon overhead and calculated that it was almost time.

Jiang You didn't waste any words and lowered his voice to ask directly, "Second Miss Ye, could you tell me the answer to the question Zhang Yuanmou asked? How did you know about the secret letter and the Northern Yan people's plan in advance?"

Ye Xiren was silent for a moment, then shook her head:

"I can't explain it clearly."

Jiang You looked puzzled, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Was that person Yan Danqing this morning?"

"Yes." Ye Xiren nodded.

Jiang You pursed his lips, wanting to ask him why he still went to his death in court today, since he already knew about the secret letter. But when he saw Ye Xiren's dark eyes, he swallowed all his words. She was already dead, and asking her was useless.

After a long pause, he opened his mouth:

"Although I don't know what you're planning to do, whether it's finding Zhang Yuanmou or recovering the bodies of Yan Danqing and the other person, I have to thank you for saving my Great Liang."

"I can tell you seem quite interested in the clues Zhang Yuanmou has. If you need to observe, I can take you with me during the interrogation."

Ye Xiren was taken aback.

I never expected Jiang You to be so perceptive!

Thinking back to inside the Wende Hall, it seemed that Jiang You followed up on their questions, gradually peeling back the layers of truth before her...

She didn't like Jiang You, but undeniably, he was a smart man.

If only this prime minister could be trusted and was willing to help them.

Ye Xiren shook her head with some regret: "It's not necessary."

The purpose of obtaining evidence is to gain the trust of the Emperor and Jiang You in the next round of interrogations, which are about to resume, and there is no time left for further questioning.

Jiang You sighed, as if he had thought of something, and his eyes sharpened. "Miss Ye is a smart woman. Tonight, just pretend you didn't hear anything. It was Zhang Yuanmou who had a fit of hysteria and was talking nonsense."

Ying Changping is the emperor's man, and Liu Duoxi is even more cunning. Tonight, they will definitely pretend they didn't hear anything about the young emperor and keep their mouths shut. That leaves only Ye Xiren.

Ye Xiren: "..."

This guy is really something. He was so gentle just now, but now he's changed his attitude again. Should she be glad that he and Liang Yue didn't kill her to silence her?

“I’m not interested in any of that. Who’s up there, how they got up there, none of that matters.” She shook her head, looking at the bright moon in the sky, which was only half-hidden by the overlapping dark clouds. “I just want to get out of this mess as soon as possible and survive.”

Jiang You followed her gaze and said with a wry smile, "Solve the trouble? That's probably not easy. General Yan is dead, and the Battle of Huai'an Canal..."

He shook his head, no longer wanting to think about it.

One problem is solved, but many more remain.

Ye Xiren sneered upon hearing this, her face full of sarcasm: "Yes, Yan Danqing is dead. Isn't this what many people have been hoping for?" Including you from before.

He was furious because the Northern Yan wanted to kill him during the peace talks, and because he had sabotaged them. Now that he knows the Northern Yan is not sincere about the peace talks, he is filled with endless regret... Unfortunately, Yan Danqing is already dead, and it's too late.

Jiang You grew increasingly dejected and stopped talking. He slowly turned and left, as he still needed to discuss with the Emperor how to deal with the Northern Yan army. His back became increasingly hunched, and under the candlelight and moonlight, he appeared old and thin, as if he were at the end of his rope.

Ye Xiren watched his retreating figure and suddenly spoke up: "Prime Minister Jiang, if we could go back to this morning and I told you that Zhang Yuanmou colluded with Northern Yan, would you believe me?"

"Won't."

Jiang You stopped and said softly, "But I will find out the truth."

Ye Xiren watched his back as he entered the Wende Hall. In the distance, Bai Chengguang and Zheng Wenjue had already taken away the coffin and the Northern Yan people.

Ye Pei and Ye Changming were still waiting for her. Ye Xiren didn't go over. She looked up at the bright moon and after a while, she felt a little dizzy.

Is it time yet?

-

Jiang You returned to the Wende Hall.

Only Emperor Liang Yue remained inside. He flipped through the register, his voice hoarse: "Li Renyi, Miao Qin... they all colluded with Chizhan Lance. How many people in the pro-peace faction have impure intentions! Zi Que, we were wrong."

Jiang You, courtesy name Zique.

He knelt down tremblingly, bowing deeply: "Your Majesty, it was my fault. When I received the peace treaty from Northern Yan, I bet there was a 50% chance of peace talks, so I secretly intercepted six confidential letters. I lost, I almost lost the entire Liang Dynasty..."

Finally, his voice became choked with emotion.

Liang Yue's eyes welled up with tears, and he sighed, "That wasn't just your fault; it was a decision we made together."

"Not only that, I also trusted Zhang Yuanmou. I never expected that he would want to avenge Liang Jin and would collude with Chizhan Lance to steal that batch of grain!" Jiang You shook his head, his teeth itching with hatred at the thought of this.

If it weren't for the problem with that batch of supplies, they would never have accepted the peace treaty from Northern Yan!

Everything is cause and effect, and this "effect" is almost overwhelming for them, spreading an endless sense of despair.

Liang Yue opened his mouth, and after a long while, he said, "Zi Que, if we had known this would happen, shouldn't we have told Zhang Yuanmou... that Liang Jin wasn't dead?"

“Your Majesty!” Jiang You raised his head, his eyes red, and spoke each word firmly, “Liang Jin is dead. The imperial court moved south, and he died of illness due to the change in environment.”

It seemed as if he had returned to that morning, when he stood in front of Liang Jin's bed, where he had cried all night out of fear. On the large dragon bed lay a small baby, shivering with a bulge in the blanket.

Seeing that it was Jiang You who came in, Liang Jin breathed a sigh of relief. He peeked out with bloodshot eyes, his face filled with unconcealed fear, afraid that someone would break into the bedchamber at any moment and drag him out.

Your Majesty, are you afraid?

[Prime Minister Jiang, I'm scared...]

Does Your Majesty still wish to be emperor?

Can I not do it?

"Yes, but from now on, Liang Jin will no longer exist in this world. Are you willing?"

【I do! I do!!】

Jiang You closed his eyes, his voice trembling: "Liang Jin is dead. A country cannot have two rulers. At the moment we send him away, no one in this world except His Majesty and I will know of his existence."

Even if Liang Jin returns one day, even if he is found or coerced by someone... no one will believe that the young emperor "died of illness" and Liang Jin "died".

Liang Yue fell silent.

After a long while, he looked out into the dark hall and said, “Yan Danqing is dead, Chizhan Lance is dead, Zhaowu and Mashan are rushing to Huai’an Canal. We must get Zhang Yuanmou’s mouth open as soon as possible and retrieve the grain.”

Jiang You replied tremblingly, "Your subject obeys."

His smile was bitter: "I thought there would at least be some time... If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have welcomed His Majesty out of the Prince Yu's residence, at least I wouldn't have had to bear the infamy for all eternity."

Liang Yue stepped down from the throne, helped Jiang You up, and said softly, "From the moment we agreed to peace talks, and even used the killing of Yan Chunzhou as a bargaining chip, we were destined to be remembered in history as a foolish ruler and a treacherous minister."

I thought it would be worthwhile if the world could be at peace, but I never expected... to end up in this situation.

Two streams of tears rolled down Jiang You's face, his voice trembling even more:

"I am guilty."

In the end, he was the one who wronged Liang Yue. He should have only been a "treacherous minister," but because he welcomed Liang Yue out of the Prince Yu's mansion and trusted him, he was destined to be known as a "tyrant."

Liang Yue sighed, "It's all fate."

For them, their fate was already sealed, but there was one who refused to accept his fate, and at the very moment the time stepped into the fifth day of the third lunar month, he suddenly jumped back to the fourth day of the third lunar month!

-

The fourth day of the third lunar month, at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).

Ye Xiren carried a lantern and ran towards Dali Temple.

Before she even reached the place where she had stopped in the previous loop, she could already hear familiar footsteps approaching her. Ye Xiren smiled brightly, her eyes crinkling, and quickened her pace.

A shadow rushed toward her, and the two figures drew closer and closer, seemingly able to hear each other's breaths.

"How were you yesterday...?"

Yan Danqing was about to ask with a smile.

Ye Xiren suddenly raised her hand and hugged the person tightly, burying her head in the other's chest, taking a deep breath, and almost bursting into tears of joy.

She missed General Yan so much!

For some reason, the stubborn prime minister insisted on peace talks, the emperor only believed the prime minister, and there was also a councilor who colluded with the enemy to avenge the former emperor... After being mentally assaulted by such a group of lunatics, she just felt that General Yan was too good!

Because she has encountered truly "blindly loyal" and "stupid" people, she will hand them over to Yan Danqing to deal with next time!

After a brief hug, Ye Xiren released her hands, tilted her head back, and said with bright eyes, "I have found the ringleader of the traitors and written down their names: Li Renyi, Miao Qin, Fan Huan..."

Yan Danqing remained motionless.

After Ye Xiren finished reciting, she asked again, "Have you memorized it?"

Yan Danqing seemed lost in thought, his soul drifting out of his body. He was clearly looking at her, but after a long while, he murmured, "...What?"

Ye Xiren: "?"

So this person didn't listen at all?!

Seeing her displeasure, Yan Danqing's stiff body shifted, the surging blood in her veins subsided, and she regained her senses. Her held breath gradually eased, her body relaxed, and she could finally hear clearly. She smiled.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you clearly. Please repeat it again, Xixi."

Ye Xiren could only glare at him and repeat the process again.

After memorizing the list without missing a single one, she pursed her dry lips, and the two exchanged a glance and smiled at each other.

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Author's note: Sorry it's a bit late today!