Chapter 100: "Sowing discord between the ruler and his ministers, bewitching the king..."

As the year draws to a close, several days of snow have fallen in the Longxi area, turning the world into a vast expanse of white, with the roads completely covered in snow.

In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, a group of people traveled through the snow like ants, but the snow was falling too heavily, and they had no choice but to stop and rest at a post station.

In the official post station, the fire in the stove was burning brightly, and a man was sitting by the couch. He was none other than General Zhenxi, Helan Yi.

He was dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit, his shoulders piled high with snow, and a dark, heavy eyepatch covering one eye, which distorted his handsome face and added a touch of ferocity.

On the other eye, the hideous scar left by an eagle's claws slanted across the entire eyelid, making his face appear even more cold and icy.

The men surrounding General Zhenxi were breathing very softly, and one of them, a military doctor, was carefully examining his injuries.

The high-ranking officer beside him said, "Still can't think of a solution?"

"Not yet, not yet. The general's eye injury is extremely severe, to this extent..." The doctor was somewhat intimidated. Meeting the officer's intimidating gaze, he hurriedly said in a trembling voice, "Sir, my medical skills are not proficient, and I really dare not prescribe medicine indiscriminately. Unless we return to Longxi and invite Physician Cen, there might still be some chance of a turnaround."

As he finished speaking, Yu Guangzhong saw Helan Yi raise his face and say, "Get down."

Those three simple words sent a chill down the spine of the military doctor, who bowed and fled as if fleeing.

Soon, the people in the room dispersed, leaving only the high-ranking officer. Because he was Helan Yi's confidant, he dared to accompany him, but he saw Helan Yi exhale a cloud of white mist, his eyes filled with an icy chill.

The officer tried his best to keep his expression calm, but he was also feeling uneasy.

The sudden accident changed everything. No one expected that the eagle would attack Helan Yi. Now, he is permanently blind in one eye and can barely see anything in the other, only able to make out the general outlines of things.

This was undoubtedly fatal for a general, and could be said to have signaled the end of his military career.

As a result, their journey was delayed for a long time. However, the closer they got to Longxi, the worse the news became, as Helan Yi sent people to the military camp.

Helan Yi set off for Luoyang in the autumn. To prevent unrest, the court dispatched someone to patrol the border in his place and stabilize the morale of the troops. However, the journey is now more than halfway complete, and the front lines have not yet received any documents to transfer the substitute inspector.

The officer lowered his voice, "Our information and informants have been almost completely cut off, so we know nothing about this. That man is very shrewd. On the fourth day after arriving at the camp, he began to mobilize the general's men and install new officers, using His Majesty's decree to suppress all discontent."

"Those lieutenants I left behind, they couldn't stop it?"

"We couldn't stop him. The acting inspector was ordered to come to appease the army and the court. This time, the silk and silver rewards were 30% more than before. The soldiers and officers benefited, and the officers were rewarded. No one was willing to object. The deputy general, Zhou Chao, did argue a few points, but the acting inspector had an imperial edict, so he was immediately transferred from the central army to guard the granaries in the rear."

He Lanyi said, "Useless."

They had already arrived in Longxi, and the Liangyongzhou military camp was just ahead. However, the secret letter he had received stated that soldiers had already set up defenses at the next pass, forbidding Helan Yi from going there and ordering him to return to the Helan Mansion to recuperate.

Within just two months, a dramatic change was quietly taking place under Helan Yi's command, but Helan Yi, far away in Luoyang, was completely isolated from it and remained completely unaware.

The stove was filled with a white mist that swirled around Helan Yi's face.

“From the very beginning, when His Majesty transferred me to Luoyang,” he said slowly, “he intended to take away… my power?”

Is it for the sake of Yuan Chaolu? Or has he long wanted to sideline him?

He knew Xiao Zhuo's character well; he was by no means a cold-blooded, heartless, or muddle-headed person. He was not so narrow-minded as to fear meritorious officials or be afraid of them overshadowing the emperor, and he even said that Xiao Zhuo was so bold in his use of people that he dared to use generals who were once enemies but later surrendered to him on the front lines.

It's a kind of effortless mastery, a natural sense of superiority that comes from having everything under control in the world.

In the midst of chaos, heroes rose up everywhere, but in the end only the Xiao family gained control of the world.

Would a sober emperor really go to such lengths for a mere Yuan Dynasty dew?

He Lanyi's cheek muscles tensed into a line.

His thorny problem wasn't just on the front lines. Not long after Helan Yi opened up Luoyang, he received word from Luoyang that Prime Minister Lu had submitted a memorial revealing that last year's natural disasters, including drought in the northwest that left the land barren for miles, had allowed the Helan family to profit from the disaster.

The Helan family handled this matter with extreme secrecy. They used multiple layers of connections to sift through all the suspects, concealing it so thoroughly that no trace was left. Yet, the evidence that Prime Minister Lu held was so detailed that only those close to the Helan family knew about it.

The Lu family and the Helan family had long been irreconcilable enemies, with no possibility of turning hostility into friendship. Given this opportunity, how could they not bring Helan Yi down?

Who could know so much about the inside story?

Everything erupted at this juncture.

The officer said, "Could the evidence have been handed out by Her Majesty the Empress? If the Lu family is on the Empress's side, things could get complicated."

He Lanyi touched the eye patch with his fingertips, stroking the edge of the thin rubber band, and remained silent. Suddenly, he stood up and picked up the cloak beside him.

"Where are you going, General? It's snowing heavily outside, and your injuries haven't healed yet, so you can't go out right now."

Helan Yi turned his head and said, "Let's go to the northern frontier."

The officer froze. “General, be careful! The northern frontier is desolate and treacherous. Today, the weather is freezing and the roads are blocked by snow, making it impossible to move an inch! You once led troops to sweep the north and forged a blood feud with them. You must not go alone this time!”

“I know that the Empress’s younger brother, Ji An, escaped to the Northern Rong region via this very route.”

The border between Daqi and Gaoche and Rouran has been in a standoff for many years. Now that the two countries have submitted, the tribes in the northern frontier of Rong, who broke away from the northern Rouran in the early years, are ambitious and unwilling to submit, and have repeatedly tested Daqi.

After the surrender of the Gaoche and Rouran kingdoms, Ji An fled north and surrendered to the enemy.

Their spies planted in the northern frontier had already informed Helan Yi of Ji An's whereabouts.

The guards realized: "General, are you going to capture Ji An?"

Helan Yi said, "The brother of the mother of the nation has betrayed the country and surrendered to the enemy. This is a disgrace to the Great Qi. His Majesty would not tolerate it if he knew. If we can capture Ji An, we can not only resolve this shameful matter, but also do our part for the Great Qi."

"Although there have been changes in the court, the emperor still needs someone who can keep the borders in check."

As for Yuan Dynasty dew...

A strange smile appeared on his lips.

What will be the fate of a treacherous person who sows discord between the ruler and his ministers and bewitches the king?

Helan Yi gripped the sword in his hand tightly.

**

The year is drawing to a close in the blink of an eye.

From the border to Longxi and then to Luoyang, the entire Daqi region was immersed in joy. The imperial city was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the palace walls were adorned with solemnity and splendor. Lanterns stretched like stars between the palaces, and on New Year's Eve, a "Nuwa exorcism ceremony" was held in the palace.

However, amidst this lively atmosphere, one person remained detached: Shen Ze, a subordinate of Duke Jia Li.

For the past two weeks, Shen has been helping the Duke of Kaiguo investigate the upheaval at the hunting grounds, and he is currently standing outside the Xuande Hall waiting to be summoned.

His face was stiff from the cold wind, and soon he was led before the emperor, where he respectfully bowed his head and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

After the wild bear incident that day, everyone in Hualin Garden was on high alert, knowing the seriousness of the matter and determined to find out why the wild bear had appeared there without provocation.

Just as everyone had predicted, the wild bear arrived by chance, coming from an extremely remote path, precisely from a gap in the defense zone.

The only other unusual thing was that when Jia Li ordered the bear to be skinned open, intending to use the fur and paws for other purposes, he inadvertently discovered the ulceration on the bear's internal organs.

After testing with a silver needle, the imperial physician said that the patient had been poisoned in the abdomen.

Hualin Garden is vast and boundless, with dense wild grass, and wild animals could very well come into contact with poisonous substances without their knowledge.

Brown bears don't usually attack people, but this one has appeared here strangely and even attacked people in a fit of rage, probably due to severe physical pain.

The case was basically closed, and the emperor was informed, but he ordered a further investigation.

Everything felt so natural.

Why did the bear come from a place it doesn't usually guard? How did this bear appear in winter when most bears hibernate? Why did it have festering wounds on its body, and why didn't it feel them when it was so deep? Who poisoned it?

Shen Ze carried the emperor's questions and spent several days dealing with the rotting body of the wild bear, repeatedly searching the area around the hunting grounds. If anyone had secretly arranged this, their methods and the effort they put into the plan would have been awe-inspiring, leaving no clues whatsoever.

Shen Ze said, "After the sudden incident at the hunting grounds, a blizzard struck, quickly covering up any traces in the surrounding area. We searched the area thoroughly, exhausting all means... but we were unable to find even the slightest abnormality."

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, tapping his fingertips on the table, casually flipping through the documents he had presented.

Shen Ze said, "Now that the blizzard has blocked the mountain, I have ordered the hunting grounds to be sealed off and more guards to be stationed there, forbidding anyone from approaching. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

The emperor, with his keen insight and keen observation, noticed something amiss, which meant he must have sensed something. Shen Ze almost believed that someone was behind this, but upon further investigation, he found no clues.

In the long silence, Shen Zexin felt his heart sink and could only say that he would investigate further. At this moment, Xiao Zhuo saved him with a single sentence: "Today is New Year's Eve, and I still have to see the Empress. My dear minister, you should also go back early."

Seeing the emperor's faint smile, Shen Ze quickly said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The Emperor and Empress's affection is evident to all; we truly have to thank Her Majesty the Empress today. The Emperor didn't press the matter further; it seems he's preparing to shelve the case.

After he left, Xiao Zhuo stood up, but looked down at the documents on the table, tapping the table lightly with his fingertips.

The candlelight climbed onto his cheeks, and Xiao Zhuo only stood up when Zhong Changjun reminded him that it was time for the palace banquet.

Has the Empress attended the palace banquet?