The original Minister of War was impeached and dismissed, leaving the position vacant. But it couldn't remain vacant indefinitely; someone had to take over. So the question shifted from who would lead the army to who would become the Minister of War.

The power dynamics in the imperial court were complex and intricate, even for Yinzhen (the future emperor of the Qing dynasty). In this turbulent time, to ensure stability, Yinzhen appointed Yunrong's brother, Ma Qi, as Minister of War.

Ma Qi was startled when he received the imperial edict. Having worked in the Ministry of War before, he was quite familiar with its affairs, and he was certain that he could handle the position of Minister of War. However, the sudden windfall made him feel uneasy.

But he couldn't refuse the emperor's trust.

He couldn't very well go up to the emperor and say, "This servant is not qualified enough to take on this important task; Your Majesty, please find someone more capable."

If he really said that, he'd probably never achieve anything in his life.

Therefore, Ma Qi accepted the position of Minister of War with trepidation and then began to get busy.

Ma Qi sat anxiously in the position of Minister of War. He was summoned to the study by Mi Sihan that very evening after receiving the imperial edict.

Mi Sihan was, after all, quite old. The way the former Minister of War was impeached was too strange. Mi Sihan didn't know much about that Minister of War, but the fact that evidence was so easily gathered made Mi Sihan feel that something was wrong. Then, the Emperor chose Ma Qi in the end, which made Mi Sihan even more worried.

“My son, do a good job. Your father has received news from the Emperor that he may personally lead an expedition. Don’t spread this news. Things at the Ministry of War are not so simple. Be careful.”

Although Ma Qi wasn't as perceptive as Missham, he knew something was wrong, but at this point he had no choice but to grit his teeth and keep going.

Ma Qi quickly got the hang of the Ministry of War's affairs. A few days later, on his way back after finishing his inspection, the carriage ahead of him was suddenly startled. Ma Qi was also quite skilled, and since he knew that if he didn't intervene, innocent people might get hurt, he stepped in and saved the person.

Then he was thanked profusely by the people in the carriage. Ma Qi saw that the person sitting in the carriage was the former Minister of War, an imperial censor. He declined the thanks and hurried back.

The next day, the censor sent a gift to Ma Qi, who felt aggrieved, unsure whether to accept it or not.

He only told his wife to put the things away in the storeroom and keep them at the bottom of the chest; he didn't want to see them.

Ma Qi had some suspicions, so he immediately ordered people to pay attention to the movements in the capital. Then rumors began to spread, saying that Ma Qi, the princess from the Empress's maternal family, had schemed against the former Minister of War in order to become the Minister of War.

Ma Qi quickly ordered people to suppress the news, but he found that the news could not be suppressed.

The news quickly spread like wildfire, and almost everyone in the capital, except for those who stayed indoors, didn't like to talk, and didn't socialize, knew about it.

Most people felt that this was not unfounded, mainly because empiricism is a deadly thing. Past history has taught people that many of the families of favored concubines and empresses began to act arrogantly and domineeringly once they gained power. Now that they have received such news, they just feel that it is indeed the case.

It's not that no one has doubts, but as the saying goes, truth is in the hands of a minority.

The news spread, and since the Fucha family wasn't exactly a universally loved and favored family, there were naturally rival families as well. Sure enough, as soon as the news got out, some people started to cause trouble.

This troublemaker was a man of some name and lineage; he was Tong Guowei, from Kangxi's maternal family. In addition, Empress Xiaoyiren had protected him for several years, so Yinzhen was willing to give the Tong family some face.

Therefore, the Tong family has been doing alright these past few years, and even if they made some minor mistakes, Yinzhen was willing to turn a blind eye.

As a result, people's appetites have grown bigger.

Tong Guowei also had a daughter who had not yet been selected for the imperial concubine selection. She was beautiful, and Tong Guowei felt that she was no less beautiful than the Empress. Besides, the Empress was getting old and could not compare to the freshness of a delicate flower.

Tong Guowei then began to plot mischief again. The Ma Qi incident was a perfect pretext. If used well, it would let the whole world know that if the Empress was still the daughter of the Fucha family, the Emperor would surely be biased and believe one side. In that case, the Emperor would certainly not go against the people of the world for the sake of a woman.

Tong Guowei understood men. He could see that the emperor had great ambitions. If a woman prevented him from realizing his ambitions, then that woman would no longer be loved.

Tong Guowei wasn't stupid, so he naturally wouldn't personally get involved. The Tong family was a powerful clan, and they had plenty of people to command.

As a result, Ma Qi was impeached.

"Your Majesty, after investigation, I have found that the former Minister of War, Lord Chen, was wronged. Moreover, I have also found that the current Minister of War had dealings with Lord Wang, who impeached Lord Chen. Now, rumors are circulating throughout the capital that Lord Ma Qi framed Lord Chen for the position of Minister of War. I hope Your Majesty can investigate this matter thoroughly."

Yinzhen glanced at the man, and Liang Jiugong immediately told Yinzhen whose man he was. Then Yinzhen asked, "My dear minister, you say that Lord Chen is being framed. Do you have any evidence?"

"This servant has it."

This puzzled Yinzhen. His men hadn't even found anything yet, but this person already had evidence. Either this person had a much larger backing than him, or the initial evidence against Lord Chen was fabricated and arranged by that person.

Liang Jiugong presented the evidence, and Yinzhen read it. Sure enough, the evidence was very convincing and could indeed clear the former Minister of War of his crimes.

However, he asked, "You say that Ma Qi has dealings with Lord Wang, but what evidence do you have?"

The man spoke up: "Your Majesty, I have verified that five days ago, Lord Wang sent someone to deliver gifts to Lord Ma Qi, and Lord Ma Qi accepted them without refusing."

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