Chapter 350 Shattered Dream

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Preceptor raised his eyes to look at the Northern Qi Emperor, only to see that the Northern Qi Emperor was looking at him eagerly, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

He understood and asked, "Your Majesty, how do you plan to settle the Prince of Guangling?"

The Northern Qi Emperor had indeed decided on Zhao Yi's future. "The other princes are in charge of the six ministries, and Prince Guangling is also my son. I can't favor one over the other."

"The Ministry of Revenue is of vital importance among the six ministries, and is now under the control of the King of Qi."

"The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice are next in line, and are now in charge of the wise king."

"The Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of War are next in line... I intend to let Prince Guangling take charge of the Ministry of Rites."

Because the Ministry of Rites was in charge of rituals, sacrifices, imperial examinations and other matters, and the imperial examinations were in the hands of the Northern Qi Emperor, there was no need to worry that Zhao Yi would use the Ministry of Rites to build up power and disrupt the government.

"The Ministry of Rites is a relatively leisurely department, its power is not as great as some other departments. Prince Guangling is frail and should not be overworked, so this position would suit him well." The Imperial Preceptor complied with the Northern Qi Emperor's thoughts and made his words perfectly clear: "If Your Majesty wishes to place Prince Guangling in the Ministry of Rites, that is fine."

When the Emperor of Northern Qi saw that the imperial teacher agreed with his decision, the depression in his heart was completely relieved.

He immediately instructed Eunuch Liu to order the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet to draft an imperial decree to punish the Lin family and another imperial decree to reward Zhao Yi.

When Eunuch Liu came out of the imperial study, he was stopped by Hongqiao and asked to sit in a secluded corner.

Hongqiao stuffed some silver into Eunuch Liu's pocket and inquired about the news in a roundabout way: "Eunuch Liu, my wife is worried about her family. I wonder how Your Majesty will deal with it?"

She squatted at the only way from the imperial study to the palace, and saw several ministers helping the unconscious censor out of the palace.

Hongqiao realized that something was wrong. The censor hit his forehead, which was obviously a fatal remonstration.

Why did the censor die for his remonstration?

Hongqiao was a maid in the deep palace. She had no idea what happened in the previous dynasty. She couldn't figure out the reason in her mind and kept this matter in her heart.

But a quarter of an hour later, she saw Zhao Yi leaving the palace again.

Hongqiao breathed a sigh of relief. The Emperor of Northern Qi did not value Zhao Yi and was even too lazy to be perfunctory. Otherwise, he would have definitely kept Zhao Yi in the palace for lunch.

Before going to report the news to Concubine Shu, Hongqiao used silver to bribe the eunuch on duty in the Imperial Study to inquire about the circumstances of the Censor's death.

The eunuch did not know the specific details, he only knew that the censor was making a death-defying remonstration because of Lin Yi's matter.

Hongqiao's heart sank. She vaguely knew that the censor was a member of Lin Yi's party. He must be trying to seek justice for Lin Yi and to rebuke Zhao Yi for his crime of usurpation.

In addition, Zhao Yi has half the blood of the Great Zhou in his body, but he was so ignorant that he ordered people to behead court officials in public. Who among the civil and military officials would not be afraid of him?

Hongqiao wanted to get specific information to report the good news to Concubine Shu.

Eunuch Liu knew that the Northern Qi Emperor had always favored Concubine Shu, but Lin Yi had caused such a big mess that it was spread among the people as a proverb of treason, which gave the censors an excuse to force the Northern Qi Emperor to punish the Lin family and reward Zhao Yi.

Given the Emperor of Northern Qi's temperament, he would probably vent his anger on Concubine Shu.

He returned the silver and said, "Your Majesty has granted the Empress the grace to reunite with her. Lord Lin has been in trouble, and Madam Lin must be very distressed. Your Majesty may as well invite Madam Lin into the palace to chat and comfort her."

Hongqiao looked at the silver in her hand, pondering what Eunuch Liu said, and her face suddenly changed.

On weekdays, she would give silver to Eunuch Liu as a tribute and inquire about the news about the Emperor of Northern Qi. Eunuch Liu would always give her some advice, either openly or covertly.

Now that he doesn't accept her money, it can be seen that the Emperor of Northern Qi has changed his attitude towards Concubine Shu.

Thinking of this, Hongqiao felt that something bad was going to happen.

If the censor died to remonstrate with Zhao Yi, and hoped that the Northern Qi Emperor would severely punish Zhao Yi, this would be great news for the Lin family, and would allow the Lin family to vent their anger.

But Eunuch Liu hinted to Concubine Shu to invite her family members into the palace to comfort Mrs. Lin. This means that the Lin family is going to be in trouble again.

Hongqiao hurried back to Zhaohua Palace and saw Concubine Shu sitting in front of a bronze mirror and dressing up. She was wearing the Northern Qi Emperor's favorite Shu brocade long skirt embroidered with mandarin ducks, and even had a flying gold face flower pasted on her forehead.

Concubine Shu dressed so carefully, obviously she was going to meet the Emperor of Northern Qi.

Hongqiao's legs felt heavy and she couldn't take a step.

"Hongqiao, what are you doing standing at the door?" Concubine Shu turned and looked at her: "What's going on outside?"

Her red lips moved as she spoke with difficulty, "Today, the Imperial Censor came to the palace to make a death remonstration. I gave money to Eunuch Liu to gather information. Eunuch Liu was unwilling to accept my money and asked you to invite the Madam to the palace to have a chat and comfort her."

With a "click", the ink in Concubine Shu's hand fell to the ground.

"The Censor died denouncing my Lin family? He didn't die denouncing Prince Guangling's usurpation?" Concubine Shu refused to believe it and flatly denied it, "The Censor is from our faction, how could he die denouncing the Lin family?"

She was in a panic and ordered, "Go and get some more information."

Concubine Shu didn't believe that the censor would turn against her in the middle of the battle.

Hongqiao nodded and hurriedly left Zhaohua Palace.

Concubine Shu was very uneasy. Her brother was dead, but she and her son were still alive.

Why would the censor betray us on the battlefield?

She used a miscarriage to secure a position for her brother as Shao Zhanshi.

Over the years, she and her brother worked hard to place the men of the Lin family in crucial positions, and each of them was promoted at least one level to pave the way for her son.

Their power was slightly stronger than that of the Queen, and they were about to come to the fore.

Therefore, nothing must happen to the Lin family.

An hour later, Hongqiao finally came back.

Shufei's fingers tightly gripped the soft pillow, and she looked at Hongqiao without saying a word. Seeing Hongqiao's pale face, she dug her nails deeply into the pillow.

She watched the red lips opening and closing without blinking and said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has bestowed an honor upon Prince Guangling and appointed him to the Ministry of Rites."

Concubine Shu's pupils tightened, and she gritted her teeth. The censor had truly betrayed them, mother and son. Was he going to die in remonstration today to help Zhao Yi seize power?

Then, Hongqiao hit Concubine Shu hard again: "All the men of the Lin family will be demoted one rank."

Dark shadows appeared before Concubine Shu's eyes and she fell backwards.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Hongqiao hurriedly supported Concubine Shu and shouted outside the palace: "Someone, please call the imperial physician--"

Concubine Shu dug her nails into Hongqiao's arm and said resentfully, "Please ask my mother to come to the palace tomorrow."

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Compared with the chaos on Concubine Shu's side, the Guangling Palace was full of joy at this moment, with the eunuchs holding the imperial edict and reading it out.