106 King Yi's Punishment

The air is thick with the scent of power.

The next day, the Imperial Censor impeached King Yi in court for his cruelty and excessive killings.

“Your Majesty, if Prince Yi is so presumptuous in the palace, what hope is there for the people if he treats them with the same disregard for human life after returning to his fiefdom? The lessons of the previous dynasty are still fresh in our minds. I beg Your Majesty to severely punish Prince Yi!”

The emperor remained silent. Prince Yi stepped forward and apologized, saying, "Your Majesty, it is all my fault." Prince Yi looked haggard. "Yesterday, I was in a fit of anger. That horse had been with me for many years, fighting alongside me in thirty battles, large and small. It was frightened by those few eunuchs and went mad. It died on the way back." His voice was hoarse and sorrowful, as if he truly grieved for the horse.

When the conversation turned emotional, even a seasoned warrior like King Yi shed tears.

For a moment, those present who had fought alongside King Yi on the battlefield showed expressions of reluctance.

Marquis Yuan Kuai of Guangshun said, "Your Majesty, Prince Yi has rendered meritorious service to the Han army on the battlefield. Please consider that Prince Yi has risked his life for Your Majesty on several occasions and spare him!"

King Yi said, “No, Brother Yuan, there’s no need to plead for me. I truly deserve to die. Please punish me, Your Majesty!” With that, King Yi knelt on the ground.

Seeing this, the emperor said, "What is Prince Yi doing? Get up!"

At the emperor's behest, the eunuchs pretended to help Prince Yi up, and Prince Yi then stood up.

The Imperial Censor persisted, saying, "Hmph! Even if those eunuchs really did something wrong, it should have been reported to the Emperor and Empress for punishment. Prince Yi's unauthorized actions are not only lawless but also an overreach!"

"The Censor-in-Chief is making a mountain out of a molehill. What, are you so eager to accuse Prince Yi of disrespecting the Emperor, just to enhance the reputation of your Censorate? Are you so eager to bring down meritorious officials and generals?" Marquis Huicheng Guo Yun said to the Censor-in-Chief who was standing to his left.

The Imperial Censor turned around and passionately addressed Marquis Huicheng: "Marquis Huicheng, you are distorting the truth! Do you think you can do whatever you want just because of your achievements?!"

Guo Yun straightened his neck and said, "Those few eunuchs are nothing compared to the merits of the Prince of Yi!"

The emperor on the dragon throne remained silent. When he saw Wei Xin hiding in the corner, he called out to him, "Wei Xin, what are you doing hiding in the corner? Me, Prince Yi, you, Marquis Guangshun, and Brother Zhang, we are all brothers who have been through thick and thin together."

The emperor's gaze swept over the heads of the people whose names he had spoken of, "Not one of them can be missing today. Now, tell me your thoughts!"

Wei Xin grimaced, cursing Qu Yan in his heart, "You old bastard, you really guessed it!"

"Your Majesty, I believe he should be severely punished." Wei Xin lowered his head and saw Prince Yi beside him casting an ambiguous glance at him.

Wei Xin glared back, "What are you looking at? I'm saving you! You idiot!"

Guo Yun said, "Lord Dingyuan, I remember that in the first year of the Great Jin Dynasty, you were besieged by the Yan army. It was Prince Yi who led 10,000 men to break through the siege and rescue you. How come you want to punish Prince Yi for just six insignificant eunuchs?"

Wei Xin gave a cold laugh, "Guo Yun, I dare not forget the King of Yi saving me, but I remember when I was guarding You County, I implemented the policy of clearing the walls and fortifying the fields. You were unwilling to part with the grain, which caused the deaths of many of my soldiers!"

"You! You!"

"What about me? When did you become the one to tell me what to do!"

The Emperor interrupted the two, saying, "Alright, let each of you express your opinions."

The Censorate and the Marquis of Dingyuan demanded severe punishment, while the Marquis of Guangshun and the Marquis of Huicheng demanded lenient punishment or no punishment at all.

The emperor remained silent, then looked at Sima Hong and asked, "Xiuyuan, do you think he should be lightly punished or severely punished?"

“Your Majesty, Prince Yi has made great contributions and should be punished leniently in consideration of his numerous merits.”

Hmm~ Wei Xinchao Sima Xiuyuan looked over and saw that Prince Yi had already sided with the Second Prince's camp. Sima Hong, who was the Empress's party, was also pleading for Prince Yi. What was going on?

"Oh? It seems that Prince Yi has indeed rendered meritorious service to the state of our Great Jin," Emperor Yuan of Jin remarked.

"Alright, since that's the case, then let's punish Prince Yi by confining him to his residence for a month to reflect on his actions."

"Ah!!!" Guo Yun shouted!

Chu Pei casually glanced up and asked, "What, does Marquis Huicheng have a problem with this again?"

Guo Yun's heart skipped a beat when the Emperor looked at him like that. "No, no, it's just that Your Majesty is about to perform the Fengshan ceremony. Without Prince Yi's escort on the way to Mount Tai, Your Majesty's safety..."

Chu Pei said, "In that case, Brother Zhang, you will accompany me this time."

Zhang Tian naturally had no objections. He nodded slightly to Sima Xiuyuan, then stepped forward and said, "Your subject obeys!"

Late at night, Guo Yun, dressed in a black cloak, entered the Prince Yi's mansion through a side gate.

Upon seeing Prince Yi, Guo Yun said, "Prince Yi, you still have the leisure to drink tea? The situation is urgent!"

The Prince of Yi raised his thick, dark eyebrows slightly. "It's your Guo family's business that's in dire straits, what does it have to do with me?"

Guo Yun realized something was wrong, and he suddenly exclaimed, "You didn't stay in the capital on purpose!"

"It's only now that we've realized it; Marquis Huicheng's perception is far too slow."

“Prince Yi, we agreed before that you would go to Mount Tai with the Emperor. In case of any unforeseen circumstances, we could try to do something for the Second Prince. Why have you changed the plan now without discussing it with me beforehand?”

The Prince Yi's eyes darkened for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure, which Guo Yun did not notice.

"Because His Majesty will never establish a crown prince at Mount Tai."

"What! Are you sure? Where did you get this information from?"

King Yi deeply despised the Guo family, such foolish allies, but now was not the time to turn against them.

"The Empress did not allow the eldest prince to go to Mount Tai this time, and the Emperor never mentioned that the prince should accompany him."

Guo Yuncai said, "I see. If His Majesty has any plans, Zhang will certainly not let this opportunity pass."

"Therefore, it is more important to stay in the capital and keep an eye on the Empress and the First Prince."

Guo Yun thought about it and realized that what the Prince of Yi said didn't seem wrong. However, he asked again, "If that's the case, why didn't you tell me beforehand?"

The Prince of Yi once again despised Guo Yun, but it was for the best. Guo Yun was so stupid and foolish; what would become of him in the future…

"Marquis Huicheng, please don't dwell on these trivial matters. Would you like to hear my next plan?"

"I would like to hear the details."

...

"What? You're still not giving up on that iron ore?"

“That’s right, so while the Emperor is away from the palace, we should start with Chen Zhan!”

"But we don't even know where Chen Zhan is being held."

"Don't worry about Marquis Huicheng, I already have clues. But Marquis Huicheng, don't forget what the Guo family should do."

"Of course." Guo Yun smiled confidently. As long as things went well, the Guo family would have plenty of money.

Guo Yun had already envisioned that after the Second Prince ascended the throne, he would become the Emperor's brother-in-law. "Once this is done, the Prince of Yi will definitely benefit."

Wei Xin was also in the Taoist temple in Quyan at this moment. "Tell me, what exactly do the Emperor, Empress, Sima Hong, Prince Yi, and the Guo family want to do?"

Wei Xin drank a bowl of tea and said to Qu Yan, who was sitting opposite him, "Don't just stay silent, give me your analysis."

He put down his teacup. "I've racked my brains trying to figure out why Prince Yi suddenly didn't accompany the emperor to Mount Tai for the Fengshan ceremony. The empress was the one who proposed the Fengshan ceremony, but she didn't go either."

Qu Yan said, "Fortune and misfortune have no fixed gate; they are summoned by oneself."

Wei Xin was completely confused. He stared blankly at the screen and said, "I didn't ask you to recite scriptures. Tell me, should we choose the eldest prince or the second prince?"

Qu Yan glanced at Wei Xin, but didn't say anything more that Wei Xin couldn't understand. "Her Majesty the Empress came to see me."

"What!"

"She said she hoped I would support her son as the crown prince."

Wei Xin suddenly stood up from the prayer mat. "This, such a big thing, and you're only telling me now!"

Wei Xin was bowing his head and pacing back and forth in front of Qu Yan, which meant something big was about to happen, but he still didn't know what these shrewd people were up to.

He stopped and looked at Qu Yan. "Now I finally understand why you came to this mountain to cultivate in seclusion!"

He plopped back down on the prayer mat. "Damn it, I was thinking of going up to the mountains to find some peace and quiet."

Then, he craned his neck toward Qu Yan, "So what do you think?" Then, as if he had guessed Qu Yan's thoughts, he said, "Never mind, I know it all. You'll probably still give me that same old detached, aloof response."

Qu Yan said, "No, I promised Her Majesty the Empress." His calm tone revealed a momentous event.

Startled, Wei Xin fell off the cushion in his chair. Pointing at Wei Xin, he said incredulously, "You, you said you no longer concern yourself with court affairs, and you wouldn't agree to return no matter how the Emperor invited you... How come..."

Qu Yan said, "I am a human being, how could I not be tainted by the world while I am alive?" Qu Yan stood up and looked out the window at the peaceful Taoist temple.

“I personally helped build this Great Jin Dynasty. How can I just stand by and watch it fall into chaos again? Besides, what have the common people done to deserve this?”

"Yes, those in power fight for their own interests. If this leads to war, it is the common people who will suffer."

"But you're just agreeing to the Empress's request like that?"

“Since ancient times, the eldest son of the legitimate wife has been the firstborn son of the legitimate wife. The second prince is neither the eldest nor the legitimate son of the legitimate wife. In terms of ability, he may not be much better than the eldest prince.”

"Well, that's true, but you're being too radical. What if..."

"I don't know the eldest prince well, but I do know the empress quite well."

Wei Xin walked out of the Taoist temple with a preoccupied look on his face. Qu Yan, that old rascal, is really good at doing big things in silence. I thought he was a person without desires, but I didn't expect him to see the situation earlier than me!

But Qu Yan is right. The eldest prince is both the legitimate son and the eldest son. Apart from his poor health, he is otherwise blameless. Establishing the eldest prince is the foundation for the stability of the Great Jin Dynasty.

It is precisely because His Majesty has other ideas that the Guo family has become so agitated. One can imagine that if a second prince were to be established, there would likely be objections from both the court and the public.

The Empress and the Zhang family would not sit idly by and wait for their doom.

As for establishing a crown prince, the only family most dissatisfied is the Guo family. But the Guo family? Wei Xin shook his head. The Guo family members are short-sighted and not even in the same league as the Empress and the Zhang family.

As for the troublemaker King Yi, he truly couldn't understand his thoughts anymore.

Hmph! He turned around and glanced at the room on the second floor of the Taoist temple, where the yellow candlelight was still burning, and a sour feeling welled up in his heart.

The Empress tried to win over Qu Yan because she knew he was no longer in court, but his position was still extremely important. Did the Empress not try to win him over because she looked down on Wei Xin?

No! He had to come up with a way that wouldn't seem obsequious, but would also make it appear as if he had been won over by the Empress. Otherwise, once the position of Crown Prince was decided, how would Wei Xin continue to hold his position in the court?

Damn it, Qu Yan didn't let out a single word beforehand, catching him completely off guard.

Wei Xin's wife brought a lot of medicinal herbs and tonics to Qi Gu, saying that she knew Qi Gu had caught a cold and fallen ill, so she was offering Qi Gu some of her family's commonly used medicinal herbs.

After a good night's sleep, Qi Gu had recovered. Looking at the things sent by the Wei family, she asked, "Has anything happened in the court these past two days?"

This hit Huang Bing right where it hurt. "Your Highness, you may not know this, but a couple of days ago, His Majesty punished Prince Yi by making him stay in his residence for a month to reflect on his mistakes. He will not be able to accompany the Emperor to Mount Tai."

"Is there anything unusual about Lord Wei?"

Huang Bingdao said, "No, however, Lord Wei advocates severely punishing Prince Yi."

"What about Sima Hong and the others?"

"Sima Langjun said that Prince Yi had made great contributions and should not be severely punished. The Marquis of Guangshun and Lady Guo's brother also agreed that they should not be severely punished."

Qi Gu stared at the medicinal herbs that Madam Wei had sent again, and understood what the Wei family really meant.

She stood on the city tower, the highest point of Changyang Palace, where the sky was high and the earth was vast.

It seems as if you could reach out and touch the sun and moon in the sky, and bend down and grasp the earth.

Qi Gu closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and felt a vast, boundless wind, filled with the scent of power.

[Author's Note]

Qi Gu: The world is in my hands

Wei Xin: It's shameful that the Empress doesn't try to win me over.

Qu Yan said expressionlessly: "You're just too stupid."

I'll try to write another chapter [Sunglasses].