Chapter 113 The Prime Minister's Suspicion Arises, Testing Xiao Qidi
Xiao Qidi's eyes gradually revealed a sharp and domineering look.
Although his expression remained unchanged, his aura suddenly surged dramatically.
Situ Wei's eyes lit up. "Yes! That's the feeling!"
Xiao Qidi quickly concealed his momentary sharpness and put on a fawning smile, "Thank you for your praise, Prime Minister. It's all thanks to your excellent teaching."
Situ Wei stroked his beard and said:
"Tomorrow I will spread the news that Xiao Qidi is returning to the capital."
"You must take good care of yourself these next few days and avoid wine and women, lest you lose your composure in front of the ministers."
"Furthermore, I intend to have your coronation ceremony held ahead of schedule!"
Upon hearing the words "early coronation," Xiao Qidi was startled.
According to the traditions of the Great Xuan Dynasty, the coronation ceremony was always held when the king turned twenty.
This signifies that the monarch is beginning to rule personally, and the power previously exercised by court officials on behalf of the monarch must be handed over to the monarch.
However, the submission process will be very slow and may encounter various obstacles.
Xiao Qidi used a clever trick to switch identities with the puppet, aiming to take down Situ Wei, the biggest obstacle, but he didn't expect Situ Wei to bring up the coronation.
And it was—a premature coronation!
"Is Your Excellency acting too hastily?"
Xiao Qidi deliberately probed, wanting to see what Situ Wei was really up to.
Situ Wei glanced at him sideways. "What, are you scared? Didn't you always want to experience being a king?"
Xiao Qidi laughed and said, "The Prime Minister will take care of everything. I only need to be a figurehead. I am naturally not afraid."
“We have no choice but to act quickly,” Situ Wei said with a grave expression. “If we don’t seize the power from the Empress Dowager’s side soon, things might get complicated.”
"Did the Empress Dowager do something to make you so worried, sir?" Xiao Qidi asked, following up on the conversation.
Situ Wei stared at Xiao Qidi for a moment.
For some reason, he had a vague feeling that something was different about the puppet he had raised.
I vaguely felt that this person was Xiao Qidi.
But this is just a feeling, and there is no evidence to support it.
But the more I think about it, the stronger this feeling becomes.
Could it be... that the cripple lying in bed is actually a puppet, and the puppet he thinks he is is actually Xiao Qidi in disguise?!
This sudden thought startled Situ Wei.
But then I thought about it again, and realized that it was impossible.
Not to mention that Xiao Qidi could not possibly know about the existence of the puppet, after becoming the Prime Minister of Da Xuan, he secretly established the Qingyoutai. No matter what happened in the court or in important areas of Da Xuan, it could not escape the eyes and ears of the Qingyoutai.
Even if a miracle were to occur that led Xiao Qidi to discover the puppet, he could not possibly switch identities with the puppet without anyone noticing.
Situ Wei quickly went through the thought in his mind.
Although rationally I felt that everything was under my control, I still couldn't completely dispel the slightest doubt in my heart.
So he decided to test the puppet in front of him who was about to replace Xiao Qidi once more.
“It’s alright to tell you,” Situ Wei said slowly. “I have already found out that the Empress Dowager moved to Shuncheng a few years ago under the pretext of recuperation, but it turned out that she was secretly having children. She gave birth to a son the first year and a second son the following year. Now the two children are five and four years old respectively.”
Xiao Qidi was secretly alarmed.
The Empress Dowager and Marquis Le'an kept this matter very well hidden. Even the entire Shuncheng was Marquis Le'an's territory, yet Situ Wei was able to find out.
Could it be that Situ Wei has spies in Shuncheng?
But that's not right.
If there were informants, Situ Wei would surely know about my sudden trip to Shuncheng some time ago to execute Marquis Le'an and imprison the Empress Dowager.
If he knew, he would have taken action long ago.
Xiao Qidi temporarily suppressed his doubts about this matter and feigned shock, saying, "The late King has been dead for many years, yet the Empress Dowager has had another child? With whom is she the father?"
Situ Wei stared into Xiao Qidi's eyes and said, word by word, "He was born to the current Marquis of Le'an."
He wanted to see how the person in front of him would react when he heard about this.
Based on his understanding of Xiao Qidi, even if Xiao Qidi hid his true nature, he would absolutely not be able to suppress his anger when he heard that his birth mother had secretly given birth to two sons with the Marquis of Le'an.
In that instant, Xiao Qidi also realized that Situ Wei was testing him.
He couldn't help but feel secretly relieved.
I'm glad I already knew about this and handled it myself.
All my emotions were released that night.
Otherwise, if I suddenly found out about this now, I would definitely lose control of my emotions!
Xiao Qidi's eyes widened, and he continued to feign shock, exclaiming, "Such a thing actually happened?!"
Situ Wei saw all the expressions and reactions on Xiao Qidi's face, but apart from shock, he showed no other emotions.
The real Xiao Qidi would never have reacted in such a way.
Situ Wei added, "I suspect that the Empress Dowager and the Marquis of Le'an have something to do with it. It is very likely that these two will get rid of Xiao Qidi in the future and let their son succeed to the throne."
Xiao Qidi said with a disdainful look, "With the Prime Minister here, they are just daydreaming!"
Situ Wei then withdrew his gaze, his doubts completely dispelled.
Having tested him to this extent, and with no abnormality whatsoever, the person before them could not possibly be Xiao Qidi himself.
I guess I was just overthinking things.
“It’s not entirely wishful thinking,” Situ Wei said, walking slowly with his hands behind his back. “The Empress Dowager and Marquis of Le’an have taken nearly half of the power from me over the years, and many important officials in the court will support them.”
“Once Xiao Qidi is eliminated by the two of them, there will be no one in the Great Xuan royal family who can inherit the throne. Only the children born to the Empress Dowager can be considered as descendants of the royal family.”
"At this juncture, if they were to confess their affair, even the Prime Minister would have to suppress this shocking scandal within the Great Xuan royal family and help them find a way to ensure their son's legitimate succession. Otherwise, Great Xuan would become a laughingstock among the seven kingdoms of the Central Plains and would surely lose the hearts of the people! The long-cherished wish of the past kings of Great Xuan to unify the world would then be impossible to realize..."
Hearing these words, Xiao Qidi was deeply moved.
It seems that although Situ Wei pursued power throughout his life, his heart was always with the Great Xuan.
"Your Excellency," Xiao Qidi probed again, "has there been any unusual activity in Shuncheng recently?"
Situ Wei shook his head. "There's been no unusual activity. My men reported a few days ago that the Empress Dowager and Marquis Le'an have been indulging in pleasure lately."
Five years ago, the Empress Dowager had just gone to Shuncheng when he conveyed an order to Qingyoutai to send people into Shuncheng.
However, that was the territory of the Marquis of Le'an, so they could only lie low and wait, otherwise they would surely alert the enemy.
It took the people of Qingyoutai more than three years to infiltrate the area, and another year to uncover the secrets of the Empress Dowager and Marquis Le'an.
From then on, whenever Marquis Le'an came to Shuncheng, the people of Qingyoutai would report his situation.
Xiao Qidi was both shocked and puzzled by Situ Wei's words.
It's obvious that Situ Wei has informants in Shuncheng.
Moreover, their informants were extremely well hidden; he himself failed to detect them when dealing with the followers of Marquis Le'an in Shuncheng.
Strangely, his informants were able to uncover even the affair between the Empress Dowager and the Marquis of Le'an, so how could they not have discovered that the Marquis of Le'an was dead and that something had happened in the Shun Palace?
Instead, he reported to the Prime Minister that the Empress Dowager and the Marquis of Le'an had been indulging in pleasure recently.
Is it because my eyeliner skills are lacking that I didn't notice? That seems unlikely.
Surely it couldn't be intentional concealment? That's even more impossible.
Could it be that... their informants over there have become lax, no longer investigating the situation at all, and are just giving perfunctory reports to cover things up?
It seems that this is the only possibility.
Xiao Qidi pondered for a moment, then secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It's like even God is on my side...
"Your Excellency," Xiao Qidi asked deliberately, "you wish to hold the coronation of the monarch ahead of schedule. Will the Empress Dowager and her people agree?"
"You can't even figure this out?" the Prime Minister laughed. "Your brain really isn't very sharp. You're far inferior to Xiao Qidi. If it were him, he wouldn't even ask this question."
Xiao Qidi, of course, had to continue to play dumb, and said with a forced smile, "I hope that the Prime Minister can enlighten me."
Situ Wei stroked his beard and said, “According to the rules of our Great Xuan, after Xiao Qidi is crowned, all the ministers who were entrusted by the late king to make decisions on various affairs of the court must return this power to him.”
"Both the Empress Dowager and I want to weaken the real power each other holds. As long as she sees that I can reduce her power, she would be happy to give up some of it herself. How could she possibly disagree?"
Xiao Qidi immediately flattered, "I see! I understand now."
Situ Wei looked smug. “At that time, I will personally set an example and lead my people to relinquish real power. The Empress Dowager’s group will definitely have to show enough sincerity. And you, under the identity of Xiao Qidi, are actually my people. I have essentially transferred the power I hold from my left hand to my right hand. In the end, it will still be under my control, and even the part they hand over to the emperor will become mine.”
"Your Excellency is truly wise!" Xiao Qidi flattered.
“You’ll have to stay here for the next few days,” Situ Wei said, squinting. “I’ll come to pick you up once I’m ready.”
Xiao Qidi clasped his hands in a fist salute, "Yes!"
The following day, Situ Wei wrote a letter inviting the Empress Dowager to return to the capital to discuss the matter of crowning the emperor ahead of schedule.
He ordered a trusted confidant to take the letter to Shuncheng.
The next morning, his trusted confidant rushed back overnight.
"Did you enter Shun Palace? Did you see the Empress Dowager in person?" Situ Wei asked.
The confidant said he was taken in and that he saw it with his own eyes.
Situ Wei then asked, "Have you seen Marquis Le'an? Have you noticed anything unusual?"
The official in charge of the letter said, "I have not found anything unusual in the Shun Palace, but I have not seen Marquis Le'an."
Situ Wei said, "That's true. Even if Marquis Le'an were inside, it would be impossible for you to see him."
"My lord, the Empress Dowager seems to be unwell. She looks haggard and very weak. After reading your letter, she wrote a reply."
The confidant presented the Empress Dowager's letter, saying, "As you instructed, I also requested that the Empress Dowager return to the capital, but she refused, saying that she had already explained the situation in her reply to you."
Situ Wei took the letter. "Hmm, you may go and rest."
"Yes, I'll take my leave."
After his confidant left, Situ Wei opened the Empress Dowager's reply.
Situ Wei glanced at it.
The content roughly states that the Empress Dowager expressed that she was unwell and could not withstand the journey back to the capital, and that the Prime Minister would make the decision regarding the coronation of the Emperor.
Situ Wei smirked coldly; everything had gone exactly as he had predicted.
The Empress Dowager readily agreed to the coronation.
As for his physical weakness and discomfort, well, it's easy to guess that he must have been indulging in revelry with Marquis Le'an every night and got exhausted.
“Lao’an, Lao’an,” Situ Wei squinted and muttered to himself, “you are indeed very capable, but… once the emperor is crowned, your good days will be over.”
That evening, Situ Wei summoned a group of ministers from his faction to give instructions and make arrangements.
Two days later, he gathered all the ministers in the court together in the Prime Minister's residence to discuss the matter of the coronation.
Situ Wei sat high in the main hall, looking around at the assembled officials. “His Majesty will be returning soon, and both the Prime Minister and the Empress Dowager agree that His Majesty should be crowned and assume personal rule as soon as possible. Does anyone among you have a different opinion?”
Those present were all important officials of the imperial court, and most of them were Situ Wei's men, so naturally they had no objections.
The remaining roughly 40% were the Empress Dowager's people, and still, no one uttered a sound.
Situ Wei was unaware that Xiao Qidi had already taken control of these people. He assumed that, as he had expected, they were there to use the emperor's coronation to weaken his own power, which was why no one objected.
"Alright, since no one has any objections, then the matter of the early coronation is settled." Situ Wei suppressed his excitement and said calmly, "Before his death, the late king entrusted the royal seals of many state affairs to each of you, ordering you to perform your respective duties. I hope that you will return them to the current monarch on the day of the coronation ceremony."
The so-called royal seal for state affairs represents the final decision-making power over all kinds of state affairs.
Before the King of Xuan Kingdom assumed personal rule, the ministers designated in the late king's will were put in charge of the administration.
Those who hold the royal seal for state affairs can handle their responsibilities independently without reporting to the monarch.
This includes documents within the scope of one's duties, conveying imperial orders within the scope of one's duties, and can also be stamped with the royal seal by oneself.
Once these royal seals returned to the king's hands, he could no longer make complete decisions on everything.
As Situ Wei finished speaking, a minister belonging to the Empress Dowager's faction spoke up, "With His Majesty's coronation, we should naturally hand over all kinds of royal seals, but... I wonder if anyone will be reluctant to part with them..."
As he spoke, he looked at the group of ministers sitting opposite him.
Situ Wei smiled and said, "Everyone here knows perfectly well who is the Prime Minister's man and who is the Empress Dowager's man. Now there's no need to hide it anymore. Tell me, which royal seals are you willing to hand over?"
The minister who had spoken earlier said, "We are willing to hand over the royal seals concerning land, household registration, civil official assessment and appointment, ceremonies, sacrifices, criminal cases, weapon forging, and grain management."
Situ Wei was somewhat surprised.
Although these ministers from the Empress Dowager's faction held more than just these few royal seals, the ones the other party said they were willing to hand over already accounted for the majority, and they were all quite important in their positions of authority.
"Prime Minister, where are your men? Which ones did they hand over?" the minister asked.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
