Chapter 118 Do you want me to execute you?
“Situ Wei has a secret trump card hidden away,” Ning Shan said with a meaningful expression, “which is the secret intelligence organization I told you about—Qingyoutai.”
Ning Jinli asked in bewilderment, "There has never been any record of this organization in history."
Ning Shan smiled and said, "Historical records cannot be complete. On the contrary, too many things have been lost to the long river of history. Moreover, more than two thousand years have passed in between, and many things that were recorded have been lost. Otherwise, where would so many unsolved mysteries come from?"
“That makes sense…” Ning Jinli continued, “Does Qingyoutai have access to a lot of officials’ private information?”
“That’s right,” Ning Shan said. “After Situ Wei brought Jiang Peihuan and Xiao Qidi back to Xuan Kingdom, he gradually discovered that Jiang Peihuan was constantly eroding his power by relying on her status as Empress Dowager. So he spent several years planning and officially established Qingyoutai six years ago. He used Qingyoutai to obtain the privacy of all the officials in his faction, including more than twenty officials with real power and hundreds of officials at all levels below. This move effectively curbed the Empress Dowager from continuing to undermine him.”
Ning Jinli then asked, "Did he also use the Qingyou Terrace to poach people from the Empress Dowager's side?"
Ning Shan shook his head. "He would like to, but the Empress Dowager's faction is protected by her, so it's difficult to get their private information. Even if they did, it wouldn't be of much use. Therefore, the officials who follow the Empress Dowager are basically not under Situ Wei's control or threat."
Ning Jinli asked nervously, "Does Xiao Qidi have no idea about the existence of Qingyou Terrace?"
“Of course,” Ning Shan said with a slight smile. “In order to ensure the secrecy of Qingyoutai as much as possible, even within the organization, only a very few people know that the organization belongs to Situ Wei. Moreover, Situ Wei usually only contacts the organization’s leader, the so-called Qingyoutai Captain, and in rare cases, he will contact the Deputy Captain directly.”
Ning Jinli's pupils gradually widened. "Dad, when you were in the warehouse, you told me that you were the deputy captain, and that captain... could it be..."
Ning Shan blinked. "That stupid fat idiot."
Ning Jinli almost gasped out, then quickly covered her mouth and said in an even softer voice, "After he's gone, won't Qingyou Terrace become yours?"
A hint of pride flashed in Ning Shan's eyes, but he remained silent with a smile.
“Dad,” Ning Jinli grabbed Ning Shan’s sleeve, “you mustn’t help Situ Wei deal with Xiao Qidi.”
Ning Shan raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you've already turned your back on us so quickly?"
"Dad... what are you saying?" Ning Jinli's cheeks flushed slightly.
"Have you forgotten what I just told you?" Ning Shan said, "I said that if Situ Wei had wanted to struggle any further, he wouldn't have ended up like this."
Ning Jinli's eyes lit up. "I understand now. If he tries to play his last trump card, Qingyou Terrace, he'll only make things worse. This means, Dad, you..."
“Good that you understand,” Ning Shan nodded slightly. “Actually, I already knew when he was dealing with Marquis Le’an. If your mother hadn’t written to me beforehand about your relationship with Xiao Qidi, I wouldn’t have secretly suppressed the information. Otherwise, Situ Wei would have known about the Shun Palace rebellion long ago.”
Upon learning of this situation, Ning Jinli couldn't help but feel grateful that her mother and father had secretly helped her a great deal.
Inside the main hall, Situ Wei slumped to the ground as if his spine had been removed.
He spent countless hours and resources cultivating a puppet capable of replacing Xiao Qidi, but without his knowledge, the puppet actually became Xiao Qidi instead.
This blow was so sudden and so violent.
He could no longer hear the discussions of the ministers and officials behind him. With his head down and his hands on the ground, he was thinking about where he had gone wrong.
Let's review the whole process.
The reason he decided to implement the puppet replacement plan was because the Xitun Pass general named Li Yao claimed to have brought back Xiao Qidi, who had been tortured into a human stump by the enemy army...
"So that's how it is... So that's how it is!" Situ Wei suddenly understood everything.
At the beginning, the stick figure he saw was a puppet!
Only in this way will he be fooled!
In other words, his puppet plan... was actually used by Xiao Qidi!
He thought he could seize all the power in the court by crowning a puppet emperor, but... the result was that he helped Xiao Qidi achieve his goal!
"Wonderful... Absolutely wonderful! Hahahaha!" Situ Wei clapped his hands and laughed as if he were insane.
Seeing this, everyone fell silent, and no one dared to step forward to help him up.
Situ Wei laughed loudly and stood up unsteadily. "Your Majesty, I really didn't expect... you would actually turn the tables on me. But I don't understand, how did you know that person?"
This was a problem he couldn't figure out no matter how hard he tried.
He believed he had done a perfect job of keeping secrets, and that Xiao Qidi would never have discovered it.
But people not only discovered it, they also took advantage of it.
How did he manage to do something that seemed impossible no matter how you looked at it?
Xiao Qidi's thin lips moved slightly, "Do you believe I have divine assistance?"
Situ Wei stared in disbelief, his mouth agape for a moment before he finally managed a wry smile and said, "Perhaps... It makes sense that he had divine assistance, hehe... hehehe!"
The two men spoke in front of the ministers and officials present.
Everyone was confused.
What is meant by "using a counter-strategy"?
Who is that person?
What does it mean to receive divine assistance?
The feeling that everyone could understand every word, yet the meaning of the dialogue was like listening to gibberish, left them feeling uneasy.
The desire to know but the fear of asking only fueled their anxiety and unease, making them increasingly afraid that something might have involved them while they remained completely unaware.
It felt like being roasted over a fire; it was so unpleasant.
“Situ Wei, you may leave now,” Xiao Qidi said, his eyes darkening slightly. “I will give you three days to pack your things. I will allow you to take your wife, concubines, servants, and all the property in the Prime Minister’s residence with you. I have done more than enough for you.”
These words carried a subtle warning.
Situ Wei did not immediately express his gratitude and take his leave.
He was truly unwilling to accept that his efforts had been in vain.
He was about to gain unprecedented power, but in the blink of an eye, he lost everything.
The feeling of being so close to the summit, almost reaching it, only to suddenly fall down, plummeting into the abyss below, is worse than death!
The thought of accepting his fate and the thought of being unwilling to accept it were locked in a battle within him.
But soon, the feeling of resentment, driven by a surge of strong emotions, took over completely.
Situ Wei's trembling pupils quickly calmed down, but a mad light had already emerged from that calm.
He straightened his back again, regaining his usual imposing aura as the Grand Chancellor of Xuan, and even took a step, placing one foot on the first step below the throne.
The courtiers gasped in shock.
She glanced up at his back with suspicion and uncertainty.
Ning Shan narrowed his eyes slightly and said softly to Ning Jinli, "It seems that he has finally chosen to struggle one more time. Once he takes this step, he will not have a good ending."
"Situ Wei, how dare you!" Xiao Qidi remained unmoved, his eyes slightly lowered as he looked down at the steps below the throne. "You intend to disobey my orders?"
Situ Wei raised his head to meet his gaze, his voice laced with mockery, "Xiao Qidi, I admit you played your trick well, as expected of someone I trained. But you're still too young. Do you really think that taking back the throne will force me to step down?"
A chilling glint flashed in Xiao Qidi's eyes. "Do you want me to order your death?"
Situ Wei said, "Should we execute the trusted minister who has served two generations of Great Xuan kings? Should we execute the benefactor who risked his life to save the late king, the empress dowager, and the current king from Great Xuan? Or should we execute the prime minister who has dedicated most of his life to governing Great Xuan with the spirit of loyalty and virtue of the past Great Xuan kings? Or perhaps..."
Situ Wei stepped onto the stairs with his other foot and continued, word by word, "Or perhaps to order the death of the current emperor's beloved uncle, whom he has publicly declared to respect and revere?"
Xiao Qidi pressed his thin lips together, and the coldness in his eyes grew stronger.
On the surface, these words were addressed to him, highlighting Situ Wei's unparalleled contributions.
But in reality, he was speaking to hundreds of officials of all ranks present.
Everyone weighs things in their heart.
If he really ordered Situ Wei's death, who would dare to do their best for him in the future? Even the people of Da Xuan would think that he, as the king, had gone too far.
He lost the hearts of his ministers and the hearts of the people.
This is a consequence that no wise ruler would want to see.
"Are you really going to force me?" Xiao Qidi leaned forward slightly and asked in a low voice.
Situ Wei knew that with his intelligence, he would surely understand the meaning hidden in those words, so he simply assumed that he had been intimidated by him and did not think deeply about what those few words represented.
"Your Majesty!" Situ Wei said, head held high, "I might as well teach you one more thing!"
Xiao Qidi narrowed his eyes. "What is it?"
Situ Wei turned his head and shouted loudly, "Ministers, those of you who want me to continue as prime minister, please step forward!"
With his command.
Xiao Qidi looked surprised and immediately glanced at the other officials.
Many ministers were seen looking around furtively with their heads down, and then some of them actually started to walk.
One after another, they appeared.
One by one, more than twenty people walked out of the crowd.
Moreover, all of these twenty-odd people were important officials in the imperial court.
Xiao Qidi's face instantly darkened like an abyss, and his gaze sent chills down the spines of everyone present.
Especially those ministers who had reluctantly sided with Situ Wei in front of him, their legs were trembling.
But they really had no other choice.
“Situ Wei, you are truly capable,” Xiao Qidi said in a cold tone. “I have already taken back all the royal power, yet you still have so many high-ranking and powerful ministers of the Great Xuan Dynasty backing you up. Do you really think I cannot dismiss you?”
Situ Wei said with full confidence:
"I wholeheartedly wish to serve the Great Xuan, but Your Majesty does not accept my wishes. I have no choice but to do this."
“Your Majesty, you can take back the royal seal they have entrusted to you and reclaim the royal power they have exercised, but you cannot control their hearts.”
"What is real power? Real power is how many people are willing to submit to you and be willing to do anything for you!"
"These colleagues behind me are all pillars of the Great Xuan Dynasty. They all support me. Could Your Majesty possibly dismiss these pillars who occupy more than half of the important positions in the court?"
"Without ministers and officials, who will serve the emperor?"
“Pillars of society are not ordinary people who can be found anywhere on the street.”
"Does His Majesty expect the other half of the court's key officials to shoulder all the burdens? Are they capable of doing so?"
"Or perhaps Your Majesty could simply select generals from the million-strong Xuan Army to replace us? Oh, no, Your Majesty knows better than I do that to select learned men capable of governing the country from a bunch of brutes who only know how to fight and wield weapons, it would be better to find some peddlers and laborers on the street."
"Your Majesty, a country cannot be without a ruler, but it also cannot lack many capable ministers. This is what I want to teach you!"
After he finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence.
The ministers who had initially been forced to step forward because Situ Wei had discovered their private information now felt much more confident.
Meanwhile, another group of court officials looked solemn.
This king is still too young; he probably can't control the old prime minister, who has a solid foundation in the core circle of power in the Great Xuan.
Xiao Qidi's eyelids twitched slightly, and anger was already showing on his face.
But his imposing manner remained undiminished. His dark eyes swept over the ministers standing beside Situ Wei one by one, and he asked in a deep voice, "Do you have any dirt on him?"
One of the ministers immediately changed his expression.
Others, though seemingly calm, appeared to be suffering in silence.
Xiao Qidi continued, "Do you all think that I, as the King of Daxuan, cannot even protect my own ministers? I can promise you that whatever wrong things you have done before today, I will forgive and forget."
After these words were spoken, the expressions on the ministers' faces became even more indescribable.
Some people's legs were trembling, as if they wanted to go forward and say something, but they didn't have the courage to move.
Seeing this, Xiao Qidi frowned slightly.
Could it be... that I guessed wrong?
The ministers of the Prime Minister's faction did not support Situ Wei because they had something on him, but because they were genuinely won over.
Situ Wei noticed the subtle confusion that flashed across Xiao Qidi's face and couldn't help but feel smug. He smiled and said, "Some things, even if they violate the laws of the Great Xuan, can be overlooked as long as His Majesty pardons them. But there are other things, even if they don't violate the law, but once they get out, they will surely ruin one's reputation. Even if His Majesty is willing to let it go, the person involved will have no face to live on. Does His Majesty understand?"
Seeing that he had guessed correctly and that Situ Wei was beginning to get a little carried away, Xiao Qidi pretended to be puzzled and asked, "If it were something that would lead to my disgrace, how would you know about it? I don't believe it."
Before this, Situ Wei had almost been outmaneuvered by Xiao Qidi. As the dignified Prime Minister of Da Xuan, when had he ever suffered such a defeat? This was simply a disgrace to his life, and he was barely able to contain his anger.
At this moment, seeing that he had turned the tide and regained control of the situation, even though he had seen countless storms and developed a calm mind over most of his life, he could no longer suppress his desire to triumph.
If he doesn't release this humiliation and resentment, he might suffer internal injuries.
Provoked by Xiao Qidi's question, he blurted out, "Your Majesty, I will tell you! Has Your Majesty ever heard of the Azure Pavilion?!"
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