Chapter 254 Using Both Kindness and Strictness
Emperor Yongming turned his head sharply and stared intently at Chu Jichen. His eyes, already bloodshot with anger and suspicion, were filled with vigilance: "Royal Uncle!"
Chu Jichen simply lowered his eyes, seemingly indifferent to everything before him.
At this moment, Shen Qingci slowly stepped forward and explained in a cold voice, "Your Majesty, please calm down. The person was found under the bed. Assassins don't need to knock someone unconscious and put them under the bed as a shield."
“Unless,” a glint of all-knowing wisdom flashed in her eyes, “he’s doing this to buy time and distract us!”
“Just now, the Imperial Guards and all of our attention were drawn to that unconscious eunuch. The real assassin,” her voice suddenly turned cold, “must have taken advantage of that moment to leave silently!”
“Therefore,” her eyes were filled with utter seriousness, “we absolutely must investigate thoroughly, leaving no stone unturned!”
"If we can't find it, the palace will be in danger."
"After all, nobody knows where he is hiding."
“If someone is even slightly familiar with the palace, since the goal is assassination, they would definitely prioritize targeting His Majesty’s inner circle.”
“Your Highness,” her voice carried a perfectly measured tone of protection and concern, “it is also for the sake of His Majesty’s safety.”
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shen Qingci subtly added her own agenda. Looking at Emperor Yongming, her voice was more sincere than ever before: "Your Majesty, the Prince is your imperial uncle. He has difficulty walking and... is unable to have children. You... are his only hope for revitalizing the Great Zhou Dynasty."
"Of course, Your Highness does not wish for anything to happen to you."
After she finished speaking, she looked thoughtfully at Consort Shu, who was already pale with fright.
"This assassin is hiding in Consort Shu's cold palace. Consort Shu... surely she knows something about it?"
Her words were already quite clear in their implication!
Emperor Yongming suddenly turned his head, his gaze deep and thoughtful!
Immediately, he gave the order, his voice icy and chilling: "Guards! Tie up Consort Shu! Tie her up and take her directly to the square in front of the Taiji Hall! Find me... a wooden frame and tie her up! Pile firewood around her!"
He then turned to the commander of the Imperial Guards beside him and shouted sternly, "Send men to the Prime Minister's residence immediately! Bring the Prime Minister's wife, and every single one of that traitor Liu Wenyuan's sons and grandsons... to me! Tie them all up in the square in front of the Taiji Hall! And pile them up as firewood!"
Immediately, guards stepped forward and dragged the terrified Consort Shu away!
"Your Majesty!" Consort Shu screamed in terror, her voice filled with boundless fear and despair. "Your Majesty, you can't do this to me! I... I was pregnant with your child!"
After Consort Shu was dragged away, Emperor Yongming turned his gaze and met Chu Jichen's thoughtful look.
Emperor Yongming was somewhat unaccustomed to this, and could only furrow his brows tightly, his voice filled with impatience: "What are you looking at?"
Chu Jichen smiled, his deep phoenix eyes filled with approval: "It's nothing."
"I just feel that His Majesty... seems to have matured a lot. Now, he handles matters in a very organized and intelligent manner."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Yongming was taken aback!
He was used to being suppressed by Chu Jichen and had always lived in his shadow.
But Chu Jichen is just too outstanding and too amazing.
There was a time when he had hoped to receive a word of praise from him.
Now, hearing Chu Jichen say this, an indescribable joy suddenly welled up in his heart!
Emperor Yongming immediately raised his head, a smug smile on his face: "It's... alright, I guess?"
"In fact, I had already guessed that the person truly hiding in this cold palace was Liu Wenyuan!"
"I guessed it. Today... he originally intended to use Consort Shu to poison me!"
"When I arrived just now, I didn't touch a single bite of the food that Consort Shu had brought up!"
"Now that we know the assassin is Liu Wenyuan, naturally... we must take targeted action!"
"It's true that Liu Wenyuan is ambitious, but if his sons and grandsons are all under my control, then... even if he survives, he will be childless and without descendants!"
"I did this to use this as a threat to force him to come out!"
Upon hearing this, a perfectly timed realization flashed in Chu Jichen's deep phoenix eyes.
He looked at Emperor Yongming, slowly nodded, and his voice was full of heartfelt admiration: "Your Majesty is truly far-sighted and meticulous."
“However,” he suddenly changed his tone, “Your Majesty’s plan, though ingenious, also has… some oversights.”
"Oh?" Emperor Yongming raised an eyebrow slightly. "Please speak, Imperial Uncle."
“Liu Wenyuan is cunning and treacherous,” Chu Jichen’s voice was full of solemnity. “Since he dared to take such a great risk to infiltrate the palace, he must have already paved a perfect escape route for himself.”
"Although you have captured his family, it is not necessarily true that you can force him to come out."
"If he is truly ruthless, willing to abandon even his own wife and children for the supreme throne, how will Your Majesty respond?"
Emperor Yongming's face instantly darkened!
Chu Jichen continued, his voice filled with unwavering resolve: "For now, we must prepare for both possibilities."
"Your Majesty, you can continue to use the lives of the Liu family members to force Liu Wenyuan to show himself."
“And I,” his eyes were filled with murderous intent, “will immediately leave the palace and mobilize all available troops in the capital to thoroughly search the entire imperial city, inch by inch!”
"I don't believe that Liu Wenyuan can sprout wings and fly away."
Upon hearing this, a hint of wariness and hesitation flashed in Emperor Yongming's eyes!
Mobilize troops?
How could he possibly allow Chu Jichen to hold military power again?!
Before he could speak, Chu Jichen continued, his voice filled with both frankness and helplessness: "Your Majesty, rest assured."
"I will only take away the private soldiers of my Regent's Palace."
"As for the city defense battalion and the imperial guards, they will still be personally dispatched by Your Majesty."
“Furthermore,” a hint of mockery flashed in his eyes, “my private army, even if all of them were added together, would only amount to a mere few thousand men.”
"Compared to the secret guards left behind by the late emperor that you have the power to overturn the world, they are simply... insignificant."
Emperor Yongming's heart skipped a beat!
He stared intently at Chu Jichen, his gaze seeming as if he wanted to devour him alive!
How...how could he know?
Chu Jichen looked at him and smiled.
"Your Majesty need not be so surprised."
“Do you really think,” his voice was icy and chilling, “that the late emperor and your supposedly flawless arrangements could possibly escape my notice?”
"I simply didn't want to say it."
“After all,” his eyes were utterly cold, “we…are still family.”
"Isn't that so?"
Emperor Yongming's face turned pale and then flushed, a truly fascinating sight!
He remained silent for a long time before finally squeezing out a few words through gritted teeth.
"good!"
"I...grant it!"
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