Chapter 101 Qi Jinxiu succeeds as Grand Secretary
When the Grand Secretary heard this, he felt as if the sky had fallen. He immediately straightened his hat and tied his hair, wanting to go to the gate to see if he could salvage the situation. However, before he could even step out of the gate, he was stopped by Eunuch Fuhai and a pair of Imperial Guards.
Since entering officialdom, the Grand Secretary's career had always been smooth sailing, and this was the first time he had encountered such a situation. He couldn't help but feel fear rising within him, and he wanted to step forward and try to get information out of Eunuch Fuhai.
But Fu Hai, who was usually polite and courteous to him, was unusually difficult to talk to today. Not only did he fail to get any information, but his attitude was also very cold, only saying that the Emperor had summoned him urgently and that he should not delay.
Upon seeing this, the Grand Secretary could say no more. He was escorted into the palace by a troop of imperial guards in a state of unprecedented humiliation.
The current situation forced the Prime Minister to mentally consider the worst-case scenario.
The Third Prince was also involved in the gold mine affair. Fortunately, they had taken precautions beforehand, and the Third Prince's presence was concealed from the entire affair.
Therefore, if the emperor was furious and insisted on punishing those who illegally opened gold mines, he felt that he should take all the blame upon himself for the sake of the Shi family and the future of the Third Prince.
When the Grand Secretary entered the Imperial Study with the mindset of facing death with righteous indignation, he found that the Third Prince was already waiting to the side. However, the Emperor looked at him with an unexpectedly normal expression.
It seemed that the blame for the gold mine incident hadn't fallen on the Third Prince. Just as he was wondering about this, he heard the Emperor on the dragon throne angrily rebuke him:
"You audacious traitor, you knowingly break the law and dare to illegally open a gold mine. The Third Prince is utterly disgraced to have an uncle like you."
Fortunately, my son hasn't gone astray. Upon learning of this, he was the first to stand up for the greater good, even at the cost of family ties, and proposed that you be dismissed from your post and investigated. Do you accept this punishment?
Upon hearing this, the Grand Secretary looked up at the Third Prince in astonishment, and after a long while, finally lowered his head as if resigned to his fate. With a slight sob in his throat, he said, "Your Majesty, I confess. Everything was done by me alone."
"It is I who have failed Your Majesty's trust, and it is I who have smeared the reputation of the Third Prince and Consort Shi. I voluntarily resign from my position as Grand Secretary, and I hope Your Majesty will not hold the innocent accountable."
The three men present were fully aware of the Emperor's overt scheme. What the Emperor least wanted to see was the empress's relatives wielding power, and the Third Prince's close relationship with the Shi family had long been a source of discontent for the Emperor.
This is a perfect opportunity to deliberately provoke them with words, so that even if the matter is forgotten, it will leave a permanent grudge in their hearts.
Since taking the elixir from Master Qingfeng, the emperor felt as if he had returned to the state of being twenty years old. Suddenly, he had the idea of achieving immortality.
Because of his previously poor health, the Emperor had always planned to pave the way for his third son to become the heir apparent. However, now that his health has changed, his plans for the future have also changed.
No emperor would willingly relinquish his power to someone else. If not for physical limitations and lifespan constraints, what every emperor would most desire is not to pass on the throne, but to hold all power firmly in his own hands forever.
The Third Prince betrayed the Emperor the moment he heard him speak, his eyes darting around as he tried to give the Grand Secretary a signal from an angle the Emperor couldn't see.
He was afraid that his uncle would be foolish enough to sell him out at this critical juncture. As long as he could ascend the throne in the future, he would naturally ensure the Shi family's rise to power, which would also be a way of compensating his uncle for taking the blame today.
However, although the Prime Minister understood everything, he still felt extremely disheartened by his own nephew, whom he had watched grow up and supported.
He kept his head down, trying hard to suppress the resentment in his heart. He also tried desperately to find reasons for the Third Prince to convince himself.
But the resentment that had been suppressed in his heart for so long seemed impossible to dispel. He clenched his fists and began to reflect in his heart.
Over the years, he has devoted himself to supporting this cold-hearted nephew. After he takes power in the future, will the Shi family really have a future?
Having worked together several times, Chief Minister Shi had long since seen through the Third Prince's character, but he was unwilling to admit, until the very last moment, that he had simply misjudged him.
The Third Prince is selfish and self-serving. He only knows how to take advantage of others, and he will betray his cronies at the first sign of trouble on the Emperor's side.
The Shi family followed him around, always taking the blame or scapegoating. When they did business together, he took a cut of the profits without hesitation.
Once they lose money, they will disregard the fate of the Shi family and secretly abscond with all the money. With such a vile temperament, are they family or enemies?
How much did the Third Prince know about his treatment of the Shi family? Or rather, even if she did know, the Imperial Concubine tacitly approved of it.
At this moment, the Prime Minister felt that he had become a sinner of the Shi family. He had first supported Shi Qingchen, that illegitimate son, as the young master of the family, thus ruining the Shi family's century-old reputation.
He then supported the Third Prince, a heartless and treacherous man, causing the Shi family to fall from grace and into the mire. The prestigious family, built up over a hundred years by generations of ancestors, was destroyed by him in just a few months.
Thinking back to just a few months, one can't help but think of the beginning of the matter. It seems that the Shi family started to suffer a series of misfortunes after marrying the Liu family's daughter, or rather, after killing Yunxi.
But soon, he shook off the absurd idea in his mind. Yunxi was just an orphan girl. How could she have the ability to overthrow the entire Shi family?
It was only due to my bad luck and my tendency to listen to one side that the Shi family ended up in this predicament, and Yunxi's situation just happened at this particular time.
At that time, the Grand Secretary was in the Imperial Study when he was stripped naked in public, his court robes and official hat were removed, leaving him only in a white undergarment, and he was escorted back to his residence by the Imperial Guards.
He attracted countless stares on the street. Kyoto is only so big, and although the Grand Secretary is a high-ranking official, many ordinary people still recognize him.
Seeing the current Grand Secretary in this state, escorted by the Imperial Guards, one can guess that something terrible must have happened to the Shi family.
After the Grand Secretary was escorted back to his residence, the Imperial Guards, acting on the Emperor's orders, placed the entire mansion under lockdown. Because the investigation into the illegal gold mining had not yet been completed, no member of the Shi family was allowed to enter or leave the mansion until then, and all members were confined to the residence.
Before long, news about the Shi family spread like wildfire, and Yunxi was naturally involved in it.
At this moment, she was sitting in a private room at the Shi Family Restaurant, which she was passing by. She had witnessed the entire scene of the Prime Minister being escorted through the street.
But Yunxi's expression didn't reveal much smugness. She just snorted disdainfully and continued drinking her tea.
In her mind, this was just the beginning of the Shi family's complete decline, and there would be a series of grand gifts to come.
Three days later, Qi Jinxiu was urgently summoned back to the capital to take over the position of Grand Secretary. This was a choice the Emperor had already made in mind; rather than supporting a powerful family, it was better to support a poor, helpless man who was easier to control.
Qi Jinxiu, a newly appointed scholar with no background, was exactly the right candidate in his mind.
Although Qi Jinxiu was promoted several ranks in just a few days, which was really against etiquette, the emperor insisted on supporting Qi Jinxiu despite the objections of the court, and in the end, the court was defeated.
To outsiders, Qi Jinxiu had a stroke of good luck, rising to a position second only to the emperor as soon as he entered officialdom. But in reality, his rise was not a coincidence.
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