When Ma Xingzhou arrived outside the Forbidden Palace, it was not yet time to open the gate.
There is a fixed time for locking the gates of each palace, and it cannot be advanced or delayed unless there are major changes or emergencies.
When the imperial guards on duty saw Ma Xingzhou entering the palace at this time, they did not dare to be negligent and stepped forward to salute and ask the reason.
At this turbulent moment, everyone seems to have a sword hanging over their heart, and they will be ready to face a formidable enemy at the slightest sign of trouble.
Facing the imperial guards' anxious inquiries, Ma Xingzhou shook his head and said, "It's nothing important. I'll just wait here for a while."
Under such circumstances, given his status, he could certainly use the order from the right prime minister to order the imperial guards to open the palace gates, but doing so would only exacerbate public unrest, and what he reported was secret, so it was not appropriate to make too much of a fuss.
Ma Xingzhou came in a hurry, feeling anxious, but he remained calm.
In the rainy night of late October, Ma Xingzhou, who was nearly 60 years old, waited outside the Forbidden Palace for half an hour.
Only after all the palace gates were opened one after another did Ma Xingzhou walk quickly to Ganlu Palace with an umbrella.
It was near the winter solstice and it was cloudy and rainy, so the sky got brighter later. Although it was almost time for the morning court, the lights were still on in the Ganlu Hall.
It was unknown whether the Emperor of Holy Ce had just gotten out of bed or had not slept all night. She was wearing the emperor's regular attire, and under the lamplight, one could see that her gray hair was still neatly combed, and she was as majestic as usual, only her figure had become a little thinner due to her illness.
Emperor Shengce obviously expected that Ma Xingzhou must have important matters when he entered the palace at this time. When Ma Xingzhou entered the palace to pay his respects, he saw that the palace maids and eunuchs serving in the palace had all retreated in an orderly manner.
The Holy Ce Emperor only left one trusted eunuch to serve by his side.
Soon, the eunuch took the letter written by Ma Wan from Ma Xingzhou and presented it to the imperial desk.
The Emperor of the Holy Ceme read the contents of the letter calmly, raised his hand slightly, and dismissed the only remaining eunuch.
"Prime Minister Ma went to the palace overnight for this matter. He really worked hard." The Emperor of Shengce did not rush to mention the contents of the letter, but calmly asked Ma Xingzhou: "According to Prime Minister Ma, how did Ma Wan find out these secrets?"
In the letter, Ma Wan did not specify the method of investigation, but only said: [Granddaughter Ma Wan uses her life as a witness that every word written down is true. I hope that grandfather will take it seriously.]
"As far as I know, since the last time Ma Wan acted under my orders, there has been no news for a while..." When the Holy Ce Emperor said this, there was a moment of pity on his face, and then he continued: "Since then, I think her life may not be easy... In this case, how could she have the opportunity to access such secrets?"
There was sympathy for Ma Wan in the emperor's tone, but it was also not difficult to hear that there was more doubt in his tone. He was wondering why Ma Wan was able to survive and continue to be the Crown Prince of Rong's consort, and even now had the opportunity to access confidential matters.
Ma Xingzhou has thought about these issues.
At this moment, he said: "I think the reason why Rong Wangfu kept Wan'er may be for some purpose."
"What does Prime Minister Ma think the Rong Palace is planning?"
Ma Xingzhou lowered his eyes and said, "Maybe it's me and the Ma family."
Ma Xingzhou could not see the expression of the Emperor of the Holy Ce at this moment, but from the silence, he knew that it was the emperor signaling him to continue.
"The Rong Palace has been secretly trying to win over the hearts of the people..." Ma Xingzhou said almost heartfeltly, "If Wan'er gets into trouble in Yizhou, the Rong Palace and the Ma family will definitely become enemies. On the contrary, if they stay and treat Wan'er well, they will have a chance to show their affection to the Ma family, and in the future they can use Wan'er to get closer to the Ma family, or use Wan'er to do things for them."
Behind Ma Xingzhou are not only members of the Ma family. As the first prime minister of Dasheng who came from a humble family, he has countless people from humble families standing behind him.
This was the answer Ma Xingzhou came to after repeated consideration.
If there is anything fishy in this world, there must be something profitable to be gained. As for his wife's speculation that "it might be because Prince Rong and Wan'er have fallen in love", it has never been considered in political calculations.
After saying this, Ma Xingzhou knelt down politely: "I am under the emperor's grace and have sworn to serve the country and be loyal to Your Majesty until death. This determination has never wavered for a single day—"
After a while, the Emperor of the Holy Ce stood up from the dragon throne, came to Ma Xingzhou, and personally helped him up.
"Prince Ma came to the palace late at night to deliver a message, waiting for me to reveal my true feelings to him. He has worked so hard for me. If I continue to doubt Prime Minister Ma, how can I be worthy of being your king?"
Ma Xingzhou's eyes turned slightly red and he bowed deeply again.
He entered the officialdom as a commoner with no background, but was promoted and employed by the empress as an exception, allowing him to pave the way for poor students all over the world. This unique experience made Ma Xingzhou, who cared about poor students, destined to have extraordinary loyalty and gratitude to the empress.
After standing up, Ma Xingzhou continued, "So I think that under the premise that Prince Rong's Mansion is willing to treat Wan'er well, and now that the situation is becoming clearer, Prince Rong's Mansion will definitely have frequent exchanges with various parties... If Wan'er is willing, it is indeed possible to find out some secrets."
The Emperor of the Holy Ceremonies nodded slightly.
"But I don't think that what is said in this letter is necessarily credible." Ma Xingzhou said: "I believe that Wan'er will never betray the court or her family, but I am afraid that Prince Rong is scheming and may use Wan'er to pass on false information..."
These words are undoubtedly rational enough.
Ma Xingzhou trusted his granddaughter's virtue and position, but he also had to consider the possible traps set by Prince Rong's Mansion.
"Minister Ma is thoughtful." The Holy Ce Emperor walked slowly to the dragon table. She did not sit down in a hurry. She picked up the letter again and re-examined its contents.
There are roughly three secrets of Prince Rong's Mansion that Ma Wan revealed in the letter.
This letter was written 13 days ago. It said that Prince Rong had no intention of coming to Beijing and wanted to use his injury as an excuse...
This point has naturally been confirmed.
Secondly, Ma Wan mentioned several names in the letter, claiming that they were all people who secretly defected to Prince Rong. Among them were the Jiedushi of Shannan West Road and Qianzhong Road, and even some people serving as officials in the court... and among those people, there were many people that the Emperor Shengce suspected.
The third thing was the most unexpected and the most unforgivable secret for Ma Xingzhou and the Holy Ce Emperor...
Ma Wan claimed that the real mastermind behind the Fanyang Army's uprising was Prince Rong Li Yin.
Moreover, Ma Wan gave a very clear clue pointing to the truth - Duan Shiang, the leader of the Fanyang Army, had close private correspondence with Prince Rong and their relationship was unusual.
If the content of the letter is true, then there is no doubt that this is obviously the most valuable piece of information.
According to what Ma Wan said in the letter, Prince Rong conspired to let Duan Shiang help the Fan Yang army to attack the capital, and then Prince Rong's mansion would send troops in the name of supporting the overall situation, and cooperate with Duan Shiang to eliminate Prince Fan Yang. Li Yin could then take over the throne naturally and honorably.
The Holy Ce Emperor stood beside the desk, looking at the three characters "Duan Shiang" on the letter in his hand, and asked, "Prime Minister Ma, do you think the story about Duan Shiang in the letter is credible?"
"From the surface alone, I have no way to judge." Ma Xingzhou said, "But let's first assume the worst result... If Wan'er is really used by the Rong Palace and spreads false information, and if the saint believes this, what good will it do to the Rong Palace?"
"I think this news is true." The Emperor of the Holy Ce said slowly, "Only if it is true can it better gain the trust of me and Prime Minister Ma."
The most clever trap in this world is often one that uses truth as bait to lure people deeper into the trap.
"I have asked someone to investigate Duan Shiang." Emperor Shengce said to Ma Xingzhou, "This man was born in a military household. His father was a lieutenant in the Fanyang army and died in battle in his early years. Not long after, his mother also died of illness, leaving only his sister to depend on him..."
"After that, when Duan Shiang reached the age to join the army, he inherited his father's ambition and joined the Fanyang army. This was about 17 or 18 years ago. In that year, his elder sister was said to have married a foreigner and never returned to Fanyang since then."
"I have sent people to investigate the husband's family of Duan Shiang's elder sister, but found nothing." The Holy Ce Emperor said, "I thought that the husband's family might be poor and unknown, and the relevant people are no longer in the world, but now it seems..."
"Duan Shiang's sister, who lost contact after marrying far away, may be the connection between Duan Shiang and Li Yin." The Holy Ce Emperor speculated, "And judging from Li Yin's style of hiding behind others to stir up trouble, I have reason to believe that Duan Shiang is from the Rong Palace."
Ma Xingzhou thought for a while: "If this is true, Prince Rong revealed his relationship with Duan Shiang at this juncture..."
"It is intended for me to make a response." The Holy Ce Emperor said: "If I knew that Duan Shiang was his man, I would be doubly vigilant to prevent Duan Shiang from attacking the capital and helping Prince Rong to succeed... I must do my best to kill the Fanyang army."
"The Fanyang Army is in the east. In this way, the defense of the west of the capital will be relaxed..." Ma Xingzhou's eyes changed slightly: "Then it will give Shannan West Road and Qianzhong Road an opportunity to raise troops to the capital!"
Regardless of whether it was Duan Shiang or the Shannan West Road and Qianzhong Road who invaded the capital, as long as the capital was broken, Prince Rong could march straight into the capital and take charge of the overall situation.
So, this might be a trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain... Prince Rong wants to use the Fanyang Army to divert the garrison troops from the capital, especially the tens of thousands of Xuan Ce troops among them - Prince Rong came up with this plan because he saw that the empress had not shown any signs of calling up the Xuan Ce troops from the capital? But after Ma Xingzhou finished speaking, he realized something was wrong: "... But Your Majesty, did Li Yin really not expect that this plan would be discovered?"
The end of the plot is never whether the other party will join the game, but whether the game can be discovered.
"Of course he could think of that." The Holy Ceremonial Emperor sneered, "So this is probably not just a trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain..."
By this point, Ma Xingzhou had already thought of the key to this plan, which was the "dilemma".
If Your Majesty decides to send troops to Luoyang in the east, it will give Shannan West Road and Qianzhong Road an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
On the contrary, if His Majesty "sees through" this plan and judges that Prince Rong's real purpose is to mobilize troops from the west, and then gathers troops to defend the west, then the east direction of Luoyang will be left empty...
After analyzing it layer by layer, it even seems like an open conspiracy. No matter what choice is made, the pincer attack has already been formed, and if you focus on one thing, you will lose the other.
In this case, one may ask, since Prince Rong has already formed a pincer attack on the capital, then what is the significance of setting up this trap using Ma Wan's letter?
The Holy Ce Emperor already had the answer in his mind: "He just wants me to know that I am trapped and make me lose my composure..."
The Emperor of the Holy Ceme looked at the letter in his hand again, and even saw from it the provocative aura that Prince Rong, as the one manipulating the situation, casually exuded.
Under such circumstances, the faster she becomes chaotic, the faster she will fail.
No matter which side the capital uses the remaining troops, including the Xuan Ce Army stationed in the capital, to defend, it will lose one while gaining another... Be it Luoyang or Shannan West Road, they are both close at hand. Once the capital's defense is diverted, Prince Rong can use any of the two forces in the east or west to break through the capital at the lowest cost.
This was certainly not his only option to win, but it was a shortcut that could be achieved with just a letter, so why not take it? At this time, the light outside the palace was already dim.
Ma Xingzhou's back was covered with cold sweat without him noticing.
At this point, he had clearly seen King Rong's intentions.
The sinister thing about this plan is that the information in the letter is even true. But even so, this information cannot bring any benefit to the emperor. It is only to force her to respond. No matter how she responds, she can hardly escape the calculation of Prince Rong's Mansion.
The governors of Lingnan and Shuofang had just been tragically killed in the capital, and the whole area was in turmoil - if this attack could be considered as an attack on the overall situation.
Then this "well-timed" letter was sent to attack the emperor's heart.
Under such circumstances, no matter which choice we make, it seems that we will fall into a trap. So, is it just a matter of defending the capital? But isn't this just another way of waiting for death? "But Li Yin missed one point." The Emperor of the Holy Ce said, "When this letter left Yizhou, the Fanyang army had not yet been defeated, and Duan Shiang had not yet been seriously injured. It is understandable that Li Yin was so sure that I would be in a dilemma."
"I don't need to send troops to Luoyang at all." The Holy Ce Emperor's eyes did not show any signs of panic, but instead calmed down little by little: "There is already an envoy in Luoyang."
Looking at the emperor's demeanor, Ma Xingzhou almost blurted out, "Does your majesty still trust Envoy Chang?"
He was also aware of the tampering of Jiangdu's secret decree...
The saint had not yet exposed this matter. He could understand that it was a temporary measure to stabilize the situation, but what he could not understand was that after the other party had already made such a move that was no different from rebellion, the saint could still be at ease and completely hand over Luoyang to him...
This is not consistent with the saint's consistent temperament and style.
"I have to believe it."
This answer made Ma Xingzhou fall into deeper confusion.
He even vaguely caught a hint of some kind of secret symbiotic relationship from the saint's unusual "trust" and "indulgence" towards Chang Suining.
This kind of bond may have the potential to backfire and become an enemy, but in the eyes of a saint, it seems to be naturally placed behind other enemies.
While Ma Xingzhou was confused and guessing, he heard the Holy Ce Emperor say, "Li Yin will soon find out that the situation may not be completely under his control."
The real "accident" had already occurred in a place that Li Yin could not see.
"Prime Minister Ma, you may as well wait with me for a moment." The Emperor of the Holy Ce placed the letter on top of the dragon table.
Ma Xingzhou raised her head slightly and saw that the emperor had made up his mind. She placed one hand on the table, her wide dragon robe trailing on the ground, and stared at the sky outside the palace: "Wait for the news from Luoyang."
The rain stopped when the sky brightened.
Luoyang City, which had also been cloudy and rainy for several days, finally saw a hint of sunshine today.
Just like the previous few days, Cui Lang dragged his clansmen out early, listened to music, drank wine, recited poems and composed essays in Luoyang City, and even invited a group of Luoyang young men to have fun together.
But on this day, something unusual happened. (End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
