Chapter 98 Watching the Chess Game means that the right of interpretation belongs to her.
Xia Jing was hit with a heavy bomb early this morning—
Li Lu, the Minister of Revenue, who was the head of the Six Ministries, was openly attacked by a mob during the morning court session. Several charges against him were leveled up and reported to the emperor, each one a capital offense.
From embezzling public funds to oppressing the people, to manipulating the promotion of officials, and finally even involving the crime of treason, what is even more shocking is that this crime was personally proposed by His Highness the Crown Prince.
When His Majesty heard these charges during court, he was furious. After hearing the Crown Prince's report, he was overcome with rage and fainted on his throne. The civil and military officials were thrown into chaos, and all the princes were deeply saddened. In the end, it was His Highness the Crown Prince who bravely endured his grief and stepped forward to take charge.
His Majesty is still unconscious and cannot be sentenced immediately. However, he has been charged with several crimes, each more serious than the last. If the court does nothing, it will surely discourage the people. Therefore, His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered Li Lu to be imprisoned for investigation. The judgment will be made based on the investigation results once His Majesty has regained consciousness.
"Smack—"
The inkstone crashed onto the antique shelf with a loud bang, causing the shelf to shake a few times before collapsing to the ground with a roar. All the scholar's objects and precious porcelain on it were also destroyed. A series of cracking sounds came from the study, followed by a suppressed growl from the King of Zhao.
Only two trusted confidants stood at the door of the study, but even so, neither of them dared to move an inch. The prince was in a fit of rage at the moment, and offending him was not something they could easily bear.
King Zhao was indeed furious, so much so that he was almost driven mad!
"Jiang Chen! Jiang Chen! Jiang Chen!"
If he had nothing else to smash, King Zhao would never have stopped. He turned and looked around, then sat down with a sinister air, kicking over the desk in front of him. He was physically exhausted after all that, but the evil fire in his heart had not dissipated in the slightest.
The events that occurred during the morning court session had barely taken place in the main hall when, as soon as they stepped out of the palace gates, they heard that the news had already spread like wildfire. The Crown Prince, that treacherous villain, had actually manipulated public opinion!
Li Lu had been an official for decades. The process of collecting evidence, compiling it into a book, and then having officials and censors come forward to identify and expose it was not something that could be done in a short time. However, they had not heard a word about it. The Crown Prince had actually accomplished such a big thing right under everyone's noses!
Unlike previous encounters, this time the Crown Prince's faction has a meticulously planned strategy with each step closely linked.
Before any investigation has even begun, public opinion has already largely condemned Li Lu. There's still no indication of when the emperor will wake up, but with all the groundwork the crown prince has laid, the investigation should proceed very smoothly. It's even possible that in less than three days, the crown prince will be able to categorize and organize the evidence again and present it on the table, making it clear to onlookers and leaving no room for doubters to refute it.
Everything was prepared in advance; this was just a formality. They didn't even know where to begin to stop it, and all resistance seemed utterly ridiculous at this moment.
From previously fighting back and forth with a slight advantage, to this time being hit hard and unable to retaliate, the difference in their fortunes was so stark that even before the news reached the northern frontier, the Prince of Zhao, who was guarding Xiajing, could no longer bear it. He slumped down, holding his head in his hands, his fingers moving in agitation, messing up his hair ornament. He couldn't help but recall and ponder, trying to deduce when the Crown Prince had started this plan.
There's nothing he can do; he's lost the ability to cope right now.
"After I leave, you must be careful in everything you do. Pay close attention to the Crown Prince's Palace and the Thai King's Palace. Be extra cautious in everything you do. You are not careful enough now, so don't let things go wrong."
These were King Huan's last words to him before he went on his campaign. He had taken some of them to heart back then, but he couldn't remember them now. King Zhao shook his head, as if trying to shake off the burden, but he felt his heart growing more and more anxious.
"Help! Help!"
The two pageboys standing at the door exchanged a disgruntled glance, then one of them braced himself and pushed open the door: "Your Highness."
"Go and deliver a message to Prince Huan. Go yourself. Take all the Akhal-Teke horses from the stable. I don't care how many horses you kill on the way. Get to the northern frontier as quickly as possible and make sure that the news from the capital reaches Prince Huan's camp within three days!"
The pageboy usually did some serving work for the King of Zhao. Because he was trusted by the King, he handled some confidential matters. Most of the confidential information did pass through his hands, but how could running around in the capital compare to going to the northern frontier?
To put it bluntly, as the personal attendant of the King of Zhao, he was used to a life of luxury. Asking him to rush to the northern frontier camp would probably cause his body to fall apart before he even left the capital.
"Your Highness..."
King Zhao looked up and saw his pale face. He then realized that this task might be impossible for him. Thinking of this, his eyes showed a hint of disgust.
Why doesn't he have any capable people like He Zhiju and Shen Xun around him?
He raised his hand and slowly lowered it, taking out two tokens from a hidden compartment in the bookshelf behind him. He combined the two tokens into one, and before handing it to the page, he withdrew his hand and earnestly instructed, "Send seven people to the northern frontier, one to guard the study in the Huan Prince's mansion, and two to come here with me."
"Your Highness—"
The pageboy was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the spot. This was no ordinary token; it was a token that could command a dead servant.
This group of assassins consisted of ten men, each an elite capable of taking on a hundred men. They were specially left by the late emperor for his eldest grandson, Prince Huan. At that time, Prince Huan was young and intelligent, and was considered outstanding among all the imperial grandsons. After the current emperor established his status as the crown prince, Prince Huan, as the eldest grandson, received even more attention. Therefore, this group of assassins, which should have been passed on to the crown prince, ended up in Prince Huan's hands.
Back then, to show his trust in his brother, King Zhao, King Huan divided the token that commanded the dead into two and gave them to King Zhao. Normally, King Zhao could not use the token to command people. It just so happened that King Huan entrusted the other half to King Zhao for safekeeping before going on a campaign, which is how the two tokens were combined into one.
Now, the King of Zhao actually wants to summon the Death Servant!
The pageboy, prostrate on the ground, began to tremble uncontrollably. The last time this group appeared in the capital, it caused a bloody storm within the royal family. Their reappearance was certainly not a good thing, especially since Prince Huan wasn't even in the capital. His Highness had already used this trump card...
He dared not think any further, and when he looked up again and saw the terrifying expression on the King of Zhao's face, he was so frightened that his hand slipped and his head slammed heavily to the ground.
"Yes!" He didn't care about the blood all over his face and head. He took the token from the King of Zhao and fled the study.
Sunlight streamed through the door into the study, illuminating the pool of crimson blood, which glowed with a faint dark red light. King Zhao stared intently at the red stain, wishing it belonged to the Crown Prince.
The Eastern Palace.
As the crown prince, Jiang Chen was extremely busy at the moment. Although everything was a premeditated plan, when the day actually arrived, even going through the motions and putting on an act left him no time to spare.
"Your Highness, you're finally back!"
Zhu Yu did not accompany the Crown Prince to the morning court today. Upon seeing the Crown Prince return to the residence, he hurriedly went to greet him. However, he did not expect that there was a large group of people behind the Crown Prince. He immediately changed the subject he was about to say: "Before leaving, Her Highness the Crown Princess repeatedly instructed that the first thing you should do upon your return is to have a meal."
"I see..." Jiang Chen paused slightly, glanced back at the group of high-ranking officials who had returned to the mansion with him, and nodded: "Then let Steward Lian make arrangements. All of you, like me, are busy with government affairs after court. Now that you have arrived at the Eastern Palace, you must be treated well."
As he spoke, he turned to the crowd and said, “My lords, you have all worked hard. Let’s have a meal together before we discuss matters and rest for a while. The Crown Princess has prepared a meal for you all.”
Everyone was prepared to go without food or water all day, but they never expected that the Crown Princess had prepared a meal for the Crown Prince and brought some for them as well. They were both impressed by the unity of the Crown Prince and his wife and admired the Crown Princess for being such a virtuous wife, managing the Eastern Palace so well even while attending to the Crown Prince's illness.
Shen Yujiao was unaware that she had taken credit for Chief Steward Lian in everyone's eyes. At this moment, she was leading Yong'an between Qianyuan Palace and Kunyi Palace.
When the emperor fell ill, the empress should have been the first to take care of him. Unfortunately, the empress had just injured her leg a few days earlier. Although she was anxious, she was too weak to personally attend to him at his bedside, so the crown princess had to do it on her behalf.
So, people were looking for her here and there. Jiang Chen was extremely busy in the East Palace, and Shen Yujiao wasn't doing much better in the palace. At least Jiang Chen's situation was planned in advance, but for her, it was all up to her to improvise.
Yes, the emperor's fainting was an unexpected event that was not part of their plan, but the two of them worked together very quickly and tacitly. Before the morning court session had even ended, Shen Yujiao had already taken control of public opinion in the capital. As soon as Jiang Chen gave the order, Shen Yujiao changed into palace attire.
Compared to the orderly operation outside the palace, the palace itself is their domain: to obtain firsthand information about the emperor's health, to block communication between palaces, to strictly prohibit outsiders from walking inside the palace, and to assist the empress in controlling the overall situation of the harem. Shen Yujiao has never been so constantly on high alert as she is now.
"Your Highness—"
As the group rounded the corner, they nearly bumped into the oncoming medicine boy. Shen Yujiao was pulled by someone behind her, and she brushed past the medicine boy. Both of them stumbled. The medicine boy, who was already in a panic, looked up and saw that it was the Crown Princess. He was so frightened that his face turned ashen.
With the help of those around her, Shen Yujiao managed to stand up. Then she heard Chu Rou, who had transformed into Mu Tan, whisper in her ear, "Grab him. This isn't a young apprentice from the Imperial Hospital; he's a young eunuch from the inner palace."
"bite--"
With a crisp sound, the jade pendant at Shen Yujiao's waist fell to the ground and spun around. Upon seeing this, Mu Jin quickly stepped forward to examine it closely. The original jade pendant was made of a single, smooth piece of material, but after falling to the ground and being bumped, it had a chip.
Mu Jin immediately pointed at the young medicine boy and shouted, "This is a jade pendant bestowed upon His Highness by Her Majesty the Empress. You offended His Highness first, and then you broke the jade pendant. Guards, arrest him!"
"No, Your Highness, it's not me!"
The young apprentice was sweating profusely. He disregarded etiquette and looked up at the Crown Princess, waving his hands to beg for mercy. Others might not know what was going on, but how could the Crown Princess not know?
He had seen it clearly just now; it was obviously the Crown Princess herself who had used her finger to hook the jade pendant off. How could the blame now fall on him?
Unfortunately, the Crown Princess didn't even glance at him, leading a large group of people away from the corridor, leaving only the head palace maid beside her. At this moment, the maid looked down at him condescendingly and said with disdain, "Have you lost your mind? How could the Crown Princess, a dignified woman, frame you? What were you trying to say just now?"
Mu Jin slowly squatted down to meet the young medicine boy's gaze, her expression full of warning: "Is the palace a place where you can speak ill of your master at will?"
Summer was approaching, but the young medicine boy couldn't help but shiver under the sun.
"The Crown Princess has arrived—Princess Yong'an has arrived—"
As soon as the eunuchs' chanting entered, everyone in the room knelt down. Shen Yujiao, upon entering the hall, saw a room full of kneeling people: "Greetings to Her Highness the Crown Princess, may Your Highness be well..."
It's not that these people are deliberately praising one and belittling the other, but now that the Crown Princess is acting on behalf of the Empress, she is followed by half of the Empress's entourage wherever she goes. Everyone has to act according to her wishes, and their respect for her is naturally far greater than that for Princess Yong'an.
"Alright, alright," Shen Yujiao said impatiently, waving her hand. "How is Father's condition?"
"Your Highness, His Majesty's condition has now stabilized, but this was a sudden attack of anger. The illness came on like a landslide and is slowly receding. It is hard to say when His Majesty will wake up."
It's hard to say... Shen Yujiao nodded lightly.
That means she had full authority over the interpretation of the emperor's illness.
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