Chapter 809 Price
The two court officials Wang Yuzhen mentioned were both from aristocratic families. One was the head of the Fan family, and the other was the highest-ranking official in the Mo family. Tang Ning didn't find it too strange that they were involved with Prince Hui, but the three people she mentioned later were different.
When Xiao Yan seized the throne and wanted to reorganize the court, the first thing he did was to target the aristocratic families. However, he also understood that he could not force the aristocratic families into a desperate situation, otherwise, the court would have no peace if the aristocratic families were to be destroyed.
So he "exchanged" with Liang Guangyi, allowing people from aristocratic families to continue to stay in the court, and promised to let Liang Guangyi serve as the right prime minister, on the premise that aristocratic families would be treated equally with people from the upright and humble families. In return, the aristocratic families would withdraw some of their people from important positions in the court as a token of their sincerity in serving the country.
Of course the aristocratic families were unwilling to do so. They had been entrenched in the court for many years and would not retreat easily.
However, Liang Guangyi used some unknown means to make those people surrender and agree to "retire". Some people were willing to be demoted to some idle positions, and some even left the capital directly.
The three people Wang Yuzhen mentioned just now are among these people.
Tang Ning lost his previous leisurely demeanor and asked in a deep voice, "Are you sure you saw Prince Hui, Dou Jing, Duan Wenqian and the others appear at that cloth shop?"
"Sure."
Wang Yuzhen looked up from her knees, her face pale, but she spoke with great conviction:
"When the deposed emperor was still in power, my father, under Your Majesty's orders to establish friendly relations with the aristocratic families, once told me about the most important officials in the court, as well as their respective relationships with the palace and other families. My father said that this was to broaden my horizons, and also to prevent me from accidentally offending anyone in my daily interactions."
"I have met the two masters from the Dou and Duan families, so I know them. Although I have not seen the remaining one in person, I heard King Hui call him Master Min San. I remember that the master from the Min family who was demoted and exiled from the capital years ago was the third in rank in the palace."
After Wang Yuzhen finished speaking, she pursed her lips and her voice became a little hoarse.
"Although I don't know what Prince Hui and his men are looking for you, I know that those three shouldn't be in the capital, but you kept it a secret from the palace. Furthermore, it just so happens that King Ying died suddenly, leaving the Queen in sole control of the court. Prince Hui certainly had no good intentions in meeting with them privately."
"There are wars going on in the south and northwest, and His Majesty is not in the capital. I'm afraid my father has done something wrong and caused a disaster, so I've come to see the Empress."
Tang Ning looked at Wang Yuzhen, whose eyes were slightly red, and said in a deep voice, "Your father colluded with them and might have committed some treasonous act. You told me about your father's affairs like this. Aren't you afraid that I will kill him after I find out the truth?"
She paused.
"I am not a soft-hearted person. The King of England's body has not yet been buried."
Wang Yuzhen lowered her eyes and said, "But Your Majesty has helped me, you are not a bad person."
Tang Ning's expression remained unchanged. "Yuzhen, I don't believe you would gamble your father's life, or even the entire Wang family's, just because I helped you once."
Wang Yuzhen froze for a moment before she spoke in a hoarse voice, "Because I know that His Majesty is extremely wise and would never risk the kingdom of Wei. He will have made every possible effort before leaving the capital, and even if Your Majesty temporarily takes charge of the court, he will not allow chaos to break out in the capital."
"Your Majesty must have left the Empress with enough means to protect herself and intimidate the court officials. Otherwise, when the King of England and his men forced the abdication that day, the Empress would not have been so decisive in directly punishing the King of England."
She fell to the ground, her body trembling slightly.
"I don't think Your Majesty will ignore the royal family after the recent incident. What King Hui and those people did may not be hidden from Your Majesty. If Your Majesty continues to investigate, even my father will be exposed to Your Majesty's eyes."
"Father is no match for Your Majesty, and I am unwilling to risk the Wang family. Moreover, during this war, Beiling and Southern Qi are hindering us. If the court is unstable, the border will surely be in turmoil. I do not want my father to become a sinner for the Wei Dynasty, and I do not want to see the flames of war ravage the land and cause countless suffering."
After Wang Yuzhen was seen through by Tang Ning, she dared not hide anything anymore and just kowtowed heavily to the ground.
"This humble servant is afraid of death, and even more afraid that my father will be confused and take the entire Wang family with him to death."
"I dare not conceal my selfish motives. I only ask that Her Majesty, in consideration of my honesty, spare my father's life."
After she finished speaking, she kowtowed twice to the ground, and bloodstains appeared on the ground instantly.
Wang Yuzhen fell to the ground, her forehead aching and her back tense, but Tang Ning didn't say anything for a long time above her head. As time passed, her mind became increasingly tense, her face became paler, cold sweat dripped from her forehead to the ground, and her body couldn't help but tremble slightly.
Tang Ning finally spoke: "You get up first."
"My Lady."
Wang Yuzhen suddenly looked up, her red eyes looking at her with hope, but Tang Ning's words made her expression dim.
"Because we still don't know what King Hui and his men intend to do, and how much your father is involved, I can't make any promises to you."
Wang Yuzhen's face was pale.
"However..." Tang Ning changed the subject: "Struggles for imperial power are always unscrupulous. I can understand their desire to scheme against Your Majesty, but the premise of all this is to have a bottom line."
"I can promise you that as long as their actions haven't harmed the Great Wei or the people, and they haven't used the lives of soldiers or border warfare as a pretext for plotting against Your Majesty, and if it's later determined that your father wasn't the mastermind, I can spare his life."
Wang Yuzhen did not feel relieved at all after hearing this, but her face became even paler.
Because she knew very well that after His Majesty seized power, the government and military power were in his hands. He was far more popular and more powerful than the deposed emperor. In addition, coupled with the Queen's previous methods, if Prince Hui and others wanted to disrupt the court officials and take advantage of the situation to do something, the most likely thing would be to interfere with the war.
"Empress..." Wang Yuzhen's lips moved, as if she wanted to say something.
Tang Ning looked at her seriously and said, "You should understand that there are some things that your majesty and I can tolerate, but there are some things that once they do, they must pay the price."
"Or do you think that such a vast country, the lives of tens of millions of civilians, and the soldiers who fought so hard on the battlefield deserve to be reduced to piles of dry bones and rotten flesh, becoming pawns in the hands of others, things they can calculate and discard at will? Their lives are not lives?"
Wang Yuzhen's face turned pale and she trembled as she was looked at by her: "I dare not, father... father won't do it either..."
Tang Ning looked at her body that could barely stand on her knees, and her face that was completely bloodless, and sighed softly as he stepped forward to help her up.
"I will have someone keep an eye on King Hui's affairs. As long as your father doesn't cross the line, I will do my best to protect him."
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