Upon hearing the emperor's words, the officials who had echoed his call to punish Zhao Huan were dumbfounded.
The urgent report from Yan Chuan arrived at this exact moment, of all times...
The slap in the face came too quickly!
Zhao Huan, half-reclined in his chair, said listlessly, "I'm totally bewildered, I'm totally helpless! Suddenly I have a close friend, and before I even see him, snap! He's dead!!"
"Sigh...look at the mess this has made..."
Zhao Huan shook his head and sighed, "It pains me to see this!"
Wen Tai took a deep breath, looked at Wang Ren, and saw that Wang Ren was like a lump of mud. Knowing that he could not be counted on, he walked up to the emperor, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance and it is not appropriate to draw a conclusion too early."
"Oh? What are your thoughts, Prime Minister? Speak quickly!"
Wen Tai did not respond to the emperor immediately, but instead bowed to Zhao Huan and said, "Teacher, this concerns the fate of the nation, please forgive me."
Zhao Huan closed his eyes, seemingly about to fall asleep, and said in a faint voice, "How did I teach you? Be loyal to the emperor and serve the country. Take the affairs of the country as your own responsibility. Personal feelings are not worth mentioning."
Upon hearing Zhao Huan's words, Wen Tai's gaze deepened. He nodded and faced the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, the matter of the Right Chancellor's treason has just come to light, and then the Southern Zhou spy Chen Yuxian suddenly dies. Isn't that too much of a coincidence?"
Yuan Xiu immediately replied, "Does the Left Prime Minister mean that Yan Chuan committed murder to silence witnesses?"
Wen Tai said, "Of all things under heaven, the one thing I least believe in is excessive coincidence."
Yuan Xiu looked at the officials and asked, "What do you think?"
Those officials who had previously slandered Zhao Huan immediately echoed his sentiments.
"The Left Prime Minister is right, what a coincidence!"
"What a convenient way to say 'dead men tell no tales'! The Right Chancellor acted far too quickly!"
"We should arrest Zhao Cheng, and then everything will become clear!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, I suggest..."
Suddenly, those officials who had attacked Zhao Huan jumped up again.
Many of the military officers were about to lose their temper, but whenever someone tried to step forward, they saw Zhao Huan's stern gaze and dared not make a move.
Although Zhao Huan was the prime minister, he served as a military general for three dynasties and spent his life on the battlefield.
Although the Dragon Spearmen of yesteryear have been disbanded, many of the military officers in the court today are former members of the Dragon Spearmen.
They were loyal to the country and to the emperor; it was their duty.
But they have only one faith.
Dragon Lancer Dragon Commander -
The current Right Chancellor is Zhao Huan!
Seeing Zhao Huan being slandered like this, these military generals had long been unable to tolerate it, especially since Zhao Huan had just defeated Ye Dan and was returning to the capital in a state of great victory!
Why should I suffer this insult?
This isn't the first time this has happened since the late emperor passed away!
But they knew Zhao Huan all too well; that stern look in his eyes was a signal that he wouldn't dare to misbehave.
So the military officers held their breath and suppressed their anger, while the instigating civil officials, seeing that no one refuted them, became more and more enthusiastic and said increasingly offensive things.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say!" Suddenly, a deep voice rang out.
Everyone turned around and saw a man walk out from the back of the procession and bow respectfully to the emperor.
Yuan Xiu took a few steps toward him, pointing at him with his hand, but muttered something under his breath, unable to say his name for a long time.
"Your subject, Marquis of Qingdong, Xu Shouli, currently serving as Grand Counselor, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"
As he spoke, Xu Shouli knelt before the emperor.
"I remember now!" Yuan Xiu laughed. "The late emperor mentioned you to me, saying that you even held me when I was a child!"
"That is indeed the case." Xu Shouli stood up decisively after bowing.
"Minister Xu, please speak freely."
"Like the Right Chancellor, my whole family is in Yanchuan. Although I don't usually keep in touch with the Right Chancellor, Yanchuan is just a small place compared to Changsui. I am also the highest-ranking Marquis in Yanchuan, so my ears are quite sharp."
Xu Shouli glanced at Zhao Huan and said solemnly, "As far as I know, the Right Chancellor rarely leaves his residence and never meets with local officials from Yanchuan. I have tried to entertain the Right Chancellor and visit him, but I have always been refused. If the spy from Southern Zhou that the Right Chancellor is colluding with were a merchant or a craftsman, I would believe it. But this person is the Vice Minister of War in Luoyang, and I absolutely do not believe it!"
"Therefore!" Xu Shouli knelt down and said firmly, "Your subject does not believe that the Right Chancellor is colluding with the enemy and betraying the country!"
Upon hearing this, several more civil officials followed Xu Shouli in protecting Zhao Huan.
The military officers could no longer hold back. Even the civil officials were stepping forward; how could we possibly remain cowards?
"This humble general firmly believes that the Right Chancellor would not collude with the enemy!"
"The Right Chancellor is a pillar of the nation; I will die to remonstrate with him!"
"This humble general will die to remonstrate!"
Yuan Xiu glanced at the military officers, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Still trying to remonstrate to the death? Trying to force the emperor to abdicate?"
Snap!
Zhao Huan's chair suddenly cracked, and he fell to the ground with a thud, crying out in pain, "Ouch... Your Majesty!"
Yuan Xiu quickly withdrew his ruthless gaze from the military officers and went over to support Zhao Huan: "Is the Right Chancellor alright?"
"I strained my kidney. It's nothing, it's nothing, I won't need it anyway."
"You bastard! What kind of chair is that? Get me another one!"
“Your Majesty need not…” Zhao Huan slowly stood up, supporting his lower back, and placed his hand on Yuan Xiu’s shoulder, saying, “Your Majesty, you know me, I am old and just want to go home to be with my children.”
Yuan Xiu frowned as he stood up, put his hands behind his back, and fell into deep thought.
Zhao Huan bowed and glanced at Xu Shouli, who was kneeling, but Xu Shouli looked straight ahead and did not look at him.
When everyone else was kicking him while he was down, Xu Shouli dared to stand up against the pressure, which surprised Zhao Huan.
"He Yin!!" Yuan Xiu seemed to have figured it out and suddenly shouted.
A young official stepped forward from the middle of the procession of officials.
"Your subject is here!"
"I order you to go to Yanchuan and investigate this matter thoroughly!"
"Your Majesty, I obey! Is there a deadline?"
"You can come back when you find out the truth! If you can't find out the truth, you can move your whole family to Yanchuan for me!"
...
"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!"
"Young general, my young general! You died such a tragic death!!!"
"You've been framed by a villain; you've fallen for his trick!"
At the General's Mansion, Zhao Cheng, dressed in white hemp clothing, lay on Wang Yufeng's coffin, weeping uncontrollably. His face was covered in tears and sweat. No matter how hard Zhao Wu and He Zhi pulled him from behind, he held on tightly to the edge of the coffin with both hands, as if he would not let go even if mountains crumbled and the heavens and earth merged.
"Yufeng! My Yufeng!!"
"You bore pressure that you shouldn't have had to at your age. You died young!!!"
"Come back! Come back here right now!!!"
Zhao Cheng rolled his eyes, as if he might faint at any moment.
Zhao Wu pressed Zhao Cheng down hard and shouted, "Master! Wake up! The dead cannot be brought back to life! They cannot be brought back to life!!"
"If only I could be brought back to life!" Zhao Cheng cried, cupping Zhao Wu's face in her hands. "If I could do it all over again, I would definitely advise him to talk things out properly and not to kiss women so casually!!!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
